July 1 top stories
Hello, it is July 1. Hope your weekend was good. Here are today’s top stories.
NY police killed 13-year-old refugee from Myanmar who had toy gun
Grief and anger engulfed the city of Utica, New York after a police officer shot and killed Nyah Mway, a 13-year-old boy, who graduated from middle school just two days earlier on Friday night.
What happened? Police said on Friday night, police officers patrolled the streets of West Utica to investigate a string of armed robberies in the area. The suspects were described as Asian males who carried a black firearm. Around 10 p.m., three officers stopped Mway and another 13-year-old boy outside on a street, believing the two boys fit the description of the robbery suspects.
In a statement, an officer asked to pat down Mway in search of a possible weapon, and Mway tried to run away. The officers followed and believed Mway was holding and pointing a firearm at the officers. Mway was then tackled to the ground before an officer discharged his firearm. He was later transported to a local hospital where he died from his wounds. The weapon on Mway was later determined to be a pellet gun.
According to the GoFundMe page set up by his family, he was remembered as “an outgoing kid who loved to be outside biking and playing.” Mway and his family came to the U.S. from Myanmar over eight years ago.
All three officers were put on administrative leave with pay.
Hurricane Beryl nears Caribbean islands as “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm
Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, intensified to an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph Sunday, as it made its way toward the Caribbean’s Windward islands Monday morning as a Category 3 major hurricane.
Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia., St. Vincent and Grenadine Islands, Grenada and Tobago.
Beryl is now the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record in the Atlantic Ocean and the only Category 4 storm ever recorded in the month of June. One of experts said the earliest date this was achieved before was September 1. It could also be the strongest on record to hit the southern Windward islands at any time of year.
Storm surge flooding of six to nine feet above normal tide levels is expected in island areas where the wind is blowing onshore as the storm hits.
However, it does not appear to be a clear U.S. threat, though residents of Texas and Louisiana in particular should pay attention to forecasts.
Bystanders run to help toddler ditched by carjacker in Florida
The Broward Sheriff’s office officials in Florida are searching for a man who they said carjacked a woman and took off with her SUV while her child was still in the backseat.
In a police statement, a mother and her 3-year-old daughter were involved in a car accident with another vehicle. When the mother exited her car to exchange information with the other driver, an unknown adult male entered the driver side of her vehicle and began to drive away with her child inside. The carjacking happened around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
According to authorities, the mother grabbed onto the front passenger door of her white SUV and yelled to the carjacker that her daughter was inside the vehicle. She was dragged by the vehicle before she fell to the ground.
A dashcam video captured the carjacker exiting the vehicle with the child in the car seat and leaving her on a sidewalk at a different location before driving away. Moments later, the video then showed two bystanders rushing to attend to the toddler. Here is a short video clip of the incident.
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[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
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WestJet flight cancellations hit tens of thousands of travelers
A strike by plane mechanics forced Canada’s second largest airline, WestJet, to cancel hundreds more flights Sunday, upending plans of roughly 110,000 travelers over the Canada Day long weekend and prompting the carrier to demand action from the federal government.
Some 680 workers, whose daily inspections and repairs are essential to airline operations, walked off the job Friday evening.
Since Thursday, WestJet has canceled 829 flights scheduled to fly between then and Monday – the busiest travel weekend of the season.
The vast majority of Sunday’s trips were called off as WestJet pared down its 180-plane fleet to 32 active aircraft and topped the global list for cancellations among major airlines over the weekend.
Both WestJet and the Airplane Mechanics Fraternal Association have accused the other side of refusing to negotiate in good faith. The union says its demands around wage increases as well as protections for certain positions and improved benefits such as healthcare. See Alex's report on the Supreme Court ruling regarding unhoused people sleeping outside.
Supreme Court allows bans on homeless people sleeping outside
Thanks, Callie.
On Friday, the Supreme Court sided with cities that want to be able to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places.
A lower court said these laws were cruel and unusual punishment if there is insufficient shelter space, but the Supreme Court overturned that decision.
The case came from a city in Oregon that fined people $295 for sleeping outside in tents near public parks. City officials said they’re relieved that they can reclaim city parks for recreation and would try to find solutions for homelessness.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom supported the decision because it now allows state and local officials to clear unsafe encampments from the streets without worrying about legal issues.
Homeless advocates expressed concern, saying if cities are allowed to punish people who have no other place to sleep, the crisis will become worse.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in dissent, “Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime.”
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who supported the bans, said he understands that homelessness is a complex issue and encouraged the American people to come up with solutions on how to handle homelessness.
Thanks for this report. That’s all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
NY police killed teen refugee from Myanmar who had toy gun
https://people.com/13-year-old-boy-shot-and-killed-by-police-in-new-york-8671733
Hurricane Beryl nears Caribbean islands as “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-beryl-forecast-powerful-storm-caribbean-islands/
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2024-06-30-hurricane-beryl-forecast-caribbean
Bystanders run to help toddler ditched by carjacker in Florida
WestJet flight cancellations hit tens of thousands of travelers
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/westjet-strike-continues-union-president-1.7251118
Supreme Court allows bans on outdoor sleeping
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-homeless-camping-bans-506ac68dc069e3bf456c10fcedfa6bee