Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Saturday - April 11- 2009

*** MAN DIES IN KC-MO HOUSE FIRE ***

*** A man reportedly "trapped" in a wheelchair died in a house fire in Kansas City's East Bottoms early Saturday.

The fire alarm sounded at 2:50am- sending five KC-MO fire companies to the fire in the 3200 block of Nickolson. When the first fire company arrived 6 minutes later- they reported only "light smoke" issuing from the 1-story structure.

Two occupants- an adult woman and a child escaped- the wheelchaired man in a back bedroom did not. The woman suffered minor smoke inhalation.

Fire investigators say the victim was probably smoking in bed- ruled as the cause of the fire.

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*** WOMAN DEAD IN OVERLAND PARK-KS APARTMENT FIRE ***

*** A woman was found dead after a small fire in the bedroom of her apartment in Overland Park early Saturday morning.

The alarm went out at 3:03am to the 7500 block of West 106th Street. First-arriving crews found only light smoke in a lower hallway.

The fire was extingushed quickly- with damage limited to the woman victim's apartment.

No other injuries were reported with a cuse of the fire to be determined..

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** Shooting In KC-KS Leaves Man In Serious Condition **

... The shooting was reported at 1:41am at a popular Hispanic tavern at 48 Kansas Avenue.

There- the police found a "25-year-old" man with a gunshot wound in the back of his head. He was taken by KC-KS FD-EMS to an area medical trauma center in at least serious condition..

Police reported witness desciptions of "2 Hispanic male suspects- who left- possibly toward KC-MO- in a silver and black Chevy Tahoe..

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** KC-KS House Damaged By Fire **

... Damage was reported to the attic and roof areas of a home in the 4000 block of Oakland after a 3:53am fire.

No one was injured in the lived-in house- all occupants escaped safely.

The cause of this fire was ruled to be electrical.

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<><><> OVERNIGHT WEATHER <><><>

Temperatures held in the mid 30's to near 40-degrees early Saturday morning with very light or calm winds.

Sunshine will prevail today before clouds from the next storm system overspreads the MetroRegion later today.

Another in a series of spring storms enters the Region later Sunday- spreading rain and thunderstorms over our area into Monday morning. There could again be some heavy rainfall totals in our Region.

Some severe weather is possible in Arkansas and Oklahoma again later Sunday.

No frosts or freezes around here through next weekend- with yet another storm system affecting the Kansas City MetroRegion next Thursday and Friday- that storm COULD produce severe weather in the MetroRegion.

Temperatures will remain at or slightly below average through the week.

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Kansas City's Breaking News Leader - NBC41 ACTION NEWS.

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One Video of Murfreesboro-TN Tornado- April 10- 2009

This is the first I've seen posted- found HERE.

UPDATE: At a 5pm news confrence- the Murfreesboro police chief said so far there were 2 confirmed fatalities- "a mid-20's female Kori Bryant and her 9-week-old daughter Olivia Bryant.

An EMS official said that as of 5pm- they had "transported 35 injured" people- "7" of those in were "critical" condition plus the 2 DOA non-transports.

At Least 2 Dead- "Dozens" Injured In Murfreesboro-TN Tornado

A strong to violent tornado moved through western through northern portions of Murfreesboro- Tennessee early Friday afternoon.

Murfreesboro is a city of about 100000 people- 30 miles southeast of Nashville. Middle Tennessee State University is located in the east-southeastern part of that city.

"Widespread destruction" in those areas struck by the tornado was reported by Rutherford county Sheriff Truman Jones in a radio interview on WGNS in Murfreesboro.

Sheriff Jones reported "dozens" of people were injured and rescues were still underway.

WGNS and other local news media organizations reported "a couple of fatalities." WGNS had earlier reported one dead in the storm- but officials have yet to confirm any deaths.

Other tornadoes have been reported near Murfreesboro with no damage or injury reports from those touch-downs yet.

Parts of Tennessee- Alabama and Georgia remain under Tornado watches and are in a "high risk" for severe weather for the remainer of the day.

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Live Streaming Radio Station- WGNS - Murfreesboro-TN Tornado Coverage

The station is taking callers from around the Murfreesboro area and connecting loved ones as well as those who can help with those in need after a tornado struck that Middle Tennessee city early this afternoon.

The Web page for this streaming broadcast is HERE.

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UPDATE - 1435 CDT - WGNS radio is reporting "one fatality in the Compton Road area" of Murfreesboro. At least 15 injuries confirmed thus far. No other details yet.

Related posts on this tornado can be found HERE and HERE.

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Also- a Google map of northern Murfreesboro showing confirmed damage reports- you can connect the red dots for a rough path.
Early videos of the twister indicate a large funnel touched down.

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BREAKING NEWS: Tornado Strikes Murfreesboro-TN

WSMV-TV4 in Nashville and The MURFREESBORO POST newspaper is reporting a tornado has touched down in northern Murfreesboro.

Murfreesboro is about 25 miles southeast of Nashville.

There are reports of destroyed homes- people trapped in homes- and a car picked up and thrown. There are yet no injury reports.

UPDATE - 1337 CDT - A Nashville medical center is reporting "they have received 9 patients from the Blackman area"- a northwestern suburb of Murfreesboro- and were "expecting 4 more" patients.

Their conditions were unreported.

Related posts on this tornado can be found HERE and HERE.

Here are some Doppler weather radar images from Nashville NWS radar.

The first is the base reflectivity (standard radar view) and the radial velocity (winds) showing the red-green "couplet" of the tornado itself over northern Murfreesboro.

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Live Coverage of Nashville-TN-Area Severe Weather

Enter this URL into your Windows Media Player and watch the live severe weather coverage on Nashville's Channel 4 WSMV: http://mfile.akamai.com/25577/live/reflector:52525.asx.

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At Least 12 Injured In Mena-AR Tornado

As reported here on CSW earlier- a tornado struck downtown Mena- Arkansas around 8:10 PM Thursday night.

Polk county authorities are now saying at least 12 people have been injured- severities yet unknown.

There was another injury outside of Mena- according to the Associated Press.

One of the injured was an Arkansas State Patrol trooper whose car was reportedly struck by debris in Mena.

The county courthouse was heavily damaged and other "major" damage was reported nearby.

Damage was also reported in and around nearby DeQueen-AR..

Here is another NWS Doppler radar image in the radial velocity or wind mode- showing the tornado right over Mena at 8:09 PM.

Apparently- someone at Channel 5 in Fort Smith-Ar knew the tornado was coming.

This screen capture shows the Mena tornado reported "updated" on Channel 5's site at 7:56pm.

The first damage being done in Mena was reported at 8:11 pm.

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UPDATE: There is now 3 dead and at least 30 dead in Mena-AR- according to the Associated Press.

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Central States BREAKING NEWS: Tornado Hits Mena-Arkansas

At 8:11pm Thursday evening- Mena police were reporting a tornado on the ground and doing damage in that west-central Arkansas city of about 5600 people.

It's been reported the courthouse "took a direct hit" from the tornado and that there was "major damage" according to this report on FOX-16 News in Little Rock.

Here are some MWS Doppler radar pictures- standard reflectivity and wind velocity- around the time of the inital 8:11pm tornado report.

The red-green area together on the velocity image shows the wind circulating around the tornado at Mena.

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K.C. MetroRegion-Central States WEATHER UPDATE: Tornado Watch No. 123 Continues

The watch runs until 9 PM tonight and includes the southern MetroRegion areas around Nevada-MO and Fort Scott-KS southward.

Thunderstorm supercells from eastern Oklahoma into southern Kansas are organizing into a line that will spread from north to east over most of eastern Kansas- the southern half of Missouri and Arkansas over the next 12 hours.
Here's a current look at the visible satellite image- as well as Doppler radar centered near Topeka and a current southeastern Kansas-area weather observations map.

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K.C. MetroRegion-Central States BREAKING WEATHER: NWS-SPC- Tornado Watch No. 123 Till 9PM - KS-MO-OK-AR

A Tornado Watch Number 123 has been issued for much of southeastern and eastern Kansas- southwestern and parts of western Missouri- eastern and northeastern Oklahoma and western-northwestern Arkansas until 9 PM this Thursday evening.


Besides the usual severe thunderstorm entertainment of lightning- wind and hail- "a few tornadoes" are expected in this watch area and there could be a strong tornado as well.

In the Kansas City MetroRegion- the cities of Nevada-MO and Fort Scott-KS are included in the watch.

Rain- heavy at times and a few embedded thunderstorms are expected over most of the rest of the MetroRegion tonight into early Friday.

Here are the current visible satellite and Doppler weather radar images:

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Central States WEATHER: NWS-SPC: "Moderate Risk" Of Severe Storms KS-OK-AR-MO

Metro Kansas City is NOT included in this moderate risk area to our south. Only the extreme southern areas of the Kansas City MetroRegion- Nevada-MO- Fort Scott-KS- are in a "slight risk" area for severe thunderstorms later today.

But areas around Joplin-Neosho-MO over to Coffeyville-KS- down to Miami-Tulsa-OK and Fort Smith-AR are in a "moderate risk" area for possible severe storms and possibly "significant tornadoes" later today and tonight.

In Kansas City- our biggest threat will be rain. A couple of inches could fall by drive-time Friday morning- and could cause localized flooding of those areas prone to high water.

If any of this changes- that change will be posted right here on CSW.

Meanwhile- here's what the current visible satellite and Doppler weather radar from KC/Pleasant Hill shows:

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Alabama Man Faced With Divorce Kills Family- Self

Another in what seems like an endless series of people losing their grip on reality- a man in Priceville-Alabama who was going through divorce proceedings killed his wife- daughter and 2 other relatives before setting his house on fire and killing himself- according to this Associated Press story.

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K.C. Metro-MetroRegion WEATHER: Heavy Rains Possible Over Next 5 Days

Here's a graphic from the NWS' Hydro Prediction Center (HPC) showing areas of 2-inch or greater rainfalls forecast over the next five days.

Areas to the south- Oklahoma and Arkansas- are slated to get the most precipitation- but as you can see on the image- an area of nearly 2.5-inches of rain is centered virtually over Metro Kansas City.

Updates here on CSW as needed....

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Taxpayer "Tea Party" A Waste Of Time

There's much talk of some sort of taxpayer protest on April 15- some remake of the Boston Tea Party. This noise will make newscasts April 15 and 16th then be forgotten.

IMHO- the BEST taxpayer protest is a non-payment of income tax.

Nothing sends a message like millions of taxpayers refusing to pay THEIR hard-earned wages to an outfit (our government) that shovels billions to banks and other corrupt financial institutions.

This would make newscasts daily- as the U.C.S.A. (United Corporate States of America) tries to collect by forcefully liquidating those scofflaws.

Of course- this is as likely to happen en-masse as American voters are likely to elect alternative-party politicians next election.

So join a lame citizen protest and make SURE you vote Republicrat and Demoblican and any tax increases on yourselves (like Raytown yesterday) next election.

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This Recession-Depression Spells End Of American Labor Unions

During America's worst depression in the 1930's- labor unions flourished. Corporations up to that time set the rules and wages of their working force- more often than not heavily favoring corporate profit over safe working conditions- etc..

In the early 21st Century- America's labor unions are on life-support as their members take the brunt of dealing with decades of corporate indifference and greed.

Many of the same taxpayers whose pay is on one end basically bailing these coporations out of financial disaster are now being asked- no- forced- to take benefit and pay cuts on their receiving end.

More accurately- in their rear-ends.

Many Americans now ask- why pay union dues to an outfit that is negotiating wages and benefits DOWNWARD?

This may provide short-term relief to the affected corporations- but I have NO doubt this will leave lasting scars on relationships between unions- corporations and their labor force.

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Missouri House Approves Drug Testing For People On Welfare

Reminding my readers that NO Missouri politician takes a pre-office or in-office drug test- the Missouri House of Representatives has approved testing of some welfare recipients for drug usage.

No word if the Missouri House plans a bill soon calling for drug testing of themselves.

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Biden Tells Cheney A Sort-Of "Vaffanculo"

A sort of "up your bootay" reply to Cheney's criticism of the Obama Administration's stance on American security.

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K.C. Chiefs Tax Break Meets New Condition

If I live to be 2000- I'll NEVER understand why so many tax dollars are shovelled to professional sports teams.

Taxpayers don't get ANY discounts on tickets!

Anyway- the Chiefs recently applied for and received a $25-million tax break from the State of Missouri to move their training camp to St. Joseph from River Falls-WI..

The Chiefs wanted all that money- in return of a promise to keep their training facility in St. Joe for 5 years.

For $25-million- the State SHOULD have insisted on an at least 25-year stay- but at least state officials have changed the Chiefs' stay-length in St. Joe to 10 years.

My basic questions:

Doesn't the State of Missouri have more beneficial businesses to bestow $25-million tax breaks on?

Should Missouri be giving ANY tax breaks to successful corporations in the present economic climate?

and the standard clinker:

SHOULDN'T ELECTED OFFICIALS BE GIVEN PRE-OFFICE DRUG TESTS?????

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BREAKING NEWS: Fire In Northland KC-MO Business

Six companies of Kansas City-MO firefighters are at the scene of a reported "fire in the paint booth of the auto auction" in the 3900 block of North Skiles.

The alarm was sounded at 11:02am and the first arriving fire company- Pumper 34- reported "smoke showing" and they were advancing a 1-3/4-inch handline on the fire at 11:06am..

MAST-EMS has sent a standby paramendic unit to the scene- but no reports of anyone injured yet.

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UPDATE - 1125 CDT : The fire at the Kansas City Auto Auction company at 3901 North Skiles was reported to be under control at 11:22am.

The fire was reported to be in a paint booth containing 2 vehicles. Two small streams were used on the fire and no injuries have been reported.

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General Motors' All-Electric- 2-Wheeled PUMA

American taxpayer-subsidized General Motors- working with non-subsidized scooter-maker Segway has unveiled a prototype- 2-wheeled urban transportation device called the "PUMA"- or the "Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility" scooter.

According to these Associated Press images of PUMA- it appears to be about 1/3 the size of a mid-size car and has a roof- but no side doors to keep out the weather.

It's design is not that much different than Segway's popular 2-wheel scooters already on the market.

Frankly- I'd rather have this type of electric vehicle.

It's a cool purple- like the old 1970 Challenger RT I once owned....

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Blue Springs Fatality Was Man Exiting Truck

Reported here first in Kansas City Sunday morning was a person found dead along eastbound I-70 west of Adams Dairy Parkway in Blue Springs.

The Missouri Highway Patrol reports that dead person as Anthony A. Palumbo- a 21-year-old male from Blue Springs.

The MHP report- found HERE- states that Palumbo opened the passenger door of a pickup truck going down I-70 and driven by a Justin Casewell of Blue Springs.

Palumbo got out of the pickup truck while it was moving down the freeway and was killed instantly.

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Vote No On Raytown Sales Tax Raise

Raytown wants another one-half cent sales tax increase- reportedly "for public safety."

If this tax increase passes some parts of Raytown- by the city-subsidized new WalMart store on M-350- will see an almost 10% sales tax on purchases.

The city is trying to sell this increase to residents claiming "outsiders" will pay most of this tax.

Bullcrap!

Raytown residents- many of whom are on fixed incomes- will bear the brunt of a higher- nearly 10% sales tax- unreal and unjustified in this time of severe economic downturn.

Vote NO on tomorrow's sales tax increase in Raytown....

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Recall KC-MO's City Council Too

News media reports have some misguided Kansas Citian starting a recall petition of Mayor Mark Funkhouser.

IMHO- if you're going to recall the Mayor- might as well recall the remainer of this mostly-lame City Council.

At least "The Funk" wanted to withhold the pro sport stadium money rather than make cuts to CITIZEN SERVICES like the Council did....

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MetroRegion Kansas City's Overnight News Report- Sunday - April 5, 2009

Four people were hit by gunfire in the 3300 block of Cleveland around 3:55am Sunday morning.

KC-MO police are investigating the shooting which reportedly involved a burgundy-colored 1990's-model Chevy Caprice with a white top.

The 4 victims- at least 3 of them males- were shot in their thighs and taken to two area medical trauma centers.

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KC-MO Police report a person found dead by gunshot in the 1200 block of East Independence Avenue just after 3:15am..

There are few details yet available on this incident.

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A person was found dead along eastbound Interstate 70 west of Adams Dairy Parkway in Blue Springs-MO around 2:40am Sunday.

About an hour earlier- the Missouri Highway Patrol received the report of an intoxicated male walking in the roadway near here.

It's not known if this was the same person.

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<><><> OVERNIGHT WEATHER <><><>

Intense low pressure over southeastern Nebraska produced showers and thunderstorms over Metro and MetroRegion Kansas City late Saturday that had moved southeast of the area by Sunday morning.

Winds had increased from the southwest and west- and temperatures had fallen from around 60 at midnight to the mid to upper 40's by 5am..

Clouds and colder- windy weather is expected today over the MetroRegion with scattered rain and snow showers.

At least 2 storm systems will affect the MetroRegion this week- stay tuned to CSW for details....

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Kansas City's Breaking News Leader - NBC41 ACTION NEWS.

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