- Thumbs up to… Jon Fosse won a Nobel Prize in Literature. The 64-year-old Norwegian playwright is not well known in his hometown in Norway but has been celebrated in many literary circles as “the most producing living playwright.” https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/1203690242/norwegian-playwright-jon-fosse-wins-the-2023-nobel-prize-in-literature
- Thumbs up to… Kelvin Kiptum for shattering a world record by running a sub-2:01 marathon. During the “Running of the Bank of America” in Chicago on Oct. 8, one of the participators, Kelvin “Ken” Kiptum was able to break the world record by crossing the finish line in two hours and 35 seconds on the clock. He beat the previously held record by 34 seconds. https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2023/10/kelvin-kiptum-shatters-world-record-at-45th-running-of-the-bank-.html#:~:text=Kelvin%20Kiptum%20(KEN)%20became%20the,2%3A00%3A351.
Thumbs up to… The Texas Rangers, for winning their first World Series after 63 years. They beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games, winning all of their away games during the postseason. Rangers superstar Corey Seager won his second World Series MVP during this World Series. The Rangers also had pitcher Will Smith, who has been a part of the last four World Series teams. https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/01/sport/world-series-rangers-diamondbacks-game-5-winner/index.html
Thumbs up to… Taylor Swift releasing her fourth "Taylor's Version" album, which has surpassed the original in sales and Spotify streams. Topping in the Billboard 200, Swift became the first artist to score six No. 1 album debuts in history. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/taylor-swift-1989-taylor-version-records-1235637476/
- Thumbs down to… The crisis in Israel and Palestine, following decades of tense history. For the last several weeks, a Palestinian Islamist militant group named “The Hamas” has launched terrorist attacks against Israel, with them being the number one source in “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” a full-scale attack that broke through Gaza’s barriers, raided Israeli military bases, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of both civilian and military personnel and has taken multitudes of hostages. On the other side of this, Israel has also been responding to these attacks with attacks of their own. Conflations between Hamas and Palestinian citizens, and between the Israeli government and its citizens, have led to over-simplifications in people’s understanding of the crisis throughout the last month, due to people being uninformed about the history of these nations. https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-10-24-23/index.html
- Thumbs down to… An off-duty pilot on an Alaska Airlines flight, for attempting to cut off the engines mid-flight. The 44-year-old Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph D. Emerson tried to cut off fuel to the plane’s engines during one of its many flights, but the airline’s captain and first officer averted such a thing. After the plane diverted course to land in Portland, Oregon, Emerson was detained and charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/24/us/alaska-airlines-disruption-off-duty-pilot-tuesday/index.html
- Thumbs down to… Donald Trump’s attorneys, for moving to dismiss the charges in the federal election subversion case, alongside removing mentions of the Jan. 6 attack in the indictment. If this does proceed, the entire incident on Jan. 6 would be forgotten, meaning Trump could take back office and potentially cause more havoc for many Americans. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/24/politics/trump-january-6-case-first-amendment/index.html
- Thumbs down to… Climate change, for being the number one source for Hurricane Otis’ recent intensification before it hit southern Mexico. Thanks to the oceans warming up lately, this hurricane has grown stronger – an unusual behavior not commonly seen in hurricanes on any portion of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/25/weather/hurricane-otis-rapid-intensification-climate/index.html