• Alaskan Airline Flight 1282 suffered a mechanical failure mid-flight  

Alaskan Airlines flight 1282 suffered a mechanical failure when loose bolts caused a door plug to detach from the Boeing 747 Max 9 aircraft. This led to oxygen masks dropping and an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon. “Fortunately, nobody died and there were no more serious injuries,” Jennifer Homendy, chair of NTSB, said to CNN. The incident caused the NTSB (National Safety Transportation Board) to check all Boeing 747s. As a result, another United Airlines plane was discovered to have a few loose bolts, according to CNN. 

• NFL SuperBowl Countdown 

The NFL is set to showcase Super Bowl LVIII with the San Francisco 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Feb. 11th at 6:30 pm.  This year the Superbowl will take place at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.  Usher will be the head performer during the Halftime show.  Taylor Swift is also expected to attend to support her boyfriend Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.  Taylor is “so happy the Chiefs are going to the Superbowl” according to the Kansas City Star. 

• Hamas Leader killed in an explosion in Lebanon

Hamas commander, Wissam al-Taweel, was confirmed dead on Jan. 8 in Lebanon after Israeli strikes hit the car in which Taweel and his associates were, according to Reuters. For the past four months, Israel and Hamas have been exchanging fire across the Lebanon and Israel border, according to CBS. 175 people have been killed in Lebanon, 130 being Hamas soldiers and 9 being Israeli soldiers, according to the AFP news agency. “We affirm that this crime will never pass without response and punishment,” Hamas leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Lebanese television.

• Harvard’s and University of Pennsylvania Presidents were forced to resign after congressional hearings. 

Harvard President, Claudine Gay, and UPenn President, Liz Magill, were forced to resign after congressional hearings on their position of anti-semitic remarks made by students. After many Pro-Palestine protests on their campuses, Jewish donors, alumni, and students complained that the presidents were not doing anything to suppress the antisemitism that the protests were demonstrating. During the hearing, the protesters were accused of being hurtful for wanting the genocide of Jews. The presidents, however, argued that they believed in free speech on campus, according to the New York Times. “It does depend on context. It was frustrating to see them discover free speech scruples while under fire at a congressional hearing,” Will Creegly, a legal director in FIRE ( Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), said.

• Elon’s use of illegal drugs worries leaders in SpaceX and Tesla   

Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX’s CEO, has been reportedly using drugs such as LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine which worry the leaders in SpaceX and Tesla. They are concerned that Musk’s use of drugs could either harm his health or damage his business. In the past, many company board members had suspicions about his drug use. In 2017, SpaceX employees gathered outside the company’s headquarters for a meeting about SpaceX’s newest rocket. Musk came an hour late and his speech was incomprehensible to the employees. He also referred to the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) as “Big F***ing Rocket,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Alexander Sprio, Musk’s attorney, has denied these claims. “Musk is regularly and randomly drug tested at SpaceX and has never failed a test,” Spiro said. 

• US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was recently hospitalized in secrecy

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was recently hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC with a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) after a procedure for prostate cancer. The White House did not know of the secretary’s hospitalization and was in the dark for days. On Jan. 4, the Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks was notified and passed on the information to the White House and Congress. After being informed of the news, President Biden supported the secretary and other staff members. “I’m very much looking forward to seeing him fully recovered and working side by side,”  Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.

• Hunter Biden made a short appearance at his congressional hearing.

Hunter Biden, son of President Biden, made a short appearance at his hearing at Capitol Hill before leaving, defying the orders of the House. The House had subpoenaed, or summoned, Hunter Biden to gain his testimony to help impeach President Biden. Hunter Biden also missed a previous congressional hearing. Instead, he went to a press conference stating he wanted a public trial. “You are the epitome of white privilege,” GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, said. “Coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls.”

This will be the last Krishna’s Corner of Current Events. In the future, we will have a corner similar to this where the entire News and Features staff will work to keep WHHS students up to date with current events… so stay tuned. 

Sincerely,

Krishna