Campus news with London Nicholai

Earth Day Expo

Now we all love our planet right? Full of life, water and greenery. Well if you appreciate and are interested in the nature around us, then you are invited to the Fredonia Earth Day Expo during the week of April 21st. The event will feature 32 immersive fun and educational booths. Farmers markets. Club features such as FredGrows and Environmental Science Club. Local sellers and vendors such as Miller Apples and Free thinkers gourmet. A greenery planting event and so much more. Celebrate the little things today and make a big difference tomorrow. Embrace the beauty that Mother Nature provides us starting April 21st.

Brand New Arts and Theatre Exhibition:

It’s no surprise now that theatre plays a big role in the culture here at SUNY Fredonia. And Recently the department of theatre and arts has displayed wildly popular showings of the successful Alicia’s Lens and Twelfth Night. Currently the Department of Theatre & Dance is bringing fans closer to the stage than every with a “backstage tours event” featuring all sorts of pieces of lighting, equipment and set designs from big productions this year such as the aforementioned Twelfth Night and Alicia’s lense as well as other popular showings such as Legally Blonde and Book Woman. The exhibit has the goal of displaying the work students put into successful productions and bringing theatre fans together to admire parts of their favorite shows. Students can attend this event now until the 16th at the Emmit Christian Gallery from 8am to 4pm Mon-Friday. Fuuuuuuuun.

English Department Professor Vanwesenbeck Featured In Two Talks:

In from the SUNY Fred English department we recognize and congratulate English professor Vanwesenbeeck in her inclusion in two recent talks. The professor provided the community with insight into the history and society around Anglo-Turkish culture. The two talks consisted of the University Roundtable talks on Anglo-Turkish Literature and History alongside her virtual talk all the way in UK on Anglo-Turkish Society. 

Local County News written by Maisie Strader

BOCES sued for alleged assault of child

A woman from the town of Brocton has sued BOCES, Cassadaga, Chautauqua County, and a school worker. The lawsuit was filed last week in the state Supreme Court after the woman’s child was allegedly assaulted the morning of Jan. 3, 2024, at BOCES’ Academy at Maple Avenue in Cassadaga by an employee of Boces

The observer states, “The child ‘suffered severe, painful, and personal injuries of an indefinite and/or permanent duration,’ the suit continues. Therefore, the child ‘has been damaged in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional limits of all courts that would otherwise have jurisdiction over this matter.’ The child’s injuries are later called ‘serious, painful, and permanent.’ The lawsuit claims the injuries happened as a result of negligence.”

Chautauqua County man admits to threatening to blow up power plants

40-year-old Stockton resident Justin Horton, pleaded guilty to conveying false information after threatening the national grid on monday.

Buffalo NY wivb channel 4 says, “Justin Horton called National Grid and said “I’m going to blow up both of your nuclear power plants by the end of next week” on May 13, 2024. Horton was referring to power plants in both New York and Pennsylvania, but did not have the means or intent to carry out the threat, according to officials.”

Horton faces a fine of $250,000 and a maximum penalty of five years in prison. His sentencing is August 15th 2025

International and National news with Maisie Strader

US restores urgent food aid but not in Afghanistan and Yemen

The U.S. has restored critical food aid to several countries but excluded Afghanistan and Yemen, where millions are facing severe food insecurity.

AP news says, “The United States had initially cut funding for projects in more than a dozen countries, part of a dramatic reduction of foreign aid led by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Aid officials warned the cuts would deny food to millions of people and end health programs for women and children.”

As of monday USAID was cutting funding to the U.N. agency’s emergency food program in 14 countries.

Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health says, “ The damage they’ve already done is a potential extinction-level event for two generations of transformational improvements in how we prevent people from dying from a lack of food.”
​​Not only has emergency food programming been cut but the U.S. has also cut $100 million in support for maternal health services for millions of women, as well as gender-based violence services.

South Korea will hold a presidential election June 3

South Korea has announced that it will hold its next presidential election on June 3.
This election will decide the successor to President Yoon Suk-yeol. Yoon’s administration has faced significant challenges, including rising inflation, security concerns due to North Korea’s activities, and domestic political tensions.

AP News says, “Some reformist party members openly criticized Yoon’s actions and cast ballots to impeach him, triggering a feud with the party’s old guard who supported the president.
Yoon has diehard supporters who regularly staged massive rallies. Many share an unfounded perception that Yoon is a victim of a leftist, North Korea-sympathizing opposition that has rigged elections to gain a legislative majority and plotted to remove a patriotic leader.”

As of now Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung is front runner, as well as 10 politicians from the People Power Party are expected to seek the nomination.

Sports Updates with Mitch Hurocy

The lacrosse team is in action today with a 4:30 start time against Buff State. Today’s game is their morgan’s message dedication game. Get out and support a great cause and cheer on your blue devils.

The Buffalo Sabres picked up a 3-0 win last night over the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka scored for the team. Thompson extended his goal-streak to 5 games. James Reimer had his first shutout as a sabre with 33 saves on 33 shots. Despite a 5 game win streak and winning 7 of their last 8, the team has been eliminated from playoff contention. Their postseason absence extends to 14 seasons, tied for the longest active streak in North American sports. For reference, the Sabres last played in a playoff game in 2011.

Here’s a quick look at life the last time the Sabres made the playoffs, Josh Allen was a high school freshman, Vine wasn’t created yet. Obama was in his 3rd year of his first term and not a single hunger games movie had come out yet. One more quick thing, Alex Ovechkin just passed Wayne Gretzkey for the most goals in NHL history with 895. The last time the Sabres were in the playoffs, he was 594 goals away from the record.

Pop culture updates written by Julia Klement

With the Minecraft movie quickly gaining popularity after release, many fans are hopping on the trend of screaming the line “chicken jockey!” when main character Steve (played by Jack Black) says it. This has led many theaters to start implementing rules against it during the viewing. According to NBC News,“Township Theatre in Washington Township announced Saturday that all minors who want to see the movie must have a parent or an adult with them after an incident Friday night involving a group of unsupervised boys who “engaged in completely unacceptable behavior, including vandalism.” Videos have been released of how theaters react to this one line, and “In the clips, moviegoers are heard screaming ‘chicken jockey,’ cheering, jumping out of their seats and throwing popcorn, and in some cases young boys were escorted out of theaters.”

FKA Twigs Drops Out of Coachella

Coachella, the famous Californian music and arts festival, begins this Friday and goes all week until the following Sunday (April 11-April 20). Unfortunately, British singer FKA Twigs has cancelled her appearance, as she continues to face issues with her visa. She says in an Instagram post announcement, “I’m devastated to share the news that due to ongoing visa issues i am not able to see through any of my scheduled tour dates for the remainder of april across north america, including ceremonia and coachella. It pains me to say this because I am so excited to bring you a creation that I have poured my soul into and I believe is amongst my strongest work and I know this news impacts so many of you that have already made plans and spent money in order to see these shows.”

Political News with Dan Quagliana

Trump supporters condemn Amy Coney Barrett

Trump supporters have been eyeing Supreme Court justice Amy Coney Barrett as the latest target of their ire after she disagreed with his position on a case earlier this week, according to The Hill. As per The Guardian, On Monday, she joined a dissent in a ruling over a 1798 law that Trump is using to deport alleged gang members to Venezuela and El Salvador. The court ruled 5-4 to allow the Trump administration to use the Alien Enemies Act to continue these deportations, if detainees are given due process. Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee wrote on X, “This is disappointing.” Elon Musk replied, “Suicidal empathy is a civilizational risk.” Barrett joins the growing ranks of judges who have been threatened after ruling against the president, with some being swatted or receiving death threats.

Scott Bessent downplays concerns

This morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to calm fears about the country’s economy, saying that a spike in interest rates was no reason for concern about the health of the financial system, according to Politico. He said the market reaction was an “uncomfortable but normal” side effect of some large financial firms exiting debt-fueled trades. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called a recession a “likely outcome” of the turbulence in the stock market. President Trump has shown no sign of backing down from his tariffs, teasing last night that pharmaceutical tariffs could be coming soon. Speaking to bank executives in Washington this morning, Bessent said that he thought the economy was in good shape, though he acknowledged that there was “a little uncertainty.”

China imposes more reciprocal tariffs

This morning, China announced that they will be imposing an additional 50 percent tariff on all imports coming from America. This comes after Washington announced a massive 104 percent tariff on all Chinese goods. China’s Ministry of Finance said in a statement, “The U.S.’s practice of escalating tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which seriously infringes on China’s legitimate rights and interests.” China’s 50 percent tariff will be coming on top of an already existing 34 percent tariff, essentially making it a total of 80 percent.