Tag Archives: holidays and observances

US

Monterey Park, California massacre: The gunman is dead, but the motive remains a mystery

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

It’s still not clear why a 72-year-old man unleashed a hailstorm of bullets on revelers celebrating Lunar New Year – killing 10 people, wounding 10 others and shattering the majority-Asian American city of Monterey Park, California.

And with the gunman, Huu Can Tran, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the answer may never be known.

FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES

But while mourners grieve unfathomable tragedy on what should have been the most auspicious day for many Asian Americans, authorities credit “heroes” for helping prevent even more carnage after yet another mass shooting in America.

Here’s the latest on the investigation into the Saturday night massacre:

• Tran fatally shot himself midday Sunday in the nearby city of Torrance as police closed in on his vehicle – a white van that matched one they were looking for – police said.

• Tran had gunned down 20 people at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park before driving to another dance hall in nearby Alhambra, where he brandished a semi-automatic weapon, investigators said.

• Two people at the Alhambra dance hall wrestled the weapon away from the gunman, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. “The suspect went to the Alhambra location after he conducted the shooting (in Monterey Park), and he was disarmed by two community members who I consider to be heroes,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. “They saved lives. This could’ve been much worse.”

• The weapon was a Cobray M11 9 mm semi-automatic weapon, a law enforcement official told CNN. It’s designed to take 30-round magazines that allow for rapid fire without having to frequently change magazines. The weapon was traced to the suspect, giving authorities his name and description.

• Investigators found “several pieces of evidence” in Tran’s white van linking him to the Monterey Park and Alhambra dance studios, the sheriff said, without giving further details. They also found a handgun, Luna said.

• Among those slain were two women – My Nhan, 65, and Lilan Li, 63 – the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Monday. Nine of the 10 victims were in their 60s or 70s, and all – five men and five women – were over 50. Authorities are working to identify the others and notify loved ones.

• The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department got a search warrant for Tran’s home in the senior community about 80 miles east of Monterey Park – The Lakes at Hemet West – a Hemet Police spokesperson confirmed.

• The massacre in Monterey Park marks one of at least 36 mass shootings in the US so far this month.

When police arrived at the Monterey Park dance studio, “they came across a scene that none of them had been prepared for,” city police chief Scott Wiese said. The killer had inflicted “extensive” carnage before fleeing the scene.

A few miles away in Alhambra, Brandon Tsay was working the ticket office of the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio, unaware of the massacre. Then, the same gunman entered the business his family had owned for three generations.

“From his body language, his facial expression, his eyes, he was looking for people,” Tsay told The New York Times.

“He was looking at me and looking around, not hiding that he was trying to do harm,” he said. “His eyes were menacing.”

The gunman pointed a semi-automatic weapon at Tsay – the first gun he had seen in real life – he told the Times.

“My heart sank,” he said, “I knew I was going to die.”

Tsay struggled with the man for about a minute and a half and eventually wrestled the gun from him when the man took his hand off it, he told the Times.

“That moment, it was primal instinct,” he said. “I don’t know what came over me.”

Once Tsay gained control of the gun, he told the Times, he pointed it back at the suspect and yelled for him to “get the hell out of here.”

Tran had once been a familiar face at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, where he gave informal dance lessons, three people who knew him told CNN. But it’s not clear how often he visited in recent years, if at all.

He even met his ex-wife there about two decades ago after he saw her at a dance, introduced himself and offered her free lessons, the ex-wife said.

Tran worked as a truck driver at times, his ex-wife said. He was an immigrant from China, according to a copy of his marriage license she showed to CNN.

The two married soon after they met, according to the ex-wife, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the case.

And Tran had a hot temper, his ex-wife and others said.

While he was never violent to her, the ex-wife said, Tran would get upset if she missed a step dancing because he felt it made him look bad.

Tran filed for divorce in late 2005, and a judge approved the divorce the following year, Los Angeles court records show.

Another longtime acquaintance of Tran also remembered him as a regular patron of the dance studio. The friend, who also asked not to be named, was close to Tran in the late 2000s and early 2010s, when he said Tran would come to the dance studio “almost every night” from his home in nearby San Gabriel.

At that time, Tran often complained that the instructors at the dance hall didn’t like him and said “evil things about him,” the friend recalled. He said Tran was “hostile to a lot of people there.”

More generally, Tran was easily irritated, complained a lot and didn’t seem to trust people, the friend said.

Tran’s friend was “totally shocked” when he heard about the shooting, he said, noting he hadn’t seen Tran in several years.

“I know lots of people, and if they go to Star studio, they frequent there,” the friend said. He said he was “worried maybe I know some of” the shooting victims.

Despite a surge of deadly attacks and harassment against Asian Americans throughout the pandemic, Saturday’s attack shocked many in Monterey Park – where about 65% of residents are of Asian descent and some 100,000 people from across Southern California typically turn out for Lunar New Year celebrations.

“I’ve lived here for 37 years, and I could never have imagined such a terrible thing happening,” Rep. Judy Chu, who represents Monterey Park in Congress, told CNN on Sunday.

“This is a tight-knit community and it has been very peaceful all these years. So that’s why it is even more shattering to have this happen.”

Read original article here

World

Ukraine: Kyiv dismisses Putin’s call for ceasefire as ‘hypocrisy’

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his defense minister to implement a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine for 36 hours this week to allow Orthodox Christians to attend Christmas services, according to a Kremlin statement Thursday. But the proposal was swiftly dismissed as “hypocrisy” by Ukrainian officials.

Putin’s order came after the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, called for a ceasefire between January 6 and January 7, when many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas.

But Ukrainian officials voiced skepticism about the temporary ceasefire, saying Moscow just wanted a pause to gather reserves, equipment and ammunition.

During his nightly address on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia aims to use Orthodox Christmas “as a cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region.

“What will this accomplish? Only another increase in the casualty count,” he added.

Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, told Ukrainian television: “Regarding this truce – they just want to get some kind of a pause for a day or two, to pull even more reserves, bring some more ammo.”

“Russia cannot be trusted. Not a single word they say,” Haidai added.

Now in its 11th month, the battle that many experts thought would be over within days or weeks has become a grueling war.

Both sides have taken blows in recent weeks: Ukraine’s economy shrank by more than 30% last year, with Russian missile strikes pummeling civilian infrastructure, leaving many without heat in the height of winter. Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks on Russian barracks have killed a significant number of Russian troops and sparked controversy within Russia.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak responded to Putin’s move on Twitter by saying that Russia must leave “occupied territories” in Ukraine before any “temporary truce.”

“First. Ukraine doesn’t attack foreign territory and doesn’t kill civilians. As RF [Russian Federation] does … Second. RF must leave the occupied territories – only then will it have a ‘temporary truce’. Keep hypocrisy to yourself,” Podolyak said.

The proposal for a temporary truce also raised eyebrows among the international community.

US President Joe Biden expressed skepticism on Thursday, telling reporters that he was “reluctant to respond anything Putin says. I found it interesting. He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches on the 25th and New Year’s.”

He continued, “I mean, I think he’s trying to find some oxygen.”

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price described it as “cynical” and that the US had “little faith in the intentions behind” Russia’s proposed ceasefire.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday also warned that the promise of a ceasefire would not bring “either freedom or security” to the people living under Moscow’s brutal war.

“If Putin wanted peace, he would take his soldiers home, and the war would be over. But apparently, he wants to continue the war after a short break,” she said in a tweet.

Putin’s order comes after he spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who has attempted to position himself as a broker between the Russian president and the West – where Putin said he was open to “serious dialogue” regarding Ukraine, but Kyiv must accept the “new territorial realities,” according to a Kremlin statement.

The full statement from the Kremlin on Thursday read: “Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation to introduce from 12:00 January 6, 2023 until 24:00 January 7, 2023, a ceasefire along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine.

“Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the combat areas, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ.”

Kirill has been a vocal supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and gave a sermon in September in which he said that “military duty washes away all sins.”

The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has also been locked in a feud with Pope Francis, who has described the invasion of Ukraine as Russian “expansionism and imperialism.”

And in May, the Pope urged Patriarch Kirill not to “become Putin’s altar boy.”

In November, a branch of Ukraine’s Orthodox church announced that it would allow its churches to celebrate Christmas on December 25, rather than January 7, as is traditional in Orthodox congregations.

The announcement by the Kyiv-headquartered Orthodox Church of Ukraine widened the rift between the Russian Orthodox Church and other Orthodox believers.

In recent years a large part of the Orthodox community in Ukraine has moved away from Moscow, a movement accelerated by the conflict Russia stoked in eastern Ukraine beginning in 2014.

Ukrainians, who have suffered nearly a year of conflict, expressed distrust of Putin’s announcement.

In the southern region of Kherson, Pavlo Skotarenko doesn’t expect much to change. “They shell us every day, people die in Kherson every day. And this temporary measure won’t change anything,” he said.

From the frontlines in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, a Ukrainian soldier told CNN that the temporary ceasefire announcement looked like an effort to clean up Russia’s image.

“I do not think that this is done for some military tactical purpose, one day will not solve much,” the Ukrainian soldier, who goes by the call sign Archer, told CNN by phone.

“Perhaps this is done to make the image of the whole of Russia a little more human, because so many atrocities are constantly emerging, and this could earn them few points of support from the people,” the soldier said.

And in the capital Kyiv, where Russian attacks during New Year soured even the most modest celebrations, Halyna Hladka said she saw the temporary ceasefire as an attempt by Russians to win time.

“Russia has already shown active use of faith in numerous kinds of manipulations. And besides, in almost a year of war, Russia has not behaved itself as a country capable of adhering to promises,” she said.

Read original article here

Entertainment

Jeremy Renner thanks his fans for their sympathies in his first social media post after snow plowing accident

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

Actor Jeremy Renner thanked fans from his hospital bed Tuesday as he continued to recover from two surgeries following being injured by a snowplow machine in what officials described as “a tragic accident.”

“Thank you all for your kind words. Im too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all,” Renner wrote in a caption under a selfie photo showing him apparently in a hospital bed.

The “Hawkeye” actor was injured on New Year’s Day near his Nevada home while he was clearing snow from a private driveway to help family members leave his house after gathering for the holidays, according to his publicist, Samantha Mast.

“Jeremy is making positive progress and is awake, talking and in good spirits,” Mast said a statement released Tuesday evening. “He remains in ICU in critical but stable condition. He is overwhelmed by the showing of love and support. The family asks for your continued thoughts while he heals with his close loved ones.”

Renner, 51, was run over by his snowcat, an engine-powered machine used to clear snow, Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said on Tuesday during a news conference.

At some point, the machine started to roll away while Renner was not in the driver’s seat, Balaam said. He was injured as he tried to get back into the machine, Balaam explained. Renner’s family members were with him when he was injured.

A Renner spokesperson previously told CNN that he sustained “blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries.” So far, the actor has undergone two surgeries related to the injuries, a source close to the actor told CNN.

Minutes before 9 a.m. on Sunday, authorities received word of the accident through a 911 call reporting a crash involving a snowcat and a pedestrian on Mount Rose Highway, Balaam said Tuesday.

Even though it was not snowing at that time, that highway was closed and at least a dozen cars were stranded due to the severe winter weather that was hitting the area, Balaam said.

Due to these conditions, a helicopter landed in the vicinity of the highway at 9:37 a.m., and Renner was taken to a Reno-area hospital at 9:56 a.m., Balaam said.

At the time of the injury, parts of western Nevada were blanketed with snow. The Reno area received between 6 and 12 inches of snow at elevations below 5,000 feet between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and up to 18 inches at higher elevations, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

“He was being a great neighbor and he was plowing those roads for his neighbor,” Balaam said of Renner.

Authorities do not believe Renner was intoxicated during the incident, with Balaam calling it “a tragic accident.”

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office has Renner’s taken the snowcat to analyze it to “rule out any potential mechanical failure,” which is a normal part of the investigation with this severity of injuries, Balaam said.

During an appearance on “CNN This Morning” Wednesday, Balaam said the actor is very active in the Reno community.

“He’s one of our honorary deputies here at the Sheriff’s Office,” Balaam said. “That’s one of the nonprofits [for] members in our community. And they help us do ‘Shop For The Sheriff,’ where they spend $50,000 and donate it and he’s one of those members. He does a lot for our community.”

“When I took office in 2019 he showed up for ‘Shop For The Sheriff’ and you should see the kids and the parents,” Balaam added. “He took the time out of his busy days to give autographs and shop with kids. He does a lot in the community and what I truly enjoy about Mr. Renner is a lot of times he does it and no one knows. He does it out of the kindness of his heart.”

A day after the accident, Renner’s family released a statement thanking hospital staff and first responders while the actor remained hospitalized.

“Jeremy’s family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible doctors and nurses looking after him, Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue, Washoe County Sheriff, Reno City Mayor Hillary Schieve and the Carano and Murdock families,” a statement from his spokesperson read. “They are also tremendously overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from his fans.”



Read original article here

Entertainment

Jeremy Renner is in ICU recovering from 2 surgeries after being injured in snow plowing incident

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

“Hawkeye” actor Jeremy Renner is recovering from surgery after suffering “blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries” in a New Year’s Day snow plowing accident in Nevada, a spokesperson for the actor said.

As of Monday evening, Renner was in the intensive care unit in “critical but stable condition,” the spokesperson said.

The 51-year-old actor has so far undergone two surgeries to address injuries he sustained in the accident, a source close to the actor previously told CNN.

Renner was hospitalized on Sunday after a “weather related accident” while plowing snow, his representative Sam Mast confirmed to CNN earlier on Monday.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office said its deputies responded to a “traumatic injury” involving Renner in the area of Mount Rose Highway in Reno.

Deputies found Renner injured and coordinated his transport to an area hospital, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release, adding that the actor was the only person involved in the accident.

The Sheriff’s Office did not provide details on how the snow plow accident happened but said its Major Accident Investigation Team is looking into the circumstances of the incident.

At the time of the accident, parts of western Nevada were covered with snow. The Reno area received around 6-12 inches of snow at elevations below 5,000 feet between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and up to 18 inches at higher elevations, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

Renner has shared multiple videos and photos on his verified social media accounts showing him in snowy conditions, including one Instagram video posted two weeks ago in which the actor appears to be driving a snowplow.

Renner’s family released a statement Monday evening thanking hospital staff and first responders as the actor remained hospitalized.

“Jeremy’s family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible doctors and nurses looking after him, Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue, Washoe County Sheriff, Reno City Mayor Hillary Schieve and the Carano and Murdock families,” a statement from his spokesperson read. “They are also tremendously overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from his fans.”

Renner stars in the Paramount+ series “Mayor of Kingstown” and is best known for his role as Hawkeye in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films.



Read original article here

US

Times Square New Year’s Eve attack: Suspect arrested and faces attempted murder charges

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

The 19-year-old suspect accused of attacking New York police officers with a machete near Times Square on New Year’s Eve has been arrested and faces charges of attempted murder of a police officer.

Police are recommending the suspect, Trevor Bickford, be charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and two counts of attempted assault in the attack, the New York Police Department said.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has said that they do not yet have details of when Bickford will be arraigned. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney.

The formal arrest comes two days after Bickford allegedly attacked police officers at a security screening area outside Times Square, the center of the city’s famed New Year’s Eve celebrations.

A diary was found in the suspect’s backpack, which had been left on the street and placed in a pile with other backpacks that had been taken from people trying to enter security checkpoints around Times Square, multiple law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the case said.

The diary ends with a last will and testament, according to the source. The final entry, dated December 31, begins with, “This will likely be my last entry,” and goes on to leave instructions on how to divide the author’s belongings among his family and instructions for his burial.

The diary expressed a desire to join the Taliban and it criticized his brother for joining the US military, the sources said.

“There was a time when we were close but that time has since passed,” writings in the diary say, according to the sources. “You have joined the ranks of my enemy.”

The suspect also worried his mother would not repent to Allah, according to another writing in the diary, the sources said.

“And therefore I hold hope in my heart that a piece of you believes so that you may be taken out of the hellfire,” he wrote, according to the sources.

Just after 10 p.m. he went to the Times Square checkpoint at West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue where officers check bags for weapons or suspicious items, NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell and police said.

At the security area, Bickford allegedly pulled out a machete, struck one officer with the blade and another officer in the head with the handle, and then swung the blade at a third officer, who shot Bickford in the shoulder, according to the sources and the NYPD. The officers have been treated and released.

For the past two days, Bickford had been in custody and under police guard at Bellevue Hospital, where he was being treated for the gunshot wound, sources said.

Even before the attack, Bickford was on the FBI’s radar.

Bickford was interviewed by FBI agents in Maine in mid-December after he said he wanted to travel overseas to help fellow Muslims and was willing to die for his religion, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

Bickford’s mother and grandmother became increasingly concerned about his desire to travel to Afghanistan to join the Taliban and reported this to the Wells, Maine, police department out of concern for him on December 10, the sources said.

When the FBI opened its wider investigation they also placed him on a terrorist watch list, according to sources. Because the Taliban is not designated a foreign terrorist entity, planning to travel to Afghanistan to join the group does not constitute the federal crime of “attempted material support of a terrorist group.”

Multiple law enforcement sources told CNN that Bickford traveled to New York via Amtrak, so those travels would not have tripped any watch list databases.

His original destination was Miami, the sources said, but he stopped in New York and checked in at the Grand Hotel near the Bowery in Manhattan on December 29. He checked out on New Year’s Eve with all his luggage before allegedly conducting the Times Square machete attack, the sources said.

Read original article here

US

1 killed, at least 9 others injured in New Year’s Eve shooting in Alabama

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

One person was killed and nine others were injured in a shooting in Mobile, Alabama, Saturday night, just blocks from where people had gathered for the city’s New Year’s Eve celebration, according to CNN affiliate WPMI.

Police got a call about shots fired at 11:15 p.m. in the 200 block of Dauphin Street, Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine told WPMI.

Officers arrived to find one person dead and several others injured, Prine told the station.

The chief said the surviving victims were all transported to local hospitals, but no information was available on the extent of their injuries.

No arrests have been made and it’s unclear what motivated the shooting, which happened as crowds were in the downtown area for the MoonPie Over Mobile event.

Read original article here

Health

Respiratory viruses could surge following the holidays, public health experts warn

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

There is growing concern among infectious disease and public health experts that the US could face even more respiratory infections in January.

It is “highly likely” that respiratory viruses could spread even more following holiday gatherings and New Year’s Eve celebrations, Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told CNN on Monday.

“These are highly contagious viruses – and people have generally put Covid-19 and Covid vaccination behind them. They haven’t been all that attentive to flu. They’re not wearing masks,” Schaffner said. “And if you’re close together with other people, it’s an opportunity for all three of these viruses – flu, Covid, and even RSV – to spread from one person to another. So, we do expect a post-holiday surge in these viruses.”

At the same time, across the country, there has been a wave of flight cancellations and families stuck at the airport during their holiday travels.

When that happens, “People are together for very long periods of time, and they’re not wearing masks, and they’re weary and tired and stressed, and those are occasions where people are more apt to spread the virus,” Schaffner said, adding that his own granddaughter had four flights canceled over the holidays. He recommends masking up while in the airport and on an airplane.

“I think all of us in infectious diseases and public health would recommend that masks are not perfect, but they are an additional layer of protection,” Schaffner said.

Some local health officials are bracing for a possible surge in respiratory illnesses following the winter holidays since that was seen recently following Thanksgiving, Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said in an email to CNN on Monday.

“After the Thanksgiving holiday period, we saw an uptick in COVID cases by about 58% through the beginning of the Christmas holiday on December 21,” Freeman wrote. “Deaths from COVID also rose during that same time period by about 65%.”

Flu also surged after Thanksgiving, with more than a third of all flu hospitalizations and deaths at the time this season being reported in the first full week of data post-Thanksgiving, and cases also jumped nearly as much.

Currently, seasonal flu activity remains high in the US, but continues to decline in most parts of the country, according to data published Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite improvements, flu may not have peaked yet.

CDC estimates that, so far this season, there have been at least 18 million illnesses, 190,000 hospitalizations and 12,000 deaths from flu.

As for the current state of Covid-19, increases appear to be relatively mild. Hospitalizations are ticking up in most states, although the overall rate is still just a fraction of what it was during other surges. New hospital admissions have jumped nearly 50% over the past month. Hospitalizations among seniors are nearing the peak from the Delta surge – and rising fast.

Freeman said it is expected that reports after the winter holidays will continue to show increases in Covid-19 cases and deaths, likely attributable to increased travel across the country, large family gatherings, fewer people being up to date on their Covid-19 vaccinations and flu shots, and fewer people following mitigation measures, such as masking and social distancing.

“Air travel is also back to pre-pandemic levels and there are no more restrictions on mask wearing on airplanes or in airports where viruses can easily circulate. Same for bussing,” Freeman said. “Fortunately, we are seeing less RSV in children from our high points earlier in December, so that respiratory illness is stabilizing and becoming less of a part of the triple threat of COVID, flu, and RSV.”

As health officials brace for a possible surge in respiratory viruses in the coming weeks, it might not be just flu, Covid-19 and RSV that sickens people, said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

“We’re focusing on those three, but there are others out there – the common cold and others,” Benjamin said.

Overall, “we should expect more respiratory diseases,” he said. “The best way to reduce your risk is of course to get fully vaccinated for those that which we have a vaccine, so influenza and Covid, with the new bivalent version, are the two most important right now.”

Benjamin added that it also remains important to wash your hands often, wear a mask during holiday travels and stay home when sick.

Read original article here

Entertainment

Cher showcases incredible diamond on Twitter for Christmas… but is it an engagement ring?

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

Cher had enough ice on hand for more than just holiday cocktails this weekend, but she’s remaining mum for now on whether it means wedding bells are in her near future.

The legendary entertainer, who has been linked to rapper and music executive Alexander “AE” Edwards, posted an eye-catching photo of a humongous diamond ring to Twitter over Christmas, which set the internet ablaze with speculation that the pair got engaged.

The first photo showed Edwards holding a black velvet ring box, with the icy bauble catching the light in the sparkliest of ways.

The other element in the image that caught attention were Edwards’ nails, which were done up with a bonkers green-and-black fire manicure.

“there r no words, Alexander, A.E,” Cher wrote in the caption, before posting the same image 40 minutes later with an additional caption specifying, “I posted this cause his nails are so cool.”

While the “Believe” singer isn’t yet confirming what the ring post may mean, she has been more than candid about her new relationship, answering questions on social media last month after she and Edwards were photographed holding hands.

At the time, Cher responded with a smiling emoji surrounded by hearts to a person who tweeted at her to ask, “Is that your new man!?”



Read original article here

US

Winter storm leaves at least 37 dead nationwide as residents in western New York remain trapped under feet of snow

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

As a massive winter storm continues to blast much of the US with brutal winter weather – leading to at least 37 deaths nationwide – parts of western New York have been buried by up to 43 inches of snow, leaving vehicles stuck and power out for thousands during the Christmas weekend.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told CNN the storm is the “most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long storied history.” The heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions made roads impassable with zero visibility, froze power substations and left at least 17 people across the state dead as of Sunday night.

Western New York is drowning in thick “lake effect” snow – which forms when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Great Lakes – just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm.

As rescue crews and hundreds of plow drivers fanned out on Christmas Day, even emergency and recovery vehicles sent out to help have gotten stuck in the snow. Eleven abandoned ambulances were dug out on Sunday, officials said.

“The rescue team was rescuing rescuers … it was so horrible,” Mark Poloncarz, the executive of Erie County, which includes Buffalo, said during a news conference Sunday. Many of New York’s weather-related fatalities were in Erie County, where some people were found dead in cars and on the street in snowbanks, he said.

Deaths reported in Buffalo “are people found outside and in cars,” a Buffalo Police statement read.

Hundreds of National Guard troops have been deployed to help with rescue efforts in New York. State police had been involved in over 500 rescues by Sunday, including delivering a baby and helping a man with 4% left on his mechanical heart, the governor said.

“We’re still in the throes of this very dangerous life-threatening situation,” Hochul said, urging residents to stay off the roads as a driving ban remains in place in Erie County through Monday.

“Our state and county plows have been out there, nonstop, giving up time and putting themselves in danger, driving through blinding snowstorms to clear the roads,” Hochul said.

As blistering blizzard conditions swept the region, about 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles Friday night into Saturday morning, according to Poloncarz, who described frightening conditions on the road.

“Think about looking just a few feet in front of you at a sheet of white for more than 24 hours in a row. That’s what it was like outside in the worst conditions,” he said. “It was continual blizzard and whiteouts such that no one could see where they were going. Nobody had any idea what was happening.”

While abandoned vehicles pepper the snow-covered roadways – with hundreds of cars still along the streets of Buffalo – conditions are also difficult inside homes.

Some residents have remained in their homes for the last 56 hours, some without power in the freezing cold, Hochul said during the news conference. This is not due to a lack of resources, the governor said, but rather a mobility and access challenge faced by utility companies.

As of Sunday evening, 94.5% of Erie County residents and 87% of Buffalo residents have had their power restored, Hochul said.

Still, there were 12,000 homes and businesses in Erie County without power Sunday evening, and many won’t have lights and heating back until Tuesday, Poloncarz said.

Buffalo will continue to see snowfall and frigid cold temperatures Monday, with a high of 23 degrees expected in the daytime and a low of 21 at night, according to the National Weather Service.

In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US


Over the past week, the prolonged winter storm has enveloped a large swath of the US with dangerously low temperatures and wind chills, also bringing with it widespread power outages and thousands of canceled flights.

More than 10 million people remained under freeze alerts across the South Monday, including residents in Orlando, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Mobile, Montgomery and Birmingham.

Subfreezing temperatures are expected across the affected areas, where temperatures will be in the teens and low 20s, potentially killing crops and damaging plumbing. The majority of these alerts are set to expire Monday morning as temperatures finally begin to recover from the polar air.

Nationwide, around 65,000 customers were without power early Monday, according to PowerOutage.US. Since the start of the storm, the number of outages has at times exceeded a million customers.

Electricity was not the sole utility impacted: Jackson, Mississippi, issued a boil water notice Sunday after its water system lost pressure due to line breaks “likely caused by the weather,” officials said on Facebook. The city – which just two months ago overcame a separate lengthy water crisis – distributed water to residents throughout Christmas Day.

The storm also snarled travel in the US during the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled Saturday and more than 3,100 canceled for Christmas Day. More than 1,500 flights within, into or out of the US have already been canceled before 8:30 a.m. ET Monday, according to tracking site FlightAware.

Since the brutal weather’s arrival, multiple storm-related deaths have been reported across several states. In addition to the deaths in New York, the fatalities include:

• Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer of a building possibly looking for warmth, and another in a camp in an alleyway.

• Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Kansas Highway Patrol said Friday.

• Kentucky: Three people have died in the state, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle crash in Montgomery County.

• Missouri: One person died after a caravan slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said.

• Ohio: Nine people have died as a result of weather-related auto crashes, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75, when a semi tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.

• Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.

• Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

The powerful system continues to move away from the Northeast, yet many cities and towns remain covered with thick snow. Over a 24-hour span, Baraga, Michigan, received 42.8 inches of snow while Watertown, New York, got 34.2 inches.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, had its snowiest Christmas Eve ever, receiving a record 10.5 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

Winter storm warnings remain in effect in New York for Buffalo, Jamestown and Watertown and will expire throughout the following couple of days. Forecasts show Jamestown could see another 8 inches of snow, Buffalo could see another 14 inches and Watertown could see another 3 feet. Winds could also gust up to 40 mph.

Lake effect snow warnings remain north of Jamestown until 10 a.m. EST Tuesday, an area where up to 18 inches are possible.

Lingering lake-effect snows blowing downwind from the Great Lakes will slowly become less intense, but the Arctic air enveloping much of the eastern half of the nation will be slow to moderate, according to the National Weather Service.

Lake-effect snows will continue to make for hazardous travel conditions for the next couple of days and conditions are expected to slowly improve over the week.

The low-pressure system is forecast to move farther away into Canada, while another system quickly across the northern US into Monday, bringing snow from the northern Plains through the Midwest.

Much of the rest of the eastern part of the country will still be in a deep freeze through Monday before a moderating trend sets in on Tuesday, forecasters said.

Read original article here

World

Virginia zoo welcomes baby pygmy hippo just in time for Christmas

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

Fifties’ child star Gayla Peevy’s plea for a “hippopotamus for Christmas” came true for one Virginia zoo.

The Metro Richmond Zoo welcomed the birth of a pygmy hippopotamus in time for Christmas, according to a December 22 news release from the zoo.

The adorable newborn was born on December 6, says the release. The yet-unnamed baby was born to parents Iris and Corwin after a 7-month pregnancy.

The baby is the second pygmy hippo born ever in Virginia, according to the zoo. And she’s growing rapidly. She weighed in at 16 pounds at birth, and a week later was already 24.2 pounds. As an adult, she might weigh up to 600 pounds.

The zoo described Iris as “an experienced mother and very caring of her baby.” Mother and baby are currently in a private “super cozy, hay-bedded enclosure.” But soon guests will be able to spot the new addition when the pair move into the indoor pool area, says the zoo.

Pygmy hippos are categorized as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. There are less than 2,500 adult pygmy hippos left in the wild in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Read original article here

The Ultimate News Site