May 29 top stories
Hello, it is May 29. Here are today’s top stories.
1 killed, 7 injured after explosion rocks downtown Youngstown, Ohio
Fire officials said one dead and multiple people were injured after a natural gas explosion damaged a building in downtown Youngstown, Ohio on Tuesday. Those injured were hospitalized, one critically.
What happened? Just after 3 p.m., a blast rang out at a Chase Bank, which occupies the first floor of the 13-story Realty building that also houses numerous apartments.
The body of one of the employees, Akil Drake, 27, was pulled out of the rubble and recovered late Tuesday night.
The entire first floor of the building that exploded appears to be destroyed. Security camera video from a neighboring business shows the explosion as it happened. Halfway through the 5-second clip, the explosion goes off, sending debris into the air and causing smoke to cover the area.
[video]
People reported smelling gas and hearing a boom, but the fire chief said the cause of the explosion is unknown. WKBN reports construction workers were in the basement working when they heard a hissing sound, smelled gas and ran out of the building before it exploded.
Pope Francis used anti-gay slur; Vatican apologizes
Pope Francis reportedly made the homophobic remark in a closed-door meeting last week as he told Italian bishops that gay men shouldn’t be allowed to train for the priesthood.
The Pope’s comments came to light on Monday when two Italian newspapers reported on the May 20 meeting, citing sources in attendance. The newspaper articles, which were translated from Italian, claimed the Pope had said there is “frociaggine” – an offensive noun which translates into English approximately as “f***ry” – in some of the seminaries.
The Vatican said in a Tuesday statement: “The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who felt offended by the use of a term, as reported by others.”
The Vatican ruled in 2005 that the church cannot allow the ordination of men who are actively gay. Francis upheld the ruling in 2016. Two years later, he told the Italian bishops not to accept gay candidates for the priesthood.
Italy gets back $80 million-worth of stolen artifacts from U.S.
Italy on Tuesday celebrated the return of around 600 antiquities from the U.S., including ancient bronze statues, gold coins, mosaics and manuscripts together with 60 items repatriated last year, valued at more than $80 million–that were looted years ago, sold to U.S. museums, galleries and collectors and recovered as a result of criminal investigations.
Italy’s Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection unit uses artificial intelligence to search for stolen cultural assets under a new program called “Stolen Works of Art Detection System” (SWOADS), which searches for taken items by scanning the web and social media for images.
According to Italian officials, in 2023 alone, 105,474 pieces of art worth more than $287 million were found and confiscated worldwide thanks to the artificial intelligence project.
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Alaska rivers are turning orange and toxic
According to a new study, rivers and streams in Alaska are changing color – from a clean, clear blue to a rusty orange – because of the toxic metals released by thawing permafrost.
NASA explained that permafrost is any ground that remains completely frozen—32°F (0°C) or colder—for at least two years straight. These permanently frozen grounds are most common in regions with high mountains and in Earth's higher latitudes—near the North and South Poles.
The finding surprised researchers who conducted tests at 75 locations in the waterways of Alaska’s Brooks Range (a mountain range in the far northern area). The rivers and streams in the range appeared to rust and became cloudy and orange over the past five to 10 years.
The discoloration and cloudiness are being caused by metals such as iron, zinc, copper, nickel and lead – some of which are toxic to the river and stream ecosystems – as permafrost thaws and exposes the waterways to minerals locked away underground for thousands of years. See Alex’s report on a series of attacks on girls’ schools in Pakistan.
Suspected militants burn girls' school in northwest Pakistan
Thanks, Callie.
ABC News reported that a girls’ school in northern Pakistan was set on fire today by a group of armed men. Police said they used kerosene to burn the school and destroy its furniture, computers and books.
ABC News said two other girls’ schools in the region were bombed earlier this month and that there’s been a series of attacks.
The region is a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold, which is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 after the U.S. military pulled out.
Militants in Pakistan have said women should not go to school or be educated.
Police said in today’s school attack, they have a suspect who recently had a dispute with the owner of the school and are seeking to arrest him.
Thanks for the report. That’s all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
1 killed, 7 injured after explosion rocks downtown Youngstown, Ohio
https://apnews.com/article/youngstown-ohio-explosion-ef91849f058fddc6a4464c53a83ce227
https://www.wfmj.com/story/50838938/gas-explosion-reported-in-downtown-youngstown-building
Pope Francis used anti-gay slur; Vatican apologizes
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/world/europe/pope-apology-slang-gay-men.html
Italy gets back $80 million-worth of stolen artifacts from U.S.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/28/style/italy-stolen-artifacts-returned-intl-scli/index.html
Alaska rivers are turning orange and toxic
Suspected militants burn girls' school in northwest Pakistan