GRAPHIC: Image features the tiger found in a southeast Houston home in transport to an animal sanctuary and the logos of TikTok and NASA. Text reads "The Current - News Round up: Febrary 2019. Graphic created by Trey Blakely and The Signal Online Editor Alyssa Shotwell. — Image features the tiger found in a southeast Houston home in transport to an animal sanctuary and the logos of TikTok and NASA. Graphic created by Trey Blakely and The Signal Online Editor Alyssa Shotwell.

Local, State & National NewsNewsThe Current

News roundup: February 2019

By Alyssa Shotwell, Online Editor On Apr 10, 2019 168 0

Here are the state, national and international stories you may have missed in February.

End The Backlog is a program under the Joyful Heart Foundation that aims to support survivors of violence and help hold states accountable for rape kit backlogs. California and Florida each have over 13,000 rape kits backlogged. Logo courtesy of End The BackLog.

Texas:

Rape kit backlogs yield positive results: Of the 2,665 untested rape kits backlogged in the Austin Police Department, 933 cases brought back positive DNA, which will result in sexual assault cases being reopened. Rape kits often get backlogged because of evidence not being sent or when it is sent, other crimes are given precedence. Programs like “End the Backlog” track the state of laws regarding sexual assault in Texas and across the U.S. Introduced this session, Texas HB 152 seeks to quicken the time span rape kits must be tested if the funds and personnel are present within 60 days.

Tiger found in southeast Houston: A tiger was found caged in an abandoned house in southeast Houston by an individual who had entered to smoke pot. The Houston Police Department (HPD) said the witness thought it was an effect of the drug before finding the tiger to be real and calling 311(Houston’s non-emergency phone line). The HPD and BARC Animal Shelter moved the tiger to an animal sanctuary.

In Texas, there are rules for owning exotic animals like tigers. Texas is reported to have the largest numbers of tigers in captivity in the world, even though there are less than 50 registered. The owner of the tiger could face a $2000 fine just for having it in city limits, not including animal cruelty charges.

Nasa contractors don’t get back pay: Many NASA contractors did not get federal back pay from the historic, 35-day government shutdown. Whether or not the contractors got paid depended on the contract signed before. Some contracts required upfront payment and others get paid after meeting goals or at the end of contracts. Many that fall to the latter two didn’t get paid. NASA employees were required by federal law to receive back pay. The government is funded through September.

United States:

TikTok fined $5.7 million by FTC: TikTok, formally known as Musical.ly, has been fined 5.7 million dollars by the Federal Trade Commission for failing to follow the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. This includes failing to obtain parental consent as well as transparency for how data from children under 13 is collected and used. There have also been concerns about the massive amount of predators contacting children through the app worldwide. Tik Tok has stated the company does not plan on challenging the fine and is working to make their app safer.

San Francisco to expunge marijuana convictions: With the help of Code for Americans, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office is “reviewing, recalling and resentencing up to 4,940 felony marijuana convictions and dismissing and sealing 3,038 misdemeanors which were sentenced prior to [Prop 64’s] passage.” The city is as far back as 1975. The goal of this initiative is to help citizens gain employment and participate in their community. Many cities in California are working on doing the same with San Francisco being slated to complete this task first.

Sexual assaults of immigrant minors: A report by Department of Health and Human Services made public states the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the department in charge of taking care of unaccompanied minors as they come into federal custody, reported “4,500 allegations of sexual abuse and sexual harassment between 2015 and 2018…1,300 were serious enough to refer to the FBI.” ORR begin collecting data October 2014. The allegations consist of abuse between children and between the youth care workers and children as well as range from staring in showers to inappropriate contact. In 2017, when there was an increase in family separation, many children were put in the custody of ORR.

GRAPHIC: This map showing the borders of India, China and Pakistan focuses in on the divided Kashmir region bordering India and Pakistan. After they gained independence, they were at war for two years over the territory resulting in the first of many cease fires. Many Indo-Pakistan conflicts have escalated in this region for decades. Graphic courtesy of The BBC. — This map showing the borders of India, China and Pakistan focusing in on the divided Kashmir region bordering India and Pakistan. After they gained independence, they were at war for two years over the territory resulting in the first of many ceasefires. Many Indo-Pakistan conflicts have escalated in this region for decades. Graphic courtesy of The BBC.

International:

India and Pakistan escalation: Since each gaining their independence from the British in 1947, these neighboring countries have disputed territory claims for decades. In addition to boundary conflicts, India is majority Hindu while Pakistan is majority Muslim, adding a cultural difference to both developing nations.

On Feb. 14, a pro-Pakistan terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed led a car bomb attack killing over 40 people in India controlled Kashmir, a split territory. India has pointed the blame at Pakistan for shielding members of the outlawed organization from repercussion in the past. India claimed after to have hit a terrorist camp of inhabited by 200-300 people, but this has been challenged by media reports and Pakistani intelligence showing there was no one there. Many are anxious as to what will come from continued escalation because both nations have nuclear arms.

Israel Prime Minister to be indicted: Israel’s Attorney General Avihai Mandelbliy announced his plans to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges. These charges, that come from investigations spanning several years, include three bribery and one breach of trust. Netanyahu called this a “witch hunt” and that ”[he is] the most vilified person in the history of Israeli media.” Netanyahu is up for reelection April 9.

On the bright side: In Richfield, Utah, 91-year old U.S. Postal Service (USPS) contractor/subcontractor Jack Lung retired with a nearly a perfect mail delivery record spanning nearly 70 years of service. Though not an official employee of the USPS, in his tenure he exemplified its unofficial motto of “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”