On February 18, 2022, former Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter was convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting Daunte Wright during a traffic stop last April.

New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy, said this month that as of March 7, 2022, the mask mandate in schools with expire. School districts will decide individually to continue the mandate or make masks optional. Districts cannot ban masks.

The Russo-Ukrainian war, which began on February 20, 2014, has recently been thrown into the spotlight once again as Russia begins to amass troops on the border of Ukraine. However there were a number of important events that not only started the war, but are a driving factor in why the war has been going on for the past seven years. 

Whoopi Goldberg, the fun and lovable actress and comedian, was recently suspended from her position as co-host on ABC's The View because she said that the Holocaust was, “not about race.” While the show and audience loved Goldberg, she has been asked by Kim Godwin, the ABC News President, “to take time to reflect and learn the impact of her comments.” 

DonkeyLand is a non profit organization where wild donkeys are taken from a dangerous area and kept in a safe space in Riverside,California. DonkeyLand’s mission is to save and make a happy home for the donkeys and to make sure that all of them are safe. 

Since 2019, when COVID-19 started, there has been conversation surrounding vaccines. 

At the start of Joe Biden's presidency, he made a vow to nominate the nation’s first black woman to the Supreme Court Justice. As of January 27, 2022, Biden reiterated his vow by speaking on this subject. “The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity.

Amid the lights and cameras on the Los Angeles area as the Super Bowl returned to the "entertainment capital of the world," game day preparations brought up a longtime issue affecting much of the city: homelessness. 

The Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is a rare species of ground parrot that is found in Australia.

On January 2, 2022, riots and protests occurred in the country of Kazakhstan. The riots were triggered after a rise in the price of fuel and according to BBC News. “The demonstrations, triggered by a rise in fuel prices, turned into the worst unrest the country has seen in its 30 years of independence.” The riots have also transformed into general discontent with the ruling government. 

Gun violence against children in the United States has increased over the years. Children of all ages are affected by the gun violence. Experts say that this drastic increase in gun violence is partially caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as easy access to guns. Some other causes are arguments and social media. It is much easier to make comments about someone in mean ways over social media. Gun violence has been on the rise in the more recent years.

Burlington County is located in Southern Jersey and is the largest county in New Jersey. It is very close to Philadelphia and is bordered by the Delaware River to the West. The local animal shelter is called the Burlington County Animal Shelter and they have waived adoption fees for the month of January in an effort to place animals in safe, warm homes. The shelter is located at 35 Academy Drive in Westampton, New Jersey, and is typically open from 12 to 4PM daily.

After winter break many schools in New Jersey decided to go virtual for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks weeks. This is something students all around the globe have been all too familiar with within the past year. Harrison, Belleville, and Kearny are some of the many towns that needed to implement virtual learning, once again, after the holiday break.

As the holiday season of 2021 ended, Covid-19 cases increased in all of New Jersey. Due to the new Covid variant, Omicron, cases have risen on the Northeast side more than any other in the United States. 

Weather is constantly changing either for the better or worse. So far this year, 2022, it has taken a turn for the worse. From tragic snowstorms to unexpected lightning patterns, the weather is playing a major role in our society than ever before. 

Since 2019, the country and world have been dealing and battling with Covid-19. Now in 2022, Americans are still trying to figure out ways to stay safe from Covid-19, but specifically the new variant Omicron. This variant has been going through millions of people. Whether you have the vaccine or not, this variant can affect you. 

Non reusable masks have made the environment worse over the past two year. In addition to illness, the pandemic has given us pollution and this pollution is caused by the many disposable masks being thrown into streets and alleyways or even sidewalks. It is something that has created a new issue - hungry animals can eat the fabric of the  masks and get sick.  The soil and earth can’t biodegrade these masks so they sit there for many days at a time.

When the 19-story Twin Parks North West building in the Bronx turned into a deathtrap on Sunday, January 9, 2022, nearly all of the 17 people who perished, including eight children, were immigrants from Gambia and other West African countries.

On November 21, a Christmas parade in Wisconsin turned deadly. Authorities in Wisconsin have identified the motive force of a red SUV who they say deliberately drove his SUV via barricades and into a crowd celebrating the Waukesha Christmas parade. Darrell E. Brooks Jr., 39, is believed to have acted alone. Brooks faces five counts of first-diploma intentional murder.

The town's annual Tree Lighting took place in the Nutley Park Oval and was held on Sunday, December 5 at 4:30pm. It is always a big celebration and Nutley is known to always be very festive in the winter -- from the school celebrations to the decorations, and, of course, the tree lighting.