The Week in Review: 11/09/18

Ilhan Omar, at her election night party at the Courtyard Marriott in Minneapolis, addresses supporters and the media after being elected. (Photo taken from the Independent)

Last week, I was expecting the majority of this week's news to be focused on the midterm elections. Instead, not only was this really not the case, but there was also a lot more going on, just in our country alone. I couldn't keep up this week because every hour or so I would see something big pop up on my news feed. Unfortunately, there were also several more tragic events that happened, and it is so disheartening to see that we still can not manage to find some sort of peace in our world. All I, along with many others, can keep wondering is, When will enough be enough?

Here are five stories from this week:

1. On Tuesday, we had the midterm elections. This year, there were a lot of races to watch. In the end, we had a pretty historic night. While the GOP was able to hold onto a majority in the Senate, the Democrats took the House, giving us a split in Congress. Something important to note is that this was the most we have seen women run for office, which helped with the Democrats winning the House. We also saw a lot of firsts with elected-candidates, like the first Muslim women, the first Native American women were elected to Congress, as well as many more significant candidates. I think that this election was important in seeing how our country will be shaped over the next few years.

2. After the midterm elections, Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned from his position. His resignation is per the request of President Trump, who asked Matthew Whitaker to fill in for Sessions until the Senate confirms a new Attorney General. Whitaker, who served as Sessions' chief of staff, is a "passionate loyalist," so there is some concern as to what he will be doing during his term as acting Attorney General. He will be in this post until a new person can be confirmed, which may not happen until February, or later.

3. About a week after the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, another shooting took place in a yoga studio in Tallahassee. I would have mentioned this in my last blog post, but I saw the news after I had already written it. Also, it was hard having to read about another shooting in our country right after writing about Pittsburgh. Two innocent women were killed, one of whom was a college student just like me. It's so hard to fathom that in both Pittsburgh and Tallahassee, it could have possibly been me, or someone I know. This story was hard to look at, and I wish I could say more to do it justice, but I think I still don't have the right words.

4. On Wednesday night, a gunman went into Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California and opened fire, killing 12 people. Once again, we saw another shooting in out country. Again, innocent lives were lost in a place where they probably thought this could never happen. And again we have to ask ourselves, will this ever end? Three shootings over the past few weeks, and all i feel is that this is the "norm" for what we are going to see in the news. At least, it feels that way, considering that over the past few years this is what has been going on in our country. I think one victim's mother summed it best:

"I don't want prayers. I don't want thoughts. I want gun control. And I hope to God nobody sends me anymore prayers. I want gun control. No more guns." 

- Susan Orfanos, mother of Telemachus Orfanos, who was killed in the bar shooting.

5. In order to take a break from all of what has been going on here, I wanted to talk about the royal family again. Last night, a documentary aired in honor of Prince Charles' 70th birthday, and even though it may not be considered newsworthy, I thought it would be nice to write about one of the interviews from the documentary. Prince Harry spoke about when he asked his father to walk Meghan Markle down the aisle for their wedding. I think it was sweet getting to learn more about Charles' character, and I think right now, we could use something sweet to hear about.