This week, Jackson, Mississippi declared a state of emergency after pumps at a city water treatment plan failed, leaving many residents without safe drinking water or with little to no water at all. Officials are working towards addressing the issue, installing a rental pump and working to restore normal water pressure in the area. President Biden responded to the crisis by approving the declaration of a state of emergency that will allow Mississippi access to necessary resources. Unfortunately, this is not the only issue with water in the area- residents have been under advisement to boil their water since July, raising many concerns about the water system.

In Pakistan, residents have suffered mass flooding and destruction due to some of the most extreme monsoon rains in decades. The impacts have been widespread- lack of access to safe drinking water, destruction of shelter and roads, and the spread of diseases such as cholera and malaria.

Back in the United States, the Mar-a-Lago madness continues to unfold. In case you missed it, former President Trump’s residence, called “Mar-a-Lago Club”, has undergone FBI raids in the search for classified documents allegedly taken by the Trump administration. Upon an initial search, officials removed 15 boxes containing classified documents and material from the residence. That number has since grown to a tentative 33 boxes of such material. At a hearing Thursday, President Trump requested that the judge appoint a “special master” to the case. (That’s a third-party attorney appointed by the court.)

New boosters specifically targeting the Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been approved for those ages 12 and up. In other news, Moderna is suing Pfizer and BioNTech for patent infringement related to the mRNA technology used in their COVID-19 vaccines.

NASA’s spacecraft Artemis 1, which was scheduled to launch earlier this week, will make the first journey to the moon in almost 50 years (since Apollo 17). After a fuel leak delayed the original takeoff, NASA released a new expected launch date of September 19^th, 2022.