A lot has happened in the world over the past week. Let’s catch up on the major news headlines:
Shooting occurs at Ramadan celebration in Philadelphia
On Thursday, April 11 in the afternoon, a shooting took place at a Ramadan event in West Philadelphia. According to police, the event meant to celebrate Eid-al Fitr had about 1,000 attendees. The mayor of Philadelphia Cherelle Parker went on X to put out a statement: “We stand united with the Muslim community, and vow to work together to restore balance and light to our communities.”
It has been reported that three people were injured with gunshot wounds, including a 22-year-old man and two teens. There are currently five people charged for the shooting with four of them being underage.
O.J. Simpson dies at 76
Former NFL player O.J. Simpson was pronounced dead earlier this week on Wednesday, April 10. A statement on his X account said that the cause of his death was cancer. While the news of Simpson’s decline was not shared, his battle with cancer has been public knowledge since May 2023.
Simpson is notable for both his 11-season football career but will be remembered most for when he was acquitted in the trial for the murders of Ron Goldman and ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson.
Colombia’s drought ongoing
Colombia continues to suffer from an ongoing drought issue. According to The Telegraph, neighborhoods in Colombia were “cut off from the water grid on Thursday to save what little water remains in nearby reservoirs.”
Couples and families were instructed to conserve water while showering and completing daily tasks in order to keep their supply of water. City buses were also moved from being washed everyday to once a week and Bogota’s Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán Pachón implemented $300 fines to people who are seen washing their cars.
Deadly Chicago shooting harms children
On Saturday, a devastating shooting took place in the southwest side of Chicago. It has been reported that 10 people were injured with three of those being children. There was one death of an 8-year-old girl. One injured victim, a 7-year-old girl, was later on pronounced dead. Officers responded to the area of West 52nd Street and South Damen Avenue at around 9:30 p.m. after a ShotSpotter alert detected it.
Trump’s trial begins
Monday was the first day of former President Trump’s criminal trial in New York. According to The Guardian, “Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in trying to cover up hush-money payments to an adult film star that influenced the 2016 election.”
Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, is now allowed to show the judge evidence which he states proves Trump’s claims about the false records around the 2016 election. Jury selection is expected to be completed within the next one to two weeks before opening arguments begin.
Dubai overwhelmed with flooding
Extremely heavy rains that took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates caused terrible flooding on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The rain took place overnight, so when citizens of Dubai got up the next morning they were immediately faced with flooding. Schools around the area were closed along with other workplaces to protect people from further damages.
The rain was over 5.59 inches, according to CBS News, and is the heaviest rainfall it has seen in the past 15 years.
jcaramag@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Eric Graham, X
