At least 6 people were killed, Monday, in collisions between about 100 cars on a highway in the US state of Illinois, after a dust storm reduced visibility.
Illinois State Police said in a statement that about 40 to 60 passenger cars, in addition to 30 commercial vehicles, were involved in collisions in the US Midwestern state "due to strong winds that blew dust from agricultural fields across the highway."
The statement added that the fire broke out in two pickup trucks?, in traffic accidents that occurred in the late morning, along more than 3 kilometers of Interstate 55, which connects the cities of Chicago and St. Louis.
Police said more than 30 people were taken to hospital with "minor to life-threatening" injuries. The ages of the victims ranged from two years to 80 years.
Pictures published from the scene of the accident showed the firefighters in the midst of dust, fog and smoke emanating from the burning cars, which went off the road in sometimes almost non-existent visibility conditions.
Eight people were killed in a similar accident in Utah in 2021, when a sandstorm caused a series of collisions between 22 cars.
4 people were killed in a mass shooting in a desert community in California, USA
Three women and a man were shot dead Sunday night in the Kern County community of Mojave, California, according to authorities.
4 people were killed in a mass shooting in a desert community in California, USAUnited States.. Two teenagers were killed in a shooting at a home party in Mississippi
Officials said investigators were on the scene early Monday morning, where the shooting occurred in the western Mojave Desert, about 50 miles east of Bakersfield.
Lori Meza, public information officer for the Kern County Sheriff's Office, said investigators did not provide any information about the suspect, but said there was no direct threat to the community.
"When officials arrived, they located four adults with gunshot wounds," Meza added. "Three were declared dead at the scene and the fourth was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead."
Authorities said a man and two women died at the scene, in the neighborhood. The identities of the victims have not been released pending notification of next of kin.
The investigators did not find any weapons at the site, while Mesa said that they determined the caliber of the bullet that was used in the shooting, but officials did not disclose this information at the present time.
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives addresses the Israeli Knesset
US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy delivered a speech before the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in a rare tribute to the most prominent Republican faces in the American political arena.
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives addresses the Israeli KnessetNetanyahu: What will discourage Iran from its nuclear project is the military threat, and for this purpose I returned to my post
At a time when relations between the Israeli government and Democratic President Joe Biden are tense. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the speech as a sign of bipartisan American support - Republican and Democratic - for Israel, marking the 75th anniversary of its "declaration of its establishment."
According to some officials who criticize the current US president, the opportunity given to McCarthy "the second speaker of the US House of Representatives to address the Knesset, after Newt Gingrich in 1998" represents a heavy blow to Biden.
McCarthy spoke to the Knesset, where he was greeted with repeated, standing ovations, after lawmakers returned from a month-long vacation.
Israeli lawmakers are expected to resume fighting over a controversial project promoted by the most right-wing government in Israel's history to reform the judiciary.
The reform project created a state of division among the Israelis and prompted the American president to issue a rare harsh public criticism. Biden, in the midst of tensions, has so far refused to extend the usual invitation to Netanyahu, after winning the elections late last year, to visit the White House.
McCarthy vows from Israel to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons
US Congress President Kevin McCarthy pledged that his country would work with Israel to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
McCarthy said in his speech, yesterday, Monday, during the opening session of the summer session of the Israeli Knesset in West Jerusalem, that "Iran will never possess nuclear weapons."
"The bond between Tel Aviv and the United States of America is close and unbreakable," he added.
McCarthy criticized the United Nations for its positions on Israel, vowing to "stop these attacks."
In 25 years, this is the first time that the President of the US Congress addresses the Israeli Knesset, as Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of Congress, addressed the Knesset on May 26, 1998.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "The first and most urgent challenge is the joint effort between Israel and the United States to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons."
He added, "The need to prevent Iran's nuclear armament will remain at the top of Israel's priorities during the summer Knesset session, as will our determination to confront Iran's regional proxies."
Netanyahu added, "We will not allow Iran to entrench itself militarily on our borders, and we will do everything we can to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons."
On the internal Israeli disputes, Netanyahu said: "My friends and I are committed to trying to obtain a broad consensus on the issue of judicial reform."
In his speech as leader of the opposition, Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid pledged to "make every effort to keep Israel a vibrant democracy."
And Sunday, the President of the US Congress arrived in Israel, where he met a number of the country's officials, including Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
A Muslim mayor was banned from attending the White House celebration of Eid al-Fitr
The US Secret Service said it prevented a Muslim mayor from Prospect Park, New Jersey, from attending a White House celebration of Eid al-Fitr hosted by President Joe Biden.
The Associated Press stated that shortly before his arrival at the White House to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the mayor, Muhammad Khairallah, 47, said that he had received a call from the White House stating that he was not allowed to enter and would be prevented by the Secret Service.
Khairallah told the agency that the White House official did not explain to him why the Secret Service prevented him from entering, "This decision left me confused, shocked and disappointed."
"It's not that I couldn't go to a party, it's about the list that targeted me because of my identity. I don't think the highest office in the United States should fall for this stereotype," he added.
According to the agency, Khairallah informed the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations after he was told he would not be allowed to attend the event.
The group called on the Biden administration to stop the FBI from releasing information known as the Terrorist Screening Dataset, which includes hundreds of thousands of individuals. The group informed Khairallah that a person with his name and date of birth was in a dataset obtained by CAIR lawyers in 2019.
The agency stated that Khairallah, who is Syrian, became a US citizen in 2000, and spent 14 years as a volunteer firefighter in his community. He was elected to his first term as mayor of the city in 2001, and was elected to a fifth term this past January.
A spokesman for the US Secret Service, Anthony Guglielmi, confirmed to the agency that Khairallah was not allowed to enter the White House complex, but he refused to explain why.
"While we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, the Mayor was not permitted to enter the White House complex this evening. Unfortunately, we cannot comment further on the specific precautions and methods used to conduct our security operations at the White House," Guglielmi said in a statement.
It is noteworthy that Khairallah is an outspoken critic of the travel ban imposed by former US President Donald Trump, which limited the entry of citizens of several Muslim-majority countries into the United States.
He also traveled to Bangladesh and Syria to do humanitarian work with the Syrian American Medical Society and the Watan Foundation.
The US military is tracking a hot air balloon over Hawaii
Three US officials have announced that the US military is tracking a balloon of unknown origin and destination that flew over the Hawaiian Islands, NBC TV reported.
The US military is tracking a hot air balloon over HawaiiPentagon leaks reveal the flight of a Chinese balloon over an American aircraft carrier
According to the TV channel, the balloon flew over the archipelago belonging to the United States, but remained in an area far from the secret sites.
The statement said: "The army has been tracking it (the balloon) since the end of last week, and concluded that it does not pose a threat to aircraft or national security and does not send any signals." Now the airship is slowly flying over the Pacific Ocean towards Mexico.
And last February, the US military shot down a balloon over the Atlantic Ocean that it claimed was being used by the Chinese to gather intelligence.
NBC reported that "US authorities do not believe the airship belongs to the Chinese, but they have not yet identified its owner."
The United States will not publish data on the losses of the Ukrainian armed forces
The coordinator of strategic communications at the National Security Council at the White House, John Kirby, said that the US administration will not publish data on the losses of the Ukrainian armed forces.
"Today I will not talk about losses on the Ukrainian side, we never talk about Ukrainian losses in the war. And I don't think we will change this situation".
According to him, the Kiev authorities, if they have such a desire, then they can publish the information. "We're not going to talk about their losses. They have to talk about it themselves. I'm not going to put anything out there that would complicate their work."
"I will not reveal information that would complicate the situation for Ukraine. If they decide to declassify and announce the personalities, that is their business."
Earlier, Scott Ritter, a former US intelligence officer and former UN inspector who oversaw the disposal of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, said that the losses among the Ukrainian army could reach more than 300,000 dead.
CNN: Former US Marine killed in Ukraine
Ex-US soldier Cooper Andrews was killed in action in Ukraine. According to CNN, according to his family members.
And the TV channel reported on Monday: the ex-marine was killed on April 19 in the Artymovsk region (Bakhmut).
And the channel reported: Andrews left the United States in November 2022 to participate in the battles on the side of Ukraine. His contract expired in March 2023, but he decided to stay.
A representative of the US State Department confirmed to the TV channel the killing of an American citizen in Ukraine, without revealing his name.
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