By JESSICA LYNN DEPAULA
This week's news:
POLITICS- Hawaii State Senate passes same-sex marriage bill
- President Obama speaks at Fanueil Hall in Boston, Mass., in defense of the Affordable Care Act, saying that the nation "must keep moving forward-just like you did in Massachusetts," and that there is "no excuse" for the much-publicised issues with healthcare.gov
- Former Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D-NJ) is sworn in as U.S. Senator
- Lawmakers voiced bipartisan support for the Obama administration's strategic pivot to the Asia-Pacific
NATIONAL
- A “highly sophisticated” tunnel located on the U.S.-Mexican border is discovered; this tunnel was allegedly constructed for drug transportation
- An image believed to be of missing 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo traveling a subway is released by New York City police. Oquendo, a boy with low-functioning autism who is mute, has been missing since he walked out the front door of his school Oct. 4
- The Boston Red Sox beat theSt. Louis Cardinals to take the 2013 World Series Championship, their 6th series win in history, Wednesday night
- New York City raises the minimum age to purchase cigarettes to 21
- The U.S. Federal Reserve votes to keep disturbingly low interest rates by continuing with its $85 billion bond-buying program. This program is meant to maintain the health of the economy.
INTERNATIONAL
- The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has confirmed that Syria has destroyed its collection of chemical weapons and all materials used to produce them
- The release of 26 Palestinian prisoners, some of whom are classified as dangerous criminals, is met with passionate protests from Isreali citizens. The releases were the result of a U.S.-created Isreali-Palestinian peace agreement
- Ongoing religious riots in northern India result in the deaths of 3 people; over 60 have perished since the riots began in early September
- Kenyan protesters marched from Uhuru Park in the capital city of Nairobi to police headquarters to deliver a petition signed by 1.2 million people calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of those believed responsible for the gang rape and death of a 16-year-old girl. The suspects’ court-ordered punishment for the rape was to cut grass.
