International:
Toronto mayor Rob Ford admitted to smoking crack on November 5, saying that he was in a “drunken stupor.” The controversy began after the police obtained a video of Ford allegedly smoking crack back in May. At that time, Ford denied any misconduct, saying that he was not an addict and did not smoke crack. Now, he is being called to resign as governor and not run for office next year, but Ford refuses, claiming that he took the drug about a year ago and is not an addict.
National:
President Obama has apologized for the cancellation of health insurance of some Americans as a result of his changes in health care. The Affordable Care Act has recently gone into effect, so all Americans can receive health care. Some Americans have had their health care plans cancelled as a result of this law. There have been other flaws with the program, including issues with the website healthcare.gov, through which people can register for health care. Obama says that these issues will be resolved, and that there were mistakes made in creating the law, but they are working to help people out of tough situations.
State:
On November 5, the Illinois House approved a bill to legalize gay marriage in Illinois by a vote of 61 to 54. There has been support for this bill for a long time, and now Illinois is to become the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage. Illinois governor Pat Quinn said that he will sign the bill when it comes to him before the end of the month. If all goes accordingly, the law will take effect on June 1, 2014.
Local:
Charlie Trotter, a renowned Chicago-area chef, was found dead in his home on November 5. Trotter was found by his son around 10 am, then was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Trotter, a New Trier graduate, was 54 years old on the date of his death. He was a internationally renowned chef and restaurateur, famous for his philosophic approach to cooking. According to the Associated Press, “pathologists have ruled out foul play or trauma.” Trotter dealt with a variety of medical problems in his life, including an aneurism and high blood pressure.