February saw the release of many new movies including What Men Want which follows Taraji P. Henson’s character after she gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts. As of February 27th, this film stands at a 45% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Another new release, Isn’t It Romantic stars Rebel Wilson and Liam Hemsworth. Rebel Wilson’s character hits her head and suddenly her life becomes a romantic comedy. This film earned a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes.

In political news, weeks after president Trump declared a state of emergency at the border, a resolution passed to overturn the emergency declaration after a vote in the United States House of Representatives on February 26, 2019. According to CNN, the vote concluded at 245 to 182. Next, the resolution goes to the Senate to vote. CNN reporters noted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expects the vote to commence before the next senate recess on March 18.

In entertainment news, the Oscars commenced on Sunday, February 24 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Notable wins include Best Costume Design for Black Panther, Best Actress to Olivia Colman for The Favourite, Best Actor to Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody, and Best Original Song for Shallow from A Star Is Born.

The new year kicked off with a boom with January proving 2019 already an eventful year. President Trump called for a government shutdown in an attempt to get funding for a US-Mexican border wall, unsuccessfully when he reopened the government in late January with none of his demands met. The 35 day US Government shutdown, from December 22 of 2018 through January 25 of 2019, caused nation-wide concern for over 800,000 government employees. Ending 2018 in the government shutdown took a toll on US citizens and their faith in how the Trump Administration runs the country.

If the debate on funding for the border wall remains stagnant, President Trump threatened to declare a national security threat to get the money needed for the border wall if he and congress fail to find a compromise.. Through all of this the US economy projected to lose at 11 billion during the shutdown. They set a deadline for the new deal for Friday, February 15th. However, Congress and Trump met an agreement on Tuesday, February 12th, according to the BBC “aides familiar with the negotiations say it includes $1.375bn in funding for 55 miles of new fencing at the border, a small part of the more than 2,000 miles promised by the president.” The deal needs approval by Congress and the President.

On February 3rd, 2019 the NFL Super Bowl played out in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The infamous New England Patriots, trying for their 6th Super Bowl win, played the Los Angeles Rams and won 13 to 3. That score breaks the record for the lowest scoring super bowl in history. The halftime show either came out a success or huge failure depending on who reports it. The death of Spongebob creator in November, 2018 caused a rush of fans pleading with the Super Bowl to play Sweet Victory - featured in the episode “Band Geeks”, during the halftime show. Fans created a petition which reached over 1 million signatures. Although the song made it into the performance, fans claimed disappointment at the fact it introduced “Sicko Mode” by Travis Scott.

In other news, award show season commenced on January 6th with the Golden Globe Awards, followed shortly by the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Screen Actors’ Guild. On Sunday February 10th, 2019 both the 61st annual Grammys and the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) took place. A notable event from both comes from Lady Gaga and Bradly Cooper stars of the oscar nominated movie A Star is Born. People became confused when only Lady Gaga attended the Grammy's to accept the award for Shallow, however, Bradley Cooper was at the BAFTA's accepting the award for Best Film Music. This leads to the Academy Awards set for February 24th. Happy 2019!