What Happened This Week – In the U.S., the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether Obama’s health care law, which forces everyone to buy health insurance, is constitutional. Many, including several prominent experts on PolicyMic, predicted the Supreme Court would uphold the law. They argue that since everyone will require health care at some point, the decision to buy insurance is an economic activity that falls within Congress’ authority given the Commerce Clause. But, not so fast. Obama’s team fumbled their case while conservatives made their simple argument very compellingly. The federal government should not force you to buy anything. If it can force you to buy health care, what is stopping it from forcing you to buy a gym membership? Even the liberal Justice Kennedy asked, “The government is saying that the federal government has a duty to tell the individual citizen that it must act?” We’ll have to wait until June for the final decision.
At least three people will split the record-breaking $640 million Mega Millions jackpot. Ticket-holders in Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland each picked the winning number, announced last night. It took 19 drawings to find a winner, and the pot grew by $300 million after Tuesday’s drawing failed to find a winner.
New details emerged in the Trayvon Martin case. It was initially reported that George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman who killed Trayvon, was bleeding from the head with a broken nose from an altercation with Trayvon. But, a police video released later in the week showed Zimmerman without any major injuries. The Florida State attorney will be making a decision on whether or not to press charges against Zimmerman in the next couple of weeks.
In Central America, several presidents have announced that the War on Drugs is a disaster and that it is time to start proposing alternatives, including legalizing the drug trade.
In Italy, Super Mario (Mario Monti), the technocrat who took over the government late last year, threatened to quit if his proposed reforms aren’t passed.
In business, Magic Johnson and a group of investors bought the LA Dodgers for $2.1 billion, a record price for a sports team in the U.S.
Top Stories – New Dartmouth Hazing Allegations Cast Shadow Over President Jim Yong Kim's Ability to Lead World Bank (Luke Decker) – A Dartmouth student reflects on allegations that university President Jim Yong Kim allowed fraternities to run wild on campus.
So Is Obamacare Good or Bad Policy? (Richard Lorenc vs. Rory O'Sullivan)– With the debate on the constitutionality of Obamacare raging, let’s step back and look at whether the bill would do more harm or good.
U.S.-Pakistan Relationship: Maybe It's Time to Break Up (National Security Expert Laura Hughes) – With the U.S.-Pakistani relationship in tatters despite recent U.S. concessions on drone strikes, is it finally necessary to acknowledge that this friendship is virtually over?
What We’re Reading – How to raise money on Kickstarter (ze frank); KFC’s big game of chicken (Businessweek); Hope 2.0: Inside Obama’s reelection campaign (Rolling Stone).
