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1 Multiple People Killed After Amtrak Derails In Missouri
Three people are dead and at least 50 are injured after an Amtrak train derailed yesterday in Missouri. The train left the tracks after hitting a dump truck at a public crossing near the city of Mendon just after noon; authorities say the accident happened at an uncontrolled intersection without warning lights or motion gates. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says that two of the people killed were on the train, while the third was in the dump truck when it was struck. Eight cars and two locomotives left the track in the accident; according to Amtrak, the train had 243 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a 14-person team to the crash scene to investigate the accident. It was the second train crash in two days for Amtrak; three people were killed and two suffered major injuries on Sunday when a train hit a vehicle.
2 At Least 46 Bodies Found In San Antonio 18 Wheeler
A tractor-trailer found near Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio contained the bodies of 46 dead people, along with 16 others who have been taken to hospitals, local officials in San Antonio said on Monday evening. “This is nothing short of a horrific human tragedy,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at a news conference near the scene. Local officials said federal authorities were now investigating the case and that three people were in custody, but it was unclear if they were connected to the incident. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said Homeland Security Investigations is leading a criminal investigation with the support of San Antonio police. The horrifying discovery was made near the intersection of Cassin Drive and Quintana Road in Southwest San Antonio. Federal, state and local authorities believe that the victims were migrants. Cross-border smuggling and human trafficking have been longstanding problems along the U.S.-Mexico border, but the deaths of 46 people represent a stunning loss of life. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus described the case as the deadliest human smuggling incident he could recall in the city. Authorities received the first call about the truck shortly before 6 p.m. from a worker in the area who had heard a cry for help and went to investigate, McManus said.
3 Supreme Court Backs Football Coach In School Prayer
In an opinion issued Monday, the Supreme Court said that a high school football coach who knelt and prayed on the field after games was protected by the Constitution with a 6-3 decision. Justices in the majority said that the coach’s prayers came after the games were over and at a time when he wasn’t responsible for students and was free to do other things. The three dissenting Justices said there was evidence that Coach Joseph Kennedy’s prayers at the 50-yard line had a coercive effect on students and allowed him to incorporate his “personal religious beliefs into a school event.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the decision “sets us further down a perilous path in forcing states to entangle themselves with religion.” The decision continues a pattern in which the court has ruled in favor of religious plaintiffs, including last week’s ruling that Maine can’t exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition aid for private education.