In the hustle of daily life, it is often difficult to sit down and read or watch the news. It is often dark and negative, but it’s still a fundamental part of our everyday lives. Here are some important news stories from the past week that you might have missed.
It’s homecoming week in the city:
Come one come all, Georgia State will be holding its homecoming week this week. The University and Spotlight have once again teamed up for a week of events leading up to Saturday’s big game.
For many students, it’s now or never. “COVID-19 has gotten us all messed up,” said Arron Jones, a junior that transferred from the Dunwoody Campus last year.
“We missed Pantherpalooza, Homecoming, Greek Week, everything. This year’s homecoming will show whether [the] State is back in full force.”
Students across the university are already excited, but will it live up to expectations? Find out for yourself. Check out the calendar of events in the paper!
Asian-Pacific countries rushing for anti-COVID-19 pill before being sold out:
Molnupiravir, produced by US pharmaceutical company Merck, is being marketed as the pandemic ender. Asian-Pacific countries that still have record cases are placing orders in droves before the FDA approves the pill for usage.
At least eight countries in the region, including South Korea, New Zealand and Australia, have made or are in the process of making deals with the company to receive the drug as soon as possible.
The North American executive director at Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, Rachel Cohen, does not want history to repeat itself. “[Molnupiravir] really does have the potential — the potential — to change the game a bit,”
This rush mirrors last year’s “vaccine rush,” where first-world countries grabbed all the available vaccine supply, leaving none for the third-world countries who need it most.
17 American and Canadian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti by gang members:
17 people, including minors, were abducted Saturday, according to Christian Aid Ministries.
Security and Foreign Affairs officials from the country have been in communication with the US State Department. This incident is only the latest in a troubling pattern in the country.
According to the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, at least 628 kidnappings have occurred since January. The abductions and other issues have forced the Association of Owners and Drivers of Haiti, a labor union, to call for an indefinite strike and called on all other sectors to join them.
The Search for Brain Laundrie continues:
Local and Federal officials have spent exactly one month, at the time of this writing, looking for Brain Laundrie – the fiancé of 22-year-old Gabby Petito.
Laundrie is wanted on charges of “use of unauthorized devices” concerning Petito’s debit card. Petito was found dead in Teton County, Wyoming, on September 19th. While police have not determined he is a suspect in her death, it’s been popularized on social media that he is her killer.
Laundrie is still at large and is suspected to be either in the Carlton Reserve, a nature area in Venice, Florida or somewhere along the Appalachian Trail.
Despite the hate, Latinx culture is thriving. Especially on TikTok:
Once sued by former President of the United States Donald Trump, TikTok is now a considerable platform promoting Latinx culture to a broader audience. TikTok hashtags #Latino, #Latina, #Familia and #Comida, among others, grew in use by more than 185% since last year’s Hispanic Heritage Month.
Some of the app’s biggest stars are Hispanic. These stars include a former member of The Signal, Julian Pineda, who has amassed 10.7k followers and a Hollister branding deal on the platform.
Supply chain issues to continue into 2022:
Everywhere you look, prices are going up, and supplies are going down. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Sunday that supply chain issues will continue into 2022.
“This is one more example of why we need to pass the infrastructure bill. There are $17 billion in the President’s infrastructure plan for ports alone, and we need to deal with these long-term issues that have made us vulnerable to these kinds of bottlenecks when there are demand fluctuations, shocks and disruptions like [the ones that the pandemic has caused].” Buttigieg said, explaining the demand side of the situation.
Due to the sudden demand spikes for things like water, paper products and canned goods, ships cannot get products to the shore.
The lack of truckers and train conductors is keeping things slow going into big cities. As the pandemic rages on, the end isn’t clearly defined.
