United States
U.S. President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address before Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 22. During his address, he focused on ideas to support American middle-class workers and families; among other things, he proposed more affordable childcare for middle- and low-income families, universal free community college and legislation for a raised minimum wage. Obama also highlighted American diplomatic efforts against Russia and the end to the U.S.-Cuba trade embargo, while urging Congress for legislation to address cyber-security and climate change.
Yemen
Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his cabinet resigned on Thursday, Jan. 22 in the wake of a takeover of the capital city of Sanaa by Shiite Houthi militants. The country has been divided by violent tensions between the Houthis, who control much of Yemen’s northern half, and Sunni militants pushing for secession in the south. Also in the mix are the Sunni-dominated Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al-Qaeda’s affiliate branch in the region who also oppose the Houthis. The collapse of the government has incited fears of a full-scale civil war in Yemen, as well as damage to the U.S. counterrorism campaign in the region, among U.S. foreign policy officials.
France
Violent attacks against French Muslims have increased dramatically in the aftermath of the attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo’s headquarters by radical Islamic terrorists. At the time of this publication, the National Observatory Against Islamophobia had reported 128 recorded attacks against French Muslims between the attack on Charlie Hebdo and Jan. 20. This number, however, only takes into account incidents reported to law enforcement, and also excludes as-of-yet unverified numbers from Paris.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/1/23/france-sees-increase-in-antimuslim-attacks.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/world/middleeast/yemen-houthi-crisis-sana.html?_r=0
http://www.npr.org/2015/01/20/378680818/transcript-president-obamas-state-of-the-union-address]
