Five Things You Need To Know: March 4

Israeli Prime Minister Delivers Speech to Congress

Israel’s current prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech to Congress yesterday morning about a nuclear deal with Iran. Netanyahu issued a warning against making a nuclear deal with Iran that he believes is ill-advised. President Obama is set to draw Iran into a pact later this month, but depending on how Congress reacts to Netanyahu’s speech, this could occur later. The U.S., European allies, China and Russia have been negotiating with Iran on this deal to ensure that it would take longer to build a nuclear weapon.

Netanyahu argues that Iran cannot be trusted given its history with Israel, and advocates tightening sanctions and demanding that Iran give up all uranium enrichment. Obama has stated that while he acknowledges Netanyahu’s concerns, he believes his solution is unrealistic.

You can read a transcript of the speech here.

Wrestling Team Competes at State

East’s varsity wrestling team competed at the State competition this past week with several victories. Junior Michael Aldrich and senior Marshall Green represented the team in Park City on Saturday. After staying unranked for the entirety of the wrestling season, at State Aldrich finished sixth in his weight class while Green finished fourth in his.

Actor Leonard Nimoy Dies

Eighty-two-year-old actor and author Leonard Nimoy has passed away. Nimoy is most famous for his role in the original “Star Trek” TV series as Mr. Spock, a half-Vulcan, half-human alien. In February, Nimoy revealed that he was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and eventually succumbed to it last Friday, Feb. 27. Nimoy, aside from acting, also wrote two autobiographies, held exhibits for his photography and directed several TV episodes and films.

“House of Cards” Season Three Premiered

The third season of the immensely popular Netflix original series “House of Cards” premiered on Friday. All 13 episodes were released at midnight, allowing Netflix customers to binge-watch all at once. The series follows Democratic House Minority Whip Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and his wife Claire (Robin Wright) as he rises to the top of the political ladder through less-than-moral methods. This new season currently has an 83 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, certifying it as fresh.

Sex Education Bills Spurred by SMSD Middle School Scandal

Hocker Grove Middle School, in the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD), currently figures into two different pieces of legislation in Kansas regarding how the state teaches sex education. One year ago, the district stopped using a poster that described different sexual acts in order to educate students after a parent complained. This has led to two different bills being proposed, one that would require parents to give consent for their children to participate in sex education, and one that would make it easier for teachers to be prosecuted if they presented potentially harmful material to students.

The former is currently awaiting approval in the House, and if made law, it would make Kansas the fourth state to require parental consent before teaching sex education. The latter has also moved to the House, but is criticized for possibly making it easier for some to violate the right to free speech.