By The BBK Staff
Dogwood Festival Blooms Again
By Akiva Bryant
The Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival is coming to town and will be open from April 11-13. Every year, the Festival opens in Midtown’s Piedmont Park to celebrate the blooming of its native trees. The Festival, which first opened on April 19, 1936, has a long history of expansion and closure due to seminal events such as WWII and COVID-19. The Dogwood Festival features more than 750 artist entries, where guests are able to browse and buy art pieces. There are dozens of booths and different art mediums to peruse, including jewelry, paintings, sculptures and photography. Along with physical art, the Dogwood Festival hosts its own concert. Each day, different bands and artists perform at the Festival. This year, the concert is sponsored by Coca-Cola, and the performances include dancing and singing. For example, international dance companies such as China’s “Snow Angels Dance Group” and India’s “Nachlanta” are set to perform alongside numerous Latin, American, Irish, Arabic and more international troupes. If music is more of your thing, there will be performances from mainly rock and blues artists and bands, but some bands including “Nero Simon and the Sunsetters” will perform Coastal Americana music, and there will even be a Jimi Hendrix tribute titled “Gimme Hendrix.”
Leaked Signal Group Chat
By Sabenah Abudu-Abrams
In March 2025, a group chat on the encrypted , commercial messaging app Signal was leaked. The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to the group chat created by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and which contained the highest officials of Trump’s administration. In the conversation that Goldberg recorded with screenshots, the members were discussing “secret U.S. war plans against the terrorist Houthi militia in Yemen.” After the messages were released, Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to save all of the Signal messages from March 11 to 15. Over 30 Democratic Senators have called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to create a special counsel to investigate the potential breach of national security. The Senators wrote a 6-page letter to Bodi emphasizing that they are not just concerned with the how and why a journalist was included in the conversation; they are also unsettled by how the members of the group chat are avoiding accountability and receiving little to no repercussions.
Legal Immigrant in Maryland Arrested By ICE
By Trey Voegtlin
29-year-old Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was arrested by ICE last month in Maryland, despite the fact that he was a legal immigrant. While on the way to pick up his 5 year old son, Abrego Garcia was arrested and later sent to El Salvador on a flight carrying Venezuelan migrants the Trump Administration says belong to the prison gang Tren de Aragua. Abrego Garcia was later identified in a photo by his wife, confirming his status in the notorious and brutal prison, CECOT, in El Salvador. It seems that he originally left El Salvador due to gang violence, and then was allowed to stay in the country through a “withholding from removal” status, granted by a judge in 2019. The Trump Administration has admitted that the deportation was an “administrative error,” but said that because Abrego Garcio was being held in El Salvador, the U.S. does not have the jurisdiction to request his return.
Pollen is Back in Town
By Daniela Palatchi
It’s everywhere and unavoidable: pollen, the yellow powder that plants create as part of their reproductive process, is back in town. On Sat., March 30, 2025, Atlanta recorded its highest pollen count in 35 years, at a whopping 14,801 pollen grains per cubic meter of air. Tree pollen is most prominent in the spring, grass pollen in the summer, and weed pollen in the fall. About 80 million people in the U.S. suffer from seasonal allergies, and that number is growing with climate change. Warmer temperatures cause plants to blossom earlier and release pollen for longer. So if you’re feeling sniffy or have had itchy eyes lately, it’s close to no question that your symptoms were caused by pollen. To treat these allergies, the Association of American Medical Colleges recommends the use of over-the-counter medicines, taking a shower and changing clothes after being outside in high pollen conditions and running an air purifier indoors.
Rep. Nikema Williams steps down as state party chair
By Auria Araghi
Representative Nikema Williams, who represents Georgia’s 5th congressional district in the U.S. House, announced on Mon, April 1, that she was stepping down as chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia after new requirements passed making the position paid and full-time. The change, which would create conflicts with Rep. Williams’ work as a congresswoman, comes after many Georgia Democrats have called for a shift in the party’s messaging following the 2024 elections. 1st Vice Chair Matthew Wilson will serve as interim chair until the state Democratic committee decides on a permanent replacement.
Sen. Cory Booker breaks record for longest speech on senate floor
By Alex Piazza
United States Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) broke the record for the longest speech on the senate floor Tues., April 1. Booker’s speech–which was not a filibuster since he did not attempt to block or delay a vote from the senate–lasted 25 hours and five minutes, in which he condemned the Trump administration, saying that he “believe[s] sincerely that our country is in crisis.”
The senator set out with 1,164 pages of material and said he would talk for as long as he was physically able.
“These are not normal times in America,” Sen. Booker said. “And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”
The previous record was set in 1957 by Sen. Strom Thurmond when he filibustered for 24 hours to prevent the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
“I’m not here, though, because of [Thurmond’s] speech,” Booker said. “I’m here despite his speech. I’m here because as powerful as he was, the people were more powerful,”
TikTok: Will it be banned once again?
By Greta Vianna Sletteland
TikTok is once again on the verge of being banned. The app was banned on Jan. 19, 2025, though it returned within 12 hours. The app remained available for download in the App Store until Trump’s inauguration, where he imposed a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive order that kept TikTok alive in the United States until April 5, i.e. this upcoming Saturday. In preparation for this deadline, on April 2, 2025, Trump met with aides about potential investors for the app, which could save it from being banned in the U.S. Some possible investors are the investment firm Blackstone and the software company Oracle. On April 5, 2025, if TikTok is not sold to an approved buyer in the U.S, the ban will again take effect. However, as Trump stated, this deadline could be extended if needed.
Woodward Celebrates Quasquicentennial Friday
By Brett Schlossberg
In case you didn’t know, Woodward turned 125 years old this year, and, on Fri., April 4, Woodward Academy is hosting its Quasquicentennial celebration. On that day, we will not have regular classes. The schedule goes as follows:
8:40 – School begins at normal time with all students reporting directly to Advisory.
9:00-10:30 – Students will attend special programming with their advisory group. Programming will involve information around academic scheduling and college counseling. Seniors will visit with their Primary Pals.
10:30-11:30 – Students return to Advisory for the Founder’s Day Convocation.
11:30-12:30 – Lunch
1:00-2:15 – 125th Celebration Parade. This is an Academy-wide event and celebration of our school.
2:15-3:00 – Upper School assembly and pep rally
21 People Arrested by FBI, ICE
By Hannan Zeyde
On March 24, 2025, the FBI in Atlanta released pictures on social media platforms of an operation claiming to take 21 people into custody in the metro Atlanta area. The names of the people and the details of their arrests remain unclear, including any charges being filed against them. These efforts come after escalating action and language around immigration enforcement at the state and national levels. In late Jan., the FBI and ICE announced that they were going to start enhanced target operations in Atlanta and other cities in Georgia, and not long thereafter, raids occurred in places like Buford, Chamblee and Brookhaven. More recently, a week before the raids in late March, Governor Kemp requested that ICE train all 1,100 under Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety Billy Hitchen through the 287(g) program.