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:

Seniors! It will be time to submit college applications soon. Make sure to take advantage of scholarships and resources provided by the UC Berkeley ANova Program

Scholarships

General News:

1. In Canada, Hurricane Fiona is expected to hit and could be Canada’s strongest-ever storm. Chris Fogarty, a meteorologist stated that the Hurricane Fiona will be a version of Hurricane Sandy because of the size and intensity of Fiona. Hurricane Sandy had affected 27 states and cost $7.87 billion of damage. Fogarty stated to take this hurricane very seriously because the numbers seen in the weather maps are “rare.” According to forecast models, the Fiona “will make landfall in eastern Nova Scotia with a pressure around 925 to 935 millibars, which would easily set a new record.” The Fiona could also extend more than 400 miles across! As the hurricane begins to interact with the cold weather, the storm will become a superstorm and have “strong autumn cyclone with hurricane-force winds, very heavy rain, and large storm surge and waves.” There could be a result of flash flooding. This hurricane is life-threatening and Canadian people are going to be preparing for it. 

Health/Medicine: 

1. America has a mental health problem, and the White House is putting in an effort to deal with it. Susan Rice, the women in charge of the domestic policy council at the White House told Yahoo news, “it’s essential that we deal with it”, there are at least 52 million adults in the US suffering some form of mental issue. 150 million across the US lack access to a mental health professional, and the US would need to have 6,000 more mental health workers to even start to deal with the issue. So far the Biden administration has allocated $300 million towards youth-focused mental health, $20 million for Mission Daybreak which helps prevent veteran suicides, and they have changed the suicide hotline number to 988, which has already seen an increase of calls by 45%.
2. In an interview with “60 minutes” on Sunday night President Joe Biden declared the Pandemic was over, but that doesn’t mean Covid is. The president was quoted; “The Pandemic is over. We still have a problem with Covid. We’re still doing a lot of work on it… but the pandemic is over”. This statement contradicts that of Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s top Covid-19 official, “The Pandemic isn’t over. And we will remain vigilant, and of course, we continue to look for and prepare for unforeseen twists and turns”. Around 400 Americans are still dying from Covid each day, and updated boosters to fight the fall and winter wave are being urged.

Politics: 

1. Legal troubles have begun to financially pressure former president Donald Trump. The New York attorney generals filed a lawsuit against Trump seeking to recover $250 million from his company, potentially barring him from business in the state. In a separate case next month, Trump’s company will go on trial in Manhattan on criminal tax charges that could cost millions in penalties and legal fees. In addition, civil suits levied by people in response to the Jan. 6 assault on the capital by his supporters loom over the horizon, a wave of litigation many of his advisers predict could be costly to him. There is no direct evidence that the former president is in immediate financial jeopardy. Trump’s son Eric Trump stated that the Trump Organization was in a good position, having both paid off prior debts and having made profits from the sale of the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Trump’s hotels and golf clubs have also seen surges in business since the pandemic. Despite this, Trump’s potential new money making ventures appear to be sputtering: a merger involving his upstart social media company is threatened by law enforcement scrutiny. Should Trump become a presidential candidate once again, he could face tight restrictions on the personal use of the money in his political action committee.
2. Political commentator Alex Jones has stated that he is ‘done saying sorry’ to Sandy Hook families in court. When confronted on Tuesday regarding his claim that Robbie Parker, the father of a child who died in the massacre, was an actor, Jones stated “Is this a struggle session? Are we in China? I’ve already said I’m sorry, and I’m done saying I’m sorry,” This response evoked backlash from Judge Barbara Bellis who rebuked, “This is not a press conference, this is clearly not your show,” At the end of the day, Bellis warned Jones that she would enforce a zero-tolerance policy regarding decorum in the courtroom on Friday. Jones spread lies for years claiming that the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook elementary School in Newtown Conn. which claimed the lives of 26 people, was a government pretext for gun control. Last year, Jones lost four defamation lawsuits filed by the families of 10 Sandy Hook victims, who had reportedly endured years of online threats from Jones’s online followers. The families victory set three trials to determine how much Jones must pay the families in compensatory and punitive damages. The first trial in August awarded Sandy Hook families $50 million, but Texas law reduced the verdict. In the second, current trial, the families of eight Sandy Hook victims sued Jones in Connecticut, where the verdict will be reduced far less.

Sports:

MLB:

1. The night of Friday, September 23, 2022, Albert Pujols accomplished something that might not happen ever again in Major League History, join the elite group of players in the 700 career home run club. Pujols joins Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755), and Barry Bonds the all-time leader with 762. Pujols in his last month of his last career season, a career that started back in 2001 when he was 21 years old. The future hall of famer hit his 700th home run off of Los Angeles Dodgers reliver Phil Bickford, which gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-0 lead. Pujols hit his 699th earlier in the night against starter Andrew Heany. What Pujols did is incredible, and takes a mix of longevity, health, and of course skill, we might never see a player do it again, and if we do it won’t be anytime soon. Pujols can now finish the last year of his storied career a little more peacefully, no longer chasing a milestone, instead just enjoying the game.
2. New York Yankees star Aaron Judge joined an elite club Tuesday night, as in a 9-8 walk off win against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he became the sixth player in MLB history to hit 60 home runs in a season, and tied Babe Ruth’s single season high of 60 home runs as he inches closer to Roger Maris’ American League record of 62 home runs. In addition to Ruth and Maris, the club also includes Sammy Sosa (66), Mark McGuire (70), and the home run king Barry Bonds (73). With the Yankees playing every day except for one until October 5th, Judge will almost certainly break Maris’ record, and he could push well past it. 
3. 2012 MVP and 3 time World Series champion for the San Francisco Giants, Buster Posey, has joined the Giants ownership group and board of directors. Posey will sit in on meetings, but is expected to have a hands off approach when it comes to the front office, prospective from a former player is important though, and Posey thinks he can bring value as a sounding board. The Giants regained Posey (to the organization at least), but they did loose General Manager Scott Harris who will be heading to Detroit as the new President of Baseball Operations for the Tigers, and will be the man tasked with turning the young Tigers into a World Series contender. In other behind the scenes MLB news, the Kansas City Royals have fired President of Baseball Operations Dayton Moore, Moore was the architect for the 2015 Royals world series winning team, but hasn’t been able to create much homegrown talent since.

NBA:

1. Owner of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury Robert Sarver is looking to sell the teams a week after the NBA released a 43 page report based on a ten-month investigation by a third party law firm into allegations against Sarver of racism, misogyny, and other workplace misconduct. The findings of the report, which also included harassment including sexual harassment, prompted the NBA to fine Sarver of $10 Million and suspend him for one year. Sarver initiating the process of selling the team has been supported by the NBA commissioners office, the NBA Player Association, Suns management, and sponsor PayPal. Early reports list Jeff Bezos, former Disney CEO Bob Iger, Former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and Steve Jobs widow Laurene Jobs as people in the running to become the new owners. 
2. Oklahoma City Thunder are loosing another player, hopefully only for a few weeks this time. The player is question is the Thunders rising star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who has suffered a grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee and will miss the start of training camp. Gilgeous-Alexander will be reevaluated in two weeks time, meaning he will miss the first two games of the preseason, but should be back well before the start of the regular season.
3. Minnesota T-wolves guard Anthony Edwards has been fined $40,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for “offensive and derogatory language”. Edwards posted a video on social media where he made disparaging and profane comments about what he assumed to be the sexual orientation of a group of men. In the aftermath of the original post Edwards tweeted, “What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry. It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!”.

NFL:

1. The San Francisco 49ers took a big hit in the first quarter of their week 2 matchup vs the Seattle Seahawks as after an RPO gone wrong, the 49ers third overall pick from a year ago and QB of the future Trey Lance was carted off the field with a fibula fracture and ligament disruption in his right ankle. Lance underwent successful surgery on Monday, but will be out for the rest of the year. This season was supposed to be Lance’s first as the full time starter for the 49ers, but he will have to rehabilitate and prepare for 2023. Coach Kyle Shanahan still wants Lance around the team, saying “we’re going to want him a part of everything, every meeting he can be at, every practice he can be at… whenever he’s not taking care of his ankle, we plan on him being with us”. Jimmy Garappolo, who stayed with the 49ers in a backup role for this year is now once again leading the Niners offense.
2. Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t always been impressive during his pro career with the Miami Dolphins, but this past weekend wasn’t one of those times. Tagovailoa led his team back from a 21 point deficit in the fourth, the first time since 2011 that had happened, to win Miami’s week 2 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens 42-38. In the game, Tagovailoa set a career high with 469 passing yards and six touchdowns. The only other Dolphin QB to ever score five touchdowns and record 400 passing yards in a game is the legendary Dan Marino. The Dolphins have tried to find other options at QB in recent memory, but Tagovailoa is on a mission to prove he can be the guy, and he has backing of his teammates, with wide receiver Jaylen Waddle saying after the win “We expect that from [Tua], we’re confident in him; he’s confident in himself… it’s good for ya’ll to see but we kind of expect that”.

Entertainment:

1. Drag performer George Ward has died at age 28, as announced by his family. George Ward, known by his drag name Cherry Valentine, appeared on the second series of Rupauls Drag Race UK and fronted the BBC documentary Gypsy Queen and Proud. Ward died, who died on Sunday, was raised in Darlington, County Durham as a part of the Traveller community. He trained to be a mental health nurse in 2015 before starting his career in drag. When interviewed for Rupauls Drag Race UK in January 2021, Ward stated that he was introduced to drag while a student at Lancaster University. During this time he would experiment with drag in Darlington when his parents were not around. In an announcement of his passing, Ward’s family said “We understand how much he is loved and how many lives he has inspired and touched. All we ask is for your patience and your prayers in this time. We love you Georgie.”
2. Tony Gilroy urged his team to put aside their reverence for ‘Star Wars’ when creating the new show ‘Andor.’ Gilroy, who had previously worked on the Star Wars spinoff film Rouge One claimed that his greatest strength when working on the franchise was that he was not a lifelong fan. Gilroy continued his work on the franchise by joining the production of Andor as creator/showrunner. When the series entered production, Gilroy noticed that his collaborators altered their behavior because of their nostalgia for Star Wars. In response, Gilroy encouraged his team put aside their fondness for the series as much as they could. In a statement regarding nostalgia during development, Gilroy stated, “It really gets into people’s heads, but to change the lane and do it this way, it takes a little effort.”

Weather:

Atlas and Sierra (Seattle): Expect partly cloudy skies all week. Temperatures will reach a high of 73℉ on Sunday.

Olympus (Tacoma): Skies will remain partly cloudy in Tacoma throughout the week. Temperatures will stay in the mid-60s to low-70s.

Denali (Sunnyvale): Prepare for light rain on Wednesday; temperatures will reach 74℉. A slight uptick will follow for the remainder of the week, temps will max out at 90℉ on Wednesday.

Everest and Prep (Redwood City): Partly cloudy skies until the sun comes out over the weekend; temperatures will reach highs of 87℉ on Saturday and 84℉ on Sunday

K2 (El Cerrito): Expect partly cloudy skies on Thursday with hotter days following on Friday and Saturday; temperatures will stay in low-mid 80s. Partly cloudy skies on Sunday.

Tam (Richmond): This weeks weather will vary between clear and partly cloudy skies throughout the week; temperatures will stay in the mid 70℉ to high 80℉ range.

Shasta (Daly City): Expect partly cloudy skies all week; temperatures will stay in the low to mid 70s

Tahoma (San Jose): The sun will be out all week; temperatures will range from mid 80s and reach highs of 90℉.

Cooking: Moist Banana Bread Recipe 

By Natasha’s Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes         Cook Time: 1 hour        Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 3 very ripe bananas, (medium/large)
• ½ cup unsalted butter, 8 (tbsp) at room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup walnuts 
• ½ cup raisins 

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a bread loaf pan (9.25 long x 5.25 wide x 2.75 deep). Lightly roast walnuts on a skillet, continuously stirring so they won’t burn. Coarsely chop and cool to room temperature. 
2. In a mixing bowl, cream together 8 Tbsp softened butter and 3/4 cup sugar (or honey if using honey).
3. Mash bananas with a fork until the consistency of chunky applesauce and add them to the batter along with 2 eggs, mixing until blended. 
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together: 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tsp of baking soda and 1/2 tsp of salt then add to batter.
5. Add ½ tsp of vanilla extract and mix in chopped walnuts and raisins. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350F for 55-60 min until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 
6. Let banana bread rest for 10 min before transferring it to a wire rack to cool. 

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.

Contribute directly to “Doctors Without Borders” Staffers with the medical relief organization remain in Ukraine and are “seeking ways to respond to the medical and humanitarian needs as the conflict evolves.” Offer support here.

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FEATURED IMAGE: Alex Jones PHOTO CREDIT: Drew Angerer/Getty Images