NFL player dies in crash, 'unimaginable' abuse by grandparents, foam houses: this week's top stories
Photo collage: (Top left) Houses are being build out of foam in Phoenix. (Top right) A shooting in Phoenix killed a teen girl and injured 8 others. (Bottom left) Jeff Gladney by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images. (Bottom right) Armin and Susan Rodriguez a
An NFL player and his girlfriend were killed in a crash, authorities detail the 'unimaginable' child abuse by grandparents, and a Phoenix-area company says foam houses are the most eco-friendly way to build homes, and it'll keep you from being impacted by supply chain shortages when waiting for your home to be built. Here are the top stories from May 29 to June 4.
1. Arizona Cardinals cornerback Jeff Gladney dies at 25: Officials with the sheriff's department in the Dallas, Texas area believe Gladney was speeding in his Mercedes when he hit a second car. Nobody was injured in that second car. Deputies say he also hit a bridge support, and the car burst into flames. A female passenger in the car also died.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 29: Jeff Gladney #20 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before the game against the Carolina Panthers at U.S. Bank Stadium on November 29, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
2. Jeff Gladney's girlfriend also killed in Dallas car crash: Mercedes Palacios, 26, was killed in the car crash while a passenger in the car driven by Jeff Gladney, a former TCU star and NFL first-round draft pick. A timeline of her social media reveals she posted a photo of the two just hours before the fatal crash.
3. 70 missing children, including sex trafficking victims, found in Texas operation: Many of the kids, who included victims of sex trafficking and physical and sexual abuse, were located in west Texas, according to authorities. Some were also found in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as well as in Colorado and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
4. Man who faked death to avoid child rape charges gets 85 years in prison: A military veteran who once faked his own death to try to avoid criminal charges has been convicted of sexually assaulting a girl and impregnating her when he was 40 and she was 14.
Jacob Blair Scott (photo credit: US Marshals Service)
5. 'Top Gun' studio borrowed fighter jets for $11K an hour but Tom Cruise was not allowed to touch controls: Tom Cruise wanted all the actors portraying pilots in the movie to fly in one of the fighter jets, so they could know what it feels like to operate an aircraft under the pressure of immense gravitational forces. Cruise also flew in a jet for the original "Top Gun" in 1986.
American actor Tom Cruise on the set of Top Gun, directed by Tony Scott. (Photo by Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
6. Arizona man loses hot dog business in crash on Route 66: The trip was a success, but sadly on his way back to Arizona, Richie V. was rear-ended by a semi-truck in New Mexico, Thankfully, he survived the crash, but he lost his truck, hot dog hut, and personal belongings.
7. Strawberries sold in grocery stores across the country recalled after Hepatitis A outbreak: The strawberries are past shelf life, but the FDA is warning Americans to check their freezers in case the affected brand was purchased and then frozen for later use.
8. Teenage girl killed in shooting at Phoenix strip mall, 8 others injured: About 100 people had reportedly gathered for some kind of party when police say a fight broke out between multiple groups just after 1 a.m. on June 4. It escalated into a series of shootings inside the building, in the parking lot, and on the street.
9. As home-building costs rise, Phoenix area company uses foam to build houses: At what could be the world's quietest construction site, machinery to cut wood is replaced with crews heating up a wire with a battery pack, stretching it out, and slicing the foam like butter. Then, they glue it to the rest of the house, which turns into more foam.
Phoenix area company using foam to build houses as material costs rise
Homes in the Phoenix area are often built with lumber, but amid rising costs and questions over lumber's environmental impact, one Arizona company is using a different material to build new structures. FOX 10's Steve Nielsen reports.
10. Grandparents arrested in ‘unimaginable’ child abuse case that police say ‘makes you sick’: Punishments allegedly went on for years and involved forcing the boy to stand alone in a room, beating him and restricting his food, the victim, his juvenile brother and other relatives told investigators, according to authorities.
Armin and Susan Rodriguez, 71 and 68, were both being held at the Hamilton County jail on child endangerment charges. (Hamilton County Sheriff's Office)