#URGENT | At least 12 shot in mass shooting in Illinois, US - reports

🇺🇸✈️😷 The US federal transportation agency doubled the fine for not wearing masks on flights to $1,000 and tripled the penalty for second time offenders to $3,000.

❗️ A mass shooting in East St. Louis has drawn a large police presence to the scene.

According to the local NBC-affiliated KSDK network, the 500 block of Martin Luther King Drive is the location of the incident

❗️🇺🇸At least six people have been hospitalized after a shooting incident in the city of East St. Louis, Illinois, NBC reports.

💸 According to a recent study by the US Treasury Department, the richest 1% of Americans avoid up to $ 163 billion in annual taxes.

The Treasury specialist did not indicate income levels in his analysis of the richest 1% of taxpayers, but suggested that the lost income is at least equal to all taxes paid by 90% of low-income taxpayers. The report estimates that the richest Americans must pay about 28% of all unpaid income taxes

#URGENT | Shooting reported at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, US

⚡️🇺🇸🇨🇳US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have held a phone conversation to discuss each other's national interests and the competition between the two countries, the White House says.

Check out some news you may have missed:

▪️The Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Ohio is on lockdown after an active shooter situation was reported on Thursday.

▪️Melania Trump's ex-Chief of Staff, Stephanie Grisham, is set to release a tell-all book on 5 October.

▪️Nicki Minaj's husband Kenneth Petty has reportedly agreed to a plea deal for failing to register as a sex offender in California; he is now facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release.

▪️Psaki says that Dr Anthony Fauci would not be fired despite allegations that he lied to the Congress about coronavirus research in Wuhan.

▪️Ex-presidential candidate Andrew Yang is leaving the Democrats to launch a third party.

❗️Inauguration of the new Afghan government was canceled a few days ago, reports claiming that it will take place on Saturday are not true, Inamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban's (banned as a terrorist organization in Russia) culture commission, says

🌹 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is hosting a special event to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the 11 September attacks.

Watch LIVE on our website

🚚🌱 A garbage truck crashed into a building in Michigan – and exposed an illegal marijuana grow operation.

An illegal cannabis farm was uncovered on Wednesday morning after a vehicle collided with a building in Michigan’s Sterling Heights, media reported.

No one was injured as a result of the accident – except for maybe a few of the nearly 260 plants that were growing there.

Recreational use of marijuana is legal in the state – however, the revealed number of plants exceeded the allowed maximum. Moreover, it is illegal to grow the drug in the city’s commercial buildings.

#BREAKING: Russia summons US ambassador over America’s election meddling, diplomatic source says

NASA is holding a press conference dedicated to the samples collected by its Perseverance Rover on Mars.

Watch LIVE

#BREAKING: US Appeals Court reportedly rules to reinstate mask mandate ban in Florida schools

The US Appeals Court ruled in favour of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, allowing his administration to reinstate the mask mandate ban in the state and continue punishing officials who require masks anyway, according to media reports.

🦓 Five zebras have been on the run since August 31 after escaping from a private farm in Prince George County, Maryland. Member of the House of Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, decided to issue a statement on the matter.

🗣 “Local news has reported that the zebras were let loose on Saturday or Sunday of last weekend, a period of time during which I was enjoying quiet time at home with my family,” she said.

It is unclear why Norton felt the need to speak out since there were no official statements about her involvement.

😁 It seems Norton was a poor zookeeper in a past life...

🗽 The demolition of the monument to General Lee is the personification of Orwell's famous 1984 novel. Erasing history from memory, we forget who we are and how we came to this moment. Attempts to forget what actually happened, or to correct the memory of it, results in historical lessons getting lost.

Missouri Rep. Tony Lovasco said the "reprehensible" statues of former President Lincoln should be demolished in the name of justice after the removal of General Lee's statue.

❓ But is it really necessary to achieve justice? Can't you see that this is just another example of culture wars that are inflated and fuelled to divide people through symbols, while ignoring material reality.

#URGENT | Video: Massive fire reported at NYC hospital

🇺🇸🇱🇧 The State Department said the US welcomes the agreement by Lebanese leaders on forming a new government but urged the parliament to approve it quickly.

💉 Republican Governor of South Carolina Henry McMaster has pledged to oppose US President Joe Biden's mandate to vaccinate all businesses with more than 100 employees to the "gates of hell," as fellow governors prepare to sue the Biden administration over this "unconstitutional" requirement.

🗣 "The American Dream has turned into a nightmare under President Biden and the radical Democrats," McMaster wrote on Twitter. "They have declared war against capitalism, thumbed their noses at the Constitution, and empowered our enemies abroad."