Skip to main content

Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...
Post a Comment

Trump signs order requiring citizenship proof for voting in US

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order requiring voters to prove their US citizenship when registering for federal elections, a move rights groups have described as an attempt to suppress votes, particularly among minorities. The order also directs states to stop counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day and threatens to withhold federal funding from states that do not comply with the new directives. “We’ve got to straighten out our elections,” Trump said during a signing ceremony at the White House. “This country is so sick because of the fake elections and the bad elections — we’re going to straighten that out one way or the other.”         View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by New York Post (@nypost) The order, which builds on similar legislation passed by the Republican-led House last year, is expected to face immediate legal challenges. Voting by non-citizens in federal elections is already illegal in the United States. Voting rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers quickly denounced the measure. Lisa Gilbert, co-president of progressive watchdog group Public Citizen, called it “a blatant attack on democracy and an authoritarian power grab.” “This order would suppress the votes of millions, especially voters of colour, and fuel even more baseless claims of fraud,” she said. The executive order also requires the Department of Homeland Security and the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency to audit state voter registration systems. Officials may issue subpoenas to ensure compliance, according to a White House fact sheet. Trump, who has repeatedly claimed without evidence that he lost the 2020 election due to fraud, has made election integrity a central theme of his 2025 campaign. Critics argue the order is the latest step in a years-long effort by Republicans to restrict access to voting. Richard Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California, warned the measure could prevent millions of eligible Americans from voting. “This would stop only a tiny amount of non-citizen registration, but it risks disenfranchising voters who lack easy access to documents like passports,” Hasen wrote on his blog. “The aim here is voter suppression, pure and simple.” A study by the Brennan Center for Justice found that around 21 million US citizens do not have proof of citizenship readily available. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 18 states, Washington DC., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands currently allow mail-in ballots to be counted if they are postmarked by Election Day but arrive later. Trump’s order would override these rules for federal elections. The White House argues the changes are necessary to prevent foreign interference and ensure confidence in US elections. However, legal analysts say the order may face constitutional hurdles, particularly over states’ rights to regulate their own election procedures. The move marks a significant shift in federal election policy and is expected to shape legal and political debates ahead of the 2025 vote.

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/TIN49rB
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...
Post a Comment
Read more

US, Philippines kick off joint military drills in South China Sea with 16,000 troops

Some 16,000 US and Philippine troops kicked off the annual joint military drills on Monday in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), local media reported. WPS is the official designation by Philippines to the parts of the South China Sea that are included in the country's exclusive economic zone. The 19-day exercises, dubbed "Balikatan 2024," will involve around 5,000 Philippine and 11,000 US troops, making it the largest joint military drills between the two allies conducted in decades, local English daily Manila Times reported citing the military. A total of 14 nations, including Japan and India, will take part in the drills as observers amid mounting maritime tensions in the South China Sea. Contingents from the Australian Defence Force and the French Navy will also join the exercise as participants. Read also: China urges US to stop using Philippines as a pawn to destabilise South China Sea France will join the group sail but will only navigate on the edge of the Philippine E...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

The private jet parking lots at airports near the Indian city of Ayodhya are full and the shops have run out of gold-plated idols, as wealthy devotees prepare for the invite-only opening ceremony of one of Hinduism's holiest temples. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani are among the 8,000 or so attendees at Monday's inauguration event for the Ram Temple, which devotees believe is built on the birthplace of Lord Ram, a sacred Hindu deity. The construction of the temple, which began after the Supreme Court awarded the site to Hindus in 2019 more than two decades after a Hindu mob razed a mosque there, triggering deadly riots, fulfils a key campaign promise of Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Read BJP-promised temple transforms Ayodhya: Muslims, locals feel neglected The opening ceremony, organised by the trust that built the temple, comes months before a national election which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to w...
Post a Comment
Read more