News Wrap Up

A lot is happening in our world right now! Make sure you stay informed by reading about five of the top news stories from this week. 

On Oct. 20, bystanders helped rescue an elderly couple from a sinking car. This past Monday, as 78-year-old Joseph Abitabile and his wife were driving, they accidentally drove through a road barrier and into a Long Island canal. Seven individuals jumped into the water to rescue Mr. Abitabile, two of which were police officers. The other five responders were bystanders who reacted immediately to help the situation. Another team of rescue workers broke the passenger window to free an unconscious Mrs. Abitabile. Thanks to the quick response of witnesses and police rescue forces, Mr. and Mrs. Abitabile sustained no life-threatening injuries and will make a full recovery. To watch a video of the accident and rescue, click here

On Oct. 20, the Midwest experienced record-breaking amounts of snow for October. While snowstorms this early in the season are not impossible, they rarely occur. However, The Weather Channel reported that Tuesday saw massive snow covering the northern Rockies and Plains, northern New England, and the upper Midwest. These early snowfalls broke records in multiple locations in the upper Midwest. Minnesota received 7.9” of snow which broke the 3” record set in 1916. Eau Claire, Wisconsin broke their record by over 4.5” by receiving 6.9” in comparison to the 2” that fell in 1982. Rhinelander, Wisconsin barely bumped their record up, going from 6.0” to 6.1”. These shockingly heavy snowfalls are expected to continue into next week.

On Oct. 20, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft touched an asteroid. On Tuesday afternoon, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft reached out an arm to collect dust samples and pebbles from the Bennu asteroid. Bennu is a very old astroid over 200 million miles from the earth that NASA is very excited to study in an attempt to learn more about the early solar system. NASA has been planning this mission for over a decade. They launched OSIRIS-REx from Florida on Sept. 8, 2016. The spacecraft arrived at Bennu on Dec. 3, 2018, and it started orbiting Bennu a few weeks later on Dec. 31, 2018. The OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to come back to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023. 

On Oct. 22, Trump and Biden engaged in their final presidential debate. After Biden and Trump’s initial debate, the rules for their final engagement were modified so that each candidate’s mic was turned off after two minutes of speaking. After both candidates spoke for two minutes on each topic, both mics were turned on so they could discuss the topic. The debate was moderated by Kristen Welker, an NBC news correspondent with the White House. The candidates were overall respectful of the new rules and talked less over each other. The presidential candidates discussed a variety of topics including COVID-19 responses, election integrity, health care, immigration, race, and climate change. To watch the debate, click here

On Oct. 22, Amy Coney Barrett was approved for a full Senate vote. This past Thursday the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Judge Amy Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Of the 22 members on the Judiciary Committee, all 12 Republicans voted to advance Judge Barrett while the 10 Democrats opposed her nomination. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s approval will lead to a full Senate vote next week. Until the official vote, Democrats are planning to continue their speeches in opposition to her election. Their main complaints are Judge Barrett’s rival views on abortion and gay rights as well as her threat to the Affordable Care Act. 

Jordan Lance

Jordan Lance

Jordan Lance is the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Runner.