Biden Warns of Nuclear Threats:
In a declaration on Oct. 5, President Joe Biden stated that the nation is at its biggest risk of a nuclear threat since the 1992 Cuban Missile Crisis. After Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use nuclear weapons as a result of suffering a setback in the Russian-Ukraine war, Biden proclaimed that Putin was “not joking.” Biden announced, “We have a direct threat to the use of nuclear weapons…,” and, “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.”
(Sources: BBC News, New York Times)
— Bridie Beamish, Culture Editor
Alec Baldwin Reaches Lawsuit Settlement:
On Oct. 21, 2021, actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer working on the set of the film “Rust,”. In February, Hutchins’ family filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and the producers of the film. However, on Oct. 5, Matthew Hutchins, the victim’s husband, reached a settlement. Hutchins decided that he has “no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame” to either the producers or Baldwin. Hutchins believes, along with the rest of his family, that “Halyna’s death was a terrible accident.” The original crew is set to resume filming the movie at the beginning of next year, with Matthew Hutchins as the executive producer.
(Sources: CNN, NBC)
— Rory Zeman, National/World Editor
Prosecutors Sentence Nikolas Cruz to Life in Prison:
A Florida court sentenced Nikolas Cruz, the gunman who shot and killed 17 students at Parkland High School in 2018, to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Oct. 13. Cruz’s defense lawyer argued for a life sentence and not the death penalty, citing 41 mitigating life circumstances. Following less than a day of deliberations, the jurors declared that the aggravating factors argued by the prosecution did not outweigh the mitigating circumstances stated by the defense. However, the defense’s arguments left many of the victims’ parents outraged; they left the courtroom crying, claiming that the jurors valued Cruz’s life over the 17 deceased. One parent asserted, “This shooter did not deserve compassion.”
(Sources: CNN, New York Times)
— Bridie Beamish, Culture Editor
Trump Files Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN:
Former President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN on Oct. 3, seeking 475 million dollars in damages. Trump’s lawsuit, filed in U.S District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, describes CNN’s coverage as a “campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander” that has recently escalated, causing the former president “embarrassment, pain, humiliation, and mental anguish,” therefore justifying the large demand. In his statement, Trump suggested that he will file similar lawsuits against other news agencies.
(Sources: NY Times, AP)
— Nadia Liu, Public Relations Manager