News bites compiled from reputable sources such as BBC News, The New York Times, CBS News, and CNN.
Saturday, September 30:
Today, on the 1 year anniversary of the Illegal Russian annexation of four regions of Ukraine, European Union Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell visited Odesa, a city in Ukraine, as an expression of support for Ukraine.
Ukraine plans to spend $1.5 billion on weapons and other material products in 2024, which is seven times the amount spent last year.
Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida after it made its way through Puerto Rico, knocking out the power grid on the island.
Protests continue in Iran over the death of a woman in custody after violating the law about wearing a hijab in public, which many believe to be optional. The protest now enters its second week with the death toll already at 76.
Sunday, October 1:
Former President Jimmy Carter (99) and actress and singer Julie Andrews (88) celebrated their birthdays on October 1st.
Congress avoids government shutdown. Earlier in the week, the motion to shutdown the government was approved with a vote of 335 to 91, with 209 Democrats and 126 Republicans voting for and 90 Republicans and one Democrat voting against. Today, Speaker Kevin McCarthy managed to push a bill with Democratic votes to keep the government open until mid-November.
Monday, October 2:
With the majority of the Republicans in the House of Representatives in favor of the government shutdown, the Speaker of the House, Republican Kevin McCarthy’s position is on the line. If Kevin McCarthy is removed from his position, the position of Speaker will be left open, leaving the Democrats a chance to take the position.
Tuesday, October 3:
Today Kevin McCarthy, speaker of the House of Representatives was ousted as a group of 8 Republicans joined the 208 Democrats that voted against him. This is the first time in history that the Speaker of the House has been ousted due to a no-confidence vote. The final vote was 216 to 210.
Former President Trump could lose Trump Tower, and other properties, due to the fraud case that started today. The state lawyer accuses Trump of gaining $100 million dollars by lying about his real estate. Attorney General Letitia James is looking to fine Trump at least $250 million, permanently ban both Donald Trump and his two sons from operating businesses in New York, and ban Trump and Trump Organizations from commercial real estate for five years.
Wednesday, October 4:
Every phone in the US connected to a cell tower went off at 2:20. This was a test of the Emergency Broadcasting System. This system is similar to Amber Alerts, but on a much larger scale. If everything went according to plan, this would be used for emergency alerts on the national scale and for presidential announcements.
Representative Jim Jordan became the first Republican to announce his candidacy for Speaker of House Of Representatives.
Over 75,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers and support staff walked off the job to protest “unfair labor practices and unsafe staffing levels”. Last Month, the unions representing the workers threatened to walk off the job unless a new contract was negotiated. On Saturday, the contract expired, and they have yet to reach an agreement.
The U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team won its seventh consecutive world title. This team is the most decorated team ever. Simone Biles, 26, earned her 20th world championship gold medal. She also became the oldest U.S. woman to win a world championship medal in gymnastics.
Thursday, October 5:
Despite his efforts to avoid the government shutdown, which eventually led to him losing his position, Kevin McCarthy’s removal increases the likelihood of a government shutdown. As the new November 17 deadline grows closer, the power vacuum in Republican leadership is delaying the spending negotiations and adding to the threat of a government shutdown.
President Joe Biden states once again that he believes border walls don’t work, but with $190 million of the $1.375 billion set aside for the project in 2019, there is nothing he can do to stop the next 20 miles of the wall from being built.
Legendary linebacker for the Chicago Bears and Hall of Famer, Dick Butkus dies at 80. Butkus was a first-round draft pick ranked number 3 overall. He played for the bears from 1965-1973. During that time he started all 119 games he played in. His career came to an unfortunate end after he reserved multiple knee injuries, but in 1978 and 1979, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, respectively.
Friday, October 6:
Today, the imprisoned Iranian Activist, Narges Mohammadi, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. After being detained in 2021, she was charged with multiple accounts of alleged propaganda activities, amounting to over 10 years.
