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. Get on those personal insight questions seniors! University of California applications open on Nov. 1. The deadline to submit an application will be on Nov. 30. Check out The Prep Weekly YouTube channel to watch videos on the UC process and advice from Lia Bhas, a UC Berkeley student, in upcoming videos.

General News:

1. Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was spared from the death penalty after a jury decided to give him life without parole. The Parkland, Florida shooting left 14 dead and many more injured. The controversial decision by the 12 person jury has affected family members of the shooting victims significantly. Fred Guttenberg, the father of one of the 2018 shooting victims stated “this jury failed our families today” Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 1. In the next few days before the sentencing, victims will be giving testimonials directly to the assailant, an act they were not able to do before a decision was announced.
2. In North Carolina, at least five people were injured in a shooting in Raleigh. The 15-year-old suspect is in custody and in critical condition the authorities say. A feeling of agony is nothing new to the Raleigh community, shootings across the country continue to desensitize the nation. Although the motivation for the attack is unknown, it is clear that elected officials need to do more to prevent future tragedies.

Health/Medicine: 

1. The Biden administration announced Thursday that the Covid-19 public health emergency will continue through January 11, 2023. The move come as the US braces for the winter spike in cases. The public health emergency was orgininally declared in January 2020, with renewal for emergency status coming up every 90 days. Emergency status enables vaccines, testing, and treatment to be free. 
2. “We’ve noted that flu activity is starting to increase across much of the country” is what CDC director, Rochelle Walensky, told NBC News. So far, most flu cases are Influenza type A, specifically the H3N2 strand, which has been known to cause more severe illness. The CDC recommends the flu shot for everyone over the age of six months old. Respiratory Syncytial Virus, more commonly known as RSV, as well as Rhinoviruses and entroviruses are spiking earlier then usual. This is due to viruses adapting due to Covid-19. 

Politics: 

1. Iraq has named a new president and prime minister after a year of political deadlock. The elected president, Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid, won 162 votes out of 269, beating out current Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid, who only won 99 according to the Iraqi parliament. Rashid named Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as Iraq’s new prime minister, giving him one month to form a government. The vote this Thursday marks the longest political deadlock in Iraq since the deposition of Saddam Hussein by US forces in 2003. Struggles in Iraq to form a government began in the October elections of 2021 when Shia Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s party come out victorious, winning 70 seats in parliament and considerable influence in creating Iraq’s government. al-Sadr’s attempts at creating a ruling coalition floundered in the face of rival blocs, leading to months of political paralysis. In June, al-Sadr ordered his party to withdraw from parliament, creating fears of a Constitutional collapse. When the government attempted to name a new prime minister, supporters of al-Sadr broke into Baghdad’s Green zone, the country’s governmental and diplomatic district, on multiple occasions. In August al-Sadr announced he was retiring from politics, sparking his loyalists to riot through the streets of the capital, leaving 21 people dead and 250 injured. al-Sadr’s supporters occupied the Green Zone again before he ordered them to go home 24 hours after his announcement. Attacks on the Green Zone have continued, with nine rockets landing in and around the fortified area prior to Thursday’s parliamentary session. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi condemned the attacks, stating that they hindered political progress in Iraq.
2. The LA City Council has canceled a meeting after continued calls for resignations. Two members have been called to resign after being heard in a leaked recording where former LA City Council President Nury Martinez allegedly made racist comments about other council members while discussing redistricting. Martinez resigned from the council this Wednesday after allegedly making the offensive comments, announcing that she was taking a leave of absence. Protesters and council members have both called for the resignation of council members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo who were also in the recording. A city council meeting on Wednesday was adjourned before it began after protesters in the chamber demanded the resignation of all three members. Martinez’s resignation came only a few hours later. Martinez allegedly referred to fellow council member Mike Bonin’s African American son as an “accessory” stating that he was “like a monkey.” The recording of Martinez was uploaded to Reddit last weekend and The Los Angeles Times have confirmed it as legitimate. The California Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it will be investigating the LA City Council redistricting process.

Sports:

MLB: 

1. The second round of the MLB playoffs, also known as the Division Series, is underway. In the American League Wild Card round the Cleveland Guardians (3) beat the Tampa Bay Rays (6), and the Seattle Mariners (5) beat the Toronto Blue Jays (4). This means the Guardians have moved on to face the New York Yankees (2), and the Mariners on to face the Houston Astros (1). On the National League side the Philadelphia Phillies (6) upset the St. Louis Cardinals (3), and the San Diego Padres (5) out-played the New York Mets (4). The Phillies are playing the Braves (2) in the Division Series, and the Padres are taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers (1). The Division Series is a best-of-five series, where the home team for the first two games is the higher seeded team, the lower seeded team hosts game three, and if needed game four, if a game five is needed the game is played at the higher seeded teams home stadium. The winners of each League’s Division Series will face each other in the best-of-seven Championship Series, which determines who moves on to the World Series. 
2. On Wednesday, Carlos Correa told Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día of his intention to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract with the Minnesota Twins and enter free agency one year into the deal. The contract with the Twins was for three years and $105.3 million, which was far away from the long term contract in the $340 million range that he wanted. Correa will seemingly be looking for the same type of contract this offseason. The 28 year old, two time all-star, is coming off a season where he slashed .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and a 140 wRC+, which is 40% above league average and was the highest among qualified shortstops. Correa has expressed interest in returning to Minnesota if the price is right. 
3. Eric Kay, the former Los Angeles Angels employee who distributed the fentanyl laced counterfeit oxycodone pills to Tyler Skaggs, an Angels pitcher who died at 28-years-old in 2019 due to choking on his vomit with a toxic mix of the pills and alcohol in his system, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. Kay was convicted in federal court of one count of drug distribution resulting in death, and one count of drug conspiracy. The federal minimum for Kay would’ve been 20 years, however, Judge Terry R. Means added two years onto the minimum sentence for Kay displaying “a callousness and refusal to accept responsibility and even be remorseful for something that you caused”. 

NBA:

1. Draymond Green is rejoining the Warriors after taking time off in the aftermath of punching teammate Jordan Poole in the face last week. Green, who was fined, has had conversations with Poole after the punch, and the organization has been discussing the situation in player meetings and with key members of the management team. Coach Steve Kerr said about the situation; “[Green] broke out trust with this incident but I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt because I think he’s earned that, and I think out team feels the same way”. 
2. The Indiana Pacers are picking up the team options on guard Tyrese Haliburton, guard Chris Duarte, wing Aaron Nesmith, and forward Isaiah Jackson. This will keep the players under team control until the end of next season. Halliburton is expected to be a key piece of the Pacers moving forward and out of their rebuilding state, the team hopes he can become their franchise cornerstone. 
3. The Detroit Pistons are reportedly going to waive veteran point guard Kemba Walker before Monday, per Shams Charania. The move isn’t exactly surprising but it is notable as it means the 4-time all-star will be a free agent going into the start of the regular season. Walker is coming off of a disappointing 2021-22 season with the Knicks where he was only able to average 11.6 points, 3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 40.3% from the field, and 36.7% from three. Walker is only 32, and could be a veteran presence on a younger team while he tried to get his career back on track.  

NFL:

1. The Carolina Panthers have fired head coach Matt Rhule after the Panthers have stumbled out of the gates to a 1-4 start. The decision to fire Rhule came less then 24 hours after his team was blown out of the water by the San Francisco 49ers, in a 37-15 loss. Rhule had been head coach since 2020, since then the team has gone 11-27. Panthers owner David Tepper said “this was the time” to move on, he knows the process of building a winning organization will take time, but also said; “It’s winning, winning more this year than you did last year. Looking like you’re going to win more then last year… I don’t think we’re over the hump”. Steve Wiliks, who was the teams defensive pass coordinator, has been named the interim head coach. Wiliks was previously the head coach of the 2018 Arizona Cardinals, and went 3-13, before being fired at seasons end. Rhule is still owed more then $40 million, as he was only in the third year of his seven year, $62 million contract. 
2. Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Commanders, and subject of the investigation into the organizations toxic workplace culture, including allegations of sexual harassment and abuse, which led to the NFL fining the team $10 million, has reportedly told those close to him that he has enough dirt on the NFL to “blow up” the league. According to an ESPN report, Snyder has said “[The NFL] can’t f–k with me”, and has referred to the NFL as a “mafia”. According to ESPN’s report, Snyder allegedly had his law firms and private investigators try to dig up dirt on other owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell. Snyder allegedly also made claims that all the owners hate each other, an anonymous owner fired back, saying “That’s not true. All the owners hate Dan”. The Commanders and law firm Holland & Knight have denied the claims. 

Entertainment:

1. Netflix has announced that it will release an ad supported version of its streaming service in North America by early November. It will introduce this version of its platform on November 1st for Canada and Mexico and on November 3rd for the US. Netflix has stated that nine more countries will have the addition by the end of the month. This development came after Disney announced that it would debut a similar ad-supported version of its platform for only $6.99 per month starting on December 8, 2022. This price is less than half of Disney’s standard product, which is $15.49 per month. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings stated that he was supportive of an ad-supported tier of the streaming service, in contrast with past statements regarding keeping the service ad-free. Hastings’ decision likely stems from stalling subscribers to the streaming platform in the wake of intense competition, with Disney surpassing Netflix’s subscriber count in September. Netflix lost 1 million subscribers in the second quarter to reach 220 million subscribers while Disney’s three streaming services, Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN, added 14.4 million, ultimately ending up at 221 million subscribers during the same time frame. Netflix stated in July that it would partner with Microsoft on the ad-supported tier. Netflix has stated that their new tier is called “Basic With Ads” and will have 4 to 5 minutes of ads every hour.
2. The New Haven Documentary Film Festival returned for its ninth installment this week with a tightly packed schedule with 116 screenings of films from across the world. NHDocs has long held a role in connecting creatives from around the city and the globe, helping them market ideas and gain recognition. One short film screened at the festival in 2021 titled “The Queen of Basketball” went on to win an Oscar for Best Documentary Short in 2022. The festival was initially created in 2014 by four New Haven filmmakers. The festival initially only screened four films which have expanded to 116 this year. Films being screened include “The Box Truck Film,” a film by Alex Eaves that showcases his attempts to create a sustainable home entirely from used materials, and “As Prescribed,” a film written and directed by Holly Hardman which raises awareness for the dangers of commonly prescribed medications. 

Cooking: Easy Snickerdoodle Cookies 

By MyBakingAddiction

Prep time: 15 minutes     Bake time: 12 minutes    Total time: 27 minutes 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup (2 sticks) (226.8g) of butter; softened
• 1 ½ cups (300g) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups (384g) of flour
• 1 tsp (7g) baking soda
• 2 tsp (6.7g) cream of tartar
• ½ tsp (2.5g) salt

For the Cinnaiom Sugar:

• ½ cup (100g) sugar
• 2 tsp (4.6g) cinnamon

Instructions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until well blended and mix in the eggs.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
3. Gradually add dry mixture to the creamed mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
5. Form into balls (I used my medium cookie dough scoop) and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
6. Place the dough balls on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake at 350˚ for 12 minutes.

Nutrition Facts 

Yield  50

Serving Size  1 cookie

Amount Per Serving

Calories   92

Total Fat   4g

Saturated Fat  2g

Cholesterol  17mg

Sodium   81mg

Carbohydrates  13g

Sugar  8g

Protein  1g

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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