After months of bloody fighting, Libyan rebels swept into the capital city Tripoli and claimed victory. The former leader of Libya, Moammar Gadhafi, has finally been defeated after 42 years of tyrannical rule. But… where is the guy? His whereabouts are a total mystery. Even though the rebels couldn’t find him, they did get a look at his possessions: a $130,000 electric Fiat 500, gay porn, an elaborate mermaid couch, and a thick album filled with pictures of his diplomatic crush Condoleeza Rice were found at his place. Gadhafi’s fate isn’t the only thing that’s up in the air — now that Libyan rebels have won, nobody is quite sure what will happen next. Will war break out between the rebels? Will there be enough resources for Libyan citizens? And will Libya become a stable nation? Let’s hope the answer to the last question is yes — Libyans have dealt with enough over the past year.

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As if the devastation from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami weren’t enough, Japan continues to deal with threats from a damaged nuclear power plant. Ready for some numbers that will stop you in your tracks? The current death toll stands at 8,100, 12,000 people remain missing and 452,000 have been displaced. These figures, unfortunately, are on the rise. There are a few heart-warming reports coming out, such as the 80-year-old woman and her grandson found yesterday who survived for 9 DAYS (eek!) beneath the rubble of their house, but for the most part headlines remain focused on the nuclear catastrophe.  The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant lost power following the earthquake, and since then has been releasing radiation into the surrounding area. The government has been working frantically to restore power, but traces of radiation have already been found in Tokyo’s tap water and produce at grocery stores.

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve been day-dreaming of chugging margaritas on the beach as your toes go numb on the long and snowy walk to class. Spring Break could not come soon enough and many a student has been counting down the days until they leave for those sandy beaches (I’m talking to you, girl who’s been updating her status every day since September).

But while many view the traditional MTV Spring Break as an essential, critical, and irreplaceable college experience, lately girls have been unpacking their bikinis and trading them in for work boots all in the name of Haiti.

I don’t have to remind anyone (I hope) of the disaster that struck there just a month ago. Officially considered the largest earthquake ever recorded, the death toll is estimated between 212-230,000 civilians. That’s equal to the deaths that resulted from the 2004 tsunami in southern Asia. That number is not only shocking on its own, but it makes it one of the two most horrific natural disasters to happen to North America in the last ten years (yes, Haiti is part of North America!), the other being Hurricane Katrina. And just as special Spring Break programs were created to allow high school and college students to travel to New Orleans and help with disaster relief, there are plenty of programs out there for Haiti. Read More »

It’s the end of the world as we know it. First Washington D.C. gets the most snow they’ve seen in 90 years and then an earthquake hits Illinois?! WTF is going on? Is Mother Nature mad that she doesn’t have a Valentine?

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to start living every day like it’s my last. Because the way things are going, it just might be. I’m going to toss my diet out the window, party my little pants off and tell that boy in my History class that he looks fiiiine in those jeans. But first I’m going to ponder this little doozy:

Would you rather have a clueless Valentine who takes you to a restaurant where they only serve things like fried crickets and bull’s testicles OR have a date who thinks it’s hilarious that he almost drunkenly had sex with his sister? Read More »

An earthquake? In Illinois?!

It’s a miracle MJ didn’t die sooner.

Make your legs look longer. Like, way long.

Google goes couture?

Calgary students protest tuition hike…naked.

What makes people on the Internet so angry?!

Big plans tonight? Hittin’ the town?

Maybe you should reconsider and stay in to watch the most epic musical event ever, while also doing a little good for those in need.

You’ve probably already heard everyone talking about tonight’s “Hope For Haiti Now” telethon, which aims to raise money for the victim’s of last week’s devastating earthquake, but do you have any idea how huge this thing is going to be? I’m pretty sure there has never been a lineup like this one. Read More »

Earthquake rocks California.

A Spanx clothing line? Where do we sign up?!

Something’s wrong with Josh Hartnett.

Does PETA kill animals?

Gisele makes me want to work out cry in the corner.

Fox’s newest dating show…for the larger people.

P. Diddy is racist?

A cure for the bikini bumps.

Madonna won’t let Octomom out mom her.

Wonder weener? What!?

Yesterday at 2:53pm EST my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Sweetie” (it was my mom), “There’s been an earthquake”

My heart stopped.

“Where was it centered?”

“I don’t know”

“How big?”

“They’re saying it was in the 6’s and…”

“Where are you?”

“Driving home from …”

“How are the dogs?”

By now I was shrieking, I barely heard her empty assurances that they must be okay and that she would try to get a hold of someone nearby.

I hung up and rushed to my computer, certain that the worst had happened. Another major Quake…

When I was 8 the ‘94 Northridge Quake destroyed most of my known world. My family was homeless for 9 months and all of our parks were turned into National Guard relocation facilities. For a while I slept with my tennis shoes on—in case I had to climb out of my room the next morning.

It is impossible to describe the relief that washed over me when I finally got through to the LA Times website and saw that it was only a 5.8 (later lowered to a 5.4) with horizontal motion and centered in Chino Hills about 55 miles from my home in the San Fernando Valley. Read More »

It’s the news with Kandy Korrespondent!

First Lady Laura Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan over the weekend to call attention to the need for continued international commitment to the country’s war against the Taliban. The former schoolteacher paid special attention to the increased presence of girls in local schools. Under the Taliban, girls were banned from schools. According to the United Nations, 35% of all students are now girls. Mrs. Bush stated, “We want that to be 50-50.”

Her visit comes at a strategic point in the US-led war on the region. On June 3rd, Army General David McKiernan took over NATO command in Afghanistan; McKiernan led American troops into Iraq in March 2003. Violence is also on the rise- over 8,000 were killed in attacks last year—the most since the 2001 invasion. Read More »

This past Wednesday afternoon, my boyfriend, Alec, and I decided to head to the local Starbucks to do some reading and writing. The sky was pretty dark—but that’s typical of a June in Virginia—hot and humid in the morning, thunderstorm in the afternoon.

We had gone a few miles when giant raindrops began to pelt our windshield accompanied by increasingly strong winds. Branches and leaves blew past the windows, traffic lights swung violently, and our poor little Saturn coupe began to shutter in the face of the growing gale. Pulling up to an intersection we noticed a diagonal dark cloud directly above us lit up by a strange pink glow.

I turned to Alec; the word scarcely needed saying—Tornado.

Wordlessly, he swung the car around and we headed back. The storm quickly overtook us, flooding the windshield and reducing visibility to zero. We finally made it back and ran from the car to the house where Alec’s brother and mom hugged us in relief. But it was short-lived, the phone rang (the last call before we lost all service)—it was Alec’s little sister. Her afternoon activities had been canceled and she had been walking home when the storm hit. All around us large branches littered the sidewalk and street—and the storm was only getting worse. Read More »