I’m going to be really honest with you. If you have no idea what’s going on with our government right now, or what went down in Kenya last weekend, then you have some serious catching up to do. The possible government shutdown, for instance, could have a very serious impact on your daily life, so knowing the gist of it is kind of necessary if you want to be an informed citizen. 

Of course we don’t expect you to brush up on your news knowledge on your own. We’ll be right there with you on your journey towards understanding what’s up with the world these days. Here’s this weeks cheat sheet, with all you need to know to be able to hold a mildly intelligent conversation with someone about current events.

Let’s get started.

1. Kenya

Gunmen invaded the Westgate mall in Nairobi on Saturday, killing at least 61 civilians. The al-Qaeda extremist group Al-Shabaab took responsibility for the terrorist attack via Twitter. Al-Shabaab has threatened Kenya in the past, saying they would take action if Nairobi did not pull troops out of Somalia. 175 people were injured in the attack, and according to the Red Cross at least 65 people are still missing.   

Read more here

2. Government Shutdown

Our government is going to run out of money on Oct. 1. If Congress can’t decide on a new budget by then, the government will shut down for the first time since 1996. This means no more national parks, no more loans, and an overall negative effect on our nation's psyche (nobody wants to be the country that can't get it together in time to not run out of money). The possible shutdown is mainly caused by debate in Congress over Obamacare. Many Senators such as Ted Cruz are refusing to fund the government if Obamacare is still funded. Oh, and the U.S could default on its loans by Oct. 17 if the Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. 

Read more here

3. Jackson Vs. AEG

Closing arguments were heard Wednesday in the Jackson family lawsuit against AEG Live. The Jackson family is suing AEG for hiring Dr. Conrad Murray without considering his history of medical malpractice. AEG argues Michael Jackson himself hired Dr. Murray, and he was “the architect of his own demise”. The Jackson’s are demanding $1.5 billion in damages from AEG. A rebuttal will be heard Thursday by the Jackson family lawyer before the jury is asked to decide who is at fault for the King of pop’s death.

Read more here

4. U.N. General Assembly

The U.N. General Assembly began on Monday in New York. Leaders from 200 member states will meet to discuss international issues. Key topics of discussion at the General Assembly will be the crisis in Syria and issues in Iran. President Obama announced that a possible handshake between himself Iranian president Hassan Rouhani would not occur during the Assembly. The handshake would have been an opportunity for the two presidents to come together without a formal agenda.  President Obama addressed the Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, stressing the need for international collaboration to respond to the crisis in Syria.

Read more here

5. Emmy's Wrap-Up 

Some of our most beloved TV stars hit the red carpet on Sunday for the annual Emmy awards. “Modern Family” took home the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for the fourth time while “Breaking Bad” was awarded Outstanding Drama Series for the first time. Some viewers were surprised when Jeff Daniels won best-actor award for his work as news anchor Will McAvoy in  “The Newsroom”. In a shocking twist, Claire Danes won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama (*note- since most of you are not news junkies, I should probably let you know I’m speaking facetiously here since this was Dane’s third Emmy).

Read more here.

 

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Reach Contributing Reporter Madison Mills here.