Tornadoes, Strikes, Somalia, and Gangnam Style [Current Events Cheat Sheet]

By Garnet Henderson

While you were crying over the Twitter hoax deaths of Morgan Freeman and Alfonso Ribiero (not Carlton!!!!), we were picking up the pieces and finding out what you missed. Here are the past week’s top stories.

At Home

A huge storm hit the East Coast, and tornadoes touched down in Brooklyn and Queens. Tornado-like funnel clouds were spotted near Washington, D.C., but no tornadoes were confirmed. The storm toppled trees throughout New England, and cleanup continues in all areas affected by the winds.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering sending veterinarians to Mexico to inspect cattle there, a practice that used to be routine until it was suspended in 2010. USDA employees argue that even though a significant amount of Mexican beef is imported into the United States, it is unfair to send workers to a country facing danger from drug cartels.

Chicago may be facing a Teachers Union strike, the first in 25 years.

The World

Ice melted at a record-breaking rate in the Arctic this year. Scientists said they were “amazed” by the loss of ice and the thinness of the remaining layers.

Somalia’s new parliament, elected in August, will vote to elect a new president this week. Somalia has been without a strong central government since the ouster of a dictator in 1991.

A wave of attacks killed more than 50 people across Iraq. Meanwhile, the country’s vice president, who is currently in Turkey, was sentenced to death. He is accused of crimes including overseeing paramilitary death squads and murdering a lawyer and a security official.

Sporty

Pro football players such as Brendon Ayanbadejo, Chris Kluwe, Scott Fujita, Michael Strahan, Nic Harris, and Michael Irvin are speaking out in support of same sex marriage and changing the NFL’s homophobic image.

Devon Walker, a safety from Tulane University, will undergo surgery after breaking his neck during a game. Our hopes for a speedy recovery!

Hot on the Web

Here it is, the video that took the internet by storm… Gangnam Style!

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.