Welcome back to Robertson’s Reportings! On February 15, President Trump declared a state of emergency to receive funding for the border wall. President Trump did this since it allowed him to bypass Congress and receive funding from the Pentagon and other budgets. Sixteen states sued the president for doing this since the act reportedly “violates the Constitution.” They also claim that the declaration is unnecessary and that there is no border crisis. Another, less controversial, state of emergency was declared by Governor Jay Inslee in Washington because of a measles outbreak.

Actor Jussie Smollett has been all over the news after setting up an attack on himself. Smollett paid two African American brothers wearing handmade Make America Great Again hats thousands of dollars to act as if they had attacked him, threw a noose over him that he wore until the police arrived at the scene, poured an unidentified substance over him, and shouted racist and homophobic insults. Police say that Smollett staged this because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.” He was later arrested for filing a false police report. Some are still unsure as to whether he really staged the attack, but, as more research goes into it, police are finding more clues about him not being the victim but being the mind behind it all.

On February 21, Nicolas Maduro caused the citizens of Venezuela another reason to worry. Maduro, the controversial president, closed the border to Brazil until further notice. Citizens that attempted to keep a small part of the border open were fired at by Venezuelan soldiers, and one citizen was reported to have died while twelve remained alive but injured. Maduro closed the border Thursday, just a few days after aid was sent to the citizens since the conditions grow worse by the day. He wanted to show that foreign aid is not necessary and claimed that the United States was attempting to decrease the Venezuelan government’s power.

The Silent Sam statue from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill was torn down in August and the pedestal that the statue stood on was taken away only weeks ago, but protests against the people that got rid of the statue have broken out. Heirs to Confederacy, a group of activists, are planning on raising a Confederate flag where Silent Sam stood and in other parts of the campus on Saturday. Others have protested in the past few months when this controversy originally broke out. In November, a plane flew above the campus with a sign that said, “Restore Silent Same Now.” Kevin Stone, North Carolina Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, was responsible for this action. He flew the plane on the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, also Veterans Day, to show that all veterans should be recognized and honored. See you next time on Robertson’s Reportings, coverage you can count on!