Newsbytes: University of California, Berkeley Vandal, National Security Adviser Resigns, Kim Jong-nam Assassinated, Amazon Delivery Drones

By Staff Writers Hannah Chou & Jenny Miao

Local — University of California, Berkeley graduate charged with vandalizing a Northern Californian Mosque
University of California, Berkeley graduate Lauren Kirk-Coehlo was charged and arrested for hate crimes on Tuesday, February 14 after she allegedly broke windows and left bacon on the door handle of the Davis Islamic Center Mosque last month, officials say. According to NBC Bay Area News, she faces a maximum of six years in prison, and her bail has been set at $1 million. As of now, her motive for her actions is unclear, but police said that officers are searching her home and have found evidence related to the crime.

National — National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigns
National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned from his position on Monday, February 13 after the Justice Department informed the White House that he could be subject to blackmail, according to NBC News. Prior to his resignation, previous disclosures say that Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other senior government officials about his communications with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak, causing Pence to repeat the misinformation on television appearances. After consideration, President Donald J. Trump and his advisers concluded that Flynn’s position was unsustainable.    

International — Kim Jong-un’s half-brother assassinated
Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and older half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, died on Monday, February 13 after collapsing on his way to the hospital from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. Kim had been waiting to board a flight back to Macau, where he has been living in exile. Kim is believed to have been poisoned by two female agents, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service. Both female suspects have been arrested, one carrying an Indonesian passport and the other carrying Vietnamese travel documents. Investigators are awaiting the autopsy results.

Quirky — Amazon’s delivery drones to drop packages by parachute
The US Patent and Trademark Office granted electronic commerce company Amazon a patent for a method to safely drop drone-delivered packages using parachutes on Tuesday, February 14. Instead of landing their drones, Amazon developed a new process in which magnets, parachutes, and spring coils would be used to release deliveries from high in the sky. Drones would stay nearby to monitor the descending package. The company has already been testing for several years to determine the best delivery method for the future.

Photos by dailystar.co.uk, gannett-cdn.com, nbcbayarea.com, thepoliticalinsider.com