Y’all, Beyoncé did that. Editor’s Note: mentions of violence and death. 

Happening in the World: A funeral for Camila Gómez was held yesterday in Taxco, Mexico. Camila was an 8-year-old girl kidnapped for ransom earlier this week; her body was found by the side of the road on Thursday, which sparked massive protests against the inaction of police who failed to investigate Camila’s kidnapping. During the protests, a mob formed that beat a woman suspected of the murder to death. The police were present at the scene but did not stop the mob. (BBC)

Happening in the US: At midnight on Friday, Beyoncé released her highly anticipated new album, Cowboy Carter. Beyoncé leans into an acoustic sound, differentiating it from the synthesized pop of her previous work. Through this album, Beyoncé takes on the country genre with star-studded features, including Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, and Miley Cyrus. However, Cowboy Carter goes far beyond the confines of any single genre, including Beyoncé’s version of the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” while drawing from artists like Nancy Sinatra and the Beach Boys. (NYT)

Happening in NYC: This week, New York City began a controversial plan to give prepaid debit cards to migrant families in order to help them pay for groceries and other necessities. Though in the early stages of the rollout, the emergency deal has been able to aid migrants while supporting the local economy without any issues. City officials are monitoring the early stages of the program, seeing if more debit cards need to be allocated and whether or not this plan could in part replace some of NYC’s current food shelter programs for migrants. (The Gothamist)

Happening in Our Community: On Saturday, March 30 from 4-6, jazz ensembles from Princeton, Yale, and Columbia will be performing at the Ivy Jazz Summit. The concert will be performed at Wang Pavilion in Lerner Hall along with program directors Wayne Escoffery from Yale, Rudresh Mahanthappa from Princeton, and Ole Mathisen from Columbia. The concert is free and open to the public. More information can be found here.  

Beyoncé via Wikimedia Commons