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Drone activity in New York shut down runways at Stewart Airfield, governor says
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. — Drone activity forced runways at New York’s Stewart Airfield to shut down Friday night, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“Last night, the runways at Stewart Airfield were shut down for approximately one hour due to drone activity in the airspace. This has gone too far,” Hochul said in a statement released Saturday morning.
Hochul’s statement echoes a growing frustration among Tri-State Area lawmakers demanding answers from the federal government about the drones’ origins amid numerous reports of them flying over New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
White House officials have deemed suspected threats from the drones to be “not credible” and said many sightings are likely just of planes.
Growing frustration with drones
Local officials have expressed angst over the federal response, especially after drones were reported over New York City.
“The people of Staten Island deserve answers, and the people of this city and state and region deserve answers of what the heck is going on,” Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said.
Hochul’s statement Saturday also called on federal lawmakers to pass a law strengthening the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of drones:
“In mid-November, I directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue, and those efforts are ongoing. But in order to allow state law enforcement to work on this issue, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. This bill would reform legal authorities to counter-UAS and strengthen the FAA’s oversight of drones, and would extend counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies.”
“Extending these powers to New York State and our peers is essential. Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people.”
New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith scheduled a press conference to give an update on drone activity Saturday in Seaside Heights. Smith said he also plans to unveil new federal legislation to address the issue.
It comes after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter to President Biden, asking for the federal government’s help addressing the drones.
“While I am sincerely grateful for your administration’s leadership in addressing this concerning issue, it has become apparent that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity,” Murphy wrote.
Drone sightings have also been reported in Pennsylvania and other cities along the East Coast.
contributed to this report.
San Francisco residents were woken up by a tornado warning early Saturday morning during a powerful storm system that battered the region with heavy rain and wind.
It was the first-ever tornado warning for San Francisco, but not the first tornado, cited CBS News Bay Area meteorologist Paul Heggen.
The National Weather Service issued the warning for northern San Mateo County and parts of downtown San Francisco, just before 6 a.m. until 6:15 a.m.
According to the NWS, there was a cyclonic signature on the radar that had produced enough rotation signature to prompt the warning.
“The radar scan at 5:52am clearly shows a “hook echo” offshore — that’s the signature we look for to identify a developing tornado. This feature was embedded within a broad area of very heavy rain, but it still stands out,” Heggen explained.
Notice the cloud-to-ground (well, cloud-to-ocean) lightning strike near the hook echo. That confirms the instability present in the atmosphere — such strikes are only possible with enough vertical motion to separate charged particles (“hydrometeors”) within the storm. 4/15 pic.twitter.com/NY3RSewd6j
— Paul Heggen @paulkpix.bsky.social (@PaulKPIX) December 14, 2024
The NWS Bay Area said the warning was over for San Francisco at 6:07 a.m. And let the tornado warning expire at 6:15 a.m.
The warning led to a flurry of social media posts from residents who were woken up by the alert on their cell phones. It was being reported as the first-ever tornado warning issued for San Francisco.
There was also a special alert issued for a possible water spout on San Francisco Bay in the area of the Bay Bridge that expired ten minutes after the tornado warning.
While the strongest part of the system has passed, isolated severe thunderstorms remain possible for parts of the Bay Area through the morning, the National Weather Service said.
The risk of a severe storm is marginal, and the NWS said it will only last through Saturday morning. According to PG&E, the storm conditions caused power outages for thousands of people in the Bay Area.
CBS News
ABC News agrees to contribute $15 million to Trump presidential foundation to settle defamation suit
ABC News agreed to contribute $15 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential foundation and museum to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court on Saturday.
Trump had accused ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos of acting “with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth,” after Stephanopoulos said that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in a March 10 interview with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.
Trump claimed in the filing Stephanopoulos “knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false.”
As part of the settlement, ABC News must also publish an “editor’s note” at the bottom of the March 10 online article that accompanied the interview which states: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”
Trump’s presidential foundation and museum have yet to be established.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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CBS News
Jamie Foxx hit by thrown glass in birthday dinner altercation at Beverly Hills restaurant Mr. Chow, rep says
Actor Jamie Foxx required stitches after he was involved in some sort of altercation in Beverly Hills while celebrating his birthday on Friday, according to a spokesperson for the “Django Unchained” and “Ray” star.
Police were dispatched to Mr. Chow, a high-end Chinese restaurant located in the 300 block of N. Camden Drive, at around 10:10 p.m. after learning of a reported assault with a deadly weapon, according to Beverly Hills Police Department officials.
Upon arrival, officers found that the reports of assault with a deadly weapon were unfounded, but instead that a physical altercation had broken out between two parties at the restaurant. They did not provide details leading up to what caused the confrontation.
Though police did not mention Foxx by name, a spokesperson tells CBS News Los Angeles that he was at the restaurant for a celebration.
“Jamie Foxx was at his birthday dinner when someone from another table threw a glass that hit him in the mouth. He had to get stitches and is recovering,” the spokesperson said. “The police were called and the matter is now in law enforcement’s hands.”
No further information was provided and it’s unclear if any arrests have been made.
Foxx, now 57, just recently revealed the cause of his lengthy hospitalization in 2023 as a brain bleed and stroke.
First-ever tornado warning shocks San Francisco residents during intense storm
ABC News agrees to contribute $15 million to Trump presidential foundation to settle defamation suit
Jamie Foxx hit by thrown glass in birthday dinner altercation at Beverly Hills restaurant Mr. Chow, rep says
First-ever tornado warning shocks San Francisco residents during intense storm
ABC News agrees to contribute $15 million to Trump presidential foundation to settle defamation suit