Wednesday, October 2 Top Stories

It is Wednesday, October 2, 2024. Here are today’s top stories.

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Over 180 killed by Helene

Tragically, the death toll from Hurricane Helene and its aftermath in the Southeast U.S. has surpassed 180 people. The number is 182 and there are still many who are missing.

Helene is now the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. since Katrina in 2005.

President Joe Biden flew over the storm damage in the Carolina today. He announced that the U.S. military would send 1,000 active-duty soldiers to help distribute food, water and supplies.

One of the hardest-hit areas is Buncombe County, where 61 people were killed. Asheville is in the middle of the county.

There are many people who are stranded in remote mountain areas that have been washed away by raging rivers, flooded lakes, and damaging landslides. Over 1 million people still have no power in the Carolinas and Georgia and don’t have cell phone service. There is also no water service due to damaged pipes.

One disturbing story is that workers at a plastics factory in a rural part of Tennessee were not allowed to stop working even though Helene was causing severe weather and local flooding. When the factory was forced to shut down due to a flooded parking lot and loss of power, at least 16 workers tried to go home and 11 of them went missing after they were swept away by raging water -- later on, two of them were confirmed dead. The other five were rescued. There are four more people who were in the factory who are missing after being swept away by waters. The factory is now under investigation by Tennessee state authorities.

So the devastation from Helene is truly horrific and people are still struggling very much in the Southeast.

https://apnews.com/article/helene-asheville-north-carolina-3f812f70c4d2649e2198362e9ae42b06

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VP debate recap

Last night was the vice presidential debate between Republican Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Vance presented himself as a smooth, articulate person, while Walz looked nervous and jumpy.

The issue of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio came up again. Vance said there were “millions of illegal immigrants” there that overwhelmed the city. The debate moderators, from CBS, put out a fact check that many Haitian migrants aren’t there illegally as they have legal status called temporary protected status (TPS). Vance tried to talk about TPS, but the mics were cut off and the moderators said they wanted to move on. Many conservative figures were angry with the CBS moderators.

Walz had an embarrassing moment when he was asked to explain why he, at several times in the past, made false claims that he was in Hong Kong / China area during the historic 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in which hundreds were killed. Walz was actually in Nebraska at the time and went to China two months later. Walz said he misspoke and that he is not perfect.

The issue of the Jan. 6 election riot at the Capitol came up. Walz asked a simple question on whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Vance did not give a direct answer, instead saying that conservatives were censored. Walz said there is a reason why former VP Mike Pence was not on the stage anymore, bringing up the fact that he was ousted from Trump’s circle after he refused to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election victory.

That’s the recap of the debate.

https://www.axios.com/2024/10/02/vp-debate-takeaways-vance-walz

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/02/media/vance-walz-debate-cbs-moderators-fact-check/index.html

https://apnews.com/article/walz-china-tiananmen-square-protests-8d433bf7184e8c430aa31d1f5460fe87

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John Amos, “Roots” actor, dies at 84

John Amos, the actor who rose to fame in the 70s in his roles in “Good Times” and “Roots,” passed away at the age of 84. His representative said he died August 21 of natural causes in Los Angeles.

AP News said Amos had the role of a father on “Good Times,” which featured one of television’s first Black two-parent families. Many of his fans considered him their “TV father.”

Amos had the main role in “Roots,” which was a miniseries about slavery in the U.S. He received one of its 37 Emmy nominations.

He leaves behind two children.

https://apnews.com/article/john-amos-dead-65a1d2dc84175bb5d4c579901af7164f

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Israel and Hezbollah troops fighting

The New York Times reported that Israeli and Hezbollah troops were fighting at close range in southern Lebanon. There were several huge explosions in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, that were from Israeli strikes. The Lebanese government said over 45 people were killed in the past 24 hours. The Israeli military said eight of its soldiers were killed since Monday.

Israeli PM Netanyahu said Israel would retaliate against Iran for launching missiles at them on Tuesday. President Biden said he supports Israel’s right to defend itself but said it shouldn’t target Iran’s nuclear sites.

There was a meeting today of the U.N. Security Council that saw the ambassadors of Iran and Israel accusing each other of being a terrorist state.

The Iranian missile attack on Tuesday involved over 180 ballistic missiles and most of them were shot down by Israeli air defenses and the U.S. military. They did inflict damage to several buildings and there are images of people walking on top of downed missiles.

Hamas took responsibility for carrying out a shooting in Tel Aviv, Israel on Tuesday night in which seven people were killed.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/10/02/world/israel-iran-lebanon-hezbollah

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