The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 20

February 17, 201 5 | nsucurrent.nova.edu News February 2, 20 1 | n suc rrent.nova.e 2 3301 College Avenue Don Taft University Center, PVA Room 328 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314-7796 nsucurrent.nova.edu NEWSROOM Phone: 954-262-8455 nsunews@nova.edu The Current serves Nova Southeastern University from its location in Room 328 of the Don Taft University Center. The Current is NSU’s established vehicle for student reporting, opinion and the arts. All community members are invited to contribute. Editorials, commentaries and advertisements in this publication reflect the opin- ions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University or its officials, The Current staff or other advertisers. The Current will not publish unsigned letters except under special circumstances at the dis- cretion of the Editor-in-Chief. The Current reserves the right to edit. Contributing writers must not be directly involved with their coverage. Coverage by contributing writers must be meaningful and of interest to the NSU community. The Current reserves the right to edit, publish or deny submitted works as it sees fit. The Current shall remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility or otherwise cre- ate a bias, real or perceived. Megan Fitzgerald Rey Perez Evan Kelley Nyla Wyte Neha Simon Briana Ramnauth Ana Maria Soto Blake Malick Tomas Salom Santiago D. Finochietto Aliyah Gomez Veronica Richard J. L. Glasthal Erin Cowan Faculty Advisor mf821@nova.edu Jarrod Bailey Staff Advisor jbailey1@nova.edu Sofia Gallus Siena Berardi Madelyn Rinka Alexander Martinie Rick Esner Christina McLaughlin Flor Ana Mireles Farhan Shaban Sports Editor Features Editor Arts & Entertainment Editor Co-Editor-in-Chief Co-Editor-in-Chief Opinions Editor News Editor Copy Editor Chief of Visual Design Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Contributing Writer Visual Design Assistant Emma Heineman BUSINESS & ADVERTISING Phone: 954-262-8461 thecurrentad@nova.edu Class-action lawsuit filed against Robinhood after the stock market app restricts trading Shares of a small game company, GameStop, soared up over 700% this past week as amateur traders took to the internet to encourage others to join them in buying shares. After the shares skyrocketed, Robinhood, a stock market app popular among young, first-time investors, halted trading of these shares. This sparked national outcries and resulted in a class-action lawsuit filed against them, citing favoritism towards Wall Street professionals and illegal halting of trades. Angry amateur traders took once again to the internet to encourage Robinhood to let them trade and encouraged others to continue to buy other strange stocks, such as Dogecoin. COVID-19 virus variant from South Africa identified in the United States A new variant of the coronavirus originating from South Africa was identified in two cases in South Carolina on Jan. 28. Public health officials from the state have said that they believe there are almost certainly more cases that have not been identified yet. This mutated variant of the coronavirus is thought to be more contagious and current vaccines are thought to be less effective at preventing it. Healthcare workers urge people to be especially careful, stay home as much as possible and to continue washing and sanitizing their hands. Nitrogen leak at poultry plant leaves six dead A liquid nitrogen leak at a poultry plant in Georgia left six people dead and almost a dozen others in the hospital. When liquid nitrogen is introduced to oxygen, it evaporates into an odorless gas and can be extremely dangerous and possibly deadly to inhale. Several of those injured were sent to the hospital in critical condition. Local police are still investigating why the leak occurred, but some suspect that it may have been from one of the refrigeration systems that contained liquid nitrogen. Global news, courtesy of the current Right-wing extremist convicted of murder of German politician Last Thursday, far-right extremist StephanErnst,was sentenced to life inprison with no possibility for early release for the murder of Walter Luebcke of the Christian Democratic Union party. Luebcke was the leader of the Kassel region administration and was known for advocacy of refugees. Following the attack on Luebcke and similarly motivated attacks, the German government announced that right-wing extremism “posed a significant security threat in the country,” according to the Associated Press. Armin Laschet, leader of the Christian Democratic Union party, said, “Today’s verdict encourages me and at the same time isa reminder tousall—wewill not let our country be destroyed by right-wing terrorists and their intellectual instigators.” WHO visits Wuhan hospital to trace virus history The World Health Organization team investigating the origin of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, visited the hospital that treated the first COVID-19 patients in the region. The team finished their 14-day quarantine last Thursday and began work the next day.WHO tweeted, “All hypotheses are on the table as the team follows the science in their work to understand the origins of the COVID19 virus.” Cases of COVID-19 in the region have decreased and this pattern is expected to continue. Tanzanian President denies COVID-19 John Magufuli, the president of Tanzania, claims that COVID-19 is not an issue in Tanzania. Magufuli fired health officials that have questioned his stance on the matter, which cites religious reasons for his lenient policies. Tanzania stopped updating COVID-19 cases after 509 cases were reported inApril of last year. According to theAssociated Press, “Tanzania’s president says God has eliminated COVID-19 in his country. His own church now begs to differ.” The Tanzania Episcopal Conferercnce’s newspaper headlined their paper with “There is corona” following Magufuli’s comments. British National Overseas passports derecognized by Chinese government Following a London plan to offer residencyandcitizenship tomillionsof people from Hong Kong, the Chinese government has deemed British National Overseas passports a invalid travel documentation and identification. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijan, said “The British side’s attempt to turn a large number of Hong Kong people into second-class British citizens has completely changed the nature of the two sides’original understanding of BNO. This move seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty, grossly interferes in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs, and seriously violates international law and the basic norms of international relations.” President Biden reopens Obamacare sign ups President Joe Biden has reopened a window that lets uninsured citizens register for the Affordable Healthcare Act, called “Obamacare.” This is the first step in reversing many of the decisions regarding healthcare availability made by former president Donald Trump. While Biden has made it clear he is opposed to a ‘Medicare for All’ plan, he does promise to expand on healthcare coverage and make affordable healthcare available to all Americans.