Author: Alanna Fichtel
The race to the finish line that is the presidential election has been very, very long. This week’s primaries demonstrated just how uncertain the outcome will be. The fight between the U.S. government and Apple over unlocking an iPhone is still going–it’s not like the fight you have with your little brother.
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Election 2016
What you need to know: Trump is still trumping political news. Early this week, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he will not run for President as an independent. He doesn’t think he’ll win, and fears that splitting the votes could cause someone like Trump or Cruz to win. Bloomberg says that’s a risk he cannot take. Ouch. Speaking of risks, Trump cancelled a rally planned for last night in Chicago just a few hours before it was supposed to start, for fear that someone could get hurt in the group of aggressive protesters. Count me out.
Ben Carson made it clear there were no hard feelings by endorsing Trump this week. Ted Cruz, meanwhile, hasn’t received as much friendly support–Senator Mike Lee of Utah became just the first fellow senator to endorse him. Cruz did win in the Indiana primary on Tuesday, so there’s still some hope for him.
Trump won this week in Michigan and Mississippi, receiving a lot of support from African-Americans. Hillary Clinton also did well amongst non-white voters in Mississippi. But Hillz felt the Bern in Michigan. A win in Michigan for Clinton could have almost closed the fight, but Bernie is not backing down. The two got a little heated over topics like immigration, health care, and Cuba in a Democratic Debate on Wednesday.
Why it matters: The “anyone but Trump” motto is floating around in politics, so primary strategy is becoming increasingly important. Both parties held debates in Miami this week in anticipation of Florida’s primary is next week, which could have big effects. Florida is a winner-take-all state, so if Rubio wins in his home state, he could be on a path to the nomination. Same goes for Kasich in his home state of Ohio. An aide to Rubio’s campaign even urged Rubio’s Ohio supporters to back Kasich. This call for switching teams means they really want to stop Trump–and think they have a chance to do so.
The Democratic debate showed Clinton and Sanders have some pretty different opinions about certain policies, especially immigration. But their positions, compared to Trump’s push for deportation, could be received well by minorities in the election.
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Apple Refuses to Unlock iPhones
What you need to know: The Justice Department released a filing this week which said “iDon’t like the answer no”. In case you forgot, this is in regards to Apple’s refusal to assist in the FBI investigation of last year’s San Bernardino shooting by unlocking the iPhone of the gunman. Apple argues that doing so would violate First and Fifth Amendment rights, as well as the All Writs Act. The government said a company like Apple is not above the law, and criticized Apple for making this a bigger deal than they think it is.
Why it matters: This debate has sparked a lot of opinions about personal privacy and public security. Apple thinks this is about more than just this one phone, because the new software they would have to create could be used on other phones. Even more, they fear the Federal Government will set a precedent for exceeding power in other cases. With neither side backing down, the situation with this fruit might get a little sticky.
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