The Stratosphere Jump, Malala Yousufzai, and YouTube Explodes [Current Events Cheat Sheet]

By Garnet Henderson

I’m not going to lie to you guys, there’s not a whole lot of happy news this week. But this is our world, so be brave and read on!

At Home

Professional daredevil Felix Baumgarnter landed a jump from the stratosphere – about 24 miles above ground in the desert of New Mexico. He was backed by a NASA-like mission control and set the record for the highest human freefall and became the first skydiver to break the speed of sound. What?!

Arlen Specter, a former senator from Pennsylvania, has passed away. Specter was involved in several of the Senate’s most intense legal battles, including the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton. As a young lawyer, he was the first person to propose the theory that President John F. Kennedy and Texas governor John B. Connally were struck by one bullet from a lone shooter on the day of Kennedy’s assassination.

Police in Colorado found the body of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway, who had been missing for about a week. FBI profilers are encouraging the community to be on the lookout for certain behaviors in order to identify the killer – more information here.

The World

Cyber bullying has claimed another victim – Canadian teen Amanda Todd committed suicide after years of bullying.

14-year-old Pakistani blogger and activist Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head by the Taliban for her efforts to demand education. She was airlifted to England, and her recovery could take months. The Taliban have vowed to try again to kill her if she lives.

Scotland may seek its independence from the U.K. The question will be put to voters in a referendum, with the options of voting only to ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for Scotland’s independence.

Sporty

Some members of the elite cycling world still believe that Lance Armstrong never doped, despite the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s claim that they have irrefutable evidence he cheated.

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s football season. For a roundup of the week’s action, click here.

Hot on the Web

This video is hilarious, so you should watch it. But be careful – the internet might explode, because it combines three of YouTube’s biggest stars. Take a look.

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.