Icy mix to hit 22 states from Midwest to Northeast: Latest forecast
(NEW YORK) — A storm is set to dump sleet, freezing rain and snow on the Midwest on Wednesday before striking the Northeast on Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
At least 22 states from Oklahoma to Vermont are under ice and snow alerts. An ice storm warning has been issued for the Appalachian Mountains from West Virginia to Pennsylvania, where significant ice accumulation is possible.
The storm begins Wednesday morning in the Plains, from Oklahoma to Missouri, and will move into the rest of the Midwest, including Chicago, in the afternoon and evening.
By Wednesday night, the icy mix will span from Detroit to Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia. The storm will reach New York City by early Thursday morning, making travel extremely treacherous.
The Interstate 95 corridor is under a winter weather advisory for 1 to 2 inches of snow, as well as a glazing of ice.
By mid-morning, the snow will change to rain, and the rain will end by noon.
For New England and the inland Northeast, icy roads will last into the afternoon.
Another storm with ice and snow is possible for the Midwest and the Northeast this weekend.
(NEW YORK) — The FBI has uncovered “additional criminal conduct” by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, federal prosecutors said in a new court filing Tuesday.
Adams has already pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment charging him with accepting luxury travel in exchange for political favors, including persuading the fire department to approve the opening of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan despite the lingering safety concerns of inspectors.
The disclosure of possible additional criminal conduct came in a court filing in which prosecutors opposed a defense request for additional information about the initial charges.
“Although the Indictment and discovery provide Adams with more than sufficient information as to his alleged co-conspirators and aiders and abettors, law enforcement has continued to identify additional individuals involved in Adams’s conduct, and to uncover additional criminal conduct by Adams,” the filing said.
Federal prosecutors did not elaborate but have said in prior court hearings a superseding indictment is “likely” in the mayor’s criminal case.
Alex Spiro, the mayor’s lawyer, said Tuesday: “This is amateur hour. They are just looking for a headline instead of doing the right thing. I assume we are at the point where New Yorkers are not falling for it.”
Adams, who was elected in 2021, is the first sitting New York City mayor to ever face charges.
He is expected to stand trial on federal corruption charges in April.
(LOS ANGELES) — Rain was falling across Southern California on Sunday, bringing some relief to thousands of firefighters battling multiple major blazes for nearly a month in the Los Angeles area, but also prompting new threats of floods and mudslides across burn-scarred lands.
A flood watch issued by the National Weather Service is to go into effect at 10 a.m. local time on Sunday for fire-ravaged areas of Los Angeles County, which has been ground zero for the historic firestorms that have leveled thousands of homes and killed at least 28 people since first igniting on Jan. 7.
The flood watch will remain in effect until Monday afternoon in burn-scarred areas left by the Eaton, Palisades, Franklin, Bridge and Hughes fires.
The rain is forecast to be widespread but is expected to be light enough to avoid major flooding. But if a downpour spends enough time over one of the recent burn scars, a debris flow could become an issue.
Rain totals from the storm will mostly range from a half-inch to an inch, allowing for a decent soaking for the first time in months.
Since June 1, Los Angeles has only picked up 0.03 inches of rainfall, which has allowed an extreme drought to develop across the area for the first time in two years.
In addition to rain, higher elevations of Southern California, including the San Gabriel Mountains straddling northern Los Angeles and western San Bernardino counties, are expecting snow, with areas above 4,000 feet getting up to 14 inches of powder.
The rain and snow forecast comes as firefighters continued to battle five active fires on Sunday from Ventura County north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border south of San Diego.
The Palisades Fire, which ignited on Jan. 7 in Los Angeles County’s Pacific Palisades, was 84% contained as of Sunday after burning more than 23,000 acres, destroying nearly 7,000 structures and killing 11 people, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
The Eaton Fire, which also broke out on Jan. 7 in Pasadena and Altadena, was 95% contained on Sunday after burning more than 14,000 acres, destroying more than 9,400 structures and killing 17 people.
Other fires still active on Sunday, according to Cal Fire, include the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, about 45 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, which was 90% contained after starting on Wednesday and burning more than 10,000 acres of brush land; the Border 2 Fire that broke out Thursday near the San Diego-Mexico border and is 10% contained after burning more than 6,600 acres of wilderness land; and the Laguna Fire, which also started Thursday in Camarillo in Ventura County, which was 98% contained on Sunday after charring 83 acres and prompting a brief evacuation of the California State University Channel Islands.
(CAPE CORAL, FL) — A 22-year-old social media influencer on TikTok with nearly 300,000 followers has been arrested after using fake barcodes to steal from Target and filming herself getting ready before the alleged theft, police say.
The Cape Coral Police Department in Florida responded to a Target branch located at 1890 NE Pine Island Road in Cape Coral last Wednesday regarding a past retail theft that occurred on Oct. 30, according to a statement from the Cape Coral Police Department.
“Loss Prevention at Target stated that on October 30, 2024, an unknown female entered the store and selected items listed for sale,” police said. “Once at the self-checkout register, the female suspect did not scan the items’ barcodes, instead scanning a false barcode with cheaper prices.”
In total, 16 items of miscellaneous household goods and clothing were stolen with a total retail value of $500.32, which was verified by officers via Target’s security cameras.
In an attempt to help identify the suspect through public assistance, the Cape Coral Police Department’s Facebook and Instagram accounts posted the female’s picture, describing her as appearing to be “approximately 20-35 years old, had long black hair, and was wearing a tan shirt, tan pants, and glasses.”
An anonymous caller who saw the post on social media subsequently contacted the police and gave the possible identification for the suspect as Marlena Velez and informed them of her social media profiles.
“Officers then found Marlena’s TikTok account, which documents her getting ready on October 30, 2024, in the same outfit and glasses and going to Target,” police said. “Marlena documents herself picking out items inside the store and placing them in her car after exiting the store. Marlena appears to be a content creator with almost 300,000 followers.”
Velez has since been arrested and taken to the Lee County Jail and charged with petit theft of less than $750.