One of the pilots in the Germanwings crash was not in the cockpit when the plane went down. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is charged with desertion. And deadly tornadoes rip through Oklahoma.
It’s Thursday, and here are the 5 things to know for your New Day.
GERMANWINGS CRASH
Locked out: One of the pilots in the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash was locked out of the cockpit when the plane crashed, according to various media reports last night. Investigators have reportedly determined from audio on the plane’s cockpit voice recorder that one pilot briefly left the cockpit, then was unable to re-enter. “You can hear he is trying to smash the door down,” says a military official involved in the probe. So what does this mean? CNN’s aviation analysts say the possibilities range from a medical emergency to something more nefarious, like a suicide mission.
BOWE BERGDAHL
Deserter?: Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been charged with desertion, 10 months after the Obama administration agreed to swap five Taliban prisoners for him. He will face a military procedure similar to a grand jury that will decide whether charges are appropriate. He could then face a court martial. The GOP used the charges to once again express their displeasure with President Obama for agreeing to the swap in the first place. Bergdahl also spoke out for the first time about his time in captivity, via a letter released yesterday by his attorney. Bergdahl describes being tortured, chained and locked in a cage.
YEMEN
Saudi strikes: Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes in Yemen yesterday, intensifying the near-civil war between Houthi rebels and Yemen’s government. And late last night, Egypt said it was getting involved in the fight by providing political and military support to the Saudis. Houthi leaders said Saudi Arabia would pay for its “aggression.” Earlier in the day, rebels captured a port city and a nearby Yemeni air force base recently abandoned by U.S. forces. Houthi rebels claimed Yemen’s President had fled the country for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but the U.S. State Department and a Saudi Arabian official denied this.
ISIS
More airstrikes: U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against ISIS strongholds in Tikrit, Iraq, started yesterday, as Iraqi and coalition forces push to take the city from the terror group. A U.S. official said the first wave of airstrikes was intended to hit about a dozen preplanned targets. Tikrit, the birthplace of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, fell to ISIS in June. Coalition forces have tried and failed many times since the second half of 2014 to retake the city.
SEVERE WEATHER
In Oklahoma: One person was killed when a tornado tore through a mobile home park last night near a Tulsa, Oklahoma, suburb. The damage happened at a mobile home park west of the city limits of Sand Springs. A tornado was also spotted in Moore, the city where a massive EF5 tornado killed 24 people close to two years ago. Police said there was significant damage in an area measuring two square miles in the city. The damage was mainly roofs ripped off of homes and downed trees.
