President Barack Obama honoring the people whose efforts and sacrifices helped to bring an official end to the war in Iraq. Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq was captured 8 years ago today, that was nine months after the war started.

Yesterday, President Obama and Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki declared a formal end to the war during a press conference in the white house. They also talked about their countries’ being partners in the future. The last US military troops will be leaving Iraq by the end of this year. President Obama promised PM that the US will give Iraq additional economic, diplomatic and military help.

Later in the day, the two leaders were part of the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. They paused for a moment of silence and helped lay a wreath as they paid their respect to the American troops who lost their lives during the war in Iraq.

 

Today Shoutout. Go down to Mr. Breuer’s social studies classes at Milford Junior High School in Milford, Ohio.

In the Us, who has the final authority to decide whether a law is constitutional. Here we go. Is it president, US supreme court, speaker of the house or de department of justice. You’ve got 3 seconds. Go. That final authority belongs to US Supreme Court. Your shoutout.

Last part if US supreme court were considering about immigration law in Arizona. Controversial part of this law requires Arizona police officers to check people’s immigration status when police are investigating other crimes. The supreme court can look whether or not that other parts of the law are constitutional. But the main question is whether Arizona can enforce this law on its own. The federal government says immigration issues are each responsibility. Arizona’s governor says the US government hasn’t done enough. She also argues that her state’s immigration law supports federal rules. 8 of the 9 supreme court justices were here in this case. Justice Alina Kagen excused herself, because she was working for President Obama’s administration when the government first objected to the Arizona’s law. That means this ruling could end in a 4-4 tie. If that happens it would mean Arizona would not enforce its immigration law. But it wouldn’t give any definitive answers about whether or not the law is constitutional. That supreme court hearing will be happen sometime next year so will the US president election. But the campaign season dominated headlines this year, and it just one of the topics that Alina Kagen reveals in her look back on some of the big political stories in 2011.