TODAY'S TALKING POINTS 10-26-15

TODAY'S TALKING POINTS

A powerful earthquake rocked Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey reported had a magnitude of 7.5, hit the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, but tremors could be felt hundreds of miles away. There have been reports of collapsed buildings and casualties, but the true extent of the damage is still unknown.

EU leaders agreed to create more shelter for refugees. Winter is coming and that's bad news for asylum seekers. During an emergency meeting, European and Balkan officials from 11 countries agreed to work together toslow the flow of migrants, while providing shelter to an additional 100,000.

A crash at Oklahoma State University killed four and injured 47. Twenty-five-year-old Adacia Avery Chambers reportedly plowed into throngs of people who were watching the school’s homecoming parade Saturday. Spectators who described the scene said “people were flying 30 feet into the air like ragdolls.” Three adults and a 2-year-old were among those killed. Chambers, who was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, was charged with four counts of murder Sunday.

The Obama administration announced bold new testing guidelines.Kids and parents collectively exhaled when President Barack Obama saidSaturday students should only take standardized “tests that are worth taking,” and mandated that they spend no more than 2% of classroom time filling in Scantron bubbles. His announcement came the same day the Council of the Great City Schools revealed that students spend a whopping 20 to 25 hours per school year taking standardized tests.

A new study confirmed there are disproportionate risks of driving while black. The New York Times took a deep dive into Greensboro, North Carolina’s, arrest data and found officers were not only more likely to stop black drivers more frequently, but black drivers were also searched at twice the rate of white drivers, despite the fact that officers found weapons and drugs more often when the driver was white (paywall). The investigation comes during a national debate about racial bias among police.