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Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of August 4th-10th.
Retaliating for Western sanctions, Putin bans imports of food from U.S. and European Union http://t.co/3G9MItmNht
— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) August 7, 2014
Long-term aims for #Israel and #Hamas appear irreconcilable, suggesting neither will get what they want at Cairo: http://t.co/n0WzBR8wQs
— CS Monitor (@csmonitor) August 7, 2014
How these religious people found a way to opt out of #Obamacare – http://t.co/qr0HJx5dq5
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) August 7, 2014
Today’s R&D covers the future of CIA Director John Brennan. Brennan’s credibility has been questioned after the CIA was found to have spied on computers used by the staffers of the Senate Intelligence Committee. President Barack Obama has backed Brennan, but there are demands for heads to roll at the agency for spying on the U.S. government.
Today’s R&D provides resources on the Egyptian-Israeli relationship. Egypt and Israel, former enemies in the Middle East, signed the Camp David Accords in 1979 and have been at peace ever since. Egypt is one of only two countries in the Middle East that has an existing peace treaty with the Israelis. Israeli officials view Egyptian cooperation as important to stopping the smuggling of arms into the Gaza Strip. Egypt is viewed as one of the primary negotiators of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
Of all of the known deadly pathogens in the world, few are as scary as the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). With a 90% fatality rate, the hemorrhagic fever has spread to three West Africa countries since it was discovered in Guinea in February. To date, the virus has infected more than 1,400 people and killed more than 700. The United States, the European Union, and Asian nations are watching the Ebola outbreak closely and have ramped up security at their international airports to deal with the contagion. Due to the fact that medical experts believe it will take several months to bring this recent Ebola outbreak under control, extempers should be prepared to talk about it in the first few months of the 2014-2015 season.
Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany 
Today, Extemp Central kicks off the 2014-2015 season by providing an R&D of top news stories for the week of July 28th-August 3rd. On each Friday of the 2014-2015 season Extemp Central will provide an R&D of links to top stories that extempers may find useful as they head to their next tournament. Unlike topic-centric R&Ds, which will be released on Wednesday and Thursday, the Friday R&Ds will link to a hodgepodge of stories about relevant domestic and international issues.