Thursday, September 8 top stories
It is Thursday, September 8. Here are today’s top stories.
Queen Elizabeth passes away at 96
U.K. Queen Elizabeth II passed away today at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. This ends her 70 years of reign, which began in February 1952.
The Royal Family announced the death in a tweet that said, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.”
The Queen was last seen in a photograph on Tuesday during a small ceremony to formally appoint Liz Truss as the UK’s new prime minister.
Earlier today her doctors said they were concerned about her health. All four of her children, Prince William, and Prince Harry rushed to be with her. Meghan Markle, Harry’s wife, didn’t make the trip.
There were crowds outside of Buckingham Palace in London who gathered to show support for the Queen and when news spread about her death, their emotions turned to sadness and mourning.
It is not known exactly what caused the Queen to die. She was considered a symbol of stability in the U.K. During her leadership, there were 15 British prime ministers, 14 U.S. presidents, and seven popes.
Her death now begins a new era in the U.K. Prince Charles will take over the throne as King. His wife, Camilla, now has the title of Queen Consort.
Memphis man livestreams shooting rampage
A man in Memphis went on a shooting and carjacking rampage on Wednesday. He shot at people at random and live-streamed parts of it. Four people were killed and three people were wounded.
Police said the gunman is 19-year-old Dejuan Kelly and that he started the rampage early Wednesday morning. He was arrested after a high-speed car chase in a Mississippi city that is a few miles south of Memphis.
USA Today explained that before the suspect was caught, there was fear across Memphis on Wednesday. Officials told people to shelter in place, public bus service was suspended, and many restaurants and other public places were shut down. A minor league baseball game was stopped and people in the stadium were put on lockdown.
Kelly live-streamed one of his attacks on his Facebook page. A video on social media shows him entering an Autozone and shooting a customer. Police said he posted videos throughout the evening on Facebook and Instagram.
News reports said Kelly has prior arrests for attempted first-degree murder in 2020, but pleaded guilty in 2021 to a lesser charge of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to three years but only served 11 months. He was released in March of this year.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said, “if Kelly served his full 3-year sentence, he would still be in prison and four of our fellow citizens would still be alive.”
It is the second major news incident to come out of Memphis in a week, with the first being the female jogger who was kidnapped and murdered a few days ago.
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Canada stabbing suspect arrested, dies in custody
Police in Saskatchewan, Canada said last night that they found and arrested Myles Sanderson, who is the prime suspect in the stabbing spree on Sunday in which 11 people were killed.
Police said on Wednesday afternoon, they received a tip that a person with a knife broke into a home and stole a white pick-up truck. Police spotted the vehicle and gave chase, sending it crashing into a ditch. Police said Myles died shortly after his arrest. It is not known what happened, but a source told CTV News that Myles wounded himself.
On Sunday, 11 people died in different locations around the James Smith Cree Nation from knife wounds. 19 others were injured. Myles and his brother, Damien were identified as suspects but Damien was found dead on Monday with wounds on his body. Investigators will have to determine whether Damien was partly responsible for the stabbings or if it was all Myles.
News reports said people in the James Smith Cree Nation community are relieved that Myles is no longer a threat, but are in deep mourning over the deaths. The victims’ ages ranged from 23 to 78.
15,100 firefighters fighting 71 large fires in the U.S.
Axios news reported that there are 15,100 firefighters and personnel assigned to 71 large fires in eight states, mostly in the West, that have so far burned almost 500,000 acres. The firefighters face poor conditions such as excessive heat and hot, windy weather.
One of the wildfires is the Fairview Fire near Hemet, California. It is about 80 miles east of Los Angeles and is 2,000 acres in size. Riverside County officials issued evacuation orders for 5,000 homes. The fire is blamed on the deaths of two people.
Another wildfire is the Mill Fire in Northern California. It has burned about 11,500 acres and is blamed on the deaths of two women who were 66 and 73 years old.
Blinken visits Ukraine and announces $2B military aid
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine today and made an announcement that the U.S. would provide a $2 billion military aid package for Ukraine and European countries who are threatened by Russia’s war.
The Pentagon made a separate announcement that it would provide another $675 million worth of weapons and vehicles to support Ukraine’s military.
The Biden administration has provided over $15 billion to Ukraine so far. Defense Secretary Austin said he is seeing success on the battlefield.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/09/08/queen-elizabeth-ii-dead/
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-62834633
https://www.cnn.com/uk/live-news/queen-elizabeth-health-concerns-intl-gbr/index.html
https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/09/08/alert-man-shooting-rampage-across-city/
https://heavy.com/news/ezekiel-kelly/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/08/americas/canada-stabbings-myles-damien-sanderson-thursday/index.html
https://www.axios.com/2022/09/08/heat-critical-fire-conditions-us-west