Directly after the Trump Administration pushed for the adoption of fossil fuel energy sources at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poland, the White House announced a sweeping overhaul of federal laws protecting wetlands, streams, and rivers. The move comes as a further assault on environmental protections by President Trump, who has made clear his commitment to unraveling regulations in favor of economic development.

On Friday, Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team released a slew of new developments in the investigation into whether or not President Trump and his 2016 presidential campaign staff had any links or contact with the Russian government.

On the morning of November 30th, two massive back to back earthquakes struck the remote U.S. State of Alaska. The quakes, which were 7.0 and 5.7 in magnitude, were the largest since the devastating 1964 earthquake which wiped out most of the capital city of Anchorage. Despite the strength and central location of the earthquakes, not a single serious injury or death was reported.

The American car manufacturer General Motors (GM) made a stunning announcement on Monday that it will be closing five plants in both the United States and Canada, costing thousands of jobs. The decision comes as a bid to buoy slowing sales and invest in producing the types of vehicles currently demanded by consumers across the world. For President Trump, the move by General Motors came as unwelcome news and caused doubt at the effectiveness of his aggressive stance on global trade.

On Friday, the United States National Climate Change assessment was released, addressing the recent natural disasters across the country and future implications at hand.

With President Donald Trump elected into office two years ago, this midterm serves as an indicator of whether or not the balance of power has shifted from the GOP to the Democrats.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump released a series of severe sanctions on the Iranian government on Monday, Nov 5. The measures against Iran are focused almost entirely on the nation’s oil and gas industry, its primary source of income. The U.S. government has sanctioned over 700 banks, companies, people, vehicles and entities to help exert the maximum amount of pressure on the Iranian regime.

Earlier this week, President Trump told an Axios reporter that he plans to terminate birthright citizenship through an executive order.

On Saturday, October 28th, a gunman burst through the doors of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, shouting anti-semitic phrases and firing a semi-automatic rifle. By the time the shooting stopped, 11 lay dead and four, including two police officers, were wounded.

After a four-day nationwide search, authorities have arrested the suspect allegedly responsible for sending over a dozen of padded-mailers containing explosive materials to prominent Democratic politicians.

During his visit to Panama this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed concerns to President Juan Carlos Varela about doing business with China.

On Wednesday, Oct 17, Canada legalized the possession and usage of recreational marijuana across all ten of its provinces. The nation became the first major power to permit the drug, with Uruguay being the only other country in the world that also allows marijuana usage. The legalization comes as a great victory for the Administration of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who championed the idea during his election.

The 2018 midterm election will be anything but predictable. With the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, his victory has sent shockwaves to voters across the country. Below are four key races to keep an eye on come November.

In a surprise announcement, Nikki Haley, the acting United States ambassador to the U.N., declared that she was resigning from her post on Tuesday, October 9th. Her departure from the Trump administration is causing new questions about the stability of the White House going into the midterm elections, as well as the possibility of political aspirations for Haley herself.  

On Tuesday, Amazon announced that it would increase its minimum wage for workers to $15 per hour.

On the night of Sunday, September 30th, a new trade deal was born in fevered negotiations between representatives for the nations of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is being renamed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to find common ground between the three countries.

Plans to put Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh onto the Senate floor for a full vote were stalled when the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed to a one week delay in order for the FBI to investigate the sexual assault allegations against the nominee.

The future career of U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is in serious trouble after a flurry of meetings and private discussions were held concerning his fate on Monday. For now Rosenstein still holds his position at the Department of Justice, but is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump on Thursday over allegations that he planned to secretly record Trump and invoke the 25th amendment, which transfers the office of presidency to the vice president in the case of the president’s death, resignation, removal from office, or severe impairment.

Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the highest court of the country could stall with the recent revelation from a female accuser alleging Kavanaugh of sexual assault.

Only a week of significant negotiating time remains for the United States and Canada to conclude on the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). If a solution is not found by the end of the week, it will likely be too late for Canada to meet the U.S. demand for a completely drafted deal by October 1st.

On Friday, Paul Manafort pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges and has agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s alleged interference during the 2016 presidential election.

Members of the U.S. Government met with rebellious officers of the Venezuelan Military in talks to discuss the possibility of a coup several times over the last year. After numerous meetings, officials decided against providing support to these rouge military elements against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. However, the discovery of these clandestine operations has opened up serious concerns within the international community as to the possibility of United States intervention in the foreign affairs of other nations.

On June 26th, democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shocked the country with her defeat of incumbent Joe Crowley in the Democratic Primary for New York’s 14th congressional district. Crowley, who has been serving New York’s 14th congressional district since 2013, and the 7th district for 14 years before that, was expected to be a shoe-in in the midterm elections earlier this summer.

Tensions flared on Capitol Hill this week as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh seeks confirmation from the Senate.

On Wednesday, former CIA Director Mike Pompeo was officially sworn in as the Trump Administration’s Secretary of State.

Late Monday night, the White House declared that the deadline for the imposition of tariffs on European and Chinese goods would be pushed back by 30 days, creating more time for negotiations.

On Thursday, the Senate approved Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, passing with a 57-42 vote.

A Washington D.C. federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to continue protections for DACA recipients and accept new applications if the Department of Homeland Security cannot come up with a legitimate reason for the program’s rescission within 90 days.

Following North Korea that indicated its willingness to have denuclearization talks with the United States, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un plan to meet face-to-face for a historic summit said to take place either in May or early June.

Republicans on Tuesday maintained their congressional seat in Arizona’s eighth district. The Republican seat, which voted for Trump in 2016 by more than 20 points, came into play for Democrats when Hiral Tipirneni ran a serious campaign. Debbie Lesko, the Republican candidate, won by just five points.