1 Winter Storm System Brings Heavy Snow, Rain And Wind Across US
A major winter storm is expected to pummel many parts of the US – all at the same time. Out west in the Sierra Nevadas, snow is expected to continue falling at up to three-inches per hour. The Weather Service says the Great Basin and the Desert Southwest could see the mess later today. Those areas could get a much as two-inches of snow in an hour. But that’s not all – that storm system is making its way into California. As big rain in SoCal and major winter snow heading east to the Central High Plains to the Upper Midwest by Wednesday. The Weather Service is warning travel "may become impossible" because of heavy-blowing snow. And worse, later in the week, the Northeast is set for its first really nasty storm of the season is threatening significant snow. Bottom line? If you’re planning to travel this week – check your carrier in advance.
2 Schiff: Griner Deal Creates Incentive For Others To Use Americans
While many people are congratulating President Biden for bringing Brittney Griner home, others are saying it wasn’t the smartest move. Among them? Democratic congressman says trading "an innocent American for a guilty Russian" creates an incentive for others to use Americans as a "bargaining chip." Appearing on CBS's “Face the Nation,” California's Adam Schiff said the prisoner swap that involved the WNBA star and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was a calculated move by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Schiff said Putin knows that picking Griner to send back and leaving others like Paul Whelan in Russia would "stir in the United States of America." And on that note, Schiff points out that American citizens need to be aware when they visit places that they could be "grabbed for no reason at all except to be used as a political chip." Such as? Russia, Iran or North Korea.
3 NASA's Orion Spacecraft Returns To Earth
NASA's Orion Spacecraft Returns To EarthNASA's Orion spacecraft is back on Earth following its weeks-long flight around the moon. The historic journey covered one-point-four-million miles after launching from Kennedy Space Center on November 16th. NASA aims to use the Artemis One mission to eventually get astronauts back on the moon. NASA said the mission's primary goals were to demonstrate Orion's systems in a spaceflight environment and ensure safe re-entry, descent, splashdown and recovery. “With Orion safely returned to Earth we can begin to see our next mission on the horizon which will fly crew to the Moon for the first time as a part of the next era of exploration,” Jim Free, NASA associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, explains. “This begins our path to a regular cadence of missions and a sustained human presence at the Moon for scientific discovery and to prepare for human missions to Mars.”