Newsbytes: Waterslide Shutdown, Michael Cohen Refusal to Cooperate, Former Panama Dictator Dies, Great White Shark

By Staff Writers Katherine Guo & Julia Park

Local — Water slide shuts down following accident
A water slide at Emerald Glen Waterpark in Dublin, CA closed on its opening day. On May 27, a photographer caught a picture of a boy flying off the bottom of the 30-foot waterslide called Wave. The 43 million dollar construction was closed along with several other slides following the incident. The boy was physically unharmed except for a few scrapes but was still taken to the hospital. Currently, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the accident.

National — Trump attorney Michael Cohen refuses to cooperate with Russia Investigation
President Donald J. Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen has refused a congressional invitation to “provide information and testimony” pertaining to the ongoing Russia investigation involving potential ties between Russia and President Trump’s 2016 campaign on May 30. Cohen told CNN that the request was “poorly phrased, overly broad, and not capable of being answered” and that the investigation was a “rush to judgment.” Cohen is the second person to directly reject a congressional request after former national security adviser Michael Flynn also denied a Senate subpoena the week before.

International — Former Panama dictator dies in prison
Former Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega died on May 29 at the age of 83. Although he was once an US ally for mediating talks with Cuban Leader Fidel Castro,  his relationship with the US suffered after he killed his political opponents and allied himself with drug traffickers. Noriega served a 17-year drug sentence in the US and died in a Panamanian jail for the murder of his opponents. Current Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela wrote on Twitter that “the death of Manuel A. Noriega closes a chapter in our history.”

Quirky — Great white shark leaps into boat
On May 27, a great white shark jumped unprovoked out of the water and into 73-year-old Australian Terry Selwood’s fishing boat. The 440-pound shark leapt in while Selwood fished off of Evan’s Head in East Australia. While the area is known to have a relatively large shark population, incidents such as this are uncommon. Sharks typically only surface when there are large numbers of fish around. Selwood received minor injuries and the shark was safely removed

Photos by altasobscura.com, gettyimages.com, localtvkdvr.files.wordpress.com, mercurynews.com