May 2 top stories
It is May 2. Here are today’s top stories.
Illinois dust storm causes fatal pileup
On Monday, a dust storm swept through a rural area in Illinois, causing many car crashes and pile-ups on a highway that killed six people and injured over 30 others.
The crashes happened on I-55 just before 11 a.m. The dust storm was caused by wind gusts of about 40 mph that blew dust from farm fields that were recently plowed. 72 vehicles, including passenger cars and semi-trucks, were involved in the accidents.
First responders said it was a very difficult scene to respond to because of the dust, poor visibility, and finding multiple vehicles on fire and trying to rescue people.
Former cop Tou Thao convicted of manslaughter
Tou Thao, one of the four former Minneapolis police officers who were involved in the murder of George Floyd, was found guilty of aiding and abetting manslaughter.
Thao held back bystanders while three other cops held down Floyd for over nine minutes.
Judge Peter Cahill said Thao knew that it was dangerous to restrain someone in this way because they could die from asphyxia but he aided that behavior and held back concerned bystanders. The judge said Thao also did not allow an off-duty firefighter to check on Floyd.
Thao will have a sentencing hearing on August 7. Thao is already serving a federal sentence of 3 1/2 years and whatever punishment he gets, he will serve his federal and state sentences concurrently.
Biden sending 1,500 troops to border
AP News said the Biden administration will send 1,500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of an expected migrant surge following the end of coronavirus pandemic-era restrictions.
The troops’ role will be on data entry, warehouse support and other tasks so the U.S. Customs and Border Protection can focus on fieldwork.
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Bride killed by drunk driver
On Friday night at a beach in South Carolina, a woman that had just got married was tragically killed just a few hours later when a golf cart she was riding in with her husband was hit by a suspected drunk driver that was speeding.
The bride’s name was Samantha Miller. She was 34.
The groom, Aric Hutchinson, was seriously injured and is hospitalized with a brain injury and several broken bones. Two other family members on the golf cart were injured.
NBC News said the suspect, Jamie Lee Komoroski (25), was driving at 65 mph in a 25 mph zone. The golf cart had lights and was legal to drive at night. Komoroski was charged with one count of reckless homicide and three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily harm.
Hutchinson’s mother set up a GoFundMe for her son’s recovery. Over $450,000 was raised with many posting messages of grief and sympathy.
Writers Guild of America on strike
The Writers Guild of America, a labor union representing TV and film writers, went on strike this morning. Hollywood studios and the WGA failed to reach a new deal on Monday.
Axios said the immediate effects will be the halting of production of late-night shows or daytime soap operas. Streaming services and film studios may not be affected because their content is produced in advance, but if the strike continues into the summer, then there may be delays in TV and film content for the 2023-24 season.
A main issue of contention is that writers earn less money with shows that are on streaming platforms compared with broadcast or cable TV. Since streaming services are gaining popularity, that means writers are finding lesser opportunities to make good money.
The last WGA strike happened in 2007-08 and lasted for 100 days.
5 teens, mother murdered on sex offender’s property
On Monday afternoon, police in Henryetta, Oklahoma found seven bodies at the property of a registered sex offender after conducting a search for two missing teenagers named Ivy Webster (14) and Brittany Brewer (16).
The sex offender, Jesse McFadden (39), was among the deceased.
A woman named Janette Mayo posted on Facebook that her 35-year-old daughter, Holly Guess, was the wife of McFadden and that Guess and her three teenage children, who were Mayo’s grandchildren, were shot and killed. They were Rylee Allen (17), Michael Mayo (15) and Tiffany Guess (13).
Mayo said McFadden was a “monster” and that he killed her daughter and grandchildren.
It appears that McFadden also killed Webster and Brewer and may have taken his own life.
AP News said the two missing teenagers, Webster and Brewer, were close friends with Mayo’s grandchildren and visited the home over the weekend for a sleepover but never came back home.
McFadden was supposed to appear in court on Monday for the first day of a jury trial on soliciting sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography. McFadden was convicted of rape in the early 2000s.
The parents of one of the missing teenagers said they were shocked to learn about McFadden’s past and that he shouldn’t have been out.
Henryetta Public Schools posted on its Facebook page that it is grieving over the loss of several of its students.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/us/dust-storm-illinois-i55-crash.html
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/01/us/illinois-dust-storm-crashes/index.html
https://www.axios.com/2023/05/02/hollywood-writers-strike
https://apnews.com/article/biden-immigration-troops-southern-border-68ec4d25fb87b41265019a0ffd20a784