April 15 News from DFW airport

 

Hello, welcome to the Daily Moth! It is Monday, April 15. 

I am here at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport waiting for my flight to Austin. I had an early morning flight, but some plastic got in the engines before we left the gate and everybody had to get out. That kind of day. So I’ll sign top stories here. 

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Notre Dame fire

There was a huge fire that destroyed the historic Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France. The church started construction over 800 years ago. It had a famous, beautiful wooden spire that collapsed in flames.

The cathedral was going through renovations and it is possible the fire started from renovation work. The blaze was unstoppable for many hours. The interior of the church has a lot of wood, so it just continued to provide fuel for the fire. 

Many world leaders expressed statements of sadness and support for France. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Paris. 

President Trump suggested flying water tanks, but a French agency said it would cause even more damage. 

As of the time I signed this news, about 3:30 pm CST, reports said the whole building could collapse if the bell in their main tower fell. 

*UPDATE: Authorities say the towers are saved. 

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Redacted Mueller Report on Thursday morning

The redacted version of the Mueller report will be given to Congress and to the public on Thursday morning. Attorney General Barr said last week that he would blot out parts that had secret grand jury testimony or national security concerns. I;ll keep an eye on it Thursday morning and provide a recap. 

The Democratic-controlled House has previously demanded to see the full report, without any redactions, and has subpoena power for it. We’ll see if they are satisfied with the report on Thursday. 

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Tiger Woods wins 2019 Masters

Yesterday Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia. It is his first major tournament win in over 10 years.

Woods’ last win was in 2008 at the United States Open and after that, he had personal problems with his previous marriage, 4 back surgeries, and a DUI charge which almost forced him to retire. But he has come back from all of that to win once again. 

President Trump announced that he would give him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

https://www.nytimes.com/.../tiger-woods-wins-masters.html

http://www.espn.com/.../back-tiger-wins-first-masters-2005

https://www.cbssports.com/.../2019-masters-all-the-ways.../

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Tornadoes kill 8 in the southern US

Last weekend, tornadoes killed at least 8 people, 3 of them children, and injured dozens. Several people are missing and thousands are without power in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

There were reports of at least 16 tornadoes in those areas with heavy rains, some hail and flooding.

The National Weather Services expects the storm system to move to the northeast towards New York that would have wind gusts at around 60-70 miles per hour which is strong enough to topple trees and power lines.

Many Midwest and Eastern states are facing severe weather and potential tornadoes. 

https://www.journalnow.com/.../article_0d9b443e-80e1-5cff...

https://abcnews.go.com/.../powerful-storms-continue-move...

https://www.reuters.com/.../tornadoes-kill-two-children...

https://www.usatoday.com/.../deadly-storms.../3464610002/

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2019 Academic Bowl Recap 

Last night Hersey High School in Illinois won the 2019 National Academic Bowl Championship. California School for the Deaf, Riverside came in second place. MSSD was third and Indiana School for the Deaf came in fourth place. I had a great time covering the tournament and working with the Gallaudet Youth Programs team and interacting with the high school students and their coaches and family/friends. 

Congratulations to Hersey for winning their second championship. Their first was in 2007. Hersey’s key player, Yael Lenga, is a junior and will be back next year to defend their title. 

CSD Riverside will lose two seniors, but will have two sophomores return, including standout Clark Barrett. 

MSSD will lose key player Theo Conley, but will bring back three players next year. 

Indiana was the favorite this year to win a three-peat with their star player Franco Bippus in his senior year, but they lost to Hersey and was later eliminated by Riverside. They will have to rebuild next year as they will lose three seniors. 

All in all, it was another year of wonderful competition with 20 different programs all over the U.S. 

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That is all for today. I’ll be back in the studio tomorrow. My thoughts are with France and those impacted by the tornado. Have a nice evening and stay with the light!