From Wayne Hills to Thailand, here’s some of what was going on in the world over Summer Break.

School News

All Wayne Hills Students Receive Chromebooks

Over the summer and throughout the first few weeks of the school year, incoming Freshmen and Seniors received personal Chromebooks for academic purposes. This makes the 2018-19 school year the first in which all Wayne Hills Students were provided with electronic devices.

National

John McCain Dies of Cancer, Aged 81

One of the most heartbreaking stories of the summer was the death of Republican Senator John McCain. McCain began his career not as a politician but as a naval aviator during the Vietnam War. In October 1967, on a bombing mission during Operation Rolling Thunder, McCain was shot down by North Vietnamese Forces. Gravely injured, he was later captured and held as a POW until 1973. McCain, the son of a prominent admiral in the US Navy, refused to be released early, feeling that doing so would be betraying the other American prisoners still in North Vietnam.

After retiring from the Navy in 1982, McCain moved to Arizona and began his career in politics. He was elected to two terms in the House of Representatives and to five terms in the United States Senate. He ran for president twice, once in 2000 and again in 2008, when he was the Republican opponent to Barack Obama. After being diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017, the 81-year-old senator succumbed to his illness on August 25, 2018, one day after he announced he would no longer receive treatment for his condition. McCain is remembered as a war hero and as a ‘maverick’ who disregarded party lines.

Mueller’s Investigation Continues

Former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort officially went on trial on July 31. Manafort faced 18 counts as a part of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Charges included bank fraud and conspiracy, failing to file foreign bank account reports, and subscribing to false income tax reports. Manafort initially asserted he was innocent, but on September 14, 2018, he plead guilty to all charges leveled against him. His plea was made on the condition that some of the charges would be dropped if he agreed to comply with Special Counsel Robert Mueller III’s investigation into “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump, and any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation”.

Kaepernick Controversy

Nike’s decision to use football player Colin Kaepernick’s image in an advertisement captioned “Believe in Something. Even if it means sacrificing everything” stirred up considerable controversy in early September. Kaepernick is a football player who played for the San Francisco 49ers until he opted out of his contract on March, 3, 2017. He rose to national prominence in 2016 when he chose to kneel during the playing of the national anthem, which he insists is to protest police brutality and their treatment of African Americans. Kaepernick quickly became one of the most polarizing figures in contemporary sports, with supporters hailing him as a national hero and opponents claiming that his actions are enormously disrespectful and tantamount to treason.

The advertisement is part of Nike’s campaign celebrating 30 years of its now-ubiquitous slogan “Just do it” and its caption references Kaerpernick’s lawsuit against the NFL for what he perceives as their refusal to hire him due to his activism.

Almost immediately after the ad was published, many took to social media to express their outrage, some with videos and photos of themselves destroying Nike products they had already purchased. Others chose to defend Nike and Kaepernick, and others still chose to use social media to mock those who were burning what they had already purchased. Although Nike’s stock took a slight hit in the immediate aftermath of the ad’s release, it does not seem to have affected the company in the long term. Many now feel Nike actually intended to spur controversy in the hopes of attracting more publicity.

Christine Hallquist and Rashida Tlaib Push Boundaries in American Politics

Rashida Tlaib and Christine Hallquist are both poised to achieve firsts in the world of American politics. Tlaib, a former Michigan State Senator and a resident of Detroit, will become the first muslim woman elected to congress after the November elections, as she is running unopposed. Christine Hallquist, a Democrat from Vermont, is the first transgender primary candidate for governor in American history. Their victories are part of an election season characterized by a substantial number of women running in and winning elections.

International

Pope visits Ireland Amidst Ever-Worsening Sex-Abuse Crisis

On August 25, 2018, Pope Francis visited Ireland just days after the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing decades of pedophilia-related crimes by the clergy, and the attempts by the Church to cover up those crimes. The 81-year-old’s visit was the first papal trip to the majority Roman Catholic nation in almost 40 years and was controversial from its outset. Thousands of people gathered to attend Pope Francis’ Mass in Dublin on August 26, but just as many gathered to protest his supposed disregard of sexual-misconduct allegations. To many, the papal visit to Ireland emphasized just how much the country has in the decades since the last visit from the Church. When Pope John Paul II came in 1979, abortion and homosexuality were forbidden by law. Now, both are legal and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, shown above greeting Pope Francis, is openly gay.

Thai Boys Soccer Team is Rescued From Cave

By means of a harrowing rescue operation that captured the world’s attention, 12 boys and their soccer coach were evacuated from a cave deep underground in Thailand in early July. The team entered the cave on June 23 to celebrate a players birthday and was trapped there by monsoon season flooding that cut off all exits. The boys and their coach managed to survive for two weeks by drinking water dripping from the walls of the cave. They were found by two divers on July 2 and rescued between July 8 and July 10. The rescue operation was immensely dangerous and complex, even for the most experienced divers involved. Tragically, Thai Navy Seal Saman Kunan died during the ordeal. However, all 12 boys and their coach made it out of the cave.