What Happened Was...

A lightning fast comprehensive recap of the week's biggest events for January 30th - February 5th, 2023

US President Joe Biden confirms to reporters in Hagerstown, Maryland, that US fighter pilots shot down a Chinese Spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean on February 4, 2023. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/via Getty Images)

Below is a catch-up of the significant events of this past week. You can check in with a minimal time commitment, read about the big stuff, and stay in the know before we’re on to the next. If you want more information on the past week's events, you might want to scroll through my Twitter feed for more detail on other topics I don’t mention below.

I have set up accounts with the handle @girlsreallyrule at Counter Social and Post Social and am confirmed at Mastodon. You can still find me full-time on Twitter, and I will post all of my SHERO newsletter articles on all four of these platforms.

Gun Violence This Week

There were 8 separate mass shooting incidents in the US last week, where 7 people were killed and 36 were injured. I document all mass shooting incidents for the week every Sunday, so please take a moment to review them and remember to keep up the fight for sensible gun reform. 

1. Sunday, January 29, 2023: Greensboro, North Carolina

2. Sunday, January 29, 2023: Columbus, Ohio

3. Monday, January 30, 2023: Lakeland, Florida

4. Monday, January 30, 2023: Dallas, Texas

5. Tuesday, January 31, 2023: Durham, North Carolina

6. Wednesday, January 1, 2023: Texas City, Texas

7. Wednesday, January 1, 2023: Los Angeles, California

8. Saturday, February 4, 2023: Huntsville, Texas

• According to records from New York City and Florida, embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY) owes more than $3,400 in unpaid traffic citations in 2016 and 2017, and unpaid toll fees.

• An internal Twitter message that was leaked this week appears to show that Twitter owner Elon Musk directly ordered staff to suspend a left-wing activist on the social-media platform.

• President Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies protocols for COVID-19 on May 11 of this year, meaning the response to treat the virus will shift to an "endemic threat" that can be managed through US agencies’ normal authorities.