Deadly storms in US: Forecasts of dangerous storms throughout the Southern US were born out amid a wave of death and destruction across North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Kentucky. Tornadoes and massive hail killed two people in Tennessee and another in North Carolina on the morning of May 9, bringing the total US deaths due to storms since Monday to four. Additional injuries and property damage were widespread across the entire area stemming from flooding and heavy rains as well as the tornadoes and hail.New School faculty encampment: In a first for the series of student-led demonstrations, encampments and protests at campuses across the country demanding an end to the war in Gaza faculty have established an encampment at The New School. Instructors pitched tents in the lobby of the college’s University Center, and issued a statement that they were supporting their students by demanding the school end the presence of NYPD’s presence on campus and that the school divest from 13 companies they view as contributing to the deepening humanitarian crisis in Palestine.
Microsoft’s confusing gaming strategy: On May 7 Xbox, the gaming and console hardware division of Microsoft Corp. announced that it will dissolve several games studios. These closures include Alpha Dog Games and Arkane Austin, which released the poorly received game Redfall but was reportedly working on new titles more in line with their expertise. More surprisingly Japanese studio Tango Gameworks was also on the chopping block even after it released a smaller scale game which became a critical darling and commercial success: Hi-Fi Rush. Confusingly, Xbox Game Studios Head Matt Booty reportedly told employees during a town hall on May 8 that their focus should be “We need smaller games that give us prestige and awards.”
Trump trial continues: Stormy Daniels graphic appearance at the felony trial of former president Donald Trump on Wednesday took a graphic turn, and she is slated to return to the stand today. Trump has been charged with 34 felony accounts of falsifying business records in New York in order to obscure information which could be damaging to his 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels, a former adult film actress also known as Stephanie Clifford, is alleged by the prosecution of having received a $130,000 settlement as hush money from Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen on the former president’s behalf.
“Russian Bill” protests in Georgia: The former Soviet republic in the Caucasus has seen a spate of large protests in the capital Tbilisi and other cities in response to a controversial bill sponsored by the ruling Georgian Dream party. The bill would require any civil-society group receiving more than 20% of its funding from foreign sources to register as a foreign agent which many protestors and detractors claim is distressingly similar to bills passed in Russia which have been used to silence dissent and undermine democratic reforms. Over a dozen people have been hospitalized as a direct result of the protests, and on May 9 six demonstrators were arrested for damaging cameras and throwing stones at police during prior demonstrations.
