NEWSFLASH is back after another highly successful Her Campus National Intercollegiette Conference! The week started off with some remarkable good news as Kate Middleton gave birth to the much-awaited Royal Baby, giving England another future King. But while the world was focused on the British Royal Family’s joy, Anthony Weiner was making headlines in New York as it was discovered that the ex-House Representative had, once again, started up sexual online relationships with multiple women in a repeat of 2011. Finally, Spanish citizens are grieving following a tragic train crash that took many lives in the northwest town of Santiago de Compostella, and the driver has been charged with his crimes.
Welcome back to NEWSFLASH! Bringing you the biggest stories in news every week!
British Royal Family Welcomes The New Prince of Cambridge
At exactly 8:30PM BST on Monday, England and the world erupted in cheers as it was announced that Catherine Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, had given birth to a healthy baby boy.
George Alexander Louis, the new Prince of Cambridge and heir to the British throne, was born at 4:24PM BST on Monday at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. William, the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge, was also present for the birth of his baby son, who is officially the fourth in line for the British throne.
The baby was the subject of much discussion weeks prior to his birth, whipping up a media frenzy that saw the world’s major news agencies send camera crews to London to await for his arrival. Much of the media coverage focused on what has come to be known as “royal succession gender equality,” a new legal element supported by the 16 nations of the Commonwealth that now dictates that birth order will determine the heirs to the British throne. This entails that even if Kate had given birth to a baby girl, her daughter would have been in line to become Queen of England regardless of her gender. The new amendment also states that any heir who marries a Roman Catholic will still be entitled to their seat on the throne whereas traditionally, any future King of England would lose their right to become King if they married outside of the Anglican Church.
In addition to the media outburst, the baby’s birth generated a huge commercial push as well that saw stores, cafés, and more selling Royal Baby merchandise to droves of fans and tourists. Even before the birth, experts predicted that the baby’s birth would generate at least £243 million in sales (almost US$400 million).
The hype surrounding the royal has died down somewhat following William and Kate’s appearance on Tuesday with their new baby. But one thing’s for certain: the world will definitely be following George as he baby steps his way towards the British throne.
Anthony Weiner Admits to More Online Affairs
On Tuesday, New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, faced a room packed with reporters in a press conference that would cast yet another huge negative light on his political career.
Weiner, 48, is once again in the hot seat following the discovery that he had continued to carry sexually explicit online and texting relationships with multiple women, even after giving up his seat in the House in 2011. The woman at the center of the scandal, Sydney Leathers, 23, gave an account of her sexual relationship with Weiner in an exclusive interview with Inside Edition.
Leathers had reportedly sent Weiner a Facebook message in 2011 criticizing him after he gave up his seat in the House, which also took place following the discovery that he had been exchanging sexually explicit messages and photos with a woman. Weiner neglected to reply to Leathers until a year later in July 2012, sparking a relationship that very quickly took a sexual turn. In addition to sending her messages, Weiner also took pictures of his penis for Leathers’ eyes only, using an online alias by the name of Carlos Danger to communicate with her.
While Leathers was seemingly a willing participant in the relationship, she has come out to say that she is “disgusted” by Weiner and that the New York mayor candidate’s downfall is completely his fault.
The revelation has completely altered the New York mayoral race as the scandal became the race’s focal point. Weiner is still campaigning on, focusing on issues like public housing that would affect the public at large and trying to put the scandal behind him. But the race’s other candidates have latched on to the opportunity and re-directed their campaigns to attacking Weiner in an attempt to persuade the public that Weiner cannot be trusted as Mayor of New York.
To make matters worse, Weiner’s campaign manager Danny Kedem quit on Saturday, leaving Weiner with no campaign manager and one less supporter. The candidate has also taken a tumble in the polls, leaving Weiner with a very difficult task as he continues his fight to become New York’s mayor.
Train Derailment In North-Western Spain Kills 79, Driver Charged
Spain is in mourning following a train accident in the town of Santiago de Compostella that killed 79 passengers.
The high-speed train derailed as it powered along a bend in the tracks, killing 78 initially and injuring 140 others. Spanish officials have declared the crash to be one of the worst train accidents in Spain’s history.
An additional victim, 58-year-old Myrta Fariza from Houston, died of her injuries Sunday, putting the official death toll at 79.
Train driver Francisco Jose Garzon was charged hours later with 79 counts of homicide by professional recklessness and numerous counts of causing injury by professional recklessness. An eyewitness at the scene of the crash reported that he had overheard Garzon confess that he had been driving too fast as he came around the curve, causing the train to derail.