Outside Iona

Krystal Ortiz, News Editor
November 2, 2020

Throughout our hectic student lives, we should always remain aware of what is happening

around us. In this column, I find the most significant things going on around the world and

provide you with a small blurb of all the nitty-gritty details! Here are some of the major events

that have been happening:

General COVID-19 Update.

More than 8.7 million cases have been reported nationwide since February, and at least 226,000 people have died of the virus. There has been a 46 percent spike in COVID patients in hospitals over the past month, sparking concern for the capacity of regional health care systems responding to the growing number of cases. Twenty-six states are at or are nearing record breaking numbers after a brief decrease in cases. Over 500,000 cases have been announced in the past week. Currently, no states are seeing any declines in the number of cases. The escalating case numbers are not being met with a higher rise of deaths, however, scientists fear that trend is starting to change. About 800 deaths are now being recorded across the U.S. every day. The number of deaths is far less than the number in the spring, however it is on a steady increase.

Information from NYTimes and The Washington Post.

The death of Walter Wallace Jr.

Wallace, a 27-year-old Black man, was shot and killed during an altercation with police in West Philadelphia on Monday. The confrontation occurred after police responded to a call about a man armed with a knife. Officers said that they had ordered Wallace to drop the weapon numerous times before opening fire. The two officers fired at least seven rounds each. Wallace was later pronounced dead at a hospital. His family had explained that he suffered from bipolar disorder and other mental health issues and was in crisis during the time of the shooting. Protests began on Tuesday and the looting of retail stores in the city has also occurred. It is unclear whether that is associated with the protesters. The Philadelphia Police Department advised that residents stay indoors as the protests continue. A peaceful group of protesters marched through the Cobbs Creek section of Philadelphia on Tuesday night. But the peaceful protest turned violent when the crowd was met by a group of police officers near Philadelphia Police 18th District.

Information from the Skimm, CBS news and CNN.

U.S. charged Russian hackers.

A federal grand jury charged six Russian nationals with a series of cyberattacks. One of the attacks included a global malware rampage and a 2018 attack on the Winter Olympic Games.

The six Russian officers of GRU military intelligence agency launched a June 2017 malware campaign known as NotPetya. The malware hacked the Ukrainian power grid in 2015 and 2016, and conducted the hack-and-leak operations that targeted the 2017 French elections. The malware caused large losses for companies around the world. The White House reported that the malware caused 10 billion dollars in damages, making it the most destructive malware outbreak in history.