Welcome to another Weekly Newsmakers – your source for soundbites and recaps of fascinating and important stories that made headlines.

Tide Turns After a Flood of Chinese Listings – Wall Street Journal (Editor’s Pick)

While it was not too long ago that Chinese companies voraciously wanted to enter the U.S. securities market, investment banks such as Halter Financial Group and Roth Capital Partners LLC are now helping these same companies leave the market after years of advising clients on the supposed benefits of being listed publicly. This comes after realization that investor demand was consistently low for the listed Chinese companies, and with no investors, financing is also a difficult issue the companies have to face. Already, 25 U.S.-listed Chinese companies have announced plans to go private this year, up from 16 companies last year. Some analysts believe that some Chinese companies might wish to delist to “avoid the scrutiny that comes with being a public company.” Do you agree with the analysts? What are your feelings about international companies listing on the U.S. securities market? Weigh in via our comments section below.

Delta, Seeking London Access, Ponders a Stake in Virgin Atlantic – New York Times

Delta Air Lines is in negotiations to potentially buy out Singapore Airlines’ 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic Airlines. While no deal has been announced yet, the buyout would be the latest in a series of mergers where companies in the U.S. and Europe have consolidated to encourage profitability.

African Innovations at Brooklyn Museum – Weissman Center Reports (Editor’s Pick)
African Innovations is an ongoing exhibit at Brooklyn Museum that invites the museum patron to experience the continent’s artistic contributions since ancient times. Pieces are from a timespan of over 2,500 years, with a majority of the collection coming from the 19th and early 20th century. Themes that are considered in the collection include those of “protection, transitions, authority, masquerade, and personal beauty” and are sure to inspire art connoisseurs or anyone new to art alike. The exhibition runs until January 2nd. Check out a free tour of the gallery on Sunday, December 23, 2012 (after your finals, of course)! Directions to the museum: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/directions.php

Travel Through Historical New York – Weissman Center Reports

The city is offering “Candle Light Tours” of New York City’s oldest house at Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum in Brooklyn. Guests can learn about the advancements of lighting and life after dark in Colonial and Early America. College students pay a nominal $5 to enjoy this unique experience (Note: no persons under 15 years of age are permitted). The tours repeat weekends until December 16th, so be sure to check out the tour soon if you’re interested. Details here: http://www.wyckoffassociation.org/

Welcome to another exciting edition of our Weekly Newsmakers – your source for national and international news.

BP Settles Criminal Charges for $4 billion in Spill; Supervisors Indicted on Manslaughter – Washington Post (Editor’s Pick)
BP says that it is close to completing a deal with the U.S. government that would resolve criminal claims that arose from the 2010 oil spill catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. While no formal agreement has been finalized, the London-based oil giant expects to pay over $4 billion USD in criminal fines, the largest sum ever paid to account for criminal charges in history.

Ending Congress, China Presents New Leadership Headed by Xi Jinping – New York Times (Editor’s Pick)
On Thursday, China’s Communist Party revealed the new elite group of leaders who will guide China for the next 10 years. As expected, Xi Jinping, the son of a well-known revolutionary leader, will take over for departing party chief, Hu Jintao. Xi’s administration faces growing demand from Chinese elites to support greater “openness” in China’s economic and political systems, which some believe has been on the decline in the last decade. What do you think the future of China will look like in the next decade under this new administration? Let us know your predictions in the comments section below.

Burma Frees more than 450 Prisoners Before Barack Obama’s Visit – The Guardian
In what appears to be a goodwill gesture, the Burmese administration has freed over 450 detainees before U.S. president, Barack Obama’s historic visit. Obama is the the first U.S. President to visit Burma. None of the persons released were political prisoners. Obama’s visit comes after indications of goals to revamp U.S. foreign policy on the Asia-Pacific region with goals to roll back Chinese influence.

Romney’s Hispanic Chairman Says Candidate Made Mistakes – CNN

Carlos Gutierrez, head of Gov. Romney’s Latino outreach recently cited that Latino votes for Mr. Romney were low during this year’s Presidential election because the far right of the party controls the primary process. Gov. Romney had to take a harsh stand on immigration policy to win during the primaries which led to controversial ideas such as “self-deportation”. Gutierrez believes that this caused Latino voters to fear a Republican Party they felt was “anti-immigration” and xenophobic.

Welcome to another edition of the Weekly Newsmakers – your source for news topics making headlines domestically and around the world.

Divided U.S. Gives Obama More Time – New York Times (Editor’s Pick)
For those in the United States, this week entailed lots of buzz about who would claim the presidency. Television reports indicated that Governor Romney had pulled ahead in electoral college votes early Tuesday evening. However, by midnight Wednesday (UTC−8 | PT), many media sources projected that Obama would win reelection, carrying the swing states of Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, Iowa, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Nevada. Of the 270 required electoral college votes needed to secure the Presidency, President Obama won at least 303 (many news outlets deem the battleground state of Florida as ‘too close to call’ as of publication). Upon his victory, President Obama assured Americans early Wednesday morning that “for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.” Do you agree with the President? Cast your vote in the comments section below!

Tweeted your Ballot? You May Have Broken the Law – CNN (Editor’s Pick)
While we live in an ever connected world due to ever-improving technology and the internet, Americans should be aware that there are laws that limit the ways in which we can use such resources. Taking a photo of your ballot this Election Day is illegal in many states, including New York and New Jersey. The rules vary from state to state, however, so some states such as Rhode Island have no regulations of taking photos of one’s own voting ballot, while other states have ambiguous rulings on the phenomenon. Moreover, the penalties also differ on this issue depending on the state. Are laws that prevent taking a photo of one’s personal ballot an infringement of the First Amendment? Weigh in with your opinion in the comments section.

Northeaster Adds to Misery, Dumping Rain and Snow – New York Times
New Yorkers were in for even more trouble after Hurricane Sandy as signs of a Northeaster landed. Thousands of homes lost power due to the nor’easter, compounding the total number of homes without power since Hurricane Sandy arrived. Wednesday’s nor’easter also brought delays in public transportation, notably the subway system and the LIRR.

China’s Hu Jintao in Corruption Warning at Leadership Summit – BBC

As Hu Jintao prepares to transfer the Presidency to Xi Jinping next year, he warns China about the dangers of corruption. Hu notes that failing to control corruption could potentially lead to the demise of the Communist Party. The warning comes after the international scandal involving former party leader Bo Xilai. Bo’s wife was imprisoned for murdering a British businessman and Bo Xilai will face trial on corruption-related charges.

Powerful Quake Hits Guatemala, Killing at Least 48 – USA Today

While the U.S. northeast has seen it’s share of weather-related calamity the past two weeks, mother nature’s rage holds no bounds. The 7.4 magnitude, 20 miles deep quake was centered 100 miles southwest of Guatemala City. This earthquake was the strongest to hit Guatemala since the one in 1976 that claimed 23,000 lives.

Due to Hurricane Sandy, Baruch was closed for the week of 10/29/12 – 11/2/12 to serve as an emergency services and shelter site. Moreover, all of Lower Manhattan did not have any electricity, hot water, and cellphone service due to flooding and thus faced a calamitous blackout the entire duration of Baruch’s closure. Sandy has left widespread damage in the NYC area – as of publication of this update, thousands¹ are still without power and the MTA subway system is still not at 100%.

This special edition^* of our Weekly Newsmakers recounts events that transpired during the week of the blackout in Lower Manhattan and the greater NYC area and the aftermath of the hurricane.

NYC Marathon Canceled Amid Criticism – USA Today

In over 42 years, the NYC marathon had not been cancelled.  It goes to show how big of a natural disaster Hurricane Sandy was to break over four decades of friendly competition. If you were Mayor Bloomberg, would you have cancelled the marathon? Weigh in via our comments section below.

Storm Closes City Schools for a Week – New York Times
At the behest of Mayor Bloomberg, 200 NYC schools were closed for a week due to structural damage resulting from Hurricane Sandy. This marked the first time in nearly two decades that the school system was shut down for long, displacing thousands of school children attending elementary school, those higher education schools and everywhere in between. How did you make use of your time off from school? Let us know in the comments section below.

Storm Sends News Media Scrambling – New York Times

While civilians in all of the five boroughs had to endure flooding, blackouts, large-scale public transportation shutdowns and delays, and freezing cold showers in nippy temperatures, the media was also hit pretty hard. Print and web publications alike were affected by distribution problems and service outages.

Looters Target Coney Island After Sandy Sweeps Through – NY Daily News

While most New Yorkers persevered in the face of adversity, some decided to take advantage of the misfortune of others. Reports of looting in Brooklyn detail lawbreakers stealing ‘flat screens’ and ‘bags of diapers and wipes.’ If you were a witness to a looting, how would you react? Comment with your thoughts below.

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*Note: this article has been continuously updated since it’s initial post date and time. You may need to refresh your browser for the most updated content.
1. http://www.coned.com/newsroom/news/pr20121107.asp | Accessed Nov. 7, 2012.
2. http://www.mta.info/ | Accessed Nov. 7, 2012.

Hej!* We hope you’ve been enjoying our Weekly Newsmakers! This week we have updates on our previous stories, to keep you in the know.

Doubts Surface over E-mail on Claim of Responsibility for Benghazi Attack – CNN (Editor’s Pick)

The White House released late Tuesday emails that seem to indicate that Ansar al-Sharia, a Libyan militant group with links to Al-Qaeda, had claimed responsibility for the the attack on the American embassy in Benghazi. The nature of the emails were so volatile that it prompted former Presidential candidate John McCain (R-Arizona) to issue the Obama Administration a scathing statement, “These emails make clear that your Administration knew within two hours of the attack that it was a terrorist act.” However, many including Aaron Zelin, a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, question the content of the emails. Zelin monitors the social media networks of the Ansar al-Sharia, and noted that the militant group did not claim responsibility. We are still waiting for word from the White House regarding its official take on the emails.

Sleek Tablet, but Clumsy Software – New York Times (Editor’s Pick)

This week, the New York Times reviewed Microsoft’s Surface and noted that the Surface was lackluster, pointing out the weakness of it’s software support. Nonetheless, the Surface, Microsoft’s first tablet on the market, has a lot of merits. For one, it’s thin – only 0.4 inches thick, and weighing in at a meager 1.5 pounds, but it’s screen is wider than the iPad’s. The Surface also has stereo speakers and HD front and back cameras. Unlike the iPad, the Surface allows for storage expansion via memory card slots and USB slots.  Also, for the same price, the Surface offers approximately double the storage the iPad offers.  Will Microsoft give Apple a run for its money in the tablet wars?  Cast you vote in our comments section below.

Arrests made in shooting of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala – CNN

To follow up on our earlier Weekly Newsmaker post, six men have been arrested for their purported connection with the shooting of Malala Yousufzai, the teenage activist girl who spoke out against the Taliban. However, the main suspect has still not been taken into custody. Yousufzai is reported to be in stable condition.

Update on Fungal Meningitis – FDA

We also have an update for our post on the Meningitis outbreak. Anyone who believes that they received an injection shipped by the New England Compounding Center (NECC) on or after May 21, 2012 should contact their health care provider if they are worried. The FDA notes that the meningitis occurred in patients who received injections near the spine (back or neck). The signs and symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting, among others. Patients should contact their doctors if they experience any of these signs or symptoms. Patients who received an NECC injection before May 21, 2012 and who have not experienced symptoms of infection are at less risk of infection.

*Hej is Swedish for Hello.