TopicalThe Week on Twitter

The Week on Twitter | Kendrick, Orkambi, & Sean Spicer

By Jade Hayden

This week, Sean Spicer said some things about Hitler, Kendrick Lamar released an album, and new drugs are set to become available for people living with cystic fibrosis. It was also National Pet Day, so that was nice.

#SeanSpicer claims #AdolfHitler never used chemical weapons

On Tuesday during a press briefing at the White House, Sean Spicer told journalists that Adolf Hitler never used chemical weapons during World War 2. Trump’s press secretary made the claim in relation to the recent toxic gas attack on Syrians in the region of Idlib that killed over 80 civilians.

During the briefing, Spicer directly compared Hitler with Syrian president Assad, saying that: “We didn’t use chemical weapons in World War 2. You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.”

Journalists in the room were quick to refute Spicer’s claim, stating that Hitler did use chemical weapons to kill six million jews during the war. Spicer took to CNN to apologise for his “inappropriate and insensitive” comment later that day. He admitted that he should not have compared the Syrian attack to the Holocaust, and that it had been a mistake to do so.

#Orkambi drug to be allowed for people with cystic fibrosis

On Tuesday evening it was reported that a new drug will be provided for people living with cystic fibrosis. After much debate with drug company Vertex, the HSE have finally reached a deal where Orkambi will be provided for sufferers of the condition. The company were originally looking for over €150,000 per patient.

This comes after Hazel Robinson camped outside the Dáil this week to protest the lack of the drug’s availability. Robinson’s 14 year old daughter Gypsy Ann, a sufferer of cystic fibrosis, was only given Orkambi on “compassionate grounds,” when in reality the drug has been proven to allow sufferers to manage the condition better.

Orkambi will be available for patients over 12 years old from the start of May.

https://twitter.com/PierceKennedy/status/851911597140398081

#KendrickLamar drops ‘DAMN.’

On Friday, Kendrick Lamar gave us all some new music and everyone was fairly delighted. ‘DAMN.’, Lamar’s fourth studio album, features the likes of Rihanna, Zacari, and eh, U2.

Friday morning saw the people of Ireland breathe a collective sigh of relief when it was confirmed that XXX – the track that’s got U2 on it – is actually, yeah, pretty decent, good, or even not at all ruined by Bono so thank god.

It was also revealed that the illusive ‘J.Blake’ who co-wrote one of Lamar’s new tracks is none other than James Blake. This made people who enjoy Kendrick Lamar and James Blake very happy, because James Blake is good at writing songs, and stuff.

https://twitter.com/UnaMullally/status/852788015134941184

America celebrates #NationalPetDay 

Tuesday marked National Pet Day – an American day of recognition for all the pets in the country that might need a little bit more attention than they’ve been getting. These could be sick pets, abandoned pets, or pets that need adopting.

Pets here in Ireland are also in need of some extra love too. According to the DSPCA, holidays like Easter and Christmas see more adoptions, but follow with more animal surrenders as people realise that pets need actual looking after, and aren’t just a novelty.

In the #NationalPetDay tag, people shared lots of pics of their pets. There was many dogs. It was good.

https://twitter.com/ChrissyCostanza/status/852031928685416449

Featured image source

Jade Hayden 144 posts 0 comments

Jade Hayden has an MA in journalism, a degree in English, and a house rabbit who sleeps in her bed sometimes. You'll often find her wearing glasses, fixing her fringe, and complaining about the amount of time she spends on public transport. Jade is also the editor of HeadStuff's topical section, and she'd love if you sent your submissions over to [email protected].

You might also like More from author