Brief: Summer Olympics, Tim Tebow, Maradona, MLB no-hitters, Gaza conflict, more

Friday, May 21, 2021

Short talking points

The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo that was postponed due to covid is scheduled for this year to start on Friday, July 23, 2021 and end on Sunday, August 8, 2021. The Summer Games will last for 2 weeks.
The LA Lakers eek out a win against the Golden State Warriors in the play-in tournament to secure their spot as the 7th seed in the West for the 2021 NBA playoffs which start this Saturday. The Warriors now play the Memphis Grizzlies for the number 8 spot.
Tim Tebow officially signs with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a tight end (TE). He will be reunited with Urban Meyer who was his college coach when he was at Florida.
7 doctors have been charged with homicide in the death of Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona. Maradona died late last year in November of 2020 two weeks after undergoing brain surgery.
NY Yankees pitcher Corey Kluber throws the 6th no-hitter in the MLB this season. Amazingly, the 5th no-hitter was pitched just the day before! Typically there is only an average of two no-hitters per season. So far there have already been 6, with most of the season still yet to be played.

Long talking points

Biden calls for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. However, Israel and Netanyahu, the allies of the US who should be more receptive to recommendations from the US, defy his call with airstrikes amid more Hamas rocket fire. Despite this, the US is still holding off the Un from officially calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, using its veto power in the US Security council because this would be a rebuke of the longstanding relationship between the US and Israel.
- Side notes
  - For the past two weeks, Israel and Hamas have been exchanging fire across the border between Gaza and Israel. Israel is sending targeted airstrikes against Hamas targets and Hamas is launching rockets into Israel hitting random civilian buildings.
  - The current outbreak of fighting began with a series of controversial Israeli actions in Jerusalem — including the attempted eviction of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem by right-wing Jewish settlers, an Israeli police raid on Palestinian worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque, and a planned provocative march by far-right Israelis — that prompted Hamas to fire a barrage of rockets at Jerusalem and other major cities in Israel. Israel responded with devastating airstrikes in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
  - There are 5 countries that have veto power in the UN Security Council. Any one of the 5 countries can veto a security resolution put forth by the UN. The 5 countries are the: US, Russia, China, France, and England.
  - So far only 10 Israelis have died whereas 250 Hamas members have died.