Your Summit Weekly Briefing

By Jovani Contreras, Ethan Ignatovsky, Diana Morales and Sean Quigley

Staff Editors

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.  

Content Warning: Mentions of explicit themes occur in the third section of “General News” and in “Actions”. 

Summit:

1. Last week, Diane Tavenner announced in an email to students that this will be her last year as CEO of Summit Public Schools. Tavenner served as CEO for 20 years. The Summit Board of Directors will begin the internal hiring process of a new CEO soon.
2. Here’s an excerpt from Staff Editor Jovani Contreras’s new editorial: “On paper, Summit’s college acceptance and completion numbers look great, but the data on students who actually complete college tells a different story.” You can read the full story here.

General News:

1. In Monte Vista, Colorado a teen was fatally shot while recording a TikTok.  A man and 2 juveniles have been charged in connection to the teen’s death. The 21-year-old suspect, Emiliano Vargas, is facing allegations for providing a firearm to a juvenile and failing to secure the weapon. The teen was shot and killed on Aug. 7 and hasn’t been identified. The victim and two others were recording a TikTok with the firearm “when it was either tossed to the victim or pointed at the victim and it fired” killing the teen. The two “juveniles were charged with manslaughter and possession of a handgun by a juvenile.” There was a girl witness who saw the shooting happen and she stated that the “gun was pointed at the victim and went off. “It could be on accident,” she told police.
2.  In schools across the country, classes will be let out early as hot weather and faulty air conditioners are making some classrooms unusable. Extreme temperatures have forced more than 100 schools in Philadelphia to shut down or return to remote learning. Schools in the area are dismissing classes up to three hours early, after school activities are also being canceled. This is due to massive heat waves sweeping the country. Several states are seeing record breaking temperatures, and millions fall under heat warnings and advisories. Parents are pushing for schools to implement HVAC systems in school buildings to control the classroom climates.
3. The College Board has recently developed an “African American Advanced Placement Course” The course was designed by College Board, students, and high school teachers at the HBCU, Howard University. 60 schools across the country will offer the new AP class with even more schools expected to follow suit.

Health/Medicine: 

1. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize COVID booster shots that will be able to protect against the original strain and the extremely contagious Omicron variant. Specifically the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. The Biden administration is planning to roll out the boosters after Labor Day in hopes to avoid another fall and winter surge. Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator, told National Public Radio that this was the first major upgrade to the vaccines in the last two and a half years. The booster is not without it’s critics however, this is the first vaccine being initially tested on mice, and some experts are not certain that the mice studies are reliable in predicting how the vaccines will effect humans. On the other side, some experts suggest that this vaccine could provide longer lasting immunity and protection – up to around 20 times that of the original vaccine. The booster could potentially provide protection against future variants, but that can’t be known for certain at this point. The vaccine is expected to be available from both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
2. Due to lack of funding, the Federal Government is suspending the free Covid-19 test kit program on Friday, September 2nd. The ordering website has a message stating “Congress hasn’t provided additional funding to replenish the nations stockpile of tests”. 

Politics: 

1. The presidential palace of Iraq was stormed this Monday following the retirement of a Shia political leader. A total of 12 people have been confirmed dead in clashes between protesters and authorities. The event occurred after Moqtada al-Sadr, a prominent Shia cleric at the center of the crisis over forming a government in Iraq announced his retirement via twitter. The announcement came two days after he called for all parties involved in political life following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq to step down. Iraq’s state news organization announced that Sadr announced a hunger strike until violence stopped. Sadr, 48, has been active in Iraqi politics for the past two decades. Sadr was formerly associated with a militia that fought US and allied Iraqi governments after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Sadr later positioned himself as a nationalist who wanted to end US and Iranian influences over Iraqi affairs. 
2. The relatives of Kabul drone strike victims are still not in the US as promised. One year after the deadly US drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians, 133 family members and coworkers of the Afghan worker mistakenly targeted remain outside of the US despite promises from the government to help. According to the attorney for Zemari Ahmadi, the worker targeted by the drone strike, only 11 of the 144 people the US promised to help are within US borders. 101 are in other countries processing immigration visas and 32 remain in Afghanistan. Taliban authority has grown in the regions of Afghanistan where the victims remain, leading to concerns regarding their safety and an urgency to get them into the US.

Sports:

MLB:

1. The Seattle Mariners and All-Star rookie Julio Rodriguez have agreed to one of the most lucrative contracts in MLB history. The deal guarantees $210 million for the 21-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic, but has the possibility to be as much as $470 million which would be the biggest contract in American sports history. The contract is essentially multiple contracts in one and works like this; the base deal goes through the 2029 season and is worth $120 million. However, after the 2028 season, the Mariners can exercise an option that would extend the contact eight or ten years depending on where Rodriguez finishes in MVP voting in the years leading up to the decision. The $470 million figure would occur if Rodriguez maximizes his MVP escalators and Seattle picks up the ten year option. The minimum Rodriguez could earn if the Mariners pick up an option is $200 million over eight seasons. Should the Mariners not pick up a team option, Rodriguez can exercise his player option that is worth $90 million over five seasons. This means Rodriguez could be a Mariner for up to 16 more years. This is a historic contract, especially for a rookie, but with Rodriguez’s talent it seems like a great deal for both sides, and it seems very plausible that Rodriguez could get the full $470 million.
2. Arizona Diambondbacks top prospect Corbin Carroll made his Major League debut on Monday and immediately made an impact. Carroll, who turned 22 on the 21st, was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft, and since then he’s impressed at every level of the minors with his bat, glove and speed. At the time of his callup he was batting .287 with an OPS of .943 and 7 homeruns in 33 AAA games after a midseason callup from AA. Caroll was also ranked the 5th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America, 3rd by FanGraphs and MLB.com, and was considered the best prospect in baseball by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Keith Law of the Athletic in midseason prospect rankings. In his debut game, Caroll recorded his first hit, an RBI double that gave the Diamondbacks the lead, perhaps a sign of things to come as the Diamondbacks edge closer to contention with the help of their top prospects. 
3. Baltimore Orioles top prospect Gunnar Henderson has been called up per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Henderson, 21, will be eligible for the playoffs if the O’s make it. After being called up to AAA from AA earlier this season Henderson has hit .288 with an .894 OPS and 11 home runs in 65 games playing mostly Shortstop and Third base. Henderson is considered to be the second best prospect in baseball by MLB.com and Keith Law of the Athletic, who both praise his defensive ability and strong arm. His skill with the bat is evident, and Henderson could blossom him into a superstar. 

NBA: 

1. The number two overall pick from the 2022 NBA draft, Chet Holmgren, is out for the year after undergoing successful surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury in his right foot. The injury occurred during a Pro-Am game in Seattle when Holmgren was defending against LeBron James. Dr. Michael S. George of the KSF Orthopedic Center in Houston describes the injury as a dislocation of a bone in the forefoot to a bone in the midfoot. There has been talk about if Holmgren’s frame played into the injury, but Dr. George says his slender frame didn’t necessarily play into the injury, and it depends more on how loose his ligaments are. Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti said the team will be “extremely conservative” in terms of Holmgren’s recovery. OKC applied for a $4.95 million disabled player exception due to the season ending injury. 
2. The Los Angeles Lakers made the interesting decision to trade for veteran Point Guard Patrick Beverly last week. Beverly, who was traded by the Jazz for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson, has had issues with current Laker Point Guard Russell Westbrook. Their beef dates all the way back to 2013 playoffs when Westbrook tore his meniscus after Beverly went for a steal. Westbrook and Beverly have reportedly spoken to each other after the trade, and seemingly will put their personal issues to the side for the sake of the team. New Head Coach Darvin Ham has even told both players that they will share the court with each other. Tensions might boil over, but both players share a winning mentality, and the way to do that is to try and get along. 

NFL: 

(CONTENT WARNING: SA)

1. The Buffalo Bills released Punter Matt Araiza on Saturday after it became public knowledge that Araiza was accused in a lawsuit of gang raping a then 17-year-old girl in an off campus party at San Diego State University last year. The release was accompanied by a statement from Bills General Manager Brandon Beane; “We decided releasing Matt Araiza was the best thing to do. Our culture in Buffalo is more important than winning”. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is identified as a “Jane Doe”, who says she attended the party with friends but got separated from them, and was led into a room by Araiza after he handed her a drink. Zavier Leonard and Nowlin Ewaliko, football players for SDSU at the time and co-defendants with Ariaza were also allegedly in that room. The lawsuit says that at that point Doe was “raped for about an hour and a half until the party was shut down.” Doe claims to have informed Ariaza that she was a high school student. Ariaza, through his attorney Kerry Armstrong, denied these claims. The day after the party Doe filed a report with the San Diego Police Department and underwent a rape examination at a local hospital. The San Diego County District Attorney Office is investigating the situation.  
2.  Washington Commanders rookie Brian Robinson Jr. luckily escaped devastation after he was shot multiple times during an attempted robbery. A bullet struck Robinson in the Knee but missed his ligaments, tendons, and bone, meaning he avoided major damage. The third round pick had a nice preseason in which he had 57 rushing yards on 14 attempts for an average gain of 4 yards, and even had a touchdown. The 23-year-old returned to the teams facility Tuesday, but It will take Robinson time to return to the field. His surgery was successful though, and him and his doctors are feeling very positive. 

Entertainment:

1. Two adaptations of the story “Pinocchio” are planned to be released within the next four months. Both Netflix and Disney plan on releasing their own modern interpretations of the classic children’s story. Disney is slated to release a live action, family-friendly remake of the studio’s classic animated film, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto. Netflix’s adaptation, meanwhile, is a stop-motion animated film starring Ewan Mcgregor as Jiminy Cricket. Netflix’s film, directed by Guillermo Del Toro, has taken more than a decade to come to fruition. He announced his intention to adapt “Pinocchio” 14 years ago but struggled to gain funding for the film. It is only by sheer coincidence that both films now collide.
2. The actor for the predator in the 2022 film “Prey” will be featured in both Marvel and Star Wars franchises. The actor, Dane DiLegro, has not revealed details about the projects he has been working in but has confirmed his collaboration with both Marvel and Lucasfilm. DiLegro has implied that he will only be playing minor roles in each film.
3. Filmmaker Jordan Peele hinted at a new movie when he implied that he may create future stories in the universe of his film “Nope.” Peele’s third full-length film, “Nope”, is a horror film featuring a pair of horse ranchers, played by Daniel Kaluyaa and Keke Palmer, discovering and evading a predatory extraterrestrial. The film has grossed nearly $150 million since its release in July by Universal Pictures. In response to fan comments about a mysterious character not featured in the film, Peele stated “The story of that character has yet to be told,” implying his interest in creating something new in the universe of “Nope”

Weather:

Atlas and Sierra (Seattle): Expect partly cloudy skies all week. Temperatures will stay in the mid 80℉ range on Wednesday and Thursday. You will feel a dip in temperature starting on Friday at 79℉; low levels of precipitation may follow. Saturday and Sunday will see temperatures in the mid-high 70s.

Olympus (Tacoma): Temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday will stay in the mid 80℉ range. Expect partly cloudy skies on Friday and Saturday; temperatures will stay in the high 70s. Sunday will be humid, 80℉

Denali (Sunnyvale): You can expect sunny days all week; Wednesday will stay at a cool 78℉. Progressively higher temperatures will follow for the rest of the week. Thursday will reach temperatures of 87℉. From Friday and Saturday will see temperatures in the mid 80s with temperatures spiking at 89℉ on Sunday.

Everest and Prep (Redwood City): Wednesday and Thursday will be partly cloudy; temperatures will stay in the mid 80s. Friday will see temps drop to 80℉, followed by 82℉ days on Saturday and Sunday.

K2 (El Cerrito): Temperatures will stay in the low 80s on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday will be partly cloudy, 77℉. The sun will com out on Saturday and Sunday, temperatures will be in the high 80℉ range

Tam (Richmond): Expect partly cloudy skies on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; temperatures will stay in the high to mid 70s. Saturday and Sunday will see higher temps in the 80℉ range. 

Shasta (Daly City):  Temperatures in the high 60s on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be followed by higher temps in the 70℉ range on Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures will stay in the mid 60s to low 70s.

Tahoma (San Jose): Expect sunny days all week; temperatures will range from mid 80s at the start of the week, to high 90s at the end of the week.

Cooking: Ensalada de Pollo (Mexican Chicken Salad)

By KeyToMyLime

Prep time: 5 minutes       Cook time: 10 minutes        Total time: 15 minutes 

Yield: 8 servings 

Ingredients:

• 2 medium yellow potatoes (cut into 1/2” cubes)
• 3/4 cup peeled and diced carrots
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 3/4 cup real mayonnaise
• 3/4 cup full-fat sour cream
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (the juice of about 1 lime)
• 1 Tablespoon jalapeno brine (from pickled jalapenos, optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard (optional) 
• 4 cups cooked shredded chicken (about 1 pound)
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt 

Instructions:

1. The first step is to cook the vegetables. You will place the potato cubes in a pot of salted boiling water and boil until the potatoes are fork tender for about 8 minutes. 
2. Next, you will put the peas, carrots, and corn together in a mid-sized pot, and simmer for about 3 minutes until cooked through. 
3. Then, you will be making the dressing. In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, yellow mustard, lime juice, and jalapeno brine. 
4. After, add the chicken, potatoes, salt, and veggies. Mix that all together and adjust the salt to your liking. 
5. Put the chicken salad in the refrigerator to chill for 1-2 hours before serving. 

Nutrition Information: SERVING SIZE: ⅛

Amount Per Serving: CALORIES: 301     TOTAL FAT: 21.5g   CARBOHYDRATES: 12.6g  NET CARBOHYDRATES: 11.1g      FIBER: 1.5g        SUGAR: 2.8g        PROTEIN: 15.2g

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.

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