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1 Tornadoes Rip Through The South Killing At Least 26 And Injuring Several
An outbreak of “long and extremely dangerous” tornadoes and strong thunderstorms across Mississippi and Alabama has killed at least 26 people. Search and rescue operations are underway, but it’s not going to be an easy job for first responders as the trail of destruction is over 100 miles long, with at least 12 tornadoes hitting the areas. One of the hardest-hit places was the western Mississippi town of Rolling Fork, where most of the state’s 25 fatalities occurred. The town’s total population is just under 2,000 people. On the opposite side of the state came another tornado from the same storm that tore through the town of Amory. The storms later moved into Alabama and Tennessee where more tornadoes were reported. Radar scans estimated debris was tossed up to 20,000 feet high at the speed of 65 mph. All but one of the deaths so far are in Mississippi.
2 Deadly Chocolate Plant Explosion In PA Levels Building
The death toll from a chocolate factory explosion in West Reading, Pennsylvania Friday night has risen to five. Three people remain unaccounted for after authorities say one person was rescued from the rubble over the weekend. The explosion happened around 5 p.m. on Friday, completely destroying one of the R.M. Palmer Company buildings and damaging another. Mayor Samantha Kaag says officials are working to figure out what caused the explosion, adding, “We’re just trying to hold out as much hope as we can to get the right answers, to get quality answers, to get information to those that are affected and then let it go over to the investigation.” However, on Saturday, Borough Fire Chief Chad Moyer said the chances of finding anyone missing still alive were “decreasing rapidly” due to the “violence of the explosion” and how much time has passed. What happened? Though this investigation is ongoing, plant employees had reportedly noticed the smell of gas on Friday and some are linking that to the tragedy. Frank DeJesus, whose stepdaughter was working in the building next door at the time of the blast recalled, "Everyone complained about smelling gas, and they kept making them work.” DeJesus added, "The supervisors told them it was nothing. It was being taken care of." UGI Utilities spokesman Joseph Swope said Saturday, "We did not receive any calls regarding a gas leak or gas order prior to the incident. But we are cooperating with the investigation and part of that will be to check all our facilities in the vicinity.”
3 Trump's Lawyer Says Attacking DA Was "Ill-Advised"
Donald Trump's lawyer is distancing himself from the former President's attacks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, Joe Tacopina explained that he was not Trump's social media consultant but noted that a post on his Truth Social post was "ill-advised." This comes as the Manhattan DA investigates an alleged hush money payment involving campaign funds made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Tacopina went on to say that he's "not a Trump PR person" and was simply there to argue that the payment was "a personal civil settlement" using his own funds. So, what’s the picture? On Thursday, Trump called Bragg an "animal" backed by the liberal megadonor George Soros in a Truth Social. In a different post, he appears to have shared an image of himself holding a baseball bat next to a separate image of Bragg’s head. That has since been deleted. Tacopina maintains that Trump was merely following the advice of his former lawyer Michael Cohen when he signed off on payments. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges relating to the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels. Trump has maintained he committed no wrongdoing.