When and where to see the northern lights after the latest solar storm
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Another display of the northern lights could be visible this weekend in several U.S. states following a severe solar storm.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center forecast a planetary K-index — which characterizes the magnitude of geomagnetic storms – of five out of a scale of nine for Friday and Saturday, meaning that auroral activity would likely increase on those nights.
The states with the highest chances of seeing the auroras include Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Montana, according to NOAA.
Depending on the strength of the coronal mass ejection, states like South Dakota, Wisconsin and Maine could witness the northern lights as well — although the likelihood is lower.
The sun’s magnetic field is currently in its solar maximum, meaning an uptick in northern lights activity is expected over the next several months, as more sunspots with the intense magnetic activity are predicted to occur.
These sunspots can produce solar flares and coronal mass ejections that manifest in a dazzling light show when they reach Earth. Auroras occur when a blast of solar material and strong magnetic fields from the sun interact with the atoms and molecules in Earth’s outer atmosphere, according to NOAA. The interaction causes the atoms in Earth’s atmosphere to glow, creating a spectrum of color in the night sky.
It is difficult to predict the exact timing and location of northern lights viewing because of the distance of the sun — about 93 million miles away from Earth, according to NASA.
A citizen science platform called Aurorasaurus allows people to sign up for alerts that an aurora may be visible in their area. Users are also able to report back to the website about whether they saw an aurora, which helps the platform send alerts that the northern lights are being seen in real time.
The best times to view the northern lights are between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, according to NOAA. Ensuring a dark setting is the best way to see the aurora. Getting away from light pollution, and even the bright light of a full moon, will also enhance the viewing experience.
Smartphone cameras are more sensitive to the array of colors presented by the auroras and can capture the northern lights while on night mode, even if they are not visible to the naked eye, according to NASA.
(WASHINGTON) — The judge who dismissed former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case should have the final say about the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on the case, lawyers for Trump’s former co-defendants told a federal appeals court Wednesday afternoon.
The attorneys asked the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to defer their decision to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who could hold a hearing over whether to release the report.
“This reflects an improper attempt to remove from the district court the responsibility to oversee and control the flow of information related to a criminal trial over which it presides, and to place that role instead in the hands of the prosecuting authority — who unlike the trial court has a vested interest in furthering its own narrative of culpability,” lawyers for Trump aide Walt Nauta and staffer Carlos De Oliveria argued.
The arguments came a day after Cannon temporarily blocked the release of Smith’s final report in order to prevent “irreparable harm,” while the matter is considered by the Eleventh Circuit.
Earlier Wednesday, attorneys in the U.S. attorney general’s office said in a filing that Attorney General Merrick Garland does not intend to publicly release the portion of the report related to the classified documents case, though the volume will be available to the ranking members and chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
Defense lawyers argued in their afternoon filing that the limited disclosure of the full report to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees would imperil the case through possible leaks, calling the prosecution a “political case.”
“The functioning of the political press depends on leaks, and if such leaks occur here, there will be no recourse for the defendants whose due process rights are at stake,” the filing said. “The concern about leaks cannot be overlooked; Congress is a political body; its individual members have political aims; and this is a political case.”
Though the defense lawyers acknowledged the politics related to the report in their filing, they accused prosecutors of creating “fake urgency” related to the timing of the report’s release.
“The only counsel in this case now claiming urgency is the Attorney General, but the government’s brief does not explain this urgency,” lawyers wrote in papers filed less than two weeks from Trump’s inauguration. “The Attorney General is an office and not an individual: It will continue in perpetuity. The urgency of political activity is a fake urgency.”
Prosecutors in their filing also indicted that Garland intends to publicly release the portion of the report related to his federal election interference case against Trump.
They argued in their filing that Garland has the “inherent” authority to release the report, and they asked the Eleventh Circuit to vacate Judge Cannon’s order and deny the request from Trump’s former co-defendants, Nauta and De Oliveira, to block the release of the report.
Prosecutors argued that because Smith already transmitted his report to Garland, the argument made by Trump’s former co-defendants about the legitimacy of Smith’s appointment is “moot.”
“The Attorney General is the Senate-confirmed head of the Department of Justice and is vested with the authority to supervise all officers and employees of the Department. The Attorney General thus has authority to decide whether to release an investigative report prepared by his subordinates,” prosecutors said in their filing.
“That authority is inherent in the office of Attorney General; it does not depend on the lawfulness of the Special Counsel’s appointment to take actions as an inferior officer of the United States or on the Department’s specific regulations authorizing the Attorney General to approve the public release of Special Counsel reports,” the filing said.
While defense attorneys had sought to block the release of Volume Two of the report related to the classified documents case — and not Volume One, which covers Trump’s election interference case — Judge Cannon’s order referred only to the “final report,” and not the two volumes within, suggesting that the entire report was blocked from release.
Prosecutors asked the appeals court to “make clear that there is no impediment to the Attorney General allowing for limited congressional review of Volume Two as described above and the publicly release of Volume One.”
The filing makes clear that the decision by Garland to not release the volume of the report involving the classified documents investigation was recommended by Smith himself when it was transmitted to Garland Tuesday evening.
“Because Volume Two discusses the roles of defendants Nauta and De Oliveira, and because those matters remain pending appeal before this Court, the Special Counsel explained in his cover letter to the Attorney General that, “consistent with Department policy, Volume Two should not be publicly released while their case remains pending,”” the filing says.
Trump pleaded not guilty in June 2023 to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation’s defense capabilities, and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back.
The former president, along with Nauta and De Oliveira, also pleaded not guilty in a superseding indictment to allegedly attempting to delete surveillance footage at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Smith has been winding down his cases against the former president since Trump was reelected in November, due to a longstanding Department of Justice policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.
(OCALA, Fla.) — Susan Lorincz, the Florida woman who was found guilty of first-degree felony manslaughter with a firearm in August, is set to be sentenced on Monday for fatally shooting her neighbor, Ajike “AJ” Owens, through a locked door in an incident that occurred on June 2, 2023, in Ocala.
She is facing up to 30 years in prison.
Lorincz, who is white, shot Owens, a Black mother of four, in the presence of her now 10-year-old son after Owens went to speak with Lorincz following a dispute over Owens’ children playing near Lorincz’s home, according to a June 6, 2023, statement from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).
After a jury found Lorincz guilty on Aug. 16, Judge Robert Hodges said that Lorincz would be held in the Marion County jail without bond until her sentencing.
Ahead of Lorincz’s sentencing hearing, Owens’ family shared a statement on Wednesday with ABC News that they released through their attorney, calling for the judge to sentence the Florida woman to “the maximum penalty under the law.”
Owens’ family said that while the guilty verdict was an “ important step,” they are still seeking “justice.”
“While no sentence can ever restore the life taken from us, the court’s decision will send a strong message about the value of Ajike’s life and the importance of justice for victims of senseless violence,” the family said. “We are hopeful that the presiding judge will honor the jury’s decision and deliver a sentence that reflects the severity of this crime.”
Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, who previously told ABC News that the guilty verdict brings a “sense of peace” to the family, said in a statement on Wednesday that Lorincz’s sentencing is an opportunity for the family to “find some closure.”
“While the pain of losing Ajike will never go away, we are hopeful that justice will prevail and that the court will give Susan Lorincz the maximum penalty for her actions,” Dias said. “Ajike’s legacy will live on in her children, and we will continue to fight for justice, love, and peace in her name.”
A spokesperson for the family told ABC News that they plan to be in court on Monday to attend Lorincz’s sentencing hearing.
Lorincz’s attorney Amanda Sizemore declined to comment in response to a request from ABC News.
Lorincz pleaded not guilty and during the trial her defense team argued that she should be found not guilty because she was acting in self-defense because she feared for her life. Meanwhile, prosecutors argued that Lorincz should be found guilty because she fatally shot an “unarmed” Owens through a “locked” door.
(WASHINGTON) — The thousands of drone sightings reported over the last month in Northeastern states don’t appear to be “anything anomalous,” nor do they present a national security or public safety risk, federal officials said in a multiagency statement late Monday.
The FBI has received more than 5,000 tips in the last few weeks about drone sightings in New Jersey and other states, said the statement, which was released jointly by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense.
Those tips have resulted in about 100 leads, with federal investigators supporting state and local officials.
“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the joint statement said.
Uncrewed aerial drones have been lighting up the sky at night in New Jersey and nearby states for weeks, since about mid-November, leading to concern from residents and speculation online. Some had demanded answers from local and state officials for answers.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have deployed infrared cameras and drone detection technology to ensure the drones flying over the New Jersey and New York area aren’t harmful, according to a law enforcement source. Dozens of agencies have been out daily to find answers and track down any operators acting “illegally or with nefarious intent,” the FBI said recently.
The agencies are also looking at social media and other photos to determine what exactly is in the photos. Most of the photos and video depict manned aircraft, according to a law enforcement source.
But the newly released statement appeared to take a sober view of the mysterious drone sightings, noting that federal official have yet to identify “anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.”
“That said, we recognize the concern among many communities,” the statement said. “We continue to support state and local authorities with advanced detection technology and support of law enforcement.”
ABC News’ Calvin Milliner, David Brennan, Luke Barr, Meredith Deliso, Luis Martinez, Matt Seyler, Aaron Katersky, Sarah Kolinovsky and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
