Your Summit Weekly Briefing
By Alex Tananbaum and Ashwath Vimal
1. General News: China Open to Bury The Hatchet With the U.S., Rashida Jones to be President of MSNBC
Wang Yi, the foriegn minister of the People’s Republic of China, has stated that Beijing is open to fixing relations with the United States. On Monday, Yi said that China needed to get back on the right track and rebuild their relationship with the U.S. in a video conference during the US-China Business Conference. Yi blamed tensions between the U.S. and China on the Cold War, and respecting each other’s culture is the way to fix the tension. The U.S. and China have recently been working together to persecute over a dozen officials in China for putting a harmful security law over Hong Kong, which is helping relations.
MSNBC, a television news channel owned by NBC, has recently had their President Phil Griffin retire after 12 years, with well-known programs like “The Rachel Maddow Show” ending soon due to his departure. Griffin’s successor, Rashida Jones, is the first black woman to be the head of a big television news network, whose current job is to cover daytime news and specials for NBC. She joined NBC seven years ago, and has progressed through the ranks steadily, with her having multiple roles involved with political coverage and leadership. Ms. Jones will now have to work towards retaining the high ratings and viewership that MSNBC has had for the past couple of years.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/08/asia/wang-yi-china-us-sanctions-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/business/media/rashida-jones-msnbc-president.html
2. Covid-19: UK First to Give COVID Vaccines, Trump Signs Order to Get More Vaccines to America
The United Kingdom is preparing to give out doses of a new vaccine shortly after it was the first Western nation to get approval to hand out a COVID-19 vaccine. There have been enough orders of the vaccine to vaccinate 20 million people, with each recipient will get two doses every three weeks. It is said to have a 95 percent protection rate against COVID-19, but there may be some side effects for some people, such as pain at the side where the vaccine is injected, headaches, muscle and joint pain, chills and a fever. However, the side effects should not be too severe. It has been decided that the vaccine would be given to those who give the vaccination, residents of elderly care homes, people over the age of 80, and health care workers.
An executive order signed by President Trump is anticipated to or has possibly already happened to prioritize shipping COVID-19 vaccines at a vaccine summit in the White House. The purpose of this signing is to cement the President’s commitment to America and to rest fears about not having enough vaccine doses for everyone. This order has come after it has been reported that a company called Pfizer tried to sell more doses this past summer, but the government turned it down. The Trump administration said that they are actually still in talks with Pfizer, and strongly believe that they will have enough vaccine doses to vaccinate all people that want the vaccine by mid 2021, and that they are in talks with other companies as well. Representatives from Pfizer or other drug companies will not be in attendance at the vaccine summit, due to officials saying that having people to explain the authorization process for vaccines is more important.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/07/uk/uk-covid-first-vaccinations-pfizer-gbr-intl/index.html
Stay Informed: CNN reports live, bite-sized updates on Coronavirus here.
3. Politics: Michigan hearing on voter fraud, Trump’s rally in Georgia
On Wednesday the 2nd, after a hearing requested by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the Michigan House ruled that there was not sufficient evidence of widespread voter fraud and declined to overturn the election results in the state, though they will continue to hear other reports of voter fraud. The hearing was atypical in many respects, not the least being that some committee members did not wear masks, with Giuliani testing positive for COVID-19 a few days later. Guilani also repeatedly questioned witnesses, though he himself was one, something M Live Media Group calls an “unusual leeway.” State Rep. Aaron Miller, who was not on the committee, stated “I’m happy to thoughtfully listen to evidence and claims and that was what today was supposed to be about, but Mr. Giuliani’s final statement waded into the realm of insanity.” He continued: “He [Mr. Giuliani] made wild and broad partisan insults for several minutes that had nothing to do with the election, and it was frankly unacceptable, shameful, and pathetic and distracts from any evidence that we might hear. I’m utterly embarrassed.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Giuliani told the committee: “Nobody’s asking any Republican to commit a crime. I wouldn’t do it, and the president would fire me if I did it…. But I am asking you not to be a coward.”
In other news, Trump gave a rally in Georgia this Sunday the 6th, in which he made a number of false claims. He also called for Georgia voters to participate in the runoff election, even encouraging them to vote via absentee ballot or mail, a system he accused of being insecure during the presidential election. This change of tactic was likely an attempt to ensure the win of Republican Senate-candidates Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, as a loss would lead to a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate.
The Trump Campaign also filed a new lawsuit, which aims to overturn election results, in Georgia.
4. Sports: Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul is Happening
Floyd Mayweather, a retired professional boxer with a record of 50-0, recently announced on December 6th that he will be fighting YouTube star Logan Paul. The bout will happen on February 4th, 2021, and has been deemed a “super exhibition” match. While no rules or specifics have been given about this “super exhibition” match, a regular exhibition match might generally have three rounds, heavier gloves, headgear, etc. However, a “super exhibition” may be a combination of an exhibition match and a normal match, or something else completely different. Paul’s team has been trying to set up a fight for about two months now, with Paul starting a chain of trash talk coming from both sides. However, should Paul really be trash talking? Mayweather has never lost a boxing match, and nine world titles, and should have no problem in beating Paul.
5. Summit: Georgia runoffs, interview with Sunnyvale City Council
Want to learn more about the Georgia runoff elections? Editor-in-Chief of Summit Shasta Evelyn Archibald’s article “Electoral Battle Continues In Georgia Amidst Misinformation And Conspiracy” details the candidates, Trump’s lies, and the reason Georgia has voted consistently red over the years.
Additionally, in November, Denali’s journalism team met with Sunnyvale City Council members to discuss the powers (and lack thereof) of the Mayor, COVID-19, traffic, and climate change. Read “Sunnyvale City Council Members Come To Denali To Share About City Politics In Virtual Press Conferences With Student Journalists” here.
6. Weather
Atlas (West Seattle) and Sierra (Seattle): Prepare for colder weather this week with today’s high being 52°F, then decreasing to 48°F Weds, and 45-44°F Thurs and Fri. The highs will then increase again beginning Sat at 46°F and 49°F Sun and Mon (48°F in Seattle). Lows will also go up, down, then up again with 44°F today, 40°F Weds, 37-38°F Thurs and Fri, then back up to 43°F Sat and Sun, and finally 41°F Mon. This week will also be rainy and drizzly, with rain today and Weds, showers Thurs-Sat, rain again Sun, and showers again Mon.
Olympus (Tacoma): The overall temperature this week will go up, down, then up again, with highs being 52°F today, 49°F Weds, 45-44°F Thurs and Fri, then back up to 46°F Sat and 49-48°F Sun and Mon. Lows will be 43°F, then down to 39°F Weds, 36-37 Thurs and Fri, then back up to 43-42°F Sat and Sun, and finally down to 40°F Mon. Expect a rainy week as well; today and Weds will be rainy, while Thurs-Mon will experience showers.
Denali (Sunnyvale): Though today’s high will be warm at 70°F, temperature highs will fall to the mid 60’s Weds and Thurs at 65-64°F and then low 60’s Fri-Mon at 60°F Fri, 62-63°F Sat and Sun, then 61°F Mon. Lows will remain in the low to mid 40’s, at 40°F today, 43°F Weds, 40-41°F Thurs and Fri, 43°F Sat, 46°F Sun, and finally back down to 40°F Mon. While today will be sunny, the rest of the week will be partially cloudy.
Everest and Prep (Redwood City): While today’s high will be 69°F, it will quickly go down as the week goes on at 63°F Weds, 61°F Thurs, 58°F Fri, up to 60-61°F Sat-Sun, and finally down again to 59°F Mon. Lows will range throughout the 40’s at 41°F today, 44°F Weds, 42°F Thurs and Fri, 44°F Sat, up to 46°F Sun, and finally back down to 41°F Mon. The week will be partially cloudy, with the exception of today, which will be sunny.
K2 (El Cerrito): Today’s high will be 69°F, though it will steadily decrease throughout the week with highs of 65-64°F Weds and Thurs, 61°F Fri and Sat, and 62-63°F Sun and Mon. Lows will be 40°F today, 45°F Weds, 42-43°F Thurs and Fri, 45-46 Sat and Sun, and finally down to 41°F Mon. While today will be sunny, Weds-Mon will be partially cloudy, with the exception of Sun, which will be rainy.
Tam (Richmond): Today’s high will be 68°F, though it will decline throughout the week to 64-63°F Weds and Thurs, 60-61°F Fri and Sat, and finally 62°F Sun and Mon. Lows will be most dramatic today at 39°F, 45°F Weds, 42-43°F Thurs and Fri, 45°F Sat and Sun, and finally 41°F Mon. Today will be sunny, while Weds-Sat will be partially cloudy, Sun will be rainy, and Mon will be partially cloudy again.
Shasta (Daly City): Today’s high will be 66°F, then go down to 60°F Weds, 58°F Thurs, 56-57°F Fri and Sat, and 58°F Sun and Mon. Lows will stay around the low to mid 40’s at 41°F today, 46°F Weds, 44-45°F Thurs-Sat, 46°F Sun, then back down to 43°F Mon. Today will be sunny, though the rest of the week will be partially cloudy, with the exception of Sun, which will be rainy.
Tahoma (San Jose): Today’s high will be 71°F, then fall to the mid to low 60’s, 65-64°F Weds and Thurs, 60°F Fri, 62°F Sat, 64°F Sun, and finally 60°F Mon. Today’s low will be 39°F but will sit around the low to mid 40’s with Weds at 43°F, Thurs and Fri at 41°F, Sat at 43°F, 46°F Sun and down to 40°F Mon. While today will be sunny, the rest of the week will be partly cloudy.
7. Actions: Burn pits, elephants and monkeys
Editor’s note: each week, I will be posting petitions to sign/actions to take to support the BLM movement, ICE detainees, and other important matters. Remember, your voice counts, so use it.
- Sign this petition from Move On to demand Congress pass a bipartisan bill to stop the utilization of burn pits to dispose of waste in Afghanistan military bases and compensate veterans affected by chemicals from the pits.
- Sign this petition from Care2 to demand the Thai government provide funding for 15 baby elephants’ care, preventing them from being sold to abusive circuses.
- Sign this petition via Care2 to demand international conservation organizations up their protections of the newly discovered (and already critically endangered) Popa langur monkey.
(Huge thank you to my animal-loving little sister for the last two petitions).
And, as always:
- Watch or listen or listen to this playlist. All advertisement revenue goes to Black Lives Matter. I currently have it on in the background as I am writing this brief. Do not skip the ads, the donations will not go through otherwise.
- Watch or listen to this video. All advertisement revenue goes to various aid organizations easing the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Please note it is blocked on school Chromebooks due to being in the “Entertainment” category
- Learn more about the crisis at www.monareliefye.org/.
Be First to Comment