The remains of six more victims, including two children, were found Wednesday in the rubble of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, which partially collapsed a week ago. The children were identified as 10-year-old Lucia Guara and four-year-old Emma Guara. The remains of their mother, Anaely Rodriguez, were also recovered yesterday, and those of their father were found on Saturday. The total confirmed number of dead is now 18, with 145 people still missing. Also yesterday, a ramp was completed that should allow rescuers to use heavier equipment, hopefully speeding up the search through the concrete rubble, according to The Miami Herald. President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Surfside today, where they will meet with the families, as well as with the first responders and rescue teams.
A historic heat wave is now underway in the Northwest as a heat dome intensifies.
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) June 26, 2021
Some will see temperatures unlike anything they have seen in decades of history - including Seattle and Portland.
How hot it will get and a few ways to stay safe: https://t.co/0Z8yfSppXm pic.twitter.com/wlxOJ3zBKa
😡WHAT IS A HEAT DOME?: You may have heard the term “heat dome” over the last week in relation to the oppressive temperatures in the Pacific Northwest. The National Weather Service (NWS) says the cause of the dangerous weather was a dome of high pressure positioned over a large swath of the western U.S. for most of June. Now the “heat dome” has shifted north, giving little relief to California, Arizona, Nevada and other states already threatened with sweltering weather. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says a heat dome occurs after “strong, high-pressure atmospheric conditions” join with influences from La Nina, climate pattern leading to the creation of vast areas of scorching heat “that gets trapped under the high-pressure ‘dome.’” The scientists say the main cause of heat domes is a “strong change (or gradient) in ocean temperatures from west to east in the tropical Pacific Ocean during the preceding winter.” Unprecedented heat will continue through the rest of the week for the Northern Great Basin and Northern Rockies.
➤TROPICAL STORM ELSA FORMS: Tropical Storm Elsa, a record-breaking fifth named storm of the season, formed early Thursday in the Atlantic, with South Florida in its cone of uncertainty for early next week.
➤TRUMP ORGANIZATION, CFO WEISSELBERG REPORTEDLY INDICTED: Former President Donald Trump's company, the Trump Organization, and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg, have been indicted, according to media reports last night. The criminal indictments for tax crimes related to fringe benefits given to top executives are expected to be announced today. Those benefits include things like the use of apartments, cars and school tuition, according to AP. Weisselberg has reportedly been targeted, in part, because of his son's use of a Trump apartment at little or no cost. There was no indication that Trump himself will be charged at this point in the joint investigation by the Manhattan and New York State district attorneys.
➤HOUSE VOTES TO CREATE COMMITTEE TO PROBE U.S. CAPITOL ATTACK: The House yesterday approved the creation of a special committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, with just two Republicans joining with the Democrats in the 222-190 vote. They were Rep. Liz Cheney, who lost her position in the Republican House leadership because of her criticism of former President Donald Trump, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger. The Democrats, who hold the House majority, will be in charge of the panel. Its creation comes after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of a bipartisan, independent commission whose members would have been evenly split between both parties. Several police officers who were injured fighting with the rioters on January 6th were in the gallery above the House floor for the vote.
The 83-year-old comedian served nearly three years out of his 10-year sentence for three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault of drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.
The court overturned the conviction after finding that he was denied protection against self-incrimination. The court said a “non-prosecution agreement” struck in an earlier case allowed Cosby to speak freely in a lawsuit against him, thinking he could not be incriminated criminally. That testimony later became a key element in his criminal case.
The state Supreme Court said Cosby cannot be retried on the same charges, essentially shutting the door on any further convictions for the former sitcom star. Legal experts told The New York Times that while more than 50 women have accused him of sexual assault, the statues of limitations on their cases make further prosecutions unlikely.
Cosby’s spokesman Andrew Wyatt told The New York Post, “It’s a beautiful day, and it’s a beautiful day, also for women.”
He alleged, “Millions of supporters and millions of women have gotten in touch with us and said ‘We know these women made up these allegations. We know it’s not true.
“But the beauty of today, another great thing, they can no longer call him a sexual violent predator. No longer call him a rapist. No longer call him these horrible things. He’s now Bill Cosby, an American and national treasure.”
➤ALLISON MACK SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON: Allison Mack, a high-ranking member of the Nxivm sex cult was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday. The former Smallville actress is required to have three years of supervised release after serving her prison term and has to pay a $20,000 fine. Mack pleaded guilty to a laundry list of charges including sex trafficking, identity fraud and money laundering in April 2019. Mack was arrested in 2018 along with several other Nxivm leaders, including Keith Raniere, who was convicted of racketeering charges and sentenced last year to 120 years in prison. Prosecutors asked US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis to give Mack below the recommended rage of 14-17.5 years in prison because of the “substantial assistance” she gave the government.
➤SAN JOSE PASSES LEGILATIONS REQUIRING GUN OWNERS TO HAVE LIABILITY INSURANCE: San Jose, California's City Council this week passed legislation that requires gun owners to have liability insurance and pay a fee to cover the cost to taxpayers associated with gun violence. The first-in-the-nation law that was unanimously approved is part of a 10-point gun control plan unveiled by Mayor Sam Liccardo after the May 26th mass shooting by a San Jose rail yard employee in which he killed nine of his coworkers and then himself. Liccardo applauded the law's approval, saying, "We won’t magically end gun violence, but we stop paying for it." Officials have yet to determine how much the fees will be for gun owners, which will cover the costs of gun violence to taxpayers for things like police response, ambulance transportation to hospitals, and gunshot-related medical treatment.
🚘JULY 4 WEEKEND TRAVEL: WHEN NOT TO DRIVE: Fourth of July weekend is nearly here, and if you’re driving anywhere you’ll want to plan carefully. The American Automobile Association (AAA) says there are some days and times that are better for travel than others. AAA spokesperson Julie Hall says, “Travelers this Independence Day should be sure to pack their patience. Major metro areas across the U.S. could see nearly double the delays versus typical drive times. Plan your route in advance, leave early and give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination.” Auto analytics company INRIX says the worst travel times between today (Thursday, July 1st) and Monday, July 5th will likely vary. They say today (Thursday, July 1st), the worst hours to drive will be between 3 and 5 p.m. While on Friday (July 2nd) you should avoid the roads between 4 and 5 p.m.; Saturday (July 3rd) you can expect delays between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; while on Sunday (July 4th) traffic is expected to be light; and on Monday (July 5th) traffic is once again expected to be worst between 4 and 5 p.m. The AAA’s holiday forecast predicts more than 47.7 million Americans travel by car and plane during the Fourth of July, when last year just 34.2 million did so.
➤HOUSE VOTES TO CREATE COMMITTEE TO PROBE U.S. CAPITOL ATTACK: The House yesterday approved the creation of a special committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, with just two Republicans joining with the Democrats in the 222-190 vote. They were Rep. Liz Cheney, who lost her position in the Republican House leadership because of her criticism of former President Donald Trump, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger. The Democrats, who hold the House majority, will be in charge of the panel. Its creation comes after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of a bipartisan, independent commission whose members would have been evenly split between both parties. Several police officers who were injured fighting with the rioters on January 6th were in the gallery above the House floor for the vote.
- Meanwhile, 54-year-old Mark Grods, yesterday became the second member of the extremist Oath Keepers group to plead guilty to conspiracy for storming the Capitol to try to block the certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory and to agree to cooperate with prosecutors
The court overturned the conviction after finding that he was denied protection against self-incrimination. The court said a “non-prosecution agreement” struck in an earlier case allowed Cosby to speak freely in a lawsuit against him, thinking he could not be incriminated criminally. That testimony later became a key element in his criminal case.
The state Supreme Court said Cosby cannot be retried on the same charges, essentially shutting the door on any further convictions for the former sitcom star. Legal experts told The New York Times that while more than 50 women have accused him of sexual assault, the statues of limitations on their cases make further prosecutions unlikely.
Cosby’s spokesman Andrew Wyatt told The New York Post, “It’s a beautiful day, and it’s a beautiful day, also for women.”
He alleged, “Millions of supporters and millions of women have gotten in touch with us and said ‘We know these women made up these allegations. We know it’s not true.
“But the beauty of today, another great thing, they can no longer call him a sexual violent predator. No longer call him a rapist. No longer call him these horrible things. He’s now Bill Cosby, an American and national treasure.”
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| Mack |
➤SAN JOSE PASSES LEGILATIONS REQUIRING GUN OWNERS TO HAVE LIABILITY INSURANCE: San Jose, California's City Council this week passed legislation that requires gun owners to have liability insurance and pay a fee to cover the cost to taxpayers associated with gun violence. The first-in-the-nation law that was unanimously approved is part of a 10-point gun control plan unveiled by Mayor Sam Liccardo after the May 26th mass shooting by a San Jose rail yard employee in which he killed nine of his coworkers and then himself. Liccardo applauded the law's approval, saying, "We won’t magically end gun violence, but we stop paying for it." Officials have yet to determine how much the fees will be for gun owners, which will cover the costs of gun violence to taxpayers for things like police response, ambulance transportation to hospitals, and gunshot-related medical treatment.
With over 40 million Americans expected to travel for July 4, gas prices are at their highest level in seven years and many gas stations are running out. My latest for @NBCNightlyNews on the shortages and what you can do before hitting the road this weekend. #ThePriceYouPay pic.twitter.com/wZZaBEvWpO
— Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) June 29, 2021
🚗LOS-ANGELES-AREA TRAFFIC NO LONGER NATION’S WORST, REPORT SAYS: The coronavirus pandemic got rid of one things many Americans hate, at least temporarily: traffic. But as the world slowly reopens, traffic is back in a big way. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute says in the past, the Los Angeles area was considered home to the nation’s worst vehicular traffic. But for 2020 the new title holder is the New York City-Newark, New Jersey, region. Los Angeles didn’t even finish in second, and instead tied for fourth place with the San Francisco-Oakland area, while Boston came in second place, and Houston came in third. The U.S. metro areas were ranked by how many total hours drivers were delayed over the course of 2020. New York City/Newark drivers were delayed 56 hours, followed by Boston (50 hours), Houston (49 hours), and the two California regions (both 46 hours.)
➤BUSINESS IS BOOMING FOR CASINOS IN LAS VEGAS: Tourists have been returning to Las Vegas in a big way as it recovers from the pandemic, with the city's casinos setting a record in May by winning $1.23 billion. It's the largest single-month win in the state's history, topping the previous $1.165 billion record set in October 2007. Additionally, the record in May came before Nevada lifted virtually all its pandemic restrictions on crowds and capacity on June 1st. Hotel rooms were about 71 percent occupied on average in May, with weekends at 88 percent, but that's still below what they were in the same period in 2019, before the pandemic struck.
➤YALE DRAMA SCHOOL TO NOW BE FREE AFTER $150 MILLION DONATION: Yale Drama School announced yesterday that it will no longer charge tuition after receiving a $150 million donation from music industry bigwig David Geffen. Free attendance will begin this fall, with Yale President Peter Salovey saying it will apply to, quote, "all students forever." Geffen said that removing tuition will, quote, "allow an even greater diversity of talented people to develop and hone their skills." He also stated that "Yale was the right place to begin to change the way we think about funding arts education." The school will be renamed the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University.
🏒LIGHTNING TOP CANADIENS 3-1 TO TAKE 2-0 STANLEY CUP FINAL LEAD: The Tampa Bay Lightning are now halfway to repeating as NHL champions after beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 last night (June 30th) in Tampa to take a 2 games to none lead in the Stanley Cup Final. Anthony Cirelli, Blake Coleman and Ondrej Palat scored for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made a playoff career-high 42 saves. Game 3 is Friday in Montreal.
🏀SUNS IN NBA FINALS AFTER BEATING CLIPPERS 130-103 IN GAME 6: The Phoenix Suns will be playing the NBA Finals after beating the L.A. Clippers 130-103 last night to win the Western Conference Finals 4 games to 2. Chris Paul led the Suns with 41 points and Devin Booker added 22 points, sending Phoenix to its first NBA Finals in 28 years. They will play the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, which is tied at 2-2.
It's been a long journey for Chris Paul to finally reach the NBA Finals. https://t.co/4S97oZGTKe
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) July 1, 2021
🏀NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from Conference Finals yesterday:
- Phoenix Suns 130, L.A. Clippers 103 - Suns win series 4 games to 2
⚾MISSISSIPPI STATE SHUTS OUT VANDERBILT 9-0 TO WIN COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: Mississippi State shut out Vanderbilt 9-0 last night (June 30th) to win the College World Series 2 games to 1 for MSU's first national championship. Will Bednar and Landon Sims combined on a one-hitter, and Bednar was named the CWS Most Outstanding Player. MSU came back after losing the first game to win the next two and the championship.
🤑NCAA TO ALLOW ATHLETES TO PROFIT FROM NAME, IMAGE: The NCAA's Board of Directors yesterday approved allowing athletes to profit from their names and images, okaying one of the biggest changes ever in college sports. The expected decision came as a growing number of states passed laws that would have allowed athletes to profit in this way anyway, and as several of the laws in those states going into effect today. The NCAA will also allow athletes to enter into agreements with agents, but they are expected to keep their school informed of any and all name, image and likeness arrangements.
🎾DJOKOVIC, MURRAY, STEPHENS AMONG DAY 3 WIMBLEDON WINNERS, AMERICAN KENIN UPSET: Top-seeded Novak Djokovic, the U.K.'s Andy Murray and American Sloane Stephens were among the winners on a busy Day 3 at Wimbledon yesterday, during which players competed in scheduled second-round matches while others were still playing in their first-round matches that had been delayed by rain. Fourth-seeded American Sofia Kenin was upset by unseeded Madison Brengle, and 41-year-old Venus Williams lost her second-round match.
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