NEW YORK NEWS
Lee Zeldin has tightened the race for Governor to just 4 points, according to a Trafalgar Group Survey. Zeldin, who is trailing incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul, touted the poll results on Twitter. “This latest poll shows that New Yorkers are starting to see who the real Kathy Hochul is, a corrupt, out-of-touch, weak Governor driving the state in the wrong direction,” he said. Hochul is hitting back, trying to tie Zeldin to former President Trump. “Lee Zeldin continues to embrace the most far-right fringe elements of his party,” she wrote on Twitter, “and he wants to be Governor of New York. I won’t let him drag our state backward.”
Gun Laws passed by the New York State Legislature in July went into effect this week. The new laws, which were a repudiation of the Supreme Court ruling that said New York State could no longer be a “may issue” state, defines “sensitive areas” that are designated gun-free zones. These areas include Times Square, libraries, public playgrounds and parks, subway stations, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, airports, and houses of worship. The new laws also raise the minimum age to purchase a rifle from 18 to 21. Mayor Eric Adams announced the measures that are being taken, while taking a few shots of his own at the Supreme Court. “We will be posting signage at every entrance into Times Square informing those traveling through that the area is a gun-free zone and that licensed gun carriers and others may not enter with a gun unless otherwise specially authorized by law. As mayor of New York City and a former police officer, my top priority will always be the safety of all 8.8 million people who call this city home, so while the Supreme Court decision may have opened an additional river feeding the sea of gun violence, we are doing everything we can to dam it and keep New York the safest big city in America.”
The Office of Cannabis Management announced that they have created the position of Chief Equity Officer, who will determine the groups that will be prioritized when obtaining Marijuana dispensary licenses. The group determined that individuals convicted of cannabis-related crimes prior to the passage of the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act in March 2021 will be considered over others. The group also will “Actively promote applicants from communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition, and promote racial, ethnic, and gender diversity when issuing licenses for adult-use cannabis related activities.”
Gustavo Arnal, the Chief Financial Officer for Bed, Bath & Beyond, took his own life by jumping out of the window of his 18th story apartment in Lower Manhattan. Arnal, who left no note explaining his decision, was facing a $1.2 billion “pump and dump” lawsuit and recently sold a million dollars worth of BB&B shares. The beleaguered home goods retail giant also recently announced that it would be closing 150 locations. “The entire Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. organization is profoundly saddened by this shocking loss,” a company statement said.
Serena Williams played what is likely her last tennis match after she lost to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open. Williams, 40, is arguably the best women’s tennis player ever, with 23 Grand Slam victories, Olympic Gold Medals in both singles and doubles tennis, and is the only player to have achieved a Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles. Williams began her professional career in 1995, at only 14 years old. In the past 26 years, she has been ranked the number one women’s tennis player for 319 weeks, third highest of all time. “It’s been a fun ride,” Williams said in a post-match interview. “It’s been the most incredible ride and journey I’ve ever been on.”
US NEWS
U.S. life expectancy dropped for the second consecutive year in 2021 to 76.1 years, the lowest number since 1996. Since 2020, average life expectancy dropped by nearly 3 years, the steepest decline since the early 1940s. The Center for Disease Control partially blamed COVID-19 for the decline, yet officials are also blaming overdose deaths from opioids, fentanyl, and other narcotics. “In 2021, for the second year in a row, a record number of overdose deaths were recorded,” said Dr. Lawrence Weinstein, Chief Medical Officer at American Addiction Centers. “And that increase is undoubtedly due to the ever-growing presence and lethality of fentanyl.” Other contributors are increases in heart disease, suicide, and chronic liver disease.
President Donald Trump’s request for an independent arbiter, also known as a special master, to review the materials seized by the FBI in a raid on his home at Mar-a-Lago, was granted. The order, signed by Aileen M. Cannon of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, bars the Justice Department from using any of the seized materials for any “investigative purpose” until the special master has completed this review. This ruling comes days after a photograph from the raid showing an array of documents and folders, some marked “Secret” or “Top Secret,” was leaked to the media. Reacting to the decision, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Remember, it takes courage and ‘guts’ to fight a totally corrupt Department of ‘Justice’ and the FBI. They are being pushed to do the wrong things by many sinister and evil outside sources. Until impartiality, wisdom, fairness, and courage are shown by them, our Country can never come back or recover—it will be reduced to being a Third World Nation!”
Sarah Palin, former Vice-Presidential candidate and governor of Alaska, lost a special election for the House of Representatives to Mary Peltola, making many question the wisdom of switching to a ranked-choice voting system. Palin split votes with fellow Republican Nick Begich III, and they combined to nearly 60% of the vote. Under Alaska’s new ranked-choice voting, the candidate in third place (in this case Begich), would lose all first-choice votes earned and the second choice on the ballots would be distributed to the remaining candidates. The controversial Palin failed to successfully earn the necessary number of second-choice votes, causing her to lose 48.5 to 51.5 when all the votes were tallied.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card,” released the report on tests administered to nine-year-old students nationwide, and the results were dismal. Scores in math and reading have declined considerably since before the pandemic, with the average math score dropping 7% and the average reading score dropping 5%. While the drop in scores was across all race groups, black students averaged lower scores, widening the racial gap between black and white students. “These are some of the largest declines we have observed in a single assessment cycle in 50 years of the NAEP program,” said Daniel McGrath, acting associate commissioner of NAEP. “Students in 2022 are performing at a level last seen two decades ago.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Mexican officials recovered eight bodies in the Eagle Pass area of the Rio Grande. The eight who were discovered were part of a large group of dozens of would-be illegal migrants who attempted to cross the river. Officials said that the U.S. teams rescued 37 others from the river, which was having particularly swift currents following days of rainfall, and detained 16 more. Mexican officials detained 39 migrants. So far in 2022, nearly 1.5 million apprehensions have occurred on the Southern Border. The number of “got-aways” is unknown.
WORLD NEWS
Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of Russia during the fall of the Soviet Union, died at the age of 91. Gorbachev ended the USSR’s war in Afghanistan and presided as the communist economy began collapsing in the Baltic nations of the Soviet empire. Instead of trying to tighten the Iron grip as his predecessors had, he lifted the Iron Curtain, ending the Cold War. For his efforts, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
Germany has agreed to compensate families of the Israeli Olympic athletes slain at 1972 Munich Olympic, days before the 50th anniversary of the tragedy. In September 1972, eleven Israeli athletes were taken hostage by members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. All the athletes and terrorists were killed during an attempted rescue by West German forces. Families of the victims have long blamed Germany for lack of security and for the botched rescue attempt. The German government agreed to pay an equivalent total of $28 million. Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the deal, calling it was an “important step by the German government.” This agreement come a few weeks after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refused to take any responsibility for the tragedy.
The United Nations finally released a long-awaited report on their assessment of China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim groups in the western region of the Xinjiang province. Although the report avoided word like “genocide,” it did accuse China of serious human rights violations that “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity. This report was delayed for nearly a year, but was released immediately before the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, finished her term. Bachalet has faced accusations by human rights groups of caving to Beijing in delaying the report. Dolkun Isa, President of the World Uyghur Congress, welcomed the report. “It paves the way for meaningful and tangible action by member states, U.N. bodies and the business community,” he said. “Accountability starts now.”
Russia has shut down the flow of natural gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline indefinitely. The Russian state-run gas giant Gazprom initially claimed that there were “technical” issues with the flow of natural gas, which Russia has been slowing down for months, yet that facade was dispelled with a statement from the Kremlin. “Problems with gas supply arose because of the sanctions imposed on our country by Western states, including Germany and Britain,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “We see incessant attempts to shift responsibility and blame onto us. We categorically reject this and insist that the collective West - in this case, the EU, Canada, the UK - is to blame for the fact that the situation has reached the point where it is now.” In response to the shutdown, gas prices in Europe immediately surged an average of 35%, with nations scrambling on how to keep the energy on as winter approaches.
Liz Truss is the United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister. Truss, who won her campaign for Conservative Party leadership against rival Rishi Sunak, ascended to the Prime Minister post after the resignation of Boris Johnson. Johnson’s bevy of scandals related to his behavior during COVID-19 lockdowns in England, refused to apologize for his past behavior, claiming that his rivals “changed the rules” to oust him from leadership. Truss, UK’s third female Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May, made her way to Scotland to get official approval from Queen Elizabeth to become the Prime Minister. In her victory speech, Truss thanked Johnson for his leadership and claimed that she “campaigned as a Conservative” and “will govern as a Conservative.”
