Tornadoes hit Missouri, other states Sunday night
Tornadoes swept across the region Sunday night with at least 24 dead. The Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas were particularly hit hard. Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Tennessee also had multiple twisters. Eight storm-related deaths were reported in Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a news conference Sunday evening. In Missouri, residents caught video of twisters touching down from Springfield to Poplar Bluff and the Bootheel. In Texas, guests at an outside wedding were injured while in Arkansas, residents of Rogers are cleaning up after a twister touched down near the city’s main shopping district. One of those dead was a patient on oxygen who lost power. The hardest hit town was Valley View where 200 homes were destroyed.
Libertarians choose a presidential candidate
Libertarians on Sunday, nominated political activist Chase Oliver to represent the party for president in the upcoming presidential election. They rejected longshots former President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The party, which has just 750,000 registered voters out of 161 million nationally, typically gets about half a percent of the vote in presidential elections going back to 1984. There are just 175 elected Libertarians across the nation.
General Hospital actor killed leaving work
Former “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor was shot and killed Saturday in Los Angeles early Saturday morning. The actor was leaving work from a second job when he approached his car with a co-worker, thinking it was being towed. His mother, Scarlett Wactor, said he was a bartender as a side job. “They were walking to their car, and when they get there, Johnny’s car, which was parked in front of the co-worker’s, looked like it was jacked to one side, and from what I understand, he said, ‘Hey, man, you towing my car?’ … And the person looked up and had a mask, and so then I guess he knew they weren’t doing that, and so he stepped in front of the co-worker and then backed up and put his hands up or both, and the person shot him,” Scarlett said. Wactor is the latest high-profile victim of rising crime in the nation’s urban centers. Actor Actor Steve Buscemi (The Big Lebowski and Fargo) was attacked and beaten by a homeless man in New York last week.
Expedition to ‘holy grail’ of shipwrecks begins
A long-anticipated expedition into an 18th-century shipwreck in the Caribbean Sea is underway after Colombia launched a deep-water search of the San José shipwreck. Historians say it may hold billions of dollars worth of gold. The galleon sank in 1708 en route to Cartagena, Colombia, after it was ambushed by an English squadron. Over 600 people reportedly drowned. The few survivors talked of the gold and it eventually became legend. It is believed to contain 11 million gold and silver coins, along with emeralds and other valuable cargo. The San José was carrying chests full of jewels and gold coins when it sank on its way to King Philip V of Spain.
Pricey EV charging stations
After two years and billions of taxpayer dollars, just 8 EV charging stations have been built across the nation as part of the Biden administration’s plan to push electric vehicles. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg defended the administration’s push to build half a million electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along U.S. highways by 2030. He was questioned about the dismal record by CBS’s Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “Now, in order to do a charger, it’s more than just plugging a small device into the ground,” the secretary said. “There’s utility work, and this is also really a new category of federal investment. But we’ve been working with each of the 50 states.” Liberal news anchor Brennan could not contain her skepticism. “Seven or eight, though?” she asked with a laugh.
–Dwight Widaman and news services.
Photo: Chase Oliver-Gage Skidmore.
