Local
Dog on the run from police
A small Yorkshire terrier named Rogue has been on the run from Gwinnett County’s Sheriff’s Office since February, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Earlier this year, Rogue was preparing for Operation Second Chance, which is a program where she would be assigned as a pet to an inmate in a local jail. However, she escaped while being walked by a volunteer in Jordan Park. As of April 8, Rogue is still loose in the parks and alcoves of downtown Lawrenceville.
Heavy metal band involved in fatal I-85 car crash
Members of the Atlanta-based band called Khaotika and the Hunstville, Alabama native band Wormreich, were involved in a car accident this morning in Jackson County. The accident resulted in three fatalities, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC). While heading southbound 65 miles above Atlanta, the driver of the 15-passenger van, which contained the band members, fell asleep and caused the van to veer off the road and into a tree, according to Georgia State Patrol (GSP) Corporal Scott Smith. The driver was unharmed, according to a GSP spokesperson. The members of Wormreich were scheduled to perform Monday night at The Basement in East Atlanta Village, according to the AJC.
National
Donor anonymously pays for 3-year-old’s surgery
An anonymous donor paid for 3-year-old Kaitlin Nguyen to have a corrective surgery, according to The Huffington Post on April 8. Nguyen’s family wanted the surgery to be performed to correct a lymphatic malformation that made it difficult for her to eat and drink. However, they were unable to pay for the surgery. Dr. Gregory Levitin, director of the Vascular Birthmark Center at Mount Sinai Roosevelt in New York, performed the surgery and said the mystery donor previously helped pay for a man’s surgery to remove a birthmark. The surgery was successful and Nguyen’s family told ABC News they are grateful for the donor’s contribution.
Rolling Stone apologizes for now discredited article
Rolling Stone has officially retracted and issued an apology for its story, “A Rape on Campus,” about a woman who said she was gang raped by seven members of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at the University of Virginia, according to the Washington Post. The apology was issued late Sunday, according to Fox News. After a month long investigation, a three-person team at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism published a 13,000-word report on Sunday detailing flawed practices in Rolling Stone’s editorial policies and the journalistic shortcomings of rape story author Sabrina Rubin Erdely, according to USA Today. Rolling Stone is being cooperative with the investigation and will be publishing the Columbia University report, according to the Washington Post.
Global
Families identify victims of Islamic terrorist attack on Easter Sunday
Families identified the bodies of loved ones at Garissa University College in northern Kenya, which was the scene where four Islamic militants killed 142 students Thursday, according to USA Today. Authorities also discovered that Abdirahim Abdullahi, one of the four militants, is the son of a Kenyan government official, according to USA Today. Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka told the Daily Nation that the official’s son Abdullahi is a well-educated and aspiring lawyer.
Cape Town university agrees to remove colonial statue
The University of Cape Town (UCT) voted for the removal of a campus statue of 19th century British colonialist Cecil Rhodes, according to The BBC on April 8. The vote was made in reaction to students protesting and vandalizing the statue and other colonial monuments. The protests engendered backlash from some white South Africans who defended the presence of the statues by citing how the monuments are part of their heritage. UTC’s council said they will remove the statue.
