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.
(NEW YORK) — Preliminary data from the first week of New York City’s highly debated congestion pricing program shows the country’s first such plan of its kind is working, officials said.
“The purpose of the program is to reduce the number of vehicles entering what had been the most congested district in the country,” Juliette Michaelson, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s deputy chief of policy and external relations, said during a press briefing on Monday. “The program is working.”
Michaelson said there has been anecdotal evidence of less congestion in the center of Manhattan since the program’s launch on Jan. 5, newly charging passenger vehicles $9 to access Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours as part of an effort to ease congestion and raise funds for the city’s transit system. The extra per-ride surcharge is 75 cents for taxis and black car services, and $1.50 for Ubers and Lyfts. During peak hours, small trucks and charter buses will be charged $14.40, while large trucks and tour buses must pay $21.60.
Now, an analysis of one week of travel patterns also shows there are “significantly lower volumes” of traffic in Manhattan’s central business district, with an average of 7.5% fewer vehicles than would have been expected without congestion pricing, she said.
A conservative baseline for vehicles entering the central business district daily in January is 583,000; since congestion pricing started just over a week ago, the daily number has dropped to between 475,000 and 560,000 vehicles, she said.
Travel times have also improved, particularly for river crossings, Michaelson said. It now takes 30-40% less time to travel between Manhattan and New Jersey via the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel and Holland Tunnel, she said.
Buses in particular have benefited from reduced travel times, the MTA said. Cars driving crosstown have also benefited, with those trips anywhere from 20-30% faster, the MTA said. Results are about the same to 20% faster traveling north-south on avenues, according to the MTA.
The MTA has not yet calculated the revenue generated so far from the new program, since different vehicles pay different amounts, Michaelson said.
“What is most on our mind at this point in time is that New Yorkers see and feel the effects of congestion pricing in their lives, and that’s what we most wanted to know about first,” Michaelson said.
During a separate press briefing earlier Monday, Mayor Eric Adams called congestion pricing a “major change” for New Yorkers and said the city will be analyzing the data to see what we “need to do better.”
“I want the data to come forward, I want us to analyze the data, see what we need to tweak,” he said.
Adams said last week that the NYPD will be helping to crack down on drivers looking to evade the new fee by covering up parts of their license plates.
(NEW YORK) — As Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Monday to state murder and terrorism charges in the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, supporters of the suspect continued to donate tens of thousands of dollars for a defense fund established for him, leaving law enforcement officials worried Mangione is being turned into a martyr.
Several online defense funds have been created for Mangione by anonymous people, including one on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo that as of Tuesday morning had raised over $200,000.
The GiveSendGo defense fund for the 26-year-old Mangione was established by an anonymous group calling itself “The December 4th Legal Committee,” apparently in reference to the day Mangione allegedly ambushed and gunned down Thompson in Midtown Manhattan as the executive walked to his company’s shareholders conference at the New York Hilton hotel.
“We are not here to celebrate violence, but we do believe in the constitutional right to fair legal representation,” the anonymous group said in a statement.
The crowdfunding campaign prompted donations from thousands of anonymous donors across the country, many of them leaving messages of support for Mangione, including one person who called themselves “A frustrated citizen” and thanked Mangione for “sparking the awareness and thought across this sleeping nation.”
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for GiveSendGo said the company “operates with a principle of not preemptively determining guilt or innocence.”
“Our platform does not adjudicate legal matters or the validity of causes. Instead, we allow campaigns to remain live unless they violate the specific terms outlined in our Terms of Use. Importantly, we do allow campaigns for legal defense funds, as we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to access due process,” the GiveSendGo spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added, “We understand the concerns raised by such campaigns and take these matters seriously. When campaigns are reported, our team conducts a thorough review to ensure they comply with our policies. While other platforms may choose a different approach, GiveSendGo’s core value is to provide a space where all individuals, no matter their situation, can seek and receive support, with donors making their own informed decisions.”
Other crowdfunding sites such as GoFundMe have taken down campaigns soliciting donations for Mangione’s defense.
“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes,” the crowdfunding website said in a statement. “The fundraisers have been removed from our platform and all donors have been refunded.”
Amazon and Etsy have removed from their websites merchandise featuring Mangione, including T-shirts and tote bags reading “Free Luigi” and the phrase “Deny, Defend, Depose,” words police said were etched in the shell casings discovered at the scene of Thompson’s homicide.
“Celebrating this conduct is abhorrent to me. It’s deeply disturbing,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told ABC News senior investigative reporter Aaron Katersky in an interview last week. “And what I would say to members of the public, people who, as you described, are celebrating this and maybe contemplating other action, that we will be vigilant and we will hold people accountable. We are at the ready.”
When Mangione appeared in court Monday for his arrangement, more than two dozen young women, who had waited in the frigid cold outside the courthouse, said they were there to support the defendant.
Most of the women wore face masks and a few appeared visibly emotional as Mangione entered the courtroom.
“This is a grave injustice, and that’s why people are here,” one of the women, who said she arrived at the courthouse at 5 a.m., told ABC News.
Other supporters outside the courthouse chanted, “Free, free Luigi” and “Eat the rich,” and held signs reading, “People over profits” and “Health over wealth.”
Manhattan grand jury indicted Mangione last week on 11 charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism. Mangione is also facing federal charges that could get him the death penalty if convicted.
Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, raised concerns in court Monday that her client is being used by police and New York City Mayor Eric Adams as “political fodder.”
Angifilo also slammed last week’s extradition of Mangione back to Manhattan to face charges, calling Adams’ presence amid the massive display of force used in the transfer “the biggest staged perp walk I have seen in my career.”
“What was the New York City mayor doing at this press conference — that is utterly political,” she said, before referencing the mayor’s own criminal case. “The New York City mayor should know more than anyone the presumption of innocence.”
Retired FBI special agent Richard Frankel said suspects have received unsolicited support in previous politically charged violent crimes.
“We saw it with the Unabomber,” said Frankel, an ABC News contributor, referring to Ted Kaczynski, the mathematician-turn-domestic terrorist who blamed technology for a decline of individual freedom and mailed handcrafted explosives to targeted individuals between 1978 and 1995.
Frankel said Eric Rudolph, who detonated a bomb in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Olympic Games and carried out three additional bombings as he eluded capture for five years, also attracted supporters.
“In my opinion, they’re supporting individuals who have committed potentially terrorist acts, but it’s a politically charged act,” Frankel said.
Referring to the Thompson killing, Frankel added, “You can be up in arms about the health care industry, but you can’t threaten or actually hurt members of the health care industry.”
Most recently, Marine veteran Daniel Penny was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man who was acting erratically on a New York City subway, after supporters donated more than $3 million to his legal defense fund.
Law enforcement officials have expressed concern that Mangione is being turned into a martyr. Someone this week pasted “wanted posters” outside the New York Stock Exchange naming other executives.
A recent bulletin released by the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, a multi-agency law enforcement intelligence-sharing network based in Philadelphia, included a photo of a banner hanging from an overpass reading, “Deny, Defend, Depose,” which are the same words etched on shell casings police said were recovered from the Thompson homicide scene.
“Many social media users have outright advocated for the continued killings of CEOs with some aiming to spread fear by posting ‘hit lists,'” the bulletin, obtained by ABC News, reads.
(WASHINGTON) — The FBI has issued a formal warning to sports leagues about organized theft groups targeting professional athletes.
The warning follows a rash of burglaries, beginning in September, at the homes of professional athletes while they were playing games or traveling.
“These homes are targeted for burglary due to the perception they may have high-end goods like designer handbags, jewelry, watches, and cash,” the FBI said in a Liaison Information Report obtained by ABC News.
The report stated that “organized theft groups allegedly burglarized the homes of at least nine professional athletes” between September and November 2024.
“While many burglaries occur while homes are unoccupied, some burglaries occur while residents are home. In these instances, individuals are encouraged to seek law enforcement help and avoid engaging with criminals, as they may be armed or use violence if confronted,” the report further stated.
In a string of robberies, burglars have recently targeted the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, along with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and, most recently, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić. In addition, the homes of NBA guard Mike Conley Jr. and Bobby Portis have been burglarized. The FBI report does not specifically note or refer to any of these incidents.
According to the FBI, organized theft groups from South America conduct physical and technical surveillance in preparation for these burglaries, using publicly available information and social media to identify a pattern of life for a prospective victim. They often know in advance where valuables are kept in a home.
“These preparation tactics enable theft groups to conduct burglaries in a short amount of time. Organized theft groups bypass alarm systems, use Wi-Fi jammers to block Wi-Fi connections and disable devices, cover security cameras, and obfuscate their identities,” the FBI report said.
The FBI encouraged more reporting by athletes of suspicious activity and suggested athletes keep records of valuables, inventorying items and their whereabouts, employ additional security and use caution on social media, to include refraining from posting pictures of valuables, the interior of one’s home, and real-time posts when on vacation.
