 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| The Biden Administration plans to appeal a federal judge's ruling that determined travelers do not have to wear masks on planes or public transport. The Tunnel Fire, fueled by "unprecedented" winds, is rapidly escalating northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona. Ukraine says its evacuation efforts to bring citizens out of the devastated city of Mariupol will resume. Florida's top leadership wants to end Disney's special legal privileges. And it's 420, the unofficial "Weed Day." |
| I'm Nicole, with Wednesday's news. |
| 😷 Don't throw away your masks so fast. If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the federal mask mandate for travelers remains necessary, the Justice Department will appeal a federal judge's ruling that voided the requirement. |
| 📺 Are you still watching? Netflix's subscribers fell by 200,000 in the first three months of the year. |
| 🚌 Alleging racial bias, Michelle Obama's brother and his wife sued a private school their children attended. |
| ✨ A real hologram: A NASA doctor appeared as a hologram at the International Space Station for a telemedicine visit with an astronaut. |
 | | A holoportation team member is seen projected virtually on the International Space Station, Oct. 8, 2021. | | ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet | |
| 😎 Sunny days are coming: Designing and installing solar panels for your home may seem costly and complicated - but it's actually doable. |
| Reviewed, part of the USA TODAY Network, is a team of product experts who help you buy the best stuff and love what you've already got. |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, Washington correspondent Ledyard King examines President Joe Biden's dilemma on oil. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
Fast-moving Tunnel Fire in Arizona threatens thousands |
| A rapidly escalating wildfire burning about 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, was 0% contained as of Tuesday evening, forest officials said. Hundreds of residents and animals have been ordered to evacuate as the Tunnel Fire reached up to 6,000 acres in size . The fire was first reported Sunday, and the blaze has grown substantially due to "unprecedented" high winds, officials said. The pace of the Tunnel Fire has complicated evacuation efforts, and local authorities anticipate the rest of the week will be difficult as high winds sustain and little precipitation is expected. |
 | | Smoke from a wind-whipped wildfire rises above neighborhoods on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Arizona, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. | | Sean Golightly, AP | |
Ukraine to resume evacuations out of Mariupol as Russia continues assault |
| Ukrainian authorities say evacuation efforts to bring some civilians out of the port city of Mariupol will resume Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said there is a "preliminary" agreement to operate a so-called humanitarian corridor route westward to the Ukraine-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia. It will apply to women, children and older people, she said in a statement on the messaging app Telegram. She added that Mariupol was the focus of Ukrainian efforts to help civilians because of the "catastrophic humanitarian situation" in the city. The Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement that defeating the last resistance in the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol remains Russia's top priority. Ukrainian forces said Russia was dropping heavy bombs to flatten the remains of the plant and also hit a hospital where hundreds were staying. Ukrainian and Russian officials – and a U.S. Defense Department official – acknowledged Tuesday the war had entered a new phase. |
 | | A man with a dog walks in a street along damaged during a heavy fighting apartment buildings in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. | | Alexei Alexandrov, AP | |
Just for subscribers |
| 😷 The mask mandate ruling has opened a debate over the way federal courts block the enforcement of executive branch policies. |
| 🟡 Policing and civil rights experts review the video showing Patrick Lyoya being pulled over and shot by a Grand Rapids police officer. |
| 🏡 The costs of risky lending for Americans who can't get a mortgage. |
| ⚫ "My arm had gone dead": Former Colts cheerleader had a massive stroke at 28. |
| These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. |
| Are you already a subscriber and want all of the subscriber-only content emailed to you directly every day? We can do that! Sign up for the Your Day newsletter. |
Gov. DeSantis wants legislators to end Disney's special status |
| Gov. Ron DeSantis' battle with Disney continues Wednesday during a special legislative session on redistricting in the state of Florida. DeSantis expanded the scope of the session Tuesday, announcing that lawmakers will consider repealing the governing structure for Disney's Florida properties. This move could end special privileges the company has long enjoyed – and appears aimed at punishing Disney for speaking out against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law. The legislation, HB 3C and SB 4-C, the "Independent Special Districts" bill, quickly advanced in the House and Senate. Republicans on the House State Affairs Committee slammed Disney as "perverted by a woke mob" and "goofy with power" before the measure passed by a 14-7 vote and headed to committees. DeSantis has been aggressive in going after Disney in the wake of the company's criticism on HB 1557, the legislation officially known as the Parental Rights in Education act but derided by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. |
 | | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded the scope of a legislative session Tuesday, announcing that lawmakers will consider repealing the governing structure for Disney's Florida properties. | | Kent Phillps via The Walt Disney Company | |
Hundreds of thousands in Northeast still are without power after nor'easter |
| Hundreds of thousands of people still don't have power Wednesday morning after heavy, wet snow blanked swaths of the northeast from New England to West Virginia Tuesday. The nor'easter dumped 18 inches of heavy snow on Virgil, in central New York, while parts of eastern Pennsylvania received up to 14 inches of snowfall, according to the Weather Prediction Center. Snow fall was measured in states including Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia, the agency reported. The storm interrupted power to more than 350,000 utility customers in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. By early Wednesday morning, that number dropped to about 139,000, according to poweroutage.us , a website that tracks power outages across the country. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday |
| 🟦 Moderna's combination COVID booster appears more protective against variants. |
| 📝 Why millions of people are closer to clearing their student debt. |
| 🌍 Environmental reporting requirements former President Donald Trump eliminated will now be restored. |
| 🌳 They smell like rotting fish and kill plants. Here's what to know about Bradford pear trees. |
 | | The Bradford Pear is a tree covered in attractive white blossoms with some unattractive features. Veuer's Maria Mercedes Galuppo has the story. | | BZ60 | |
Celebrities return to the witness stand in high-profile civil trials |
| Two celebrities in the middle of high-profile civil trials – Johnny Depp and Black Chyna – will return to their respective witness stands Wednesday. Depp will answer more questions in Virginia after he told jurors Tuesday he felt compelled to sue his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel out of an obsession for the truth after she accused him of domestic violence. The lawsuit is about whether Heard libeled Depp when she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post. In Los Angeles, Black Chyna, a model and ex-reality star whose legal name is Angela White, returns to the witness chair Wednesday in a trial over whether the Kardashian family worked together to smear her reputation and ruin her television career . Chyna's lawyer Lynne Ciani said Tuesday "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" matriarch Kris Jenner used three of her daughters including Kim Kardashian to cancel the E! show "Rob & Chyna." Chyna and Rob Kardashian, who is Kris' son and Kim's brother, were once engaged and the two have a daughter together. |
 | | Johnny Depp testifies in libel lawsuit trial | | Associated press | |
📷 Photo of the Day: 4/20 is the unofficial 'Weed Day' 📷 |
 | | Driving off Interstate 5 to reach Highway 97 through Weed, California, takes motorists past cannabis-tourism shops that play on the name of the Siskiyou County city on Jan. 25, 2022. | | Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight | |
| Wednesday is April 20, or 4/20, or "420," a day that has become known internationally as an unofficial celebration of all things cannabis-related. The somewhat-hazy origins of 420, also known as "Weed Day," can be traced back to 1971, when a group of California high schoolers agreed to meet at 4:20 p.m. with map in hand to search for a plot of marijuana plants that had been abandoned by its owner. Civic festivities are planned for many cities, including a party in Weed, California. In places where cannabis is legal, many dispensaries will offer promotions and discounts. |
| Click here to see photos of where weed and cannabis collide. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
| |
| |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment