Long Hostage Drama Over in Midland City, Alabama
Long Hostage Drama Over In Midland City, Alabama
The FBI says it will conduct a review of events leading up to the death of a South Alabama man who held a young boy hostage for nearly a week. Law enforcement officers stormed Jimmy Lee Dykes’ underground bunker in rural Midland City yesterday afternoon. They freed the five-year-old hostage, a boy identified as Ethan, and sources say they killed Dykes because they were convinced the child was in imminent danger. Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said last night that Dykes was armed when officers entered the bunker to rescue Ethan.
Before yesterday’s action, authorities spent nearly a week negotiating with Dykes to release Ethan. Dykes had grabbed the boy after storming onto a school bus and shooting the driver to death. Dykes then barricaded himself in an underground bunker he’d dug on his property. Grief and the slow pace of negotiations with the suspect frayed nerves in the close-knit, rural community, as WBHM’s Dan Carsen reported for NPR’s “Morning Edition” the weekend before the standoff ended.
He also was interviewed that afternoon by “All Things Considered,” and by WBUR-Boston’s “Here and Now” today.
Supreme Court will weigh in on Trump’s tariffs. Here’s what to know about the case
Two lower courts have said some of President Trump's tariffs are unlawful. Now the Supreme Court has agreed to examine the issue.
Iran and the IAEA are expected to resume cooperation under agreement backed by Egypt
Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency signed an agreement in Cairo to pave the way for resuming cooperation, including on ways of relaunching inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities.
Birmingham youth choir returns to the stage after golden buzzer moment
The Birmingham Youth and Young Adult Choir returns to NBC's "America's Got Talent" Tuesday evening after having won one of the show's golden buzzers earlier this summer.
The MAHA plan for healthier kids includes 128 ideas, but few details
The Make America Healthy Again commission is proposing more than 100 moves to address the root causes of childhood chronic disease. Critics say other Trump administration moves contradict the goals.
60 years later, Sandy Koufax’s perfect game is still amazing
Tuesday marks 60 years since Sandy Koufax threw a perfect game at Dodger Stadium. The 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs is still considered one of the best games in baseball history.
Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s biggest dam amid regional tensions
Ethiopia opens Africa's largest hydropower project, the Blue Nile's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam — a milestone that's sparking alarm in neighboring Sudan and Egypt.
