Starr’s Mill faced a momentous event this week. This event will forever be known as the great rice spill of 2019. Rice scattered throughout the courtyard between the 600 and 700 halls and drew the attention of students passing through the breezeway. Students will always remember this event due to the stray pieces of rice that are now embedded in their shoes. Just as rice carried on students’ shoes keeps coming into the hallways, headlines continue to decorate the news. With a new city hall, a seized rescue boat, and Donald Trump wanting to buy Greenland, The Prowler has the stories. 

Democrat Elizabeth Warren apologizes for statement (8/19)

Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic presidential candidate, has apologized again for her statement in the 1980s. She had previously stated that she was Native American in front of tribal leaders. She had also listed herself as a minority when she worked at Harvard University.

This comment received major backlash from most parties. Many tribal leaders criticized her claim. Donald Trump even offered to pay $1 million if she took a DNA test. Democrats were worried that if Warren did not apologize Republicans would use that against her in her campaign. 

Warren took the test and released the results to the public. She had only a fraction of tribal DNA. Tribe leaders claimed that her DNA did not matter. She has to be a registered member of a tribe to be considered Native American.

Rescue boat off the coast of Italy’s seized by Italian officials (8/20)

Late Tuesday evening, Italy’s court seized a migrant rescue vessel anchored off the coast of Italian island of Lampedusa ordering all migrants to disembark. The seizure was deemed necessary when a recent health inspection found hygienic conditions on the ship to be unstable. 

The migrants have been onboard the Open Arms vessel for 19 days and prior to this have not been allowed to dock on Italy’s waters. Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has refused to allow Open Arms to dock on Italian ports despite a court order allowing them to. Ships docking without authorization can face a fine up to $57,000.

The conditions of the people aboard are unstable and there is panic throughout the ship. There have been several instances in which people have jumped off the ship attempting to reach shore. There are currently 19 volunteers and 98 rescued migrants on board.

 Trump wants to buy Greenland (8/21)

United States President Donald Trump released to the public his plan and reasoning to purchase Greenland from Denmark. While 80 percent of it’s terrain is occupied by ice caps, Greenland is home to 58,000 Danish residents, a self-governing rule, and the opportunity for a prosperous canal.

The melting of ice caps in the Atlantic has provided Greenland with the ability to create Northern Atlantic shipping lanes. While the Panama and Suez canals have been the only way for water shipments to travel around the world for quite a while, these Northern Atlantic lanes have enabled transportation services to drastically cut down on the time it takes to make a delivery. 

As the ice caps melt, Trump sees Greenland’s potential to become a shipping monopoly. However, Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has no intention of selling the snow-covered island. She even has gone as far to regard Trump’s vision as “absurd.” As a result, Trump cancelled his upcoming visit to Denmark. 

Major improvements coming to downtown Fayetteville  (8/22) 

A new city hall is planned to be built in Fayetteville. Fayetteville’s City Council held a meeting on Aug. 15 to discuss their plans. The new city hall is planned to be built a block from downtown at Stonewall Avenue. 

City Manager Ray Gibson also provided information regarding an accompanying project named the City Center Park Project. When complete, it is destined to be one of the city’s largest outdoor meeting spaces. The park is planned to have several features, including a splash pad, a playground, and a grass mall with a performance area.    

These projects come up to a price of $23 million with only $19 million covering construction cost. They will be financed through the Fayetteville’s Public Facilities Authorities. Both projects are expected to be completed in late 2020.

Bullet hits car on I-285 (8/23)

At approximately 1 a.m. this morning, a driver on I-285 West suspected that his tire popped when driving past Chamblee Dunwoody Road. However, when he pulled over to inspect the condition of his car, he noticed that a bullet had been fired into his car door.

Police have released to the public that the driver noticed a car driving next to him preceding the event, but the victim had no idea what might have provoked the shooting. “Someone who would do something like this could likely strike again,” the unnamed victim told authorities. 

It is still unknown whether someone in the other car fired the shot and if it was intentional. Police urge anyone with information about the shooter or the incident to contact the Atlanta Police Department.