Dangerous storms, tornadoes forecast for US Midwest, South

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Massive storms brewing over 10 states in the Midwest and southern U.S. on Friday have meteorologists urging people to brace for dangerous weather including tornadoes, saying the conditions are similar to those a week ago that unleashed a devastating twister that killed at least 21 people in Mississippi.

Roughly 89 million people were under weather advisories Friday morning as the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center forecast an unusually large outbreak of thunderstorms with the potential to cause hail, damaging wind gusts and strong tornadoes that could move for long distances over the ground.

The major population centers at greatest risk for storms starting Friday afternoon include St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Little Rock and Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But people throughout eastern Iowa, western and northern Illinois and Arkansas should also be prepared, said Northern Illinois meteorology professor and tornado expert Victor Gensini.

Memphis shooting leaves 2 police officers, suspect wounded

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two Memphis police officers and a suspect were wounded in a shooting during a foot chase in the city, authorities said.

The shooting occurred after officers responded to a report of a person with a gun at a convenience store shortly before 7:30 p.m. Thursday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

The two officers and the suspect, who was outside the business before the chase began, all were transported to hospitals for treatment, the bureau said.

The officers and the suspect were in critical condition following the shooting in the Whitehaven neighborhood, the Memphis Police Department said on Twitter.

The bureau said it has launched an investigation at the request of Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy. The bureau typically investigates shootings involving police officers in Tennessee.

2 killed, 5 wounded in shooting outside Memphis restaurant

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two men were killed and five other people were wounded in a shooting outside a restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, police said Thursday.

Police said two people were arrested Thursday after the shooting that authorities said began with an altercation inside Privé restaurant and nightclub.

Preliminary information provided by police showed one man was found dead at the location of Wednesday night’s shooting and another man died at a hospital.

Four men and one woman, ages 25 to 35, were wounded and went to hospitals in private vehicles, police said.

One of those arrested was charged with murder, and the other was charged with attempted murder, police told media outlets. The suspects were not immediately identified.

9 killed in Army Black Hawk helicopter crash in Kentucky

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — U.S. Army investigators are trying to determine what caused two Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters to crash during a routine nightime training exercise in Kentucky, killing all nine soldiers aboard. No one was hurt on the ground.

Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, said the deaths happened Wednesday night in southwestern Kentucky during a routine training mission.

A statement from Fort Campbell said the two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division, crashed around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County in southwest Kentucky. The 101st Airborne confirmed the crash about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Fort Campbell.

One helicopter had five people aboard and the other had four, Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander, said Thursday. The helicopters crashed in a field near a residential area with no injuries on the ground, Lubasaid.

An Army spokesperson declined to comment on whether the helicopters collided in the air.

“At this time, there is no determination on the specifics regarding the accident,” Daniel Matthews, a public affairs officer for the 101st Airborne Division, said in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon. Matthews said an aviation safety team from Fort Rucker, Alabama, will investigate the accident.

Lubas said it is unclear what caused the crash.

“This was a training progression, and specifically they were flying a multi-ship formation, two ships, under night vision goggles at night,” Lubas said. He said officials believe the accident occurred when “they were doing flying, not deliberate medical evacuation drills.”

The helicopters have something similar to the black boxes on passenger planes, which records the performance of aircrafts in flight and are used by investigators to analyze crashes.

“We’re hopeful that will provide quite a bit of information of what occurred,” Lubas said.

Speaking a news conference Thursday morning, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the state would do everything it can to support the families of those killed.

“We’re going to do what we always do. We’re going to wrap our arms around these families, and we’re going to be there with them, not just for the days, but the weeks and the months and the years to come,” Beshear said.

The Black Hawk helicopter is a critical workhorse for the U.S. Army and is used in security, transport, medical evacuations, search and rescue and other missions. The helicopters are known to many people from the 2001 movie “Black Hawk Down,” which is about a violent battle in Somalia eight years earlier.

Black Hawks were a frequent sight in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan during the wars conducting combat missions and are also used by the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. They were also often used to ferry visiting senior leaders to headquarters locations in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones.