Midday Roundup: Fraternity plans legal action against Rolling Stone

Unreliable sources.Rolling Stone magazine officially retracted its November article describing a campus rape at the University of Virginia that had far-reaching consequences. The account of an alleged gang rape at a fraternity party launched a police investigation and led to the cancelation of fraternity and sorority events on campus. The magazine now says its source for the report, the supposed victim of the rape, gave unreliable information, and the reporter and editors on the story did not do enough to verify her account. UPDATE (1:20 p.m.): The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at the University of Virginia announced it plans to pursue “all available legal action” against Rolling Stone for the erroneous article, according to a statement released today. The fraternity said the article clearly defamed its members, but did not say when it planned to file suit.

Firing back. The Kenyan military has bombed camps of the al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia in retaliation for last week’s attack at Garissa University College. Four Islamist gunmen killed 148 people, almost all of them students, at the campus in eastern Kenya. Sunday’s bombings were part of an ongoing campaign against al-Shabaab in Somalia, “not just in response to Garissa,” a government spokesman said, according to Bloomberg News. Reuters reported attacks inside Kenya originated from the camps targeted Sunday.

Show of support. A crowdfunding campaign to support a Christian-owned pizza parlor in Walkerton, Ind., raised more than $800,000. Memories Pizza gleaned national attention after a local news report on the debate over Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act last week. Owners Crystal and Kevin O’Connor said they would never refuse service to a gay customer, but would not cater a same-sex wedding because of their religious beliefs. The restaurant has been closed due to the negative backlash against the owners’ statement, but it will receive the money from the GoFundMe web campaign that a conservative journalist started on its behalf.

Basketball Finals. Duke University is the favorite to win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in tonight’s national championship game, but the Blue Devils will have to fight the momentum the Wisconsin Badgers bring from Saturday’s upset of undefeated Kentucky. Notre Dame and the University of Connecticut will compete Tuesday night in Tampa Bay, Fla., for the women’s national championship. This is UConn’s eighth year in a row to go to the women’s Final Four. If the Huskies win again, Coach Geno Auriemma will tie famous UCLA Coach John Wooden with 10 national championships.

Play ball. With 28 of 30 major league teams starting their seasons, today is the busiest Opening Day in baseball history. The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs got an early start with a game Sunday night at the newly renovated Wrigley Field in Chicago. But the anticipated reopening of one of baseball’s oldest and most iconic parks disappointed male patrons who had to wait in lines for up to an hour to use the bathrooms. The apparent lack of facilities led to a storm of complaints on social media, along with some unpleasant photos of the alternatives chosen by guys who just couldn’t hold it.