Happening in the World: Alexei Navalny, the leader of the opposition party in Russia, was arrested today during a protest in Moscow; the charge is illegally organizing a protest. Navalny is a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, who has been either President or Prime Minister of Russia for the past 18-odd years and is running again this year (for a fourth non-consecutive and second consecutive term). Putin and his party have denied Navalny and others’ accusations of widespread corruption in Russian politics. The first round of voting takes place on March 18. (CNN)
Happening in the US: Six days ago, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled that the state’s map of congressional districts constituted gerrymandering and thus violated the state constitution. In response, state Republicans have filed an emergency application to the US Supreme Court asking to stay the state court’s decision, claiming that the court has overstepped its bounds. The Supreme Court Justice overseeing Pennsylvania, Samuel Alito, is the recipient of the application, but it is unclear what steps (if any) he will take in response. (The Economist)
Happening in NYC: A donor to NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has pleaded guilty to bribing him with campagin contributions, the second such case involving de Blasio since 2016. The mayor himself has not been charged with anything in either case, which has raised eyebrows and questions about the prosecution of elected officials who do take bribes. (NYT)
Happening on Campus: The Charles Drew Premedical Society will be holding its first general body meeting in Lerner today at 4 pm. You should go if you’re a pre-med or prospective pre-med student interested in getting involved on campus or just getting support from fellow pre-meds. More details can be found on the Facebook event page here.
Overheard: “My personal hell would be an exact copy of JJ’s except they’re out of food. Like, totally out of food. Forever.”
Song Recommendation:
Pennsylvania’s disaster of a seventh congressional district via Wikimedia Commons.
1 Comment
@Thanks a lot de Blasio! NYC is going to shit. MTA is too expensive, rents are too high, and there are too many froyo places.