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U.S. to probe Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ system after pedestrian killed
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DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government’s road safety agency is again investigating Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system, this time after getting reports of crashes in low visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian.
What You Need To Know

The National Highway Safety Administration says in documents that it opened the probe on Thursday after the company reported four crashes after Teslas entered areas of low visibility including sun glare, fog and airborne dust

Investigators will look into the ability of “Full Self-Driving” to “detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions, and if so, the contributing circumstances for these crashes”

The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years

A message was left early Friday seeking comment from Tesla, which has repeatedly said the system cannot drive itself and human drivers must be ready to intervene at all times
The National Highway Safety Administration says in documents that it opened the probe on Thursday after the company reported four crashes after Teslas entered areas of low visibility including sun glare, fog and airborne dust.

In addition to the pedestrian’s death, another crash involved an injury, the agency said.

Investigators will look into the ability of “Full Self-Driving” to “detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions, and if so, the contributing circumstances for these crashes.”

The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

A message was left early Friday seeking comment from Tesla, which has repeatedly said the system cannot drive itself and human drivers must be ready to intervene at all times.

Last week Tesla held an event at a Hollywood studio to unveil a fully autonomous robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals. CEO Elon Musk, who has promised autonomous vehicles before, said the company plans to have autonomous Models Y and 3 running without human drivers next year. Robotaxis without steering wheels would be available in 2026 starting in California and Texas, he said.

The investigation’s impact on Tesla’s self-driving ambitions isn’t clear. NHTSA would have to approve any robotaxi without pedals or a steering wheel, and it’s unlikely that would happen while the investigation is in progress. But if the company tries to deploy autonomous vehicles in its existing models, that likely would fall to state regulations. There are no federal regulations specifically focused on autonomous vehicles, although they must meet broader safety rules.

NHTSA also said it would look into whether any other similar crashes involving “Full Self-Driving” have happened in low visibility conditions, and it will seek information from the company on whether any updates affected the system’s performance in those conditions.

“In particular, this review will assess the timing, purpose and capabilities of any such updates, as well as Telsa’s assessment of their safety impact,” the documents said.

Tesla reported the four crashes to NHTSA under an order from the agency covering all automakers. An agency database says the pedestrian was killed in Rimrock, Arizona, in November 2023 after being hit by a 2021 Tesla Model Y. Rimrock is about 100 miles north of Phoenix. Messages were left seeking information on the crash from local and state agencies.

Tesla has twice recalled “Full Self-Driving” under pressure from NHTSA, which in July sought information from law enforcement and the company after a Tesla using the system struck and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle.

The recalls were issued because the system was programmed to run stop signs at slow speeds and because the system disobeyed other traffic laws. Both problems were to be fixed with online software updates.

Critics have said that Tesla’s system, which uses only cameras to spot hazards, doesn’t have proper sensors to be fully self-driving. Nearly all other companies working on autonomous vehicles use radar and laser sensors in addition to cameras to see better in the dark or poor visibility conditions.

The “Full Self-Driving” recalls arrived after a three-year investigation into Tesla’s less-sophisticated Autopilot system crashing into emergency and other vehicles parked on highways, many with warning lights flashing.

That investigation was closed last April after the agency pressured Tesla into recalling its vehicles to bolster a weak system that made sure drivers are paying attention. A few weeks after the recall, NHTSA began investigating whether the recall was working.

The investigation that was opened Thursday enters new territory for NHTSA, which previously had viewed Tesla’s systems as assisting drivers rather than driving themselves. With the new probe, the agency is focusing on the capabilities of “Full Self-Driving” rather than simply making sure drivers are paying attention.

Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said the previous investigation of Autopilot didn’t look at why the Teslas weren’t seeing and stopping for emergency vehicles.

“Before they were kind of putting the onus on the driver rather than the car,” he said. “Here they’re saying these systems are not capable of appropriately detecting safety hazards whether the drivers are paying attention or not.”
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Associated Press

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October 18, 2024
Jane Fonda to receive lifetime achievement award from actors’ guild

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Actor and humanitarian Jane Fonda is adding the SAG life achievement award to her many accolades. The 86-year-old will be given the prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in February, the guild said Thursday.

Fonda said in a statement that she was “deeply honored and humbled” that she was chosen.

“I have been working in this industry for almost the entirety of my life and there’s no honor like the one bestowed on you by your peers,” Fonda said.

In her over six decades in the business, Fonda has won two Oscars — for “Klute” and “Coming Home” — two BAFTA Awards, an Emmy and seven Golden Globes. With an activist spirit spanning back to her antiwar protests in the 1960s and 70s, she’s also used her platform to advocate for gender equality, civil rights and environmental issues. Last year, Fonda spent her 85th birthday raising $1 million for a non-profit in Georgia aimed at educating school-aged children to make healthy life decisions.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher called Fonda a “trailblazer.”

“We honor Jane not only for her artistic brilliance but for the profound legacy of activism and empowerment she has created,” Drescher said.

Fonda was born Dec. 21, 1937, in New York City, the first child of the late actor Henry Fonda and socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw, who died by suicide at 42 when Jane was 12. Her brother, Peter, the Oscar-nominated actor and screenwriter, died in 2019. Fonda reflects on her extraordinary life, family, career, relationships and activism in the 2018 multipart documentary “Jane Fonda in Five Acts,” which is streaming on MAX.

SAG Life Achievement Award recipients are nominated and voted on by a SAG-AFTRA committee, intended to honor an actor who represents the “finest ideals” of the profession.

The 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will stream live on Netflix on Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. ET.

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Associated Press

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October 17, 2024
Full Hunter’s Moon will be the biggest and brightest supermoon
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This month’s full moon will peak on Oct. 17 and is the third of four supermoons this year.
What You Need To Know

October’s full moon is called the Hunter’s Moon because it occurs after the Harvest Moon

This is the third of four supermoons that will occur this year

The supermoon will appear the largest and brightest of all the other supermoons due to its location lower in the sky
Why it’s called the Hunter’s Moon

It’s called the Hunter’s Moon because it follows the Harvest Moon. The full Harvest Moon can occur in either September or October. It’s the moon closest to the autumnal equinox.

This year that happened in September, so the full moon that follows is called the full Hunter’s Moon. Its name originated from its function as a signal for hunters to begin preparing for winter.

What’s a supermoon?

A supermoon is when the moon’s orbit is at its closest to Earth. The moon will appear brighter and larger than normal.

This month’s supermoon orbits closer to Earth than any of the other full moons this year, making it appear even larger than September and August’s supermoon. The final supermoon of the year will occur in November and while it will still appear larger than normal, it won’t look as big as October’s.

Alternative names

According to the farmer’s almanac, names of moons corresponded with entire lunar months and were derived from Native American, Colonial American and European sources.

Other names for the Hunter’s Moon reflect the signals or activities of the season.
- Sanguine (Old Oxford Dictionary)
- Blood Moon (Old Oxford Dictionary)
- Drying Rice Moon (Dakota name)
- Falling Leaves Moon (Anishinaabe term)
- Freezing Moon (Ojibwe) and Ice Moon (Haida)
- Migrating Moon (Cree)
Check your local forecast here to see how clouds may affect your viewing.

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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October 17, 2024
Helene and Milton are both likely to be $50 billion disasters
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Monstrous hurricanes Helene and Milton caused so much complex havoc that damages are still being added up, but government and private experts say they will likely join the infamous ranks of Katrina, Sandy and Harvey as super costly $50-billion-plus killers.

Making that even more painful is that most of the damage — 95% or more in Helene’s case — was not insured, putting victims in a deeper financial hole.
What You Need To Know

Damages from intense storms are climbing

There have only been eight $50 billion hurricanes

Helene and Milton would make seven in the last seven years.

Most of that damage, particularly in Helene’s case, is not insured
Storm deaths have been dropping over time, although Helene was an exception. But even adjusted for inflation, damages from intense storms are skyrocketing because people are building in harm’s way, rebuilding costs are rising faster than inflation, and human-caused climate change are making storms stronger and wetter, experts in different fields said.

“Today’s storms, today’s events are simply vastly different from yesterday’s events. One of the things that we’re seeing is the energy content that these systems can retain is significantly greater than it used to be,” said John Dickson, president of Aon Edge Insurance Agency, which specializes in flood coverage. “The weather seems to be, in many cases, moving faster than we as a society are able to keep pace with it.”

In the last 45 years, and adjusted for inflation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has counted 396 weather disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damage. 63 of those were hurricanes or tropical storms.

The $50 billion mark for direct losses is a threshold that differentiates “truly historic events,” said Adam Smith, the economist and meteorologist who runs the list out of NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information in Helene-hit Asheville, North Carolina.

Only eight hurricanes reached that threshold. Smith said he thought Milton and Helene have “a very good shot” of joining that list.

The first $50 billion hurricane was Andrew in 1992. The U.S. went 13 more years before Katrina topped the damages chart, then seven years until the third costly whopper, Sandy. Helene and Milton would make seven in the last seven years.

Calculating damages is far from an exact science. The more complex and nastier storms are — like Milton and Helene — the longer it takes, Smith said. Damage is spread over different places and often a much larger area, with wind damage in some places and flood damage elsewhere. Helene, in particular, caused widespread flooding and in places not used to it. Estimates for those storms from private firms in recent days vary and are incomplete.

There’s three categories of damage: insured damage, uninsured damage and total economic cost. Many risk and insurance firms only estimate insured losses.

Homeowner insurance usually covers wind damage, but not flood. Special insurance has to be bought for that. Flood insurance coverage rates vary by region and storms differ on whether they cause more wind or water damage. Helene was mostly water damage, which is less likely to be covered, while Milton had a good chunk of wind damage.

Of the top 10 costliest hurricanes as compiled by insurance giant Swiss Re — not including Helene or Milton yet — insured damage is about 44% of total costs.

But with Helene, Aon’s Dickson estimated that only 5% of victims had insurance coverage for the type of damage they got. He estimated $10 billion in insured damage so doing the math would put total damage in the $100 billion to $200 billion range, which he called a bit high but in the ballpark. Insured losses for Milton are in the $50 billion to $60 billion range, he said.

With Helene, Swiss Re said less than 2% of Georgia households have federal flood insurance, with North Carolina and South Carolina at 3% and 9%. In North Carolina’s Buncombe County, where more than 57 people died from Helene’s flooding, less than 1% of the homes are covered by federal flood insurance, the agency said.

Risk modeling by Moody’s, the financial services conglomerate, put a combined two-storm total damage estimate of $20 billion to $34 billion.

Karen Clark and Company, a disaster modeling firm that uses computer simulations superimposed on storm and insurance data, wouldn’t give total damage estimates for the storms. But the company figured insured losses alone were $36 billion for Milton and $6.4 billion for Helene.

“The economic losses are going up because we’re putting more infrastructure and housing in harm’s way,” said University of South Carolina’s Susan Cutter, co-director of the Hazards Vulnerability and Resilience Institute, who added that climate change also plays a role. “Human losses and deaths are going down because people are being a little bit more vigilant about paying attention to preparedness and getting out of harm’s way.”

Much of the damage is because of flooding. Studies show that hurricanes are getting wetter because of the buildup of heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Basic physics dictates that clouds hold 4% more moisture for every degree Fahrenheit, and that falls as rain.

“There is scientific agreement that floods and flooding from these hurricanes is becoming more frequent and more severe. So it is likely that we’re going to be seeing a higher frequency of storms like Helene in the future,” said Karen Clark, who founded her namesake firm. “It’s not really an insurance issue because it’s not privately insured. This is really a societal issue and political question. How do we want to deal with this?”

Clark and several of the experts said it’s time for society to think about where it builds, where it lives and if it should just leave dangerous areas and not rebuild, a concept called “managed retreat.”

“At what point do you as an individual continue to build, rebuild, rebuild and rebuild versus saying ‘OK, I’ve had enough’,” Cutter said.

And when it comes to flood insurance, many homeowners in risky areas find it’s too expensive, so they don’t buy it, Clark said. But when a storm hits them, she said “all of us as taxpayers, we’re going to pay it because we know there are going to be federal dollars coming into those areas to help people rebuild. So all taxpayers, we’re actually paying for people to live in risky areas.”
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Associated Press

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October 17, 2024
Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas is visible tonight; here’s how to best see it
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The rare comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas will be visible again tonight after making its closest approach to Earth on Saturday. It will be the optimal night to observe it, as its position in the night sky will be away from the sun’s glare.
What You Need To Know

The rare comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas continues to appear in the night sky

Tuesday night will be optimal viewing conditions of the comet with the naked eye

The comet will be visible in the night sky through late Oct.
Astronomers say it should be bright enough to see with the naked eye, although telescopes and binoculars will give a better view.

What is a comet?

A comet is a group of ice and dust particles leftover from the solar system’s formation. These particles heat up as they approach the sun, releasing their characteristic streaming tails.

This comet, also designated C/2023 A3, was discovered last year and is named for the observatories in China and South Africa that spied it.

It came from what’s known as the Oort Cloud, well beyond Pluto. After making its closest approach about 44 million miles (71 million kilometers) of Earth, it won’t return for another 80,000 years — assuming it survives the trip.

In 2023, a green comet that last visited Earth 50,000 years ago zoomed by the planet again. Other notable flybys included Neowise in 2020, and Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake in the mid to late 1990s.

How to see it

Those hoping to spot it should venture outside soon after sunset and look to the west. Several comets are discovered every year, but many burn up near the sun or linger too far away to be visible without special equipment. This comet you will see with the naked eye tonight.

The comet will be located 30 degrees from the sun, which means it will be relatively easy to see fairly high in a dark sky. As long as you have a clear view of the western horizon after sunset, you should be able to see it.

According to sky and telescope, you’ll begin to see it 45 minutes after sunset but it will be brightest an hour to two hours post sunset. Find Venus and look “two and a half fists” to the upper right of the planet and you should see the comet.

Check your forecast here to see if the skies will be clear and if you capture pictures of Tsuchinshan-Atlas, submit your photos on the Spectrum News App!

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas will be visible through Oct. 21, but you will likely need a telescope or binoculars to see it after tonight.

Check out some of the photos captured by our viewers.

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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Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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October 15, 2024
Harris campaign questions Trump’s mental fitness after town hall
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Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign went on the offensive following former President Donald Trump’s town hall Monday night, which turned into a music listening party after two attendees required medical attention.
What You Need To Know

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign questioned former President Donald Trump’s fitness after his town hall on Monday night and his withdrawal from a scheduled interview with CNBC

After two attendees required medical attention, Trump shifted gears and asked for music to be played; for almost 40 minutes, Trump stood on stage swaying and dancing to music

A Trump campaign official told Spectrum News that the CNBC interview was canceled due to a scheduling conflict

Trump, for his part, questioned Harris’ health in a series of overnight posts on his social media platform, claiming he’s “far healthier” than the vice president and any of his predecessors in both political parties
Trump stopped the brief question-and-answer session with Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem after the attendees required medical attention. He then decided to shift gears.

“Let’s not do any more questions, let’s just listen to music,” Trump said, adding: “Who the hell wants to hear questions?”

Then for almost 40 minutes, Trump stood on stage swaying and dancing to an eclectic playlist: “Time to Say Goodbye” featuring Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Rufus Wainwright’s cover of Leonard Cohn’s “Hallelujah,” and, of course, “YMCA” by The Village People, a staple of Trump’s rallies.

A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign described the event as a “Total lovefest.”

“Everyone was so excited they were fainting so @realDonaldTrump turned to music,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote on social media. “Nobody wanted to leave and wanted to hear more songs from the famous DJT Spotify playlist!”

The Harris campaign shared on social media an edited clip of Trump on stage Monday night, charging that the Republican former president “appears lost, confused, and frozen on stage.” Harris shared the post from her own account, writing: “Hope he’s okay.”

Trump adviser Dan Scavino fired back at Harris on social media, accusing the vice president of taking the events of the night out of context: “DESPERATE times call for desperate measures.”

But the hits didn’t stop coming from the Harris camp, which continued to call on Trump to release his medical records. Harris campaign spokesperson Ian Sams, formerly from the White House counsel’s office, lambasted Trump for encouraging his supporters to vote on Jan. 5 — two months after Election Day.

“I’ll tell you, if everything works out and everybody gets out on Jan. 5, or before,” Trump said on Monday night. “You know, it used to be – you’d have a date. Today, you can vote two months before, probably three months after. They don’t know what the hell they’re doing. But we’re gonna straighten it all out. We’re gonna straighten that out, too. We’re gonna straighten out our election process out, too.”

“Trump is confused about the date of the election, as he faces scrutiny for not disclosing his medical records,” Sams wrote on social media.

Those attacks continued on Tuesday morning after CNBC host Joe Kernen announced that Trump canceled a scheduled interview for this week.

Kernen, who was on a list of Trump’s “close contacts” shown at his hush money trial earlier this year, said on the air Tuesday that “Trump canceled, and he was going to come on.” The Harris campaign shared a clip of Kernen’s announcement on social media.

A Trump campaign official told Spectrum News that the interview was canceled due to a scheduling conflict. Trump was scheduled Tuesday to take part in an interview co-hosted by Bloomberg News and The Economic Club of Chicago, as well as a Fox News town hall focused on women’s issues set to air Wednesday.

“WOW. Donald Trump pulls out of another scheduled mainstream interview. First he canceled on 60 Minutes. He’s refusing to debate. He froze up and played music for 40 minutes last night on stage,” Harris spokesperson Ammar Moussa wrote on social media. “What is going on?”

Harris deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty on social media sarcastically remarked that Trump is “closing strong!” by canceling the interview and asked: “is he….okay?”

Trump, for his part, questioned Harris’ health in a series of overnight posts on his social media platform, claiming he’s “far healthier” than the vice president and any of his predecessors in both political parties.

“I have just seen Kamala’s Report, and it is not good,” Trump wrote in one post. “According to her Doctor’s Report, she suffers from ‘urticaria,’ defined as ‘a rash of round, red welts on the skin that itch intensely, sometimes with dangerous swelling.’ She also has ‘allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis,’ a very messy and dangerous situation. These are deeply serious conditions that clearly impact her functioning. Maybe that is why she can’t answer even the simplest of questions asked by 60 Minutes, and others.”

Urticaria is better known as hives, and allergic rhinitis is a condition that causes runny nose, congestion and sneezing. Her doctor said she is being treated for both with over-the-counter antihistamines and allergen immunotherapy, but is otherwise in excellent health.

Both candidates were invited to the “60 Minutes” interview. Harris took part in the interview, which aired last week, while Trump turned it down and later accused the newsmagazine of helping Harris and called for CBS to lose its broadcast license.

Spectrum News’ Joseph Konig contributed to this report.
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Justin Tasolides

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October 15, 2024
In Pennsylvania, Harris plays Trump’s own words to hammer him over rhetoric
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At Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Monday night, an unexpected guest took center stage: former President Donald Trump.

Via video clips, at least.
What You Need To Know

At her Erie, Pennsylvania, rally on Monday night, in an effort to hammer former President Donald Trump over his rhetoric and warn Americans what might happen should he return to power, Vice President Kamala Harris played clips of the Republican nominee calling his critics the “enemy from within” and suggesting they “should be put in jail

Harris warned that Trump “will stop at nothing to claim power for himself,” before echoing comments from her “60 Minutes” interview and last month’s presidential debate urging Americans to watch his campaign events

Harris’ campaign on Monday ahead of the event launched a new campaign ad titled “Enemy Within,” which juxtaposes his comments from recent rallies using such rhetoric with comments from former Trump administration aides Olivia Troye and Kevin Carroll expressing concern about the former president’s return to the Oval Office.

Erie, located in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania, is a key city in a bellwether county; Erie County is one of two that voted for Barack Obama twice, then Donald Trump, and then Joe Biden, and has picked the winner in nearly every statewide election for almost two decades
In an effort to hammer the Republican nominee over his rhetoric and warn Americans what might happen should he return to power, Harris played clips of Trump calling his critics the “enemy from within” and suggesting they “should be put in jail.”

“After all these years, we know who Donald Trump is,” Harris told the crowd. “He is someone who will stop at nothing to claim power for himself.”

The vice president painted the former president as “increasingly unstable and unhinged,” charging that Trump is “out for unchecked power. That’s what he’s looking for.”

“After all these years, we know who Donald Trump is: He is someone who will stop at nothing to claim power for himself,” Harris said, before echoing comments from her “60 Minutes” interview and last month’s presidential debate urging Americans to watch his campaign events. “And you don’t have to take my word for it. I’ve said, for a while now, watch his rallies, listen to his words.”

But this time around, instead of having her supporters seek out Trump’s words, she brought the former president’s rhetoric directly to them.

“He tells us who he is, and he tells us what he would do if he is elected president. So here tonight, I will show you one example of Donald Trump’s worldview and intentions,” she said. “Please roll the clip.”

A large video monitor then played a clip of Trump saying, “The worst people are the enemies from within,” from his rally in Coachella, California, over the weekend, before cutting to the former president saying at a Wisconsin rally earlier this month that “the enemy from within” is “more dangerous … than Russia and China.” She also played Trump saying last month that critics “should be put in jail” and his suggestion that “if you had one really violent day, one rough hour, and I mean real rough” would end property crime.

The clip ended with Trump’s comments in an interview Sunday calling for the National Guard or U.S. military to be deployed on Election Day to handle “the enemy from within,” according to a senior campaign official.

“We have some very bad people,” Trump told “Fox News Sunday,” citing “radical left lunatics” and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who led Trump’s first impeachment trial, calling them worse than migrants who are “destroying our country” or foreign adversaries such as China and Russia.

“We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big – and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military,” the Republican nominee added.

“So, you heard his words,” Harris said to a chorus of boos from the crowd. “You heard his words coming from him. He’s talking about the enemy within Pennsylvania. He’s talking about the enemy within our country, Pennsylvania. He considers anyone who doesn’t support him or who will not bend to his will, an enemy of our country.”

Harris’ campaign on Monday ahead of the event launched a new campaign ad titled “Enemy Within,” which juxtaposes his comments from recent rallies using such rhetoric with comments from former Trump administration aides Olivia Troye and Kevin Carroll expressing concern about the former president’s return to the Oval Office.

“A second term would be worse,” Carroll says in the ad. “There will be no one to stop his worst instincts. Unchecked power, no guardrails. If we elect Trump again, we’re in terrible danger.”

Harris’ campaign previously said the former president’s comments are the latest in a trend that suggests he’ll seek to wield unprecedented power if elected.

“Donald Trump is suggesting that his fellow Americans are worse ‘enemies’ than foreign adversaries, and he is saying he would use the military against them,” Ian Sams, a senior campaign adviser, said in a statement. “Taken with his vow to be a dictator on ‘day one,’ calls for the ‘termination’ of the Constitution, and plans to surround himself with sycophants who will give him unchecked, unprecedented power if he returns to office, this should alarm every American who cares about their freedom and security. What Donald Trump is promising is dangerous, and returning him to office is simply a risk Americans cannot afford.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, also took aim at Trump’s comments at an event in Wisconsin on Monday.

“Donald Trump over the weekend was talking about using the U.S. Army against people who disagree with him,” Walz told students. “Just so you’re clear about that, that’s you, that’s what he’s talking about. This is not some mythical thing out there.”

“I tell you that because we need to whip his butt and put this guy behind us,” he said.

Both candidates campaigned in Pennsylvania on Monday, highlighting the importance of the Keystone State and its 19 electoral votes to both campaigns. Trump held a town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania, less than 20 miles north of Philadelphia.

Erie, located in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania, is a key city in a bellwether county. Erie County is one of two that voted for Barack Obama twice, then Donald Trump, and then Joe Biden, and has picked the winner in nearly every statewide election for almost two decades.

Spectrum News’ Maddie Gannon, Taylor Popielarz and Ryan Chatelain contributed to this report.
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Justin Tasolides

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October 15, 2024
Harris campaign reaching out to HBCUs, Trump touts minority outreach
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If Vice President Kamala Harris wins in November, she would make history on numerous fronts, not only as the first female president, but also the first Asian American and the first graduate of a Historically Black University and College to hold the office.
What You Need To Know

Vice President Kamala Harris is running a historic campaign. Not only would she be the first female president if elected, but she would be the first Asian American president

Harris would also be the first graduate of a HBCU to hold the office if elected

A Trump senior campaign manager says no one is a bigger adovocate AAPI community than former President Trump

HBCUs told Spectrum News 1 its discussions with both campaigns on issues of increasing funding for HBCUs and more has been very limited
In her appearances, Harris rarely mentions the historic nature of her candidacy, but behind the scenes her campaign is reaching out to voters who are Asian American and voters who are affiliated with HBCUs.

Asian Americans are a growing electorate nationally.

About 15 million Asian Americans are projected to be eligible to vote in 2024, up 15% from 2020, according to Pew Research.

And in the battleground state of North Carolina, the number of AAPI voters grew 86% from 2010 to 2020, much higher than the overall eligible voting population increase of 16%, according to N.C. Asian Americans Together (NCAAT).

Despite the jump, advocates said in recent elections AAPI voters were often ignored.

“NCAAT was founded in 2016 when 80% of the AAPI population had never been contacted about an election by anyone, so that’s including candidates, that’s including organizing groups,” said NCAAT Senior Communications Manager Giselle Pagunaran.

In 2020, Pew Research said Asian Americans made up 4% of voters, the majority voted for Joe Biden in 2020.

Trump Campaign Senior Advisor Steven Cheung told Spectrum News 1 there is no bigger advocate for the AAPI community than Donald Trump, and he “created an environment where diversity, equal opportunity, and prosperity were afforded to everybody.” But this year he faces Harris, whose mother immigrated to the U.S. from India.

A source with the Harris campaign said the campaign invested earlier and with more money that ever in reaching AANHPI voters and has aired targeted advertising towards Asian American voters.

Harris would not only make history as the first Asian American president but also the first graduate of a HBCU. She’s an alum of Howard University.

North Carolina has 11 HBCUs, which is the most in the country after Alabama. In 2020, Trump only won the state by around 75,000 votes, so the schools’ students and alumni networks could be significant.

Arianna Arnold is a student a North Carolina A&T University, which is the largest HBCU in the country. She’s planning to vote for Harris, although not because Harris attended an HBCU.

“It’s great to see the representation, but I don’t think it would have swayed my vote if she had gone to any other university,” Arnold said.

The Harris campaign tells Spectrum News 1 it’s held numerous events at HBCU’s and has 80 staffers dedicated to student outreach in North Carolina, which includes at HBCUs.

Trump Campaign Black Media Director Janiyah Thomas didn’t elaborate on the campaign’s specific HBCU outreach, but told Spectrum News Democrats have taken HBCU student support for granted, while Trump is committed to Black Americans.

Since becoming vice president, Harris has made regular stops at HBCUs around the country, but an organization that works with HBCUs told Spectrum News 1 its discussions with both campaigns on issues of increasing funding for HBCUs and more are very limited.

“These two campaigns, and this entire campaign, have been much more personality focused than policy focused,” said UNCF Senior Vice President Lodriguez Murray. “That’s a direct contrast from four years ago when their in-depth discussions months and months before the election, so we knew where each campaign stood.”

That has the potential to hurt enthusiasm on campuses as both Trump and Harris try and appeal to a group of students who could have a lot of sway in a state the campaigns are eagerly trying to win.
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Reuben Jones

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October 14, 2024
U.S. Embassy in Lebanon urges Americans to leave ‘now’
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The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon on Monday urged American citizens in the country in no uncertain terms to leave “now” amid ongoing fighting between militant group Hezbollah and Israel.
What You Need To Know

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon on Monday urged American citizens in the country to leave “now” as fighting between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah continues

The bulletin says the country’s commercial airport remains open and carriers still have flights, and the federal government has “added thousands of seats in extra capacity to accommodate U.S. citizens and their family members”

Fighting between the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group and Israel began roughly a year ago in the aftermath of Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023

The conflict has escalated significantly in recent weeks
“U.S. citizens in Lebanon are strongly encouraged to depart now,” a bulletin from the State Department issued Monday reads, noting that the country’s commercial airport remains open and carriers still have flights.

The bulletin also noted that the federal government has “added thousands of seats in extra capacity to accommodate U.S. citizens and their family members,” and much of that extra capacity has gone unused — but warned that “these additional flights will not continue indefinitely.”

The bulletin urges U.S. citizens in Lebanon who need assistance to reach out via an online form that will allow U.S. Embassy staff to help point them in the direction of flights and aid them with emergency passport requests and potentially emergency loans for those eligible.

For those who do not wish to depart imminently, the State Department implores U.S. citizens to “prepare contingency plans should the situation deteriorate further,” adding: “These alternative plans should not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation.”

Fighting between the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group and Israel began roughly a year ago in the aftermath of Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Hezbollah began firing rockets and artillery shells at Israel, which the group said was in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Hezbollah has thousands of rockets, missiles and drones into Israel in the last year; most have been intercepted or missed their targets, causing few casualties but disrupting daily life in the country.

The conflict escalated in a major way last month when pagers and other devices began detonating across Lebanon, killing dozens and injuring thousands more. Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack, which it denied. Israel later carried out bombing campaigns across Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah sites and commanders, killing several, including leader Hassan Nasrallah, and began a ground invasion about two weeks ago.

In the latest volley of fighting, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 18 in northern Lebanon, per the Lebanese Red Cross. The strike hit a small apartment building; it’s unclear what the target was.

The strike follows a Hezbollah drone attack on an Israeli army base, killing four soldiers and wounding 61 others. Israel vowed a “forceful response” to the attack.

The United Nations also said recently that Israel fired on peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon, injuring more than a dozen. U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres said “may constitute a war crime.” Israel has accused Hezbollah of operating near peacekeeping forces and charged that the U.N. is keeping forces there to obstruct military operations against Hezbollah.

The attacks on U.N. peacekeeping forces have drawn international condemnation. The European Union on Monday called the attacks “completely unacceptable” and rejected Israel’s allegations about the peacekeeping forces.

Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has vowed to keep up its attacks on Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza. Israel has said its campaign against Hezbollah is aimed at stopping those attacks so displaced Israelis can feel safe returning to their homes near the Lebanese border.

Israel says it has sent 1.7 million text messages, 3.4 million voice messages and made 3,700 voice calls notifying civilians in Lebanon to evacuate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Justin Tasolides

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October 14, 2024
Moreno’s abortion comment rattles debate
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An off-the-cuff comment about reproductive rights by Republican Bernie Moreno in Ohio’s tight Senate race has put abortion at the center of debate in the most expensive Senate campaign this year. And that’s just where Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown wanted it.
What You Need To Know

Even fellow Republican Nikki Haley, the former presidential candidate, criticized Moreno as #ToneDeaf

Throughout the race, Brown has said he voted for and would honor an amendment that Ohioans supported by wide margins last year

Ad spending topped $400 million in early October, making the Senate race the most expensive in the country so far

Republicans are expected to keep tying Brown to the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policy
Moreno insists he was joking after cellphone video surfaced of him criticizing women whose votes are driven by concerns about government involvement in abortion decisions.

“Sadly, by the way, there’s a lot of suburban women, a lot of suburban women that are like, ‘Listen, abortion is it,’” Moreno said at a town hall in Warren County on Sept. 20. “‘If I can’t have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else.’ OK. It’s a little crazy, by the way, but — especially for women who are like past 50, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s an issue for you.’”

Brown and his allies pounced on the comment, which went to the heart of the Democrat’s bid for a fourth term representing the Republican-leaning state. A woman featured in one TV ad wondered why, if a 50-year-old woman doesn’t have standing to feel strongly about abortion, a 57-year-old man — that’s Moreno’s age — running for Senate would.

Even fellow Republican Nikki Haley, the former presidential candidate, criticized Moreno as #ToneDeaf. “Are you trying to lose the election? Asking for a friend,” she quipped on X.

Brown has made access to abortion a priority, and Moreno’s comment meant the campaign was focused less on the economy and immigration, issues the Republican and his party would rather talk about.

Throughout the race, Brown has said he voted for and would honor an amendment that Ohioans supported by wide margins last year that enshrined into the state constitution people’s right to make their own reproductive choices. Presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Democrats on down the ballot are banking on the abortion issue to win votes in the first White House election since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

“The people of Ohio think women should have the power to make their own health care decisions, Bernie Moreno thinks he should,” Brown said in a statement. “As a man over the age of 50, I care deeply about a woman’s right to make health care decisions for herself -– for my daughters, my granddaughters, and all Ohio women, regardless of their age.”

Unseating Brown is a Republican priority. With Democrats defending twice as many Senate seats as Republicans, a loss in Ohio would jeopardize Democrats’ narrow majority.

The most expensive Senate contest

Ad spending topped $400 million in early October, making the Senate race the most expensive in the country so far, according to data from AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending on advertising. That total includes a competitive Republican primary earlier this year.

In the general election, the data shows Republicans have outspent Democrats on Brown-Moreno race. As of Friday, Republicans had spent roughly $188.4 million on ads since the March 19 primary, compared with $159.7 million by Democrats. The parties and affiliated groups have an additional $68.5 million in ad spots reserved between now and Nov. 5.

Moreno, a wealthy Cleveland businessman endorsed by Donald Trump — was undeterred by the controversy that ensued after his abortion comments surfaced. His campaign said the comment was made tongue in cheek, and that Brown and Harris are the ones disrespecting women.

“Bernie’s view is that women voters care just as much about the economy, rising prices, crime, and our open southern border as male voters do, and it’s disgusting that Democrats and their friends in the left-wing media constantly treat all women as if they’re automatically single-issue voters on abortion who don’t have other concerns that they vote on,” spokesperson Reagan McCarthy said in a statement.

Republicans have reasons for optimism

Ohio Republicans have plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the race. The onetime bellwether state has shifted to the right and supported Trump twice by wide margins, and he’s once more atop the ticket.

Trump’s endorsement has carried weight in Ohio — from JD Vance, the first-term senator who is Trump’s running mate, to GOP state Rep. Derek Merrin, who prevailed in a messy primary to challenge Marcy Kaptur, a long-serving Democratic congresswoman. Trump’s backing boosted Moreno to victory in a hard-fought primary.

Republicans have hammered Brown on his record, claiming he voted to allow “biological men in women’s sports” and supported providing stimulus checks and federal benefits for immigrants who are in the United States illegally. Both claims stretch the truth: Brown didn’t vote to allow transgender people to play women’s sports but to prevent federal dollars from being stripped from schools that allowed it, and the immigrant-related vote in question involved a nuanced issue in legislation that already prevented stimulus checks going to immigrants without lawful status in the country.

Still, the attacks have been repeated often enough to register with voters.

“Bernie Moreno has rapidly closed the gap on Sherrod Brown even as Chuck Schumer and DC Democrats spend millions lobbing baseless smears and racist attacks at Moreno,” National Republian Senatorial Committee spokesperson Philip Letsou said in a statement. The reference was to pro-Brown ads questioning the business dealings of some family members of Moreno, who was born in Bogota, Colombia.

Senate Majority PAC, an independent group aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, reserved $65 million in advertising time in Ohio from Labor Day to the end of the campaign. The group’s president, JB Poersch, said Brown’s reputation, strong campaign and superior fundraising prowess will help put the veteran politician over the top.

“We have a pretty big communication advantage in that state,” he said.

More than 90% of Republican spending — all but $1.9 million of Moreno’s ad support — has come from outside groups, according to AdImpact data.

Brown has raised $51 million for his own campaign account, compared with Moreno’s $15.3 million, which includes $4.5 million Moreno loaned to his own campaign. The Republican has reported spending about $10 million of that so far, with his latest campaign finance report not yet filed.

The debate over immigration in Springfield

Republicans are expected to keep tying Brown to the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policy, a key vulnerability this year for Democrats.

When it came to the turmoil in Springfield, Ohio, Moreno tried to blame Brown and Harris, slamming the “Haitian invasion” as a failure of the federal government to prepare before expanding the number of Haitians able to apply for Temporary Protected Status in the United States.

Brown did not name Trump and Vance, who intensified the spotlight on the city with unsubstantiated claims about Haitians eating pets, but he faulted “people playing politics” for making things worse. At one point, state and local government offices and schools in Springfield closed due to dozens of bomb threats.

Moreno, meanwhile, has faced other challenges, including an Associated Press report about a profile created with Moreno’s email account on an adult website. Moreno’s lawyer said the profile was created by a former intern as a prank.

The candidate retained support from Trump after the report and was given a coveted speaking spot at the Republican National Convention in July.
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Associated Press

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October 13, 2024
Final preparations underway as BLINK 2024 approaches
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CINCINNATI — The country’s largest immersive art event is just days away.
What You Need To Know

BLINK, which begins Oct. 17, is four days of free public art, spanning 30 city blocks from Cincinnati into northern Kentucky

It features more than 80 light, projection and mural projects from renowned artists

The projection project at Music Hall in Cincinnati features 12 projectors, 120 light fixtures and four different artists

There are six unique zones in the festival’s footprint
It has been a crazy couple of days for the people in charge of making sure BLINK runs smoothly. The festival of art and light returns Thursday, Oct. 17, and features four days of free public art, spanning 30 city blocks from Cincinnati into northern Kentucky. There will be more than 80 light, projection and mural projects from renowned artists.

“Shutting down the city to throw a giant public art party every couple years is how we like to think about this work,” said Justin Brookhart, BLINK executive director. “You’ll see us running around, dropping a lot of equipment, building scaffolding towers. You’ll see mural artists up on lifts painting incredible artwork.”

“We’re going to be running around right up until the last minute to get everything perfect for folks to come enjoy free public art in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky.”

Brookhart said guests should make sure not to miss the supernova laser bridge, which will run parallel to the Roebling Bridge, or the projection project at Music Hall in Cincinnati. That project features 12 projectors, 120 light fixtures and four different artists.

Will Jennings, Four Wall Entertainment senior project manager, said it has been in the works for several months and will be “incredible.”

“We’ve been figuring out how many projectors, what projectors to use, working with the content team to make BLINK happen,” Jennings said.

This is the fourth edition of BLINK, which takes place every other year. The team is anticipating more than two million attendees, creating a $126 million economic impact for the region.

A big focus for this year’s BLINK, Brookhart said, is the connectivity and walkability.

“We’ve condensed our footprint a little bit and tried to make it more dense, having corridors where there’s a lot of activation, so if people are in that area they get to see a whole lot in a short period of time,” he said. “We do think this is a ‘nowhere else’ experience. There’s nowhere else in the United States where something like this happens at this grand of a scale.”

Brookhart said he recommends attendees plan out their routes throughout the six unique zones in the BLINK footprint. Check out the festival’s website for more details and information.
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Sam Knef

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October 13, 2024
Fox News to host Trump town hall in Georgia focused on women’s issues

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Fox News will hold a town hall with former President Donald Trump next week focused specifically on issues impacting women, a voting bloc that polls show he has struggled to reach.

The network announced the one-hour town hall event in a press release on Friday.

The event will be held in Cumming, Georgia, a key battleground state, and will be moderated by Fox News host Harris Faulkner. It will be pre-taped on Tuesday before airing on Wednesday at 11 a.m. EST. The audience will be made up entirely of women and will hit on issues such as the economy, abortion, immigration and health care, the network said, pointing to a poll it conducted in September showing those topics high on the list of ones women care about.

“Women constitute the largest group of registered and active voters in the United States, so it is paramount that female voters understand where the presidential candidates stand on the issues that matter to them most,” Faulkner said in a release. “I am looking forward to providing our viewers with an opportunity to learn more about where former President Trump stands on these topics.”

Polls show Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, holds a sizable edge with female voters heading into the November election. An NBC News poll in September found the vice president with a more than 20 percentage-point lead among the voting bloc.

Fox News noted it has offered to host Harris for town hall “multiple times” since she became the Democratic presidential nominee and the invitation still stands.

The news comes one day after CNN invited Harris and Trump for separate town hall events in lieu of a Oct. 23 debate between the two that the network initially offered. Harris quickly accepted the network’s offer. Trump has not yet responded to the invitation, nor has he responded to a request from Spectrum News about the event.

Fox also recently invited both candidates to debate in late October. But in a post on his social media platform on Wednesday night, Trump said that “THERE WILL BE NO REMATCH,” claiming that he won both the debate against Harris last month and a CNN-hosted debate against then-Democratic nominee President Joe Biden in June, which precipitated the incumbent’s exit from the race following a shaky performance.

“The problem with another debate is that it’s just too late, voting has already started,” Trump said last month in declining the CNN debate, blaming Harris for “turning down” an invitation to debate with Trump on Fox News. “But now she wants to do a debate right before the election.”

Trump and Biden’s final debate of the 2020 election cycle took place on Oct. 22. Their first debate didn’t happen until Sept. 29.

Harris’ campaign has admonished Trump for not agreeing to another debate, calling his stance on Thursday “a disservice to the American people.”

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Maddie Gannon

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October 11, 2024
Kentucky Lawsuit Seeks to Reimburse Gray Machine Gambling Losses

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A new lawsuit filed in Kentucky seeks to recover millions of lost dollars by players engaging with “gray machines,” a type of cash payout game that proliferated in many convenience stores and gas stations across the state. The lawsuit, brought by the nonprofit organization Empathy in Action, aims to reimburse people who have lost money gambling on these contentious devices, which resemble slot machines but operate in a gray legal area.

Dealing with the Devices Remains a Pressing Issue for Kentucky

The legal action invokes Kentucky’s 226-year-old Loss Recovery Act, which allows third parties to recover money lost from illegal gambling. This same law was successfully used in 2011 when the state won a $300 million judgment against PokerStars, an illegal online poker operator. Lead attorney Vanessa Cantley now hopes to apply that same law to go after the companies responsible for gray machines.

Gray machines have a long history of controversy in Kentucky. Known to many as “skill games,” these devices resemble gambling devices but don’t fall into any clear legal category. The ambiguity encouraged Kentucky lawmakers to approve House Bill 594 in 2023, banning the machines and redefining what constitutes a gambling device.

Despite the state’s efforts, enforcing this measure has proven difficult, with new machines continuing to appear in various establishments. In July 2024, the legal battle against gray machines marked another success when Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd reaffirmed the state’s ban. Attorney General Russell Coleman praised the decision, saying it was a step toward preventing the unchecked spread of gambling.

This New Lawsuit Could Set a Precedent for Other States

Critics say the machines have contributed to the most significant expansion of gambling in Kentucky’s history. Pace-O-Matic and Prominent Technologies, the two most prominent companies that produce and distribute these devices, argue that they are legitimate skill-based games and should not fall under the same strict restrictions as gambling offerings.

Cantley’s lawsuit aims to shed light on this contentious industry by forcing the gray machine companies to disclose financial information, such as how much Kentuckians have spent on these games over the past five years. She estimates the amount lost to gray machines could be in the millions, given the ubiquity of the machines across the state.

Our hope is that in the discovery process of the lawsuit, they’ll be compelled to turn over the information.

Vanessa Cantley, Empathy in Action lead attorney

The outcome of this lawsuit could have far-reaching implications beyond Kentucky. The case, if successful, could set a precedent in holding gaming companies accountable for losses on unregulated devices, potentially leading to significant industry changes across the country as other states take inspiration from Kentucky’s legal approach.

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Deyan Dimitrov

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October 10, 2024
Northern lights could be visible across U.S. on Thursday night
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NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has forecasted a strong (G4) geomagnetic storm, meaning the northern lights, or aurora borealis, could be visible for much of the Mid-latitudes across the United States Thursday night through Friday morning.
What You Need To Know

The northern lights could be visible in the northern U.S. on Thursday

A severe geomagnetic (G4) storm is forecasted Thursday night into Friday morning

The sun is currently in an upswing of its 11-year solar cycle producing more solar storms
A coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred earlier in the week. This eruption of solar material will arrive on Earth today, becoming a severe geomagnetic storm (G4) and could make the northern lights visible as far south as the Mid-Latitudes.

Aurora Borealis

The sun is currently in an upswing of its 11-year solar cycle. Scientists notice more sunspots as they migrate toward the equator of the sun, and when their magnetic fields tangle, solar storms erupt.

Earth’s magnetic field acts as a buffer to keep particles and energy ejected from the sun at bay. However, if the solar storm is strong enough, those particles can penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, giving off light, the auroras we see.

With such intense CMEs expected to arrive on Earth Thursday night, the severe storm might make the northern lights visible in Missouri, Oklahoma and even North Carolina. However, the better chance of viewing will be at higher latitudes.

The geomagentic storm magnitude is categorized by the K-index or the Planetary K-index. Kp is used by the Space Weather Prediction Center to send alerts and a good predictor of locations of the aurora borealis. A G4 storm can give off a Kp value of 8 or 9.

NOAA Weather Space Center

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 Thursday night and early Friday 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.

The best time to view the aurora borealis is 8 p.m and 3 a.m. Use the long exposure option on your phone or camera to get the best pictures.

This event could end up being similar to the northern lights event back in May of this year.

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 Stacy Lynn

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October 10, 2024
Northern lights could be visible across U.S. on Thursday night
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NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has forecasted a strong (G4) geomagnetic storm, meaning the northern lights, or aurora borealis, could be visible for much of the Mid-latitudes across the United States Thursday night through Friday morning.
What You Need To Know

The northern lights could be visible in the northern U.S. on Thursday

A severe geomagnetic (G4) storm is forecasted Thursday night into Friday morning

The sun is currently in an upswing of its 11-year solar cycle producing more solar storms
A coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred earlier in the week. This eruption of solar material will arrive on Earth today, becoming a severe geomagnetic storm (G4) and could make the northern lights visible as far south as the Mid-Latitudes.

Aurora Borealis

The sun is currently in an upswing of its 11-year solar cycle. Scientists notice more sunspots as they migrate toward the equator of the sun, and when their magnetic fields tangle, solar storms erupt.

Earth’s magnetic field acts as a buffer to keep particles and energy ejected from the sun at bay. However, if the solar storm is strong enough, those particles can penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, giving off light, the auroras we see.

With such intense CMEs expected to arrive on Earth Thursday night, the severe storm might make the northern lights visible in Missouri, Oklahoma and even North Carolina. However, the better chance of viewing will be at higher latitudes.

The geomagentic storm magnitude is categorized by the K-index or the Planetary K-index. Kp is used by the Space Weather Prediction Center to send alerts and a good predictor of locations of the aurora borealis. A G4 storm can give off a Kp value of 8 or 9.

NOAA Weather Space Center

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 Thursday night and early Friday 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.

The best time to view the aurora borealis is 8 p.m and 3 a.m. Use the long exposure option on your phone or camera to get the best pictures.

This event could end up being similar to the northern lights event back in May of this year.

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 Stacy Lynn

Source link
October 10, 2024
Northern lights could be visible across U.S. on Thursday night
[ad_1]
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has forecasted a strong (G4) geomagnetic storm, meaning the northern lights, or aurora borealis, could be visible for much of the Mid-latitudes across the United States Thursday night through Friday morning.
What You Need To Know

The northern lights could be visible in the northern U.S. on Thursday

A severe geomagnetic (G4) storm is forecasted Thursday night into Friday morning

The sun is currently in an upswing of its 11-year solar cycle producing more solar storms
A coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred earlier in the week. This eruption of solar material will arrive on Earth today, becoming a severe geomagnetic storm (G4) and could make the northern lights visible as far south as the Mid-Latitudes.

Aurora Borealis

The sun is currently in an upswing of its 11-year solar cycle. Scientists notice more sunspots as they migrate toward the equator of the sun, and when their magnetic fields tangle, solar storms erupt.

Earth’s magnetic field acts as a buffer to keep particles and energy ejected from the sun at bay. However, if the solar storm is strong enough, those particles can penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, giving off light, the auroras we see.

With such intense CMEs expected to arrive on Earth Thursday night, the severe storm might make the northern lights visible in Missouri, Oklahoma and even North Carolina. However, the better chance of viewing will be at higher latitudes.

The geomagentic storm magnitude is categorized by the K-index or the Planetary K-index. Kp is used by the Space Weather Prediction Center to send alerts and a good predictor of locations of the aurora borealis. A G4 storm can give off a Kp value of 8 or 9.

NOAA Weather Space Center

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 Thursday night and early Friday 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.

The best time to view the aurora borealis is 8 p.m and 3 a.m. Use the long exposure option on your phone or camera to get the best pictures.

This event could end up being similar to the northern lights event back in May of this year.

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 Stacy Lynn

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October 10, 2024
U.S. jobless claims jump to 258,000, the most in more than a year
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The number of Americans filing for for unemployment benefits last week jumped to their highest level in a year, which analysts are saying is more likely a result of Hurricane Helene than a broader softening in the labor market.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims jumped by by 33,000 to 258,000 for the week of Oct. 3. That’s the most since Aug. 5, 2023 and well above the 229,000 analysts were expecting.
What You Need To Know

The number of Americans filing for for unemployment benefits last week jumped to their highest level in a year

Analysts say it’s more likely a result of Hurricane Helene than a broader softening in the labor market

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims jumped by by 33,000 to 258,000 for the week of Oct. 3

Analysts highlighted big jumps in jobless benefit applications across states that were most affected by Hurricane Helene last week, including Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee
Analysts highlighted big jumps in jobless benefit applications across states that were most affected by Hurricane Helene last week, including Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Applications for jobless benefits are widely considered representative of U.S. layoffs in a given week, however they can be volatile and prone to revision.

The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of that weekly volatility, rose by 6,750 to 231,000.

The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits rose by 42,000 to about 1.86 million for the week of Sept. 28, the most since late July.

Some recent labor market data has suggested that high interest rates may finally be taking a toll on the labor market.

In response to weakening employment data and receding consumer prices, the Federal Reserve last month cut its benchmark interest rate by a half of a percentage point as the central bank shifts its focus from taming inflation toward supporting the job market. The Fed’s goal is to achieve a rare “soft landing,” whereby it brings down inflation without causing a recession.

It was the Fed’s first rate cut in four years after a series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 pushed the federal funds rate to a two-decade high of 5.3%.

Inflation has retreated steadily, approaching the Fed’s 2% target and leading Chair Jerome Powell to declare recently that it was largely under control.

In a separate report Thursday, the government reported that U.S. inflation reached its lowest point since February 2021.

During the first four months of 2024, applications for jobless benefits averaged just 213,000 a week before rising in May. They hit 250,000 in late July, supporting the notion that high interest rates were finally cooling a red-hot U.S. job market.

In August, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs from April 2023 through March this year than were originally reported. The revised total was also considered evidence that the job market has been slowing steadily, compelling the Fed to start cutting interest rates.

Despite of all the signs of labor market slowing, America’s employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September, easing some concerns about a weakening job market and suggesting that the pace of hiring is still solid enough to support a growing economy.

Last month’s gain was far more than economists had expected, and it was up sharply from the 159,000 jobs that were added in August. After rising for most of 2024, the unemployment rate dropped for a second straight month, from 4.2% in August to 4.1% in September.
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Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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October 10, 2024
Leslie became a Category 2 hurricane but never made landfall
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Tropical Depression 13 formed in the eastern Atlantic on Wednesday, Oct. 2 becoming Tropical Storm Leslie on Thursday, Oct. 3. It was the twelfth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and the eighth hurricane.
What You Need To Know

Leslie formed in the eastern Tropical Atlantic

It was the twelfth named storm of the season

At one point Leslie strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane but never made landfall
Tropical Depression 13 formed in the eastern Atlantic on Wednesday, Oct. 2 becoming Tropical Storm Leslie on Thursday, Oct. 3. It was the twelfth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and the eighth hurricane.

Despite following in Hurricane Kirk’s wake, Leslie was able to strengthen into a hurricane on Oct. 5. It remained a Category 1 hurricane for several days before weakening to a tropical storm on the morning of Oct. 8.

It looked as though Leslie would weaken and soon dissipate but as Leslie moved northwest it traveled over warmer water and on the night of Oct. 8, it strengthened back into a hurricane, even becoming a Category 2 hurricane early on Oct. 10.

By the next morning, however, Leslie moved north into a hostile sheared environment and was weakened to a tropical storm before dissipating shortly after. Leslie made no impact on land throughout its life cycle.

Here’s a look at the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season so far.

More Storm Season Resources

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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Spectrum News Weather Staff

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October 9, 2024
Las Vegas says goodbye to the Tropicana with flashy casino implosion
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Sin City blew a kiss goodbye to the Tropicana before first light Wednesday in an elaborate implosion that reduced to rubble the last true mob building on the Las Vegas Strip.
What You Need To Know

The iconic Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas was demolished early Wednesday morning, the first casino implosion in nearly a decade

The Tropicana closed in April after 67 years to make room for a new $1.5 billion baseball stadium for the relocating Oakland Athletics

Once known as the “Tiffany of the Strip” for its opulence, the Tropicana was a frequent haunt of the legendary Rat Pack
The Tropicana’s hotel towers tumbled in a celebration that included a fireworks display. It was the first implosion in nearly a decade for a city that loves fresh starts and that has made casino implosions as much a part of its identity as gambling itself.

“What Las Vegas has done, in classic Las Vegas style, they’ve turned many of these implosions into spectacles,” said Geoff Schumacher, historian and vice president of exhibits and programs at the Mob Museum.

Former casino mogul Steve Wynn changed the way Las Vegas blows up casinos in 1993 with the implosion of the Dunes to make room for the Bellagio. Wynn thought not only to televise the event but created a fantastical story for the implosion that made it look like pirate ships at his other casino across the street were firing at the Dunes.

From then on, Schumacher said, there was a sense in Las Vegas that destruction at that magnitude was worth witnessing.

The city hasn’t blown up a Strip casino since 2016, when the final tower of the Riviera was leveled for a convention center expansion.

This time, the implosion cleared land for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium for the relocating Oakland Athletics, part of the city’s latest rebrand into a sports hub.

That will leave only the Flamingo from the city’s mob era on the Strip. But, Schumacher said, the Flamingo’s original structures are long gone. The casino was completely rebuilt in the 1990s.

The Tropicana, the third-oldest casino on the Strip, closed in April after welcoming guests for 67 years.

Once known as the “Tiffany of the Strip” for its opulence, it was a frequent haunt of the legendary Rat Pack, while its past under the mob has long cemented its place in Las Vegas lore.

It opened in 1957 with three stories and 300 hotel rooms split into two wings.

As Las Vegas rapidly evolved in the following decades, including a building boom of Strip megaresorts in the 1990s, the Tropicana also underwent major changes. Two hotel towers were added in later years. In 1979, the casino’s beloved $1 million green-and-amber stained glass ceiling was installed above the casino floor.

The Tropicana’s original low-rise hotel wings survived the many renovations, however, making it the last true mob structure on the Strip.

Behind the scenes of the casino’s grand opening, the Tropicana had ties to organized crime, largely through reputed mobster Frank Costello.

Costello was shot in the head in New York weeks after the Tropicana’s debut. He survived, but the investigation led police to a piece of paper in his coat pocket with the Tropicana’s exact earnings figure, revealing the mob’s stake in the casino.

By the 1970s, federal authorities investigating mobsters in Kansas City charged more than a dozen operatives with conspiring to skim $2 million in gambling revenue from Las Vegas casinos, including the Tropicana. Charges connected to the Tropicana alone resulted in five convictions.

There were no public viewing areas for the event, but fans of the Tropicana did have a chance in April to bid farewell to the vintage Vegas relic.

“Old Vegas, it’s going,” Joe Zappulla, a teary-eyed New Jersey resident, said at the time as he exited the casino, shortly before the locks went on the doors.
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Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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October 9, 2024
LIVE CAMERAS: Watch Hurricane Milton as it crosses Florida peninsula

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Milton made landfall Wednesday night.

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Spectrum News Weather Staff

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October 9, 2024