(NEW YORK) — Thousands of customers in the Great Lakes are without power on Tuesday after heavy snowfall combined with leaves still on trees caused many branches to fall on power lines.
Across the U.S., 28 states are under frost and freeze alerts from Colorado to New York. Actual temperatures are in the 20s and even teens. In the upper Midwest, temperatures in the 30s are widespread, with record cold dipping into the Ohio Valley and parts of the mid-South. Wind chills are in the single digits in North Dakota and Minnesota.
The freeze reaches the Gulf Coast on Wednesday, where temperatures could fall into the upper 20s and lower 30s.
Up to 18 inches of lake-effect snow fell in northern Wisconsin and up to 14 inches of snow fell in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Monday.
Marquette, Michigan, saw record snowfall of 9.1 inches Monday.
Chicago received its first snow of the season on Monday and Indianapolis saw its first snowfall on Tuesday.
Lake-effect snow also fell in northern Indiana, with some areas getting as much as 4 inches.
Dozens of record-low temperatures are expected across the South on Wednesday. Raleigh, North Carolina, could see its first frost of the season.
Some of the cold will swing into the Northeast with temperatures expected to be in the upper 30s on Wednesday morning.
Frost and freeze alerts have been issued for the Northeast, including Philadelphia, but the frosty conditions will stay away from Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston for now.
Temperatures in the West could reach, if not break, records highs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Seven cities are expected to see near-record or record-high temperatures on Tuesday, with twice as many near-record or record-high temperatures forecast on Wednesday. Twelve cities are expected to see record or near-record high temperatures on the West Coast Thursday.
But temperatures are expected to be much cooler over the weekend and wet weather is on the way with mountain snow.
Ava Max angered her fans when she announced a delay in her forthcoming album, Diamonds & Dancefloors. The album was set to arrive October 14, but the release date has since been pushed to late January.
Taking to TikTok, the singer addressed fans about why they have to wait a little longer to hear her sophomore album. She confirmed the effort was leaked online.
“I wanted to come on here personally and talk about all the leaks that have been happening [with] Diamonds & Dancefloors. I am extremely upset about it, obviously,” Ava began. As the video went on, it became apparent just how deeply the leaks have affected her.
She continued, “I don’t want anyone thinking I am trying to avoid this or anything. I see what is happening. I, personally, haven’t seen the leaks or where they’re coming from online.”
Ava also explained she has no idea how people are coming across her unreleased album and noted, “I just know that it’s out there and — I don’t know… My team and I are trying our hardest to bring it down. We’ve all worked so hard on Diamonds & Dancefloors and I can’t wait for everyone to hear every single song on the album.”
The singer started becoming emotional, and her voice broke as she signed off by telling her fans how “grateful” she is to have them. “I just wanted you to hear it from me that it is upsetting,” she sighed before ending the recording.
Fans have flooded the comment section with words of encouragement and understanding.
Diamonds & Dancefloors — the follow-up to Ava’s debut and RIAA-certified Platinum album, Heaven & Hell — is now set to arrive January 27. Fans can presave the forthcoming effort now.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is stepping up efforts to make abortion rights a major focus for Democrats as the midterm election cycle enters its final weeks.
Biden will highlight the contrast with Republicans on the issue when he speaks Tuesday at an event hosted by the Democratic National Committee at the Howard Theatre in Washington.
There, a DNC official said, he will announce that the first bill he will send to the next Congress, if held by Democrats, would codify Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion decision the Supreme Court overruled in June.
“President Biden will speak about the choice that voters face this November between Republicans who want to a national abortion ban that would criminalize doctors for performing care, and Democrats who want to codify Roe into law to protect women’s reproductive freedom,” the official said. “He will say that if the American people elect more Democratic Senators in November and keep the House Democratic, the first bill he will send to the next Congress will be to codify Roe — and he will sign it around the 50th anniversary of the Roe decision.”
Biden has advocated changing the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster so the Democrats could pass legislation protecting abortion access. But two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, are opposed to eliminating the longstanding chamber rule.
“If you give me two more senators in the United States Senate, I promise you, I promise you, we’re going to codify Roe and once again make Roe the law of the land,” Biden said at the National Education Association last month.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, discussing Biden’s upcoming speech during Monday’s briefing, criticized Republican lawmakers seeking restrictions on abortion access.
Since the Supreme Court’s decision, at least a dozen states have ceased nearly all abortion services. At the federal level, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has also floated legislation that would prohibit the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy except in cases of rape, incest or risk to the physical health of the mother.
“The assault on women’s access to reproductive healthcare by Republican officials is an assault,” Jean-Pierre said. “And the president is going to speak about that, as he has been for the past several months.”
Despite the heated rhetoric surrounding abortion rights in critical House and Senate races across the country, a new poll suggests it may not be the winning issue Democrats hope it will be to help them keep majority control in Congress.
The New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday found independent voters, especially women, are shifting to the Republican Party ahead of next month’s elections.
In September, the poll found women who identified as independents backed Democrats by 14 points. In the latest poll, these voters backed Republicans by 18 points.
The economy remained the top issue for likely voters, with 26% saying it’s the most important problem facing the country and 18% saying the same about inflation. Just 5% of likely voters said abortion was the nation’s most important issue.
House Democrats passed two bills in July to protect abortion access and enshrine Roe v. Wade in federal law. But the legislation has yet to be taken up in the Senate.
Will Rolling Stones fans finally get to hear some new music in 2023? That’s the word from U.K. tabloid The Sun, which reports that an unnamed source has confirmed that the band intends to put out its first new album of original material in 18 years next summer.
According to The Sun, Stones members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood took part in recording sessions during the past two weeks at New York City’s famed Electric Lady Studios. The report claims that they worked with “a raft of world class session musicians” as well as longtime Stones touring bassist Darryl Jones and drummer Steve Jordan, who joined the group’s touring lineup in the wake of drummer Charlie Watts‘ death last year.
The newspaper also reports that the source says The Rolling Stones will likely launch a major tour following the album’s release that would include shows in the U.S., South America and Europe.
The Sun says the source noted that after Watts’ death, the band was unsure about whether it would continue, “But now they’ve had time to reflect they all feel it’s the right thing to keep doing what they’ve always done as a band, make new music and hopefully hit the road again to perform it to their fans.”
A new album would be the first that the band ever recorded without Watts. In March, Richards revealed in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning that he, Jagger and Jordan had been writing new songs together. The Rolling Stones’ last album of original tunes was 2005’s A Bigger Bang.
Earlier this year, the band launched a 60th anniversary tour, a European trek that ran from June to August.
(NEW YORK) — A French industrial company pleaded guilty Tuesday to providing material support to terrorism by paying millions of dollars to ISIS in order to keep its cement plant in Syria operable.
LaFarge SA and it’s now-dormant Syrian cement affiliate pleaded guilty to a single count brought by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York that charges the company with conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations.
The company conceded it knowingly and intentionally conspired to support the Islamic State and the Al-Nusra front.
“Guilty,” LaFarge chief executive, Magali Anderson, said before Judge William Kuntz.
From August 2013 to November 2014, LaFarge and LaFarge Cement Syria knowingly and willfully agreed to a conspiracy to make and authorize payments for the benefit of armed groups in Syria, Anderson said in a plea allocution.
“The individuals responsible for this conduct have been separated from the company since 2017,” Anderson said.
LaFarge agreed to pay $777 million in fines and forfeiture and serve three years probation as part of its plea agreement with the government. It also agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
“We deeply regret that this conduct occurred and have worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve this matter,” LaFarge said in a statement.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) In less than a day after banning the Late Late Show host from his eatery Balthazar, restaurateur Keith McNally says James Corden called to apologize.
In an Instagram post Monday, McNally labeled Corden “a Hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man,” calling him “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.”
McNally added, “I don’t often 86 [ban] a customer, [until] today I 86’d Corden…”
The restaurant owner detailed two incidents in which Corden reportedly berated staffers at the eatery, including one instance where a strand of hair was found in his food, and he demanded free drinks for his entire stay. “This way I write any nasty reviews in yelp or anything like that,” the comic reportedly threatened.
Another incident reportedly saw Corden dining with his wife, when she became irate because “there was a little bit of egg white mixed with the egg yolk” in her omelette. When a new dish was prepared, the side was incorrect, and McNally claimed Corden screamed at the server, “You can’t do your job! You can’t do your job! Maybe I should go into the kitchen and cook the omelette myself!” leaving the staffer “very shaken.”
After the post was picked up by several news outlets, however, McNally posted that Corden called and “apologized profusely.”
The restaurateur continued, “Having f***ed up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances.” He added, “anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn’t deserve to be banned from anywhere,” concluding with, “All is Forgiven.”
(MARIETTA, Ohio) — A small plane crashed in a car dealership parking lot in Marietta, Ohio, Tuesday morning, leaving the pilot and a passenger dead, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The pilot and passenger were the only people aboard the twin-engine Beechcraft BE9L, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The accident at the Pioneer Buick GMA dealership sparked a fire that took about 30 minutes to extinguish, said Marietta police.
Police do not believe anyone on the ground was injured.
Marietta is located in southeast Ohio along the West Virginia border.
(MARIETTA, Ohio) — A small plane has crashed in a car dealership parking lot in Marietta, Ohio, according to police.
The accident sparked a fire that took about 30 minutes to extinguish, said Marietta police. Marietta is located in southeast Ohio along the West Virginia border.
Police do not believe anyone on the ground was injured. Information on the passengers and pilot were not immediately clear.
(NEW YORK) — More than six months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose forces began an offensive in August, has vowed to take back all Russian-occupied territory. But Putin in September announced a mobilization of reservists, which is expected to call up as many as 300,000 additional troops.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 18, 7:00 AM EDT
30% of Ukraine’s power stations destroyed
About a third of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed by Russian attacks in the last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
“Since Oct. 10, 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country,” he said on Twitter. “No space left for negotiations with Putin’s regime.”
Oct 18, 6:55 AM EDT
13 dead after fighter jet crashes, Russia says
Thirteen people were killed in a fire after a Russian fighter jet crashed into a residential area in Yeysk, Russia, the TASS news service reported.
“Rescuers have completed clearing the debris,” a member of the Emergencies Services told Russia’s state-owned news agency. “Ten bodies were found during rescue activities, which brings the total number of deaths to 13 people, including three children. Nineteen people were injured in the emergency situation.”
The Su-34 fighter plane crashed during a training flight on Monday night, Russian officials said. The jet’s fuel started a fire that engulfed a nine-story residential building in flames, Russia said.
Oct 18, 5:09 AM EDT
Russia targets Ukraine’s energy infrastructure
Air raid sirens went off in Kyiv for more than three hours on Tuesday, as Russia launched a wave of strikes targeting energy infrastructure across Ukraine.
At least three incoming strikes were confirmed by the authorities in Kyiv. A power plant on the city’s left bank was hit, knocking out power for some residents in that area. Some locals said they didn’t have running water.
Kyiv officials did not say whether there were casualties. It was also unclear whether the plant was hit by a missile or a drone — both types of weapons were reportedly heading towards Kyiv, but some were shot down.
Russian missiles and drones struck other targets across Ukraine on Tuesday, officials said.
Russia struck energy infrastructure in both Zhytomyr and Dnipro, knocking out power and running water for some residents, officials said. There was “serious damage,” Dnipro’s governor said.
Russian forces launched eight missiles on Kharkiv from Belgorod, Russia, this morning, according to the governor. They hit several districts of the city, the official said.
Zaporizhzhia was attacked by Russian drones last night, the governor said. One infrastructure object was damaged, along with a warehouse. No casualties were reported.
Oct 18, 3:42 AM EDT
Russian missile strikes apartments, killing one
Russian missiles struck targets in Mykolaiv that included a residential building, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.
“A person died,” Zelenskyy said on Twitter. “There was also a strike at the flower market, the chestnut park. I wonder what the Russians were fighting against at these peaceful facilities?”
Oct 17, 5:55 AM EDT
Zaporizhzhia plant disconnected from power grid
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was disconnected from the power grid after Russian shelling on Monday, Energoatom said.
The plant’s diesel generators were started after a “short-term voltage drop,” the energy company said.
“We once again appeal to the international community to urgently take measures for the demilitarization of the ZNPP as soon as possible,” Energoatom said in a statement.
Oct 17, 3:50 AM EDT
Two trapped under rubble after drone strikes, Kyiv mayor says
Eighteen people were rescued and two were trapped under rubble after a Russian drone struck central Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Air raid sirens started blaring in the capital at about 6:30 a.m. on Monday, accompanied by at least three explosions from drone strikes.
A non-residential building in the Shevchenkinskyi district of the city was on fire, Klitschko said. At least one residential building had also been struck, Kira Rudik, a member of Ukrainian Parliament, said on Twitter.
“Critical infrastructure severely damaged. Ruined buildings,” Rudik said. “We have no time for statements about support. We need air defense asap.”
Oct 17, 3:38 AM EDT
Ukraine shoots down 37 drones, military says
Ukrainian forces shot down 37 Russian drones and three cruise missiles overnight, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.
Oct 17, 1:39 AM EDT
Drones strike Kyiv, mayor says
Multiple blasts struck Kyiv on Monday morning, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Air raid sirens were sounding in the capital, he said. He asked people to shelter in place.
Klitschko shared a photo on Twitter of what he said was the wreckage of a Kamikaze drone.
Imagine Dragons‘ Latin American tour, which was to have begun Tuesday night in Colombia, has been postponed while singer Dan Reynolds recovers from some health issues.
On the band’s socials, they wrote, “In our 12 years as a band, we’ve never had to cancel a tour (and could count the number of shows on one hand). We hope you guys know how hard it is for us to postpone these dates, and we plan to make it up to you soon.”
The message goes on to explain that Reynolds has been “struggling with hemorrhaged vocal cords and a [vocal cord] nodule” and has been told by a doctor that if he continues to sing, he could “irreparably harm his voice.” He’s also “unexpectedly” sprained his knee and must wear a brace and undergo rehab.
“We just can’t give you the show you deserve right now,” the band concludes. They apologize for ruining those who’d made travel plans to see them, and assure fans that refunds will be available for those who can’t attend the rescheduled dates, whenever they’re announced.
Imagine Dragon’s final show of 2022 was to have taken place November 4 in Mexico.
