The February 9 New Hampshire primary, much like the February 1 Iowa caucus, revealed how frustrated Americans have become with their political leaders. Republican and Democratic voters alike favored candidates generally seen as outside the Washington establishment—candidates promising fundamental change. But do any of them truly have answers to the nation’s problems?

Angela Merkel stated “Time is of the essence,” in appealing to Israelis and Palestinians to push forward in their peace process.  On a recent trip to Europe, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas traveled to Berlin to update leaders on current peace developments with Israel.  “Abbas thanked the German government for its support, both on a material and political level.  The country had helped in the building of Palestinian state institutions and was also in a position to be helpful in the peace process, enjoying good relations with both sides.”

“UK scientists have been given the go-ahead by the fertility regulator to genetically modify human embryos. It is the first time a country has considered the DNA-altering technique in embryos and approved it… But the field is attracting controversy over concerns it is opening the door to designer—or GM—babies… In a world-first last year, scientists in China announced they had carried out gene editing in human embryos to correct a gene that causes a blood disorder” (BBC, February 1, 2016).

“The food shortage in Ethiopia is getting worse. Aid agencies say up to 15 million people could suffer because of the El Niño-induced drought. Officials fear donors are neglecting the country in favor of others… New figures released by humanitarian agencies… show that more than 2.5 million children are expected to drop out of school as a result of the drought, whereas 1.7 million children are in need of nutritional support.

Is North Korea planning a major attack on the United States? “North Korea, which conducted its fourth nuclear test last month and launched a long-range rocket on Saturday, could begin to recover plutonium from a restarted nuclear reactor within weeks…” (Reuters, February 10, 2016).