NOVEMBER 2019 NEWS RECAP
LOCAL NEWS:
New LHS homework policy
The new LHS Homework Policy was put into effect this month. The old policy prohibited teachers from assigning homework over holidays, vacations, and long-weekends. Teachers are now allowed to assign homework over the previously prohibited circumstances, and must keep the following weekends homework-free: January 2, January 27, February 24, March 30, April 27, and May 26.
Buffalo Wild Wings manager dies in chemical accident
On November 9th, Ryan Baldera, the manager of the Buffalo Wild Wings Burlington branch, died after being exposed to a toxic mixture of common cleaning agents. It was reported that an employee accidentally mixed two cleaning agents together and began to feel negative symptoms. Baldera then went to clean it up and subsequently inhaled the dangerous fumes. He was immediately taken to the hospital where he later passed away. Eleven employees and two customers were hospitalized as well.
An historic election outcome for Boston
The Boston city council elections brought historic results on November 5th, bringing in four newcomers, including the first Latina in history and the first Latino in six years. As a result, Boston’s city council is now comprised with young, diverse progressives, with seven out of the thirteen councillors people of color and eight out of the thirteen women. Incumbent at-large Councilor Michelle Wu received the most votes, with Annissa Essaibi George and Michael Flaherty following behind. There was some uncertainty regarding the election of the fourth at-large councillor. Julia Mejia, a community leader, beat Alejandra St. Guillen by a mere ten votes, according to the city’s unofficial results. St. Guillen, who led the Office of Immigrant Advancement, has called for a recount of the election results, which will be officially performed early December.
ROE Act Advocacy Day in the State House
On November 14th, activists around Massachusetts took to the State House to urge state policymakers to support the ROE Act, which would codify progressive abortion rights into state law and get rid of a number of restrictions within the Massachusetts legal system, many of which are archaic. The Advocacy Day was put into effect by a grassroots coalition of the Massachusetts ACLU, Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, and NARAL. The day comes during a time when reproductive rights are under national scrutiny.
BIG HEADLINES:
Santa Clarita high school faces a shooting
A student open fired using a pistol at a Saugus High School in Southern California, killing two students and wounding three others. The shooting lasted 16 seconds, concluding with the sixteen year old gunman shooting himself in the head. The news of this shooting was met with nationwide grief and outrage, reinvigorating the fight for increased gun control.
Rodney Reed granted stay of execution
The Court of Criminal Appeals in Texas suspended Rodney Reed’s death sentence after the nation rallied behind him, ordering a re-trial with new available evidence. Reed has long claimed his innocence for the murder of a woman 23 years ago—his execution was originally scheduled to be November 20th.
New York City Subway protests continue as arrest videos incite nation
Protests have been raging against the NYC MTA after the MTA Chief Financial Officer’s decision to hire 500 new MTA police officers in a crackdown against turnstile hoppers and vendors such as the Twitter-named “Churro Lady,” an elderly woman of color who has been selling churros in a station for many years. The New York public transportation system has been criticized for its overpriced fares and how its police targets Black and brown communities.
College senior found dead after reporting roommate’s boyfriend
Alexis Crawford, a college senior from Clark Atlanta University, was found dead after being missing for a week. Crawford’s roommate Jordyn Jones, and Jones’sboyfriend Barron Brantley have been charged with her killing. Before her death, Crawford reported that Brantley sexually assaulted her.
White man enslaved a man sentenced to jail
Bobby Paul Edwards pleaded guilty to the forced labor of John Christopher Smith, a Black man with a disability. Smith, whose situation was compared to as slavery, was forced to work at a restaurant without pay from 1990, when he was twelve years old. Edwards was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Gender reveal plane crashes, ends in disaster
A small plane, as part of a stunt in a gender reveal party, crashed and injured one person. Before crashing, the plane dumped 350 gallons of pink water from the sky, showing the hosts were expecting a baby girl.
Supreme Court hears new DACA case
The Supreme Court is considering whether President Trump can end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), a program which has allowed young adults without legal status who have been in the U.S. since they were children immunity from deportation. Even if the Supreme Court upholds Trump’s decision, those with DACA will be allowed to stay in the US until their status expires.
POLITICS:
Witnesses in Trump impeachment inquiry testify before Congress
After the first week of inquiries, Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, has described a plot to oust her. In response, Trump has posted tweets saying everywhere Yovanovitch went “turned bad.” House Intelligence Chairman, Adam Schiff, claimed Trump’s tweet was witness intimidation, another impeachable offense. In other testimonies, Trump has been accused of not giving an expletive about Ukraine, only caring about the “big stuff” that benefits the himself. Others have pushed back against the inquiry, with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik has endorsing Trump and claiming that nothing in the inquiries rise to impeachable level offenses. Hearings continued with the testimony of
Democrats win big in 2019 elections
Democratic candidate Andy Beshear, was elected in the Kentucky gubernatorial race over incumbent Republican Matt Bevin. In Virginia, Democrats flipped both the House and the Senate. In Louisiana, Democratic Gov. John Bell narrowly won re-election over Trump-backed businessman Eddie Rispone.
Rep. Elijah Cummings’s widow to run for his seat
Maya Rockeymoore, a consultant and former Maryland Democratic Party Chair, announced that she will run for her husband's seat in Maryland’s 7th Congressional District. Rep. Elijah Cummings, long-time congressman and civil rights hero, recently passed away in October.
Trump signs executive order to organize task force for Indigenous women
On November 26th, President Trump signed an executive order establishing a task force on missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. The task force, titled Operation Lady Justice, is set to be overseen by Attorney General William Barr and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. The goal of the force is to develop protocols to apply to new and previously unsolved cases relating to this violence among other government efforts to address the problem.
LOOKING TOWARDS 2020:
Beto O’Rourke drops out of presidential election
On the first of November, former representative from Texas Beto O’Rourke formally dropped out of the 2020 Presidential race due to financial strain in his campaign and an inability to gain national traction.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley endorses Elizabeth Warren for President
Representative Ayanna S. Pressley (MA-7) has endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren in the presidential race. Ayanna differed from the other three members of “The Squad” (a progressive group of first-term congresswomen comprising of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Omar, and Rep. Tlaib,) who endorsed Bernie Sanders.
Two more hopefuls enter the Democratic field
Michael Bloomberg, former New York mayor and billionaire has entered the Democratic Presidential Primary race. Bloomberg, who had originally endorsed former VP Biden, joined for concern that two frontrunners, Senator Warren and Senator Sanders, are bringing the party too much to the left. Former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick has also joined the race.
Bill Gates considers Trump vote over Warren
During a New York Times conference, Bill Gates reacted to Warren’s plan to double her billionaire wealth tax by wondering how much he would have left over. (Calculations showed that Gates would have upwards of ten billion dollars from his $100+ billion net worth after her taxes). Gates mentioned that he did not rule out the possibility of voting for Trump.
Obama warns democratic voters from moving too far left
Obama warned the Democratic Primary candidates at a Democracy Alliance in Washington D.C. about moving too far left, arguing that it may alienate voters. Instead, Obama believes that candidates must remain pragmatic and rooted in reality, as their ultimate job is to get elected.
CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT:
Drama at Camp Flog Gnaw
On November 11th, Drake was booed off the stage by attendees at Camp Flog Gnaw, the annual music festival and carnival curated by Tyler the Creator. It was reported that attendees were expecting Frank Ocean and were disappointed to see the Toronto rapper instead. In a video, fans chanted “we want Frank” after Drake left the stage. After the event, Tyler the Creator took to Twitter, criticizing his fans’ treatment of Drake.
Fresh off the Boat to end after six seasons
The seminal ABC sitcom will end after the airing of its sixth season. The show, starring Constance Wu and Randall Park, detail the comical lives of a Chinese family. This show was a first for Asian representation in American media and significantly changed how Asians are portrayed.
Taylor Swift-Scooter Braun feud
Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun have been feuding in the media for the last couple months. Scooter Braun acquired Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group, which holds ownership of Taylor Swift’s music and prevented her from performing her old songs. Swift has taken opposition to the move, claiming that Borchetta did not uphold his loyalty to her. This has caused a debate over the power record labels and managers have over their clients. On Twitter, Swift announced that she will re-record her old music, and seems to have reached an agreement with Braun, as she was able to perform a medley during the American Music Awards last week.
Despite complications, Colin Kaepernick holds workout
Earlier this month, the NFL held a workout for former quarterback Colin Kaepernick. After negotiations over logistics over the workout like requests for independent filming broke down, Kaepernick moved from the Atlanta Falcons facility to a high school football field. During the forty minute session, Kaepernick was seen throwing darts and bombs. There were representatives from eight other teams present at the workout. After the workout, Kapaernick talked to the media, mentioning how he has been ready since he was outed by the NFL three years ago due to his anthem protests.
WHOLESOME NEWS:
Keanu Reeves finally finds love
This month, famed actor Keanu Reeves finally found love again. Reeves made headlines with his new girlfriend, Alexandra Grant. Grant is an artist from Los Angeles. There is no timeline for when the couple began dating, likely due to Reeves’ desire to stay out of the media spotlight, though the couple worked on a book in 2011 and later was seen at a Thanksgiving dinner in 2013. In 2016, the two wrote another book together and founded their own publishing house the subsequent year. The public has rejoiced that the wholesome, unproblematic actor has found love, and with an age-appropriate woman no less, as is rare for actors of his caliber.
A special state bar swearing in ceremony
A monumental day for Juliana Lamar was made much more special than she had expected. Lamar, a law student from Belmont University College of Law, was to be sworn in to the Tennessee State Bar, and among the people there to support her was her one year old son, Beckham. The judge at the swearing-in, Richard Dinkins, offered to hold the baby while Lamar took her oath. A video of the baby bouncing on Dinkin’s hip while Lamar is sworn in has gone viral. Lamar gave birth to Beckham via C-section while she was still a student, returning to classes one week after the procedure due to Belmont University’s strict attendance policy. Lamar thanks her husband, Javon, who is active in the U.S Army, for helping her through tough times.
“What is: We ♡ you, Alex!”
The usual intellectual stoicism that comes with Jeopardy! was replaced with a more heartfelt moment with the airing of a round of the Tournament of Champions on November 11. Dhruv Gaur, this year’s college champion from Brown University, was heading into Final Jeopardy with $2000. With his final answer, he wrote in “What is: We ♡ you, Alex!” with a wager of $1995, leaving him with only $5. Alex Trebek became visibly emotional but maintained his ever professional reputation, though with a few voice breaks. Earlier this year, Trebek announced that he had Stage IV pancreatic cancer. Hours after Gaur’s wholesome moment, the hashtag #WeLoveYouAlex was trending on Twitter.
Youtube’s wonderful “Grandpa Kitchen” passes away
Beloved Indian grandfather Narayana Reddy passed away on October 27th. Reddy ran “Grandpa Kitchen,” a YouTube channel where he and his grandkids would cook food and feed local orphans in Telangana, India. His channel had six million subscribers and a total view count of 626 million. Fans from all over the world mourned his passing.
A generous Vietnamese UCLA professor
This month, social media posts shed light on the kindness of Professor Quyen Di Chec Bui, who teaches Vietnamese at UCLA. Every week, Chec Bui brings in stuffed animals for his students. He claims it is because he cares about them, and that the way to one’s heart is shorter than the way to one’s mind. Chec Bui is loved by students and his highly respected in the Little Saigon area. In 2016, he received the Asian Heritage Award for Innovation for his educational influences on college students and volunteer community teachers.
by DARREN TRAN & EVAN LI