(ANTIMEDIA) — Though according to a recent poll a majority of the American public believes the Russia investigations are hurting the country, another media feeding frenzy began over the weekend when it was revealed that an indictment would be issued Monday. Sure enough, on Monday, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates were charged with a slew of different offenses, and corporate media heads have been spinning.

Considering the FBI is corrupt, the Trump administration is corrupt, and the whole of the federal government has failed to contain this corruption, the Russia story amounts to more of the same distractions. Here are five other relevant developments the media is failing to adequately cover:

1) Congress moves forward with Trump’s military-industrial appointments to the Pentagon:

At this point, it is well-known that Trump has done little to drain the swamp, instead filling it with a variety of special interests. This week, Congress will move to approve more swamp appointments, including Mark Esper, a Raytheon lobbyist, for Army Secretary, John Rood, a senior executive at Lockheed Martin, for undersecretary of defense policy, Joseph Kernan, who works as senior vice president of corporate development for SAP National Security Services, which spent over $2 million on lobbying in 2017 and has also been awarded multi-million dollar contracts from the Department of Defense in recent years. Another appointee, Robert Wilkie, made a name for himself during the Bush administration while working as an attorney for the Pentagon, where he drafted guidelines to broadly restrict testimony to congressional committees. Trump has chosen him to for the position of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

2) Your Halloween candy is probably made by child laborers subject to “slave-like” conditions:

For years, candy giants Nestle, Mars, and Hershey have relied on the labor of children in West Africa to source their cocoa beans. Victims have filed lawsuits in the heavily documented abuse, but despite pledges from the candy companies to reduce their reliance on the harsh practices, the number of child laborers had actually increased by 2014, according to a report from Tulane University. Americans will spend roughly $2.7 billion on candy this year, yet few are aware much of it was produced under brutal conditions.

3) Tony Podesta resigns from lobbying firm amid Mueller investigation:

Though Manafort is dominating the headlines, Tony Podesta, brother of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, stepped down from his own firm. Politico reported that that the “investigation into Podesta and his firm grew out of investigators’ examination of Manafort’s finances. Manafort organized a PR campaign on behalf of a nonprofit called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine. Podesta Group was one of several firms that were paid to do work on the PR campaign to promote Ukraine in the U.S.” In April, the Podesta Group filed paperwork with the Department of Justice admitting it had worked for the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine that “had also benefitted the same Ukrainian political party that Manafort had once advised,” Politico noted.

4) Once again, authorities find Iran is complying with nuclear deal:

Despite President Trump’s saber-rattling against Iran and his threats to pull the United States out of the Obama-era nuclear agreement, his own administration has acknowledged the Iranian government is adhering to the terms. This week, the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency also verified the Middle Eastern nation’s compliance. Iran has indicated its intent to honor the deal and the other participating governments — Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China, and the E.U. — continue to support it despite Trump’s ongoing condemnations.

5) Sexual harassment allegations continue to surface across industries:

Since the Harvey Weinstein story broke earlier this month, a wave of assault allegations have surfaced, and not just in Hollywood. On Monday, Democratic candidate for Miami-Dade city commission Rafael Velasquez lost support from his party over two separate allegations of harassment, including exposing himself to one woman and groping another. Also this week, 500 female members of the art community, including writers, artists, curators, and directors, issued a letter condemning sexual harassment in response to the resignation of ArtForum magazine publisher Knight Landesman. The women said in the letter that they “have been groped, undermined, harassed, infantilized, scorned, threatened, and intimidated by those in positions of power who control access to resources and opportunities,” adding that they “have held our tongues, threatened by power wielded over us and promises of institutional access and career advancement.” A fresh batch of sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein also surfaced this week, detailing incidents all the way back to the 1970s.

Though the media will almost certainly continue to focus on the Russia scandal, far more important developments will certainly continue to unfold.

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