World Affairs
DNA Study Suggests Columbus Had Spanish Jewish Roots
By: Eliza Moore
A 20-year genetic investigation into Christopher Columbus's remains challenges his traditionally accepted Genoese origin, suggesting he may have descended from Spanish Jews.
DNA analysis led by José Antonio Lorente, a forensic medical expert at the University of Granada, found genetic markers linking Columbus to Sephardic Jews expelled during the Spanish Inquisition. Lorente reported the explorer's DNA was "compatible" with Jewish ancestry.
This discovery challenges conventional beliefs about Columbus's background and could reshape understanding of his motivations and voyages. His potential Jewish heritage may have influenced his interactions with indigenous peoples, given the persecution of Jews in 15th-century Spain.
While researchers await final DNA confirmation, the findings could significantly impact historical perspectives on Columbus and early European exploration of the Americas. The study highlights how modern scientific methods continue to reshape historical understanding.
The Sunshine State Becomes a Hurricane Backyard
By: Mykyta Sorochenko
Hurricane Milton has already solidified itself for the record books as it hit Florida on the night of Oct. 9 as a Category 3 storm. The hurricane reached and hit Florida's west coast and forced the evacuation of cities.
According to The New York Times, "Meteorologists were glued to their computers on Monday morning, watching virtual data as the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter airplane made pass after pass through the eye of Hurricane Milton."
The hurricane went from Category 1 storm at around midnight up to Category 5 by noon. The wind speed increased, indicating that the storm was becoming more intense by every minute. On Monday evening, the speed of the wind reached 180 miles per hour, making it one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever. However, most Category 5 storms tend to weaken. "Most Category 5 storms weaken through an eyewall replacement cycle, when a new wall of thunderstorms begins to form around the smaller inner eyewall, choking out its moisture source and creating a much larger eye of the hurricane," the Times reported.
"This is a very serious situation," forecasters from the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday morning, warning that "Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida."
Everyone in Florida was very concerned about this situation, but the majority of people have experienced this already with the recent Hurricane Helene. But everyone went into complete shock as the mayor of Tampa Bay, the city that experienced the worst of Milton, stated, "You are going to die!" as she addressed critical concerns on the damage expected from the Category 4 storm. The aftermath of the storm was frightening as it dealt damages worth over $1.3 billion and resulted in the death of 24 people. By many experts' opinions, Milton was one of the strongest and deadliest hurricanes in Florida's history, right beside Hurricane Wilma back in 2005.
"SNL" Premieres 50th Season With Long-Awaited Political Cold Open
By :Catherine Smith
New York City, New York. The iconic Late Night Comedy show, “Saturday Night Live," kicked off its 50th season on Saturday, Sept. 28 with host Jean Smart and musical guest, Jelly Roll. The episode’s cold open comedically depicted the Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigns in the days after the presidential debate.
The first season of “SNL" debuted in 1975. Since then, it has gained a massive following and has launched many actors to fame. Big names such as Will Ferrell, Billy Crystal, Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader, Kate McKinnon, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler all got their start as regulars on the show.
Every episode features a cold open that references current events happening around the country or world that week. The cold open is the scene before the show’s intro that famously ends with the actors breaking character and shouting, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
During election years, the show often brings back old regulars to play the candidates. This year has been no exception, with the friendly faces of Maya Rudolph (Harris), Andy Samberg (Doug Emhoff), and Dana Carvey (Joe Biden) making their returns. Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, is played by comedian Jim Gaffigan, and Trump and JD Vance were portrayed by current "SNL" regulars James Austin Johnson and Bowen Yang.
According to NBC, 5.3 million people watched Saturday’s episode, making it the best premiere since 2020. The show started with an ABC World News intro and opened with David Muir (Andrew Dismukes) sitting at a desk. The "SNL" writer turned cast member introduced Trump and Harris, saying, “In the interest of fairness, we’ll be going live to rallies from both candidates tonight.”
The camera cut to Harris walking up to a podium to her campaign song, “Freedom” by Beyoncé. The Emmy-winning actress and comedian warmly greeted her audience and then launched into an energetic speech, containing a mixture of jokes and powerful political statements, making remarks such as, “My campaign is like the Sabrina Carpenter song ‘Espresso.’ The lyrics are vague, but the vibe slaps,” as well as, “This election is about moving forward... Donald Trump is stuck in the past.”
At that point, Rudolph was joined by Gaffigan, bounding on stage as Harris’s enthusiastic running mate. The Purdue and Georgetown University graduate awkwardly danced up to the podium and went on to carry his intense enthusiasm and notorious midwest “dad energy” into his speech, with the line, “Folks, I haven’t been this excited since I got a 10% rebate off a leaf blower from Menards.”
Rudolph was joined next by Samberg, her onstage husband, saying, “Tim is not the only white dude for Harris here today.” The two pressed their foreheads together in greeting and remained very touchy in reference to the couple’s well-known lovey-dovey presence together in real life.
Samberg’s impersonation of the Second Gentleman went on to speak about how proud he was of his wife and how if helping Kamala become president means being called “a beta, a wife guy, a trad [husband], a little spoon... then you can cut my little butt!” The Vice President ushered him off, telling him to “go cool down, Hot Shot.”
The scene then moved to a portrayal of Trump’s rally, which was “entering its third hour.” Johnson’s Trump stood on stage with a plexiglass screen in front of him. The second-year "SNL" regular referenced Trump’s known obsession with crowd sizes as well as his famous assassination attempt, saying, “We love my rallies, except when someone does a bing bong bing bing bing right at me.”
Johnson next welcomed Yang onstage with an annoyed glance and the quote, “People are saying [Vance] was a bad pick, and in many ways he was.” Vance tried to go in for a handshake, but Trump dodged him and walked off the platform, taking his plexiglass protection screen with him.
Yang, who joined the cast in 2018, acknowledged the Democrat’s criticism of JD Vance, saying, “I’m sure you’ve all heard what the liberal media has been saying about me. I’m a creep. I’m a weirdo. What the hell am I doing here?” As he started to mention Project 2025, a topic that the Trump campaign has given notably conflicting information on, the camera suddenly cut back to Dismukes.
The footage was directed back to the Harris rally, “where the dancing appears to be wrapping up.” Carvey finally made his appearance at the podium beside Rudolph as a very disoriented Biden, saying, “A lot of people will forget I’m president, including me!” The 69-year-old returning cast member let a smile slip as he tried to recreate Biden’s wandering speech pattern with the line “But guess what? And by the way. The fact of the matter is—no joke. This is serious right now. Are you serious? Anyway, in conclusion: me and Vice President Harris and the same.” At which point Rudolph ushered him off the stage.
Rudolph wrapped up the cold open with a final statement to her supporters. “If we win together, we can end the drama." End the trauma. And go relax in our pajamalas." Carvey wandered back onstage to join Rudolph in the infamous cheer, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
According to a review by the Barnard Bulletin, Michael Che, co-host of the regular segment, Weekend Update, greeted the audience onstage before the show started. “After Che’s introduction, the crew set up for the cold open, a personal highlight of the night,” the review stated. While it may have been the highlight, the 13-minute cold open kicked off a lively episode of "SNL" with many other skits featuring host Jean Smart and two performances from Jelly Roll.
These other sketches included Jean Smart as a romance novelist, hired to write a math textbook for an algebra class, as well as a Weekend Update segment featuring Bowen Yang as baby Hippo, Moo Deng. In his two musical segments, Jelly Roll performed songs “Liar” and “Winning Streak” from his new album, “Beautifully Broken (Pickin’ Up The Pieces).
The episode marked the start of what many have nicknamed “the anniversary season” and 49 years since the first episode aired on Oct. 11, 1975.
Walz and Vance’s Shockingly Civilized Debate
By Kim Brain Canin
The 2024 vice presidential nominees, Senator JD Vance of the Republican Party and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz had a 90 minute long debate over a wide range of issues such as immigration and abortion hosted by CBS and arranged by the moderators, Narah O’Donnel and Margaret Brennan on Oct. 2, 2024. Both candidates were surprisingly civilized compared to the previous Presidential debate, as many citizens stated.
Vance and Walz had a heated debate on Oct. 2, 2024, both opposed each other in a civilized manner. Vance continuously stated his opinion on Kamala’s border security, while Vance strongly disagreed with the abortion rights that Former President, Donalnd Trump publicly averse.
Jan. 6 discussions still occurred despite over three years in the debate. Vance dodged and imposed, “Hillary Clinton in 2016 said that Donald Trump had the election stolen by Vladimir Putin because the Russians bought like $500,000 worth of Facebook ads,” ultimately dodging the question of Walz about Jan. 6 and the violent attacks on the U.S. Capitol.
During the debate, both candidates mentioned the occurring false claims of immigrants, “pet eaters,” which are heavily advertised by the Republican Party. Walz confronted Vance, saying that “there are consequences to such claims.” Vance then replied, “The people I care most about in Springfield are the American citizens.” and continued to reiterate his defense of his false claims on Haitian immigrants. However, Vance eventually got fact-checked by the moderators, stating there are “12,000 to 15,000 immigrants in Springfield legally.”
Indigenous People’s Day
By Christopher Gallegos Tamayo, Staff Writer
Indigenous People Day is a holiday where people celebrate and honor the history and culture(s) of Native American people all over the United States. The day helps us remember the struggles and achievements that were made by Indigenous communities and encourages us to learn more about their important contributions to our country.
Indigenous Peoples Day originally came out as an alternative for Columbus Day around the late 1980s. It's well known as a holiday to celebrate the Native Americans and Indigenous populations all across the world. The holiday first arose as a result of visibility of the American Indians in a different time period.
The Holiday was then able to replace the other holiday known as Columbus Day as a way of respect and a way to honor the history and culture of Native Americans. People figured this would be better since Columbus day was about Christopher Columbus marking territory on the Americas beginning the centuries of oppression and displacement for indigenous communities.
The day is a day meant to recognize the painful history Indigenous people have faced throughout history. Along with it being a way to celebrate their communities, it's also a day for protests and resistance, said Tilsen, who is Oglala Lakota (one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people).
Aood way for you to be able to honor Indigenous peoples day yourself is by simply visiting a museum to honor the people of our past and those in the present. Another way would be to attend a local festival, making a great way to connect with and to learn about different communities.
Can Cats Influence Presidential Polling Numbers?
By: Sophia Manuel
During the presidential debate, hosted by ABC on Sept. 10, former president Donald Trump made comments about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio eating dogs and cats. Since then, residents of Springfield have faced bomb threats and an increase of visitors from far-right groups. Despite this, many social media users have used the cat-based political rhetoric as a catalyst for good.
Debate Comments
During the debate, Trump referred to Haitian immigrants in Springfield, saying, “they’re eating the dogs… they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live [in Springfield], and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”
Springfield City Manager, Byran Heck, told the Wall Street Journal he was called by a staffer for Trump’s running mate, JD Vance. “He asked point-blank, ‘Are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten?’” reported Heck, “I told him no. There was no verifiable evidence or reports to show this was true. I told them these claims were baseless.
Heck says those in Springfield are “living the danger that misinformation and created stories leads to.”
According to Slate, there have been over 30 bomb threats in Springfield since the debate. Mia Perez, a resident of Springfield, told Slate she had to pick her daughter up from school two days in a row due to bomb threats.
According to CNN, Springfield’s City Hall closed due to a bomb threat on Sept. 12. On Sept. 13, two elementary schools were forced to evacuate, and two hospitals had to lockdown the day after.
On Sept. 15, Vance said the following on CNN with Dana Bash, “The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
CNN’s Bash responded, “You just said that this is a story that you created.”
Vance replied, “It comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents. I say that we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it. I didn’t create 20,000 illegal migrants coming into Springfield thanks to Kamala Harris’ policies. Her policies did that. But yes, we created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris’ policies.”
ABC reports many of the 12,000-15,000 Haitian immigrants in Clark County, which contains Springfield, are in the United States legally.
Taylor Swift’s Endorsement
Shortly after the debate, Taylor Swift posted her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to Instagram. She signed her endorsement “childless cat lady,” likely in response to comments from Vance. In a 2021 Fox News interview, Vance said, “the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.” In an unrelated resurfaced tweet, Vance referred to Paul Krugman as “one of many weird cat ladies.” One protester in Springfield was seen holding a sign with “pro cat anti cat lady” written across it.
Despite endorsing Harris, Swift also wrote, “the choice is yours to make” in her post. She encouraged fans to vote, and posted an Instagram story with a link to vote.gov. A spokesperson for the General Services Administration, which runs vote.gov, said 405,999 users visited vote.gov through Swift’s link within 24 hours.
Debate Remixes
The Kiffness (David Scott), a South African musician, remixed Trump’s debate quote about people eating cats and dogs. According to the Daily Mail, his remix has hit over 10 million views on X, formerly Twitter, alone. Scott said he plans to donate proceeds from the remix to the Clark County SPCA, in Springfield. Scott has already raised over $16,000, per Newsweek.
Residents in Springfield have surely been shaken up by the recent cat-based political rhetoric. Swift has once again caused a spike in voter registration, before this historic election. And, according to Billboard, the Kiffness played his “Eating the Cats” remix at a recent concert in Munich, Germany. All these events tie back to social media and cats, two themes not present in the majority of previous presidential elections.