In this edition of the National News Roundup, a popular sport is taken out of the Olympics, two companies merge to form a mega-airline and a natural disaster devastates communities in Mississippi.

Passengers stranded on Carnival cruise ship for days
Over 4,000 passengers and crew members were stranded on the cruise ship, which floated in the Gulf of Mexico after a fuel leak caused a fire on board. The lack of electricity caused problems with the sewage system and passengers were forced to use plastic buckets and bags instead of toilets. The cruise ship became the center of the national media attention for a day as it drifted into port, but some criticized CNN in particular for blowing the story out of proportion. Read more here.

International Olympic Committee removes wrestling from 2020 Olympics
Although wrestlers will still have a chance to compete in the 2016 Olympic games in Brazil, the community is outraged at the decision. In the same vote, the IOC decided to keep the Modern Pentathlon, a move that is now highly criticized. Read more here.

Obama introduces new initiatives, speaks about gun-control in the SOTU
President Obama highlighted a broad range of goals for his next term in his annual address, and included a passionate argument for gun control, pointing to members in the audience who had been affected by gun violence. Obama also introduced College Scorecard, a tool on the White House website designed to give information to prospective students about an institution’s value. Read more here.

Tornadoes strike Southern Mississippi and Alabama, cause widespread damage
According to the National Weather Service, one tornado reached three-quarters of a mile in diameter at times. In his State of the Union, President Obama spoke about climate change and the increasing frequency of natural disasters that strike the nation each year. Read more here.

American Airlines, US Airways to merge, become nation’s largest airline
The merge, which still has to be approved by the Justice Department’s antitrust division, is controversial due to the size of the new company. At Reagan National Airport, American Airlines will control sixty percent of all flights. Nationwide, four carriers, American, United, Delta and Southwest Airlines, would control seventy percent of the market. Read more here.