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Spectacular photos show the northern lights around the world
A series of powerful solar storms colored skies across the Northern Hemisphere this weekend, as people witnessed brilliant displays of the northern lights in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and beyond. Officials have said the dazzling light shows could continue for several more days.
The aurora borealis — the phenomenon more commonly known as the northern lights — happens because of a molecular collision in the upper levels of Earth’s atmosphere that causes bursts of energy to be released in the form of visible light. The aurora borealis has a counterpart, the aurora australis, or southern lights, which is the same phenomenon in the southern hemisphere. These light shows can be visible for as much as half the year in certain places near either of the planet’s two poles, but it’s uncommon to see them in areas that are closer to the equator, which is why the spectacles over North America, Europe and other places on similar latitutdes were such a treat in the last few days.
The aurora will extend from the poles toward the equator in periods of intense space weather activity, and it has been known in the past to reach as far as the continental U.S. when the activity is particularly extreme. That was the case over the weekend, as an unusually strong geomagnetic storm reached Earth and set the stage for a string of explosive nighttime scenes world over. The geomagnetic storm that arrived on Friday was a historic G5, the highest level on a ranking scale that starts at G1, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A solar storm of that size has not come into contact with Earth in decades. It arrived in the midst of a parade of coronal mass ejections — eruptions of magnetic field and other solar material from the Sun’s corona that can cause geomagnetic storms — which continued to fuel the northern lights shows throughout Friday and Saturday. The next bursts of solar material are expected to arrive at Earth midday on Sunday, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, which issued a geomagnetic storm watch in anticipation of G4 or G5 events likely following those upcoming coronal mass ejections.
“Watches at this level are very rare,” the space weather prediction center said in an advisory on Saturday. It noted that the oncoming solar activity could potentially cause the aurora to “become visible over much of the northern half of the country, and maybe as far south as Alabama to northern California.”
Ahead of the next round of solar flares, here’s a look at some brilliant auroras that have materialized so far this weekend in different parts of the world.
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Washington — Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face off on Tuesday in the first and only vice presidential debate of the cycle, as the two candidates look to prop up the Republican and Democratic tickets with fewer than 40 days until Election Day.
The debate, hosted by CBS News at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City, will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator and CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.
Here’s what to know about how the candidates are preparing for the debate:
How JD Vance is preparing for the VP debate
The Ohio Republican has been preparing for the debate for more than a month, a source directly involved told CBS News, including with “murder board” sessions with a small team that includes Vance’s wife and his advisers, along with senior Trump adviser Jason Miller.
Among Vance’s main focuses during the preparation has been studying Walz’ debate style and policy record, the source said, noting that Vance will attempt to highlight what he sees as the Minnesota governor’s left-wing views during the debate.
Vance told reporters last week that his plan is to break down what the Trump-Vance administration would do to make “life better” and connect that to policy.
“So, we’re studying up as much as we can on the issues that matter to the American people, and I’m looking forward to it,” Vance said.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, is standing in for Walz during Vance’s debate prep, four sources familiar with the preparations told CBS News. Emmer and Walz have deep roots in Minnesota and are close in age.
Emmer told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he’s known Walz for decades and has spent the last month working to “get his phrases down, his mannerisms.”
“My job was to be able to play Tim Walz so JD Vance knows what he’s going to see,” Emmer said.
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How Tim Walz is preparing for the VP debate
Walz has been preparing for the debate with a close team of advisers, a source familiar with the preparations told CBS News. Some of the people involved also helped Vice President Kamala Harris take on former President Donald Trump, among others, like a long-time aid to Walz who worked with him during his bids for governor.
For Walz, whose name recognition was until recently limited outside of Minnesota, the focus is on continuing to introduce himself to the American people, according to the source. He’ll also work to highlight Harris’ vision for the nation’s path forward.
“You’ll hear me talk like I have about things that impact Americans, making sure they have the opportunity to thrive, making sure that we’re being factual in how we talk about that,” Walz told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow of the debate earlier this month. “And so I’m looking forward to it. I’ll work hard, that’s what I do.”
During debate prep, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is standing in for Vance, a campaign official familiar with the preparation told CBS News. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, also assisted Harris during her debate prep in 2020, and is close in age to Vance.
When and how to watch the presidential debate
Debate coverage on CBS News 24/7 begins at 4 p.m. ET, with the debate getting underway at 9 p.m. ET on Oct. 1.
The 90-minute debate will be streamed on CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+ across all available platforms and CBSNews.com. The debate will also be simulcast across other broadcast and cable networks.
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Actor John Ashton, best known for his role as the by-the-book detective in the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise, has died, his publicist Alan Somers confirmed to CBS News on Sunday. He was 79.
Ashton died Thursday in Ft. Collins, Colorado, after a battle with cancer.
“John was a loving husband, brother, father, and grandfather who will be deeply missed by all who knew him,” a statement said.
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Ashton was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on Feb. 22, 1948, and raised in Enfield, Connecticut. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern California.
Throughout his 50-year career in show business, Ashton appeared in nearly 100 movies after making his debut in 1973’s “The Psychopath.”
He was probably best known for his role as Det. Sgt. John Taggart in the first two installments of the “Beverly Hills Cop” series alongside Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold. He reprised his role in 2024’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.”
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Other film credits include “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “She’s Having a Baby,” “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League” and “Gone Baby Gone.”
On television, he played Willie Joe Garr on several episodes of “Dallas” and made an appearance on such shows like “Columbo,” “Police Squad!” “Hardball” and others.
“John devoted his career to honing his craft and bringing characters to life on the screen. His presence will be greatly missed,” Somers said.
Ashton is survived by his wife Robin Hoye, three children, three step-children and a grandson. He also leaves behind two sisters and a brother.
“John leaves behind a legacy of love, dedication, and service. His memory will forever be treasured by his wife, children, grandchildren, as well as his brother, sisters, his extended family and all who loved him,” Somers said. “John’s impact on the world will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.”
The family requests any donations in Ashton’s memory be made to Pathways Hospice Care
Thousands of listeners were left without access to tunes and podcasts on Sunday after music streaming service Spotify was down temporarily on Sunday.
More than 40,000 people reported outages with the music platform on downdetector.com, a website that allows users to report problems with popular apps and services. Reports started spiking around 10:45 a.m. ET.
In Spotify’s desktop app, some users were greeted with the error message, “Something went wrong,” and attempts to play tracks were unsuccessful. Spotify’s phone app was also unresponsive to some users.
Spotify wrote on X on Sunday afternoon, “We’re aware of some issues right now and are checking them out!”
Responding to the post, Spotify users complained about the outage disrupting workout routines and plans to stream a playlist at a child’s birthday party.
About an hour later, the streaming service posted that everything was looking much better. The app appeared to be working normally.
Millions of people use Spotify, which was the largest streaming service in 2023. The music platform reports having more than 626 million users, with 246 million subscribers.