Thousand Oaks teen dies
A 17-year-old boy was killed in a crash while walking on Highway 101 in Thousand Oaks last Friday, according to the Ventura County Star. The boy was walking in between lanes on the southbound Highway 101 north of Conejo School Road when a vehicle struck the teen, officials say.
California Highway Patrol said the teen was walking in an undetermined location between lanes, when a driver tried to swerve in an attempt to avoid the crash. The boy succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene. An autopsy for the boy was scheduled for Monday, The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

MERS contracted in U.S.
The first U.S. case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus has been reported in Indiana, according to CNN. The patient is a health-care provider that recently traveled to Saudi Arabia to provide health care, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general with the U.S. Public Health Service and director for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. MERS comes from the same group of viruses as the common cold and attacks the respiratory system, according to Center for Disease Control. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath and can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure. Officials are not aware of any other confirmed U.S. cases, Schuchat said.

Search for landslide victims cease
Rescuers have given up hope of finding any more survivors in a double landslide that is feared to have killed more than 2,500 people in Afghanistan, according to BBC News. The landslide happened in the northeast province of Badakhshan on April 26, and buried 370 homes. Badakhshan is in the most remote and mountainous parts of the country, and is also one of the poorest regions in one of the poorest countries of the world.
“We cannot continue the search and rescue operation anymore, as the houses are under meters of mud,” said provincial governor Shah Waliullah Adeeb. “We will offer prayers for the victims and make the area a mass grave.”

Knox appeals murder charge
Amanda Knox still claims her innocence after being convicted by an Italian court of killing her British roommate Meredith Kercher. In an interview with CNN on May 1, she said, “I did not kill my friend. I did not wield a knife. I had no reason to.” Knox, a friend and her boyfriend were convicted in the murder while the pair shared an apartment in Perugia, Italy. She spent four years in an Italian prison before being released in October 2011. However, she was convicted in a new trial and now faces 28 years in prison if she loses her appeal. Knox said she is planning to stay in the U.S. during the appeal, and even if she loses, the U.S. government can choose not to extradite her back to Italy.

SF sued for privileging companies
Activists have sued the city and county of San Francisco over a pilot program that gives shuttles run by Google and other private companies access to municipal bus stops, according to Yahoo! News. The activists claim that it favors higher-paid technology workers over the low-income residents in the area. With the 18-month pilot program, Wi-Fi-equipped buses will use San Francisco Municipal transit system stops for a fee of $1 per stop per day and is viewed by many as a symbol of the industry’s disconnect from a broader community left out by the tech boom. The lawsuit also argues that the buses will increase pollution, boost risks to pedestrians and bicycles and interfere with public transit. Dennis Herrera, spokesman for the City Attorney said there would be no comment until after the staff has had an opportunity to study the complaint.

Rikke Bovre
Staff Writer
Published May 7, 2014