Buttigieg finds himself in the spotlight for better or worse
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been in the national spotlight a lot lately, and not always for positive reasons. The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and onetime mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has been the public face of a string of transportation-related mishaps, including this past week’s temporary ground of air traffic in the United States. All that increased scrutiny has come amid rising speculation about his political prospects. During his tenure as transportation chief, there have been widespread global supply chain issues and logjams at major ports as well as multiple instances of mass flight cancellations by airlines. Also, a nationwide strike by railroad workers was only averted by an eleventh-hour intervention from Congress.
NYC mayor heads to Mexican border as migrant crisis continues
New York Mayor Eric Adams was traveling to El Paso, Texas, Saturday to visit the border amid a crisis in which thousands of migrants from Latin America have been bused to the north. The trip comes one day after Adams said he expected the influx of migrants to cost the city as much as $2 billion — significantly higher than previous estimates. The costs associated with taking in so many migrants could exacerbate the potential budget shortfall the city is facing, Adams said. His office said he was expected to make “multiple stops at and near the U.S. southern border.” He plans to speak to reporters Sunday.
Storm-battered California gets more wind, rain and snow
Storm-battered California is getting more wind, rain and snow, raising flooding concerns, causing power outages and making travel dangerous. Bands of rain with gusty winds started Saturday in the north and spread south, with more storms expected to follow into early next week. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of counties north and south of San Francisco Bay. The tiny Santa Cruz County community of Felton Grove along the San Lorenzo River has been ordered evacuated. In Sacramento County, an evacuation order has been issued for residents of a semi-rural area along the Cosumnes River. A backcountry avalanche warning has been posted for the central Sierra Nevada, including the greater Lake Tahoe area.
In video, George Santos encourages transgender people to join GOP
Before beginning his first, and unsuccessful, bid for Congress, George Santos appeared at an event that urged members of the LGBTQ community to embrace Republicans and Donald Trump, who was president at the time. “My name is Anthony Devolder,” said Santos, using a version of his full name, George Anthony Devolder Santos. He described himself as a New Yorker who recently formed a group, United for Trump, according to a video clip posted Friday of the March 2019 event held by the conservative Walk Away foundation.
Thousands in Israel protest Netanyahu’s plans to limit courts
Tens of thousands of Israelis on Saturday night protested in Tel Aviv against the new right-wing government’s plans to fundamentally overhaul the judicial system, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to weaken the country’s democratic institutions weeks after returning to power. The protest was organized by grassroots activists and backed by the leaders of Israel’s centrist and left-wing opposition parties. The Israeli news media estimated a turnout of 80,000 people by 8:30 p.m., and thousands more joined protests in Jerusalem and Haifa. The protests were an early indication of the backlash facing the government, the sixth led by Netanyahu.
Violence soars in Mali in the year after Russians arrive
Western officials say violence against civilians in Mali has risen in the year since hundreds of Russian mercenaries have started working alongside the West African country’s armed forces to stem a decade-long insurgency by Islamic extremists. Diplomats, analysts and human rights groups say extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have only gotten stronger and there’s concern the Russian presence will further destabilize the already troubled region. One report says more than 2,000 civilians have been killed since December 2021, compared with about 500 in the previous 12 months, with at least a third of those deaths last year stemming from attacks involving Russia’s shadowy Wagner Group of military contractors.
Egypt says ancient royal tomb unearthed in Luxor
Egyptian authorities say archaeologists have unearthed an ancient tomb in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, known for its treasures dating back to the pharaohs. Mostafa Waziri, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said Saturday an Egyptian-British mission found the royal tomb in an ancient site on the west bank of the Nile River in Luxor, 400 miles south of the capital of Cairo. He said initial examinations show that the tomb apparently belongs to the 18th Dynasty of Pharaonic Egypt, which spanned from 1550 B.C. to 1292 B.C.
By wire sources