Welcome back to another week of Robertson’s Reportings! Forever 21, after 35 years, has filed for bankruptcy and will be closing hundreds of United States stores and most locations in Europe, Asia, and Canada. Since a severe recession in 2008, the company has stopped making as much profit as they had previously generated. Forever 21, with hopes of eventually rebuilding, will be reorganized now that the large brand is downsizing.

Riots in Hong Kong have heightened over the weekend as citizens continue protesting for their freedom from “the high degree of autonomy and freedoms promised to the Hong Kong people [that] have been suppressed and violated by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.” On October 1, the day that China celebrated their National Day, one protester was shot and many others arrested. After defying the police, a high school student was shot in the chest and then taken to the hospital in critical condition.

A 450-foot bridge in Taiwan collapsed on October 1. An oil tanker truck on the bridge at the time of the incident fell onto multiple fishing boats, causing ten people to be hospitalized and six to be missing. President Tsai Ing-wen stated that a thorough investigation of how the bridge collapsed would be conducted since the cause of the accident remains unknown. Many people suspect that the bridge was weakened by Typhoon Mitag, a storm that passed through Taiwan on Monday night.

A lawsuit was filed against Harvard University by Students for Fair Admissions, a group that advocates for equal college admission opportunities not based on gender, race, or various other factors, claiming that the school discriminated against Asian Americans and instead favored African Americans and Hispanics. After months of legal procedures, U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs ruled in favor of Harvard. The president of the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law made a statement in response to the decision, “Today’s ruling rightly recognizes that race-conscious admissions is both lawful and indispensable for ensuring institutions are open and available to students from all walks of life, including racial minorities.”  However, many people expect the case to be appealed and go to a higher court.

A World War II plane crashed while attempting to land in Connecticut, killing seven and leaving six more injured. The plane, one of only eighteen of its kind in the United States, was used to take people on short flights to get an experience of what it was like to travel in the unique aircraft. On October 2, a fire erupted after the plane went down. The crash is being investigated in order to determine the cause of the incident.

See you next time on Robertson’s Reporings, coverage you can count on!