Local

Know: A Belleville High School graduate died at Fugitive Beach in Rolla, Missouri, June 10.

Inform: Around 3 p.m., Kalon D. Green traveled down the waterslide at the tourist stop and did not resurface. The lifeguards located him and attempted CPR. EMS then transported Green to Phelps County Medical Center where he was pronounced dead from drowning.

Care: Fugitive Beach is a summer attraction for families and adults of all ages. With a 60-foot slide, three different platforms for “cliff jumping” and rental tubes available, the park entices both daredevils and people seeking leisure. With the heat increasing as summer proceeds more people search for a place to cool down. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, there were 68 drowning-related deaths in the state of Missouri, 2015. Every pool facility, big or small, present risks. Be smart this summer and ensure that kids, and adults, know how to be safe in the water.

National

Know: President Donald Trump finds himself the target of a lawsuit for allegedly violating the Constitution, June 12.

Inform: Attorneys general for the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland accused Trump of violating the anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution by accepting millions in payments and benefits from foreign governments since moving in the White House.

The lawsuit says Trump’s ownership of a global business empire has caused the president to be “deeply enmeshed with a legion of foreign and domestic government actors” and believes he has undermined the integrity of the U.S. political system.

According to the The Washington Post, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh claim that Trump has “broken many promises by failing to separate his public duties and private business interests.”

NBC News reported that Karl Racine said at a press conference in Washington, “Never in the history of this country have we had a president with these kinds of extensive business entanglements.”

Although, Trump passed control of his empire to his sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., along with his longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg by selling his assets and transferring the proceeds into a trust, Jan. 9. They will obtain full authority of the Trump Organization for the duration of his presidency.

Care: According to Boston Globe, Trump has been sued more than 134 times in federal court since he was sworn into office; which is nearly three times the number of his three predecessors in their early months combined. With the rising number of lawsuits regarding issues in both his private and presidential life, Trump is facing a particular lawsuit concerning the “defaming” of Summer Zervos.

According to the March 27 court filing regarding Zervos, “President Trump therefore requests that this Court follow the procedure followed in Clinton v. Jones — which the U.S. Supreme Court approved — to first adjudicate the threshold issue of Presidential immunity before reaching motions to dismiss Zervos’s $2,914 defamation case on other grounds.” Using the supremacy clause in the U.S. Constitution, Trump is requesting to deal with this lawsuit after his presidency so it may not interfere with his duties.

Although, the lawsuit filed by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh may not be able to be pushed off. According to USA Today, “It [the attorneys general success] rests on the ‘Emoluments Clause,’ an 18th century provision in the Constitution that was aimed at keeping European royalty from corrupting American ambassadors with expensive gifts, and has never been fully tested in court.” Trump is allowing his businesses to accept payments from foreign governments. The attorneys general claim that he is violating the emoluments clause because he accepted the payments from foreign officials without seeking congressional approval.

The Trump Administration has accumulated a record-breaking amount of lawsuits this point in his presidency. What does this tell us as citizens under the leadership of this peculiar administration?

International

Know: The U.S. military conducted its first offensive airstrike under the new authorities given by the Trump administration, June 11.

Inform: Dana White, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, released the following statement, June 11. “On June 11, at approximately 2 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the Department of Defense conducted a strike operation against al-Shabaab in Somalia.”

The U.S. Africa Command, assessed the strike killed eight al-Shabaab militants were and stated that the militants have gained complete control over southern and central Somalia. Africom cites that the terror organization has used this area to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid and to shelter other radical terrorists.

“We remain committed to working with our Somali partners and allies to systematically dismantle al-Shabaab, and help achieve stability and security throughout the region,” White said.

Care: According to the New York Times, Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed stated that “such attacks would disrupt the group’s ability to conduct new attacks within Somalia.”

But who is al-Shabaab?

“Al-Shabaab, or ‘the Youth,’ is an al-Qaeda-linked militant group and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization fighting for the creation of a fundamentalist Islamic state in Somalia,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

A terrorist organization can attack at any time. Be prepared: know the signs and know how to find protection.