By JESSICA LYNN DEPAULA
POLITICS:
Chris Christie (R-NJ) is re-elected governor of New Jersey, adding to speculation that Christie will likely consider running as the Republican candidate for President in 2016
Bill de Blasio is elected the first Democratic mayor of New York City since 1989
Various cities and states approved different variations on legalizing recreational marijuana. In Colorado, voters approved a 25% tax on newly legalized recreational marijuana to fund school construction
In contrast, 5 out of eleven rural Coloradans voted to approve a proposal that would declare secession from the United States
Boston voters elect democratic Martin Walsh as the city's first new mayor in 20 years
New Jersey voters agreed upon a $1 minimum wage raise, to $8.25; cost-of-living expenses will also be automatically raised
Takoma Park, Maryland, which lowered the voting age from 16 to 18 this past May, saw scored of teens waiting in line to vote on election day
The Waterfront Protection Ordinance, a proposal which would have banned oil industries to build enviornmentally dangerous tar sand exports, was defeated in South Portland, Maine.
The Illinois General Assembly passed a bill approving same-sex marriage
NATIONAL
President Obama apologizes to Americans who are losing their current health insurance plans due to Obamacare
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announces that the Obama administration will now require all health insurers cover mental health care
A pair of Wisconsin women file suit against Gardasil, claiming that the company's cervical cancer vaccine has led to serious reproductory ailments
Connie McAllister, a now-25-year-old woman who disappeared as a high school student in 2004, is found alive with a husband and three children in Mexico; McAllister is attempting to return home to her parents with her family
A retired Lower Township, New Jersey, couple are rescued from an inexplicable house explosion by heroic neighbors
A 3-year-old little girl walked over a mile to her grandmother's house in Mascotte, Florida, after assumedly witnessing her father murder her mother
INTERNATIONAL
The United States and other world powers, including Israel, Russia and China, hope to resolve disagreements with Iran's nuclear program with a 2-day convention in Geneva by having open conversations with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
Catogory-5 super-typhoon Haiyan wreaks havoc on the Phillippines; the typhoon caused mudslides, flooding and a 30-foot water wall. A current death toll at this publication confirmed 3 dead
Several medical experts warn that a severe outbreak of polio in Syria could possibly spread to Europe
The World Meteorological Organization announces that greenhouse gas emissions continued an "upward and accelerating trend" by reaching record highs in 2012
A 2,000 pound European satellite is expected to come crashing down to Earth over the next few days, the European Space Agency says
Following the death of their previous leader to a U.S. drone strike, Maulana Fazlullah, a Pakistani man possibly linked to the assasination attempt of teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, was named the new Taliban leader
