TODAY'S TALKING POINTS 12-08-15

TODAY'S TALKING POINTS

The Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to an assault weapons ban. This means the top court is basically leaving the decision to ban the arms — which have been used in mass shootings — up to local lawmakers.

In the wake of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, FBI officials said Monday that the suspected shooters “were radicalized and have been for quite some time.” Hours later, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump released a statement that called for “a total and complete shutdown” of immigration by Muslims into the U.S. “until our country’s representatives can figure out what’s going on.”

Greenhouse gas pollution may have actually dropped in 2015. New data released this week shows a projected .6% decline that would mark the first plunge in pollutants in a year when the economy wasn’t in a recession. It’s a huge deal since researchers say it could mean the efforts of more countries (read: China) to go green and invest in renewable energy are paying off.

China, the world’s biggest polluter, isn't celebrating just yet. For the first time in history, Beijing issued a “red alert” — the highest level possible — sincemore than three days of dense smog are expected. We’ve seen the effects of climate change on Earth, but these astronauts made a video to give lawmakers a whole new perspective. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders — who just won the online readers’ poll for Time’s person of the year — released a bold plan to tackle climate change that would slash carbon emissions 40% from 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050.

Shattering stereotypes, the number of incarcerated veterans dropped. The Bureau of Justice Statistics released a report that shows that in 2011-2012, veterans made up 8% of inmates in local jails and federal prisons compared with about 24% in 1978. The continuously falling figure points to evidence that soldiers returning home aren’t more crime-prone than anyone else.

Food deserts aren’t getting as much help as major grocers promised. In 2011, a group of food retailers vowed to open 1,500 grocery stores in food-insecure areas by 2016, but an Associated Press investigation revealed that big corporations have only built around 250 new supermarkets in neighborhoods identified as food deserts.

America has a complex problem: 45 million residents don’t have enough to eat, yet the country wastes about 40% of food. Meet 20-year-old Maria Rose Belding, who founded an online food pantry network that minimizes waste and makes food sharing way more efficient.