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:

Read Staff Writer Diana Morales’s two new articles: This review on the action-adventure video game “The Last of Us”, where they analyze the technical and story aspects of the game. Also, check out their food review on Korean corn dogs and why they are so darn tasty!
Here’s a link to Staff Writer Megan Claussen’s review on the HBO movie, “The Fallout”, which follows three students as they deal with the aftermath of a school shooting.
As expeditions are coming to an end this year with Round Four starting at Tahoma, we will be aiming to get as many high-quality articles published as possible.
Check out this video on the Tahoma junior college campus visits by Tahoma editor Ashwath Vimal and Staff Writer Abdullatif Melhem. It has interviews with the college students on campus, interviews with Tahoms students and campus footage complemented by some comedic editing!

General News:

Over four years ago, Professor Nicholas Meriweather at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio, was warned against not calling a student by their preferred pronouns by the school administration. In turn, he filed a lawsuit against the university for infringing on his constitutional rights by attempting to express beliefs that contradicted his religion, winning it last year. This week, it was announced that the university has agreed to pay the professor $400,000. Meriweather was represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, who stated that the university forced them “to defend what used to be a common belief — that nobody should be forced to contradict their core beliefs just to keep their job”. Shawnee state rebuffs that they “deprived Dr. Meriwether of his free speech rights or his rights to freely exercise his religion,” and that the settlement was made because the cost of the lawsuit was straying away from their mission to serve the university’s students, families and community.
The US Navy has officially begun an inquiry into the “command climate and culture” on the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier that has had seven deaths in the past year, four from suicide (only one has been confirmed, however). An investigation into any connection between the deaths will also be made, especially at the three apparent suicides that occurred this month over the span of one week. These three suicides make up a few of the 18 suicides amongst Navy members. In response to increased suicide rates in the military over the past five years, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has established the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee, which will start visiting military bases in May.

Covid-19:

Chief Medical Officer for American biotech company Novavax, Dr. Filip Dubovsky, announced that they have made great strides with their vaccine that targets both COVID-19 and the flu. The first stage of testing has shown the vaccine is triggering a promising response from the immune system. Novavax takes a different approach to their vaccines compared to Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, with the latter two relying on messenger RNA to accomplish the task while Novavax synthesizes the vaccine spike outside the body and puts the spike into an insect pathogenic virus. The spike then gets copied, purified and finally extracted and used in the vaccine. The participants in the first stage of the trial had a median age of 59, and common side effects were fatigue, headaches, and pain around the area of injection. Novavax presented its data to the World Vaccine Congress this past Wednesday and hopes to move to Stage 2 later this year.
On Monday, a federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate for public transportation. Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle explained the ruling stating the mandate was unlawful because it “Exceeded the statutory authority of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and because its implementation violated administrative law”. US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy explained that the reason for the mask mandate on public transportation is the rising COVID-19 cases and its naturally compact settings. Although the mandate is officially no longer in place, the Biden administration is recommending that Americans wear masks while on public transportation. TheUnited States Justice Department will appeal the ruling providing that the CDC determines the mandate as necessary to protect public health.

Politics:

NPR reported Florida banned 54 school books for the K-12 curriculum because of Common Core and Critical Race Theory. The Florida Department of Education claims this is 41% of the books reviewed this year. Common Core standards have been replaced by BEST standards (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking) in 2020. This decision has received backlash from politicians and celebrities.
The New York Times reported a federal judge has allowed “Georgia voters to move forward with legal efforts seeking to disqualify Representative Majorie Taylor Greene from running for reelection to Congress”. These votes cite her involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, using the Civil War precedent that prevented Confederacy leaders from holding office. Many other Republicans have faced similar efforts.

Sports:

NFL:

Deebo Samuel of the San Franciso 49ers has requested a trade from the team. Samuel told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington that he had put in the trade request on Wednesday, yet he declined to state the reasoning for his request. Samuel broke out for the 49ers last year in what was his third year in the NFL, and was a major part of the 49ers’ success last season due to his ability to be both an elite wide receiver and elite running back, leading to the creation of the term “wide back”. Despite this, it seems that actually might be a reason Samuel wants to leave the red and gold, as it’s been reported that he isn’t happy with how he was being utilized in the 49ers offense. The 49ers want to keep the exciting player with them, but it’s clear that the feeling isn’t mutual. A silver lining for 49ers fans is that there will be high interest for Samuel and the package back will almost certainly be somewhat of a king’s ransom.

NBA:

The first round of the NBA playoffs is currently underway and we’ll be recapping the series as they finish, and although the playoffs are young, we’ve seen some great games and performances. One dark cloud that hovers over the playoffs, though, is injuries.

Khris Middleton has been ruled out for the rest of the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round series against the Chicago Bulls due to an MCL sprain in his left knee. If the reigning champions are able to advance far enough into the playoffs Middleton could return after his re-evaluation in two weeks. Middleton is a major player for the Bucks, but they have enough star power and depth to still be a major threat without the All-Star on the court.
Phoenix Suns star Shooting Guard Devin Booker will be out for some time with a grade one right hamstring strain. There is not yet a timeline for Booker’s return and it’s unlikely that it would be during the Suns’ first-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans. This loss has dropped the Suns from their position as the betting favorites in the Western Conference.
Luka Doncic will be back for the Dallas Mavericks in game four of their first-round series against the Utah Jazz after missing time with a strained left calf. The Mavericks are leading their series 2-1 and the return of Doncic should help them wrap up a series win.

Entertainment:

Marvel Studios has officially unveiled their first teaser for their upcoming summer blockbuster “Thor: Love and Thunder”, the fourth part of the “Thor” films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The plot of the movie has yet to be disclosed, but the trailer includes a scene of Thor stating that he is giving up “superhero-ing”. However, as typical of every Marvel picture, this one will incorporate your archetypal supervillain, Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale. This movie also seems to have some of its focus on Thor’s journey as a person more than on a pure action-centric plot. Finally, while the teaser did not give fans a first look at Bale’s character, the end of it does reveal a first look at Natalie Portman’s return as Jane Foster; this time, she takes on the role of “The Mighty Thor”. “Thor: Love and Thunder” releases in theaters on July 8, 2022.
“Pirates of the Caribbean” star Johnny Depp took the stand this Tuesday for his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard. Depp and his team are suing for $50 million over an opinion article she wrote for The Washington Post where she shared that she was a victim of domestic abuse. However, before the civil trial had begun, Heard posted on social media that she never specified it was Depp who she was referring to in her opinion piece. Heard is also attempting to countersue for $100 million. As Tuesday’s portion of the trial progressed, Depp testified that he has never struck Heard or any woman in his life, claiming that these false allegations have ruined his reputation. Many associates of Depp testified as a part of his defense, among them being two nurses who said Heard was the one who had tried to “instigate conflict” with Depp multiple times. The jury will be able to hear more on the other side of the story as Heard testifies sometime in the coming weeks.

Weather:

Atlas and Sierra (Seattle): Highs will rise then fall this week: 54℉ on Thursday, 58℉ on Friday and Saturday, 60℉ on Sunday and Monday and 54℉ on Tuesday and Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 42℉ on Thursday, 44℉ on Friday, 45℉ on Saturday, 46℉ on Sunday, 47℉ on Monday, 44℉ on Tuesday and 42℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday and Tuesday and the rest of the week will be cloudy.

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

Olympus (Tacoma):Highs will rise then fall this week: 54℉ on Thursday, 58℉ on Friday, 60℉ on Saturday and Sunday, 61℉ Monday and 55℉ on Tuesday and Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 40℉ on Thursday, 43℉ on Friday and Saturday, 45℉ on Sunday, 47℉ on Monday, 43℉ on Tuesday and 41℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday, Friday and Tuesday and the rest of the week will be cloudy.

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

Denali (Sunnyvale): Highs will rise then fall this week: 61℉ on Thursday, 62℉ on Friday, 67℉ on Saturday, 73℉ on Sunday, 74℉ on Monday, 71℉ on Tuesday and 68℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 47℉ on Thursday, 46℉ on Friday, 47℉ on Saturday, 48℉ on Sunday, 49℉ on Monday and Tuesday and 47℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday and Friday, but there will be sun and clouds the rest of the week.

Summary: Highs in the upper 60’s, lows in the upper 40’s, rain and clouds.

Everest and Prep (Redwood City): Highs will rise then fall this week: 62℉ on Thursday and Friday, 65℉ on Saturday, 70℉ on Sunday, 71℉ on Monday, 69℉ on Tuesday and 66℉ on Wednesday. Lows will hold pretty steady this week: 48℉ from Thursday to Sunday, 50℉ on Monday and Tuesday and 48℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday and Friday morning, but the rest of the week will be sunny and a bit cloudy.

Summary: Highs in the upper 60’s, lows in the upper 40’s, rain and clouds.

K2 (El Cerrito): Highs will rise then fall this week: 59℉ on Thursday, 60℉ on Friday, 66℉ on Saturday, 71℉ on Sunday and Monday, 69℉ on Tuesday and 67℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a less dramatic pattern: 48℉ on Thursday, 46℉ on Friday, 49℉ on Saturday and Sunday, 50℉ on Monday, 49℉ on Tuesday and 48℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday, but the rest of the week will be sunny, though there will be some clouds.

Summary: Highs in the upper 60’s, lows in the upper 40’s, sun and clouds.

Tam (Richmond): Highs will rise then fall this week: 60℉ on Thursday, 61℉ on Friday, 66℉ on Saturday, 72℉ on Sunday and Monday, 70℉ on Tuesday and 68℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 47℉ on Thursday, 46℉ on Friday, 48℉ on Saturday and Sunday, 50℉ on Monday, 48℉ on Tuesday and 47℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday, but the rest of the week will be sunny, though there will be some clouds.

Summary: Highs in the upper 60’s, lows in the upper 40’s, sun and clouds.

Shasta (Daly City): Highs will rise then fall this week: 57℉ on Thursday and Friday, 59℉ on Saturday, 64℉ on Sunday, 63℉ on Monday, 61℉ on Tuesday and 59℉ on Wednesday. Lows will hold pretty steady this week: 47℉ on Thursday, 46℉ on Friday, 48℉ on Saturday and Sunday, 49℉ on Monday, 48℉ on Tuesday and 47℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday, but the rest of the week will be sunny, though there will be some clouds.

Summary: Highs in the low 60’s, lows in the upper 40’s, sun and clouds.

Tahoma (San Jose): Highs will rise then fall this week: 63℉ on Thursday, 64℉ on Friday, 70℉ on Saturday, 76℉ on Sunday, 78℉ on Monday, 76℉ on Tuesday and 72℉ on Wednesday. Lows will hold pretty much the same this week: 47℉ on Thursday, 46℉ on Friday, 47℉ on Saturday, 50℉ on Sunday, 49℉ on Monday and Tuesday and 47℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday and Friday but the rest of the week will be sunny.

Summary: Highs in the upper 70’s, lows in the upper 40’s, some rain and sun.

Cooking: Spanish Rice

By Kristyn Merkley on Lil Luna

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 cups long grain rice
1/8 cup oil
8 oz tomato sauce
6 stems cilantro (optional)
1 tsp salt

1 tsp minced garlic
4 cups water (or 4 cups chicken lower sodium chicken broth – and no bouillon)
1 cube chicken flavored bouillon
dash cumin
dash garlic pepper

Instructions:

Heat oil in large frying pan on medium heat.
Add rice and cook until golden brown.
Add 1 chicken flavored bouillon cube to 4 cups water and microwave for 3 minutes.
When rice is brown, add water, tomato sauce, salt, garlic, cumin and garlic pepper to pan.
Stir and cover pan. Let simmer for 30-40 minutes or until all is cooked and there is no liquid left. Fluff before serving and ENJOY.

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.

Donate to and become involved with the National Action Network (NAN), created by civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton, who is currently helping cover funeral costs for the family of Patrick Lyoya, who was brutally shot by police in Michigan during a traffic stop. NAN strives to achieve criminal justice reform, police accountability, crisis intake and victim assistance, voting rights, corporate responsibility and diversity, youth leadership and bridging the technological divide, all relevant issues in this day and age.

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