This week, the Obama administration announced sanctions against Russia after saying it was confident the Russian government interfered in last year's presidential election. The purpose is to deter Russia from cyberspace hacking in the future. The United States also expelled 35 undercover intelligence agents to deter Russia from harassing U.S. diplomats in Russia. Listen to hear more about possible retaliation and what actions are legal when the U.S. is not at war.
Story Length: 4:01
Socrative users can import these questions using the following code: SOC-1234
December 19, 2016
4:57
There is evidence that a CIA assessment found that Russia intervened in the U.S. presidential election to try to help Donald Trump win. In this story, a reporter from the Washington Post discusses what they found out about how the Russians intended to help Trump in the election. It’s known that Russians hacked into both Democratic and Republican emails, and released emails to Wikileaks that were damaging to the Democratic campaign. President-elect Trump has stated that he does not trust the CIA’s assessment. Listen to hear more about what is known about the CIA report.
Read MoreOctober 27, 2016
3:07
Democracy has lasted in the United States when it has failed in other countries. This is due to many reasons, but mainly because there has always been a peaceful transfer of power following an election. Going against political norms for hundreds of years, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has claimed the election will be rigged and has hinted that he may not concede if his opponent, Hillary Clinton, is elected. Trump has expressed concerns about voter fraud at polling stations, and encouraged people to closely monitor voting. Listen to this story to hear an expert in election law explain why he doesn’t believe the recent polls are not close enough for concerns about a rigged election to be realistic.
Read MoreOctober 5, 2016
6:45
This year’s presidential campaign has been divisive, partly due to the polarizing nature of candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The social media site, Facebook, has been a popular platform for political conversation in past election years, but has surged this year. There have been over 4 billion posts, comments and reactions about this presidential election. As people take to Facebook to express their views, contentious political posts have been driving people apart, often leading to unfriending. Listen to hear how Facebook users are reacting to political posts.
Read MoreOctober 5, 2015
2:08
Russia and the U.S. are conducting airstrikes in Syria, with the agreed target of ISIS. However, Russia has launched 20 airstrikes on other targets besides the terrorist group. The U.S. Defense Secretary said the strikes were expected, but to some, the targets may be a surprise. Russia is said to have targeted rebels who oppose Syrian President Assad, a Russian ally but no friend of the United States. The Defense Secretary said this development may prolong the civil war and drive Syrians toward ISIS. With both Russia and the U.S. conducting air operations in the same country, errors or mistakes are likely. This week, Russia and the U.S. will hold talks to make sure both sides’ pilots do not harm each other during the bombings. Listen to hear more about this developing conflict.
Read More