Lindsay Deyton 

Two Inmates Escaped From Newport News County Jail

On the evening of Monday, March 20th, 2023 at approximately 6:00 pm Eastern time, Arley Vaughn Nemo, age 37, and John Michael Garza, age 43, escaped custody after using a ‘toothbrush and a metal object’ to tunnel their way through their cell wall and over the security wall after using a weakness in the construction of the jail wall to their advantage.

The two men were found to be missing during a regularly scheduled head count at around 7:15 pm Monday night, ABC News reported.

When the two men were located by police after a tip, they were found eating breakfast at an IHOP a town over in Hampton at 3:30 am.

The two men were taken back into custody without issue, Newport News Police reported.

Los Angeles Unified School District Workers go on Strike

Amanda Eacho

The second-largest school system in the nation, The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) was shut down from Tuesday through Thursday due to its workers going on strike. The New York Times reports that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Locale 99, who represents around 30,000 LAUSD special education assistants, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and other supporting staff, announced that they were going on strike on Monday for three days, with the United Teachers of Los Angeles pledging solidarity. 

 They were seeking a 30% pay increase, stating that employees make just over minimum wage and were struggling to afford the cost of living in Southern California. This shut down more than 1,000 schools in the area, causing parents to scramble to find other accommodations for their children.

According to CBS News, a tentative contract was made Friday. This includes a 30% wage increase and a retroactive pay increase of between $4,000 and $8,000, which will increase the average annual salary of workers from $25,000 to $33,000 and bring the school’s minimum wage up to $22.52 per hour. 

However, this, like many other strikes seen recently, nationwide, was about protesting the school district’s labor prices, not over the contract negotiation. Those involved hope that this will bring attention to the extremely underpaid workers who make a huge impact on schools across the country. 

Deadly Tornado Wreaks Havoc in Mississippi 

Fiona Sullivan

On Friday March 24, a deadly tornado began to wreak havoc across Mississippi, killing at least 25 people with dozens left injured. 

According to the National Weather Service for Jackson Mississippi, the powerful EF-4 tornado began that Friday night around 8pm about an hour away from Jackson and traveled for roughly 170 miles leaving a massive trail of destruction in its wake. 

A place that was hit the hardest was Rolling Fork, a rural town with about 2000 residents in the northwest region of Sharkey County. It was essentially ground zero for the tornado. Roofs of buildings were ripped off, homes were completely leveled, cars were toppled on top of each other, and even the town’s water tower fell to the ground. 

However, Rolling Fork residents haven’t let this disaster ruin them for good. After being in shelters since Saturday, survivors are finally emerging to assess the damage done to their homes while emergency workers continue to sift through rubble and hand out food and water to those in need, reports NPR. 

Electricians have also been racing to fix the power outages that occurred all across the county. In an interview with NPR, survivor Kimberly Berry described how her home was completely demolished, but she wasn’t going to be depressed or mad because she was alive and that’s all that mattered. 

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves has begun to visit towns impacted by the tornado and President Biden approved a federal disaster declaration for the state which allows federal funding for the affected counties, reports CNN. 

Severe weather is still expected throughout the week across multiple southern states, but the Rolling Fork community will continue to come together in the face of this disaster to build each other up and find support.

Six Killed in Shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, TN

Evelyn Davidson

Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old who is transgender and identifies as he/him, shot and

killed three 9-year-olds and three adult faculty members of The Covenant School, a private pre-K through sixth grade Presbyterian school, on Monday, March 27, reported NBC News. The victims’ names were later released on twitter by Metro Nashville PD. The adult victims included a substitute teacher, custodian of the school, and the head headmistress. 

NBC News reported that the shooter, a former student, brought a handgun and two assault rifles onto school premises. The shooting was planned and began after the suspect shot through a locked door, Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake told NBC. 

Responding officers first received a call about the active shooter at 10:13 a.m. and by 10:27, they had shot the suspect inside the school, according to NBC. Students were bused to a nearby church where they were later reunited with their parents. 

Protests Erupt in France Over Pension Reforms 

Katherine Zickel

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, proposed a highly controversial pension reform plan that would include raising the retirement age in France from 62 to 64, Aljazeera stated.

NPR reported that last Thursday, when it became clear the proposal wouldn’t pass France’s Parliament, Macron used a constitutional power to push it forward anyway without a vote. Over 80% of the French population considered the move unjustified, according to an IFOP poll cited by CNN.

In response to this pension, anger has mounted, with protests erupting all over the country. In Paris, people can be seen burning trash in the streets, train and air traffic has been affected, and many professions, including oil depots and garbage collectors, are on strike or have walked off the job, according to France 24. 

Philippe Martinez, secretary general of the hardline CGT union, told France 24 that he believes millions of people participating in strikes is the best response to give the president. Socialist Party head Olivier Faure chimed in saying, “He has put more explosives on an already well lit inferno.” 

Macron told news conferences on Friday that he condemns violence, and has no plans to change because of it. 

Israel Crippled by General Strike, Mass Protests against Judicial Reform Bill

Cameron Tomaino

Over the last several days, thousands of protestors have rocked the Israeli Capital of Tel-Aviv. These protests and demonstrations have been in opposition to the current government of Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu, and their effort to make controversial reforms to the Israeli judicial system. This is a move that, through a controversial bill, would curb the independence of the Israeli court system, binding it to the will of the legislative branch and the ruling party.

Some in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cabinet voiced their displeasure with the move, which led to the prompt firing of the country’s defense minister. The situation is difficult, and senior defense officials in the country have given statements to Israeli News outlets (Israeli News 12, Israeli News 13) describing the real possibility of civil war – including Netenyahu himself saying in a public address to the nation that: “[there is] an extreme minority that is ready to tear the country to pieces and ignite a civil war.”

The closest thing to a resolution arrived on Monday March 27, when a deal was struck that would delay the bill’s debate until the next session of the Parliament. The opposition is not satisfied and has made calls through joint-statements that the Parliament should kill debate on this bill completely. A general strike has been called, and several in the nation’s military have joined in on the strike, namely fighter pilots and special forces reservists.