By Sarah Rovinsky Columbia University student, Emma Sulkowicz, carried a mattress around the campus all year and graduated May 19 with her mattress in tow. The mattress was part of her senior thesis project, performance art called “Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight).” The visual arts major said she would carry the mattress everywhere she went on campus for as long as she attended the same school … Continue reading “Mattress Project” Continues Into Graduation

By Katherine Barton Heroin has increased in popularity in the United States over the last two decades. The increase in usage of heroin is linked to Portsmouth, Ohio, in the 1990s, when doctors prescribed medicine fairly freely, leading to addiction. Millions of pills we prescribed a year. The drugs were opiates with a similar structure to heroin. As abusers of the medication could no longer … Continue reading Heroin in Rural America

By Katherine Barton Ireland was set for a public election on Friday, May 22, to vote on the legalization of gay marriage and the majority of Irish voted in favor. Ireland became the first country to legalize gay marriage through national public vote. Gay marriage is legal in eighteen other countries but the decision was made through the courts or legislature. Ireland is Catholic, but the country was … Continue reading Ireland Votes on Same-Sex Marriage

By Sarah Rovinksy The jury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the notorious Boston Marathon Bomber, to death on 6 of the 17 counts, including use of a weapon of mass destruction, bombing of a public place and malicious destruction of property. A death sentence required a unanimous vote from the jury members, but if they had failed to agree on it, the life sentence would have been imposed … Continue reading Boston Marathon Bomber Sentenced to Death

By Sarah Rovinsky The Pentagon and White House announced on Saturday morning, May 16, that U.S. special operations forces killed an Islamic State leader, who helped direct the group’s oil, gas and financial operations, during a raid in eastern Syria. President Obama ordered the raid that killed Abu Sayyaf, the ISIS commander. A U.S. official said his wife, Umm Sayyaf, was captured in the raid … Continue reading ISIS Commander Killed In U.S. Special-Ops Raid

By Kate Barton An Amtrak train holding 243 passengers derailed on Wednesday, April 13, reportedly killing five people and injuring over 60 people in Philadelphia. The train was traveling from D.C to New York. Eight to ten cars derailed, some rolling over, resulting in tremendous damage. All service on the Amtrak between New York and Philadelphia has been canceled. The train station was traveling 106-mph … Continue reading Amtrak Derailment in Philadelphia