Olympic Uniform Scandal, Shark Attacks, “That Gotye Song,” and More! [Current Events Cheat Sheet]

By Garnet Henderson

Still hiding under your bed after Friday the 13th? Here’s what you missed in the last week.

At Home

The U.S. Olympic Committee came under fire this week after a dirty little secret came to light: the Team U.S.A. uniforms were made in China. Official uniform maker Ralph Lauren has apologized, and the Committee has promised that the uniforms for the 2014 winter games will be made in the U.S.A.

A Washington D.C. police officer is under investigation after threatening to shoot Michelle Obama. We’re glad the First Lady is safe!

The U.S. Justice Department is building criminal cases against several financial firms and their employees, who may have manipulated interest rates and contributed to the financial crisis.

An F.B.I. investigation revealed that top officials at Penn State, including the late head football coach Joe Paterno, actively covered up allegations of sexual abuse against assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Many experts are suggesting that the Penn State football program be suspended for at least a year.

The World

A surfer was killed in a shark attack of the coast of Australia. This was the fifth attack in the past few months alone.

Violence continues in Syria, and the International Committee of the Red Cross says that the situation can now be classified as a civil war.

A court has decided that an American woman who sent her adopted son back to Russia with only a note must pay $150,000 in child support.

Sporty

An unknown person threw tacks and nails on the road during the renowned Tour de France cycling race over the weekend, causing major setbacks for several of the race’s top contenders.

U.S. women’s soccer team goalkeeper Hope Solo was issued a warning after failing a drug test. Solo explained that the positive test was due to medication prescribed to her for “pre-menstrual purposes.” Leave a girl alone!

Looks like the Houston Rockets have caught Linsanity – they’ve offered New York Knick Jeremy Lin a massive $25 million contract.

Hot on the Web

Let’s be honest. The news can get kind of depressing sometimes. So to cheer you up, here’s this week’s best viral video – “That Gotye Song.” Be honest, we’ve all done this.

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.