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.

Warning: The third section of General News has mentions of explicit themes, proceed with caution.

Summit:

Summit Prep: Check out this article by Prep staff writer Landon Sasakim, where they delve deep into the “Saw” franchise to rank the movies from best to worst.
Click on this link to see the Summit News team’s nominations for this year’s JEANC journalism contest. Spot if anyone you know has been included and read our best articles over this past year!

General News:

Jury selection for whether or not Stoneman Douglas High School school shooter Nikolas Cruz will receive the death penalty (which requires a unanimous vote) or life in prison without parole. Thus far, 120 of the 160 potential jurors were dismissed due to most of them being unable to commit to the time commitment of the two-month penalty trial. An estimate of 1,500 jurors will be considered as the group is narrowed down to 12, with eight substitutes until the end of May. Jurors who pass the first level of inspection will move on to individual questioning, where the prosecution or defense can remove a potential juror (with the judge’s approval) based on bias. Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 accounts of first-degree murder and 17 accounts of attempted murder last October, with multiple postponements of the penalty trial following it due to the pandemic.
Puerto Rico experienced a nationwide power outage this Wednesday and Thursday, with over 3.2 million islanders having no electricity. Wate services were also cut off from about 100,000 buildings. An “unspecified failure” at a power plant nearby the town of Guayanilla led to a now extinguished fire Wednesday night. Important facilities such as hospitals and airports recovered power quickly and were not affected, respectively. School classes were canceled and non-government workers were ordered to stay at home, per Gov. Pedro Pierlusi.
28-year-old Jacob Greer, a man who faked his own death in 2016 after being charged with “receipt and possession of child sexual pornography”, has finally been arrested in the state of Washington this past Monday. Greer escaped law enforcement in Iowa in 2016 after being released on bail while awaiting his trial. His probation officer was notified that Greer had removed his ankle monitor, which led to officials finding a vehicle note with a supposed suicide note from him Investigators later found out that he had fled. Greer is currently in a Federal Detention Center in Seattle and will stand trial in Des Moines, Iowa.

Covid-19:

A study published by Nature is showing that in the severe cases of covid where internal damage is happening, it is not the disease that is causing the damage. Instead, the damage is caused by various immune system reactions. These are called “Cytokine storms”, and they are the reaction of monocyte and macrophage immune cells, which are a type of white blood cells. The cells are not equipped to fight Covid, leading to negative reactions. The negative reaction leads to the cells dying off. Vaccines help against these reactions, but there is still research being done to see what we can do to better understand this phenomenon.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), says that a new plan for Covid-19 vaccines is needed. The FDA held a meeting Wednesday to discuss the booster shots and emerging Covid variants. A big issue is that experts can’t know what the next covid-19 strand will be like, which makes planning difficult. A whole new vaccine might need to be developed for new variations, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has already said the company is working on a vaccine with targeting Omicron specifically in mind. Moderna and Novavax are both working on two-in-one vaccines that will protect against Covid and the flu, and people would get it once a year like current flu shots. There are even talks about Covid vaccines that could also target the common cold (which is a type of Coronavirus). The biggest problems the FDA is facing are the fast evolution of Covid-19, which has received “five years” worth of evolution in just two, and the willingness of people to get vaccinated.

Politics:

Sarah Palin will be running for Alaska’s House seat. She was the governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009. Then, she was selected by Republican-candidate-for-president John McCain as his vice-presidential running mate for the 2008 election, but they lost to Barack Obama and Joe Biden. She was popular with the Republican party, but has also been criticized for her penchant for going off-message. This is her first campaign since 2008.
Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi dissolved Parliament after the prime minister dodged a no-confidence vote earlier on Sunday. The Prime Minister’s political opponents were ready to vote him out of office, but in a series of events, he escaped and the nation will vote for a new government within 90 days.
Many states are reacting to a perceived Supreme Court decision regarding Roe v Wade. States like Oklahoma are starting to pass bills that tightly restrict abortions, while states like Oregon are trying to protect abortions rights. This, and many other issues, have increased the polarization of the U.S. so that right- and left-winged states are moving further and further apart.

Sports:

MLB:

Major League Baseball announced 80 game suspensions for four players, including Milwaukee Brewers catcher Pedro Severino. Severino was expected to be the primary backup catcher for the Brewers this season, but with him set to miss half the season, Milwaukee will have to look into other options. Severino tested positive for Clomiphene, a Performance Enhancing Drug (PED). He claims that he was prescribed a medication to treat infertility issues when he returned to his home country of the Dominican Republic following the 2021 season, and that he didn’t know the medication contained Clomiphene. He will not challenge the suspension. The other 3 players who received suspensions are Free Agents; Richard Rodriguez, Danny Santana, and Jose Rondon all tested positive for Boldenone, a synthetic derivative of testosterone according to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
With opening day just around the corner, the Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers have agreed to a trade that will send 2019 All-Star Austin Meadows to the Tigers in return for prospect infielder Isaac Paredes and a competitive balance round B pick in the 2022 MLB draft. This trade will immediately improve the Tigers, who are an up-and-coming team in the league, by giving them another power bat. The trade is a little surprising for the Rays, who are in win-now mode and will be losing an important batter in their lineup.

March Madness:

The NCAA basketball tournament is officially over for both men and women. The men’s winner is the number one seed, the Kansas Jayhawks, who beat the eighth-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69 on Monday night. The Jayhawks were trailing by 16 at halftime and completed the biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history to win the final game and their 4th tournament. The women’s tournament was won by the number one seed, the South Carolina Gamecocks as they beat the second-seeded Connecticut Huskies 64-49 to win their second tournament, and first since 2017.

NFL:

The New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles have swapped multiple picks, with the Saints receiving the Eagle’s 16th and 19th overall pick in the 2022 draft along with a 6th round pick). In return, the Eagles take the Saint’s 18th overall pick in the 2022 draft, as well as their 2022 third and seventh-round picks, a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 second-round pick. The move helps the Saints add talent without having to max out their salary cap space, even though according to ESPN’s draft pick value calculator the Eagles will have won the trade if the 2023 pick has a similar value to the 2022 pick.

Entertainment:

The 64th Annual Grammys was presented this past Sunday, April 3, and it ran without issue compared to its film counterpart. The pop duo Silk Sonic, comprised of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, won the most awards of the night with four, including “Record of the Year” and “Song of the Year”. In a surprising turn of events, lesser-known artist Jon Batiste took home “Album of the Year”. On the other hand, Olivia Rodrigo won “Best New Artist” as many predicted. The night was not just focused on music, however; President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky made a special appearance to speak on the current crisis, saying, “Fill the silence with your music…To tell our story. Tell the truth about the war.” This was followed by John Legend singing “Free” whilst wearing a blue suit to honor Ukraine. Other notable performances include a video montage honoring the late Taylor Hawkins, BTS’s synchronized dance of their song “Butter” and Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby” complimented by a statue of his own face. See the full list of winners here.

World-famous pop artist Ed Sheeran won a copyright claim lawsuit that he faced accusations by artist Sami Chokri and songwriter Ross O’Donoghue. The case was dismissed by the judge after an 11-day-hearing on whether or not Sheeran and his co-writers John McDaid and Steve McCutcheon “ripped off” Chokri’s and O’Donoghue’s song “Oh Why” to create his hit song “Shape of You”. The defense argued that the targeted lyrics, “Oh I”, were a basic pattern of notes used in many songs, with Sheeran taking the stand to demonstrate this by humming notes from “No Diggity” and “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone. Copyright infringement has been a prominent issue in the music industry for some time now, with artists such as Olivia Rodrigo recently coming under fire for it. However, with numerous claims over the years being false, Ed Sheeran took to Instagram to state this: “I hope that this ruling means in the future baseless claims like this can be avoided.”
Update: The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced that they have moved the date for its decision on the possible consequences Will Smith may face for hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars last week to April 8.

Weather:

Atlas and Sierra (Seattle): Highs will fluctuate quite a bit this week: 69℉ on Thursday, 55℉ on Friday, 51℉ on Saturday, 49℉ on Sunday, 51℉ on Monday and 54℉ on Tuesday and Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 48℉ on Thursday, 42℉ on Friday, 37℉ on Saturday, 38℉ on Sunday, 37℉ on Monday, 40℉ on Tuesday and 43℉ on Wednesday. There will be rain on Friday and Saturday and the rest of the week will be cloudy.

Summary: Highs between the upper 40’s to the upper 60’s, lows in the upper 30’s, clouds, some rain.

Olympus (Tacoma): Highs will fluctuate this week: 70℉ on Thursday, 56℉ on Friday, 52℉ on Saturday, 49℉ on Sunday, 51℉ on Monday, 54℉ on Tuesday and 55℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 47℉ on Thursday, 41℉ on Friday, 36℉ from Saturday to Monday, 38℉ on Tuesday and 42℉ on Wednesday. There will be rain on Friday and Saturday and the rest of the week will be cloudy.

Summary: Highs between the upper 40’s to the upper 60’s, lows in the upper 30’s, clouds, some rain.

Denali (Sunnyvale): Highs will drop a lot this week: 92℉ on Thursday, 85℉ on Friday, 73℉ on Saturday, 66℉ on Sunday, 55℉ on Monday, 59℉ on Tuesday and 63℉ on Wednesday. Lows will also drop this week, but not as much: 59℉ on Thursday, 50℉ on Friday, 46℉ on Saturday, 43℉ on Sunday and Monday, 42℉ on Tuesday and 45℉ on Wednesday. There will be clouds most of the week, except Saturday and Sunday when there won’t be any clouds.

Summary: Highs dropping from the 90’s, lows dropping from the upper 50’s, clouds and sun.

Everest and Prep (Redwood City): Highs will be dropping overall: 89℉ on Thursday, 77℉ on Friday, 69℉ on Saturday, 63℉ on Sunday, 56℉ on Monday, 60℉ on Tuesday and 63℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 55℉ on Thursday, 49℉ on Friday, 48℉ on Saturday, 44℉ on Sunday, 45℉ on Monday, 44℉ on Tuesday and 46℉ on Wednesday. There will be clouds most of the week, except Saturday and Sunday when there won’t be any clouds.

Summary: Highs dropping from the 80’s, lows dropping from the mid 50’s, clouds and sun.

K2 (El Cerrito): Highs will drop then rise this week: 84℉ on Thursday, 77℉ on Friday, 72℉ on Saturday, 66℉ on Sunday, 57℉ on Monday, 61℉ on Tuesday and 64℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 55℉ on Thursday, 51℉ on Friday, 48℉ on Saturday, 43℉ from Sunday to Tuesday and 46℉ on Wednesday. There will be clouds most of the week, except Saturday when there won’t be any clouds.

Summary: Highs dropping from the 80’s, lows in the upper 40’s, clouds.

Tam (Richmond): Highs will drop then rise this week: 84℉ on Thursday, 78℉ on Friday, 73℉ on Saturday, 67℉ on Sunday, 56℉ on Monday, 62℉ on Tuesday and 64℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 54℉ on Thursday, 50℉ on Monday, 47℉ on Saturday, 43℉ on Sunday and Monday, 42℉ on Tuesday and 45℉ on Wednesday. There will be clouds most of the week, except Saturday when there won’t be any clouds.

Summary: Highs dropping from the 80’s, lows in the upper 40’s, clouds.

Shasta (Daly City): Highs will drop this week: 78℉ on Thursday, 67℉ on Friday, 64℉ on Saturday, 59℉ on Sunday, 54℉ on Monday, 56℉ on Tuesday and 59℉ on Wednesday. Lows will also drop this week: 52℉ on Thursday, 49℉ on Friday, 47℉ on Saturday, 43℉ from Sunday to Tuesday and 45℉ on Wednesday. There will be clouds on Thursday, Friday and Wednesday and the rest of the week will be very windy.

Summary: Highs dropping from the upper 70’s, lows in the upper 40’s, wind and clouds.

Tahoma (San Jose): Highs will drop dramatically this week: 94℉ on Thursday, 90℉ on Friday, 79℉ on Saturday, 69℉ on Sunday, 58℉ on Monday, 61℉ on Tuesday and 66℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 61℉ on Thursday, 52℉ on Friday, 46℉ on Saturday, 43℉ on Sunday, 41℉ on Monday and Tuesday and 44℉ on Wednesday. There will be clouds most of the week, except Saturday when there won’t be any clouds.

Summary: Highs dropping from the 90’s, lows dropping from the 60’s, clouds.

Cooking: Baked Feta Pasta

By Yumna Jawad on Feel Good Foodie

Serves 6

Ingredients:

8 ounces dried cavatappi pasta (or pasta of choice)
2 pints cherry tomatoes
8- ounce block feta cheese
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves (minced)
¼ cup packed chopped fresh basil (plus more for serving)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the cherry tomatoes in an oven-safe baking dish. Pour the olive oil on top, and season with salt and pepper. Toss until well combined.
Place the feta block in the middle of the baking dish surrounded by the cherry tomatoes, and flip a couple times to coat it with the olive oil and seasoning.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, until the cherry tomatoes burst, and the feta cheese melts.
While the tomatoes and feta are baking, cook the pasta in a pot of salted water according to package instructions until al dente. Drain, reserving ½ cup of the cooking liquid in case you’d like to toss it in.
Immediately add the garlic and basil leaves to the cooked tomatoes and feta and toss everything to combine.
Transfer the cooked pasta to the baking dish and toss to combine. Garnish with more fresh basil and serve warm.

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.

Advanced Placement (AP) Tests are slowly creeping up, as such, here are different ways you can study for and prepare yourself for them. Despite what you may think, you can do well on these, so do not give up!

Head to CollegeBoard for free study materials, all you have to do is make an account!
Check out these tips by The Princeton Review on how to prepare for AP exams!
Go to Khan Academy to review content for your AP Classes and to take quizzes to test yourself on your knowledge

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