Month: July 2022

At least one person is dead after historic rain fell on St. Louis, Missouri overnight Monday through Tuesday, leading to widespread flash flooding that left St. Louis motorists stranded and residents evacuating their homes. According to the National Weather Service in St. Louis, the city had recorded 8.06 inches of rainfall by early Tuesday, surpassing the previous daily record of 6.85 inches on Aug. 20, 1915.

Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson confirmed there was one fatality after a person was pulled from a submerged vehicle. The person’s identity was withheld until family members could be notified, he said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. About 70 people had to be rescued or assisted as rain drenched the city, Jenkerson said, adding,  “We’ve had a tremendous amount of cars that have been door-deep and also roof-deep in some of these low-lying areas. Now we’re seeing the weight of the water cause some issues with buildings. We’re having some partial roof collapse. Some of the vacant buildings are also suffering from the stress of this water.”

At least six people and six dogs were rescued by boat from flooded homes, the fire department said. Firefighters responded to about 18 homes because of substantial flooding. More than a dozen people chose to shelter in place, it tweeted. Numerous roads were also closed in metropolitan St. Louis, including parts of Interstate 70. Video showed cars stranded on the flooded interstate and firefighters rescuing drivers from their vehicles.

Gov. Mike Parson issued a state of emergency, allowing state agencies to work directly with local jurisdictions.  He said in a statement: “With record rainfall impacting the St. Louis region and the potential for additional rain and isolated thunderstorms, we want to ensure that our communities have every resource available to respond and protect Missourians. We urge Missourians to follow the direction of local authorities and emergency managers, never drive in floodwaters, and always use common sense to prevent injury.”

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Due to his ongoing recovery from his COVID-19 diagnosis, President Joe Biden met virtually on Tuesday with representatives of the South Korean conglomerate SK Group to introduce $22 billion of new investment in manufacturing. The White House said the new investment comes on top of $7 billion previously announced by the organization. The SK Group owns SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, and SK On, the electric vehicle battery maker.

Biden appeared on a television monitor as U.S. officials and business representatives from South Korea gathered in the Roosevelt Room.  As the president continues to isolate following his COVID-19 diagnosis last week, he said: “I’m feeling great. I hope it comes across that way. … I hope I look as good as I usually do, which is not that good.

Chairman of SK Group, Chey Tae-Won commended South Korea’s ongoing relationship with the United States while discussing the $22 billion in new investment in the United States in manufacturing and tech, which he said represented more than $30 billion total. Said Chey:  “Tomorrow, we commemorate 69 years since the end of the Korean War. So the American and Korean relationship is deep and longstanding. Today, we are here to talk about the investment in the U.S.”  Biden replied:  “Today’s announcement is further proof America is back to working with our allies. We’re going to continue to invest in the education side of this, so you can have the best trained and best equipped workers.”

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A sixth man, a co-defendant of the ‘Central Park Five’ who were wrongly convicted in the 1989 rape of a New York jogger, was exonerated of a robbery conviction linked to the attack on Monday.  According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, the more than three decades-old conviction of the defendant, Steven Lopez, was overturned.  Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said:  “Many have largely forgotten there were six. Today, Mr. Lopez joins the other five.”

Lopez was 15-years-old when he and five other teenagers were arrested in connection with the vicious beating and sexual assault of investment banker Trisha Meili, who testified she could not remember the attack.  The other defendants — Antron Mccray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — were convicted and served jail time. Lopez took a deal and pleaded guilty to robbing a male jogger in Central Park the same night as the attack to avoid a rape charge, and spent more than three years in prison.  District Attorney Bragg told the court: “Mr. Lopez was charged and pleaded guilty in the face of false statements, unreliable forensic analysis and immense external pressure.”  

In 2002, convicted rapist and murderer Matias Reyes admitted he was behind Meili’s attack. DNA testing and other evidence confirmed Reye’s confession, prompting then-District Attorney Robert Morgenthau to file a motion to vacate the Central Park Five’s convictions. The five men settled with New York City for $40 million for the time they served in prison — roughly $1 million for each year served.

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Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell has been moved to a low-security prison in Florida to serve out a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons,. the 60-year-old Maxwell is currently listed as an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee and was moved on Friday.

Maxwell’s attorneys had requested she serve her time in Danbury, Conn., according to court records filed in the Southern District of New York.  They argued that Maxwell received harsh treatment at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn because of her association with Epstein.

The North Florida prison, which houses more than 700 female inmates, will find Maxwell required to wake up at 6 a.m., dress in khaki pants and shirt and perform certain chores. The prison offers a number of activities including yoga, basketball, cooking and painting, according to FCI Tallahassee’s handbook.  However Duncan Levin, a former federal prosecutor in New York who was not involved in the case, said: “There is nothing cushy about Maxwell’s designation. She is going to be surrounded by barbed wire and fences.”

Maxwell was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay a $750,000 fine, after being convicted by a jury in December on five of six counts relating to the sex trafficking scheme in which she was accused of procuring young girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. The former British socialite was found guilty of sex trafficking minors, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three related conspiracy counts.  According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Maxwell will be eligible for release in July 2037.

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