User blog:WanderingSkull/June 2014 Monthly News Blog

For the Month Of June

World News

 * Conflicts within the Ukraine have continued to escalate as pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian military continue to clash. The conflict is mainly around Eastern Ukraine, along the Russian border. Russia has been heavy backlashed for their believed involvement and escalation of the conflict. Ukranian forces have been deployed to combat the armed rebels. Ukraine is backed by NATO and the EU in their moment of need, but is not supplying armed troops onto the nation. The conflict shows the widening beliefs between the nation after the former-president was ousted months ago and the annexation of Crimea.


 * After several years of negotiations, the U.S. and Taliban complete a prisoner swap. The Taliban surrenders Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held prisoner for five years, and the U.S. release five top members of the Taliban leadership from the Guantanamo Bay prison. The detainees are handed over to Qatar officials and must remain in that country for one year. The Taliban released a video of exchange afterwards to show the Sgt. within one of their vehicles before being handed over to the American forces.


 * Tensions continue to rise throughout Asia as China continues debating with various nations due to land disputes or other conflicts. Japan and China are debating the islands in order to gain access to the resources on these islands. Vietnam and China are arguing as Chinese ships and Vietnamese ships confront each other near an oil rig. These have caused a series of protests, one which led to the burning of 15 foreign-owned factories in Vietnam.


 * The United States has charged five members of the Chinese military with hacking. These members have allegedly hacked into the computer networks of Westinghouse Electric, U.S. Steel Corp., and other companies. Shanghai-based Unit 61398 is the cyber division of China's national army. Despite, these charges being placed upon them it is unlikely that the men will surrender themselves to the U.S Justice Department.


 * On May 19th and May 20th, Oregon and Pennsylvania respectively has legalized same-sex marriage within their states. The events in Oregon, were caused when a U.S. federal district judge ruled that the state's 2004 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage violates the Equal Protection clause in the U.S. Constitution. In Pennsylvania, a judge strikes down the same-sex marriage ban in Pennsylvania, making the state the 18th to legalize gay marriage. The judge rules that Pennsylvania's 1996 ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The state is the last in the Northeast to legalize same-sex marriage. The equal marriage rights movement has seen tremendous growth within recent years as more and more states continue to legalize the practice.

Pop-Culture News

 * Last month was a major month for film releases as Godzilla, Maleficent, and X-Men: Days Of Future Past were all released. Godzilla grossed a total of $441,395,084 as of June 20th and has recived primarily positive reviews for bring back the King Of Monsters. Maleficent was grossed $445,868,568 and stars Angelina Jolie, whose role as the titular character Maleficent has been praised by critics. X-Men: Days Of Future Past has grossed $671,625,535 thus becoming the highest grossing-film of the month of May.


 * Barbara Walters is saying goodbye to famous television talk show, "The View" after about 17 years of being on the show. Barbara Walters was known for her interviewing abilities which made her popular among viewers. Although, her retirement from 'The View" was meant to be her official from TV, she has agreed to return for a special episode of 20/20 for an interview.


 * For the first time in 52 years, two spellers were declared co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Sriram Hathwar of Painted Post, New York, and Ansun Sujoe of Fort Worth, Texas, shared the title after both managed to continuously tie themselves in the final rounds of the Spelling Bee. And the question remains: Does anyone know what these words even mean without the power of the internet? Stichomythia and Feuilleton. Still I congratulate both for their hard-work and their shared title.


 * It seems that even in death Michael Jackson can't stop amazing audiences because at the 2014 Billboard Music, the King Of Pop appeared as a hologram. In a special show, a hologram image of the pop star performed "Slave to the Rhythm" from the blockbuster album. It has been almost five years since Michael Jackson died, but his spirit and music has continued to live on. Link here

Birthdays in June
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