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What Happened: On Tuesday, Retired Pope Benedict XVI asked forgiveness for his handling of sexual abuse cases involving the clergy. Benedict, now 94, was responding to a report from a German law firm that is investigating sexual abuse cases handled in the Munich archdiocese from 1945 and 2019. The Pope did not admit to any wrongdoing in his statement. Said Benedict's lawyers, "As an archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in any cover-up of acts of abuse." Photo Sourc

What Happened: Despite the wave of omicron infections, the US economy added 467,000 jobs in January, an unexpected strong hiring gain for the month. Unemployment increased slightly to 4.0%, up from 3.9% last month Overall, economists say the US economy looks to be heading in the right direction despite the highest inflation rate in four decades. The FED announced earlier this month that it would raise interest rates starting in March to combat inflation. Photo Credit: Gerd Al

What Happened: According to President Biden, US Special Forces carried out an overnight raid in Syria leading to the death of Islamic State Leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. Officials say the IS leader died by triggering a bomb that killed himself and members of his family as the US Special Forces approached. The raid comes as the IS has increased their activity and led a series of attacks in the region. First responders say that 13 people in total were killed, inclu

What Happened: President Biden has decided to send an additional 2,000 troops to Poland and Germany and an additional 1,000 troops based in Germany and Romania amid concerns over the Ukraine/Russia border situation. Last week, NATO outlined a "deterrence" plan with potential troop and ship deployments to the region. Tension between Russia, the US and the its allies has escalated over the last few weeks as Russia has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border

What Happened: On Tuesday, Russia President Vladimir Putin said that the US and its allies have ignore the security demands Russia put forth regarding the Ukraine and NATO. Putin added that, by ignoring Russia's demands, the US and its allies are violating the security agreements established in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Last week, Russia warned that it would take "retaliatory measures" if the US and its allies continued to reject Russia's securi

What Happened: According to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday, the US economy grew 5.7% in 2021, rebounding from the 2020 recession. This is the largest single calendar-year growth since 1984. The economy ended the year with a heightened 6.9% growth pace from October to December. Despite the rebound, inflation and another surge of Covid-19 cases have led economists to expect slower growth this year. The FED announced Wednesday that it would be anticipat

What Happened: On Wednesday, Russia warned that it would take "retaliatory measures" if the US and its allies continued to reject Russia's security demands concerning the Ukraine and NATO. This comes as tensions continue to escalate between Russia and Western allies as several are concerned that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine. Russia has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border. Russia denies that is has any plans to invade Ukraine and says that the a

What Happened: On Monday, tensions escalated between Russia and Western allies as many are concerned that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine. NATO outlined a "deterrence" plan with potential troop and ship deployments to the region. Russia has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border. Russia denies that is has any plans to invade Ukraine and says that the accusations are a cover for NATO's own plans. Thus far, diplomatic talks are in a deadlock as Russia

What Happened: President Biden completed his first year in office with his lowest approval rating thus far. The latest from AP-NORC show that 56% of Americans disapprove of how Biden is handling his job and only 43% approve. In addition, only 28% of Americans say they want Biden to run for reelection in 2024. When asked about the low approval numbers, Biden said "I don't believe the polls." Many things factor into the low approval rating, including Biden's handling of the pan

What Happened: According to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, 230,000 Americans claimed first-time jobless benefits over the last week, a 23,000 increase from the previous week and the highest number since mid-November, 2021. The weekly applications have risen over four of the last five weeks. Many economists believe that this increase is coinciding with the spread of the omicron variant of Covid-19. In total, 1.6 million collected unemployment aid for th

What Happened: According to the US Labor Department, US inflation increased at its highest rate in nearly 40 years last month, with a 7% jump from a year earlier. Prices have risen for food, furniture, gas and other household expenses. If food and gas prices are excluded, the "core prices" increased 0.6% from November to December and 5.5% year-to-year. Surging prices have eliminated wage increases that many workers have received making it more difficult for some families to a

What Happened: According to the Labor Department, the US economy added a modest 199,000 jobs in December, demonstrating that employers are still having difficulty filling positions as many Americans continue to be reluctant to return to the workforce. Concerns over inflation, a labor shortage and yet another surge in Covid cases may have contributed to the sluggish growth. Despite some of these concerns, unemployment dropped down to 3.9%, the lowest it has been since the star

What Happened: On Friday, Judge Walmsley sentenced the three men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery to life in prison. Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael both were sentenced to life in prison without parole. Their neighbor, William Bryan, received life in prison with the possibility of parole. The three men were found guilty back in November for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery, a 25-year-old Black, was chased and trapped by the McMichaels and Bryan in thei

What Happened: On Wednesday, protesters stormed the presidential residence and mayor's office in Kazakhstan, setting fire to both. Protests started in response to a surge in fuel prices that nearly doubled the cost of petroleum gas. They have since escalated suggesting more widespread discontent in the country. Police have clashed with protesters over the last few days using water cannons, tear gas, concussion grenades and, reportedly, even firing on some demonstrators. Accor

What Happened: On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine booster shot for children as young as 12. Booster shots had already been approved for everyone 16 and older. The FDA also said everyone 12 or older may receive their booster shot as early as five months after their last dose, rather than the original six months. Said FDA vaccine chief, Dr. Peter Marks, the decision was made because the booster shots "may help provide bette

What Happened: On Wednesday, US regulators authorized the use of Pfizer's Covid-19 treatment pill for adults and children ages 12 and older. This is the first such pill to receive government authorization. The pill is meant to be self-administered by patients at their homes and can help stave off the worst effects of the virus. The approval comes as the United States faces another surge of new cases brought on by the omicron variant. The drug, Paxlovid, is said to help reduce

What Happened: On Thursday, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that adults opt to take the Pfizer or Moderna Covid-19 vaccines over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, if the choice is available. The CDC made the recommendation because some patients have developed a rare blood clot condition after taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Although the rate of occurrence with the J&J vaccine is very rare, only 3.8 cases per million doses administered, the C

What Happened: On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced that it will double the pace of its tapering of monthly bond purchases with a projected end date for all purchases by March, 2022. The new forecast also projects that the FED will raise its short-term rate three times next year, instead of just one time in September, as originally projected. FED Chair Jerome Powell indicated that these policy changes were likely to occur when he spoke before Congress. According to Pow

What's Happening: On Monday, the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrection is set vote on holding former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in contempt. The move was made after Meadows' lawyer said he would no longer be cooperating with the panel. The nine-member panel also released a report detailing Meadows' attempts to help former President Trump overturn his defeat in the election as well as an email from Meadows' in which he says the National Guard w

What Happened: On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion clinics in Texas can sue over what is now the most restrictive abortion law in the country, but left the law itself in place. Abortion rights activists were dismayed and said that the decision is akin to green-lighting a path for other states to pursue similar actions and that this eventually may lead to overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The Texas state law, which was signed by Republican Governor Gr