Good Friday afternoon. We’re tracking severe storms threatening to disrupt Memorial Day travel, the U.N.’s top court has ordered Israel to “immediately halt” its Rafah offensive, and family members say a young American missionary couple has been killed by gangs in Haiti. Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown. |
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Severe storms threaten record-breaking Memorial Day travel |
This Memorial Day weekend is expected to be the busiest in almost 20 years with nearly 44 million Americans getting away, but severe storms are threatening to disrupt holiday travel plans across much of the country. Nearly 3 million people passed through TSA checkpoints Thursday, the second-highest screening volume in the agency’s history, kicking off what’s expected to be the busiest summer ever for air travel. But 45 million people are under a severe weather threat from Texas to Michigan, for damaging hail, strong wind gusts and a few possible tornadoes. Tornadoes have struck across the central U.S. for five straight days, with another 26 reported on Thursday, including a massive twister that was on the ground for nearly an hour in southwest Oklahoma. Memorial Day forecast: The East Coast will see rain and thunderstorms, the Midwest a mix of sunshine and rain, and the South will be very hot and humid. |
World Court orders Israel to immediately halt Rafah offensive |
The U.N.’s top court has ordered Israel to “immediately halt” its military operation in Rafah, and reopen the Gaza border crossing with Egypt to allow aid to flow through again. The International Court of Justice cited an “imminent risk” to Palestinians in Rafah, the city in southern Gaza where more than 1 million people had taken shelter. Israel is unlikely to comply with the order, and the court does not have the power to enforce it, but the move turns up international pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Also today, the Israeli military said it recovered the bodies of three more hostages killed during the October 7 terror attacks, identified as Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Orion Hernandez. |
American couple doing missionary work killed by gangs in Haiti |
A Missouri lawmaker said his daughter and her husband were killed by gangs while working as missionaries in Haiti. Missouri state representative Ben Baker said his daughter Natalie Lloyd, 21, and his son-in-law David Lloyd, 23, were attacked by gangs Thursday night and both killed. A third missionary was also killed, according to the non-profit organization where all of them worked. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson extended his condolences to the victims’ families on social media. “In light of this unimaginable, senseless tragedy, we remember the good they offered the world,” he wrote. |
American tourist avoids prison for bringing ammunition to Turks and Caicos |
A Pennsylvania father arrested in Turks and Caicos after ammunition was found in his luggage has been spared prison time and is expected to be released, his lawyer said. Bryan Hagerich, who said he unintentionally traveled with the ammunition, was facing a potential mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years in prison, under the British territory’s strict guns laws. But the judge found exceptional circumstances in Hagerich’s case, and gave him a suspended 52-week sentence, allowing him to return to the United States. He will also have to pay a $6,700 fine. Hagerich was one of five Americans facing charges in Turks and Caicos after saying they inadvertently brought ammunition in their bags. |
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What else we're watching: |
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Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated documentary “Super Size Me,” has died at 53 from complications of cancer, his brother said. |
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Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app. |
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