Floodwaters from Yellowstone surge through eastern Montana
The devastation caused by floodwaters is set to continue Friday, with the flooding that’s caused widespread damage in Yellowstone National Park expected to reach Miles City in eastern Montana. Local authorities said low-lying areas along the Yellowstone River could be flooded but there was no immediate risk to the city of more than 8,000 people. The latest development comes days after record flooding caused widespread damage in the national park and surrounding communities. The unprecedented and sudden flooding drove more than 10,000 visitors out of the nation’s oldest national park. Remarkably, no one was reported hurt or killed by raging waters that pulled homes off their foundations and pushed a river off course – possibly permanently – and may require damaged roads to be rebuilt a safer distance away.
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More information expected about deadly Alabama church shooting
Two people were killed and one was injured in a shooting at an Alabama church Thursday evening, authorities said, adding that a suspect was in custody. Vestavia Hills, Alabama, Police Capt. Shane Ware said officers responded to reports of an active shooter at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Ware has declined to identify the suspect or say if investigators had determined a motive. He also did not identify the victims or provide further details of the attack, saying his next briefing would be Friday. The FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives dispatched agents to the scene and are aiding in the investigation, Ware said. The Rev. Kelley Hudlow, an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Alabama, told WBRC the church and the community were stunned by the shooting. “It is shocking,” she said. “Saint Stephen’s is a community built on love and prayers and grace and they are going to come together.”
Ukraine’s request to join the EU advances
Ukraine’s request to join the European Union advanced Friday with a recommendation from the EU’s executive arm that the war-torn country deserves to become a candidate for membership in the 27-nation bloc. The European Commission’s endorsement, while only a tentative step on a path that could take decades to complete, sends a strong symbol of solidarity with Ukraine. The development comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Premier Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they prepare for an EU leaders’ summit next week. The four European leaders pledged to continue supporting Ukraine with more weapons as it tries to repel the Russian invasion, and also vowed to get behind Kyiv’s EU candidacy. In his nightly video address Thursday, Zelenskyy said it was important for him to hear that European leaders “agree the end of the war and peace for Ukraine should be as Ukraine sees them.”
UK orders Julian Assange’s extradition to US to face spying charges
Britain’s interior minister on Friday approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face espionage charges, the latest twist in the WikiLeaks founder’s long-running legal saga. But the decision may not completely end Assange’s decade-long fight to avoid facing a U.S. trial in a case that could have implications for First Amendment protections. Assange is expected to appeal the decision by Home Secretary Priti Patel with Britain’s High Court. He has been given 14 days to do that. The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted Australian national Assange, 50, on 18 charges, centering on allegations that he aided and abetted former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning’s efforts to leak classified documents and committed a crime by publishing them on the internet. The documents showed the U.S. military killed civilians and did not report the incidents.
NCAA baseball College World Series gets started in Omaha
The College World Series gets underway Friday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. Eight teams – including Southeastern Conference members Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas A&M – will play a double-elimination tournament to determine two finalists, who will play a best-of-three series to determine the NCAA champion. Auburn became the fourth SEC team to make the NCAA baseball tournament’s final eight when the Tigers knocked off No. 3 national seed Oregon State 4-3 on the road Monday night to win their best-of-three super regional. No. 2 Stanford also won the deciding game in its home super regional, beating UConn 10-5 to earn a second straight trip to the CWS.
Contributing: The Associated Press
