Local
DeKalb County plans to use taxes to fund body cameras
Even though DeKalb County was declined federal funding for police body cameras, the agency still seeks to implement its plan, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. DeKalb would have to pay out $2 million to outfit 400 police officers with body cameras, and they say they will use local tax funds for the initiative. DeKalb asked for approximately $600,000 from the federal government for body cameras, and the agency wasn’t the only one to submit a request to the feds. Out of 67 mid-sized agencies in the United States, 19 were chosen.
National
Marco Rubio joins a movement for a constitutional convention
Florida Sen. and presidential candidate Marco Rubio and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott call for the revising of the U.S. Constitution, according to CNN. Abbott’s plan, named the “Texas Plan,” includes nine constitutional amendments. One of them is to make the majority rule for the Supreme Court change from majority rule to a “seven-justice super-majority.” Another amendment is for states to be able to override a high court ruling with a two-thirds vote. The goal of the plan is to increase the rights of the states. Rubio has said to USA Today that a constitutional convention should be held to limit the federal government’s “size and scope.” However, a constitutional convention has not been held in more than 200 years.
World
Man lost at sea for more than 400 days returns
El Salvador native Salvador Alvarenga was stuck at sea in a 25-foot fishing boat for 438 days. He’s now on dry land and reunited with his family, according to CNN. Alvarenga, who at the time was 35, was with 22-year-old Ezequiel Córboba for a two-day fishing trip on Nov. 17, 2012. A storm rocked their boat for seven days, and Alvarenga and Córboba drifted farther from where they set sail. The pair relied on birds and fish for nutrients, but only Alvarenga survived. Eventually he landed on one of the Marshall Islands on Jan. 29, 2014.
