Nashville school shooting – latest: Audrey Hale’s post about partner’s death revealed as motive still unknown - The Independent

Bodycam footage shows Nashville police searching Christian school for gunman

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Nashville school shooting suspect Audrey Hale had previously posted on Facebook about the death of a romantic partner, according to a former teacher.

Art college instructor Maria Colomy, who taught Hale at the Nossi College of Art & Design in Nashville, recalled a social media post from the shooter “openly grieving” the unknown individual and said that Hale had announced the bereavement and asked to be addressed as Aiden and by masculine pronouns from then on.

As the investigation continues into the shooter’s possible motives for embarking on Monday’s massacre at a private Christian elementary school in the Green Hills suburb of the Tennessee city, state governor Bill Lee has revealed that he and his wife were friends with murdered teacher Cynthia Peak, one of six people shot dead, and had invited her to dinner that night.

In addition to Peak, three children aged nine – Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney – were shot dead on Monday, as were staff members Katherine Koonce and Mike Hill, the former since described as a hero for selflessly running towards the attacker to protect her charges.

Meanwhile, Nashville police chief John Drake has said that Hale was “under doctor’s care for an emotional disorder” before the killings and had hidden seven legally purchased weapons at her family home.

Police said that the suspect, who was armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun on Monday, was a former student at the school who had methodically planned the attack and may have harboured “resentment” against the institution.

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‘How many children have to die like those in Nashville before the US changes its gun laws?'

For Indy Voices, here’s Victoria Richards with a timely reminder of just how obscene it is that mass shootings like Monday’s horrific events in Nashville have been allowed to become commonplace.

Joe Sommerlad29 March 2023 16:30

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Sabrina star Melissa Joan Hart says she helped kindergarteners escape Nashville attack

Melissa Joan Hart, the former teen star of the original Sabrina the Teenage Witch television series, has taken to Instagram to claim in an emotional video that she and her husband helped a number of pupils from The Covenant School escape Monday’s attack.

The actress explained that she had been on her way to a parent-teacher conference at her own children’s school when they happened to see children racing away from the scene of Audrey Hale’s attack.

Sabrina actor Melissa Joan Hart says she helped children flee Nashville school shooting

“We helped a class of kindergartners across a busy highway,” she told her followers, fighting back tears.

“They were climbing out of the woods. They were trying to escape the shooter situation at their school. So we helped all these tiny little kids cross the road and get [to] their teachers… We helped a mom reunite with her children.

“I don’t just don’t know what to say anymore. Enough is enough. And just pray. Prayer for the families.”

Hart explains in the short clip that she moved to Nashville from Connecticut, where she had lived close to Sandy Hook during that time of the notorious 2012 massacre there.

Joe Sommerlad29 March 2023 16:00

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Senate chaplain calls for lawmakers to ‘move beyond thoughts and prayers’ after Nashville school shooting

Senate chaplain Barry Black used his opening prayer as he opened Congress on Tuesday to move beyond thoughts and prayers after Monday’s deadly shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville.

Mr Black’s opened the gathering of lawmakers by saying: “When babies die at a church, it is time for us to move beyond thoughts and prayer.”

Eric Garcia has the story.

Joe Sommerlad29 March 2023 15:30

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Arizona governor’s press secretary takes down ‘transphobe’ gun meme amid Nashville backlash

Here’s an update on the furore we reported on earlier over an ill-advised tweet from Arizona governor Katie Hobbs’s spokeswoman Josselyn Berry, which caused state Republicans to demand she be fired.

Gustaf Kilander has the latest.

Joe Sommerlad29 March 2023 15:00

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Nashville school shooter previously posted online about death of partner, says teacher

Nashville school shooting suspect Audrey Hale had previously posted on Facebook about the death of a romantic partner, according to a former teacher.

Art college instructor Maria Colomy, who taught Hale at the Nossi College of Art & Design in Nashville, recalled a Facebook post from the shooter “openly grieving” the individual.

Speaking to The New York Times, Ms Colomy said that Hale had announced the bereavement and asked to be addressed as Aiden and by masculine pronouns from then on.

“She had been openly grieving about that on social media, and during the grieving is when she announced that she wanted to be addressed as a male,” the teacher said.

Joe Sommerlad29 March 2023 14:30

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Despite school shooting, Tennessee's gun laws likely to remain lax

As Nashville residents reel from the fatal grade school shooting that left six dead, a federal judge has quietly cleared the way to drop the minimum age for Tennesseans to carry handguns publicly without a permit to 18 — just two years after a new law set the age at 21.

The move marked yet another relaxation of gun laws in ruby-red Tennessee, where Republican leaders have steadily chipped away at firearms regulations and lambasted those who have warned that doing so comes at a cost.

After school shooting, Tenn. gun laws likely to remain lax

A federal judge quietly cleared the way to drop the minimum age to 18 for Tennesseans to carry handguns in public without a permit the same day Nashville residents were reeling from a fatal grade school shooting that left six dead, including three children

Joe Sommerlad29 March 2023 14:00

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How Washington reacted to the Nashville school shooting is sadly unsurprising

Passing a gun bill required just the right circumstances in Washington last year. Those don’t exist any more with Republican control, writes Eric Garcia.

Joe Sommerlad29 March 2023 13:30

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Biden acknowledges demand for new gun laws be says he ‘can’t do anything except plead with Congress’

With Republicans controlling the House of Representatives in the wake of last November’s midterms, achieving any meaningful change to firearms regulations is a dimmer prospect than ever right now, hence the president’s dismayed tone.

Right-wing bgun industry apologists are already striving to characterise Audrey Hale’s actions as a mental health matter unrelated to the ready availability of military-grade weapons.

Joe Sommerlad29 March 2023 13:00

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‘The sum of all fears’: Nashville and its religious schools grieve – and worry – after Monday massacre

Nashville’s airwaves were thick with emotion on Tuesday as the famed Music City struggled to come to terms with a school shooting that left three nine-year-olds and three adults dead a day earlier.

Mourners were placing flowers and cards at makeshift memorials near The Covenant School, where the shooting occurred, while religious leaders planned prayer vigils.

The Independent’s Sheila Flynn has this eyewitness report from a city struggling to come to terms with its grief.

Joe Sommerlad29 March 2023 12:30

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Nashville school head teacher ‘ended Zoom call to confront shooter’ before being shot dead

The head of The Covenant School in Nashville, who was one of the six victims of the shooting, confronted the shooter as soon as she heard of the incident, according to an official.

Katherine Koonce, 60, was on a Zoom call when she was informed of the shooting in her school, Nashville city councilman Russ Pulley told Fox News, citing a witness.

Mr Pulley said she “immediately ended” the meeting and did not hesitate to head straight to the shooter.

Stuti Mishra has this report.

Joe Sommerlad29 March 2023 12:00

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2023-03-29 15:30:01Z
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At least 39 people dead in Mexican immigration centre after mattresses set ablaze in protest, president says - The Independent

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At least 39 people have died and at least 29 others are injured after a lethal blaze inside a government-run immigration facility in Mexico near the country’s border with the United States.

The fire broke out inside the National Migration Institute in Ciudad Juarez, across from the US-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, shortly before 10pm on 27 March, according to Mexico’s National Immigration Institute.

Mexico’s president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said a group of migrants had set fire to highly flammable mattresses in protest after learning they would be deported. “They did not imagine that this was going to cause this terrible tragedy,” he said in his remarks the following morning.

Sixty-eight men were being held inside the building when it was set ablaze, according to authorities. Victims were largely from Central America, though some men were from Venezuela, according to the president.

At least 28 people who died in the fire at the Ciudad Juarez facility were from Guatemala, according to the Guatemalan Migration Institute. Authorities reportedly believe many people died from smoke inhalation.

The office of Mexico’s attorney general has launched an investigation, and the National Human Rights Commission has also been called in to help the migrants impacted by the tragedy.

Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for migrants entering the US from Mexico. Local news outlets have reported growing tensions among authorities and migrants held in detention centres as protests break out in other facilities amid stringent border enforcement and dire conditions in migrants’ home countries.

In recent years, as Mexico has stepped up efforts to stem the flow migration to the US border under pressure from the American government, its National Immigration Institute has struggled with overcrowding.

Earlier this month, Ciudad Juarez Mayor Cruz Perez Cuellar announced that the city’s “patience is running out” with its care for migrants.

“We have the obligation of taking care of the city,” he said during a briefing earlier this month.

Human rights groups have denounced what they have called the government’s “criminalization of migrants,” issuing a statement accusing authorities of sending “a message of intimidation”.

Following the fire, local news outlets reported authorities were rounding up migrants.

Emergency response personnel assist dozens of people injured in a fire that killed at least 39 people on 27 March.

US authorities have turned away thousands of people fleeing corruption, violence and poverty in recent years after their arrival at the border under a public health order invoked by former president Donald Trump’s administration and a so-called “Remain in Mexico” programme that has forced asylum seekers to remain on the other side of the border as their cases are pending in the US.

It is likely that the migrants at the facility seeking asylum in the US were impacted by the Covid-19 public health order, allowing border officials to expel migrants seeking asylum during the pandemic. The US Supreme Court determined that the policy remains in effect until May, when the administration intends to dissolve the public health emergency.

The Title 42 order has been invoked tens of thousands of times since 2020, and immigration advocates have urged the White House to lift the order, which has been tied up in courts, while thousands of vulnerable people fleeing violence, kidnapping, threats and political instability and poverty are stuck in limbo.

The Biden administration is working with Mexico to implement other border restrictions in an effort to discourage people from making illegal crossings into Mexico and then into the US, though the White House also has rolled out a plan for thousands of migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, as long as they apply online in a programme that has been marred by controversy.

Migrants killed or injured in the fire likely were impacted by the Title 42 policy, while others may have been seized by Mexican agents in an operation to remove migrants from road crossings where they clean windows, sell sweets or ask for money, according to La Verdad.

At least 39 migrants were killed after a fire inside an immigration detention centre in Ciudad Juarez on 27 March.

Harrowing images captured the aftermath of the blaze showed rows of of bodies under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility while ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue were also on the scene.

Monday’s fire marks the deadliest incident inside a Mexican immigration facility in recent memory, though protests in the nation’s detention centres are not uncommon.

Police and National Guard troops responded to protests inside an immigration centre in Tijuana in October among mostly Venezuelan migrants. The following month, dozens of people protested inside Mexico’s largest detention centre in the southern city of Tapachula near the border with Guatemala. No one died in either incident.

Mexico's National Migration Institute commissioner Francisco Garduno visited victims in hospital on 28 March.

(via REUTERS)

In January, the White House introduced an immigration plan to allow 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the US with legal permission to work in the country for two years.

A group of more than 100 lawmakers from the US House and Senate, meanwhile, have urged the White House to strike down any proposals that would reintroduce family separation policies, as the administration mulls stringent immigration protocol.

“The harm of detaining children is clear,” House members wrote in their letter to the White House on 28 March. “Even short periods of detention can cause psychological trauma and long-term mental health risks for children. We urge you to maintain your commitment to not detaining families and children and not return to a cruel policy of the past.”

In a statement on 28 March, US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said he joins “the pain of the relatives of migrants who lost their lives and those injured” in the Ciudad Juarez fire.

“It is a reminder to the governments of the region of the importance of fixing a broken migration system and the risks of irregular migration,” he added.

White House national security council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said that the “the tragic loss of life in Ciudad Juarez is heartbreaking.”

“Our prayers are with those who lost their lives, their loved ones, and those still fighting for their lives. The United States has been in touch with Mexican officials and stands ready to provide any needed support,” she added.

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2023-03-28 14:27:23Z
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Nashville school shooting: Bodycam video shows moment attacker was shot dead by police - Sky News

Graphic video has been released of the moment the Nashville school attacker was shot dead by police.

Audrey Hale, who identified as a transgender male and was a former student of the private Christian school, killed three pupils aged nine and three adults before being stopped.

Footage from Officer Rex Engelbert's bodycam shows him opening fire with a rifle several times on Hale before the perpetrator falls to the ground injured.

Image: Audrey Hale. Pic: Metro Nashville Police Department

Police then head towards the 28-year-old just a few metres away as officers shout "move, move", and "watch out, watch out".

The attacker, now on the floor, is hit by several more police gunshots before an officer yells to the suspect "stop moving, stop moving", with the killer appearing to be still alive as one of their arms moves.

An officer screams "throw your hands away from the gun, get your hands away from the gun", while another says "suspect down, suspect down".

Hale's body is then shown lying next to the weapons, including a rifle, the assailant used in the deadly Monday morning attack on the second floor of the Covenant School in Tennessee.

More on Nashville Shooting

Related Topics:

Image: Footage shows the attacker just before they were shot

Image: The attacker's body is shown lying on the ground after officers opened fire

A second clip shows what happened from a different angle with footage from Officer Michael Collazo's bodycam. He is shown firing his pistol at Hale in the second volley of shots after the suspect was already on the ground.

Minutes earlier, the officers had stormed the building as video showed several going from empty classroom to empty classroom before making their way to the second floor.

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Image: (L-R) Officer Rex Engelbert and Officer Michael Collazo both opened fire on the perpetrator

Multiple gunshots are heard in the footage as officers run down a hallway - past what appears to be a victim - and into a lounge area, where the suspect is seen dropping to the floor after being shot.

Police said the suspect was killed after a confrontation with officers.

Read more:
What we know about killer Audrey Hale
Video of Nashville school killer entering building
Why Nashville tragedy could have been even worse

The start of the six-minute police video shows Officer Engelbert retrieving a rifle from his car boot before a member of staff directs him to the entrance, telling him that the school is locked down but at least two children are not accounted for.

"Let's go! I need three!" the officer yells as he uses a key to unlock a door and enter the building, where alarms can be heard ringing.

Hale was described by officials as a "lone zealot", who lived in Nashville, and was armed with two assault-type weapons, and a handgun.

Image: Hale identified as transgender

Hale had a manifesto and detailed maps of the school, and entered the building by shooting through its doors before the killings.

Police have also released video of the moment the attacker entered the school.

The six victims have been named as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all aged nine, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak and school custodian Mike Hill, both 61, and 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, who was the headteacher.

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2023-03-28 16:07:30Z
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Gunwoman kills six in mass shooting at school in Nashville - Evening Standard

A

female shooter armed with two "assault-style" rifles and a pistol shot dead three adults and three nine-year-old children at a private school in Nashville, authorities said.

Emergency services were called to The Covenant School in the US city following reports of an "active shooter event" on Monday morning.

The gunwoman, 28, from Nashville, died after being shot by police.

Authorities were working to identify her and whether she had a connection to the church school.

The victims were pronounced dead after arriving at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Read More

President Joe Biden called on Congress again to pass his assault weapons ban in the wake of the shooting.

"It's heartbreaking, a family's worst nightmare," he said.

Children from The Covenant School are led to safety

/ AP

The tragedy unfolded over roughly 14 minutes. At 10.13am on police received the initial call about an active shooter at the Presbyterian school, which teachers about 200 students aged three to 11.

Officers began clearing the first story of the school when they heard gunshots coming from the second level, police spokesperson Don Aaron said during a news briefing.

Two officers from a five-member team opened fire in response, fatally shooting the suspect at 10.27 am, Aaron said.

He said there were no police officers present or assigned to the school at the time of the shooting because it is a church-run school.

Other students walked to safety, holding hands as they left their school surrounded by police cars, to a nearby church to be reunited with their parents.

President Joe Biden speaks about the school shooting in Nashville

/ AP

The school, founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in 2001, is located in the Green Hill neighborhood just south of downtown Nashville, situated close to the cities top universities.

Jozen Reodica heard the police sirens blaring from outside her office building nearby. As her building was placed under lockdown, she took out her phone and recorded the chaos.

"I thought I would just see this on TV," she told the Associated Press. "And right now, it's real."

The killings come as communities around the US reel from a spate of school violence, including the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last year; a first grader who shot his teacher in Virginia; and a shooting last week in Denver that wounded two administrators.

“In a tragic morning, Nashville joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting,” Mayor John Cooper wrote on Twitter. “My heart goes out to the families of the victims. Our entire city stands with you.”

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2023-03-27 21:30:54Z
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Israel protests: PM Netanyahu delays legal reforms after day of strikes - BBC

Reuters

By Anna Foster and Marita Moloney

in Jerusalem and London

An uneasy calm is returning to Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would delay a key part of controversial plans to overhaul the justice system.

On Monday night he said he would pause the legislation to prevent a "rupture among our people".

However it is unclear what a delay will achieve beyond buying time.

It followed intensified protests after he fired his defence minister, who had spoken against the plans.

In unprecedented events, the country's biggest trade union called a strike, and Israelis watched society close down around them.

From the main airport to shops and banks - even in hospitals - services were stopped. The co-ordinated action was designed to push Mr Netanyahu back from the brink of pushing through the reforms by the end of this week.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called it the "biggest crisis in the history of the country".

The government, Israel's most right-wing ever, is seeking to take decisive control over the committee which appoints judges. The reforms would give the parliament authority to override Supreme Court decisions with a basic majority and would make it difficult to declare a prime minister unfit for office and remove them from power.

Mr Netanyahu said the changes would stop courts over-reaching their powers, but critics said they would help him as he faces an ongoing trial for corruption. He has been on trial facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three cases. The prime minister denies any wrongdoing and claims he is the victim of a "witch hunt".

The proposed changes have provoked an outpouring of anger from nearly all parts of Israeli society, including parts of its powerful military, since they were announced on 4 January.

Reuters

When he finally addressed the nation on Monday night, he was quick to cast blame. He accused an "extremist minority" of trying to divide the nation, and criticised military reservists who had opposed the bill by saying they wouldn't report for duty. His own part in the country's upheaval was not acknowledged.

The solution Mr Netanyahu has proposed will buy him time, but it won't solve the problem - demonstrators were fighting for this bill to be scrapped, not delayed.

Israel's opposition have said they'll enter into fresh dialogue.

Mr Netanyahu's far-right coalition partner, the Jewish Power party, said they had withdrawn a veto on any delay to passing the reforms in return for a guarantee that Mr Netanyahu would pass them during the next session of parliament.

• What is the crisis in Israel about?

That could happen any time from the end of April, when parliament returns following a recess which begins on Sunday.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Jewish Power's leader, also said he accepted the delay because, in exchange, Mr Netanyahu had agreed to put his national security ministry in charge of a new "national guard".

In the heart of Jerusalem, around the Knesset, supporters and critics held counter-protests. One thing united them - the blue and white flag waved by both groups. This is one nation, for weeks bitterly divided and Israelis know it is not over yet.

EPA

Protests erupted on Sunday after Netanyahu fired his defence minister Yoav Gallant, who had spoken out against controversial plans to overhaul the justice system.

However a nationwide strike put forward by the Histadrut labour union was called off after Mr Netanyahu said he would delay the reforms.

Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, said the delay was "the right thing to do". He had previously called for an immediate halt to the plans.

Mr Lapid cautiously welcomed the delay to the reform package.

"If the government engages in a real and fair dialogue we can come out of this moment of crisis - stronger and more united - and we can turn this into a defining moment in our ability to live together," he said.

Elsewhere, the White House said US President Joe Biden would address the Israeli prime minister's decision later on Monday.

Spokesperson John Kirby said the United States remained concerned about the situation in Israel but declined to comment specifically on the delay.

Related Topics

• Israel
• Benjamin Netanyahu

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2023-03-27 18:53:03Z
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Israel protests – news: Netanyahu ‘agrees to delay controversial judicial overhaul’ - The Independent

Israeli protesters light fire and block highway as Netanyahu sacks minister

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Benjamin Netanyahu will delay the process for discussions on the controversial judicial overhaul to next month, a statement from the far-right and coalition member party Jewish Power has said.

The statement on Monday afternoon said the legislation would be pushed to the next session of the Israeli parliament in order to “pass the reform through dialogue.” Mr Netanyahu is yet to confirm the delay.

Parliament will go on recess next week for the Passover holiday.

Tens of thousands of protestors have taken to the streets across Israel in a rare show of defiance against the prime minister over his controversial plans to overhaul the judiciary.

Mr Netanyahu fired his defence minister on Sunday after the former army general called for a halt to the divisive reforms, drawing concerns internationally, including from the United States.

In response, Israel‘s largest trade union group launched a strike across a broad swathe of sectors, with over 700,000 workers in health, transit and banking, among many other fields walking out.

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Israeli PM agrees to delay judicial overhaul until next parliament session

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will delay the process for discussions on the controversial planned judicial overhaul to next month, a statement from the far-right and coalition member party Jewish Power said on Monday.

The statement said the legislation would be pushed to the next session of the Israeli parliament in order to “pass the reform through dialogue,” the statement said.

Parliament will go on recess next week for the Passover holiday.

Martha Mchardy27 March 2023 16:24

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Right-Wing Israeli lawmaker says halting judicial overhaul plans would be a mistake

Right-Wing Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman told the Israeli Channel Seven pro-settler media channel that halting the government’s planned judicial overhaul would be a mistake, after a key coalition member said passing the legislation would be delayed to the Israeli parliament’s next session.

Martha Mchardy27 March 2023 17:25

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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to make statement shortly

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to make a statement shortly, his office has said.

It comes amid a sprialling political crisis over plans to overhaul the judicial system that have caused street protests across the country.

Martha Mchardy27 March 2023 17:23

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Israel parliament approves 2023-2024 state budget in preliminary vote

Israel’s parliament has given initial approval to the state’s 2023-2024 budget on Monday in a key test of the governing coalition amid a battle over the government’s flagship judicial overhaul plans.

srael’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem

(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The cabinet last month had approved the budget draft that the Finance Ministry expects will be fully ratified by the end of May. The budget allocates spending of 484.8 billion shekels ($136 billion) this year and 513.7 billion next year.

The budget next heads to parliament’s finance committee, where it typically undergoes changes before final votes in the full plenum.

Martha Mchardy27 March 2023 17:02

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Judicial overhaul delayed for ‘at least several weeks,’ national security minister says

A powerful partner in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government says the country’s proposed judicial overhaul has been delayed for at least several weeks.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir says he agreed to a delay in the legislation until parliament reconvenes for its summer session on April 30.

There was no immediate confirmation from Netanyahu.

In a statement, Ben-Gvir said the interim period would give time for a compromise agreement to be reached with the political opposition.

But he said if a deal is not reached, the package would be approved in the summer session.

Ben-Gvir has been a leading proponent of the overhaul, and his statement could pave the way for Netanyahu to announce a delay.

Martha Mchardy27 March 2023 16:59

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Israel’s Netanyahu ‘to delay’ controversial judicial reforms in wake of mass protests

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu will delay controversial reforms to the judicary in the wake of mass protests, according to the far-right Jewish Power party, a member of the ruling coalition goverment.

The party’s leader, the security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said in a statement that he had agreed to delay the government’s overhaul of the judiciary in exchange for a promise it would be brought after the upcoming parliamentary recess.

“I agreed to remove the veto to reject the legislation in exchange for a commitment by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the legisltaion would be submitted to the Knesset for approval in the next session”.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Martha Mchardy27 March 2023 16:50

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Israel's Ben-Gvir says agrees to delay judiciary reform package

The head of one of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition partners said on Monday he had agreed to delay the government’s overhaul of the judiciary in exchange for a promise it would be brought after the upcoming parliamentary recess.

“I agreed to remove the veto to reject the legislation in exchange for a commitment by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the legisltaion would be submitted to the Knesset for approval in the next session,” security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a statement.

Martha Mchardy27 March 2023 16:45

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‘This hour different to any before’, says Israeli army chief of staff

Israel’s army chief of staff called on soldiers on Monday to continue to do their duty and act with responsibility in the face of bitter social divisions over government plans to overhaul the judiciary.

“This hour is different to any that we have known before. We have not known such days of external threats coalescing, while a storm is brewing at home,” Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said in remarks made public by the military press office.

Martha Mchardy27 March 2023 16:31

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Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrate outside parliament

Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside parliament in an effort to halt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Demonstrators turned the streets surrounding the building and the Supreme Court into a roiling sea of blue-and-white Israeli flags dotted with rainbow Pride banners.

Large demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Haifa and other Israeli cities drew thousands more.

“This is the last chance to stop this move into a dictatorship,” said Matityahu Sperber, 68, who joined a stream of people headed to the protest outside the Knesset. “I’m here for the fight to the end.”

Israeli police officers remove a protester blocking a main road

(Getty Images)

Joe Middleton27 March 2023 16:08

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Pictured: Israelis against prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli police detain a protester outside Israel's parliament in Jerusalem

(AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli police stand guard as protesters gather outside Israel's parliament in Jerusalem

(AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters gather outside Israel's parliament in Jerusalem

(AFP via Getty Images)

Joe Middleton27 March 2023 16:01

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2023-03-27 16:02:15Z
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Mississippi meteorologist breaks down over tornado hit - The Independent

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A Mississippimeteorologist broke down on-air and prayed while reporting on a dangerous tornado that was barrelling towards a small town.

Matt Laubhan, chief meteorologist for local TV station WTVA, struggled to contain his emotions as he told the viewers that the town of Amory was going to take the direct hit from the huge twister. Amory has a population of just over 6,000.

Mr Laubhan told viewers that as much as they “trust him”, he wasn’t sure how the tornado would pan out.

"Oh man, north side of Amory, this is coming in," he said late Friday during the broadcast.

"Oh, man. Dear Jesus, please help them. Amen," he said as more detailed updates of the tornado’s movements came in.

One person was killed in Alabama and 25 in Mississippi as overnight tornadoes wove more than a 150-mile path of destruction through the states, touching down in many regions where mobile homes and other residential structures outnumber sturdier houses.

The twister flattened entire blocks, ripped a steeple off a church and toppled a municipal water tower. Even with recovery just starting, the National Weather Service warned of a risk of more severe weather.

Preliminary information based on estimates from storm reports and radar data indicate the Friday night tornado was on the ground for more than an hour and traversed at least 170 miles, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Lance Perrilloux with the NWS office in Jackson, Mississippi.

“That’s rare — very, very rare,” he said, attributing the long path to widespread atmospheric instability.

Tornadoes and severe winds continued to batter parts of the south during the weekend and thousands remained without power as the storm moved east.

Nearly 13,000 people remained without power in Georgia on Sunday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

Mississippi governor Tate Reeves on Saturday declared a state of emergency after the storm system tore through Rolling Fork and Silver City before smashing into Winona, Amory and Alabama. The massive supercell storm also brought hail the size of golf balls.

Rolling Fork mayor Eldridge Walker said that his “city is gone” after buildings and homes were obliterated.

“How anybody survived is unknown by me,” said Rodney Porter, who lives 20 miles south of Rolling Fork.

When the storm hit Friday night, he immediately drove there to assist in any way he could. Porter arrived to find “total devastation” and said he smelled natural gas and heard people screaming for help in the dark.

“Houses are gone, houses stacked on top of houses with vehicles on top of that,” he told The Associated Press.

President Joe Biden on Sunday approved an emergency declaration for Mississippi. Mr Biden ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the affected areas, a White House statement said.

The funding will be available to affected people in the counties of Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, and Sharkey, it added.

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2023-03-26 15:00:38Z
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