DAWSON SPRINGS, Kentucky: Tight-knit communities still digging out from the deadly tornadoes that killed dozens of people across eight states in the South and Midwest are turning to another heavy-hearted task: honoring and burying their dead.
The storms that began Friday night destroyed lives and property from Arkansas to Illinois and in parts of neighboring states, carving a more than 200-mile (320-kilometer) path through Kentucky alone. The National Weather Service recorded at least 41 tornadoes, including 16 in Tennessee and eight in Kentucky.
Along the violent storm path, a funeral home in western Kentucky prepared to welcome the families of those who lost loved ones while grieving losses of its own.
Beshear Funeral Home in Dawson Springs was preparing for at least four services in coming days for storm victims and has to catch up on funerals delayed by the massive storm, said funeral home owner Jenny Beshear Sewell, a cousin of Kentucky’s governor.
The storm-related deaths include those of two sisters who had worked at the funeral home, the only one in the small western Kentucky town.
Eighty-year-old Carole Grisham and 72-year-old Marsha Hall decided to “ride it out” in their home as the tornado barreled down in the dark of night, Sewell said by phone Wednesday. The home, which lacked a basement, was demolished.
Hall, a fixture at the funeral home, had a hard day’s work Friday, hours before she died in the storm, Sewell said. As she left work, Hall’s parting words were: “‘Well, I’ll see you.”
As the tornado approached, Sewell texted Hall with an update on the storm’s path and urged the sisters to shelter in the funeral home’s basement or a church basement. Hall replied “OK” to a text — the last she heard from the longtime employee she considered a member of the family.
But the business of laying the dead to rest won’t wait. A service at the funeral home was being planned for Friday for a woman whose funeral was delayed since last Saturday, the day after the storm hit. If the building’s natural gas hasn’t been restored once services resume, “everybody will just need to bundle up. But that’s the best we can do,” Sewell said.
Arrangements were still pending for Grisham and Hall, but a double funeral is expected, Sewell said.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has pledged $5,000 payments to each of the victims’ families to help with burial expenses. The state was the hardest hit with 74 deaths reported so far.
In the western Kentucky town of Madisonville, family and friends on Wednesday mourned a couple killed when the twister ripped through nearby Dawson Springs.
Jeffrey Eckert, 70, was remembered as “mysterious and cool” by his nephew, Mike Eckert, who recalled his uncle playing in various bands, always owning a boat and buzzing his home after he’d earned his pilot’s license to let the family know it was time to meet him at the airport.
Many of the mourners wore animal prints in honor of Jeffrey Eckert’s wife, Jennifer Eckert, 69, who loved to wear them and was remembered by her niece, Kathy Moore, for her chocolate merengue pies and the love of her grandchildren.
Moore said her grief was tempered by the memories and the relationships Jennifer Eckert left behind.
“When it’s all said and done, relationships are all that matters,” Moore said. “Life has to end. Love does not.”
The grieving, meanwhile, has extended beyond the states hardest hit and into Florida, the home of a father and son killed while staying at a west Tennessee resort.
Steve Gunn and his 12-year-old son Grayson were staying at the Cypress Point Resort, a popular destination for hunters and anglers. They will be buried in Florida this weekend.
“You couldn’t go to Walmart with him without a hundred people stopping him,” said his sister, Sandy Gunn. “His son was the kid you grew up dreaming to have.”
Her brother-in-law, Jamie Hall, also was part of the hunting group and remains missing.
“Our world has been shattered,” she said. “I’m terrified each time I hear the phone ring. My brother in law was the kindest and most gentle man you would have ever known.”
In Mayfield, a vigil was held earlier this week for the victims of a Kentucky candle factory flattened by a tornado. A deputy jailer, Robert Daniel, who was escorting a group of inmates working at the factory, was one of the eight victims. He will be buried Saturday.
Across town at the heavily damaged courthouse in downtown Mayfield, Makayla Wadkins, 24, helped set up a makeshift memorial. Flyers with color photographs and the names of victims were taped to the fence surrounding the building.
“We’re just going to allow the families to have a place to come where they can grieve and see their loved ones surrounded with flowers and beauty,” said Wadkins, from neighboring Kirksey.
Towns in mourning while digging out from deadly US tornadoes
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Towns in mourning while digging out from deadly US tornadoes
- The storms that began Friday night destroyed lives and property from Arkansas to Illinois and in parts of neighboring states
- In the western Kentucky town of Madisonville, family and friends mourned a couple killed when the twister ripped through nearby Dawson Springs
Putin reappoints Mishustin as Russia’s prime minister
Parliament Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the house, the State Duma, will hold a session later Friday to consider Mishustin’s candidacy.
Mishustin’s approval is a mere proforma in the Kremlin-controlled parliament.
In line with Russian law, Mishustin, 58, who held the job for the past four years, submitted his Cabinet’s resignation on Tuesday when Putin began his fifth presidential term at a glittering Kremlin inauguration.
Mishustin’s reappointment was widely expected by political observers, who noted that Putin values his skills and the lack of political ambition. Mishustin, the former head of Russia’s tax service, has kept a low profile, steering clear of political statements and avoiding media interviews.
In surprise move, Somalia asks UN to end political mission
- UN body of 360 members began work in 2013
- Horn of Africa nation in conflict since 1991
- Federal government seen as becoming more assertive
NAIROBI: Somalia’s government has requested the termination of a UN political mission that has advised it on peace-building, security reforms and democracy for over a decade, according to a letter the foreign minister wrote to the Security Council.
The request for the departure of the 360-member United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) when its mandate expires in October took the mission by surprise, three UN officials told Reuters, asking not to be named.
In the face of continuous conflict since 1991, including a two-decade insurgency by Al-Qaeda-linked militants, Somali authorities have taken steps to restore services and provide a measure of security. But the Horn of Africa nation of 17 million people remains among the world’s most violent and impoverished.
The end of the political mission is separate to a UN-mandated African Union peacekeeping mission, currently comprising at least 10,000 soldiers, which is due to withdraw and hand over to the Somali state by the end of this year.
The three UN officials confirmed the authenticity of the May 5 letter, which was circulated on social media on Thursday. Somali officials did not respond to requests for comment.
’More assertive’ state
In the letter, Minister of Foreign Affairs Aimed Moa Fiji did not give reasons, saying only that the government believes “it is now appropriate to transition to the next phase of our partnership.”
A Somali presidential adviser confirmed the authenticity of the letter and said Somalia no longer needed support from the UN to coordinate with the international community as was the case under UNSOM.
“UNSOM played a critical role, but now it outlived its usefulness,” the adviser said, adding that the mission also had a high annual cost of $100 million.
Matt Bryden, a Somalia analyst and co-founder of the Sahan think tank, noted that the federal government had previously accused UNSOM of interfering in internal affairs.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been moving to centralize authority through changes to the constitution and other reforms while UNSOM has been trying to strike a balance between the federal government’s agenda and the desire of individual states for more autonomy, Bryden said.
“We should expect more assertive and unilateral FGS (federal government of Somalia) initiatives with respect to constitutional revisions, federalism, and elections,” Bryden said.
In a statement to Reuters, UNSOM said Somalia’s request was “a testament to the work of UNSOM in support of the Somali authorities these past years.”
Other UN offices, including humanitarian agencies, would continue to operate in Somalia, said UNSOM, which was created in 2013.
India vote a chance for Kashmiris to signal opposition to Modi
- Widely expected to win poll, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not field any candidates in Kashmir for the first time in nearly three decades
- Modi’s government canceled the limited autonomy Kashmir had under India’s constitution in 2019, accompanied by a huge security clampdown
SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign speeches claim his quelling of an insurgency in Kashmir as one of his greatest achievements, but many in the disputed region see India’s election as a chance to signal their disagreement.
Widely expected to win the biggest poll in history, Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not field any candidates in Kashmir for the first time in nearly three decades. Experts say they would have been roundly defeated if they had.
Modi’s government canceled the limited autonomy Kashmir had under India’s constitution in 2019, a move accompanied by a huge security clampdown, mass arrests of local political leaders and a months-long telecommunications blackout.
Violence in the Muslim-majority region has since dwindled, and the BJP has consistently claimed that its residents supported the changes.
But some Kashmiri voters in this year’s national elections will be eager to express their frustrations with the end of their territory’s special status.
“I have never voted in the past. But this time, I will... to show that I am not happy with what India is doing with us,” a middle-aged man told AFP in the main city of Srinagar, declining to be identified for fear of retribution.
“How can India say that Kashmiris are happy when we are actually suffocating in a state of fear and misery?“
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947. Both claim it in full and have fought two wars over control of the Himalayan region.
Rebel groups opposed to Indian rule have waged an insurgency since 1989 on the side of the frontier controlled by New Delhi, demanding either independence or a merger with Pakistan.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of soldiers, rebels and civilians in the decades since, including a spate of firefights between suspected rebels and security forces in the past month.
India is in the middle of a six-week election, with voting staggered across phases to ease the logistical burden of staging a vote in the world’s most populous country.
Modi and his ministers have championed the end of Kashmir’s special status, saying at campaign rallies it has brought “peace and development,” and the policy is popular among voters elsewhere in India.
But many in the valley have chafed at increasing curbs on civil liberties that have curtailed media freedoms and brought an effective end to once-common public protests.
Many are also upset with the 2019 decision to end constitutional guarantees that reserved local jobs and land for Kashmiris.
Open campaigning for separatism is illegal in India, and established democratic parties in Kashmir have historically differed on whether to collaborate with the government of the day in New Delhi or to pursue greater autonomy.
But antipathy toward Modi’s Hindu nationalist government had helped paper over differences between rival parties by forging a common sense of opposition, parliamentary candidate Waheed Ur Rehman Para told AFP.
“There’s a huge solidarity silently in Kashmir today for each other, irrespective of party lines,” he said.
Para is standing for a seat that takes in Srinagar, the territory’s biggest city, on behalf of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was a BJP ally before 2019 but is now campaigning for the reinstatement of Kashmir’s autonomy.
Voters were preparing to “convey to Delhi that the consent of decisions about Kashmir is most important and it should lie with the locals,” he said.
Political analyst and historian Sidiq Wahid told AFP the election was being seen by Kashmiris as a “referendum” on the Modi government’s policies in the territory.
“The BJP is not fielding any candidates for a very simple reason,” he said. “Because they would lose, simple as that.”
Modi’s party retains a presence in Kashmir in the form of a heavily bunkered and almost vacant office in Srinagar.
The complex is under constant paramilitary guard by some of the more than 500,000 troops India has permanently stationed in the region.
The BJP has appealed to voters to instead support smaller and newly created parties that have publicly aligned with Modi’s policies.
India’s powerful home minister Amit Shah, a close acolyte of Modi, said at a campaign rally last month the party had made a tactical decision not to field candidates.
He said he and his allies were in no rush to “see the lotus bloom” in Kashmir, a reference to the BJP’s floral campaign emblem, but would instead wait for the people of the valley to understand its good work.
“We are not going to conquer Kashmir,” he told the crowd. “We want to win every heart in Kashmir.”
Republican veepstakes: who will complete the Trump ticket?
- All eyes are on White House hopeful Donald Trump as he considers potential running mates
- A shrewd vice presidential pick could help the Republican tycoon broaden his support base
WASHINGTON: It could be a loyal lieutenant, an ex-rival or perhaps a political newcomer, but one thing is certain: all eyes are on White House hopeful Donald Trump as he considers potential running mates.
A shrewd vice presidential pick could help the Republican tycoon broaden his support base, and a handful of names have emerged as most likely to appear at Trump’s side as he limbers for a second showdown with Joe Biden in November.
Here are the most commonly-cited runners and riders.
It is no secret that Trump likes what Scott’s profile says about the staunchly conservative, deeply religious African American US senator from South Carolina — and what it would say about the Republican ticket.
The former president is constantly praising the 50-year-old, his one-time rival for the Republican nomination, for his loyalty.
“You’re a much better candidate for me than you were for yourself,” Trump told Scott at a recent rally.
With Scott as his right-hand man, Trump would hope to make inroads with Black voters, who largely preferred Biden in 2020.
But detractors criticize the senator for lacking the presence required to assert himself, particularly during debates.
Stefanik, 39, was a considered a moderate when she entered Congress, but her lurch to the right during a meteoric rise to the Republican leadership can be explained in two words: Donald Trump.
The New York congresswoman has embraced all of the billionaire’s causes, winning his approval and appreciation in return.
A Trump campaign with Stefanik on the ticket could win back some of the women that have turned away from Trump since his 2016 victory.
But the fervent Trump loyalist could also turn off more moderate voters.
Vance hasn’t always been a fan of Trump, something the former president enjoys bringing up from time to time.
But count the 39-year-old former military officer out at your peril.
Known for a best-selling memoir on the travails of poor, white America, Vance entered politics relatively recently.
The first-term senator from Ohio has already made plenty of allies in Republican circles, not least because of his ability to raise large sums of money for his party.
In a country where election victories can cost billions of dollars, big fundraisers are rarely short of friends.
Trump and Marco Rubio have history.
The Florida senator was pitted against the real estate tycoon in the 2016 Republican primary, during which Rubio openly mocked his more popular rival over his complexion, and for having small hands.
But the former adversaries seem to have buried the hatchet.
Trump will weigh the potential for an electoral boost among Hispanic voters with the selection of the 52-year-old son of Cuban immigrants, who takes a keen interest in foreign policy.
A section of the hard right, however, has never forgiven Rubio for pushing immigration reforms more than 10 years ago that they saw as too liberal.
Trump’s last rival in the Republican primaries would be a surprising pick indeed. But a Vice President Nikki Haley isn’t out of the question.
The 52-year-old has yet to endorse the man who, during the final months of the primary campaign, referred to her as “birdbrain.”
But the former South Carolina governor is popular with the moderates and independents that Biden is keen to wrest from the Republicans — and that Trump would do well to court.
North Dakota governor Doug Burgum and Florida senator Rick Scott have also been mentioned as possibilities, although — as fellow rich, white men — they would offer little contrast from Trump.
Vivek Ramaswamy — the upstart newcomer who shook up the first Republican primary debate — is also on the fringes of the conversation, alongside Congressman Byron Donalds, another Floridian, and firebrand former TV presenter Kari Lake.
Long seen as a credible contender, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem has seen her political stock plummet since she recounted having shot dead a pet dog she was unable to bring to heel.
AFP reached out to the Trump team for a hint on the kind of candidate that might turn the candidate’s head. A campaign aide demurred.
“Anyone claiming to know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying, unless the person is named Donald J. Trump,” he said.
Chinese companies hit with US trade restrictions over spy balloon incident
- Sanctions show the Biden administration is continuing to punish Beijing over the spy balloon, which drifted over the US in February 2023
- The trade restriction list has been used aggressively by the US to stem the flow of technology to China amid concerns Beijing could use it to bolster its military capabilities
WASHINGTON: The Biden administration added 37 Chinese entities to a trade restriction list on Thursday, including some for allegedly supporting the spy balloon that flew over the United States last year, heightening tensions between Beijing and Washington.
The Commerce Department also said it was adding some units of China Electronics Technology Group to the list for allegedly trying to obtain American technology to support China’s quantum technology capabilities, “which has serious ramifications for US national security” due to their military applications.
Media have said state-owned China Electronics Technology Group is a top military equipment supplier.
China Electronics Technology Group could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Chinese embassy in Washington called the move “blatant economic coercion and bullying in the field of technology,” and said China would resolutely safeguard the lawful rights of Chinese firms and institutions.
The announcement shows the Biden administration is continuing to punish Beijing over the spy balloon, which drifted over the United States in February 2023, fueling political outrage in Washington and prompting Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a trip to China.
That month, the Commerce Department added five companies and one research institute to the entity list for supporting “China’s military modernization efforts, specifically the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) aerospace programs including airships and balloons.”
China’s foreign ministry had said it was a weather balloon that had blown off course and accused the United States of overreacting.
The trade restriction list, known as the entity list, has been used aggressively by the United States to stem the flow of technology to China amid concerns Beijing could use it to bolster its military capabilities.
Being added to the list makes it harder for US suppliers to ship to the targeted entities.
The Biden administration on Thursday also added a handful of Chinese entities to the list for trying to obtain American items for making drones to be used by the Chinese military and others for shipping controlled items to Russia.
