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This R&D recaps the resignation of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber. Kitzhaber announced his resignation last week after revelations that his long-time fiance, Cylvia Hayes, received sizable payments from environmental groups. Hayes was an unpaid “energy adviser” to Kitzhaber and Oregon’s attorney general has launched a corruption investigation into the matter. Kitzhaber was a relatively popular governor, having won re-election to a fourth term in 2014. His resignation is effective as of today.
Gov. John Kitzhaber of Oregon and His Fiancée Walked Tangled Path to Exit http://t.co/gJIs99VR4Y
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 16, 2015
Report: Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber to resign http://t.co/GbbApwMBRy | AP Photo pic.twitter.com/vCu8rRn6rQ
— POLITICO (@politico) February 14, 2015
Read Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber’s full resignation letter here: http://t.co/F2uQzst7rj
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) February 13, 2015
Last year, American officials, including President Barack Obama, cited Yemen as an example of a nation that was successfully fighting terrorism. However, 2015 has not been kind to the Arab world’s poorest country. Last month, Shi’ite Houthi rebels kidnapped the Yemeni President’s chief of staff and seized the presidential palace. This led to the resignation of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has now been placed under house arrest. The nation’s parliament has also been dissolved and the United Nations warns of that a civil war could be looming because the Houthis are a minority that cannot command allegiance from other areas of the country. Anti-terrorism experts warn that the country’s Sunni majority may swear allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in an attempt to overthrow the Houthis. This could complicate American efforts to suppress AQAP, which has targeted Western airliners in recent years and trained one of the attackers of 
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The Stanford National Invitational illustrated how different variations of extemp can produce very different results as only one competitor made the final round of International and United States Extemp last weekend in Palo Alto, California. That competitor, Ethan Hu of Leland High School (CA), took fourth in United States Extemp and sixth in International Extemp, and as a result of his finishes he will receive the forty National Points Race points awarded for the tournament. Stanford is the last of fifth tier tournaments in this year’s National Points Race.
Along with Montana, Maine became one of the first states to hold its state championship tournament when it hosted the state’s best extemporaneous speakers at Lewistown High School last weekend. This year’s Maine Forensic Association (MFA) crowned Abby Westberry of Maranacook Community High School as its state champion. The MFA State Tournament is cumulative and Westberry staged a comeback in the final round, going straight one’s among the three finals judges and securing a three rank margin of victory over Desmond Molloy of Falmouth High School.
The three week Minnesota TOC swing ended last weekend in Apple Valley, Minnesota at the Apple Valley Minneapple Speech Tournament. Alex Fenner of East Ridge High School (MN) emerged as the tournament champion, defeating Alex Baker of Eastview High School (MN) by five ranks in the final round. Jacob Thompson of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA) took third place.
In 1998, British doctor Andrew Wakefield published a study in the British medical journal The Lancet that linked the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism. Wakefield’s finding accelerated the growth of the anti-vaccine movement, which denies that vaccines are medically beneficial and claims that they only bolster big pharmaceutical companies. Despite the discrediting of Wakefield’s findings in 2010, suspicions of the MMR vaccine have taken on a life of their own and certain pockets of the United States have large groups of families who have chosen not to vaccinate their children. As a result, measles, which health authorities claimed had been eradicated in the United States in 2000, is making a comeback. In January, an unvaccinated woman at Disneyland in California caused measles to spread to more than one hundred people, and fears of widespread disease outbreaks due to people not being vaccinated has caused a political firestorm. As a result, extempers should be prepared to talk about the vaccination issue in future rounds.
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