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  • Bill Walton loved his bike and his hometown of San Diego

    Bill Walton loved his bike and his hometown of San Diego

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    SAN DIEGO — Bill Walton might have been the ultimate San Diegan.

    What You Need To Know

    • Walton died of cancer at 71 on Monday, the NBA announced

    • Social media was filled with posts Monday from people who remembered seeing Walton at games, concerts or in airports, and getting a smile and an autograph, and sometimes long conversations

    • There’s a life-size bronze sculpture of Walton and his bike at Ski Beach Park in Mission Bay

    • At 6-foot-11, he was believed to be the world’s tallest Deadhead

    While he went away to play basketball at UCLA and the bulk of his NBA career, he never missed a chance to celebrate his hometown.

    Long after his playing days ended, the Hall of Famer was an unofficial goodwill ambassador for San Diego, with his disposition matching the perennial sunny weather.

    While most people around the country knew Walton for his off-the-wall broadcasting style, many San Diegans knew him as the really tall guy who often rode his bike around town and once provided some unintentional comedic relief at a Padres game.

    “I love my bike, I love San Diego and I love solar power,” Walton was fond of saying at the many appearances he made for various causes.

    Walton died of cancer at 71 on Monday, the NBA announced. The Big Redhead, as he was called then, won two NCAA championships under John Wooden at UCLA before an NBA career that included winning league MVP in the 1977-78 season and championships with Portland and Boston. He played parts of four seasons with the Clippers in San Diego and Los Angeles.

    Social media was filled with posts Monday from people who remembered seeing Walton at games, concerts or in airports, and getting a smile and an autograph, and sometimes long conversations.

    The foot and back injuries that marred his NBA career didn’t slow him down later in life even as he began to show a touch of gray. He loved riding his bike and brought a custom high-backed chair with him to some concerts and basketball games.

    In 2016, he was so stoked to hear that the Amgen Tour of California would start in San Diego that he rode his custom bike — with a Grateful Dead paint job — from his home near Balboa Park to the news conference on the waterfront.

    He described himself as a “joyrider,” and one year rode the entire tour, completing as much of each leg as possible before dark.

    There’s a life-size bronze sculpture of Walton and his bike at Ski Beach Park in Mission Bay.

    At 6-foot-11, he was believed to be the world’s tallest Deadhead. He once stated that he had seen his beloved Grateful Dead 849 times. The house where he lived for more than four decades near Balboa Park was practically a tie-dyed shrine to the Dead and had a teepee in the backyard.

    Some Padres fans will probably never forget Grateful Dead Night on Aug. 8, 2019. Walton played bongos with local tribute band Electric Waste Band on a stage beyond center field at Petco Park and then threw out a ceremonial first pitch that was wide left by several feet. He asked for a second chance and made a nice throw to reliever Trey Wingenter.

    Wearing a Padres-themed Grateful Dead shirt, Walton then joined managers Bud Black of the Colorado Rockies and Andy Green of the Padres for the lineup card exchange at home plate. His fist-bumped the umpires and chatted them up to the point that the game was delayed for four minutes.

    Walton grew up in suburban La Mesa and was a phenom at Helix High. All four of Walton’s sons played college basketball, including Chris at San Diego State for Steve Fisher. Luke Walton played at Arizona and both played and was a head coach in the NBA.

    Walton’s older brother, Bruce, who died in 2019, had a brief career with the Dallas Cowboys.

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    Associated Press

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  • Bill Walton loved his bike and his hometown of San Diego

    Bill Walton loved his bike and his hometown of San Diego

    [ad_1]

    SAN DIEGO — Bill Walton might have been the ultimate San Diegan.

    What You Need To Know

    • Walton died of cancer at 71 on Monday, the NBA announced

    • Social media was filled with posts Monday from people who remembered seeing Walton at games, concerts or in airports, and getting a smile and an autograph, and sometimes long conversations

    • There’s a life-size bronze sculpture of Walton and his bike at Ski Beach Park in Mission Bay

    • At 6-foot-11, he was believed to be the world’s tallest Deadhead

    While he went away to play basketball at UCLA and the bulk of his NBA career, he never missed a chance to celebrate his hometown.

    Long after his playing days ended, the Hall of Famer was an unofficial goodwill ambassador for San Diego, with his disposition matching the perennial sunny weather.

    While most people around the country knew Walton for his off-the-wall broadcasting style, many San Diegans knew him as the really tall guy who often rode his bike around town and once provided some unintentional comedic relief at a Padres game.

    “I love my bike, I love San Diego and I love solar power,” Walton was fond of saying at the many appearances he made for various causes.

    Walton died of cancer at 71 on Monday, the NBA announced. The Big Redhead, as he was called then, won two NCAA championships under John Wooden at UCLA before an NBA career that included winning league MVP in the 1977-78 season and championships with Portland and Boston. He played parts of four seasons with the Clippers in San Diego and Los Angeles.

    Social media was filled with posts Monday from people who remembered seeing Walton at games, concerts or in airports, and getting a smile and an autograph, and sometimes long conversations.

    The foot and back injuries that marred his NBA career didn’t slow him down later in life even as he began to show a touch of gray. He loved riding his bike and brought a custom high-backed chair with him to some concerts and basketball games.

    In 2016, he was so stoked to hear that the Amgen Tour of California would start in San Diego that he rode his custom bike — with a Grateful Dead paint job — from his home near Balboa Park to the news conference on the waterfront.

    He described himself as a “joyrider,” and one year rode the entire tour, completing as much of each leg as possible before dark.

    There’s a life-size bronze sculpture of Walton and his bike at Ski Beach Park in Mission Bay.

    At 6-foot-11, he was believed to be the world’s tallest Deadhead. He once stated that he had seen his beloved Grateful Dead 849 times. The house where he lived for more than four decades near Balboa Park was practically a tie-dyed shrine to the Dead and had a teepee in the backyard.

    Some Padres fans will probably never forget Grateful Dead Night on Aug. 8, 2019. Walton played bongos with local tribute band Electric Waste Band on a stage beyond center field at Petco Park and then threw out a ceremonial first pitch that was wide left by several feet. He asked for a second chance and made a nice throw to reliever Trey Wingenter.

    Wearing a Padres-themed Grateful Dead shirt, Walton then joined managers Bud Black of the Colorado Rockies and Andy Green of the Padres for the lineup card exchange at home plate. His fist-bumped the umpires and chatted them up to the point that the game was delayed for four minutes.

    Walton grew up in suburban La Mesa and was a phenom at Helix High. All four of Walton’s sons played college basketball, including Chris at San Diego State for Steve Fisher. Luke Walton played at Arizona and both played and was a head coach in the NBA.

    Walton’s older brother, Bruce, who died in 2019, had a brief career with the Dallas Cowboys.

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    Associated Press

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  • NCAA settlement sets stage for current, former athletes to be paid

    NCAA settlement sets stage for current, former athletes to be paid

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    The NCAA and the nation’s five biggest conferences have agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion to settle a host of antitrust claims, a monumental decision that sets the stage for a groundbreaking revenue-sharing model that could start directing millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as the 2025 fall semester.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Pac-12 was the final conference to sign off when university leaders voted Thursday to approve the plan, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision

    • The deal still must be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case and challenges could arise

    • The details in the plan signal the end of the NCAA’s bedrock amateurism model that dates to its founding in 1906

    • The agreement calls for the NCAA and the conferences to pay $2.77 billion over 10 years to more than 14,000 former and current college athletes who say now-defunct rules prevented them from earning money from endorsement and sponsorship deals dating to 2016

    • Athletes in all sports would be eligible for payments and schools would be given the freedom to decide how that money is divvied up among sports programs

    The deal still must be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case and challenges could arise, but if the agreement stands, it will mark the beginning of a new era in college sports where athletes are compensated more like professionals and schools can compete for talent using direct payments.

    “There’s no question about it. It’s a huge quantum leap,” said Tom McMillen, the former Maryland basketball player and congressman who led a group of collegiate athletic directors the past year years.

    The Pac-12 was the final conference to sign off when university leaders voted Thursday to approve the plan, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision. Southeastern Conference school leaders unanimously approved the deal a few hours earlier, a second person with knowledge of that decision said. Both spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because a coordinated announcement among the Pac-12, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA was still being prepared. All met a Thursday deadline set by plaintiffs’ attorneys.

    The details in the plan signal the end of the NCAA’s bedrock amateurism model that dates to its founding in 1906. Indeed, the days of NCAA punishments for athletes driving booster-provided cars started vanishing three years ago when the organization lifted restrictions on endorsement deals backed by so-called name, image and likeness money.

    Now it is not far-fetched to look ahead to seasons where a star quarterback or top prospect on a college basketball team are not only cashing in big-money NIL deals but have a $100,000 school payment in the bank to play.

    There are a host of details still to be determined, but the agreement calls for the NCAA and the conferences to pay $2.77 billion over 10 years to more than 14,000 former and current college athletes who say now-defunct rules prevented them from earning money from endorsement and sponsorship deals dating to 2016.

    “Even though it was only because of the overwhelming legal pressure, the NCAA, conferences and schools are agreeing that college athletes should be paid,” said Ramogi Huma, a former UCLA football player and longtime advocate for college athletes. “And there’s no going back from there. That’s truly groundbreaking.”

    Some of the money will come from NCAA reserve funds and insurance but even though the lawsuit specifically targeted five conferences that are comprised of 69 schools (including Notre Dame), dozens of other NCAA member schools will see smaller distributions from the NCAA to cover the mammoth payout.

    Schools in the Big Ten, Big 12, Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences will end up bearing the brunt of the settlement at a cost of about $300 million each over 10 years, the majority of which will be paid to athletes going forward.

    The Pac-12 is also part of the settlement, with all 12 sharing responsibility even though Washington State and Oregon State will be the only league members left by this fall after the other 10 schools leave.

    Paying Athletes

    In the new compensation model, each school will be permitted, but not required, to set aside up to $21 million in revenue to share with athletes per year, though as revenues rise so could the cap.

    Athletes in all sports would be eligible for payments and schools would be given the freedom to decide how that money is divvied up among sports programs. Scholarship limits by sport will be replaced by roster restrictions.

    Whether the new compensation model is subject to the Title IX gender equity law is unknown along with whether schools will be able to bring NIL activities in-house as they hope and squeeze out the booster-run collectives that have sprouted up in the last few years to pay athletes. Both topics could lead to more lawsuits.

    The case

    The class-action federal lawsuit at the center of the settlement, House v. the NCAA, was set to go to trial in January. The complaint, brought by former Arizona State swimmer Grant House and Sedona Prince, a former Oregon and current TCU basketball player, said the NCAA, along with the five wealthiest conferences, improperly barred athletes from earning endorsement money.

    The suit also made the case that athletes were entitled to a piece of the billions of dollars the NCAA and those conferences earn from media rights agreements with television networks.

    Amid political and public pressure, and facing the prospect of another court loss that some in college sports claimed could reach $20 billion in damages, NCAA and conference officials conceded on what has long been a core principal of the enterprise: That schools don’t directly pay the athletes to play beyond a scholarship.

    That principle had already been dented numerous times over the last decade.

    Notably, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against the NCAA in 2021 in a case related to education-related benefits. The narrow focus of the Alston case didn’t collapse the collegiate sports system, but the strong rebuke of the NCAA’s model of amateurism flung the door open to more lawsuits. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a former Yale athlete, put it bluntly: “The bottom line is that the NCAA and its member colleges are suppressing the pay of student athletes who collectively generate billions of dollars in revenues for colleges every year.”

    The other cases

    The settlement is expected to cover two other antitrust cases facing the NCAA and major conferences that challenge athlete compensation rules. Hubbard vs. the NCAA and Carter vs. the NCAA are also currently in front of judges in the Northern District of California.

    A fourth case, Fontenot vs, NCAA, creates a potential complication as it remains in a Colorado court after a judge denied a request to combine it with Carter. Whether Fontenot becomes part of the settlement is unknown and it matters because the NCAA and its conferences don’t want to be on the hook for more damages should they lose in court.

    “We’re going to continue to litigate our case in Colorado and look forward to hearing about the terms of a settlement proposal once they’re actually released and put in front of a court,” said George Zelcs, a plaintiffs’ attorney in Fontenot.

    College athletics overhaul

    The solution agreed to in the settlement is landmark, but not surprising. College sports has been trending in this direction for years, with athletes receiving more and more monetary benefits and rights they say were long overdue.

    In December, NCAA President Charlie Baker, the former Massachusetts governor who has been on the job for 14 months, proposed creating a new tier of Division I athletics where the schools with the most resources would be required to pay at least half their athletes $30,000 per year. That suggestion, along with many other possibilities, remain under discussion.

    The settlement does not make every issue facing college sports go away. There is still a question of whether athletes should be deemed employees of their schools, something Baker and other college sports leaders are fighting against.

    Some type of federal legislation or antitrust exemption is likely still needed to codify the terms of the settlement, protect the NCAA from future litigation and pre-empt state laws that attempt to neuter the organization’s authority. As it is, the NCAA is still facing lawsuits that challenge its ability to govern itself, including setting rules limiting multiple-time transfers.

    Federal lawmakers have indicated they would like to get something done, but while several bills have been introduced none have gone anywhere.

    Despite the unanswered questions, one thing is clear: Major college athletics is about to become more like professional sports than ever before.

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    Associated Press

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  • Biden releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from reserve to lower prices

    Biden releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from reserve to lower prices

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    The Biden administration said Tuesday that it is releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve established after Superstorm Sandy in a bid to lower prices at the pump this summer.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Joe Biden’s administration is releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline to alleviate prices at the pump this summer

    • The sale is from a Northeast reserve was created a decade ago after Superstorm Sandy, which is separate from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Texas and Louisiana

    • Biden significantly drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but he has since begun refilling the oil reserve

    • At more than 364 million barrels as of last month, the stockpile is lower than before the Russia-Ukraine war but is still the world’s largest emergency crude oil supply


    The sale, from storage sites in New Jersey and Maine, will be allocated in increments of 100,000 barrels at a time. The approach will create a competitive bidding process that ensures gasoline can flow into local retailers ahead of the July 4 holiday and sold at competitive prices, the Energy Department said. The move is intended to help “lower costs for American families and consumers,” the department said in a statement.

    Gas prices average about $3.60 per gallon nationwide as of Tuesday, up 6 cents from a year ago, according to AAA. Tapping gasoline reserves is one of the few actions a president can take by himself to try to control inflation, an election year liability for the party in control of the White House.

    “The Biden-Harris administration is laser-focused on lowering prices at the pump for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for summer driving season,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in the statement. “By strategically releasing this reserve in between Memorial Day and July 4th, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the tri-state (area) and Northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most.”

    White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said release of gas from the Northeast reserve builds on actions by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, “to lower gas and energy costs — including historic releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the largest-ever investment in clean energy.”

    Biden significantly drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, dropping the stockpile to its lowest level since the 1980s. The election year move helped stabilize gasoline prices that had been rising in the wake of the war in Europe but drew complaints from Republicans that the Democratic president was playing politics with a reserve meant for national emergencies.

    The Biden administration has since begun refilling the oil reserve, which had more than 364 million barrels of crude oil as of last month. The total is lower than levels before the Russia-Ukraine war but still the world’s largest emergency crude oil supply.

    The Northeast sale will require that fuel is transferred or delivered no later than June 30, the Energy Department said.

    “While congressional Republicans fight to preserve tax breaks for Big Oil at the expense of hardworking families, President Biden is advancing a more secure, affordable, and clean energy future to lower utility bills while record American energy production helps meet our immediate needs,” Jean-Pierre said.

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    Associated Press

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  • Graceland not for sale, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter says in lawsuit

    Graceland not for sale, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter says in lawsuit

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    Actor Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ‘n’ roll’s former home as collateral was not repaid.

    What You Need To Know

    • The granddaughter of Elvis Presley is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company attempted to sell the property based on claims that a loan using it as collateral was not repaid

    • Court documents show a public auction for the estate had been scheduled for this Thursday

    • But a judge blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough sought a temporary restraining order and filed a lawsuit

    • A public notice for a foreclosure sale of the estate says Graceland controller Promenade Trust owes nearly $4 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan to an investment company
    • Graceland says the company’s claims are fraudulent

    A public auction for the estate had been scheduled for Thursday this week, but a Memphis judge blocked the sale after Keough sought a temporary restraining order and filed a lawsuit, court documents show.

    A public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre estate posted earlier in May said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Keough inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year. Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, the lawsuit said.

    Naussany Investments and Private Lending said Lisa Marie Presley failed to pay back the loan and sought to sell the estate on the courthouse steps, according to the foreclosure sale notice. Keough, on behalf of the Promenade Trust, sued last week, claiming that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan and unpaid sum in September 2023.

    “Lisa Maria Presley never borrowed money from Naussany Investments and never gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments,” Keough’s lawyer wrote in a lawsuit.

    Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose name is listed on the documents, indicated that she never meet Lisa Marie Presley nor notarized any documents for her, the court filing said. The Associated Press texted Philbrick at numbers believed to be hers, but she didn’t immediately respond.

    W. Bradley Russell, a lawyer for Keough, declined comment Tuesday.

    Kurt Naussany, who was identified in court documents as a defendant, directed questions in an email to Gregory Naussany. Gregory Naussany told the AP in an email: “The attorneys can make comment!”

    An injunction hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Shelby County Chancery Court.

    “Elvis Presley Enterprises can confirm that these claims are fraudulent. There is no foreclosure sale. Simply put, the counter lawsuit has been filed is to stop the fraud,” Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. said in a statement Tuesday.

    Graceland opened as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982 as a tribute to Elvis Presley, the singer and actor who died in August 1977 at age 42. It draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

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    Associated Press

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  • Full flower moon peaks this week

    Full flower moon peaks this week

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    The flower moon will illuminate our skies this week.

    What You Need To Know

    • May’s full moon is the Flower Moon

    • Full moon will peak early Thursday

    • Unobstructed views of the horizon allow for best sightings

    May’s full moon is often called the Flower Moon. Native American names also have a spring flavor, including Budding Moon and Planting Moon.

    It is called the flower moon because of the abundance of flowers that emerge during the month across North America. 

    Last October, Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiered. It was titled as such to attribute to the “Reign of Terror” in the Osage nation that began in May 1921.

    The full moon will come to full peak early Thursday morning but still provide optimal viewings for both Wednesday night and Thursday night. Be sure to find a place with unobstructed horizon views for the best sights.

    Cicada moon?

    Residents along the Midwest and South might refer to this year’s May full moon as the cicada moon, due to the emergence of billions of cicadas from two separate broods.

    A 13-year cicada peers over a ledge in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, May 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Meteorologist Stacy Lynn

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  • White House blocks release of Biden’s special counsel interview audio

    White House blocks release of Biden’s special counsel interview audio

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    The White House on Thursday blocked the release of audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel about his handling of classified documents, arguing Thursday that Republicans in Congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes.

    Biden’s move to assert executive privilege came shortly before the Republican-led House committees on Judiciary and Oversight met to advance a motion to refer Attorney General Merrick Garland to his own Justice Department for a contempt of Congress charge for refusing to hand over the recording.

    The House Judiciary Panel voted along party lines to advance the referral measure on Thursday, and House Oversight Committee followed suit later that evening. 

    What You Need To Know

    • The White House on Thursday blocked the release of audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel about his handling of classified documents, arguing Thursday that Republicans in Congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes

    • Biden’s move to assert executive privilege came before two House committees met Thursday to advance a motion to refer Attorney General Merrick Garland to his own Justice Department for a contempt of Congress charge for refusing to hand over the recording

    • White House counsel Ed Siskel wrote in a scathing letter to House Republicans that they were likely to edit and distort the recordings for political purposes

    • House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, argued the transcript of the interview are not sufficient in determining whether Hur acted appropriately in not recommending charges, accusing the White House of having “a track record of altering transcripts.”

    “The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal — to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes,” White House counsel Ed Siskel wrote in a scathing letter to House Republicans.

    “Demanding such sensitive and constitutionally-protected law enforcement materials from the Executive Branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate,” Siskel added.

    Garland separately advised Biden in a letter made public Thursday that the audio falls within the scope of executive privilege, which protects a president’s ability to obtain candid counsel from his advisers without fear of immediate public disclosure and to protect confidential communications relating to official responsibilities.

    Speaking to reporters Thursday morning, Garland said: “People depend on us to ensure that our investigations and our prosecutions are conducted according to the facts and the law and without political influence. We have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the committees get responses to their legitimate requests, but this is not one.”

    Garland added that the effort to hold him in contempt is the latest in “a series of unprecedented and, frankly, unfounded attacks on the Justice Department.”

    The Justice Department warned Congress that a contempt effort would create “unnecessary and unwarranted conflict,” with Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte saying: “It is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the president’s claim of executive privilege cannot be held in contempt of Congress.

    In a February report he submitted to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Hur wrote that his investigation “uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”

    Justice Department policy protects a sitting president from being charged with crimes, but Hur said, even if he could, he would not recommend prosecuting Biden because the evidence did not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, adding, “Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” comments Republicans have seized upon.

    A transcript from the Biden interview have already been made public. But House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, argued those are not sufficient in determining whether Hur acted appropriately in not recommending charges, accusing the White House of having “a track record of altering transcripts.”

    Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., said it is “an incomprehensibly absurd position” that the White House would assert executive privilege for the audio recording after the transcript has already been released.

    “That tape must be quite something if the administration of the president has decided to assert executive privilege to keep it from the committee in the course of an impeachment inquiry,” he said.

    Bishop added that the transcript does not capture “demeanor evidence” such as hesitations in answering questions.

    Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., argued that Biden’s conversation with an investigator should not be protected by executive privilege. 

    “It’s crystal clear to me that any official discussion between the president and any subordinate cannot be pierced,” he said. “But this case is very different because it’s not a conversation between the president and a subordinate over policy or the discharge of his official duties. Rather, it’s an interview in the course of a criminal investigation. To me, this is far closer to the Nixon tapes.”

    Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, defended Garland, saying “substantially complied with every request” made by House Republicans about the Hur investigation.

    “The only thing that has not been produced is the recording itself, which can be easily manipulated,” Nadler said. “ … This isn’t really MAGA base and getting Donald Trump reelected.”

    Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said Republican assertions that the transcript could not be trusted are unfounded.

    “There is no evidence whatsoever that this transcript was made up, that it’s fake, that it’s been doctored,” he said. “This transcript was produced by Robert Hur’s office. Robert Hur was appointed by Donald Trump. He is a Republican appointee. The notion that somehow this transcript is fake is a wild, insane conspiracy theory.”

    Hur was a senior official in the Trump Justice Department, but was appointed special counsel in the Biden classified documents case by Garland in January 2023.

    Siskel’s letter to lawmakers comes after the uproar from Biden’s aides and allies over Hur’s comments about Biden’s age and mental acuity, and it highlights concerns in a difficult election year over how potentially embarrassing moments from the lengthy interview could be exacerbated by the release, or selective release, of the audio.

    The transcript of the interview showed Biden struggling to recall some dates and occasionally confusing some details — something longtime aides says he’s done for years in both public and private — but otherwise showing deep recall in other areas. Biden and his aides are particularly sensitive to questions about his age. At 81, he’s the oldest ever president, and he’s seeking another four-year term.

    Hur’s report said many of the documents recovered at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, in parts of Biden’s Delaware home and in his Senate papers at the University of Delaware were retained by “mistake.”

    But investigators did find evidence of willful retention and disclosure related a subset of records found in Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, house, including in a garage, an office and a basement den.

    The files pertain to a troop surge in Afghanistan during the Obama administration that Biden had vigorously opposed. Biden kept records that documented his position, including a classified letter to Obama during the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday. Some of that information was shared with a ghostwriter with whom he published memoirs in 2007 and 2017.

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    Associated Press

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  • Supreme Court rejects challenge to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

    Supreme Court rejects challenge to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

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    The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a conservative-led attack that could have undermined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

    What You Need To Know

    • In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded does not violate the Constitution

    • The high court’s decision reverses a lower court’s ruling and rejects a conservative-led attack on the Obama-era agency

    • The CFPB was created after the 2008 financial crisis to regulate mortgages, car loans and other consumer finance

    • The case was brought by payday lenders who object to a CFPB rule


    The CFPB was created after the 2008 financial crisis to regulate mortgages, car loans and other consumer finance. The justices ruled 7-2 that the way the Obama-era agency is funded does not violate the Constitution, reversing a lower court decision. The case was brought by payday lenders who object to a CFPB rule.

    President Joe Biden hailed the decision as “an unmistakable win for American consumers.”

    “Since President Obama and I created it in the wake of the Great Recession, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has worked to protect consumers from abusive practices by lenders, servicers, and special interests, and has lowered costs for hardworking families by going after junk fees,” Biden said in a statement. “Under my Administration, the CFPB has delivered: providing nearly $9 billion in consumer relief and working to save consumers $20 billion per year going forward on credit card late fees, overdraft fees, and other junk fees.”

    “In the face of years of attacks from extreme Republicans and special interests, the Court made clear that the CFPB’s funding authority is constitutional and that its strong record of consumer protection will not be undone,” he added. 

    Writing for the majority opinion, conservative Justice Clarnece Thomas said that while most federal agencies must be funded through the annual congressional appropriations process, “the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is different” because it “does not have to petition for funds each year.”

    “Instead, Congress authorized the Bureau to draw from the Federal Reserve System the amount its Director deems ‘reasonably necessary to carry out’ the Bureau’s duties, subject only to an inflation-adjusted cap,” he continued. “In this case, we must decide the narrow question whether this funding mechanism complies with the Appropriations Clause. We hold that it does.”

    Thomas went on to say that through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the law enacted in the wake of the 2008 crisis which created the agency, Congress gave the CFPB “sweeping authority” as well as insulation “from the influence of the political branches” and the president’s control, noting the fact that its director can only be removed “for inefficiency, neglect, or malfeasance.”

    In a concurring opinion, liberal Justice Elena Kagan noted that “throughout our history, Congress has created a variety of mechanisms to pay for government operations.”

    “Some schemes specified amounts to go to designated items; others left greater discretion to the Executive. Some were limited in duration; others were permanent. Some relied on general Treasury moneys; others designated alternative sources of funds,” Justice Kagan wrote. “Whether or not the CFPB’s mechanism has an exact replica, its essentials are nothing new. And it was devised more than two centuries into an unbroken congressional practice, beginning at the beginning, of innovation and adaptation in appropriating funds. The way our Government has actually worked, over our entire experience, thus provides another reason to uphold Congress’s decision about how to fund the CFPB.”

    Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, both conservatives, dissented, with the former writing that the court’s ruling “turns the Appropriations Clause into a minor vestige.”

    “The Court holds that the Appropriations Clause is satisfied by any law that authorizes the Executive to take any amount of money from any source for any period of time for any lawful purpose,” Alito wrote. “That holding has the virtue of clarity, but such clarity comes at too high a price. There are times when it is our duty to say simply that a law that blatantly attempts to circumvent the Constitution goes too far. This is such a case. Today’s decision is not faithful to the original understanding of the Appropriations Clause and the centuries of history that gave birth to the appropriations requirement.”

    The CFPB case is among several major challenges to federal regulatory agencies on the docket this term for a court that has for more than a decade been open to limits on their operations. The CFPB, the brainchild of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has long been opposed by Republicans and their financial backers.

    “This is a big win for working people,” Warren wrote on social media on Thursday.

    Unlike most federal agencies, the consumer bureau does not rely on the annual budget process in Congress. Instead, it is funded directly by the Federal Reserve, with a current annual limit of around $600 million.

    The federal appeals court in New Orleans, in a novel ruling, held that the funding violated the Constitution’s appropriations clause because it improperly shields the CFPB from congressional supervision.

    While the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and some other business interests backed the payday lenders, mortgage bankers and other sectors regulated by the CFPB cautioned the court to avoid a broad ruling that could unsettle the markets.

    In 2020, the court decided another CFPB case, ruling that Congress had improperly insulated the head of the bureau from removal. The justices said the director could be replaced by the president at will, but allowed the agency to continue to operate.

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    Associated Press

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  • White House blocks release of Biden’s special counsel interview audio

    White House blocks release of Biden’s special counsel interview audio

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    President Joe Biden has asserted executive privilege over audio of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur that’s at the center a Republican effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, the Justice Department told lawmakers on Thursday.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Joe Biden has asserted executive privilege over audio of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur at the center a Republican effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress

    • Garland advised the Democratic president in a letter Thursday the audio falls within the scope of executive privilege

    • White House Counsel Ed Siskel writes in a letter to Congress lawmakers’ effort to obtain the recording is absent any legitimate purpose

    •  It comes as the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Judiciary Committee are each expected to hold hearings over the contempt effort

    It comes as the the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Judiciary Committee are each expected to hold a hearing to recommend that the full House refer Garland to the Justice Department for the contempt charges over the department’s refusal to hand over the audio.

    Garland advised Biden in a letter on Thursday that the audio falls within the scope of executive privilege. Garland told the Democratic president that the “committee’s needs are plainly insufficient to outweigh the deleterious effects that the production of the recordings would have on the integrity and effectiveness of similar law enforcement investigations in the future.”

    Assistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte urged lawmakers not to proceed with the contempt effort to avoid “unnecessary and unwarranted conflict.”

    “It is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the president’s claim of executive privilege cannot be held in contempt of Congress,” Uriarte wrote.

    White House Counsel Ed Siskel wrote in a separate, scathing letter to Congress on Thursday that lawmakers’ effort to obtain the recording was absent any legitimate purpose and lays bare their likely goal — “to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes.”

    The White House memo is a tacit admission that there are moments from the interview it fears portray Biden in a negative light in an election year — and that could be exacerbated by the release, or selective release, of the audio.

    The transcript of the Hur interview showed Biden struggling to recall some dates and occasionally confusing some details — something longtime aides says he’s done for years in both public and private — but otherwise showing deep recall in other areas. Biden and his aides are particularly sensitive to questions about his age. At 81, he’s the oldest ever president, and he’s seeking another four year term.

    Hur found some evidence that Biden had willfully retained classified information and disclosed it to a ghostwriter but concluded that it was insufficient for criminal charges.

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    Associated Press

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  • Former President Jimmy Carter ‘coming to the end,’ grandson says

    Former President Jimmy Carter ‘coming to the end,’ grandson says

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    Former President Jimmy Carter is “coming to the end,” his grandson Jason Carter said Tuesday.

    What You Need To Know

    • Former President Jimmy Carter is “coming to the end,” his grandson Jason Carter said Tuesday

    • The younger Carter provided the update on his 99-year-old grandfather during the 28th Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum in Atlanta

    • The longest-lived American president, Jimmy Carter has been in hospice care in Plains, Georgia, since February 2023

    The younger Carter provided the update on his 99-year-old grandfather during the 28th Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum in Atlanta, the first held since the former first lady died in November.

    The longest-lived American president, Jimmy Carter has been in hospice care in Plains, Georgia, since February 2023. 

    “My grandfather is doing OK,” said Jason Carter, who chairs the board at The Carter Center, which hosts the forum. “He has been in hospice, as you know, for some —  almost a year and a half now. And he really is, I think, coming to the end. 

    “As I’ve said before, there’s a part of this faith journey that is so important to him. And there’s a part of that faith journey that you only can live at the very end, and I think he has been there in that space,” Jason Carter added.

    Jason Carter said he visited the former president a few weeks ago to watch an Atlanta Braves game on television. 

    “I said, ‘Pawpaw, people ask me how you’re doing, and I say, “I don’t know.”’ And he said, ‘Well, I don’t know myself,’” Jason Carter said, laughing. “He’s still there.” 

    “But those moments for him in this last year have reminded us, I think, of another of the really important aspects of my grandmother’s legacy, which is that of caregiving,” Jason Smith said, turning the attention back to the forum’s namesake.

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    Ryan Chatelain

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  • Weather Explained: Storm surge

    Weather Explained: Storm surge

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    Storm surge is when a storm or hurricane causes ocean levels to rise, bringing flooding and destruction to life and property.

    Three factors can determine the severity of storm surge: coastal orientation, the slope of the continental and tides. 

    Watch the video above to learn how these three things affect storm surge and what you can do to keep you, your family and property safe. 

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    Spectrum News Weather Staff

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  • WWII soldiers posthumously receive Purple Heart medals

    WWII soldiers posthumously receive Purple Heart medals

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    PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The families of five Hawaii men who served in a unit of Japanese-language linguists during World War II received posthumous Purple Heart medals on behalf of their loved ones on Friday, nearly eight decades after the soldiers died in a plane crash in the final days of the conflict.

    “I don’t have words. I’m just overwhelmed,” Wilfred Ikemoto said as he choked up while speaking of the belated honor given to his older brother Haruyuki.

    What You Need To Know

    • The families of five Hawaii men who served in a unit of Japanese-language linguists during World War II have received posthumous Purple Heart medals on behalf of their loved ones nearly eight decades after the soldiers died in a plane crash in the final days of the conflic

    • The five were among 31 men killed when their C-46 transport plane hit a cliff while attempting to land on Aug. 13, 1945 

    • Army records indicate only two of the 31 ever received Purple Heart medals, which the military awards to those wounded or killed during action against an enemy

    The older Ikemoto was among 31 men killed when their C-46 transport plane hit a cliff while attempting to land in Okinawa, Japan, on Aug. 13, 1945.

    “I’m just happy that he got recognized,” Ikemoto said.

    Army records indicate only two of the 31 ever received Purple Heart medals, which the military awards to those wounded or killed during action against an enemy.

    Researchers in Hawaii and Minnesota recently discovered the omission, leading the Army to agree to issue medals to families of the 29 men who were never recognized. Researchers located families of the five from Hawaii, and now the Army is asking family members of the other 24 men to contact them so their loved ones can finally receive recognition.

    The older Ikemoto was the fourth of 10 children and the first in his family to attend college when he enrolled at the University of Hawaii. He was a photographer and developed film in a makeshift darkroom in a bedroom at home.

    “I remember him as probably the smartest and most talented in our family,” said Wilfred Ikemoto, who was 10 years old when his brother died.

    On board the plane were 12 paratroopers with the 11th Airborne Division, five soldiers in a Counter-intelligence Detachment assigned to the paratroopers, 10 Japanese American linguists in the Military Intelligence Service and four crew members.

    They had all flown up from the Philippines to spearhead the occupation of Japan after Tokyo’s surrender, said Daniel Matthews, who looked into the ill-fated flight while researching his father’s postwar service in the 11th Airborne.

    Members of the Sogi family hold a photo of Masaru Sogi and the Purple Heart medal posthumously awarded to him, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

    Matthews attributed the Army’s failure to recognize all 31 soldiers with medals to administrative oversight in the waning hours of the war. The U.S. had been preparing to invade Japan’s main islands, but it formulated alternative plans after receiving indications Japan was getting ready to surrender. Complicating matters further, there were four different units on the plane.

    Wilfred Motokane Jr. said he had mixed feelings after he accepted his father’s medal.

    “I’m very happy that we’re finally recognizing some people,” he said. “I think it took a long time for it to happen. That’s the one part that I don’t feel that good about, if you will.”

    The Hawaii five were all part of the Military Intelligence Service or MIS, a U.S. Army unit made up of mostly Japanese Americans who interrogated prisoners, translated intercepted messages and traveled behind enemy lines to gather intelligence.

    They five had been inducted in January 1944 after the MIS, desperate to get more recruits, sent a team to Hawaii to find more linguists, historian Mark Matsunaga said.

    Altogether some 6,000 served with the Military Intelligence Service. But much of their work has remained relatively unknown because it was classified until the 1970s.

    During the U.S. occupation of Japan, they served crucial roles as liaisons between American and Japanese officials and overseeing regional governments.

    Retired Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, who recently stepped down as head of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, presented the medals to the families during the ceremony on the banks of Pearl Harbor. Nakasone’s Hawaii-born father served in the MIS after the war, giving him a personal connection to the event.

    “What these Military Intelligence Service soldiers brought to the occupation of Japan was an understanding of culture that could take what was the vanquished to work with the victor,” Nakasone said. “I’m very proud of all the MIS soldiers not only during combat, but also during the occupation.”

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  • WWII soldiers posthumously receive Purple Heart medals nearly 80 years after fatal plane crash

    WWII soldiers posthumously receive Purple Heart medals nearly 80 years after fatal plane crash

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    Five Hawaiian men who served in a unit of Japanese-language linguists during World War II were recognized with posthumous Purple Heart medals nearly 80 years after their plane crashed in the final days of the conflict.

    The men – Joseph Kuwada, Haruyuki Ikemoto, Kazuyoshi Inouye, Wilfred Motokane, and Masaru Sogi – were among 31 killed when their C-46 transport plane hit a cliff while attempting to land in Okinawa, Japan on Aug. 13, 1945. Army records indicate only two of the 31 received Purple Heart medals, which are awarded to service members wounded or killed during action against an enemy.

    WWII-Purple Heart
    Photos of Hawaii men posthumously awarded Purple Heart medals sit on a table at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Friday, May 10, 2024.

    Audrey McAvoy / AP


    The Purple Heart is the nation’s oldest military medal, dating back to the time of George Washington. It has been awarded almost two million times.

    Researchers in Hawaii and Minnesota recently discovered the omission, leading the Army to agree to issue medals to families of the 29 men who were never recognized. Researchers located families of the five from Hawaii, and now the Army is asking family members of the other 24 men to contact them so their loved ones can finally receive recognition.

    “I don’t have words. I’m just overwhelmed,” Wilfred Ikemoto said as he choked up while speaking of the belated honor given to his older brother Haruyuki during a ceremony in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Friday.

    “I’m just happy that he got recognized,” Ikemoto said.

    The older Ikemoto was the fourth of 10 children and the first in his family to attend college when he enrolled at the University of Hawaii. He was a photographer and developed film in a makeshift darkroom in a bedroom at home.

    “I remember him as probably the smartest and most talented in our family,” said Wilfred Ikemoto, who was 10 years old when his brother died.

    On board the plane were 12 paratroopers with the 11th Airborne Division, five soldiers in a Counter-intelligence Detachment assigned to the paratroopers, 10 Japanese American linguists in the Military Intelligence Service and four crew members.

    They had all flown up from the Philippines to spearhead the occupation of Japan after Tokyo’s surrender, said Daniel Matthews, who looked into the ill-fated flight while researching his father’s postwar service in the 11th Airborne.

    WWII-Purple Heart
    Wilfred Ikemoto, right, whose older brother Haruyuki Ikemoto posthumously received a Purple Heart medal after being killed in World War II, thanks researcher Daniel Matthews in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Friday, May 10, 2024.

    Audrey McAvoy / AP


    Matthews attributed the Army’s failure to recognize all 31 soldiers with medals to administrative oversight in the waning hours of the war. The U.S. had been preparing to invade Japan’s main islands, but it formulated alternative plans after receiving indications Japan was getting ready to surrender. Complicating matters further, there were four different units on the plane.

    Wilfred Motokane Jr. said he had mixed feelings after he accepted his father’s medal.

    “I’m very happy that we’re finally recognizing some people,” he said. “I think it took a long time for it to happen. That’s the one part that I don’t feel that good about, if you will.”

    The Hawaii five were all part of the Military Intelligence Service or MIS, a U.S. Army unit made up of mostly Japanese Americans who interrogated prisoners, translated intercepted messages and traveled behind enemy lines to gather intelligence.

    They five had been inducted in January 1944 after the MIS, desperate to get more recruits, sent a team to Hawaii to find more linguists, historian Mark Matsunaga said.

    Altogether some 6,000 served with the Military Intelligence Service. But much of their work has remained relatively unknown because it was classified until the 1970s.

    During the U.S. occupation of Japan, they served crucial roles as liaisons between American and Japanese officials and overseeing regional governments.

    WWII-Purple Heart
    Members of the Sogi family hold a photo of Masaru Sogi and the Purple Heart medal posthumously awarded to him, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Friday, May 10, 2024.

    Audrey McAvoy / AP


    Retired Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, who recently stepped down as head of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, presented the medals to the families during the ceremony on the banks of Pearl Harbor. Nakasone’s Hawaii-born father served in the MIS after the war, giving him a personal connection to the event.

    “What these Military Intelligence Service soldiers brought to the occupation of Japan was an understanding of culture that could take what was the vanquished to work with the victor,” Nakasone said. “I’m very proud of all the MIS soldiers not only during combat, but also during the occupation.”

    During his research, Matthews also located the niece of the senior officer aboard the plane, Capt. John H. Norton, of Marion, South Carolina. She will soon be presented the Purple Heart in honor of her uncle, a 1943 West Point graduate who led the counterintelligence team attached to the 11th Airborne Division.

    He hopes the ceremony in Hawaii and the other in South Carolina will help other families pursue the Purple Hearts their loved ones earned with their service.

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  • Northern lights could be visible across U.S. on Friday night

    Northern lights could be visible across U.S. on Friday night

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    A strong geomagnetic storm is impacting the Earth. 

    NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has observed extreme (G5) geomagnetic conditions for the first time since Oct. 2003, meaning the northern lights, or aurora borealis, could be visible for much of the northern United States on Friday night and early Saturday morning.

    It may be visible low on the horizon further south, from Southern California east across the Southern U.S.

    What You Need To Know

    • The northern lights could be visible in the northern U.S. on Friday night

    • Extreme (G5) geomagnetic conditions have been observed for the first time since 2003

    • Further south, the northern lights may be visible on the horizon

    According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have reached Earth, leading to extreme geomagnetic activity. A CME is an eruption of solar material, and G5 conditions are very rare.

    Geomagnetic storming could continue through the weekend, with more CMEs on the way to Earth. Under clear skies, the northern lights should be visible across much of the northern U.S. on Friday night and early Saturday morning. Further south, they could be visible on the horizon.

    Tonight’s forecast

    Here is tonight’s forecast from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. The northern lights are likely to be visible on Friday night and early Saturday morning for areas shaded in green, and they could be visible on the horizon for areas shaded in yellow.

    To ensure the best chance at getting a look at the northern lights tonight, look toward the northern horizon. The best viewing conditions are under cloud-free skies and away from bigger cities with light pollution.

    If you see the northern lights tonight, be sure to submit your photos on the Spectrum News App!

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Meteorologist Reid Lybarger

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  • The northern lights: Photos vs. what your eyes see

    The northern lights: Photos vs. what your eyes see

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    Dazzling, shimmer curtains of red and green… you’ve probably seen amazing photos of the aurora, or northern lights. Unfortunately, if you’re lucky enough to see the aurora with your own eyes, it typically won’t live up to those expectations.

    Technology and biology are why.

    What You Need To Know

    • Cameras can have long exposures and wide apertures to let in lots of light

    • Image editing can bring out the colors

    • Our eyes don’t pick up color very well in low light



    For those of us in the mid-latitudes–that is, most of the U.S.–aurora aren’t visible very often, especially the farther south you are. And when they do show up, they’re typically not very bright.

    So how do photographers snap such stunning photos?

    Technology

    “Cameras with long exposures will pick up on the northern lights because cameras use that long exposure of several seconds to absorb the light and colors of the aurora,” says Willard Sharp, who photographs everything from severe storms to solar storms. “Modern camera sensors are very sensitive in low light, so it’s easier to get a detailed photo of the aurora.”

    Northern lights fill the sky in Edinburg, N.Y. (Photo by Derek Spagnola)

    A long exposure and wide-open aperture let a lot of light in. “This allows the camera to gather data in a photo that I can then work with in Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop to bring out details and get the colors to look good and natural,” Sharp says.

    “Your eyes may not catch as much color here [in the Lower 48], but the camera will do a wonderful job with that several second exposure to get a vivid picture.”

    Biology

    And why won’t your eyes catch much color? As great as they are, they’re just not equipped to do color at night.

    You might know that your eyes have rods and cones, which are stimulated by light. The gist is that we have three types of cones that work with the brain to see red, green and blue (and all the combinations of those), but cones need a lot of light… something that the night sky doesn’t provide.

    Rods are much more sensitive to light so we can see at night, but they don’t have nearly the same color abilities as cones. Sure, we can kind of see color, but it’s not at all vivid. Our eyes, like a camera, need a wide aperture and a lot of light to get the most out of what’s in front of us.

    Normalized wavelengths the rods and cones of the eye are sensitive to. (CC by 4.0/Ibrahim Al-Bahadly)

    Even so, “when you head north to, say, Canada, the lights are much brighter even with weaker geomagnetic storming, so the eyes can see them much more easily,” Sharp says.

    Photography tips

    Sharp has a “night skies cheat sheet,” if you’re interested in trying out astrophotography. And you’ll need patience. Forecasting space weather is even more difficult than Earth weather forecasts, and Sharp says looking at the data can be “daunting.”

    “Sometimes a predicted geomagnetic storm will not pan out as expected. Other times minor space weather events trigger big and bright aurora displays,” says Sharp.

    NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has an aurora dashboard that displays current space weather conditions and aurora forecasts. Sharp also recommends SpaceWeatherLive. Here are the parameters he likes to see:

    • Kp: At least 5
    • Bz: At least -10 for at least one hour; two or more hours is better, and -20 suggests aurora visible to the naked eye
    • Solar winds: At least 500 km/sec
    • Density: At least 5, but 10 or higher is better

    Wondering how northern lights even happen in the first place? We have the answer. Plus, your chances of seeing amazing aurora photos–or maybe with your own eyes–could be increasing, as solar activity is forecast to peak in 2024.

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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  • U.N. assembly approves resolution granting Palestine new rights

    U.N. assembly approves resolution granting Palestine new rights

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    The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on Friday to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and called on the Security Council to favorably reconsider its request to become the 194th member of the United Nations.

    What You Need To Know

    • The U.N. General Assembly has voted by a wide margin to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and has called on the Security Council to favorably reconsider its request to become the 194th member of the United Nations

    • The 193-member world body approved the Arab and Palestinian sponsored resolution on Friday by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions

    • The United States vetoed a widely backed council resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the Palestinians have long sought and Israel has worked to prevent

    The 193-member world body approved the Arab and Palestinian-sponsored resolution by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions.

    The United States vetoed a widely backed council resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the Palestinians have long sought and Israel has worked to prevent.

    U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood made clear on Thursday that the Biden administration opposed the assembly resolution. The United States was among the nine countries voting against it, along with Israel.

    “We’ve been very clear from the beginning there is a process for obtaining full membership in the United Nations, and this effort by some of the Arab countries and the Palestinians is to try to go around that,” Wood said Thursday. “We have said from the beginning the best way to ensure Palestinian full membership in the U.N. is to do that through negotiations with Israel. That remains our position.”

    Under the U.N. Charter, prospective members of the United Nations must be “peace-loving,” and the Security Council must recommend their admission to the General Assembly for final approval. Palestine became a U.N. non-member observer state in 2012.

    The resolution “determines” that a state of Palestine is qualified for membership — dropping the original language that in the General Assembly’s judgment it is “a peace-loving state.” It therefore recommends that the Security Council reconsider its request “favorably.”

    The renewed push for full Palestinian membership in the U.N. comes as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage. At numerous council and assembly meetings, the humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinians in Gaza and the killing of more than 34,000 people in the territory, according to Gaza health officials, have generated outrage from many countries.

    The original draft of the assembly resolution was changed significantly to address concerns not only by the U.S. but also by Russia and China, according to three Western diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations were private.

    The first draft would have conferred on Palestine “the rights and privileges necessary to ensure its full and effective participation” in the assembly’s sessions and U.N. conferences “on equal footing with member states.” It also made no reference to whether Palestine could vote in the General Assembly.

    According to the diplomats, Russia and China, which are strong supporters of Palestine’s U.N. membership, were concerned that granting the list of rights and privileges detailed in an annex to the resolution could set a precedent for other would-be U.N. members — with Russia concerned about Kosovo and China about Taiwan.

    Under longstanding legislation by the U.S. Congress, the United States is required to cut off funding to U.N. agencies that give full membership to a Palestinian state — which could mean a cutoff in dues and voluntary contributions to the U.N. from its largest contributor.

    The final draft drops the language that would put Palestine “on equal footing with member states.” And to address Chinese and Russian concerns, it would decide “on an exceptional basis and without setting a precedent” to adopt the rights and privileges in the annex.

    The draft also adds a provision in the annex on the issue of voting, stating categorically: “The state of Palestine, in its capacity as an observer state, does not have the right to vote in the General Assembly or to put forward its candidature to United Nations organs.”

    The final list of rights and privileges in the draft annex includes giving Palestine the right to speak on all issues not just those related to the Palestinians and Middle East, the right to propose agenda items and reply in debates, and the right to be elected as officers in the assembly’s main committees. It would give the Palestinians the right to participate in U.N. and international conferences convened by the United Nations — but it drops their “right to vote” which was in the original draft.

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas first delivered the Palestinian Authority’s application for U.N. membership in 2011. It failed because the Palestinians didn’t get the required minimum support of nine of the Security Council’s 15 members.

    They went to the General Assembly and succeeded by more than a two-thirds majority in having their status raised from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state. That opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join U.N. and other international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.

    In the Security Council vote on April 18, the Palestinians got much more support for full U.N. membership. The vote was 12 in favor, the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstaining, and the United States voting no and vetoing the resolution.

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    Associated Press

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  • Northern lights could be visible across U.S. on Friday night

    Northern lights could be visible across U.S. on Friday night

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    A strong geomagnetic storm is expected Friday night. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a G4 (Severe) Geomagnetic Watch for the first time since 2005, meaning the northern lights, or aurora borealis, could be visible for much of the northern United States on Friday night and early Saturday morning.

    It may be visible low on the horizon further south, from Southern California east across the Southern U.S.

    What You Need To Know

    • The northern lights could be visible in the northern U.S. on Friday night

    • It’s the first G4 (Severe) Geomagnetic Watch issued since 2005

    • Further south, the northern lights may be visible on the horizon

    According to the Space Weather Predicition Center, several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) will likely reach Earth and lead to highly elevated geomagnetic activity. A CME is an eruption of solar material, and G4 watches are very rare.

    The CMEs are forecast to arrive at Earth late Friday, May 10, or early Saturday, May 11. Under clear skies, the northern lights should be visible across much of the northern U.S. Further south, they could be visible on the horizon.

    Tonight’s forecast

    Tonight’s forecasted “planetary K index” is an 8 out of 9, and the forecasted G-scale is a 4 out of 5. That indicates a severe geomagnetic storm, and a very active aurora.

    Here is tonight’s forecast from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. The northern lights are likely to be visible on Friday night and early Saturday morning for areas shaded in green, and they could be visible on the horizon for areas shaded in yellow.

    To ensure the best chance at getting a look at the northern lights tonight, look toward the northern horizon. The best viewing conditions are under cloud-free skies and away from bigger cities with light pollution.

    If you see the northern lights tonight, be sure to submit your photos on the Spectrum News App!

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Meteorologist Reid Lybarger

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  • Lower-income spenders are showing economic strain

    Lower-income spenders are showing economic strain

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    Cracks are showing in one of the main pillars keeping the economy out of a recession: resilient spending by U.S. households.

    Consumer goods giants from PepsiCo to Kraft Heinz have described recently how the combination of high inflation and higher interest rates is hurting their lower-income customers.

    What You Need To Know

    • Lower-income consumers are feeling the weight of high inflation and higher interest rates

    • They are strategizing to make their budgets work

    • Customers are also shifting away from fine dining toward quick-service restaurants and cooking at home

    • McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said after reporting his company’s latest quarterly results, “I think all consumers are looking for good value”

    It’s the culmination of everything getting more expensive amid high inflation, even if it’s not as bad as before, and the drag of higher interest rates because of more expensive credit-card and other payments.

    Remarkably resilient spending by U.S. consumers overall has been one of the main reasons the economy has avoided a recession, at least so far. Capitulation at the lower end of the spectrum could be the first crack for the economy.

    “The lower income consumer in the U.S. is stretched,” PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said late last month when reporting better profit than expected, and “is strategizing a lot to make their budgets get to the end of the month. And that’s a consumer that is choosing what to buy, where to buy, and making a lot of choices.”

    At Tyson Foods, during a conference call to discuss its better-than-expected results for the latest quarter, one of the first questions asked by a Wall Street analyst was for executives of the company to describe how they see the state of the U.S. consumer.

    “As you know, the consumer is under pressure, especially the lower income households,” Chief Growth Officer Melanie Boulden said.

    She said the producer of beef, pork, chicken and prepared foods has seen customers shift away from fine dining and toward quick-service restaurants. It’s also seen customers drop down from those not-as-expensive restaurants to eating more at home.

    Kraft Heinz CEO Carlos Arturo Abrams-Rivera also said lower-income customers are pulling back from restaurants and convenience stores. That’s even as higher-income earners buy more Kraft Heinz products because they’re spending more on travel and entertainment.

    At Mondelez International, Chief Financial Officer Luca Zaramella recently told analysts that U.S. sales of some products particularly popular with lower-income households have been weakening, such as Chips Ahoy cookies.

    Much of the commentary recently has come from big food and drink companies, but several retailers will be joining them in upcoming weeks. Walmart, Dollar General and others will offer more evidence about how well or not lower-income Americans are faring.

    Of course, it’s not just the lowest-earning households bothered by higher prices for seemingly everything.

    “We’re in an environment where the consumer is being price discriminating and, again, that’s not just something that’s low income,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said after reporting his company’s latest quarterly results. “I think all consumers are looking for good value, for good affordability, and so we’re focused on that action.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Anaheim makes it official. DisneylandForward passes

    Anaheim makes it official. DisneylandForward passes

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    ANAHEIM, Calif. — Disneyland’s future starts now. 

    What You Need To Know

    • The Anaheim City Council made the Walt Disney Co.’s DisneylandForward rezoning project official

    • The Anaheim City Council unanimously passed DisneylandForward — after listening to three hours of public comment — last month, but it needed a second reading to make it final

    • The new master plan will reshape and guide the construction of attractions, hotels, entertainment, rides and other projects at the 490-acre Disneyland Resort for the next 40 years

    • Disney plans to invest at least $1.9 billion in the resort in the first ten years of the initiative

    On Tuesday, the Anaheim City Council made the Walt Disney Co.’s DisneylandForward rezoning project official. 

    “The next era of Disneyland Resort is about to begin,” said Disneyland President Ken Potrock in a statement on the Disney Parks blog.

    The Anaheim City Council unanimously passed DisneylandForward — after listening to three hours of public comment — last month, but it needed a second reading to make it final.

    The new master plan will reshape and guide the construction of attractions, hotels, entertainment, rides and other projects at the 490-acre Disneyland Resort for the next 40 years.

    Disney asked the city to rezone the properties as mixed-use instead of independently designated areas. 

    Disney plans to invest at least $1.9 billion in the resort in the first ten years of the initiative.

    As part of the deal, Disney is also giving the city $30 million for affordable housing, $8 million for parks, $85 million in traffic improvements and pedestrian safety and continued investment in workforce development programs, Potrock said.

    “A Cal State Fullerton economic impact study projects increased revenues of about $15 million annually for Anaheim from each $1 billion we invest,” said Potrock. “This will help fund necessary community services, including additional fire and police, parks and libraries.”

    With the project passing, Disneyland will now focus on which of their intellectual properties they will build on the property. Will it be “Avatar” or “Encanto”?

    “Our future is indeed bright,” said Potrock.

    “For nearly seven decades, Disneyland Resort has made a unique, irreplaceable impact on hundreds of millions of guests from around the world. How exciting to know our best days are still ahead – I can’t wait to show you what’s to come,” he added.

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    Joseph Pimentel

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  • An American soldier was arrested in Russia and accused of stealing

    An American soldier was arrested in Russia and accused of stealing

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — An American soldier visiting a girlfriend in Russia’s port city of Vladivostok was arrested on charges of stealing from her and remains in custody, according to several U.S. officials.

    What You Need To Know

    • An American soldier visiting a girlfriend in Russia’s port city of Vladivostok was arrested on charges of stealing from her and remains in custody, according to several U.S. officials
    • The soldier, Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to Fort Cavazos in Texas

    • Officials also said that Black, an infantry soldier, did not tell his unit that he was going to Russia, and did not receive any authorization to go there. They said he was essentially on leave, as he left Korea to redeploy back home to Fort Cavazos

    • The arrest comes less than a year after American soldier Travis King sprinted into North Korea across the heavily fortified border between the Koreas. North Korea later announced that it would expel King, who was returned to the U.S. He was eventually charged with desertion

    U.S. officials said Monday the soldier, Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to Fort Cavazos in Texas. Instead, officials said that Black, who is married, traveled to Russia to see a longtime girlfriend. His arrest only further complicates U.S. relations with Russia, which have grown increasingly tense as the war in Ukraine drags on.

    The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details.

    Cynthia Smith, Army spokeswoman, confirmed that a soldier was detained on Thursday in Vladivostok, a major military and commercial Pacific port, on charges of criminal misconduct. She said Russia notified the U.S. and the Army told the soldier’s family.

    “The U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia,” Smith said.

    According to Smith, on May 3 an official from the Russian Ministry of Interior informed the U.S. Embassy Moscow that Black was arrested on May 2. He is currently in a pre-trial detention facility and will stay in detention until his next hearing, pending determination.

    According to officials, the Russian woman had lived in South Korea, and last fall she and Black got into some type of domestic dispute or altercation. After that, she left South Korea. It isn’t clear if she was forced to leave or what, if any, role Korean authorities had in the matter.

    Officials also said that Black, an infantry soldier, did not tell his unit that he was going to Russia, and did not receive any authorization to go there. They said he was essentially on leave, as he left Korea to redeploy back home to Fort Cavazos.

    It’s unclear, however, if U.S. service members are specifically prohibited from traveling to Russia, although the State Department strongly advises U.S. citizens not to go.

    Black enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2008 and was deployed to Iraq from October 2009 through September 2010, and to Afghanistan from June 2013 until March 2014, according to a statement from Smith.

    The arrest comes less than a year after American soldier Travis King sprinted into North Korea across the heavily fortified border between the Koreas. North Korea later announced that it would expel King, who was returned to the U.S. He was eventually charged with desertion.

    Russia is known to be holding a number of Americans in its jails, including corporate security executive Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The U.S. government has designated both as wrongfully detained and has been trying to negotiate for their release.

    Others detained include Travis Leake, a musician who had been living in Russia for years and was arrested last year on drug-related charges; Marc Fogel, a teacher in Moscow, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison, also on drug charges; and dual nationals Alsu Kurmasheva and Ksenia Khavana.

    The soldier’s arrest in Russia was first reported by NBC News.

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    Associated Press

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