ORBITAL - News

March 19th, 2050

American Headlines:
UNEMPLOYMENT RIOTS ACROSS SOUTH
Throughout many of the Southern states, the unemployed have started protests ranging from 20 participants to, in Atlanta, over 25,000.  Most of the protests have remained peaceful, but many spiraled out of control and took to smashing driverless vehicles, of with hundreds are being reported destroyed.  In a couple towns, city halls and sheriff's departments were burned.  The total dead or wounded in the riots is unknown.  The National Guard has been deployed to help keep the rioters under control.  The Southern states, facing the highest unemployment rates in the nation of nearly 70% out of work or underworked, have long since been a hotbed of unrest, and the Hurricane Debby refugees have pushed many poorer communities over the brink.

NORTHERN IRELAND DEFECTS (AGAIN)
For the third time in the past three years, the Independent Catholic Parliament--recognized by forty nations as a terrorist organization--has voted for Northern Ireland to secede from Great Britain and join Ireland.  Great Britain has once again shut down all entry in or out of Northern Ireland as Irish, British, and Scottish governments collaborate on a solution.

Orbital Headline:
ISA SHIP MYSTERIOUSLY DESTROYED
The ISA transport ship "Murti" was found spiraling towards Earth orbit and unresponsive to hails.  Rescue operations retrieved the vehicle, which was found to have taken severe damage with all hands aboard either dead or missing.  Indian, American, and Chinese forensics teams are currently investigating the cause of the accident. China has claimed that this is an enemy military action.

Op-ed
THE KIDNEY CRISIS
Every year, a new all-time record high is set:  people on dialysis.  Compared to 20 years ago, the number of people with severe renal failure has increased by nearly and order of magnitude.  Most of these people, of course, are in the cash-strapped and unemployed South and West of America.  Special "kidney hospitals" have been set up, with hundreds and hundreds of dialysis machines.  What can we do about it?  The damage is largely caused by insufficient hydration and high temperatures, but with the rising price of fresh water...
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March 13th, 2050

American Headlines:
NEW ORLEANS CRISIS: 25,000 ESTIMATED DEAD
	The Louisiana city, embroiled in Hurricane Debby, is being completely devastated by the storm damage.  Contact has been lost for tens of thousands of civilians still unevacuated.  The National Guard has been running minimal rescue operations, but are unable to strike for the center of the city due to the storm intensity.  Across Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana, an estimated 25,000 are dead, but the last official count placed it at 10,566 mortalities.

P.A.C.T. MEXICAN INCURSION STOPPED
	An incursion by the South & Central American-based Pan American Coalition Treaty into Mexico has been stymied by counteractions by the US Marines.  Mexico, the last Central or South American nation to not be assimilated by P.A.C.T. has been coordinating with US military forces in order to rebuff northern advances by the terrorist organization.  The Argentinian military-in-exile, also working with the US, has occupied Haiti in order to stave off an amphibious assault.  P.A.C.T. generals have requested to engage in ceasefire negotiations with US diplomats.

Orbital Headline:
VIRGIN GALACTIC ANNOUNCES NEW SATURNINIAN MISSION
	The first extra-belt mission manned by a corporation instead of a nation has been announced by Virgin Galactic.  A spokewoman for the company said earlier today that Virgin Galactic is planning a manned mission to the Saturninian moon Titan by the year 2060.  The round trip is expected to take roughly two years, with a launch in early 2059.  Although much of the groundwork for a manned Saturninian mission has been laid out by Virgin Galactic with the help of NASA grants, the bulk of mechanical construction will take place this decade.

Op-ed
KOREA'S UNIFICATION ONLY WEAKENS USA SUPREMACY
	Despite the push by American for Korean unification after the unexpected death of Kim Jong Un, and the hopefulness and success of the early initial attempts, the Byzantine quagmire that we've been stuck in for the past two decades has only sapped South Korean strength.  We thought we'd be getting rid of China's buffer state, but instead we've just been losing our foothold in East Asia, especially after Philippine annexation.  So far, unification has cost the lives of over a hundred diplomats and politician to assassination--many of them American!--with nothing to see for it but a ruined economy, tanking quality of life, and military left underfunded, undertrained, and not kept up with the technological revolution.  In fact, Korea itself has...
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March 12th, 2050

American Headlines:
HURRICANE DEBBY STRIKES NEW ORLEANS
	Hurricane Debby, the fourth hurricane in the past five weeks, has passed through the remains of Florida and is striking New Orleans.  The general evacuation was estimated to be roughly 90% complete.  The National Guard had already mobilized for rescue operations, but currently are unable to enter the area due to the severity of the storm.  The administration has announced that ration cards for several Southern states will be limited during the Orleans refugee crisis.

MIDTERM ELECTIONEERING EXPOSED
	Several politicians and businessmen from Maryland have been arrested on several racketeering charges including extortion, bribery, and obstruction of justice.  A special committee appointed by Congress is currently investigating the "Maryland Cabal" for connections to Chinese foreign infiltration and funding.

Orbital Headline:
SPACE CITY OPENING A NEW PAD
    The Pacific Ocean city in Kiribati is inaugurating its newest launch pad next week.  The new pad, among the largest ever built, will enable an additional increase of an estimated 150 permanent residents in space per year due to the supplies and personnel that are carried into orbit, as well as full facilities for rocket recapture.  Space City will be leasing launchpad usage to both NASA and CNSA, as well as smaller timeslots to a number of different stellar corporations, included Virgin Galactic, Made In Space, and Planetary Resources.

Op-ed
FORTY DAYS: FACT OR FICTION?
    After decades of thinking that the lapping waves will gently subsume our coasts being thrown out by the shock of the Floridan Forty Days, it's tempting to hold up that case as evidence that other coastal losses will proceed in a similarly catastrophic fashion due to the manmade levee.  After all, Space City is well below sea level at this point - if a typhoon takes it out, it'll all go at once.  You can point to any number of places across the world where we've erected dykes to literally hold back the tide.  But not everything is going to end the way Florida did.  In fact, if you take a look at Richer & Hart's analysis of the 2044-2048 hurricane patterns, you see...
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