Summit Weekly Briefing of 11/28/22

Your Summit Weekly Briefing

By Jovani Contreras, Ethan Ignatovsky, Sean Quigley and Ashwath Vimal

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. As a reminder for everyone, any overdue projects form this semester will be due soon as winter break is around the corner, which means this semester is coming to a close. The deadline may differ pe campus, so make sure to check your emails and contact your teachers or mentors to confirm when that is. This is especially important for Seniors, as mid-year reports will most likely be sent out sometime in Jan., so make sure to finish your projects!
2. Congratulations to everyone who turned in their CSU and UC applications! We hope you all receive admission into the college of your choice. If you need to update or change your application, you can always email CSU or UC admissions. However, exercise caution when doing this and talk to your mentor first to see if the change you want to make is valid. But now that UC applications are done, the deadlines for private and out-of-state public schools are coming up between Jan. 1 and Feb.1, so make sure to work on those throughout the rest of December and winter break!

General News:

1. A man arrested in Canada earlier this year is now believed to be a serial killer with at least four victims, all of them Indigenous women. Jeremy Skibicki, a 35-year-old resident of Winnipeg, was charged in May with the murder of 24-year-old Rebecca Contois, a member of the Crane River First Nation, CNN reports. He has now been charged with the murders of Morgan Beatrice Harris, Marcedes Myran, and a fourth woman who has not been identified. Harris, 39, was killed on May 1 and Myran, 26, was killed on May 4, investigators say. Both women were members of the Long Plain First Nation. The fourth woman was killed on or around March 15, Winnipeg police said in a news release.
2. A judge on Thursday discharged a jury in the high-profile trial of a former government adviser charged with raping a colleague in the Australian Parliament House because a juror had brought a research paper on sexual assaults into the jury room. Australian Capital Territory Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said a juror had undertaken research in relation to the case and brought it into the room where a panel of 12 had been deciding their verdict. “I have received evidence that at least one juror has had access to research material that was not provided to the jury during the trial,” McCallum said. “It is beyond question the conduct of a juror is such to abort the trial,” she added. A court official had discovered the research paper in the room late Wednesday. The jury was supposed to reach its verdict solely on the evidence presented during the 12-day trial.

Health/Medicine: 

1. We could be entering a “new era” in the fight against Alzheimer’s and Dementia, as a recent study shows a new drug can slow the effects of Alzheimers. Alzheimers is caused by clumps of a protein called beta amyloid forming on the brain, and causes cognitive decline, making speaking and remembering very difficult. The experimental drug, lecanmab, which has been jointly manufactured by Eisai and Biogen, removes the beta amyloid and therefore slows the effects of the disease. The trial, which took place over an 18 month period with 1,795 participants, concluded that the drug slowed mental decline by 27%, and removed enough proteins that there wouldn’t be enough evidence to say the volunteers of the trial had Alzheimers if they didn’t know any better. It’s not all perfect though as there could be some severe side effects. Two individuals died during the trial, but it’s not yet known if they died due to lecanmab, it’s also worth noting that the two volunteers that died were both on blood thinners. With the risk of severe side effects U.S. health regulators are currently looking hard into if the drug can be approved for wider use or not. If it is, this could bring us one step closer to permanently stopping Alzhiemers. 

Politics:

1. On Monday Joe Biden encouraged lawmakers to approve a labor deal that would prevent what he stated to be a “potentially crippling national rail shutdown”. Speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi said the house would vote on the deal agreement this week. The deal was proposed to prevent a freight strike and has divided workers at two of the country’s largest railroad unions. Biden urged lawmakers to accept the deal “without any modifications or delay ” in order to prevent an economic crisis caused by the shutdown of America’s freight rails. Biden stated his reluctance to override the views of those who oppose the agreement stating he considered himself a “proud pro-labor President”. Despite this, Biden argued that a railroad shutdown induced by a labor strike would harm the livelihoods of  working people and families. Biden stated that congress should make the bill regarding the agreement to Biden before December 9th to avoid a full railroad shutdown. The tentative agreement Biden calls for was approved by labor and management negotiators in September but rejected by the SMART-TD union, which represents rail conductors. Members of another union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, voted in favor of the deal. The deal would provide a 24% pay raise for railroad workers over the next five years and the American railroad Association has stated that it would bump the average pay of American railroad workers up to $110,000 by 2024. Several unions oppose the deal however, primarily because of its lack of fully paid sick days and scheduling requirements. Four out of 12 railroad unions have rejected the tentative agreement, but just one union strike would require all other railroad unions to honor it.
2. A democratic led house committee now possesses the tax returns of former president Donald Trump. The treasury department said Wednesday that it complied with the supreme court decision last week that allowed the returns to be given to the House Ways and Means Committee. The Ways and Means Committee scheduled to meet this Thursday and it is expected that more information will be learnt about Trump’s taxes. It remains unclear what House democrats will do with the returns, especially with a GOP takeover of the house rising in January and overall apathy among republicans toward Trump’s taxes. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J stated that democrats will make a deliberative decision on Trump’s tax records by january. 3, when republicans officially take control of the house. The transfer occurs shortly after Trump’s final plea to block House Democrats from obtaining his tax returns was struck down by the supreme court. Trump has consistently kept his tax records private amid scrutiny of his business affairs. The legal battle for Trump’s tax returns began in April 2019, when Committee Chairman Richard Neal requested the president’s tax records to decide whether tax law concerning the president should be amended. Trump’s treasury at the time refused, leading to a legal battle.

Sports:

World Cup:

1. After not even qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, the United States Men’s National Team will advance past the group stage, and into the round of 16 where they will face the Netherlands. The USMNT finished second in their group, behind England, who they tied with 0-0 in their head-to-head, and in front of Wales and Iran, who they played in the final match of the group stage. In the 38th minute of the match against Iran, the USMNT’s star player, Christian Pulisic, scored a goal off of a Sergiño Dest assist. The goal was enough for the US to win, as good defense held off Iran’s attack. Pulisic though was injured on his goal, suffering a pelvic contusion after making contact with Iran’s goalie. Despite the injury, Pulisic should be able to play against the Netherlands on Saturday. 
2. The round of 16 will start on Saturday, and feature the following matchups: Netherlands vs USA, Argentina vs Australia, Japan vs Croatia, France vs Poland, England vs Senegal, Morocco vs Spain, Brazil vs South Korea, and Portugal vs Switzerland

NBA:

1. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has announced that the 2023-24 season will start on October 24, and end on April 14, relatively standard, however some big changes in tradition could be decided upon. The changes are in regards to a potential mid-season tournament, that would shorten the season by two games, from 82 to 80, and create some spice in the middle of the long seven month season. Silver is hopeful that the tournament, if adopted, can create new traditions and be seen as meaningful. He recognized that it won’t be an overnight success, but knows that things “change over time”, and believes the tournament will help the NBA grow. A decision on the tournament will be made prior to the release of the official schedule, normally in August.
2. Milwaukee Bucks star Khris Middleton is expected to make his season debut this Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers following a full recovery from offseason wrist surgery, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The three time all-star will be a boost to the Bucks who currently sit second in the Eastern Conference, and are looking for their second Finals ring in three years this season. This is much better news than that concerning fellow Central Division player, Chicago Bulls point guard, Lonzo Ball. Ball is working back from a severe knee injury that forced him to undergo two surgeries. Bulls coach Billy Donovan has been honest about Ball’s rehab, saying it’s “been really slow… he’s working through more and more, [but I can’t] report [that] ‘Hey he’s running, he’s cutting, he’s jumping… to be honest with you were not even close to that”. There seems to be a target for a return date in january, which would be a full calendar year from his last time taking part in a NBA game, but if progress continues to be slow that date would seemingly be pushed back. 

NFL: 

1. CW: Domestic Violence 

Former NFL Wide Receiver Antonio Brown is reportedly wanted for misdemeanor battery after allegedly assaulting the mother of four of his six children this past Monday in south Tampa, Florida, with a shoe, and also allegedly threatened to shoot her if she got back inside the house. Tampa police are still trying to arrest Brown as of Thursday evening, but Brown has not been cooperating in exiting the home to be arrested. Brown is no stranger to controversies, and it would stand to reason if this recent incident put the final nail in the coffin of the 34-year-olds NFL career. 

MLB: 

1. Two notable offseason signings happened Thursday, as former Philadelphia Phillies starter Zach Eflin has signed a 3 year contract worth $40 million with the Tampa Bay Rays, his hometown team. Eflin became a free agent after declining his option with the reigning national league champion Phillies. Believe it or not, this is the largest contract the Rays have ever given to a free agent, the previous highest being the 5 year $35 million contract signed by pitcher Wilson Alverez in 1998. Eflin had a 4.04 ERA last year in 75⅔ innings across 20 appearances including 13 starts, and has a 4.49 career ERA. The other signing was Matt Boyd returning to the Detroit Tigers after a year away from the team. The contract is expected to be 1 year $10 million per ESPN’s Jeff Passen. Coming off of Tommy John surgery in 2022, Boyd only threw 13⅓ innings in 10 relief appearances for the Seattle Mariners, but is expected to rejoin the starting rotation with the Tigers. 

Entertainment:

1. Disney’s latest animated film Strange World has been estimated to lose $100 million for Disney in its theatrical run. The film debuted well behind expectations, with $11.9 million from 4,174 North American theaters over the weekend and $18.6 million over the Thanksgiving holiday frame. The film was predicted to make an unspectacular $30 to $40 million from Wednesday to Sunday before projections were revised downward. The inaugural ticket sales for Strange World lag significantly below other animated films produced by the studio, such as Encanto and Lightyear. Unless business rebounds in the next few weeks, Strange World is predicted to lose Disney at least $100 million. Strange world cost $180 million to produce and millions more to advertise and distribute, leading sources to say that the film would need to make $360 million to break even. Those levels were unattainable for films with much larger opening weekends, like the aforementioned films Encanto and Lightyear which both made $256 and $226 million respectively. Strange World’s chances of earning a profit for disney are disrupted further by the fact that the film will not be shown in the major geopolitical markets of Russia and China due to geopolitical conflicts or the middle east, Malaysia, and Indonesia due to LGBTQ references in the film. Despite Strange Worlds failure, the thanksgiving holiday stretch was not entirely dire for Disney. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever continued to tower over box office charts for a third weekend in a row, earning $64 million over Thanksgiving weekdays. So far the film has made $367 million in North America and $675 million globally. Disney has had a difficult time reacquainting its audience with its films in theaters after the pandemic, when it launched movies like Pixar’s Soul and Luca on its streaming service Disney+. As a result, Disney’s films seem to be doing worse financially, Pixar’s film Lightyear having been the only Pixar film to date to have lost money. Audiences this year have been surprisingly picky with the family-oriented movies released this year, with only Minions: The Rise of Gru and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 resonating with audiences in theaters.

Cooking: Classic French Omelette 

Total time: 10 minutes   Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 5 large eggs 
• Sea salt 
• Freshly ground white pepper 
• 1 tablespoon unsalted clarified butter, from 8 Tbsp (114g) unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Crack eggs into a medium bowl. Use a fork to whisk until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute; stir in a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. To make clarified butter: In a small saucepan, melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter over medium heat and bring to a simmer, 5–7 minutes. As white foam collects on the surface, skim off with a small ladle or spoon and discard; these are the milk solids. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue skimming until the butter is clear. Pour the clarified butter through a cheesecloth-lined strainer to catch the smaller milk solids, and set aside.
2. Heat a 10-inch nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon clarified butter and swirl to coat to bottom. When the pan is hot, pour in the eggs and begin quickly and gently shaking the pan. While shaking, stir the eggs with a heatproof spatula, using small circular movements to loosen the curds and lightly scramble, about 20 seconds. The constant movement should prevent any part of the eggs from overcooking or taking on color. 
3. When the eggs are creamy and still only partly cooked, shake the pan to level the omelette. Turn the heat to low. Tilt the pan slightly and begin rolling the omelette: first, loosen the edge closest to the handle, then roll it toward the middle. (The cooked side should show no browning.) When the omelette is half-rolled, run the spatula around the far edge to release the eggs from the pan. Then tilt the pan more sharply and tap it firmly on the stovetop (or a cutting board) to loosen the omelette. Bang on the handle with your free hand to help the far edge begin to roll up; use the spatula as needed to tuck it toward the center of the omelette. Add butter to the pan and let it melt along the exterior of the omelette. 
4. Gently flip the omelette onto a plate, seam side down. Use your hands or a spatula to gently perfect the shape and tuck in any loose edges. Serve immediately. Nutrition facts:

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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