Weekly News Briefs: Sept. 12

Local

Free Breeze Cards for Falcons’ Games

Sports fans who ride MARTA are in for a treat. The transit system announced it will be handing out free round-trip Breeze cards for two of the Atlanta Falcons games this season. On the games of Sept. 11 and Oct. 2 between the hours of 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., fans will be able to ride MARTA free of charge. The tickets can be obtained at the H.E. Holmes, College Park, Lindbergh, and Indian Creek MARTA stations according to WGCL-ATLANTA.

 

National

U.S. House passes bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia

A potentially controversial bill has been passed by the U.S. legislature regarding the relatives of 9/11 victims. According to CNN , the House of Representatives passed the bill which will allow the families of those affected by 9/11 to be able to sue Saudi Arabia for their alleged involvement in the tragic events that took the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans. The bill had been passed by the Senate in May, but a veto threat from the Obama administration slowed down the bill’s progress. The President said that the passing of the bill could ruin the United States’ relations with a powerful ally in the Middle East. President Obama is now tasked with either vetoing or approving the bill after the 15th anniversary to the day.

 

Global

Fears of North Korea launching an effective nuclear missile continue to rise

According to CNN, South Korea reported that the nuclear test conducted by North Korea on Friday is the most powerful of the five tests they’ve had to date. The blast was equivalent to 10 kilotons of TNT, and the bordering country reported of feeling tremors after the explosion. The blast was North Korea’s most powerful thus far, and only days after it launched another missile that landed in Japan’s Air Defense Identification Zone. North Korea said the test came as proof that they can put a small enough warhead on a missile. Other nations, including the U.S. have a growing concern that North Korea will continue to improve the technology and could potentially trigger a war.