LIVE UPDATES Tracking Hurricane Milton: Storm becomes world's strongest of 2024
After reaching peak intensity with wind speeds of 180 m.p.h. (285 km/h) on Monday night, Milton became the strongest storm on our planet for 2024.
A 22-year-old college student who was critically injured in the crush of fans at the Astroworld festival in Houston has died, the family's lawyer said Thursday, bringing the death toll to nine.
Bharti Shahani, who was set to graduate from Texas A&M University in the spring, died Wednesday night, attorney James Lassiter said during a news conference. All of the concertgoers who died following the Friday night show were between the ages of 14 and 27, underscoring how the tragedy unfolded in a mostly younger crowd.
A 9-year-old boy who was also injured at the sold-out festival of 50,000 people remained in a medically induced coma, according to family.
鈥淔or the first time in her life she just wanted to have fun, and that was taken from her,鈥 said Namrata Shahani, her sister, who attended the concert with Bharti and their cousin.
Namrata Shahani said her sister's last words to her were, 鈥淎re you OK?鈥
Concertgoers have described the packed crowd growing dangerous even before headliner Travis Scott appeared on stage, and seeing people collapse while the rapper performed. Scott's attorneys have said he did not know about the deaths and injuries until after the show.
On Thursday, Scott's representatives said in a statement that he was distraught and has been trying to connect with the affected families to share condolences and provide them aid.
Hundreds of people were injured in the intensifying surge. A criminal investigation into the deaths at Astroworld is underway. Thursday was the last day attorneys who have filed more than 50 lawsuits to date were allowed access to the concert site at NRG Park, where the stage where Scott performed and surrounding crowd barricades have remained standing.
John Duff, whose clients include the family of the 9-year-old boy who remains hospitalized, said concertgoers in a section to the right of the stage would have had to go through thousands of people to access the main medical tent. He said the festival grounds are still littered with piles of bloody clothes, shoes, cellphone cases and bags.
鈥淭here was probably 1,000 pairs of shoes out there. It seems like a lot (of) people left barefoot or without clothes,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou kind of felt a heavy presence out there.鈥
Scott was only minutes into his set when at least one Houston officer radioed over a police channel that the main stage had been compromised by a massive crowd surge.
Recordings of police radio traffic, obtained by the Houston Chronicle, reveal how quickly law enforcement became aware of the rising danger in the throng of concertgoers shortly after the star rapper began performing at the sold-out music festival, which drew about 50,000 people.
Scott took the stage in his hometown of Houston shortly after 9 p.m.
鈥淟ooks like folks are coming out of the crowd complaining of difficulty breathing, crushing-type injuries,鈥 one official said over the police radio around 9:21 p.m., according to the audio obtained by the newspaper. 鈥淪eems like the crowd is compressing on itself.鈥
Scott kept performing his set, which lasted about an hour. The newspaper reported that officers spotted people leaving the crowd but that their voices remained calm through the first half hour.
鈥淚'm at the medical tent,鈥 one officer radioed in around 9:30 p.m. 鈥淭here's a lot of people trampled and they're passed out at the front stage.鈥
Later, another officer says: 鈥淲e're getting multiple reports of people getting injured. We have another report of cardiac situation with CPR by the stage.鈥
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said during a news conference Wednesday that police told organizers to shut down the performance when fans in the crowd were administered CPR. Authorities gave word around 10:03 p.m. that the concert was in the process of shutting down, but witnesses say Scott and Drake, the superstar rapper who came on toward the end of Scott's set as a special guest, kept performing.
Finner repeatedly refused to provide timelines, saying the case was still under investigation. He said more than 500 officers were working the festival, more than double the number assigned in 2019 when the festival was last held.
But Finner said festival organizers had not provided clear records of how many private security guards were working the show, describing what they turned over as 鈥渏ust not good.鈥 It was up to Live Nation Entertainment, the show's promoter, to secure two mosh pits in front of the stage, Finner said.
Scott's attorneys on Wednesday pointed to an operational plan for the event that states only the festival director and executive producers have the authority to stop the show, 鈥渘either of which is part of Travis's crew.鈥
鈥淚nvestigations should start proceeding over finger-pointing so that together, we can identify exactly what transpired and how we can prevent anything like this from happening again,鈥 attorney Edwin F. McPherson said in a statement.
After reaching peak intensity with wind speeds of 180 m.p.h. (285 km/h) on Monday night, Milton became the strongest storm on our planet for 2024.
Hurricane Milton is expected to leave a path of devastation across central Florida, from Tampa in the west to Daytona Beach in the east.
A seasoned American meteorologist became emotional on air as he gave an update on a major hurricane, later suggesting the reason behind his strong reaction.
An organization that ranks the best universities across the globe says its latest report shows a concerning trend that several of Canada鈥檚 institutions are slipping down its list.
A British Columbia provincial court judge says a Boston Bar man who shot a teacup Chihuahua named Bear claiming it was menacing his chickens was not justified in killing the animal.
The minority Liberal government is not considering proroguing Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday, despite persisting uncertainty over who is willing to keep propping them up and procedural wrangling over a Conservative led-privilege debate.
A man who showed up at a rental car company only to be told his online reservation would not be honoured is entitled to compensation, B.C.'s small claims tribunal has ruled.
Former cabinet minister Marc Garneau, who describes himself in his new book as always-a-Liberal, 'but a decidedly blue one,' says he hopes the party still has room for someone like him.
Emotions boiled over after a judge acquitted two out of three defendants in a manslaughter case, while the third accused has since died.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.
Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.
Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.
A gargantuan gourd 鈥 affectionately named 鈥極rangina鈥 by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home 鈥 earned the massive honour of being named B.C.鈥檚 heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.