Look back: National news brief May 6–12

May 8

President Donald Trump retreats from the Iran nuclear deal, triggering criticism and fear worldwide and destabilizing Iran’s fragile relationships with world powers.

• President Trump signed a presidential memorandum to pull the U.S. out of its Iran nuclear deal, also officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
• In 2015, former President Barack Obama signed the Iran nuclear deal along with four world powers: Germany, United Kingdom, Russia and China.
• For the safety of all countries, the intention was to curb Iran’s enrichment and research development of uranium and plutonium — ingredients for a possible nuclear weapon development program. This was done by relieving international oil and economy sanctions that were imposed on Iran for years. Iran’s economy was devastated by the sanctions. The deal was supposed to help them regain momentum.
• According to Fox News, “In October 2017, Trump decertified the nuclear deal under U.S. law, saying the sanctions relief was disproportionate to Iran’s nuclear concessions.” During his 2016 presidential campaign, he contended the sanctions made Iran a “world power.” In a town hall event Trump said, “If you take a look at Iran from four, five years ago they were dying. They had sanctions, they were being choked to death and they were dying. They weren’t even going to be much of a threat.”
• In April 2017, Trump reported Tehran was complying with the Iran deal.
• As the U.S. pulls out from the Iran deal, Trump’s administration will reimpose all sanctions that were in effect before the six world powers signed the deal. The sanctions include precious metals, banknotes, shipping, the automotive sector and petroleum.
• In 2017, Iran warned that pulling out of the deal would be to, “pay for a high price for something that will be useless to them,” amidst Trump’s threats of exiting the deal.
• Some also condemned Trump’s decision and expressed concerns for a lash back from Iran. Trump’s decision might also undermine the legitimacy of a nuclear deal signed between the U.S. and North Korea — if the U.S. can turn its back from a deal that cost and decreased Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons, why can’t the U.S. also turn its back from the North Korea deal?
• France, Germany, UK, and China all stated they will adhere to the Iran deal.
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded to Trump’s decision negatively and expressed distrust of the deal. He called the deal as “just an excuse” by the U.S. to dominate Iran, and that its “real reason” in signing up to the 2015 agreement is to make Iran submit to U.S. demands. Khamenei said, “just as Iran does not trust the US, it also does not trust the France, Germany and the UK in keeping the deal. Without receiving a strong guarantee from these three European countries, we won’t stick to the nuclear agreement.”

May 10

One of The Met’s biggest fashion exhibition in history opens in conjunction with the 2018 Met Gala.

• Opened by the highly anticipated annual fashion event — The Met Gala — the exhibition “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” graced The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York last Thursday.
• The exhibition showcased fashion pieces and collections inspired by the Catholic Church. Some pieces are shown alongside artworks that relate directly to the garments.
• Dolce and Gabbana’s glittering dress, printed with Monreale’s famous “Byzantine” from their Fall 2013 Ready-to-Wear collection is juxtaposed with a marble and glass Byzantine mosaic.
• Most featured designers were raised Catholic or were under the Catholic influence. For example, Cristóbal Balenciaga was said to be a devoted Catholic who went to church single day, and Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, who was raised in an orphange ran by nuns.
• The Vatican lent more than 40 liturgical pieces to the collection and, as part of the lending condition, are on view separately from the fashion pieces in the Anna Wintour Costume Center.
• Bolton said, “the exhibition was planned in the form of a procession.”
• The collection in The Met Fifth Avenue has been arranged as a journey from the entrance of a church into the heavenly realm, showcasing clothes inspired by bishops popes, angels and saints. The “pilgrimage” then continues up to The Met cloisters and showcases pieces inspired by the monastic order — such fashion that incorporated imagery of plants grown in monastery gardens.

May 10

Starbucks bathrooms now free for all people to use

• Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz announced bathrooms in all Starbucks stores will be open and free for everyone, customer or not.
• The announcement came after a video of two black men being arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks store went viral on social media.
• Two black men asked to use the bathroom in the store, to which two employees told them they couldn’t because the bathrooms are only for paying customers. The employees asked the men to leave and they refused. The employees then called the police alleging disturbance and trespassing. The police came and arrested them. The incident was recorded by a Starbucks customer and put online.
• After the video went viral, the two employees were accused of racism, prompting Starbucks to start mandatory implicit racial bias training for all employees.
• Schultz said, “We don’t want to become a public bathroom, but we’re going to make the right decision 100 percent of the time and give people the key,” he continued, “because we don’t want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom because you are ‘less than.’ We want you to be ‘more than.’”