Home- From Mar. 11-15, WJ held its spring spirit week leading up to the spring pep rally on Mar. 15. Students all over the school dressed in spirit for different themes each day and then took part color wars (Sr-Black, Jr-White, So-Blue, Fr-Yellow) on the day of the pep rally. The rally featured opening remarks from the SGA, introductions of all the spring sports, a gymnastics routine performed on the turf, the WJ drumline and a preformance of a WJ springtime favorite, male poms. (Source: Walterjohnson.com)

United States- On Wed. Mar. 13, a trial in Steubenville, OH took place in which two former Stubenville High School football players were accused  of raping a 16-year-old girl last year and ended on Sun. Mar. 17. The defendants are Trenton Mays, 17, and Ma’lik Richmond, 16, who were charged with raping the girl on Aug. 12, 2012, during a night of partying. The girl was raped in a car and again at the party and was apparently “too drunk to resist” the rape. There were many testimonies and a verdict was reached on Sunday, Mar. 17, in which the defendants were found guilty of all charges. Mays was sentenced to serve two years in a juvenile detention center, while Richmond was only to serve one, and they could possibly serve in a juvenile jail until they are 21. After all the testimonies, including onr from the victim herself, the two were declared guilty beyond reasonable doubt and are now being punished accordingly, while also apologizing sincerely to the victim and her family. (Source: New York Times) (Source: New York Times)

Globe- On Wed. Mar. 13, white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel as the Cardinals elected a new pope, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires who will now be known as Pope Francis I. Pope Francis is the 266th pope of the Catholic Church and the first Latin American pope. At 2:05 EDT, the 76-year-old pope gave his first address to the crowd of  thousands anxciously waiting, almost an hour after the smoke rose. (Source: NBC News)