The Flare

EgyptAir hijacking

An EgyptAir flight headed for Cairo was hijacked, Tuesday, March 29, by Seif El Din Mustafa in an apparent marriage dispute. Mustafa managed the whole situation from the back of the plane and did not have explosives. The flight left from Alexandria, Egypt and was redirected over the Mediterranean, landing in Cyprus, where the incident was resolved and Mustafa was taken into custody. According to multiple reports, the suspect was “unstable” and has a past criminal record. He also posed for a picture with a passenger.

 

Political coverage

The saga that is the 2016 election season continued Tuesday, March 29 as CNN hosted a Town Hall for Republican candidates Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and John Kasich. That went, well, like most of the events of this election have gone. It’s been an interesting couple of weeks as Trump and Cruz have engaged in a bit of a Twitter war which was followed by an alleged Cruz sex scandal. Trump’s campaign also came under fire after reports surfaced that his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, assaulted reporter Michelle Fields as she was attempting to interview Trump. Lewandowski has been charged with simple battery and still has the Donald’s support.

 

March Madness

The madness is coming to an end, but not before interesting final four matchups between  Villanova (2)  and Oklahoma (2), and UNC (1) and Syracuse (10) … just like we all pictured it. A recap of events can be seen here.  An exec for Turner Sports also revealed that following this year’s championship game, One Shining Moment will be sung by another artist who ISN’T LUTHER VANDROSS this year. Madness is right.

 

NC Transgender law

After being on the table for a while, North Carolina passed a new law that would not allow individuals who identify as transgender to use the public restroom of their chosen gender. This has caused outrage among many who see the law as anti-LGBT. There have been calls for the NBA to move the 2017 All Star game in protest from Charlotte, North Carolina, where it’s scheduled to take place. A lawsuit has been filed against Gov. Pat McCrory with the goal of having the law declared unconstitutional.

 

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and with so many events hitting close to home, it’s important to get involved. Here at Liberty, Title IX and Live Healthy Liberty will be hosting a Zumbathon, Tuesday, April 5 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m, featuring an essay contest, the chance to win various prizes and the opportunity to raise awareness for a worthy cause. In very local news, Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington were two young women who were abused and then murdered by Jesse Matthew, who is currently serving four life sentences and was just transferred to Red Onion State Prison, the same prison that houses Lee Boyd Malvo, one of the infamous snipers.  Harrington’s family has started Help Save the Next Girl in an effort to raise awareness of sexual assault.