Authorities are offering a reward of up to $100,000 in exchange for more information about multiple shooters who opened fire in Birmingham, Alabama, over the weekend in a mass shooting that left four people dead and 17 others injured.
The shooting took place on Saturday night in Birmingham’s Five Point South neighborhood when officers responded to reports of shots fired and found multiple victims. Five of the 17 injured still remain in the hospital as of Monday, according to authorities.
Birmingham Police Chief Scott said some of the deceased have “extensive criminal histories” and “because of that, there’s often times motivation from others and there’s people who are willing to pay to have them killed.”
Authorities theorize that the shooters initially sought to harm one person, but bystanders were also injured. The FBI and Crime Stoppers are each offering $50,000 for tips that lead to an arrest or conviction of those involved. “If you, or you know someone, who has information about those involved in Saturday’s mass shooting, know that you can remain anonymous,” FBI Birmingham Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples said at the news conference.
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There are currently no suspects in custody.
What happened?
Officers first received calls alerting them to the shooting at Five Points South, an entertainment district in the city, around 11 p.m Saturday, Birmingham police officer Truman Fitzgerald said during Monday’s press conference. Sources on scene say that multiple people pulled up in a vehicle, got out, and shot the victims before fleeing the site in the same vehicle. Investigators said during Sunday’s press release that they believe that shooters used gun conversion devices, or illegal items that can be applied to firearms to turn them into fully automatic weapons that discharge all bullets in seconds.
More than 100 shell casings were found at the shooting site, according to Thurmond.
Officers say that when they arrived they found several victims, three of which were “unresponsive” —two men and one woman—that were later declared dead, according to authorities. A fourth victim was transported to the hospital, where they later died.
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Who are the victims?
The victims include: Anitra Holloman, 21; Roderick Lynn Patterson Jr., 26; Tahj Booker, 27; and Carlos McCain, 27.
Reuters exclusively reported that the United States and Vietnam are discussing the sale of Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules military transport planes to Hanoi, in a sign of closer security cooperation between the two former foes.
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Market Impact
The discussions show the United States’ growing efforts to gain influence with Hanoi, nearly half a century after the end of the Vietnam War.
In an impressive fundraising effort, Harris raised $27 million at a recent event in New York, signaling her strong financial backing as the campaign progresses. She is expected to deliver a speech on the economy this week, further outlining her vision for America.
In contrast, Trump is reluctant to participate in further debates, particularly one proposed by CNN. He claims that the timing is not favorable, as early voting has already begun in many states.
“The issue with another debate is that it’s too late. She had her chance to debate on Fox, but now she wants a CNN debate because she is losing,” Trump remarked, reflecting his strategy to focus on rallies rather than televised confrontations.
As early voting continues across the country, with only three states — Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire — prohibiting in-person early voting, the dynamics of the race could shift dramatically in the coming weeks.
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Trump has also indicated that if he loses this election, he may not run again, adding to the stakes of the current political climate.
Reuters exclusively reported that Volkswagen has walked away from talks with Renault to jointly develop an affordable electric version of the Twingo car, in a setback for the EU carmakers’ efforts to fend off Chinese rivals.
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Market Impact
A potential partnership between Volkswagen and Renault would have brought together household names of Europe’s top two economies and formed a counterweight against Asian rivals muscling into the local market.
An eight-year-old girl and a woman have been found dead at a property in Salford.
Officers were called following reports of a concern for welfare at the property in South Radford Street, Salford, shortly after 10.30am on Monday, Greater Manchester Police said.
Both the child and the woman, 40, were found dead at the scene after assistance from North West Ambulance Service and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
The force said it was not actively looking for anyone else in the investigation and that there was no wider threat in the community.
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All known next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
Detective Superintendent Simon Moyles said: “A woman and young girl were both tragically found dead and we are working hard as a team to establish what happened here this morning.
“We have placed a number of highly visible officers to patrol in and around the area should any residents wish to come and talk to us or pass on any information they may have about this tragic incident.”
Anyone with information on the incident has been asked to call 101 quoting log 998 of 23/09/2024.
Vishal Jaiswal has been flying drones since he was young.
Now 27, that childhood hobby has become his profession. A recent project involved mapping part of the Sundarbans, a vast area of mangrove forests where the waters of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers spill into the Bay of Bengal.
Covering more than 4,000 sq miles (10,360 sq km) of coastal India and Bangladesh, it is the world’s biggest area of mangroves.
“It’s a very dense area with mix of everything, including forests with wild animals,” says Mr Jaiswal.
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Along with two other team members he mapped 150 sq km in three days.
“A trained and skilled person is needed to fly a drone in thick mangroves area,” he says.
“It was a difficult task. We mapped the area from deep inside the forest, travelling there on boats and roads.”
It was one of many projects aimed at protecting the mangrove forest from the effects of climate change and human activities.
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Globally, more than half of all mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse by 2050, according to a recent report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“Mangroves are threatened by deforestation, development, pollution, and dam construction, but the risk to these ecosystems is increasing due to sea-level rise and the increased frequency of severe storms associated with climate change,” the report said.
Other Indian mangroves are not on that “red list”.
The Sundarbans are one of those mangroves not considered endangered by the (IUCN).
However, Dr Sahadev Sharma, a consultant scientist to the USDA Forestry Service, says there are signs of both manmade and natural stress, which he identified during his field survey beginning of this year.
“We are seeing a loss in dense mangrove cover in Sundarbans. Additionally, patches on the western coast are extremely fragmented and eroded due to shrimp farming and development,” he says.
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But it’s hard for scientists to know exactly what’s happening to the Sundarbans. There’s a lack of field research, partly because it’s a difficult place to work.
“It requires coordination with officers and ground staff, procuring field supplies in remote areas, and planning extensive logistics for field operations.
“The risk of saltwater crocodiles and Bengal tigers, tides and treacherous terrain make the field work even more difficult,” he says.
So, scientists are turning to tech, like Mr Jaiswal’s drones, to monitor the mangroves.
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One key bit of information needed is the height of the mangroves in relation to the sea level.
The rivers flooding into the Sundarbans dump sediment, raising the ground level.
But if the sea level rises faster than that soil building process, then the mangroves will be threatened.
This process is monitored by installing rSETs (rod surface elevation tables) across mangrove forests.
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The first part of the process is to drive steel rods into the mud, to provide a base for the measuring equipment.
Then Lidar scanners are attached to the top of the rods. These use lasers to scan the ground up to 2m away from the central rod, taking hundreds of thousands of extremely accurate measurements.
It’s a big improvement on the previous system, which involved attaching cumbersome fibreglass arms to the rods, which were extended to take height measurements.
That method would take hours to produce just 36 measurements and relied on the user placing the arms in the exact same positions as previous surveys.
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“Because we are using a laser, there is minimal human error and the precision of this method is much greater than the traditional pin methods,” says Mr Sharma.
But it has one drawback – it’s more expensive than the old way.
Nevertheless, the project is making progress with the help of local partners.
Measuring sites are in place in the Andaman Islands, Sundarbans and Coringa and there are plans to install more in Bhitarkanika National Park, Orissa.
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The research is still in its early days, they have a few data sets, but are waiting for the water level to recede before they can start measuring in the Sundarbans.
Many who live in the coastal regions that support mangrove forests rely on them for survival.
In Andhra Pradesh, which has a long coastline in eastern India, fisherman Laxman Anna blamed the destruction of mangroves for poor catches.
“A few years back it had become a frustrating job. Going into the creek to catch fish and coming back empty handed.”
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“Imagine a day when I made just 60 cents for my entire day in the creek, as there were no fishes. Barely enough to sustain my family of five.”
He blamed shrimp farms for upsetting the ecosystem.
But Mr Anna says communities in his area have realised the importance of preserving the mangroves.
“We are planting saplings, nurturing them back to life with help of an NGO and the forest department.”
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And that effort is paying off.
“Things are changing I have a smile on my face when I go to fishing now. I am able to get a good catch and make around seven to eight dollars a day, which is a good catch for my survival.”
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