Monday, March 29 top stories

It is Monday, March 29. Hope your weekend was good. Here are today's top stories.

The massive ship that lodged itself into the banks of the Suez Canal was refloated and freed this morning. The ship, called the Ever Given, now can continue on its journey. A windstorm caused it to become stuck last week and it disrupted global trade with many other container ships waiting for the path to become clear again. CBS News said the blockage cost the world $9 billion a day. The Suez Canal is a critical waterway that allows ships to go directly from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, saving them a long trip around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

AP News reported that soldiers and police in Myanmar killed over 100 civilians and protesters on Saturday. The military seized power over the country on February 1 and since then there have been protests and many deaths, but the most violent day so far was on Saturday, which was the Armed Forces Day holiday. There are many people who are fleeing into neighboring Thailand due to airstrikes against villages with ethnic Karen people.

Today the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin began with opening statements. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and other charges in the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. The trial will be streamed live and is expected to last two to four weeks. The final 12 jurors were seated today and they are made up of one Black woman, two multiracial women, two white men, three Black men, and six white women. Most are under 40. Axios explained that the prosecutors will rely on medical examiner testimony to argue that compression from Chauvin's knee is what killed Floyd. The defense team is likely to point to Floyd's heart condition and fentanyl in his system as factors that caused him to die. Civil rights leader Al Sharpton said "Chauvin is in the courtroom, but America's on trial."

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At least four people died from flash flooding in Nashville, Tennessee over the weekend. There was 7 inches of rain. News videos and images show surging water on residential streets. Over 130 people were rescued from cars and homes. One man was found dead in a car that was submerged in a creek. Another man was found dead on a golf course -- police said they think the man was swept away by floodwaters after getting out of a car that ran off the road. Two other people, a man and a woman, were found dead near a homeless camp.

Inmates inside of the Oklahoma County Jail took a detention officer hostage and streamed it on Facebook Live on Saturday. An inmate said he was protesting poor conditions such as no food, no showers, or no mirrors. A video showed an inmate in jail clothes standing above a kneeled officer, holding what seemed to be a makeshift knife against his neck. Responding police officers used tear gas to get in and then shot and killed an inmate and ended the situation. The names of the inmate or the officer have not been released. There is now more attention on poor jail conditions.

Former president Barack Obama’s step grandmother, Sarah Ogwel Onyango Obama, passed away in Kenya at the age of 99 or older. Obama posted a tribute to her on social media. She was the second wife of Barack’s grandfather and he explained that Sarah raised her father along with seven other children in a rural village. Obama’s father passed away in 1982 and Barack said when he first traveled to Kenya to learn more about his heritage, it was Sarah who served as a bridge to his past.

That is all the top stories for today. Check out our other videos. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suez-canal-ship-stuck-ever-given-successfully-refloated/

https://apnews.com/article/aung-san-suu-kyi-min-aung-hlaing-myanmar-5bd5fd1e20adc5c5e16a0bb2a3db3102

https://apnews.com/article/thailand-myanmar-united-nations-2035dae56e9ee2556a1d7b6805731372

https://www.axios.com/derek-chauvin-trial-opening-statements-93f86834-eec7-49c8-990d-93cd5a293a61.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/derek-chauvin-trial-2021-03-29/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/four-people-dead-after-nashville-floods-least-130-rescued-n1262277

https://www.facebook.com/barackobama

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sarah-obama-matriarch-of-obama-family-branch-in-kenya-has-died-she-was-at-least-99/

https://kfor.com/news/local/i-was-just-praying-friend-of-oklahoma-county-jail-hostage-watched-crisis-unfold-on-facebook/