Candace Owens’ MAGA Podcast
By Sabenah Abudu-Abrams
After the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, his close friend Candace Owens, another well-known political commentator, began recording a podcast about MAGA and the death of Kirk. Despite Owens’ eagerness to speak on the topic, Judge Tony Graf– who is presiding over the case against Tyler Robinson, Kirk’s alleged assassin– placed a gag order to ensure a fair trial. The gag order prevents anyone involved with the case from speaking to the public about it, including news stations. Although the gag order primarily applies to lawyers, Candace Owens has vowed “to violate it on the world’s behalf” since, according to her, there is a much larger cover-up occurring. Owen’s theory on Kirk’s death includes a mix of pressure that he was receiving from his Jewish donors and a federal cover-up of hidden information. In the midst of all of the controversy, Candace Owens is in line for the 2026 Golden Globes award for Best Podcast.
Cop Car Crashes into Home
By Harper Scully
On Oct. 20, 2025, at 8:15 pm, a cop car crashed into a residential home near the intersection of North Avenue and James P. Brawley Drive NW in Bankhead, Atlanta. The officer was responding to a distress call made by another cop when he crashed. Homeowner Mark McCreary, who was present during the crash, and a few other witnesses immediately went to aid the police officer in the car. Soon after the car came in contact with the house, both the car and the house caught fire. The cop is currently in critical condition at Grady Hospital, with no casualties or other serious injuries. The collision is still being investigated by the Georgia State Patrol Specialized Collision Reconstruction team to find out the cause.
Doug Martin’s Passing
By Shaw Gordon
On Saturday morning, police received a call about a home break-in. Doug Martin, 36, former NFL player, was found inside the home in Oakland, California. While the police were trying to detain him, he got into a scuffle with the police. While in police custody, Martin passed away. Although the cause of death is still unknown, Martin did suffer from mental health challenges. Martin played running back in the NFL for seven years, six of them with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one with the Las Vegas Raiders. Over the years, he tallied 5,356 rushing yards and was invited to the Pro Bowl as an all-pro in 2015, retiring in 2018.
Drones Strike Khartoum Airport, Delay Reopening
By Daniela Palatchi
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, drones struck the international airport of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, with strikes continuing into Wednesday morning, Oct. 22. The airport has been closed since the start of Sudan’s civil war, and on Monday, Sudan’s Civil Aviation Authority scheduled the airport’s reopening to Wednesday for commercial domestic flights by Sudan’s airline, Badr Airlines. Due to the strikes, however, the reopening was halted. In April 2023, due to a struggle for power, Sudan broke out into a civil war between its army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a parliamentary group. In March of 2025, the army fully recaptured Khartoum and made the reopening of the airport a priority.
Judges Rule in Favor of Sending National Guard to Portland, Oregon
By Akiva Bryant
On Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 that the Trump administration can deploy the National Guard to Portland, Oregon. This ruling overturned two temporary restraining orders, set by U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, that blocked the troops’ deployment after Oregon’s Governor, Tina Kotek, ruled against the deployment. The two orders prevented the administration from mobilising the Oregon National Guard to be sent to Oregon, and from sending troops from any state to Oregon. Although the Justice Department successfully appealed the first order, the other has yet to be resolved. Therefore, it is uncertain when troops will be deployed to Portland. President Donald Trump has sent the National Guard to several other cities, such as Los Angeles and Washington D.C., in an effort to crack down on crime, support deportation initiatives and end “violence” in democratic cities.
Louvre Robbery
By Joy Ferguson
On Saturday, Oct. 19, the Louvre Museum in Paris, France was broken into. The suspects apparently arrived at around 9:30 am, a little after the museum opened for the day. The Louvre Museum is the world’s largest fine-arts museum and was once a royal residence. Four unidentified people used a ladder to scale the walls of the museum and enter the Apollo Gallery through a window on the second floor. Authorities say eight pieces were stolen, one being the diadem of Napoleon III’s third wife, Empress Eugénie. The diadem was said to be embellished with 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, worth millions of Euros. The thieves originally took nine items; however, they dropped the diadem while fleeing the scene, leaving the eight items police are looking for. Not only did the suspects steal jewelry, but they also smashed other display cases. Up to 60 investigators are finding the culprits and the missing jewelry. The security cameras outside the building showed the four suspects outside the building before the robbery occurred. Officials say the robbery was short, only taking seven minutes. This incident raises questions on the Louvre security and whether or not they’re prepared for such break ins. The total of the stolen items is around 88 million Euros, or 102 million USD.
Marching Band Competition
The Upper School Marching Band will compete at Rockdale High School on Oct. 25 at the Greater Atlanta Marching Festival (GAMF). The GAMF, founded in 1977, is the oldest marching band competition in Georgia. The marching band is coming off a first-place finish overall at the Jaguar Classic on October 15th.
Nationwide No Kings Protest
By Kaden Bruton
On Saturday, Oct. 18, in cities across the United States, around 7 million people protested against the Trump administration in the second wave of the No Kings protest. Protestors challenged ICE raiding places and ICE kidnapping, national guard intervention in democratic led states, constitutional rights and freedom of speech and expression. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the protests a “hate rally” and said that democrats have caved into supporting the “terrorist wing of their party.” President Donald Trump reacted to the protests by generating an AI video of sewage being dumped on the protestors. In a video filmed by KSDK News, Trump has also stated, “When you look at those people, those are not representative of the people in our country,” regarding the protestors. Other notable events from the protest include people dressing up in Halloween and inflatable animal costumes.
Trump-Petro Feud Escalates
By Riley Jones
On Sunday, Oct. 19, President Trump threatened to cut U.S. funding to Colombia. These actions come in response to Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s comments on the U.S. military boat strike in the Caribbean. Petro claimed that a boat, struck on Oct 3, by the U.S. military, carried Colombian citizens. He has also alleged that citizen Alejandro Carranza, a fisherman with no ties to the drug trade, was killed in the strike. The White House has denounced these claims as “baseless and reprehensible.”
Petro has not yet provided evidence explaining how he knows those on the boat were Colombian citizens; however, he has expressed a wish for families of those affected to come forward.
The White House has responded to these claims by threatening to raise tariffs on the country and stop all payments to Colombia. The U.S. is also Colombia’s top trading partner, with 35% of the country’s exports being shipped North. Raising tariffs and increasing tensions may affect future trade between countries.
White House Begins East Wing Demolition
By Trey Voegtlin
Oct. 21, 2025 marked the beginning of a new era for the White House. In order to begin construction on an ode to President Donald Trump, the Trump Ballroom, the demolition of the east wing has been ordered. This isn’t the first new addition to the White House, as several other architectural projects, such as the west wing created by Roosevelt in 1902, took place beforehand. However, the ballroom is one of the few built to honor the presidential family itself. Structures such as the family theatre and the gift shop are yet to be decided if they will be altered.
