Joplin Devistated by F5 Tornado

Major destruction from a huge tornado has leveled parts of Joplin the evening of Sunday the 22nd.   First responders are dealing with mass destruction, fires, gas leaks, and multiple fatalities.  Officials are having difficulty dealing with the magnitude of the situation.

Man is told to destroy his motel room in elaborate phone prank

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Spartanburg County sheriff’s deputies responded to the Motel 6 on Jones Road on Sunday night after a guest nearly smashed a hole through to an adjacent room with a wrench, saying later that a man who called his room told him to free a little person trapped there.

At about 11 p.m., a hotel worker called authorities, reporting that she responded to the room after guests complained about noise. When she arrived at the room, she found a guest destroying his room with a wrench in his hand, according to an incident report.

The man later told deputies that he was sleeping when his room phone rang. The male caller, who claimed to be management with the hotel, told the man a previous guest had placed highly sophisticated cameras in the room, but not to bother looking for them. The caller told the man to unplug the TV, which the man did. He then said to remove the back toilet cover and smash the TV, which the guest also did. When the TV didn’t break, the caller told the man to throw the TV outside, and the man complied, the report states.

At some point, the guest gave the caller his cell phone number so the guest wouldn’t have to keep running back to the landline. The caller then reportedly told the man to smash the room’s mirrors, after which the guest grabbed a wrench and began breaking the mirrors. According to the report, the caller then gave the guest an “elaborate story” in which a 4-foot, 3-inch person was barricaded in the adjacent room, and the police needed the guest’s help to free the smaller man. The guest began breaking through the sheetrock with his wrench, stopping short after realizing that if he created a hole, someone on the other side would see him, the report states.

The motel employee arrived at the room, saw the scene and called deputies. No charges were filed. The employee told deputies she did not hold the guest responsible, but she wanted him to leave.

7.7 Magnitude strikes Sumatra

This is becoming the year of the earthquake.


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Jogger had no clue he was about to die

A jogger on a quiet beach in South Carolina had no idea that he was in the direct path of an emergency landing. In an unusual accident the pilot had his vision obstructed by fluids on his windscreen, the jogger had his hearing diminished because of music playing is his headphones. The jogger was struck from behind and killed on impact. The pilot and his passenger were not injured in the incident. The airplane was a Lancair IV-P high performance full composite aircraft with retracting landing gear. The Lancair is able to fly at 29,000 feet with it's pressurized cabin. The aircraft is capable of flying at 330mph. The owner had little to say about the situation.
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In Chile a 6.7 Magnitude earthquake is just an aftershock

As the aftershocks continued in Chile this week, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck on March 15th. Anywhere else on earth a 6.7 magnitude earthquake would be a large one.

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Shootout at Pentagon Metro Station

Two police officers were injured by a gunman firing shots outside the Pentagon tonight. Hundreds of employees there were ordered to go into "Code Red" -- the entire building locked down, with no one allowed to enter or leave.

ABC's Steven Portnoy reported that Pentagon police had a suspect in custody. ABC's Martha Raddatz reported that three ambulances were on the scene, and all parking lots at the massive Defense Department headquarters were closed off.

The shooting occurred at the Pentagon Metro Station, which is just outside the Pentagon's main entrance.

The shots were fired at about 6:30 p.m. ET.

Pentagon Police spokesman Chris Layman told ABC News the initial report was that two police officers were shot. But local television station WUSA reported three people were injured. Two were taken to George Washington Hospital in Washington, the station said.

"All I know right now is that there was a shooting. We believe two officers, police officers, were hit. And I believe we have one person in custody," Layman told ABC News.

"Metro is locked down until further notice," Pentagon police said in a message over the building's intercom.

Some witnesses reported hearing gunshots being fired in the station and people screaming.

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8.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Chile

One of the largest recorded earthquakes has struck off the coast of Chile.

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