Friday, July 2 top stories
It is Friday, July 2. Here are today’s top stories.
1.1 Daughter of firefighter’s body found in condo collapse
A Miami firefighter found the body of his own 7-year-old daughter during the search for victims of the Surfside condo collapse. News reports said the firefighter draped his jacket over the daughter’s body.
The search was paused yesterday morning due to safety concerns, but it has resumed.
The firefighter’s daughter is the third child victim recovered from the rubble.
1.2
The other two were a 4-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl who died with their parents.
The death toll is at 20, with 128 people missing. The number of the missing was reduced because there were some duplicate names and some of the missing was found to be safe.
1.3 Hurricane Elsa is season’s first hurricane
We have the first hurricane of the Atlantic season — its name is Elsa and it is a Category 1 storm with sustained winds reaching 85 mph. It is currently in the Caribbean Sea and weather forecasters say it could hit Florida on Tuesday, but as a tropical storm.
U.S. troops have departed a key military air base in Afghanistan, Bagram Air Base, and handed it over to the Afghanistan government. The New York Times said the base was key to the war in Afghanistan and was used by the U.S. military and its allies for almost 20 years.
President Joe Biden wants a full withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11. There are still 650 troops remaining in Afghanistan to protect the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. There is serious concern that the Afghanistan government may collapse and fall to the Taliban.
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Sha’Carri Richardson, the U.S. women’s champion in the 100-meter race, will have to miss the Olympic 100-meter event after she tested positive for marijuana use near the time of her race during the U.S. Olympic Trials. Marijuana is one of the substances listed as illegal by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
She is suspended for 30 days, which overlaps with the 100-meter race in Tokyo, but she is eligible to compete in the women’s relays because that event takes place after the 30-day suspension.
Richardson said she smoked marijuana to cope with the pain of her biological mother’s recent death. There is controversy and criticism over the idea of marijuana use as something to disqualify athletes for, especially with it being legal in 18 U.S. states and some countries. To compare, alcohol is not on the list of prohibited substances.
A cargo plane with two pilots in it had engine failure shortly after takeoff early this morning. The plane crashed into the water several miles off the coast of Oahu. Both pilots survived but were hospitalized with various injuries. The Coast Guard said by the time they reached the crash site, both pilots escaped from the plane and they were able to get them to the hospital. The plane sank.
A viral video shows a Walmart employee wrestling down a young deer who got into the store. This happened in Baraboo, Wisconsin last week. A witness said the deer got into the back of the building. The deer was later released without any injuries. I’m used to seeing birds in big stores, but I can’t imagine how I’d react if I saw a deer. I’d probably freeze like a deer in headlights.
That is all the top stories for today. Have a nice weekend and stay with the light.
https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-elsa-caribbean-0702-8e284be07a3d01f49ce21fee94892e8d
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/world/asia/afghanistan-bagram-us-withdrawal.html