1. Republicans hold impeachment inquiry for President Biden

The House of Representatives held their first impeachment hearing for President Biden on Oct. 5. Republicans are using evidence of Hunter Biden’s (President Biden’s son) foreign business deals against the President. According to CNN, these Republicans do not have any concrete evidence of Joe Biden’s involvement and the hearing is most likely for gathering information. On the other side, Democrats believe that the impeachment hearing is being done to take attention away from Donald Trump’s four indictments. 

       2. An American Soldier who disappeared in North Korea has come back

Travis King, an American Soldier, who crossed the North Korean border and disappeared for a month after being arrested, has come back to the US. US and Pyongyang (North Korea’s capital) military officers agree that Travis King illegally went into North Korea willfully, without authorization. “He harbored ill feelings against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US army and was disillusioned about the unequal US society,” Pyongyang’s military told CNN. 

          3. FDA votes against an experimental drug that treats ALS 

The Federal Drug Administration voted almost unanimously against an experimental ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) drug on Sept. 27. ALS is a neurological disease that kills neurons that help with actions such as chewing and walking, weakening muscles. Over time it affects the muscles used for breathing and leads to paralysis. The ALS drug, manufactured by NurOwn, was rejected because it did not show any patient improvement or signs of slowing the disease. Families of the people who have ALS were not happy about the FDA’s ruling as they begged the FDA to grant access to the drug. “When Matt is on Nurown it helps him, when he’s off of it he gets worse,” Mitze Klingenberg said, speaking on behalf of her son, Matt Klingenberg, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2018.

         4. Taylor Swift shows up at the Chiefs vs. Bears game

The pop icon Taylor Swift made an appearance at the Chiefs vs. Bears game in support of Chiefs’ player, Travis Kelce. The internet speculates that they are dating. Swift had also shown up at the Chiefs vs. Jets game on Oct. 1. Kelce’s Instagram account skyrocketed to 4 million followers, and the demand for tickets to his next game soared according to CBS Sports. “Shout out to Taylor for pulling up. That was pretty ballsy,” Kelce told People magazine.

        5.  Senator Menendez was indicted in court for bribery and corruption. 

New York Sen. Bob Menendez is being indicted in court for corruption and bribery. The senator received bribes of cash, gold and other benefits to help three businessmen and the Government of Egypt. “We allege that behind the scenes, Sen. Menendez was doing those things for certain people — the people who were bribing him and his wife,” US Attorney Damian Williams told Politico. Williams suggested that Mendez’s actions were beyond correction. 

         6. FTC is suing Amazon for the creation of a monopoly 

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and 17 states are suing Amazon for creating an online monopoly. The FTC believes that Amazon has created a monopoly using tactics to eliminate any competition. Amazon, which has denied the accusations, said that the FTC is wrong about the facts and the law. “If the FTC gets its way, the result would be fewer products to choose from, higher prices, slower deliveries for consumers and reduced options for small businesses — the opposite of what antitrust law is designed to do,” David Zapolosky, Amazon general counsel, told the New York Times. 

        7. UAW goes on strike in Detroit 

The United Auto Workers Union went on strike on Sept. 26. The union, which represents around 400,000 members, went on strike because it could not reach contract agreements with General Motors, Ford or Stellantis. The workers even received support from President Joe Biden, who joined the picket line last week to support the workers’ cause. “Stick with it. You deserve the significant raise you need and other benefits,” Biden said to AP News.  

       8. Meta unveils a new VR headset and Smart Ray-Bans.

Meta Platform’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has released the new Meta Quest 3 and Smart Ray Bans, both of which are virtual headsets. Meta Quest 3 is like a regular Meta Quest except that you can have a mixed reality between the actual world and the digital world. The Smart Ray Bans are glasses that are used to record and ask AI questions. “The limits of your physical space are going to be able to expand,” Zuckerberg told the Wall Street Journal. “You’re going to be able to be a part of much larger worlds.”