CBS News
North Korea launches new, perhaps more agile ICBM designed to reach U.S. mainland in first such test in almost a year
Seoul, South Korea — North Korea launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday in its first test in almost a year of a weapon designed to threaten the U.S. mainland, days ahead of the U.S. election.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the missile test and was at the launch site, calling the launch “an appropriate military action” to show North Korea’s resolve to respond to its enemies’ moves that have threatened the North’s safety, according to its Defense Ministry.
The United States, South Korea and Japan had also identified the weapon as an ICBM and condemned the launch as raising tensions. The launch came as Washington warned that North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine, likely to augment Russian forces and join the war.
Lee Jin-man / AP
orth Korea confirmed the launch hours after its neighbors detected the firing of what they suspected was a new, more agile weapon targeting the mainland U.S. The statement was unusually quick since North Korea usually describes its weapons tests a day after they occur.
“I affirm that the DPRK will never change its line of bolstering up its nuclear forces,” Kim said, according to a North Korean Defense Ministry statement carried by state media outlet KCNA. DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.
“The test-fire is an appropriate military action that fully meets the purpose of informing the rivals, who have intentionally escalated the regional situation and posed a threat to the security of our Republic recently, of our counteraction will,” Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA, according to the Reuters news agency.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea could have tested a new, solid-fueled long-range ballistic missile. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and hide and can be launched more quickly than liquid-propellant weapons.
JCS spokesperson Lee Sung Joon said the launch was possibly timed to the U.S. election in an attempt to strengthen North Korea’s future bargaining power. He said the North Korean missile was launched on a high angle, apparently to avoid neighboring countries.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters the missile’s flight duration of 86 minutes was longer and its maximum altitude of more than 4,350 miles was higher than those seen in previous North Korean missile tests.
Lee, the South Korean military spokesperson, said South Korea had a similar assessment on Thursday’s launch.
KCNA said the flight characteristics of this launch exceeded those registered for its previous missile launches but didn’t detail the differences.
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett had called the launch “a flagrant violation” of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that “needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region.” Savett said the U.S. will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and its South Korean and Japanese allies.
Both South Korea and Japan condemned the North Korean launch for posing a threat to international peace and said they’re closely coordinating with the U.S. over the test. Lee said South Korea and the U.S. plan “sufficient” bilateral military exercises and trilateral ones involving Japan in response to North Korean threats.
Lee said the missile may have been fired from a 12-axle launch vehicle, the North’s largest mobile launch platform that it disclosed in September. The vehicle’s unveiling had prompted speculation North Korea could be developing an ICBM that’s bigger than its existing ones.
North Korea has made strides in its missile technologies in recent years, but many foreign experts believe Pyongyang has yet to acquire a functioning nuclear-armed missile that could strike the U.S. mainland. They say North Korea likely possesses short-range missiles that can deliver nuclear strikes across all of South Korea.
One of the technological hurdles North Korea still faces is for its weapons to be capable of surviving the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry. South Korean officials and experts earlier said North Korea may test-launch an ICBM on a normal angle to verify that capability.
Lee said a high-angle launch like Thursday’s test can’t examine a missile’s reentry vehicle technology. He said more analysis is required to find why North Korea didn’t conduct a standard-trajectory launch on Thursday.
South Korea’s military intelligence agency told lawmakers Wednesday that North Korea was close to test-firing a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States and has also likely completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.
North Korea last test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile in December 2023, when it launched the solid-fueled Hwasong-18.
In the past two years, Kim has used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a window to ramp up weapons tests and threats while also expanding military cooperation with Moscow. South Korea, the U.S. and others have recently accused North Korea of dispatching thousands of troops to support Russia’s warfighting against Ukraine. They’ve said North Korea has already shipped artillery, missiles and other convectional arms to Russia.
North Korea’s possible participation in the Ukraine war would mark a serious escalation. South Korea, the U.S. and their partners also worry about what North Korea could get from Russia in return for joining Russia’s war against Ukraine. Aside from his soldiers’ wages, experts say Kim Jong Un likely hopes to get high-tech Russian technology that can perfect his nuclear-capable missiles and build a reliable space-based surveillance system. Kim could also want Russian fighter jets and help in modernizing North Korea’s conventional weapons.
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving toward Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilizing development. Austin said “the likelihood is pretty high” that Russia will use the troops in combat.
Austin spoke at a news conference in Washington with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last week raised the possibility of supplying Ukraine with weapons while stressing that his government “won’t sit idle” over North Korea’s reported troop dispatch.
South Korea said Wednesday that North Korea has sent more than 11,000 troops to Russia and that more than 3,000 of them have been moved close to battlefields in western Russia.
CBS News
Minnesota may get snow Thursday. Here’s how much more the Halloween Blizzard Of 1991 dropped.
MINNEAPOLIS — When it comes to Halloween in Minnesota, you can expect to hear the sounds of ghosts and goblins. You can also expect the sound of lifelong Minnesotans (Gen X or older) collectively reminding the never-not-reminded rest of Minnesota about that one time it snowed a lot on Halloween.
While WCCO meteorologist Joseph Dames says this year’s Halloween forecast does call for some snowflakes, it will be nothing compared to the wave of white that plopped down on the area 33 years ago.
The Halloween Blizzard of 1991 is a story that is brought up year after year as a badge of honor for those who lived through it. Blustery winds and plummeting temperatures on Halloween night made going house-to-house for trick-or-treaters or just about anywhere a challenge.
But Halloween night was just the start.
On the spooky night itself, Minneapolis-St. Paul got just over eight inches of snow. And on the next day? Another 18.5 inches. The day after that another inch fell. And on Nov. 3, a few more tenths of an inch, bringing a whopping 28.4 inches of snow, the biggest single storm still on record.
But there was an even bigger event roughly a decade prior. Two consecutive snowstorms hit the Twin Cities just days apart in January of 1982. Those two waves resulted in 37.4 inches, which is significantly more than even the famed 1991 Halloween blizzard.
Former WCCO team member reminisces
Former WCCO Meteorologist Paul Huttner remembers the around-the-clock updates on a blustery Nov. 1 morning.
“It came fast and was a shock,” Huttner recalled. “We’re saying that’s going to be more than 20 inches of snow! That’s not really going to happen, right?”
As the Twin Cities woke up, the snow picked up, at times falling two inches an hour. The wet, heavy snow collapsed rooftops and stranded firefighters. Police swapped their squads for snowmobiles to navigate the roads while others used skis to get down the street.
“As a meteorologist, you always want to work the big storm,” Huttner said. “As I saw there that morning, I knew it was huge. I had no idea this would stand as the biggest snowstorm in Twin Cities history as I sit here 30 years later.”
That blizzard left mountains snow on the ground. It melted away about a week later, but we picked up another 14 inches over Thanksgiving. And that snow stuck around until early March.
and
contributed to this report.
CBS News
Suspect “led us to the evidence” in Montana camper’s brutal killing, initially thought to have been bear attack
A suspect has been arrested nearly three weeks after a Montana camper was found brutally killed in an attack that was initially reported as a bear attack, authorities late Wednesday.
The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office said it had identified a suspect in the murder of Dustin Kjersem, who was found dead in his tent earlier this month. The suspect, who was not identified, was in custody on unrelated charges, authorities said.
“The suspect is cooperating with our detectives and has led us to the evidence we have identified in prior press releases,” the sheriff’s office said.
Kjersem, 35, was found dead earlier this month by a friend who reported Kjersem appeared to have been killed by a bear — but officials soon discovered the camper was actually the victim of a brutal murder.
Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office
The sheriff’s office said Wednesday the investigation is ongoing but “it is believed the suspect acted alone and there is no longer a threat to the community.”
Last week, authorities said they were are looking for a large axe and other items that were likely taken from the crime scene. Authorities said they were looking for a blue and silver Estwing camp axe, likely with a 26″ handle, as well as a Remington shotgun and Ruger Blackhawk revolver. The sheriff’s office said it was also looking for an orange Tundra 45 cooler made by YETI.
Earlier this month, a friend discovered Kjersem’s body in a tent at a makeshift campsite along Moose Creek Road and called 911, telling responders the death appeared to have been caused by a bear attack, the sheriff’s office previously said.
But a state wildlife official found no signs of bear activity, and investigators said they soon found evidence of a “vicious attack.” An autopsy later showed Kjersem sustained “multiple chop wounds,” including to his skull.
Kjersem’s sister Jillian Price said her brother was a skilled tradesman and a doting father.
A GoFundMe set up for Kjersem’s children has raised more than $27,000.
CBS News
Pennsylvania is the top prize among battleground states. Here’s what to expect for the 2024 election.
Pennsylvania was a pivotal state in the 2020 presidential election, sealing Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump after four days of vote counting. So it’s no surprise the Keystone State is again front and center this election cycle, with both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump investing time and resources there ahead of Election Day.
In the past few weeks, the presidential candidates have been regulars in Pennsylvania, often joined on the campaign trail by celebrities and fellow politicians. They’ve made some memorable pit stops — from Harris snapping selfies at Famous 4th Street Deli to Trump donning an apron during a campaign event at a McDonald’s in Bucks County, which Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro calls the “swingiest of all swing counties in the swingiest of all swing states.” Trump also returned to Butler for a rally at the same fairgrounds where he survived an assassination attempt in July.
CBS News’ Battleground Tracker shows an effectively tied race in Pennsylvania a week before Election Day. The state is part of the Democrats’ “blue wall” along with Michigan and Wisconsin, considered crucial for the party’s path to the White House.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of Election Day:
Pennsylvania Election Day fast facts
- Polls open: 7 a.m. ET
- Polls close: 8 p.m. ET
- Mail-in ballot deadline: 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024
- Where to vote: Look up your polling place here
- Electoral votes: 19
- Voter turnout: 76% of registered voters cast ballots in 2020, government data shows
Pennsylvania vote-counting rules
Every state has its own rules when it comes to vote counting. In Pennsylvania, state law requires county election workers to wait until polls open on Election Day (7 a.m. ET) to start processing — removing ballots from envelopes — and counting mail-in ballots.
Pennsylvania counties also can’t begin to record or release mail-in ballot results until after the polls close at 8 p.m. ET. That means there will be a lag in announcing the final tallies and, in turn, projecting the state’s winner. How long of a delay, however, is unclear.
Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes
Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes, making it an important prize in the presidential race. The state had 20 electoral votes in the 2020 race but lost one in the congressional redistricting that followed the 2020 Census.
When will we know who won Pennsylvania?
In 2020, Mr. Biden was named the projected winner of Pennsylvania late morning on Saturday, Nov. 7 — the fourth day of vote counting — after taking an insurmountable lead in the state. Winning the state’s then-20 electoral votes helped him top the 270 needed to win the presidency.
But it’s hard to draw any conclusions from 2020 when more voters opted for mail-in voting for the first time due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19. It was the first year Pennsylvania allowed no-excuse mail-in voting, leading to a record 2.6 million mail-in ballots. In 2020, 38% of Pennsylvanians voted either early or by mail, compared to 4% in 2016, according to CBS News’ records.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court also ruled in 2020 that mail-in ballots couldn’t be rejected over signature mismatches.
Kathy Boockvar, former Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, told CBS News that 2024 will likely look different since election officials have had four more years of practice, bought new equipment and have a better idea of how much staffing they’ll need.
“Nobody knows on election night who wins or loses. What we hope to do is count the ballots securely, accurately, and then after that as quickly as humanly possible,” Boockvar said.
In 2020, about 54% of total votes cast were reported by 12 a.m. ET after Election Day, according to the Associated Press. The “overwhelming majority of ballots” were counted by Thursday night into Friday morning in 2020, according to Boockvar.
Boockvar estimates this year, given all of the lessons learned from 2020 and improvements made to the counting system, that the majority of ballots will be counted by the end of Wednesday instead of Thursday, which may help speed up the process of projecting a winner.
However, if the race is close, then that may delay things further. Pennsylvania has an automatic recount if the margin in any statewide race is 0.5% votes or less. The state also allows losing candidates to file a request for a machine recount if they pay for it. A refund may be available depending on the findings.
Could Latino voters in Pennsylvania decide the election?
In order to secure a Pennsylvania victory, both Harris and Trump may need to win over Latino voters. There are nearly 580,000 eligible Latino voters in Pennsylvania, according to the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute’s latest data. Pennsylvania’s share of eligible Latino voters has more than doubled since 2000, the data shows.
Roughly about half of the Latino population lives in the center part of the state called the “222 Corridor” — a stretch of small cities including Reading, Allentown, Lancaster and Bethlehem, where the presidential candidates and their running mates have visited frequently.
A recent poll from the Hispanic Federation and Latino Victory Foundation found that 66% of Latino respondents said they’d vote this year in Pennsylvania.
Who won Pennsylvania in past presidential elections?
Pennsylvania has voted for the presidential winner dating back to 2008, when Barack Obama was elected president. Here’s a look at who has claimed the state over the years:
- 2020: Democrat Joe Biden defeats Donald Trump
- 2016: Republican Donald Trump defeats Hillary Clinton
- 2012: Democrat Barack Obama defeats Mitt Romney
- 2008: Democrat Barack Obama defeats John McCain
- 2004: Democrat John Kerry defeats George W. Bush
- 2000: Democrat Al Gore defeats George W. Bush
Minnesota may get snow Thursday. Here’s how much more the Halloween Blizzard Of 1991 dropped.
Suspect “led us to the evidence” in Montana camper’s brutal killing, initially thought to have been bear attack
Long Prairie, MN school board dismisses its superintendent, the latest controversy in this small town
Minnesota may get snow Thursday. Here’s how much more the Halloween Blizzard Of 1991 dropped.
Suspect “led us to the evidence” in Montana camper’s brutal killing, initially thought to have been bear attack