Newsbytes: GOP Convention, Malia Obama, Syria Airstrike, ‘Sinkhole de Mayo’

By: Staff Writers Carolyn Ge and Victor Zhou

Local: Demonstrators protest Trump at the CA GOP Convention

Demonstrators stormed the Californian Republican Convention on April 29 to protest Donald Trump. Approximately 400 protesters, some of who wore bandannas on their faces and brought Mexican flags,  crowded in front of the Hyatt Regency near the San Francisco Airport in Burlingame and blocked off the roads. in addition, they threw eggs at police officials, destroyed a Trump pinata, and assaulted individuals who wore Trump apparel. To avoid teh demonstrators, Trump and his entourage parked along a road next to Highway 101 and climbed over road barriers to reach the location of the speech.

National: Malia Obama plans to take gap year and attend Harvard University next fall

Malia Obama, President Obama’s oldest daughter, will attend Harvard University after taking a gap year. ON may 1, the White House announced that she will start college in the fall of 2017, waiting until President Obama leaves office, to join the class of 2021. At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 31, President Obama said that his family plans to remain in Washington DC for two more years after his term ends so that their younger daughter, Sasha, can finish high school.

International: Airstrike destroys hospital in Syria

A series of airstrikes broke the ceasefire in Aleppo, killing more than 60 civilians and destroying a hospital. The hospital, run by Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross, lost 14 patients and staff. Officials do not know who initiated the attack, and there are mounting concerns that this strike, along with other similar acts in the past, may be the lead to a government assault on the city. The UN has called on the US and Russia to maintain the ceasefire agreement and to prevent any other future violations.

Quirky: New Orleans residents plan party in ‘Sinkhole de Mayo’

More than 2,000 New Orleans residents are planning to host a party in a recently collapsed sinkhole, in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. The 30 foot wide sinkhole, which formed April 29, was caused by a leaking tunnel underneath Canal Street. After a group of friends jokingly suggested dressing up and making a traffic cone pinata for “Sinkhole de Mayo”, thousands of people joined in. The group has since changed the location and talked with the City Council to ensure that no overenthusiastic party-goers fall inside the hole.