Summertime and vacation often mean we spend less time watching the news. However, from US politics to pop culture to environmental issues, there surely hasn’t been a shortage of stories this summer. Catch up on what you might have missed in the past three months with GAP!

June 2023

• President Biden signs legislation suspending the US’ debt limit until 2025. Congress and the White House reached a bipartisan agreement, preventing a default.
• Smog from wildfires in Canada engulf parts of the US, spreading from the northeast across the country.
• Donald Trump is indicted for espionage, obstruction of justice, record deletion or falsification, conspiracy, and false statements.
• OceanGate’s submarine, Titan, implodes on its journey to the ruins of the Titanic.
• The Wagner Group’s rebellion against Putin in Russia fails.
• The Supreme Court of the United States blocks the use of affirmative action in college admissions after lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private and public universities, respectively.

July 2023

• The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness plan is unconstitutional.
• The Biden administration erases $39 billion in student loan debt despite the Supreme Court’s ruling.
• Niger’s military deposed of its democratically elected president in a coup. Many countries, including the US, demands the president’s release and reinstatement.
• July 2023 is the hottest month on record.
• Barbenheimer bring in a combined $244.4 billion at the domestic box office on opening weekend.
• Iowa’s legislature bans abortion past the sixth week of pregnancy.

August 2023

• A series of wildfires break out in Hawaii, predominantly on the island of Maui.
• An Ecuadorian presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, is assassinated.
• Hunter Biden’s misdemeanor tax charges are dismissed.
• A 12-year-old boy in California is arrested after shooting and injuring his classmates.
• Dr. Fauci announces that he will retire in December 2023.
• Putin apparently has failed Wagner Group coup leader killed.