New Orleans-Car into Crowd, ADVISORY

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New Orleans-Car into Crowd, ADVISORY

2025-01-02 08:49 Last Updated At：08:51

Editors:

A driver behind the wheel of a pickup truck rammed into a crowd of New Orleans revelers on Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.

After the vehicle stopped, the driver emerged from the truck and opened fire on responding officers, New Orleans police said.

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NEW ORLEANS-CAR INTO CROWD — A U.S. Army veteran driving a pickup truck that bore the flag of the Islamic State group wrought carnage on New Orleans’ raucous New Year’s celebration, killing at least 15 people as he steered around a police blockade and slammed into revelers before being shot dead by police. SENT: 1,070 words, photos, videos, audio.

NEW ORLEANS-CAR INTO CROWD-VICTIMS — An 18-year-old girl dreaming of becoming a nurse, a single mother, a father of two and a former Princeton football star suffered fatal injuries when the driver of a white pickup truck sped down Bourbon Street, packed with New Year's revelers. SENT: 870 words, photos.

CAR INTO CROWD-BARRIERS — Seven years ago, New Orleans officials began installing adjustable barriers at intersections in the famed French Quarter to temporarily prevent vehicles from entering the tourist area where the narrow streets are typically teeming with pedestrians every night. But the steel columns known as bollards were in the process of being replaced and were not engaged early on New Year’s Day when a motorist rammed a pickup truck through a crowd of revelers, killing at least 15 people. SENT: 800 words, photos.

CAR INTO CROWD-ISLAMIC STATE-EXPLAINER — Police say they recovered the stark black banner of the Islamic State extremist group from the truck that an American man from Texas smashed into New Year’s partygoers in New Orleans’ French Quarter, killing at least 15 people. SENT: 720 words, photos.

NEW ORLEANS-CAR INTO CROWD-WHAT TO KNOW — What we know about a vehicle attack on pedestrians in New Orleans that killed at least 15. SENT: 640 words, photos.

NEW ORLEANS-CAR INTO CROWD-VEHICLE ATTACKS — Several such attacks like the one in New Orleans have taken place over the past two decades, some inspired by extremist politics and others blamed on mental illness or misogyny. What authorities call “vehicle as a weapon attacks” have reshaped cities around the world, with planners erecting concrete barriers around public spaces and building anti-vehicle obstacles in new developments. SENT: 890 words, photos.

CFP-SUGAR BOWL-SECURITY — The College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed a day because of an attack about a mile away from the Superdome, when authorities say a man driving a pickup truck deliberately plowed into a New Year’s crowd and killed at least 15 people. SENT: 770 words, photos.

NEW ORLEANS-CAR INTO CROWD-THE LATEST — The Latest: Death toll in New Orleans crash rises to 15, coroner says.

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South and Midwest pounded by rains and floods while still reeling from tornadoes

2025-04-05 10:06 Last Updated At：10:11

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Torrential rains and flash flooding battered parts of the Midwest and South on Friday, killing a boy in Kentucky who was swept away as he walked to catch his school bus. Many communities were left reeling from tornadoes that destroyed entire neighborhoods and killed at least seven people earlier this week.

Round after round of heavy rains have pounded the central U.S. for days, and forecasters warned that it could persist through Saturday. Satellite imagery showed thunderstorms lined up like freight trains over communities in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, according to the national Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.

In Frankfort, Kentucky, a 9-year-old boy died in the morning after floodwaters swept him away while he was walking to a school bus stop, Gov. Andy Beshear said on social media. Officials said Gabriel Andrews' body was found about a half-mile from where he went missing.

The downtown area of Hopkinsville, Kentucky — a city of 31,000 residents 72 miles (116 kilometers) northwest of Nashville — was submerged. A dozen people were rescued from homes, and dozens of pets were moved away from rising water, a fire official said.

“The main arteries through Hopkinsville are probably 2 feet under water,” Christian County Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam said earlier.

Tony Kirves and some friends used sandbags and a vacuum to try to hold back rising waters that covered the basement and seeped into the ground floor of his photography business in Hopkinsville. Downtown was “like a lake,” he said.

“We’re holding ground,” he said. “We’re trying to maintain and keep it out the best we can."

A corridor from northeast Texas through Arkansas and into southeast Missouri, which has a population of about 2.3 million, could see clusters of severe thunderstorms late Friday. The National Weather Service’s Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center warned of the potential for intense tornadoes and large hail.

The seven people killed in the initial wave of storms that spawned powerful tornadoes on Wednesday and early Thursday were in Tennessee, Missouri and Indiana.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said entire neighborhoods in the hard-hit town of Selmer were “completely wiped out” and it was too early to know whether there were more deaths as searches continued.

A flash flood emergency was issued Friday night in Van Buren, a small city in southeastern Missouri. The NWS office in Paducah, Kentucky, said there were at least 15 water rescues.

Heavy rains were expected to continue in parts of Missouri, Kentucky and elsewhere in the coming days and could produce dangerous flash floods. The weather service said 45 river locations in multiple states were expected to reach major flood stage, with extensive flooding of structures, roads and other critical infrastructure possible.

In Christian County, which includes Hopkinsville, 6 to 10 inches (15.2 to 25.4 centimeters) fell since Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service said Friday afternoon. The rain caused the Little River to surge over its banks, and 4 to 8 inches (10.2 to 20.3) centimeters more could fall by Sunday, it said.

A pet boarding business was under water, forcing rescuers to move dozens of dogs to a local animal shelter, said Gilliam, the county executive. Crews rescued people from four or five vehicles and multiple homes, mostly by boat, said Randy Graham, the emergency management director in Christian County.

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen downtown,” Gilliam said.

Hundreds of Kentucky roads were impassable because of floodwaters, downed trees or mud and rock slides, and the number of closures were likely to increase with more rain late Friday and Saturday, Beshear said.

A landslide blocked a nearly 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) stretch of Mary Ingles Highway in the state's north, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. A landslide closed the same section of road in 2019, and it reopened last year, WLWT-TV reported.

Flash flooding is particularly worrisome in rural Kentucky where water can rush off the mountains into the hollows. Less than four years ago, dozens died in flooding in the eastern part of the state.

Extreme flooding across a corridor that includes Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis — which have major cargo hubs — could also lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.

Swollen rivers and tributaries also swamped some parts in Ohio, and Gov. Mike DeWine said about 70 roads were closed. The southern half of the state was expected to see moderate flooding, which has not happened in four years, he added.

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf. At least 318 tornado warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service since this week’s outbreak began Wednesday.

The outburst comes at a time when nearly half of National Weather Service forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates after Trump administration job cuts — twice that of just a decade ago.

At least two reports of observed tornadoes were noted Friday evening in Missouri and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service.

“TAKE COVER NOW!” the weather service said on X in response to the one on the ground around the small Missouri town of Advance.

Earlier in the week, homes were ripped to their foundations in Selmer, which was hit by a tornado with winds estimated up to 160 mph (257 kph), according to the weather service. Advance warning of storms likely saved lives, as hundreds of people sheltered at a courthouse, the governor said.

In neighboring Arkansas, a tornado near Blytheville lofted debris at least 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers) high, according to weather service meteorologist Chelly Amin. The state’s emergency management office reported damage in 22 counties from tornadoes, wind, hail and flash flooding.

Workers on bulldozers cleared rubble along the highway that crosses through Lake City, where a tornado with winds of 150 mph (241 kph) sheared roofs off homes, collapsed brick walls and tossed cars into trees.

Mississippi's governor said at least 60 homes were damaged. And in far western Kentucky, four people were injured while taking shelter in a vehicle under a church carport, according to the emergency management office in Ballard County.

Schreiner reported from Shelbyville, Kentucky. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia, Obed Lamy in Hopkinsville, and John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed.