Hundreds Killed in Nepal After Massive Earthquake
More than 700 people are reported to have died in Nepal after a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the country on Saturday. It’s the big quake that seismologists have long feared would strike the South Asian nation after a series of smaller tremblors over the last century. Much like Haiti’s devestating earthquake in 2010, the death toll seems to have been exacerbated by the poorly constructed infrastructure in Katmandu, the capital city. But experts believe the damage could have been much worse if the quake had struck during the week, with children in school and workers flooding the city.
In other news...
LGBT: Ahead of Bruce Jenner’s groundbreaking Friday night interview with Diana Sawyer, Media Matters published a helpful list of do’s and don’ts when refrencing Jenner’s gender identity. Still, Jenner has requested that people use male pronouns for now. (via Vox)
Food: The USDA is encouraging people to eat food that’s past its expiration date because Americans throw away an average of 36 pounds of foodstuffs every year. (via New York Daily News)
Animals: Some creatures might go extinct because people don’t want to eat them. (via NPR)
Criminal justice: The death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who perished due to a severe spinal-cord injury while in the custody of Baltimore police, may have less to do with racism than with race, writes Benajmin Wallace-Wells in New York magazine. Meanwhile, Albuquerque, New Mexico’s recent spate of police-involved killings have led to discord within different law-enforcement agencies. (via Los Angeles Times)
Related stories on TakePart:
• Baltimore Seethes Over Freddie Gray
• The Case of Bruce Jenner and Our Transphobia
• 'Asterisk Equality'? Three Kinds of LGBT Discrimination That ENDA Won’t End
Original article from TakePart
