March 4 top stories

It is March 4. Hope your weekend was good. Here are today’s top stories.

Blizzard brings nonstop snow to California’s Sierra Nevada

The biggest snowstorm of the season ended in California’s Sierra Nevada on Sunday, causing power outages, freeway closures and avalanche warnings,

The region has been experiencing relentless blizzard conditions since Thursday. Some of the highest snowfall totals so far are more than 7 feet. The highest wind gusts in the mountain peaks were above 190 mph, while lower elevations had gusts of 50 to 100 mph.

As of early Monday, a long stretch of Interstate 80 in California–the main route between Reno and Sacramento remained closed due to the massive blizzard.

There were also two reported tornadoes in California, north of Fresno, over the weekend.

The local residents are being asked to take shelter as heavy snow and strong wind gusts threaten their safety. About 14,700 power customers remained without power in the regions.

A new snowstorm is expected to hit Monday night into Tuesday but further north this time, in far northern California and into parts of Oregon and Washington.

According to the National Weather Service, up to four more feet of snow could fall at some elevations in the Sierra by Wednesday. Winter storm warnings in California’s Sierra Nevada are expected to continue through Wednesday.

Supreme Court rules states cannot kick Trump off 2024 ballots

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that former President Trump should remain on Colorado’s primary ballot, rejecting a challenge to his eligibility for another term.

The all-conservative five member majority wrote that the 14th Amendment did not allow states to bar or remove any federal officer from the ballot, especially the president, without Congress first passing legislation. Four members of the court–the three liberals, plus Justice Amy Coney Barrett–disagreed. The justices gave different reasons, but the decision was unanimous. All of the opinions focused on legal issues, and none took a position on whether Trump had engaged in insurrection.

The ruling is a massive victory for the former president. Trump welcomed the ruling to keep him on the Colorado ballot, issuing a brief statement on social media–“BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!”

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said she was “disappointed” by the US Supreme Court’s decision “stripping states of the authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.” Griswold posted on social media after the ruling: “Colorado should be able to bar oath-breaking insurrections from our ballot.”

White House and Biden campaign declined to comment on the SCOTUS ruling.

Millennials stand to become richest generation by 2044

Multiple sources reported that a huge transfer of wealth will likely make ‘affluent’ millennials – born between 1981 to 1996 – the richest generation in history by 2044 from the annual Wealth Report, which will be released publicly in its detailed format this week.

The research says that generation is expected to inherit roughly $90 trillion worth of assets over the next 20 years from the so-called silent generation and baby boomers. There is an obvious catch: these millennials have to come from families with healthy financial portfolios.

The report has shown that many millennials and Gen Z adults are having a tough time hitting the same milestones as those from previous generations–let alone finding room in their budgets to invest. Soaring rents, rising inflation and student debt have contributed to millennials’ struggles to purchase their own homes or build up their savings. Gen Z is generally defined as people born between 1996 and 2012.

Ultimately, this wealth shift is a result of inheritance from prior generations, largely involving property but also other assets.

Nepal to require all Mt. Everest climbers to use tracking chip

Ahead of the 2024 Mount Everest season, Nepal has announced a new requirement that all climbers must rent and use tracking chips on their journey.

Rakesh Gurung, director of Nepal’s department of tourism, told a news outlet “Some reputable climbing agencies were already using them but now it’s been mandatory for all climbers. It will cut down search and rescue time in the event of an accident.”

Gurung explained that climbers will pay $10-15 a piece for the chips, which will be sewn into their jackets. Once the climber returns, the chip will be removed, given back to the government, and saved for the next person.

Tracking chips use the GPS to share information with satellites.

———

[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]

———

988 Helpline (Description)

Exciting News! The 988 Lifeline launched new American Sign Language services for callers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. It’s a new resource for people to access help when they need it. Visit 988lifeline.org and select “ASL Now.”

———

Caitlin Clark breaks Pete Maravich’s NCAA scoring record

There is a new leading scorer in college basketball. With a free throw with 0.3 seconds to play in the first half against No.3 Ohio State Sunday, Caitlin Clark scored her 3,668th point to pass Pete Maravich for the most points in Division I history, men’s or women’s.

Clark has spent the last few weeks chasing down a number of records. She passed Kelsey Plum on February 15 to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball. In her most recent contest on February 28 against Minnesota, she eclipsed the 3,649 scored by Lynette Woodard, the AIAW large-school leading scorer. Now after passing the total set by Maravich in 1970, she stands atop all of major college basketball.

She announced on social media Thursday that she will be finishing her college career this year and won’t be coming back for a fifth season via the COVID-19 waiver. Instead, she will enter the 2024 WNBA draft.

Clark is projected as the WNBA’s No.1 pick by the Indiana Fever.

See the latest brief on Israel’s war on Gaza from Alex. Here you go.

U.S. drops food aid in Gaza; VP Harris calls for ceasefire

Thanks, Callie. I have a couple of updates about Gaza.

On Saturday, the U.S. military dispatched three cargo planes to drop about 38,000 meals into Gaza to provide humanitarian support to Palestinians suffering during the Israel-Hamas war.

President Biden said he plans to continue to deliver food to Gaza. The next drop is planned for Wednesday.

CBS News said some international aid agencies are criticizing the food drops because it does little to help those who are starving.

The second update is that Vice President Kamala Harris, in a speech on Sunday, said there needs to be an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. She said too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.

This is a change in tone from the Biden administration and it comes after they received a warning of sorts from Michigan’s primary last week in which over 100,000 Democratic voters did not vote for Biden but instead put in “uncommitted” as a form of protest of Biden’s support of Israel in the war.

Over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military since October.

Thanks for that brief. That is all the news stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!

Blizzard brings nonstop snow to California’s Sierra Nevada:

https://weather.com/storms/winter/news/2024-02-29-california-sierra-nevada-preparing-for-blizzard

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/rsl/2024/03/02/real-salt-lake-enjoys-its-snow-day/

Supreme Court rules states cannot kick Trump off 2024 ballots:

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/04/1230453714/supreme-court-trump-colorado-ballot

Millennials stand to become richest generation by 2044:

https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-could-become-the-richest-generation-ever-2024-3

https://fortune.com/2024/02/29/america-wealthest-one-percent-minimum-millennials-richest-generation/

Nepal to require all Mt. Everest climbers to use tracking chip:

https://time.com/6837233/mount-everest-new-requirement-for-climbers/