One… More… Week…

Barrett Confirmed, Then Sworn In

The Senate voted 52-48 to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court last night, after which she was sworn in by Justice Clarence Thomas in a late-night ceremony at the White House (video). The vote went nearly entirely along party lines, with only Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) crossing the aisle to join Democrats in voting against Barrett’s nomination.

Human Trafficking Victims Rescued In Ohio

Federal and state law enforcement officials rescued 45 missing children in Ohio as part of a recovery operation called ‘Autumn Hope,’ Ohio AG Dave Yost announced yesterday. The operation also rescued 64 adult human trafficking victims and led to 177 arrests by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Taskforce.

Japan Reveals Carbon-Neutral Initiative

Japan plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced yesterday in his first policy speech since assuming office on Sept. 16 (after former PM Shinzo Abe resigned due to health concerns). Japan is the world’s third-largest economy by GDP, and the fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

More: Suga’s plan comes weeks after China announced its goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2060.

📓 Worth Noting: Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of violating the terms of a U.S., France, and Russia-brokered ceasefire minutes after it came into effect on Monday.

💉 Vaccine Update: AstraZeneca announced its vaccine candidate developed along with the University of Oxford triggered the proper immune response in both older and younger adults.

Ant-Man & The IPO

Chinese fin-tech giant Ant Group is planning to raise at least $34.4B in the world’s largest-ever initial public offering, according to documents filed on Monday. The record-breaking IPO, which values Ant Group at ~$313B, will be split 50-50 between the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges, and is expected to eclipse the $29.4B raised by Saudi Aramco in its IPO late last year.

The Light Side Of The Moon

NASA scientists confirmed the presence of water molecules on the sunlit area of the Moon yesterday. The agency was able to locate a minuscule amount of water molecules in the moon’s soil using a modified Boeing 747 jet with a telescope attachment, but added that “the Sahara Desert has 100 times the amount of water” compared to the concentration they could detect.

More: Prior to Monday’s announcement, water had only been known to exist on the Moon in the form of ice hidden away in craters not exposed to sunlight.

Market Watch

📉 All three major U.S. stock indexes closed down on Monday (Dow: -2.3% | S&P: -1.9% | Nasdaq: -1.6%), with analysts attributing the dip to a negative outlook on stimulus talks and fear of possible shutdowns due to rising coronavirus cases.

💻 German software group SAP’s stock dropped more than 20% on Monday following its Q3 earnings report. The company’s market valuation fell by nearly $35B on the day.

🚗 Shares of Lordstown Motors, an Ohio-based EV company, surged nearly 20% in the company’s debut on the Nasdaq (through an SPAC) before cooling off and closing the day up 4.2%.

Raising Hop(e)

Katie Kottmeyer of Kirksville, MO, was on her way to go horseback riding in early October of last year when she spotted a small fall festival along the side of the road, complete with a pumpkin patch, corn maze, and petting zoo. After stopping to investigate the autumnal attraction, the curious Katie spoke with its owners. She was devastated to discover that the petting zoo's rabbits were set to be butchered for meat.

Outraged, the undergraduate student offered to pay for one of the rabbits in order to spare its life. After striking a deal with the reluctant owners, she took one back to her dorm room – naming him Elvis. Having fallen in love with the rescued animal, Katie has now helped more than 40 other bunnies in need find forever homes and offers rabbit-rearing tips to new owners on her rabbit-themed Instagram account.

A Sign Of The Times

The restaurant El Arroyo, based in Austin, TX, began displaying humorous messages on a sign outside its storefront in the early 1980s, long before the pandemic struck. However, this spring, as dining establishments across both the state and the country began shutting their doors due to COVID-19 – some permanently – the team at El Arroyo decided that passerby needed some lighthearted laughs more than ever.

Over the past six months, the Texan restaurant's team has delighted customers and commuters alike with quarantine-themed messages on their legendary road sign. The playful placards (pictured here), which are coordinated by the eatery’s 27-year-old social media manager Laura Schulte, include such sayings as “Have we tried putting 2020 in rice?” and “I never imagined I’d go up to the bank teller with a mask and ask for money.”

And I Would Walk 500 Miles

When Gordon Wayne of Caroline County, VA, applied to colleges last year, he was homeless, living out of his car, and working 10-hour shifts at a nearby amusement park. Nevertheless, the young man’s fortunes soon took a turn for the better this summer when he was accepted into his dream school – Boston College – on a full scholarship.

This August, determined to raise awareness for the estimated 500,000 Americans experiencing homelessness, Gordon walked from his hometown in Virginia to his new university in Massachusetts, a distance of more than 500 miles. Throughout the journey, which took the steadfast student a total of 16 days, Gordon walked 30 to 40 miles at a time, and raised more than $100,000 for the National Alliance to End Homelessness through a GoFundMe campaign.

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