Experts think snowpack will be either the first or second biggest documented in 70 years after winter of extreme storms
California’s winter of extreme storms has brought the drought-ravaged state one of the largest snowpacks on record, with officials saying on Monday that they expect it could be the greatest documented in 70 years.
As of Monday the state’s snowpack stands at 237% of the annual average, the department of water resources (DWR) announced at a press conference.
Continue reading...US defence department releases statement saying object was used in training after photo emerged of military inspection
The Pentagon has said that a picture that featured in a report by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) on Monday about apparent damage to a US nuclear bomb at a Dutch airbase was a dummy weapon used for training emergency response teams.
FAS published a photograph of a B61 bomb being inspected for damage by US soldiers, including two from an explosive ordnance disposal unit, and a civilian. The rear of the bomb appears to have been twisted by an impact and one of the tail fins is missing. There is pink sticky tape covering an apparent hole.
Continue reading...The Akwesasne Mohawk police service continue a search for resident Casey Oakes as new details of victims emerge
Police investigating the drowning of eight people attempting to cross a river between Canada the the United States are searching for a man believed to be linked to people-smuggling, as new details of the victims emerge.
The bodies of eight people, including two young children, were discovered last week along the marshy banks of the St Lawrence River near the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, which spans Quebec, Ontario and New York state.
Continue reading...Former president to be arraigned on Tuesday in hush money case brought by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg
Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba has made a prickly appearance on CNN’s This Morning, insisting that a mugshot of her boss, something usually required of all defendants when they are arraigned in New York district court, would be merely “theatrics”.
Habba told host Don Lemon:
Mugshots are for people so that you recognize who they are. He’s the most recognized face in the world, let alone the country, right now, so there’s no need for that.
I’m not in a deposition right now and I’m not going to continue this conversation.
Continue reading...Huge balloon was able to send information back to Beijing in real time as it was flown above US territory, NBC News reports
A Chinese spy balloon gathered intelligence as it flew over sensitive military sites in the US, despite efforts by the Joe Biden White House to thwart its espionage mission, new reports suggest.
China succeeded in flying the massive balloon over some military bases on multiple occasions and sent the information back to Beijing in real time, NBC News reported on Monday, citing two current senior US officials and one former high-level administrator. The balloon, which was the size of three school buses, was occasionally flown in a figure-eight formation over at least some of those sensitive sites before it was shot down in early February.
Continue reading...Fast-food giant to reportedly notify corporate employees about staffing decisions a part of wider restructuring of company
A report says McDonald’s has closed its US offices for a few days as the company prepares to inform employees about layoffs.
The Wall Street Journal cited an internal email from the fast-food giant – which is headquartered in Chicago – saying that US corporate staff and some employees overseas should work from home while the company notifies people of their job status.
Continue reading...Stunned by indictment at first, ex-president indicates he wants to politically ‘rough ’em up’. Plus, Judy Blume on why it is time to fight back against censorship
Good morning.
Donald Trump has told advisers and associates in recent days that he is prepared to escalate attacks against the Manhattan prosecutor who revived the criminal prosecution into hush money payments made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 now he has been indicted by a grand jury.
What is the case actually about? The case centers on $130,000 that Trump paid to Daniels through his former lawyer Michael Cohen in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump later reimbursed Cohen with monthly $35,000 checks, which were recorded as legal expenses. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal tax evasion and campaign-finance violation charges.
Will Trump indictment make white evangelicals ditch ‘imperfect vessel’? No, said Robert Jones, the president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute, and author of White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. “The evidence from the public opinion data suggests that it will not make much difference,” Jones said.
Who was Tatarsky? With more than 560,000 followers on Telegram, the 40-year-old was one of Russia’s most influential military bloggers. He became a trenchant critic of the defence ministry, blaming it for Russia’s inability to achieve military gains in Ukraine. He frequently travelled with Russian troops on the frontlines.
Continue reading...Residents of Sparta, Georgia, are trying to stop the Sandersville railroad and its influential owners from building a spur to a quarry
A majority-Black rural community in Georgia is battling to stop a railroad company from seizing private land for a new train line they say will cause environmental and economic harms.
Residents of Sparta, a poor community of 1,300 people located a hundred miles south-east of Atlanta, are opposing the construction of a rail spur that would connect a local quarry to the main train line, enabling the gravel company to vastly expand mining that already causes dust, debris and noise pollution.
Continue reading...Control of state’s supreme court will ultimately decide fate of 1849 abortion ban that was revived in June, after Roe was overturned
One weekend in late March, McKenzie Schroeder offered to drive her friend across the Wisconsin border into Illinois to get an abortion. Abortion has been illegal in Wisconsin since June, when the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, reviving the state’s 1849 near-total abortion ban.
“If you’ve never been in that situation, you can never understand how a woman feels if they’re pregnant and don’t know what to do,” said Schroeder, 30, who lives in Sun Prairie and works for a property management company and as a waitress. “I don’t think that any human being on the face of the earth should control what I do with my body.”
Continue reading...The 2024 presidential field widens although Senator Joe Manchin remains evasive about his own possible White House run
The former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson announced on Sunday that he plans to run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, saying the US needs “leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts” while also calling for Donald Trump to drop out the race.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the political aisle, the centrist Democrat and West Virginia senator Joe Manchin evaded a question during an interview on CNN about a potential run challenging his party’s Oval Office incumbent, Joe Biden, fueling speculation about his own ambitions.
Continue reading...Monster storm system struck at least eight states over the weekend, prompting at least 50 preliminary reports of tornadoes
As many as 29 people have been killed after a slew of tornadoes tore through parts of the southern and midwestern US in recent days, leaving immense destruction and debris in its path, according to officials.
A monster storm system struck at least eight states over the weekend, prompting at least 50 preliminary reports of tornadoes. The states affected include Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Delaware and Alabama.
Continue reading...Russian foreign minister rejects request and says US must not ‘make a fuss’ over arrest of Evan Gershkovich
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, called for Russia to free the detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich in a rare phone call with his Moscow counterpart since the start of the war in Ukraine.
The American’s plea was rejected by Sergei Lavrov, who responded by saying that US officials and media outlets must “not make a fuss” or try to politicise the plight of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter.
Continue reading...Cindy ‘CiCi’ Peak, 61, was among six victims who were shot to death at the Covenant School
A substitute teacher who was known for her devout Christian faith before she and five others were shot to death at an elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, was buried Saturday.
The funeral of Cindy “CiCi” Peak, 61, was the second held for a victim of the massacre last Tuesday at the Covenant School. Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of three nine-year-olds killed during the shooting, was buried Friday.
Continue reading...Joe Tacopina says former president plans to plead not guilty to charges stemming from hush money payments to Stormy Daniels
An attorney for Donald Trump has said he hopes the proceedings can stay “painless and classy” at the court hearing scheduled for Tuesday where the former president plans to plead not guilty to charges filed against him after an investigation into hush money payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
Joe Tacopina told CNN’s State of the Union show on Sunday that many of the particulars of the arraignment set for Tuesday were still “very much up in the air” besides the fact that the ex-president would “very loud and proudly say not guilty”.
Continue reading...The race for a place on Wisconsin’s supreme court could have major implications for abortion, democracy and the 2024 election
More than $37m has already been spent in an election that will this month determine control of Wisconsin’s supreme court, easily making it the most expensive judicial contest in US history.
Spending in the race easily shatters the $10m spent in the 2020 Wisconsin supreme court race, the previous record in the state. It also easily surpasses the previous national record, $15m spent on an Illinois supreme court race in 2004. The race has national implications – it will probably ultimately determine the legality of abortion in the state as well as play a key role in setting voting rules for the 2024 election in one of America’s most competitive states.
Continue reading...A two-year-old’s father has been arrested over his death and a grandmother charged with aggravated manslaughter
Florida is reeling after two separate cases in the state allegedly saw children die at the hands of their caregivers, according to authorities.
In St Petersburg, the body of a two-year-old boy was found Friday in an alligator’s mouth a day after his mother was discovered murdered, prompting his father’s arrest.
Continue reading...Sergey Brin, Thomas Pritzker, Mortimer Zuckerman and Michael Ovitz face questions about late sex criminal’s links with JP Morgan
A US Virgin Islands investigations into the sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to an American bank issued subpoenas to four wealthy business leaders on Friday, extending its reach into the highest echelons of tech, hospitality and finance.
The subpoenas issued to the Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Hyatt Hotels chairperson Thomas Pritzker, American-Canadian businessman Mortimer Zuckerman and former CAA talent agency chairperson Michael Ovitz are crafted to gather more information about Epstein’s relationship with JPMorgan Chase, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Continue reading...Jayqwan Hamilton, Robert Demaio and Jacob Barroso accused of killing two men after visits to gay nightclubs
Police have identified three suspects charged in the murders of two men who were robbed and fatally drugged last year in Manhattan after they visited gay nightclubs in New York City.
The suspects are Jayqwan Hamilton, 35, and Robert Demaio, 34, of Brooklyn as well as Jacob Barroso, 30, from Harlem.
Continue reading...Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, 76, faces seven-figure legal bill after unsuccessful lawsuit over ski slope collision
The retired optometrist who unsuccessfully sued Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 ski crash says taking the Oscar-winning actor to court had “absolutely not” been worth it so far, but he also had not ruled out pursuing an appeal.
Terry Sanderson, 76, made the remarks after civil court jurors in Park City, Utah, on Thursday found him at fault in his collision with Paltrow at the Deer Valley ski resort.
Continue reading...Former president prepares for New York court appearance at Florida resort after news of indictment caught him by surprise
Weekend events at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, were suspended on Friday as the former president was “huddling” with his attorneys after being blindsided by the grand jury indictment handed up against him after payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump, the New York Post reported, is meeting with advisers who were said to be “shaken” by the news of dozens of criminal charges related to a $130,000 payment given to Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Gregory Clifford.
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