If you wish to make passes at someone who wears glasses, make sure you’re armed with interesting current affairs sound bites. No one worth the price of their Warby-Parkers would dare skip Literally, Darling’s weekly news post. Fit in with the four-eyed, brainy set by brushing up, then set your sights on that coffee shop cutie!
U.K. battered by storms. 14 severe weather warnings have been issued after widespread flooding. The Thames river reached record levels, and a coastal rail link to Cornwall—the most south-western point—was destroyed by waves, leaving the county nearly cut off from the rest of the country.
Good news for marriage equality! The Department of Justice announced they would be expanding federal benefits for same-sex couples, including prison visits and compensation for surviving spouses of public safety officers. Nevada will not try to uphold the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, which was passed in 2002. Less exciting, but still pretty great!
Iran marks 35 years since the Islamic Revolution. The celebrations included a cardboard cutout of Ayatollah Khomeini and tons of nationalism. A lot of the rhetoric focused on expressing continued enmity towards the U.S., as one would expect from the government brought into being through the overthrow of a monarch propped up by the U.S.
Danish zoo kills giraffe, feeds it to lions. A Copenhagen zoo this week shot a healthy 18-month giraffe that was deemed surplus at the facility. Public outcry followed, although the zoo had not been able to find a certified buyer; even if they had, this giraffe’s genetic makeup was already over-represented in the zoo giraffe community. Those defending the zoo state that as numbers of giraffes dwindle, it is important that the breeding population be as diverse as possible.
Debt ceiling can be raised without shutting down the government. The House passed a “clean” debt ceiling bill Tuesday night, choosing not to attach other policies to the bill. The battle over the debt ceiling has raged every few months in the U.S., most recently resulting in the shutdown of the federal government in October of last year.
Qatar released worker’s rights charter ahead of 2022 World Cup. The country has come under fire for allegations of workers’ rights abuses as preparation gets underway for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Sochi 2014 Olympic Games have begun, following days’ worth of mockery for the unfinished hotels and infrastructure in the resort town and the invention of a new Internet phrase “That’s so Sochi!” Those of us paying rapt attention to the Opening Ceremonies witnessed a rare Putin smile when the Russian Olympic team joined the Parade of Nations.
Shirley Temple, child star and U.S. diplomat, dead at 85. Temple starred in 23 movies throughout the 1930s; her films are often said to have brought laughter and joy to Depression-era America. In the late 1960s, after a failed bid for Congress, Temple was appointed to a U.S. delegation to the U.N., and later in 1974 as ambassador to Ghana. She also served as ambassador to Czechoslovakia in 1989. Temple passed away Monday night due to natural causes.
