Hurricane Milton following Hurricane Helene
Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene left a destructive wake in Florida, Floridians are bracing for a second blow: Hurricane Milton. Milton is currently a Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds. It is presently battering through Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and is headed to the Gulf of Mexico, in route to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Hurricane Milton is “the third-fastest intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic Ocean,” according to Reuters. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has issued an evacuation order for over a million people. He also stated that 8,000 National Guard members will be stationed where the expected landfall is with supplies.
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un increase relations
On Oct. 7, Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, sent a message to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, celebrating his 72nd birthday according to BBC News. The two stated that “Relations between both countries would be raised to a new level,” BBC News wrote. This is not the first-time reports of allyship between the countries have surfaced. Former Russian president Stalin and Kim Jong Un’s grandfather also maintained a close relationship. Kim and Vladimir have also signed an agreement vowing to protect each other from “an act of aggression,” BBC News reported, which has triggered alarm in the West.
Mexican governor assassinated days after taking office
Alejandro Arcos Catalán, the newly appointed mayor of Mexico’s state of Guerrero, Chilpancingo, was killed mere days following his induction. Guerrero’s state Attorney General reported that officials are still investigating the incident. However, alleged photos of Catalán’s severed head were circulating on WhatsApp. His assassination directly followed that of Chilpancingo’s new government secretary Francisco Tapia, who was shot to death just three days prior, according to Reuters.
Drag queen image used without consent
Last week, former president Donald Trump used the image of someone without their consent for a political campaign. His advertisement promoted the idea that Harris supports transgender Americans, which he portrayed in a negative light. It displayed a photo of Vice President Harris and a drag queen named Pattie Gonia. Gonia has since suggested that she will be taking legal action against Trump for the use of her image. However, a professor from UCLA Law School, Mark McKenna, stated that it may be difficult to take legal action against a political campaign, according to NBC News. The ad was posted all over social media, including Instagram.
Nobel prize winners for mRNA discoveries
Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun recently won the Nobel Prize in the physiology of medicine for their work and discovery in mRNA. Their work has been described as, “proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function,” and “revealed a new dimension to gene regulation, essential for all complex life forms,” according to the Associated Press. Furthermore, the expansion of knowledge on mRNA can potentially assist the development of better treatments for diseases such as cancer.
jamabil3@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @pattiegonia, Instagram
