In the Nation
Tornadoes hit Okla. and Kan.
EDMOND, Okla. - A powerful storm system rumbled through the Plains and upper Midwest on Sunday, spawning tornadoes that damaged roofs and structures near Oklahoma City and kicked up debris in Wichita, Kan.
There were no immediate reports of injuries caused by the funnel cloud that touched down late Sunday afternoon in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond before moving off to the northeast, or the one that touched down near Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport.
Forecasters had been warning for days that a big storm might barrel through the region over the weekend, and emergency responders were keeping a close eye on the system in several other states, including Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Texas. - AP
Training deadly to 2 FBI agents
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Two FBI special agents on the agency's elite Hostage Rescue Team have been killed in a training accident in Virginia, officials said.
The accident happened Friday off the coast of Virginia Beach, the FBI's national press office announced Sunday. No other details were given, and the cause is under investigation.
The special agents were identified as Christopher Lorek, 41, and Stephen Shaw, 40. Lorek joined the FBI in 1996 and is survived by a wife and two daughters, 11 and 8. Shaw joined in 2005 and is survived by a daughter, 3, and son, 1.
The Hostage Rescue Team is part of the Critical Incident Response Group based at Quantico in northern Virginia. Most recently, members of the team successfully rescued a 5-year-old boy from a small underground bunker where he was being held hostage by a 65-year-old man. The man was killed by agents. - AP
Murder charge in hate crime
NEW YORK - The man who police say hurled homophobic slurs at a gay man on a Manhattan street before firing a single fatal shot to his head appeared in court Sunday to face a charge of murder as a hate crime.
Elliot Morales is also charged with criminal possession of a weapon and menacing, according to the complaint filed Sunday by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Authorities said the Greenwich Village resident used a silver revolver to kill Mark Carson, 32, early Saturday as he walked with a companion in Morales' neighborhood.
Morales was ordered held without bail pending another court appearance Thursday. - AP
Elsewhere:
Authorities believe the driver who plowed into dozens of hikers marching Saturday in a parade in the Virginia mountain town of Damascus suffered from a medical condition and did not cause the crash intentionally, an emergency official said Sunday.