National:

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) is under fire after a racist photograph of him surfaced on Feb. 1. The photo, from his 1984 medical school yearbook, depicts a man dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member and another man in blackface, one of them allegedly being Northam. While Northam initially apologized for the photo, he now denies being in the photo. Northam plans to hire a private investigator to disprove his participation in the photo so that he can remain in office.

During the State of the Union Address on Feb. 5, U.S. President Donald Trump requested that Congress dismiss “the politics of revenge, resistance, and retribution.” While Trump continues to prioritize immigration control and construction of a border wall, he explained that he will address several other issues during the second half of his term. These include negotiating a fair trade deal with China, lowering drug prices, eradicating HIV, battling childhood cancer, and holding a two-day summit with Kim Jong-Un in Vietnam.

International:

Psychiatrist and anti-nuclear activist Dr. Alexandra Arce von Herold accused Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of Costa Rica Óscar Arias Sánchez of sexually assaulting her four years ago. Arce von Herold has recently filed a criminal complaint regarding the matter. Sánchez has since denied the accusations.

General Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army has recently taken control of the largest oil field in Libya. A group of armed men shut down the field in December to request better living conditions. Now that Haftar’s forces have seized this essential economic resource, it is likely that oil production will restart.