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Wednesday April 30th

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Alabama delivered the nation’s first nitrogen hypoxia execution (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / “Julia Tutwiler Prison Wetumpka Alabama” by Rivers A. Langley. CC-BY-SA-3.0. March 16, 2011).

Controversy surrounds recent Alabama death penalty case

By Abigail Gilder | Feb. 9, 2024

Alabama carried out the nation’s first ever execution by nitrogen hypoxia on Jan. 25. Kenneth Smith was sentenced to death in 1988, after he was one of two people convicted in the murder of Elizabeth Sennett. Smith had previously survived an execution attempt in 2022 by lethal injection, according to NBC. As a result, Smith’s legal team decided to push for a different method of execution; in this case the previously untested nitrogen hypoxia method. His team also submitted multiple appeals to save his life, but all were denied by the U.S. Supreme Court as a result of his past violent crime, according to CNN. 

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A recent discovery has shown that the moon is shrinking - and the effects are unpredictable (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / “Full moon partially obscured by atmosphere” by NASA. PD NASA. December 21, 1999). 

Shrinking moon leads to instability and unpredictability for future missions

By Aneri Upadhyay | Feb. 7, 2024

According to the Weather Channel, the moon has lost around 150 feet in its circumference over the past hundred million years. This is due to its core cooling down over time. The moon’s crust is forming more canyons as it shrinks, which has caused tremors that are referred to as moonquakes. As seen in ITV, the moonquakes are quite powerful and can last for hours. The strongest has registered as the equivalent of a 5.0 magnitude earthquake. 

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Three U.S. soldiers were killed and more than 50 others were injured, including some Arizona National Guard service members, in an overnight drone attack on Jan. 28 in northeast Jordan, near the Syrian border (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / “Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) launches from an Air Force B-1B Lancer” by DARPA Photo. CC-PD-Mark. September 5, 2013). 

Deadly attack on Jordan base leads to U.S. launching retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria

By Janjabill Tahsin | Feb. 7, 2024

Three U.S. soldiers were killed and more than 50 others were injured, including some Arizona National Guard service members, in an overnight attack on Jan. 28 in northeast Jordan, near the Syrian border. At least one service member is in critical condition after a drone bypassed the American base Tower 22’s defenses and struck while soldiers were sleeping, according to the Washington Post. 

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CEOs of top social media companies testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about child safety on their platforms, marking the latest effort of lawmakers to address concerns that these platforms prioritize profits over the well-being of their users (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / “Social Media Marketing Strategy” by Today Testing. CC-BY-SA-4.0. March 5, 2019). 

Social media CEOs testify in Senate hearing on child safety

By Gauri Patel | Feb. 6, 2024

The CEOs of top social media companies testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about child safety on their platforms on Jan. 31, marking the latest effort of lawmakers to address concerns that these platforms prioritize profits over the well-being of their users, according to The Associated Press. 

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Just one month into the new year, people are already experiencing intense flooding and destruction across California as homes and schools are left as debris (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / “Flood under the Old Route 49 bridge crossing over the South Yuba River in Nevada City, California” by Kelly M. Grow/ California Department of Water Resources. PD California. January 9, 2017). 

Record floods in California destroy homes and cause irreparable damage

By Aneri Upadhyay | Feb. 3, 2024

Just one month into the new year, people are already experiencing intense flooding and destruction across California as homes and schools are left as debris. San Diego, California experienced the heaviest rainfall during January in its history with half an inch every hour coming down in the span of one day, as reported by Reuters. These floods destroyed homes, parked cars and closed highways. It was also reported that one elementary school had up to three inches of flood water in its classrooms.

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Mediation efforts led by Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt are zeroing in on a ceasefire with the possibility of an exchange of Israeli hostages — starting with civilians and ending with soldiers — for a cessation of hostilities, the release of Palestinian prisoners and the allowance of more aid into Gaza (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / “Damage in Gaza Strip during the October 2023 - 29” by Palestinian News & Information Agency (Wafa) in contract with APAimages. CC-BY-SA-3.0 October 10, 2023). 

Ceasefire underway during Israel-Hamas war negotiations

By Janjabill Tahsin | Feb. 1, 2024

Mediation efforts led by Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt are zeroing in on a ceasefire with the possibility of an exchange of Israeli hostages — starting with civilians and ending with soldiers — for a cessation of hostilities, the release of Palestinian prisoners and the allowance of more aid into Gaza. However, due to the two sides’ opposing viewpoints on how to bring a permanent end to the Gaza war, the framework agreement is being delayed, according to CNBC and Reuters.

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With a slew of changes being introduced by the Department of Education for the 2024-2025 form, the hope from the federal government is to make the FAFSA process faster and more efficient (Photo courtesy of Flickr / “Financial Aid Information” by Manchester City Library. CC BY-SA 2.0. June 19, 2015). 

New Year, new FAFSA: Changes to the 2024-2025 federal student aid form

By Rajika Chauhan | Jan. 31, 2024

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a fixture in any prospective or returning college student’s financial planning, and is often subject to complaint and frustration. With a slew of changes being introduced by the Department of Education for the 2024-2025 form, the hope from the federal government is to make the application process faster and more efficient for all students, while increasing the likelihood of eligibility for aid. 

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On Nov. 30, Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis debated hot topics in U.S. politics (Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/“Ron DeSantis-crop” by Gage Skidmore. CC-BY-SA-2.0. July 18, 2021. “Gavin Newsom by Gage Skidmore” by Gage Skidmore. CC-BY-SA-3.0. June 1, 2019). 

Newsom and DeSantis debate hot topics in U.S. politics

By Paige Gould | Dec. 14, 2023

On Nov. 30, Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis debated hot topics in U.S. politics. While they defended their political stances of what America should look like, these govenors proposed which policies, in their opinion, would best fit in American daily lives. Sean Hannity, a Fox News broadcast news analyst, introduced Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

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Over the past few weeks, the Netherlands shockingly observed its far-right party gaining the most seats through snap elections for the House of Representatives in order to elect a new prime minister (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/“Geert Wilders op Prinsjesdag 2014 (cropped2)” by Rijksoverheid/Phil Nijhuis. CC-Zero. September 16, 2014). 

Far-right party shockingly succeeds in Dutch elections

By Shaim Akhtar | Dec. 11, 2023

Over the past few weeks, the Netherlands shockingly observed its far-right party gaining the most seats through snap elections for the House of Representatives in order to elect a new prime minister, triggered by the collapse of the current cabinet due to disagreements on immigration policies among parties, according Barrons. Additionally, the election will result in the appointment of a new prime minister, as former Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his decision not to seek another term over the summer. 

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The United Nations recently met on Nov. 17 to negotiate global plastic pollution in attempts to control its use (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/“United Nations Climate Change Conference logo” by unbekannt. PD shape). 

U.N. talks to decrease plastic waste at a standstill

By Aneri Upadhyay | Dec. 11, 2023

The United Nations recently met on Nov. 17 to negotiate global plastic pollution in attempts to control its use. This is important especially after the release of an Oxfam report detailing how carbon pollution has increased drastically. This report evaluated carbon emissions over the years.

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On Nov. 30, the United Nations met in the United Arab Emirates to discuss climate change at the Conference of the Parties Summit, also known as COP28 (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/“Net Zero Nuclear Event, at COP 28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference UNCCC held at the Expo City Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 2 December 2023” by IAEA Imagebank. CC-BY-2.0. December 2, 2023). 

UN Climate Talks Attempt to Repair the Environment

By Abigail Gilder | Dec. 11, 2023

On Nov. 30, the United Nations met in the United Arab Emirates to discuss climate change at the Conference of the Parties Summit, also known as COP28. COP28 is the 28th United Nations climate conference and includes countries that have signed the original United Nations climate contract in 1992. It also includes other countries that have joined since. This conference will be in continuance from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, according to BBC.

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A spate of skirmishes and outbursts have broken out between Congress members and visitors over the past month in both the U.S. House and Senate (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/“US Capitol west side” by Martin Falbisoner. CC-BY-SA-3.0. September 5, 2013). 

Tensions explode in Congress as holiday break nears

By Rajika Chauhan | Dec. 4, 2023

A spate of skirmishes and outbursts have broken out between Congress members and visitors over the past month in both the U.S. House and Senate. After what has been an unprecedented year of turnover and chaos for Capitol Hill, including the recent ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, such incidents add further fuel to an already inflamed working environment. 

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As former president Donald Trump faces an ongoing criminal trial to determine his liability for the insurrection of the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the election, the proceedings have recently taken a new turn (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/“Trump speaking in Manchester, New Hampshire” by Marc Nozell. CC-BY-2.0. February 8, 2016). 

Donald Trump appeals gag order

By Shaim Akhtar | Dec. 4, 2023

As former president Donald Trump faces an ongoing criminal trial to determine his liability for the insurrection of the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the election, the proceedings have recently taken a new turn. The presiding judge, Tanya Chutkan, filed a controversial gag order against Trump to prevent his opinions about court staff from being publicly disclosed, causing the motion to be appealed. 

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OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced the return of their CEO Sam Altman under a different board of directors on Nov. 21, just five days after he had been fired (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/“Disrupt SF TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2019 - Day 2” by TechCrunch. CC-BY-2.0. October 3, 2019). 

Sam Altman reinstated as CEO of OpenAI in company power struggle

By Leah Cruz | Nov. 30, 2023

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced the return of their CEO Sam Altman under a different board of directors on Nov. 21, just five days after he had been fired. With Altman rejoining OpenAI as the chief executive officer, the company intends to move forward in leading the global development of artificial intelligence. 

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