At least 5 dead in Texas after severe weather sweeps across Texas and Oklahoma, authorities say
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Texas sheriff says at least five people are dead after powerful storms tore through a rural community, obliterating homes and leaving thousands of people without power Sunday. Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington said the victims included three family members who were found in one home near Valley View, a rural community near the border with Oklahoma. The destructive storms began Saturday night. Officials said a tornado north of Dallas overturned heavy recreational vehicles, shut down an interstate and caused extensive damage to a highway travel center where drivers had rushed to take shelter.
Hamas rocket attack from Gaza sets off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv for the first time in months
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas has fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months. It was a show of resilience more than seven months into Israel’s massive air, sea and ground offensive. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in what appeared to be the first long-range rocket attack from Gaza since January. Palestinian militants have continued to sporadically fire rockets and mortar rounds at communities along the Gaza border since then. Hamas’ military wing claimed Sunday’s attack, and rocket launches could be heard in central Gaza.
UN migration agency estimates more than 670 killed in Papua New Guinea landslide
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The International Organization for Migration has increased its estimate of the death toll from a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea to more than 670. Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the U.N. migration agency’s mission in the South Pacific island nation, said the revised death toll is based on calculations by Yambali village and Enga provincial officials that more than 150 homes were buried by Friday’s landslide. The previous estimate had been 60 homes and local officials had initially put the death toll on Friday at 100 or more. Only five bodies and a leg of a sixth victim had been recovered by Sunday.
Trump, accustomed to friendly crowds, confronts repeated booing during Libertarian convention speech
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing the Libertarian Party National Convention in Washington, with many in the crowd shouting insults during his speech and decrying him for running up towering federal deficits and enriching pharmaceutical companies with the COVID-19 vaccine development. When he took the stage Saturday night, many on hand booed while some supporters clad in “Make America Great” hats and T-shirts cheered and chanted “USA! USA!” Though the audience was divided, it was a rare moment of Trump coming face-to-face with detractors, which is highly unusual for someone accustomed to staging rallies in front of ever-adoring crowds.
Richard M. Sherman, who fueled Disney charm in ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘It’s a Small World,’ dies at 95
NEW YORK (AP) — Richard M. Sherman, one half of the prolific, award-winning pair of brothers who helped form millions of childhoods by penning classic Disney tunes, has died. He was 95. Sherman, along with his late brother Robert, wrote hundreds of songs together, including songs for “Mary Poppins,” “The Jungle Book” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” — as well as the most-played tune on Earth, “It’s a Small World (After All).” The Walt Disney Co. announced that Sherman died Saturday due to age-related illness. The brothers won two Academy Awards for Walt Disney’s 1964 smash “Mary Poppins.” Robert Sherman died in London in 2012.
Bangladesh evacuates hundreds of thousands as a severe cyclone approaches from the Bay of Bengal
NEW DELHI (AP) — Bangladesh has evacuated nearly 800,000 people from vulnerable areas as the country and neighboring India await the arrival of a severe cyclone that has formed over the Bay of Bengal. Three airports have also been closed. The cyclone is expected to cross Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal coasts around midnight Sunday. The India Meteorological Department said the storm is expected to reach maximum wind speeds of up to 75 miles per hour, with gusts up to 85 mph. The region’s coasts are often hit by cyclones, but changing climate patterns have caused them to become more intense, making preparations for natural disasters more urgent.
Sunak’s plan to make 18-year-olds do national service grabs attention on UK election trail
LONDON (AP) — All 18-year-olds in Britain will have to perform a year of mandatory military or civilian national service if the governing Conservative Party wins the July 4 national election. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to bring back a form of national service for the first time since 1960. Under the plan, a small minority of 18-year-olds would spend 12 months in the military. The rest would spend one weekend a month working for charities, community groups or public organizations. It was unclear how it would be made mandatory. Sunak is seeking to energize his election campaign after a faltering start. The opposition Labour Party dismissed the plan as a gimmick. Polls currently put Labour well ahead of the Conservatives.
National Spelling Bee reflects the economic success and cultural impact of immigrants from India
Since 1999, 28 of the last 34 Scripps National Spelling Bee champions have been Indian American. And most of those winners are the offspring of parents who arrived in the United States on student or work visas. The experiences of first-generation Indian Americans and their spelling bee champion children illustrate the economic success and cultural impact of the nation’s second-largest immigrant group. Many parents say they emphasize the value of education to their children because education was their pathway to the U.S. This year’s bee begins Tuesday at a convention center outside Washington and, as usual, many of the expected contenders are Indian American.
Grayson Murray dies at age 30 a day after withdrawing from Colonial, PGA Tour says
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray has died at the age of 30. The PGA Tour and his management company GSE Worldwide confirmed the death Saturday. There were no immediate details how Murray died. He opened with a 68 at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. The next day he was 5 over for his round when he withdrew with two holes to play. Murray won the Sony Open this year with a 40-foot birdie putt in a playoff. He also won the Barbasol Championship in 2017. Murray made his Masters debut in April.
Rare blue-eyed cicada spotted during 2024 emergence at suburban Chicago arboretum
LISLE, Ill. (AP) — The 2024 cicada emergence is underway in Illinois. A rare, blue-eyed female Magicicada cassini cicada was spotted Friday at The Morton Arboretum in suburban Chicago. A lucky few saw it before it was released back into the world to join its red-eyed relatives. The collections manager of the Department of Entomology at the Smithsonian Institute says the blue-eyed cicada is rare, “but it is impossible to estimate how rare.” Periodical cicadas emerge every 13 or 17 years. The 17-year brood is starting to appear in spots in northern Illinois. Both broods will converge in the southern part of the state.
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