Cassidy Johnson
Deep into October, Spooky Season is well underway. But in the midst of pumpkin spice recipes, Halloween movies, costumes, and candy corn, let’s not forget that there are plenty of scary things going on in the real world. Here is a list of thirty-one chilling tales from recent news.
1. U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, prominent and powerful passed away.
2. The President of the United States and the White House continue their refusal to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry conducted by House Democrats
3. A sixteen-year-old girl condemned world leaders over letting the planet burn.
4. India considering revoking the citizenship of about 2 million people thought to be motivated by anti-Muslim sentiments.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/31/world/asia/india-muslim-citizen-list.html
5. Justin Trudeau is not a dreamy as everyone thought.
https://time.com/5680759/justin-trudeau-brownface-photo/
6. Beginning in November, immigrants who cannot prove that they have health insurance or pay for medical expenses will be denied visas.
7. Russia has been bombing hospitals in Syria.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/13/world/middleeast/russia-bombing-syrian-hospitals.html
8. The highly conservative and nationalist party in Poland which promotes homophobic views and is anti-sexual education has gained a majority in the Parliament.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1190789/poland-election-result-2019-law-justice-party
9. An anti-Semitic attack in Germany resulted in the death of two people and was live-streamed.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-europe/a-terrorist-attack-on-yom-kippur-in-halle-germany
10. In Fort Worth, Texas, Atatiana Jefferson, a black woman was shot in her own home while babysitting her nephew.
11. California utility company, Pacific Gas & Electric shut off power in an effort to prevent the starting of wildfires, yet failed to properly warn residents and businesses.
12. It turns out Bill Gates is not as awesome as everyone thought he was but was good friends with sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein for years.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/business/jeffrey-epstein-bill-gates.html
13. North Korea has chosen to officially leave denuclearization negotiations with the United States for the time being.
14. The Department of Homeland Security is developing plans to collect DNA samples from thousands of immigrants currently in federal detention facilities and enter them into a criminal database.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/us/dna-testing-immigrants.html
15. Facebook is not requiring that political ads be fact-checked ahead of the 2020 elections.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/mark-zuckerberg-georgetown-free-speech-political-ads/
16. Two-thirds of America’s birds are at risk due to climate change.
17. The head of the International Monetary Fund said that this year will have the weakest economic growth since the 2008 financial crisis as a result of global conflicts.
https://time.com/5700706/international-monetary-fund-world-economic-outlook/
18. Gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis have reached an all-time high in the United States.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/08/health/std-cases-rising-us-study/index.html
19. Donald Trump reportedly asked the Prime Minister of Australia to assist Attorney General William Barr with investigating the origins of Robert Mueller’s Russia and election-centered investigation.
https://www.apnews.com/7246ca01d5fc4444b0cc8ad65006c390
20. The repeal of Net Neutrality has been upheld.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-broadband.html
21. The Harvard Affirmative Action case could find its way to the Supreme Court.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/us/harvard-admissions-lawsuit.html
22, The EPA is accusing California of not meeting water quality standards because the waste of homeless people can enter the water supply.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-09-26/epa-trump-california-water-pollution-homelessness
23. Income inequality is at its highest level since the 1960s
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-income-inequality-record-high-generational-wealth-2019-9
24. The recent number of vaping-related deaths has risen to 33.
25. Not enough pregnant women are getting vaccinated for the flu or whooping cough.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/health/flu-shot-pregnancy.html
26. A Nobel-prize winning economist believes that the US economy is overdue for a recession.
https://time.com/5697119/robert-shiller-recession-interview/
27. More and more women are reporting instances of abuse or mistreatment during childbirth.
28. A violent video depicting a fake Donald Trump killing his political opponents and journalists was shown at a recent Trump rally.
29. Private organizations like Apple and now the NBA find themselves conforming to the wishes of China under political and economic pressures.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50091931
30. Teachers in Chicago, the third-largest school district, went on strike over issues such as class size, pay, and benefits.
https://www.apnews.com/fe67b0cad7a94047a50c4bc21d9b82d1
31. The year-long Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been declared as the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever.
Yes, most of the news compiled in this list is beyond scary and some it might chill you right to the bone, but do not let this news affect you the same way it affects most. Do not let the knowledge of the President’s antics, the declining conditions of the planet, or perpetual violence make you feel so helpless that you become complacent. Do not become someone who is aware, but does nothing; a citizen who does not execute their power. Change is a collective effect made possible only by the power and determination of individuals. Register to vote, volunteer for organizations and causes that are important to you: be an active citizen. Only those who care have the power to change the world.