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Your Summit Weekly Briefing

By Ashwath Vimal, Angela Hwang and Ethan Ignatovsky

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:

Apologies for the late post this week! We try to bring you the best standard of writing we can every week, and to do that we had to delay the release of the briefing this week. Things should be back on schedule next week! We would also like to wish Tahoma good luck on their third round of expeditions, and we hope everyone at Prep enjoyed their round two!

General News:

The New York City Police Department will officially be bringing back one of the most controversial police units in recent times due to the increase in gun violence, the anti-crime unit. They will patrol high-crime neighborhoods in an attempt to keep them as safe as possible. With a year filled with racial justice protests and the fact that these types of units have had a history of police brutality and discriminatory practices, it was shut down In August of 2020. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has stated that they will “avoid the mistakes of the past” and “better training and oversight” to make sure they follow a different path than in previous times. However, putting more supervision in crime-riddled areas could cause more violence, with Mayor Adams himself saying many would take this as a sign that they are being attacked. Furthermore, with over 850 public complaints racked up against this unit when it was active in 2018 and 2019, the accountability and effectiveness of this unit remain to be seen.
The National Association for Gun Rights (based in Colorado) has filed a suit against the city of San Jose, which has put forth a proposal to make owners for firearms carry liability insurance for “accidents and negligence” and pay a yearly fee. They called these potential regulations “patently unconstitutional” and an attempt to “suppress gun ownership”. However, the mayor’s office has stated that the purpose of this proposed mandate is to encourage “safer behavior” and “ensure medical care for victims of unintentional shootings”. The proposed mandate would exempt law enforcement, people with concealed carry permits, and those who are not in a financial position to be able to pay the extra fee. Of course, this is focused on people with legally owned guns, as there are already laws in place to deal with criminal activity related to guns and many deaths are caused by lawfully owned firearms.m

Covid-19:

The Biden administration is officially withdrawing its Covid-19 vaccination and testing mandate for large businesses following the Supreme Courts’’ decision to block it earlier this month. The decision is a major blow to the Presidents plan to use the power of the federal government to fight back against the pandemic. The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that they would be withdrawing their current standard on Tuesday, and released the following statement: “Although OSHA is withdrawing the vaccination and testing ETS as an enforceable emergency temporary standard, the agency is not withdrawing the ETS as a proposed rule. The agency is prioritizing its resources to focus on finalizing a permanent COVID-19 Healthcare Standard”.

Politics:

Senator Kyrsten Sinema has been censured by the Arizona Democratic party following her opposition to the rule change aimed to move the voting rights bill forward this time. The change would have made it so only 51 votes would be needed to pass the bill, rather than the normal 60. Arizona Democratic Chairperson Raquel Teran said “the Arizona Democratic Party is a diverse coalition” that allows “policy disagreements”, but not on the filibuster and voting rights bill. Sinema argued her decision was not wrong because she felt the change would “deepen our divisions”.
A federal court will hear Sarah Palin’s libel case against the New York Times; the trial isset to start in February following Palin’s positive Covid test. The case may set new precedents in determining libel. Previously, prosecutors of libel cases had to prove inaccuracy, reputational harm and “actual malice”. Though the case will not deal directly with the precedent set by the Warren Court, it could set the ball rolling on lowering protections for journalists.
Justice Stephen Breyer is set to retire at the end of the Court’s term. President Biden appears to be ready to nominate a Black woman to replace him, but confirmation from Congress may be difficult to get.

Sports:

MLB:

The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) has only inducted one inductee out of the 30 nominated 2022 MLB Hall of Fame Class. The former player is a 10-time All-Star, seven-time Silver Slugger, three-time World Series Champion, one-time World Series MVP, and one-time league home run leader, “Big Papi” David Ortiz. Ortiz was inducted on his first time on the ballot, becoming the 58th player in MLB history to have the honor. The reason notable players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens didn’t make it into the hall is due to their names being intertwined with steroid usage in the sport, however, ironically enough Ortiz is the only player out of these 3 that has actually failed a steroid test.

NFL DIVISIONAL ROUND: Eight teams entered last weekend with a chance at the Superbowl, now only 4 remain after one of the most exciting weekends of football in recent memory.

Cincinnati Bengals 19 – Tennessee Titans 16: Despite being sacked 9 times, Joe Burrow and the Bengals managed to outscore the Titans. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill is under fire after greatly underperforming on Saturday, after throwing 3 interceptions. Derrick Henry wasn’t himself in his return from his broken either, as the Titans running back only managed to run for 62 yards. The game ended with rookie Evan McPherson hitting a 52-yard field goal as time ran out. Joe Burrow is now one win away from leading the Bengals to their first Superbowl in 33 years.
San Francisco 49ers 13 – Green Bay Packers 10: In the freezing cold weather that later turned into Wisconsin snow, the 49ers managed to edge out the Packers in what could very well be Aaron Rogers’s last game in the Green and Yellow. It was really the special teams and defense that won the game for SF. The defense managed to limit the Packers to one touchdown in the first half and Jimmie Ward managed to block a field goal with time running out during the first half. The game got tied at 10-10 when Jordan Willis blocked a Green Bay punt and Talanoa Hufanga ran it into the endzone. The 49ers won on a 45-yard field goal as time drew to a close.
Los Angeles Rams 30 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27: Tom Brady might have just played his last NFL game. And if it is in fact his last game, he ends his accomplished career with seven super bowl wins, falling short of number eight. The Rams had total control of the first half, ending it with a 20-3 lead. The Bucs came back in the second half though, tying the game at 27 with time running out in the 4th quarter. Rams Quarterback Mathew Stafford finished off his amazing three-touchdown performance by managing to lead his team into field goal position with four seconds left, allowing kicker Matt Gay to put his team one win away from the Superbowl.
Buffalo Bills 36 – Kansas City Cheifs 42: In a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game, both teams played their hearts out. Both quarterbacks (Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes) played incredibly well, scoring four touchdowns each and both posting passer ratings over 120. The lead changed hands three times in the final two minutes of the 4th, with 25 total points being scored. The regulation wasn’t enough to decide this game though, tied 36-36 we would be heading into overtime. The Cheifs won the toss and drove down the field to score a touchdown, automatically winning the game by today’s NFL playoff overtime rules.

Entertainment:

Marvel’s newest upcoming miniseries “Moon Knight” is set to premiere on March 30 of this year. The show will tell the story of Steven Grant, a man who suffers from multiple personality disorder, with one of them being a violent mercenary/vigilante (Marc Spector/Moon Knight). As we see in the trailer, Grant has been having very realistic dreams(which are actually the lives of his other personalities). Throughout the trailer, we also see Grant deal with a cult and Egyptian gods, the latter of which his personality Marc Spector is connected to. The trailer ends with a glimpse at the Moon Knight costume, which looks very well-designed with eye-grabbing visual effects. The series stars Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, May Calamawy and Lucy Thackeray. Unfortunately, the last co-star, Gaspard Ulliel, has passed away from a skiing accident, but will still appear in the show.
Spotify will officially be removing Rock artist Neil Young’s music from their platform. This comes after Young stated that he did not want his music to be on the same platform as someone who spread vaccine misinformation in a now-deleted post on his website (Joe Rogan). With “The Joe Rogan Experience” being Spotify’s number one podcast and the fact that medical professionals sent a letter to the company, crtiicizing them for giving a platform for vaccine misinformation, viewers do need to be cautious of what they believe about COVID-19. A spokesperson for Spotify has said that they have removed over 20,000 podcasts relating to COVID-19 and that “balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators” is of the utmost importance. They do regret Young’s decision and hope he returns to the platform.

Weather:

Atlas and Sierra (Seattle): Highs will fall slightly this week: 49℉ on Thursday, 48℉ on Friday and Saturday, 47℉ on Sunday and 44℉ from Monday to Wednesday. Lows will rise slightly this week: 33℉ on Thursday, 36℉ on Friday, 41℉ on Saturday and Sunday, 38℉ on Monday, 37℉ on Tuesday and 34℉ on Wednesday. It will be cloudy Thursday and Friday, start raining on Saturday, and keep raining until Wednesday, with a break on Tuesday.

Summary: Highs in the mid-to-upper 40’s, lows in the upper 30’s, rain and clouds.

Olympus (Tacoma): Highs will fall slightly this week: 49℉ on Thursday, 48℉ from Friday to Sunday, 45℉ from Monday, 44℉ on Tuesday and 45℉ Wednesday. Lows will rise slightly this week: 31℉ on Thursday, 35℉ on Friday, 40℉ on Saturday, 41℉ on Sunday, 36℉ on Monday and Tuesday and 34℉ on Wednesday. It will be cloudy Thursday and Friday, start raining on Saturday and keep raining until Wednesday.

Summary: Highs in the mid-to-upper 40’s, lows in the upper 30’s, rain and clouds.

Denali (Sunnyvale): Highs will fall slightly this week: 68℉ Thursday, 63℉ on Friday, 64℉ on Saturday, 63℉ on Sunday, 59℉ on Monday, 57℉ on Tuesday and 60℉ on Wednesday. Lows will also fall: 43℉ on Thursday, 44℉ on Friday, 43℉ on Saturday, 46℉ on Sunday, 44℉ on Monday, 43℉ on Tuesday and 40℉ on Wednesday. It will be a cloudy week, but it won’t rain.

Summary: Highs in the mid 60’s, lows in the mid 40’s, clouds.

Everest and Prep (Redwood City): Highs will fall this week: 64℉ Thursday, 60℉ from Friday to Sunday, 57℉ on Monday, 56℉ on Tuesday and 58℉ on Wednesday. Lows will also fall: 45℉ from Thursday to Saturday, 47℉ on Sunday, back to 45℉ on Monday and Tuesday and 41℉ on Wednesday. It will be partly cloudy all week, but there is going to be rain on Monday morning.

Summary: Highs in the upper 50’s, lows in the mid 40’s, clouds.

K2 (El Cerrito): Highs will fall this week: 62℉ on Thursday, 59℉ on Friday, 61℉ on Saturday, 60℉ on Sunday, 58℉ on Monday, 57℉ on Tuesday and 58℉ on Wednesday. Highs will fluctuate a bit this week: 43℉ on Thursday, 44℉ on Friday, 45℉ on Saturday, 48℉ on Sunday, 45℉ on Monday, 46℉ on Tuesday and 41℉ on Wednesday. It will be partly cloudy all week, but there is going to be rain on Monday.

Summary: Highs in the low 60’s, lows in the mid 40’s, clouds.

Tam (Richmond): Highs will fall a bit this week: 62℉ on Thursday, 59℉ on Friday, 61℉ on Saturday, 60℉ on Sunday, 58℉ on Monday, 57℉ on Tuesday and 58℉ on Wednesday. Lows will fluctuate a bit: 43℉ on Thursday, 44℉ on Friday, 45℉ on Saturday, 48℉ on Sunday, 45℉ on Monday and Tuesday and 41℉ on Wednesday. It will be cloudy all week and there will be rain on Monday.

Summary: Highs in the low 60’s, lows in the mid 40’s, clouds.

Shasta (Daly City): Highs will fall this week: 62℉ on Thursday, 58℉ on Friday, 59℉ on Saturday, 58℉ on Sunday, 57℉ on Monday, 56℉ on Tuesday and 58℉ on Wednesday. Lows will also fall this week: 46℉ on Thursday and Friday, 47℉ on Saturday, 49℉ on Sunday, 47℉ on Monday and Tuesday and 43℉ on Wednesday. It will be cloudy all week and there will be rain on Monday.

Summary: Highs in the upper 50’s, lows in the upper 40’s, clouds.

Tahoma (San Jose): Highs will fall a lot this week: 70℉ on Thursday, 66℉ on Friday, 65℉ on Saturday, 64℉ on Sunday, 61℉ on Monday, 58℉ on Tuesday and 60℉ on Wednesday. Lows will fall, too: 43℉ on Thursday, 44℉ on Friday, 43℉ on Saturday, 46℉ on Sunday, 43℉ on Monday, 42℉ on Tuesday and 39℉ on Wednesday. It will be partly cloudy all week.

Summary: Highs in the mid-to-low 60’s, lows in the mid 40’s, clouds.

Cooking: Braised Chickpeas with Chard

By The Modern Proper

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Chickpeas
Olive oil or butter
Fresh garlic
Jarred marinara sauce
Swiss chard (or kale, spinach or another leafy green)
Paprika (optional)

Instructions:

Warm the olive oil (or butter) over medium heat.
Add the chickpeas.
Add the garlic and smoked paprika (if you’ve got it). Stir for a couple minutes.
Pour in the marinara sauce and bring the whole pan to a simmer.
After about ten minutes, stir in your leafy greens and cook until they wilt.

Serve with bread and/or cheese.

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.

While Summit schools do not have a specific requirement for service hours to graduate, having them can still look good on college applications! A popular and convenient organization to volunteer for is the American Red Cross! Their goal is to provide assistance through things such as Disaster Relief, Blood Donation, helping military families, providing health and safety courses, and more! Better yet, next school year you can even join (or start if there is not one already!) a Red Cross Club at your school to help achieve their goals!

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/.