New For You is a safe place for you to check your news if you don't feel comfortable dealing with all those big websites. We here at HQ sensor all inappropriate content from the following sites: CNN, and WEATHER CHANNEL.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
18 states in path of winter storm
(CNN) -- When she was very young, Kayla Avery was used to playing in the snow. But the former Boston resident hadn't seen much of the white stuff since she moved to Arizona more than a decade ago.
She got a reminder Wednesday.
"We received a blizzard warning last night through the emergency broadcasting system. Most of us didn't believe it," she told CNN iReport. "Most of the news reports said it probably wouldn't snow in the valley, and two hours later it was snowing."
Avery, a 19-year-old student at the University of Arizona, said the snow was still falling Wednesday afternoon.
"My brother and I were staring out the window saying, 'What? It's snowing in Tucson? That's not supposed to happen!' " she said, adding that she's never seen this much snow in the area since her family moved there. Usually the area gets no more than a dusting of snow once a year.
The inch of snow also caused PGA Tour officials to postpone play at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in nearby Marana, Arizona.
The rare accumulation was all part of a massive winter storm that promises to blanket a huge swath of the nation in crazy weather, from 18 inches of snow or more in Kansas to thunderstorms and flooding along the Gulf Coast.
Trouble for the next three days
In all, about 800,000 square miles in 18 states were under some form of watch or warning Wednesday related to a major storm pouring out of California and into the Central Plains and the Midwest, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said.
One of the places that could be hit the hardest is Springfield, Missouri. Among the hazards expected there Wednesday: lightning, wind and ice, with a little snow and sleet thrown on top for good measure.
The biggest threat of heavy snow lies in parts of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, with the possibility of whiteout conditions in some places, he said.
In Kansas, where the storm had already started, the National Weather Service was predicting as much as 18 inches of snow. The agency said parts of Nebraska could see more than a foot of snow, with drifts making some roads impassable.
Forecasters were predicting as much as 2 inches of snow in St. Louis, with the precipitation turning into sleet and freezing rain Thursday. The conditions will have "a significant impact on travel," the weather service warned.
North of where the most snow will fall, Chicago could receive what would be its largest single snowfall of the year -- 4 inches, Miller said. The city usually gets up to 4 feet of snow a year. So far this year, only about a foot has fallen, he said.
South of the snow belt, dangerously icy conditions are possible in parts of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, he said. That includes Springfield, where windy conditions will precede the possibility of up to 3 inches of snow and sleet Thursday, with the possibility of a quarter of an inch or more of ice to boot.
Heavy rains forecast
Elsewhere, severe thunderstorms moving in from the Gulf of Mexico are expected to dump from 2 to 6 inches of rain over New Orleans, Louisiana, and Montgomery, Alabama, according to CNN's weather center, before rolling up toward Atlanta.
The torrential rains could lead to significant river flooding near the Gulf, as flood watches are still in effect from last week's heavy rains.
Heavy winds, hail and tornadoes are possible, the National Weather Service says. Downpours are expected to continue into Friday.
Tuesday night, the same storm forced the temporary closure of some stretches of highway northeast of Los Angeles, stranding some motorists until highway crews and police were able to battle through the snow and clear the backlog.
"The snow came in hard and heavy," said Officer Ed Smith of the California Highway Patrol.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
$50,000,000 Diamond Heist in Under 3 minutes
(CNN) -- Night had fallen. Some 20 airplane passengers had taken their seats for the short hop from Brussels, Belgium, to Zurich, Switzerland.
Unknown to them, a precious cargo was being loaded into the airplane hold along with their suitcases: $50 million in rough and polished diamonds.
But the diamonds would never reach their final destination.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, eight masked men in two vehicles burst through the perimeter fence of Brussels Airport and sped toward the aircraft on the tarmac.
The men, who authorities said wore clothing resembling police uniforms, were heavily armed.
While no shots were fired and no one was injured, the pilot, co-pilot and a transport security guard were all threatened at gunpoint, said Ine Van Wymersch, of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Brussels.
Within three minutes, the thieves had snatched the diamonds from the hold, said airport spokesman Jan Van der Cruysse.
Moments later they left the scene, racing out through the same breach in the airport periphery through which they had entered.
The robbers, four in each car, had broken a hole in the fence where it ran between two construction sites, Van Wymersch said at a news conference.
"This was a very precise, almost military-organized and well-executed robbery," Van der Cruysse said.
He said it was a "big surprise" that such a slick heist been possible -- but pointed the finger at organized crime.
"We are an airport that is, as all international airports are, subject to very strict aviation security and safety regulations," he said.
The aircraft targeted was a regular passenger flight operated by Helvetic Airways on behalf of Swiss, Switzerland's national airline.
It's not yet clear how the thieves knew that the diamonds would be on board.
But this was not a chance holdup, said Van Wymersch, describing the men involved as "professionals."
Antwerp, the city known as the world's diamond-cutting capital, lies only about 25 miles away from Brussels.
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre has on average $200 million in stones coming in and out daily, and it takes security very seriously, a spokesman told CNN.
He was unable to confirm reports that gold and platinum were stolen along with the diamonds.
It's not the first time that Antwerp's centuries-old diamond trade has been targeted.
The city was the scene of a spectacular robbery in 2003 when thieves made off with the contents of more than 100 safes at the diamond center. Those gems were never recovered.
Some 34,000 jobs in the city are connected to the diamond trade, according to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, from mining company representatives to dealers to the craftsmen who polish the stones.
Source: CNN
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)