This summer was eventful news-wise, so here’s a quick review of what happened:
June began with most of the East Coast in an orange, post-apocalyptic haze. Smoke from devastating wildfires in Canada billowed into the U.S. and made the Spring-Ford area a difficult place to be, with being outside for just an hour feeling like the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes. Unfortunately, the smoke affected graduation, with the Class of 2023 walking across the stage the smoky conditions.
Additionally, an international hunt for five passengers on OceanGate’s submersible, the Titan, gripped the nation as the US Coast Guard searched for the lost sub. The Titan was on course to visit the RMS Titanic, which famously sank in 1912. The passengers aboard the fateful sub included the CEO of OceanGate, Stockton Run. The last communication to the submersible’s mother ship was at 11:15 A.M. on June 18th, and after hours of no communication and the sub not surfacing at its expected time, the Canadian Coast Guard conducted a preliminary surface search before asking the Coast Guard and Navy for assistance. After a four day search, the Coast Guard determined, based on a Navy SONAR scan, that there had been a “catastrophic implosion” that left no survivors.
Furthermore, July was a remarkable month for powerful women. Taylor Swift once again broke a record with her re-recorded version of her third album “Speak Now,” reaching number one on the charts. With this being Swift’s twelfth number-one album, she now holds more number-one albums then any other woman in music history. Currently, the only artists who hold more than Swift are Jay-Z and The Beatles. She has also continued her record-breaking Eras Tour, beginning its international leg at the end of August as well as announcing more U.S. shows to come in 2024.
The other significant news of July was the release of the “Barbie” movie, the summer blockbuster grossing over one billion dollars in the international box office. “Barbie” surpassed “Oppenhimer,” earning 82 million dollars more than Christopher Nolan’s World War II era biopic.
Business magazine Fortune reported that between the “Barbie” movie, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce’s respective tours, the economy was saved from a recession.
August was also an interesting month in terms of news, with one of the most memorable stories of the year: former President Donald Trump’s fourth indictment. Trump, along with eighteen other conspirators, were formally indicted by Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney on ten different charges.
Also of note from August was the wildfires in Maui, devastating the island in Hawaii, causing widespread destruction and loss of life. The historic town of Lahaina, the original capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, was heavily impacted with over 80 percent of the city destroyed by the fires. The flames were made worse by strong winds from Hurricane Dora, which resulted in the destruction of homes, buildings, businesses, and many historical sites across the island. Despite efforts to evacuate, over 300 people are missing and search teams are struggling to cover the vast area. The governor of Hawaii has described this as the largest natural disaster in the state’s history, attributing the increased frequency of wildfires to uncontrollable factors like climate change and increased human activity.
President Joe Biden pledged $95 million to help fix the destruction caused by the fires, and the House of Representatives proceeded with an official ongoing investigation into its true cause.
