News Wrap: Ongoing power outages after hurricane leave many frustrated in Texas heat

Geoff Bennett:

Vermont’s governor says it’ll take several more days to know the full extent of the damage.

In the Middle East, Israeli forces have pulled back from Gaza City, leaving behind scenes of destruction. Fires were still burning today, as Palestinians returned home to check the damage. Civil defense workers say that dozens of bodies were found on the streets and in collapsed buildings.

Earlier in the week, Israel ordered all Palestinians to leave the area, saying Hamas militants had regrouped there. Most of Gaza City’s population fled earlier in the war, but the U.N. estimates that some 300,000 people remain in the surrounding area.

AT&T said today that a security breach in 2022 affected nearly all of its cell phone customers and many users of its landline and wireless networks. The company says roughly 109 million customers’ accounts were affected. Their data was downloaded to a third-party platform over a five-month period in 2022.

AT&T says the compromised data includes records of phone calls and texts, but it does not involve the content of those calls or sensitive information like birthdays or Social Security numbers.

In New Mexico, the judge and Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial has dismissed the case against him. Baldwin’s defense team had alleged that prosecutors hid evidence about the ammunition that killed the cinematographer on the film Rust in 2021. Baldwin had been holding the gun when it went off during rehearsals.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer agreed with the defense, saying that — quote — “The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy.” Baldwin faced up to 18 months in prison if convicted. The 66-year-old had pleaded not guilty, saying he did not know the revolver contained a live round.

Officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have announced details of the first person to be identified from a mass grave stemming from the city’s 1921 race massacre. C.L. Daniel was a World War I veteran who was passing through Tulsa at the time of the attack.

Forensic experts have collected DNA from a total of 30 sets of remains. They’re from the more than 120 graves that were found during searches that started back in 2020. As many as 300 people were killed when a white mob destroyed what was then known as Black Wall Street.

City officials hope today’s announcement will bring some comfort to his family.

G.T. Bynum (R), Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma: As a parent, I can’t help but think about his mom, Mrs. Daniel, who knew her brave son had been killed, but never knew what became of his remains. Today, I hope that this generation of Tulsans can appreciate that you have helped this family find their relative after he was missing for 103 years.