A winter storm brought heavy snow and strong winds to much of New Jersey as a state of emergency was declared on Wednesday, December 16.
The National Weather Service said Newark Airport reported a snowfall rate of two inches per hour between 7 pm and 8 pm.
The region was forecast to receive up to 14 inches by Thursday.
Video from Jersey City shows heavy accumulation of snow in Lincoln Park. Credit: Kate Hambrecht via Storyful
Two men in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province were publicly caned each 77 times Thursday after neighbors reported them to Islamic religious police for having sex. Dozens of people witnessed the caning at Banda Aceh’s Tamansari city park. It's the third time that Aceh, the only province in Indonesia to practice Shariah law, has caned people for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented in 2015 as a concession made by the government to end a long-running separatist rebellion.
The 28 Olympic sports federations have taken a big financial hit due to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics by a year, but even if the Games were cancelled they would not be at risk of bankruptcy, the executive director of the international federations' association said. The 2020 Games have been rescheduled for July after being put off due to the coronavirus outbreak, though there remains a risk they could be cancelled if the pandemic worsens. "We are all committed to delivering the Olympic Games this year," Andrew Ryan, Executive Director of the Association of summer Olympic international federations (ASOIF), told Reuters.
There's no excuse not to enjoy an outdoor walk.
Russian investigators said on Thursday they had opened a criminal case into Leonid Volkov, a close ally of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, hours before a court was due to hear an appeal against Navalny's own jailing. The case against Volkov, currently outside Russia, is part of a police crackdown targeting Navalny's allies after tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday to demand the Kremlin release Navalny from jail.
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the militant who spent over 18 years behind bars for masterminding the abduction of slain US reporter Daniel Pearl, traded privilege and scholarship for a life of jihad, kidnappings, and ultimately a prison cell.
Anastasia Vasilyeva, a personal medic of Navalny, played the piano while the Russian police were at her house in Moscow. The raids come after tens of thousands of Navalny's supporters took to the streets on Saturday (January 23) to call on the Kremlin to release him from jail where he is serving a 30-day stint for alleged parole violations that he denies. Police had said the protests were illegal and detained close to 4,000 people. More than a dozen criminal cases have been opened. Navalny's allies plan to hold another rally this Sunday (January 31).
Myanmar's army chief has raised the prospect of scrapping the country's constitution as fears swirl about a possible coup by the military over electoral fraud concerns.
Pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has agreed to return to Japanese baseball team the Rakuten Eagles after spending seven seasons with the New York Yankees, Rakuten announced on its website on Thursday. Tanaka began his career with Rakuten in 2007 before moving to the Yankees in 2014 for a reported $155 million contract, one of the highest ever for a pitcher at the time. Media reports have said Tanaka, a free agent, was looking at returning to the Nippon Professional Baseball club after the Yankees recently added starting pitchers Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon.
Taiwan has sought Germany's help in securing COVID-19 vaccines, Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said on Thursday, after Berlin asked for the island's assistance in easing a shortage of automobile semiconductor chips. Wang told reporters she made the request at a meeting with Germany's de facto ambassador in Taipei, who handed her a letter seeking help to resolve the shortage, which is hampering the European nation's fledgling economic recovery from the pandemic. At their meeting on Wednesday, Wang said, she told the head of the German mission in Taipei that she hoped Germany could "assist Taiwan in obtaining vaccines within the feasible range".
Campos Racing, who have teams in the Formula Two and Three support series, said in a statement on Thursday that their founder had passed away from "sudden coronary disease". Campos started 17 grands prix in 1987-88 without scoring a point. He then focused on running teams in the junior series, working with future F1 drivers Marc Gene and Alonso early in their careers.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of an Islamist convicted of beheading U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, a decision that has left his family in "complete shock", lawyers said. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was the main suspect in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Pearl, was acquitted by a panel of three judges. "By a majority of two to one, they have acquitted all the accused persons and ordered their release," a provincial advocate general, Salman Talibuddin, told Reuters.
Wilder's side are bottom of the league and went into Wednesday's game without a league victory at Old Trafford in 48 years, while the hosts were unbeaten in 13 league matches. Oliver Burke scored a 74th-minute winner after Harry Maguire had cancelled out Kean Bryan's first-half opener for the Blades, who have collected eight points from 20 games.
Britain will no longer hold a review into workers' rights, business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said, reiterating that the government will not water down employment protections but instead will look at raising them post-Brexit. Earlier this month, his department rejected a media report that it was proposing changes focused on ending the 48-year working week, rules around rest breaks and not including overtime pay when calculating some holiday entitlements. Some opposition lawmakers say they fear that Britain's departure from the European Union will allow the government to rip up labour and environmental protections, part of what critics say is the government's plan to deregulate.
It is important to note that many require pre-registration before you can visit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two of the NBA's best point guards, both likely to feel inspired by disappointing performances 24 hours earlier, renew their rivalry on Thursday night when Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors visit Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns. The meeting will be the first of the season for the Western Conference playoff hopefuls, who had an earlier scheduled matchup in Phoenix postponed because of COVID-19 issues. The Warriors will ride the momentum of a 123-111 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves into the second night of a back-to-back.
Hong Kong people are less trusting of Chinese novel coronavirus vaccines than those made in Europe and the United States, with fewer than 30% of people questioned in a survey finding China’s Sinovac vaccine acceptable. The survey by the University of Hong Kong, in which up to 1,000 people were polled this month, showed that general acceptance of vaccines in the Chinese special administrative region was low, with only 46% likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Trust was significantly lower in the Sinovac vaccine, with 29.5% of respondents accepting it compared with 56% of people who would take one produced by Germany's BioNTech and 35% who would take one produced by AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University.
There is growing consensus that corporate sustainability initiatives boost profits, efficiency, and competitiveness.
After a lopsided loss Monday in Vancouver, Ottawa Senators coach D.J. Smith warned his players that lineup changes could be coming. The Senators seemed to get the message, putting 23 shots on goal in the opening period of the rematch against the Canucks on Wednesday, three shy of the franchise record. Although the Senators finished the period with only one goal, Smith called it their best 20 minutes of the season.
Australian Open players were given the green light to begin exiting COVID-19 quarantine on Thursday after spending two weeks strictly confined to a biosecurity hub. The first group among the 960 players, coaches and officials isolating at three Melbourne hotels were allowed to leave from 6 p.m. local time (0700 GMT), with the rest expected to depart by Sunday, Victoria state health officials said. Players isolating in South Australia state, including Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, were also to be released ahead of an exhibition tournament in Adelaide on Friday.
A young retail investor explains what it's like to be present for "the mother of all short squeezes."
