Weekly Review

In Winder, Georgia, two students and two teachers were murdered by a 14-year-old student using an AR-style rifle that his father reportedly bought him for Christmas.^{1 2} “Today is not a day for politics or policy,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who since taking office has signed legislation protecting the privacy of gun buyers and legalizing unlicensed carry; “I don’t like that this is a fact,” said vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, who opposes expanding background checks and the existence of a federal gun registry and has suggested that the solution to school shootings was increased armed security in schools; “we’re going to heal our world,” said presidential candidate Donald Trump, who, if elected, has vowed to roll back the Biden administration’s gun control measures and who pledged during his own term to veto bills that would require universal background checks.^{3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12} In Huntsville, Alabama, a 16-year-old was charged with murder after shooting another teen; in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a 15-year-old shot and killed another 15-year-old while they were playing with a gun; and in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, an 18-year-old shot and killed a 17-year-old while allegedly “messing around” with a gun.^{13 14 15} In Athens, Alabama, a high school basketball team canceled a raffle offering an AR-15 rifle as a prize.¹⁶

North Korea launched a new salvo of garbage balloons across the border with South Korea, and Sweden’s “Queen of Waste” was put on trial for irresponsibly dumping more than 200,000 tons of toxic waste as the owner of a company that transported waste in bright pink bags.^{17 18 19} A body was found on the conveyor belt of a recycling facility in Farmingdale, New Jersey, and a body was discovered at a recycling facility in Normal, Illinois.^{20 21} “There is nothing normal about this!” said one commentator about Hunter Biden’s request for an Alford plea on the day his tax evasion trial was set to begin in Los Angeles.^{22 23} A Michigan judge was suspended after she was filmed using a homophobic slur and calling black people “lazy.” A federal appeals court extended the suspension of a 97-year-old judge for another year over concerns about her fitness to serve.^{24 25} The Nigerian military denied claims that soldiers were resigning en masse due to low morale and corruption. Six top Ukrainian ministers resigned from their posts amid a cabinet reshuffle for “new energy.” It was also reported that Japanese employees were hiring experts in dismissal to help them quit their jobs.^{26 27 28}

A California high school principal has resigned after a video of him giving and receiving lap dances in front of the students with the school’s mascot, Thor, went viral. It has also been reported that Vladimir Putin’s sons secretly enjoy pretending to be Disney characters.^{29 30 31} A man has been charged with stealing Jellycat soft toys in Warrington, England, and officials in India have soaked soft toys in children’s urine to catch man-eating wolves.^{32 33} Police in Rio de Janeiro have carried out 16 raids on houses for cuddly toy grabbers that may have been used as fronts for money by criminal gangs. In addition, a man was convicted of smuggling more than $4,000 in cash hidden in a teddy bear from the Isle of Man.^{34 35} A man bit a police officer in the shoulder after he tried to steal more than $2,000 worth of items from Macy’s in San Leandro, California; a woman awaiting sentence for her role in the Capitol riots tried to bite an officer in the leg at Dr. Pepper Park in Roanoke, Virginia; and a man bit a chunk out of an officer’s ear while being arrested in Chelsea, Massachusetts.^{36 37 38} “I’m hungry for what’s to come,” said Joey Chestnut after eating a world record 83 hot dogs.³⁹ —Megan Evershed

The post Weekly Review first appeared on Harper’s Magazine.