July 17 top stories
It is July 17. Here are today’s top stories.
Deadly flooding in Pennsylvania
At least five people were killed by severe flooding in Bucks County, Pennsylvania over the weekend.
A family of six from South Carolina was visiting relatives when torrential rains hit the region on Saturday early evening and caused a creek leading to the Delaware River to overflow. The family’s vehicle was swept away. The father and a grandmother managed to escape to safety with a four-year-old child, but the mother was swept away and was later found dead. There are still two missing children, a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old baby, and there are search crews working to find them.
The four other victims were found dead outside of their vehicles.
A couple that was riding on a motorcycle said they were swept away by floodwaters and managed to survive by clinging to anything they could, such as trees, vines, or logs floating by.
Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro visited Bucks County on Sunday and said he would be committed to helping communities clean up the damage from the storm.
First Republican presidential debate on Aug 23
The first Republican presidential debate will take place on August 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
USAToday explained that the Republican National Committee said candidates must meet certain qualifications to have a spot in the debate. Generally, they must poll at least 1% in three national polls, have at least 40,000 unique donors to their campaigns, and sign a pledge agreeing to support whoever wins the Republican nomination.
Those who are on track to qualify are Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Chris Christie, and Vivek Ramaswamy. Mike Pence is still working on qualifying.
Trump has placed first in several national and state polls, has raised over $35 million during the second quarter of the year, and has 56% of support from potential Republican voters. But it is uncertain if Trump will participate in the debate because he said in the past that he doesn’t want to debate low-polling candidates.
FBI looking for “Sticky Note Bandit” bank robber
The FBI said they are looking for a male suspect in connection to three Texas bank robberies this month, with two of the banks in the Houston area.
The suspect, in all three robberies, dressed as a woman and would hand tellers sticky notes with threatening messages demanding cash. That’s why the FBI is calling him the “Sticky Note Bandit.”
The FBI said the suspect is a Black man that is 5’8 tall with a thin to medium build. During the robberies, he wore a wig, sunglasses, medical mask, and carried a purse.
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Crimea bridge damaged in new attack
Today the Kerch Bridge that connects the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea to mainland Russia was damaged by two explosions. A couple traveling by car on the bridge was killed and their daughter was injured.
Ukrainian military officials said they carried out the attack.
The Russian government said two seaborne drones operated by Ukrainians struck the bridge. The bridge was closed off to both car and railway traffic due to damage on the bridge’s roadway.
Russian President Putin said it is a terrorist attack.
It is the second time that the bridge was damaged with the first on October 8 when a fuel tanker exploded and caused severe damage. The bridge was repaired and now it is damaged again.
Sailor and dog found alive after 3 months in Pacific
An Australian sailor, Tim Shaddock, and his dog, Bella, were found alive after being stranded for three months in the South Pacific Ocean.
NBC News said the duo departed from La Paz, Mexico on a catamaran but after about a month of sailing, a storm struck the boat and damaged all the electronics.
Tim and Bella survived by eating raw fish and drinking rainwater. They were fortunate to have brought fishing gear and other survival gear with them.
They were spotted by a Mexican fishing crew that was catching tuna. The fishermen had a helicopter that they used as a part of their process to catch fish and that helicopter spotted the stranded catamaran.
Tim, after being rescued, said he had been through a very difficult ordeal at sea and just needs rest and good food because he hasn’t had enough food for a long time.
That’s all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.wgal.com/article/pennsylvania-bucks-county-deadly-flooding/44559674
https://abcnews.go.com/US/search-resumes-2-missing-children-washed-mom-deadly/story
https://abcnews.go.com/US/3-banks-robbed-sticky-note-bandit-dressed-woman/story
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/16/europe/russia-crimea-bridge-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-07-17-23/index.html
https://6abc.com/2-missing-persons-5-dead-flood-waters-search-and-rescue-operation/13514022/