October 7, 2020 News Summary
US Politics and Economics
Vice President Pence and Senator Kamala Harris are expected to square off in the Vice Presidential debate tonight in Utah for 90 minutes at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. With the President’s recent COVID-19 diagnosis, the commission holding the debate has opted to use plexiglass to separate the participants, although Pence has raised objections on such policy. Although COVID-19 has once again arisen as a major topic for the election due to the President’s positive diagnosis, the debate will focus on defending the claims their respective campaigns have made. Currently, Biden has maintained his 8 point lead over President Trump though that could certainly change with this debate.
Recently out of the Walter Reed Medical Center, President Donald Trump authorized all documents pertaining to the Russian ‘Hoax’ Investigation and Hillary’s private email server scandal to be declassified. “No redactions!” he tweeted. This occurred after information was disclosed revealing that former President Obama had been briefed on claims regarding Hillary Clinton’s campaign orders to engineer the Trump-Russian Collusion hoax. Richard Grenell, former acting Director of National Intelligence under the Trump administration, tweeted that it proved that Obama and Joe Biden, his vice president at the time, “directed their administration to use the powers of government to attack” Trump’s campaign in 2016.
Texas Politics
As the 2020 elections draw near, both of the major parties fight hard for dominance in Texas. Per Texas Tribune, former vice president Joe Biden plans to spend around 6 million dollars for his campaign in Texas. “This is historic. That shows you just how important Texas is to them and it shows that Texas is in play,” said Abhi Rahman, a spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Party. “It shows you their investment in Texas is real.” This project is known as the Lincoln Project, which will feature ads and ones specific to certain people across Texas. A spokesperson says that the group will be trying to get over 600,000 “suburban and rural Republican women” to vote. Though polls show that Trump won by 9 points over Texas in 2016, the 2020 Election results are still undecided.
Health
According to CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, as of October 4, 2020, 12:17 PM, there are over 7.47 million cases and 210k deaths nationwide. According to the data, California leads with the most infections at more than 828.4k, and Texas follows with 773.4k cases.
Houston residents announce that the pandemic has taken a heavy toll upon their mental health. According to the HoustonPublicMedia, a survey found that in more than 1,000 Houston-area residents, almost two-thirds of them have reported anxiousness several days a week because of the pandemic. Impacts on health and economic issues are similar across the spectrum of different races and classes.
World Politics and Economics
In Thailand, anti-government protestors demand “...reform of the royal institution, which is enshrined in law as a constitutional monarchy.” This movement has intrigued and caused the younger generation to thirst for information that has faded from much of Thailand’s consciousness-- including the Oct. 6, 1976, University massacre. Although the 1976 University massacre has disappeared from mainstream school textbooks and Thai society, according to ABC News, “...as the contemporary protest movement gathered momentum, a Facebook page dedicated to the massacre registered 1.3 million visits.” While this movement in Thailand enlarges, many are still devoted to the crown. Veteran politician Warong Dechgitvigrom argues that the protesters are using the massacre to trick the rising generation into supporting a revolution. He claims, “So these people have to dig out the history of 40 years ago, that happened even before some of these youths were born, just to create hatred in our society.”
Science and Technology
Per SciTechDaily, NASA has finished tests for the James Webb Telescope, such as shakes and rattles of liftoff. “The successful completion of our observatory environmental tests represent a monumental milestone in the march to launch. Environmental testing demonstrates Webb’s ability to survive the rocket ride to space, which is the most violent portion of its trip to orbit approximately a million miles from earth. The multinational group of individuals responsible for the execution of the acoustic and vibration test is composed of an outstanding and dedicated group of folks who are typical of the entire Webb team,” said Bill Ochs, Webb project manager for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Southeast US Weather
Delta has weakened significantly to a category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 mph and a pressure of 975 Mb due to some sneaky wind shear to Delta’s east. Delta has made landfall overnight as a strong category 2 with 110 mph winds. In the next few days, Delta is expected to restrengthen over the Gulf as it heads back to warmer waters. Watches are in effect from Beaumont to NOLA.
Analysis: Shear is expected to drop as Delta heads into the GOM. Windfield is expected to expand up to landfall. It is expected to be a category 2 or 3 landfall in the LaFayette area. Models like HWRF are showing significant strengthening in the GOM with winds up to 125 mph.
Forecast Positions: 10 HRS: 115 mph, 20 HRS: 120 mph, 30 HRS: 130 mph, 40 HRS: 130 mph, 50 HRS: 125 mph, 60 HRS: 100 mph INLAND, 70 HRS: 70 mph LOW, 80 HRS: 30 mph LOW
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Writers:
US Politics and Economics: Dylan, Miranda, Caleb, and Annabelle
Texas Politics: Stephanie, Vicki, and Megan
Health: Matthew and David
World Politics and Economics: Joseph Z., William, Vicki, Jake, and Alexander
Science and Technology: Bryan
Southeast US Weather: Jade, Aiden, and Simon
Editor: VIA
(All writers and editors are in middle to high school)
HYNC-October-7-2020
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