Yuji Naka

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2006 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It was produced in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Sonic series, and intended as a reboot for the seventh-generation video game consoles. Players control Sonic, Shadow, and the new character Silver, who battle Solaris, an ancient evil pursued by Doctor Eggman. Development was rushed after Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka (pictured) resigned from the team to form his own company, and half of the team was diverted to work on the Wii game Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic the Hedgehog was released for the Xbox 360 in November and for the PlayStation 3 the following month; versions for Wii and Windows were canceled. Praised in prerelease showings, the game was a critical failure, described as one of the worst games in the series. Reviewers criticized its loading times, camera system, story, stability, and controls. In 2010, Sega delisted the game from retailers. (Full article...)

Minnesota State Capitol charioteer

• ... that the golden rooftop charioteer (pictured) was removed during the restoration of the Minnesota State Capitol and its artwork?
• ... that prior to starting her music career, Akari Akase was a popular cosplayer and TikToker, with more than 1.2 million subscribers?
• ... that the royal necropolis of Byblos was discovered in 1922 due to a heavy rain-triggered landslide, which uncovered an unspoiled royal tomb in the seaside cliff of Byblos?
• ... that the 2017 short film Juice, starring Shefali Shah as a middle-class Indian wife defying patriarchal norms, won two Filmfare Short Film Awards?
• ... that Hans-Karl von Kupsch, who was instrumental in the unification of the East and West German booksellers' associations, ran a gallery of contemporary art together with his wife?
• ... that QAnon has used feminine aesthetics to lure in mothers?
• ... that vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness despite existing prevention programs?
• ... that the songs in the album Da Turdy Point Buck contain belches and animal sounds that were recorded in a barn?

Pedro Castillo

• The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution suspending Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.
• Protests in Peru against inflation and the policies of President Pedro Castillo (pictured) result in at least nine deaths and the looting of the Supreme Court's offices.
• In NCAA Division I basketball, the South Carolina Gamecocks win the women's championship and the Kansas Jayhawks win the men's championship.
• Rodrigo Chaves Robles is elected President of Costa Rica.

April 8

Bust of Caracalla

• 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla (pictured) was assassinated near Harran and succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect Macrinus.
• 876 – Abbasid forces decisively defeated those of Saffarid emir Ya'qub ibn Laith, forcing the latter to halt his advance into Iraq.
• 1630 – Kiliaen van Rensselaer purchased land near present-day Albany, New York, to found the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, which became the most successful patroonship under the Dutch West India Company.
• 1904 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan, was renamed Times Square after the New York Times building.
• 1942 – World War II: The United States Army Air Forces flew its first mission from India over the Hump (the eastern end of the Himalayas) to deliver materiel to China.