May 31 top stories

It is May 31. Here are today’s top stories.

Apartment building crumbles in Davenport, Iowa

In Davenport, Iowa, a six-story apartment building that is over 100 years old partially collapsed on Sunday. News images show that about half of the brick exterior on one side of the building crumbled, leaving apartment units exposed. Eight people were rescued.

At least five people are still unaccounted for as of Tuesday and at least two are believed to have been inside when the building collapsed.

There is controversy because city officials said on Monday morning that they do not believe that there is anyone who was still alive and trapped in the rubble and that they planned to demolish the building the next day. But on Monday night, rescue crews found a resident still alive inside the building and rescued her.

Rescue crews said the building is very unsteady and will collapse. They said it is very dangerous to conduct a search. The debris pile is supporting the building and removing the debris may cause an entire collapse.

There are protesters who criticized city officials for almost demolishing the building while there was a woman still inside. Protesters are demanding crews continue to search for the missing.

A family member of one of the missing said they believe that they are dead and don't want to see crews put their lives at risk. The family member said they are okay with the idea of crews demolishing the building and then recovering the remains.

It is not known the exact cause of the building collapse, but there were ongoing repairs to replace bricks and install wall bracing. A former resident said the apartment was badly damaged after a severe storm in August 2020 and that the collapse happened in the same area that was previously damaged.

Air New Zealand to weigh passengers before flights

Air New Zealand said it would ask passengers to step on a scale to be weighed before they depart on international flights beginning July 2.

The airline said it wants to gather data on the weight load and distribution for planes. The program is called a “passenger weight survey.”

The airline said there wouldn’t be visible numbers on the scale at the physical location — that the weight information will be anonymously transmitted to a computer.

CNN said those traveling from New York City’s JFK Airport directly to New Zealand using the airline may also be asked to step on a weight scale.

Convenience store owner fatally shoots teenager

In Columbia, South Carolina, a convenience store owner, Rick Chow, was charged with murder after he fatally shot a 14-year-old teenager named Cyrus Carmack-Belton on Sunday night.

Police said the store owner suspected that the teenager was shoplifting, chased him out of the store, and shot him in the back. The bullet went into his heart.

Cyrus was carrying a gun on his body but police said he never pointed it at the store owner.

Police said they have no evidence that Cyrus stole anything and even if he did, it’s not something that you shoot anyone over.

The store was vandalized by people who were angered by the shooting.

Chow was arrested on Monday and when he appeared in court on Tuesday, he was denied bond. His next appearance is June 23.

Wildfires in eastern Canada

Wildfires have destroyed about 200 properties in Nova Scotia, Canada on Sunday. The fire is still burning. There is now a mandatory evacuation order affecting over 16,000 people who live around the provincial capital, Halifax. So far, there are no reports of deaths or injuries.

Authorities suspect that the fire was caused by humans, possibly accidentally.

Residents of about 300 homes in a neighboring province, New Brunswick, were ordered to evacuate due to a forest fire.

The smoke has drifted across the Northeastern U.S. and prompted air quality alerts.

Parts of western Canada have been impacted by wildfires in the past several weeks but most of them are under control.

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Two incidents of babies dying in hot cars

In tragic news, there were two separate incidents of babies dying in a hot car in recent days.

Last Wednesday, in Puyallup, Washington, a hospital social worker who was fostering a 1-year-old baby left the baby in her car while she worked a 9-hour shift at a hospital during the daytime. The worker dropped off her other children before going to work and forgot that the baby was still in the car. Outdoor temperatures were about 70 degrees but the internal temperature of the car was at least 100 degrees. The worker found the baby unresponsive after she returned to the car around 5 p.m. Police said it is a tragic incident. After an investigation, prosecutors will decide if charges are appropriate.

The second incident was in Palm Bay, Florida. On Sunday, the parents of an 11-month-old baby left the child inside a vehicle for three hours while they attended a church service. When the parents realized what happened around 1 p.m., they rushed the baby to a hospital but she died. Temperatures outside were in the 70s but the internal temperatures, just like the Washington incident, were about 100 degrees. Police said this is an unfortunate incident.

The CDC and NHTSA advised that a child should never be left alone in a car for any length of time, even if the windows are rolled down or if the car is parked in the shade.

Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos reports to prison

Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted of defrauding investors at her failed blood testing company Theranos, reported to a federal prison in Texas to begin her 11-year sentence.

Holmes and her former business partner told investors that they came up with a technology that could detect various illnesses with just a few drops of blood. But it was not true. The company raised almost $1 billion but it started to crumble after the Wall Street Journal exposed that the blood testing technology didn’t match up with what Holmes claimed it was capable of.

Holmes’ business partner, Ramesh Balwani, is currently serving a nearly 13-year sentence in a federal prison in California.

Al Pacino to become father again at 83

Actor Al Pacino will be a father again at the age of 83. His partner, 29-year-old Noor Alfallah, is pregnant. Pacino has three other adult children.

Earlier in May, 79-year-old actor Robert De Niro said just became a father to a baby, which is his seventh child.

That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/us/iowa-building-collapse.html

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/30/us/davenport-iowa-apartment-collapse-demolition-tuesday/index.html

https://apnews.com/article/building-collapse-davenport-iowa-a80c3f7531eaf22dea943f5ec5f5ef0e

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/31/entertainment/al-pacino-baby-scli-intl/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article-air-new-zealand-passenger-weight-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/technology/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-prison.html

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/31/us/cyrus-carmack-belton-south-carolina-gas-station-shooting/index.html