3 Things To Know Today

Vintage movie countdown, illustration

Photo: Science Photo Library RF

1 More Historic Rainfall Hits California

A storm that brought consistent and sometimes heavy rain recently was the tipping point in breaking some decades-old records in Los Angeles. At LAX airport, 1.97 inches of rain fell Tuesday, the highest total for March 14th since 1982, and the sixth-highest one-day total on record in March. Downtown Los Angeles saw 3.15 inches on Tuesday which is well above the average of 2.3 inches for March. Santa Barbara airport smashed its record as well with 2.54 inches of rainfall. In Central California, the Merced, Salinas, and Sacramento rivers were among the ones that overflowed during the recent storms, while two cities in the San Joaquin Valley – Visalia and Porterville – have been given a “state of emergency” declaration after Lake Success overflowed at the rate of almost 19,800 per second yesterday. What about snow levels? The Central Sierra Snow Lab in Soda Springs reports getting 55.6 feet of snow since October 1st, which is the most snow since the 2010-11 season. As for the all-time record, the CSSL reports that happened in the 1951-52 season where they recorded 67.7 of snow. Meanwhile, now that the snow is finally melting in the San Bernardino Mountains, those residents have a new problem – the snowmelt is now flooding streets and people are bracing for possible mudslides.

2 State Department Says Drone Incident Likely Nothing More Than "Incompetence" By Russian Pilots

A collision between a Russian jet and an American drone was likely unintentional, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price. He told MSNBC that "profound incompetence" by a Russian pilot was likely the reason behind what happened over the Black Sea. The MQ-9 drone was forced down after a Russian fighter jet damaged its propeller over international waters. Russia denies its aircraft collided with the drone, arguing the U.S. aircraft made a sharp maneuver and crashed into the water. Meanwhile, some top defense officials aren’t as sure about Russia’s intentions. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley says Russian jets intended to intercept the drone, but it's not clear if they collided with it on purpose. While Russia has denied its jets made contact with the drone, Milley says the U.S. has "absolute evidence" that's the case. He also stressed the U.S. is not seeking conflict with Russia. So, will we get the drone back? Unlikely. White House national security spokesman John Kirby tells CNN the drone fell into very deep water and officials are assessing whether recovery is even possible. Russian officials also say they're trying to retrieve it.

3 Texas Government Taking Over Schools in Houston

Texas officials announced yesterday they’re taking over Houston's public school district, which consists of about 200,000 students. The announcement was made by Republican Governor Greg Abbott's education commissioner, Mike Morath. With this district being the eighth largest in the country, this school takeover is on record as one of the largest in the history of the U.S. In a letter to the Houston Independent School District, Morath said the Texas Education Agency will replace Superintendent Millard House II and the district's elected board of trustees with a new superintendent and a board made of residents from the district. What do those who oppose the takeover think? The Texas State Teachers Association and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas condemned the takeover. And state Democratic leaders called for the Legislature to increase funding for education and raise teacher pay. State Representative Armando Walle, added, “We acknowledge that there’s been underperformance in the past, mainly due to that severe underfunding in our public schools.”


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