1. Terrorist Attack in Orlando Night Club

In the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, 49 died and over 50 were wounded. Omar Mateen opened fire in the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando on June 12th. A lone attacker pledging allegiance to ISIS, the FBI had interviewed Mateen in the past and deemed him not a threat, but later that would change. A hate crime against the LGBTQ and Latino communities, Pulse was a safe and accepting place for Orlando’s gay community to feel secure and have fun. Mateen had a history of violence. Sifora Yusufiy, Mateen’s first wife stated that he was abusive and unstable. Mateen’s wife at the time of the attack, Nour Salman, is still under investigation as to whether or not she was a co-conspirator, but has since disappeared. Mateen was killed on scene by responding officers. (Reported by: Alex Stone & Alorah Losano)

2. Bastille Day in Nice Ends in Bloody Massacre

On July 14, French National Day, a 19-ton cargo truck, drive by Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old man of born in Tunisia, with a French residency, brutally mowed down 85 people.  The firework show had just ended in this French Riviera town when the terrorist began shooting into the crowd and then driving right through them.  U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement saying, “We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack.”

3. Hillary Beats Bernie, Trump gets Republican Nomination

Hillary Clinton took the Democratic nomination by 3.6 million votes with a total of 15.5 million from Texas, New York, and California. then, Bernie endorses Hillary, which upsets supporters. Trump gets nomination by default.

With the victory of Hillary Clinton and Trump, we now have our two candidates. Hillary took the victory on June 7th with 2814 super delegates, compared to Bernie Sanders’ 1893. With Bernie out of the race, his supporters eagerly waited to see what he would do next. Sanders’ supporters were not happy to hear the news that Bernie endorsed Hillary Clinton, someone he and his supporters fought against since the beginning. Bernie’s senior strategist, Tad Devine said on the defeat, “I don’t think anybody had figured out how to win when we got in, It was ‘How do we become credible?'”

Trump, on the other hand, had no problem becoming the Republican nomination. He swept the floor with the runner ups – Marco Rubio was third with 165 super delegates, Ted Cruz was second with 559. Trump had 1543 super delegates, destroying the others. The two runner ups were so far beyond, in fact, they both dropped out of the race.

The election with take place on Tuesday, November 8th 2016 and like it or not, one of these candidates with be the 45th President of the United States. (Reported by: Angel Cruz, Lukas Van Proosdy, Daniel Vargas)

4. CDC announces travel advisory against the U.S for first time in history

On August 1st of 2016, the CDC (Center fro Disease Control) issued a travel warning to a small community north of downtown Miami, Florida, warning people not to visit that area due to the Zika virus being active there. It is the first time in U.S history the CDC has warned people not to travel to an area in the United States. Mayor Carlos Gimenez said, “I ask all residents to continue to do their part by draining standing water, protecting ourselves and our families by using mosquito repellent and covering up when going outdoors, especially during early morning and evening hours.”

Zika, a mosquito-borne illness that has become an epidemic starting in early April of 2015 in Brazil, is spreading into the U.S.. The symptoms in adults include mild fever, joint pain, skin rashes pink eye, and can last from 2-7 days. Adults can also get a temporary form of paralysis called Guillain-Barre Syndrome. A pregnant woman can pass Zika virus to her fetus, which can cause birth defects such as microcephaly, which makes the babies heads way smaller than usual at birth and can lead to death. (Reported by: Jacob Hernandez, Jordan Valenzuela, and Samantha Valdez)

5. Violent incidents between children and wild animals 

On June 14th at a Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida, a wild alligator snatched two-year old, Lane Graves, off the bank of a lagoon. There were signs lining the water, asking visitors not to swim in the lake, which is why the parents have decided not to sue. Animal expert, Jeff Corwin stated, “In Florida alligators may a common sight, but attacks are rare. If a human gets close to alligators, 99% of the time they will take off.” According to CNN, there is a 1 in 1.24 million chance of getting seriously injured in an alligator attack.

On May 28th, at the Cincinnati Zoo, a three year old child crawled through barriers, falling into Harambe’s enclosure. The gorilla grabbed the child and dragged him through the river of his habitat. Zoo keepers identified the gorilla’s behavior as a threat to the boy’s life, shooting and killing Harambe. According to the World Wildlife Foundation, Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered, which has contributed to the outrage across the country.  (Reported by: Lily Merritt, Cristina Lugo, Giselle Enriquez)

6. Pokémon Go Debuts

The augmented reality video game, Pokémon Go, was released July 14th in America.  With at least 15 million downloads in it’s first week, it easily became the number one app in both the IOS app store and the Google Play store. Unlike most other video games, this app requires the player to get off the couch and explore their surroundings, since the object of the game is to catch Pokémon nearby using the phone’s GPS feature. While most reviews of the game have been positive, Pokémon Go is far from perfect, considering it has lead to trespassing, car accidents, and muggings. Players are encouraged to remain cautious and aware of their surroundings while enjoying the game. Pokémon Go is on it’s way to changing the way America does gaming. Even Donald Trump weighed in, stating,”I wish I had time to play” (Reported by: Danielle Mahler, Kayla Wiggins, & Nora Thompson)