Death toll rises to over 30,000 in Pakistan

A7.6 magnitude earthquake was felt on Saturday, Oct. 10 across South Asia from cenral Afghanistan to western Bangladesh, shaking three nations. According to CNN.com, the death toll has already topped 30,000 in Pakistan alone, with another 999 dead in India and 1 reported death in Afghanistan. Much like other stories of tragedy, this situation has already produced some incredible tales of survival. Pakistani troops and a British search team pulled a 2-year-old girl from the rubble alive Monday night, followed by her mother However, with good news comes bad, as search teams also found 35 bodies in that same collapsed building. Islamic Relief spokesman Waseem Yaqhoob seems sure that the already large death toll will climb. “This could get very close to tsunami levels,” he said. “It’s horrific. It really is terrible.”

Brooklyn child, 9, admits killing friend

A9-year-old girl pleaded guilty to seconddegree manslaughter on Friday Oct. 7, admitting she fatally stabbed her 11-year-old playmate after a tug-ofwar over a rubber ball took a turn for the worst. The girl, identified by the city only as Shanice K., admitted she stabbed Queen Washington once in the chest back in May. The girls’mothers were best friends as well when Washington was invited to Shanice’s home for a Memorial Day barbecue. According to CNN.com, the death occurred when Shanice’s mother stepped out of her apartment to borrow something from a neighbor She returned to find that her daughter had buried a steak knife into Washington’s chest, police said. Washington stumbled into a hallway and collapsed.

Officers plead not guilty to beating New Orleans man

A64-year-old man who was repeatedly punched in the head by police in an incident caught on videotape was not drunk, as police have alleged, and put up no resistance as he was being pummeled on Saturday, Oct. 8. According to MSNBC.com, Robert Davis, who had returned to New Orleans to check on property damaged by Hurricane Katrina, was out to buy cigarettes when police attacked him, alleging that he was intoxicated. Afederal civil rights investigation was opened into the incident. Davis is black, yet the three city police officers seen on the tape are white. The confrontation came as the New Orleans Police Department, long plagued by allegations of brutality and corruption, struggles with the aftermath of Katrina and the recent resignation of Police Superintendent Eddie Compass.