Picture via Wikimedia Commons by Matt Reeves

Your Summit Weekly Briefing

By Ashwath Vimal, Lia Bhas and Angela Hwang

Staff Writers

Disclaimer: Though the Weekly Briefings are no longer tagged in the Opinions section of Summit News and we try to remain as unbiased as possible, our opinions may show through in this article, especially in the “Actions” section.

Summit:

Check out this article by Akhil Gunasekaran if you want to learn more about student opinion on Expeditions at Summit. Learn why Akhil thinks Expeditions has declined, how the preference survey does not work as it should, and why Expeditions for 12th graders has been disappointing recently.
Also, check out this article by Melissa Domingo on a review of popular culture icon Lil Nas X’s latest album, “Montero”, if you want a refresher on what makes Lil Nas X the special artist he is today. It includes analysis of well-liked songs such as “Industry Baby” and “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”.

General News:

52 families of victims of the Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and The Broward County School Board, who was accused of negligence, have reached a $25 million settlement. The lawsuit includes families of all 17 deceased victims, 16 families of victims who were shot but survived and 19 families of victims who have experienced PTSD or other mental diagnoses. While the school board will not have to openly admit any wrongdoing, David Brill, who represents some of the families, said, “This settlement provides a measure of justice and accountability to them.” This settlement occurred after the news was released that one of the two Parkland shooters, Nicolas Cruz, will be pleading guilty to the shooting.
A nonprofit called the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit against an Oklahoma law that prohibits talking/teaching about race and gender in classrooms. The reason for this is because they and other groups like them say the law hinders free speech and prohibits students from understanding history properly through methods like critical race theory. Critical race theory, which teaches how racism has shaped and been shaped by society and policies, seems like a good idea, but was banned in many states and can get teachers suspended. . Defenders of the law say they don’t want to shame “the children of today into blaming themselves for problems of the past”. As a result, many educators have done things such as removing female and Black authors from reading lists.

Covid-19:

In San Mateo County, there have been 52,000 total reports of Covid, and 622 deaths in total, which has been a decrease since last month. California has been the only U.S. state to go down to the Yellow/Moderate levels of Covid spreading. Cases are going lower and lower in San Mateo County which is great news, and the debate on whether the mask mandate should occur is still up in the air. For many counties in California, the mask mandate has been lifted or loosely enforced. In San Francisco, if you are vaccinated, then a mask is not mandatory in MOST shops, clubs, etc. Vaccine mandates in Washington have been strictly enforced, and in Seattle, it has been reported that 99 percent of the 11,000 employees complied with the city’s requirement by “submitting proof of vaccination or an exemption application ahead of a midnight cut-off.”
If you are feeling sick or even have the slightest impulse you might be, PLEASE stay home and get tested. Some symptoms include: Fever or chills, Cough, Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, Fatigue, Muscle or body aches, Headache, New loss of taste or smell, Sore throat, Congestion, runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Let’s stop the spread of this deadly virus together!

Politics:

The British Parliament honored the late David Amess when they opened session Monday morning. Amess was stabbed multiple times by a suspected terrorist during his meeting with constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea. 25-year-old Ali Harbi was arrested after the stabbing.
17 American missionaries were kidnapped on Saturday while they were visiting the orphanage. The hostages remain in custody; the FBI may need to have a strike team on hand to free them. Authorities think the abductors are 400 Mawozo, a gang infamous for abductions; they want $17 million for their release.
Last Thursday, the U.S. rejoined the UN’s Human Rights Council. According to NPR, President Trump had pulled the U.S. out of the council in 2018 citing “hypocritical” criticism; however, President Biden believes the U.S. can do more good on the inside than the outside. The council has been critical of human rights violations in Israel, however, Chinese minister Jiang has a seat on the five-person panel that selects the independent investigators.
There is a plan to allow the IRS to track bank accounts with “more than $10,000 in transfers”. This is because the Biden administration has expressed a desire to catch tax evaders, usually the top 1%. Experts worry that the plan would affect small businesses more than it would the top 1% because those that manage to avoid paying taxes usually take advantage of loopholes in existing laws rather than hiding their income.
Snippet: Colin Powell, a former secretary of state, died on Monday at 84 due to Covid-19-related complications. He is credited for shaping U.S. national security.
Snippet: Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon will be held in contempt (sent to the Justice Department for criminal charges) for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena.

Sports:

NBA:

The NBA season opener was on Oct. 19. 76ers’ Ben Simmons has had a rocky start with his season in Philadelphia, but on Tuesday afternoon, he was kicked out of practice and suspended for one game due to “conduct detrimental to the team”. He will miss the season opener against New Orleans today. The 76ers fined Simmons $1.4 million for not showing up to practice and preseason games. He had not earned any money since coming back to the team on Oct. 11. Kyrie Irving has refused to get the Covid-19 vaccine due to personal reasons and the Nets have concurred that unless he gets the vaccine, he will not be able to play. Many other players have come forward, but Kyrie is an extremely important player; this has been controversial for a while now. Adam Silver says that it should have been “an individual choice among the players” so that it would not be such a controversial issue. He says that this issue is between Irving and New York City rather than a league issue. Irving is not allowed to play at Barclays Center or Madison Square Garden, and could cost him almost $20 million.

MLB:

The LA Dodgers played game three against the Atlanta Braves, who were up 2-0 in the series. This was a win or go home game for the Dodgers who have played two upsetting games. The Dodgers did win, 6-5 with ATL leading the series 2-1. The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox played game 4 on Tuesday and the Astros won, 9-2 making the series tied, 2-2. The winner would play the winner of Braves v Dodgers.

NFL:

Scores:

Buccaneers beat the Eagles, 28-22

Jaguars beat the Dolphins, 23-20

Packers beat the Bears, 24-14

Raiders beat the Broncos, 34-24

Steelers beat the Seahawks in overtime, 23-20

Titans beat the Bills, 34-31

NCAA:

Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher shut down the rumors about him leaving for LSU, saying that they are “building something great”. LSU’s coach, Ed Orgeron announced that he would part ways at the end of the season.

Scores:

San Diego State beat San Jose State, 19-13

Cincinnati beat UCF, 56-21

LSU beat Florida, 49-42

Texas A&M beat Missouri, 35-14

Georgia beat Kentucky, 30-13

Alabama beat Mississippi St, 49-9

Entertainment:

A new trailer for 2022 “The Batman” starring Robert Pattinson was released during DC FanDome Warner Bros. and DC showcased teasers for multiple upcoming projects. The trailer further enunciates that this Batman movie will be dark and gritty like the last one, following the style of a Batman movie many fans want. Not only is the tone dark, but the character is too, with the trailer showcasing the vigilante’s ruthless fighting abilities. The trailer also showcases other characters more as well, with a closer look at Paul Dano as “The Riddler”, who seems to be a more serious iteration of the character, and Colin Farrell as “The Penguin”, who is as unrecognizable as the character. We also get a deeper delve into what the relationship between Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) and Batman is going to look like, with romantic tension already being prevalent in the trailer. Overall, the movie is shaping up to be a different but good Batman movie, with more of the focus seemingly shifting to detective work than pure action.
After rumoring it for a couple of months now, Kanye West has officially had his name changed to “Ye”. The rapper’s petition was approved this past Monday by Judge Michelle Williams in California. This change comes after a number of other recent developments in his life, along with his wife Kim Kardashian filing for divorce earlier this year and the release of his highly anticipated album “Donda”.

Weather:

Atlas (West Seattle): Highs dropping overall this week: 50°F on Wednesday, 66°F on Thursday, 57°F on Friday, 55°F on Saturday and 54°F on Sunday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 50°F on Wednesday, 53°F on Thursday, 50°F on Friday, 49°F on Saturday and 48°F on Sunday. Expect rain all week.

Summary: Highs dropping from the upper 50’s to the lower 50’s, lows dropping to the upper 40’s, rain.

Olympus (Tacoma): Highs dropping overall this week: 60°F on Wednesday, 67°F on Thursday, 58°F on Friday, 55°F on Saturday and Sunday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 49°F on Wednesday, 52°F on Thursday, 50°F on Friday, 49°F on Saturday and 47°F on Sunday. Expect rain all week.

Summary: Highs dropping to the mid 50’s, lows in the upper 40’s, rain.

Sierra (Seattle): Highs dropping overall this week: 58°F on Wednesday, 66°F on Thursday, 57°F on Friday, 55°F on Saturday and 54°F on Sunday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 50°F on Wednesday, 50°F on Thursday, 50°F on Friday, 49°F on Saturday and 48°F on Sunday. Expect rain all week.

Summary: Highs dropping from the upper 50’s to the lower 50’s, lows dropping to the upper 40’s, rain.

Denali (Sunnyvale): Highs dropping overall this week: 67°F on Wednesday, 72°F on Thursday, 66°F on Friday and Saturday and 61°F on Sunday. Lows will also drop this week: 58°F on Wednesday and Thursday, 51°F on Friday, 53°F on Saturday and 54°F on Sunday. Expect rain Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and clouds all week.

Summary: Highs dropping to the low 60’s, lows in the mid 50’s, rain and clouds all week.

Everest and Prep (Redwood City): Highs will hold pretty steady this week: 67°F on Wednesday, 70°F on Thursday, 65°F on Friday and Saturday, 60°F on Sunday. Lows will drop overall: 59°F on Wednesday and Thursday, 54°F on Friday, 56°F on Saturday and 55°F on Sunday. Expect rain on Friday and Sunday, as well as clouds all week.

Summary: Highs in the mid 60’s, lows in the mid 50’s, rain and clouds.

K2 (El Cerrito): Highs will hold pretty steady this week: 64°F on Wednesday, 67°F on Thursday, back to 64°F on Friday, 63°F on Saturday and 62°F on Sunday. Lows will drop overall: 59°F on Wednesday, 58°F on Thursday, 53°F on Friday and 54°F on Saturday and Sunday. Expect rain every other day (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) and clouds all week.

Summary: Highs in the mid-to-low 60’s, lows dropping to the mid 50’s, rain and clouds all week.

Tam (Richmond): Highs will hold pretty steady this week: 64°F on Wednesday, 66°F on Thursday, 64°F again on Friday, 63°F on Saturday and 62°F on Sunday. Lows will drop overall: 58°F on Wednesday and Thursday, 52°F on Friday and 53°F on Saturday and Sunday. Expect rain every day except Saturday when it will be cloudy. Also expect wind on Sunday.

Summary: Highs in the mid 60’s, lows in the mid 50’s, rain and clouds all week.

Shasta (Daly City): Highs will drop slightly this week: 63°F on Wednesday, 64°F on Thursday, 60°F on Friday, 61°F on Saturday and 60°F on Sunday. Lows will also drop this week: 56°F on Wednesday, 55°F on Thursday, 50°F on Friday, 52°F on Saturday and 51°F on Sunday. Expect rain every day except Saturday, when it will be mostly cloudy.

Summary: Highs in the low 60’s, lows in the low 50’s, rainy.

Tahoma (San Jose): Highs will fluctuate a bit this week: 68°F on Wednesday, 74°F on Thursday, 67°F on Friday and Saturday and 62°F on Sunday. Lows will drop overall: 58°F on Wednesday, 57°F on Thursday, 51°F on Friday, 52°F on Saturday and 53°F on Sunday. Expect rain on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with clouds Thursday and Saturday.

Summary: Highs in the mid 60’s, lows in the low 50’s, rain and clouds all week.

Cooking: Pasta Pomodoro with Shrimp

By Elise Bauer on Simply Recipes

Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 pound angel hair pasta
3/4 pound raw, peeled, deveined shrimp (medium sized)
4 medium ripe tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup torn fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided, 1 Tbsp and 2 Tbsp)
Salt
Pepper

Method:

Blanch and peel the tomatoes: Fill a large pot with 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil. (You will be using this water to both blanch the tomatoes and boil the pasta.) Core the tomatoes and use a sharp knife to cut a small X into the bottom end of each tomato. When the water is boiling, use a slotted spoon to lower the tomatoes into the water. Blanch for no more than one minute, just enough to loosen the skins. Remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon to a bowl of icy water, saving the blanching water. Peel off the tomato skins from the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes crosswise in half, and squeeze out most of the seeds and juices. Chop the tomatoes into 1-inch pieces.
Sauté the shrimp: Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Turn the shrimp over in the pan. Lower the heat to medium.
Add garlic, tomatoes, basil: Add the garlic, cook a minute more. Add the chopped tomatoes and basil. Sprinkle with salt. Cook for a minute more and remove from heat.
Cook the angel hair pasta: Add a tablespoon of salt to the water you used to blanch the tomatoes. Bring to a boil again. Add the angel hair pasta and cook for 3 minutes.
Add cooked shrimp to pasta and tomatoes: Drain the pasta and immediately add to pot with the shrimp and tomatoes. Drizzle the pasta with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Then stir the pasta in with the shrimp and tomatoes.
Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Actions:

Editor’s note: The “Actions” section includes petitions to sign, prompts and scripts to write officials with as well as other opportunities to engage in your local, national and global communities.

This “Actions” section will be in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which occurs from the first of Oct. until Oct. 31.

Visit the official Breast Cancer Awareness site to help the cause.
You can also visit the same site to find support for Breast Cancer if needed.
Read this article to find more about what you can do than just wearing pink!
Check out this link to learn more about Breast Cancer Research!

And, as always:

Watch or listen or listen to this playlist. All advertisement revenue goes to Black Lives Matter. 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-issued Chromebooks due to being in the “Entertainment” category
- Learn more about the crisis at www.monareliefye.org/.