Happy New Year 2025

Tag: northern

Valentine’s Day 2025: Catch a glimpse of northern lights at THESE places in US; details

If you’re hoping to experience the aurora on Valentine’s Day, here’s some good news for you! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center has predicted solar G1 geomagnetic storm conditions for Thursday evening, leading to aurora displays on Earth by Friday.

According to a report by ABC News on the planetary K-index, which measures the intensity of geomagnetic storms on a scale from zero to nine, a “G1” is categorized as minor, according to NOAA.

Where will Auroras be visible in the US?

According to NOAA’s aurora viewing map, states such as Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Alaska could experience the northern lights in the coming days, provided conditions are favourable.

The report said that depending on the intensity of the solar storm, the auroras might even stretch as far south as northern Michigan and Maine.

How Auroras are formed?

Auroras, also known as the northern and southern lights, are formed when charged particles from the Sun, mainly electrons and protons, interact with Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.

Solar Wind: The Sun constantly releases a stream of charged particles called the solar wind. When solar activity increases, such as during a solar flare or coronal mass ejection, a large number of these particles are sent toward Earth.

Auroras, also known as the northern and southern lights, are formed when charged particles from the Sun interact with Earth’s magnetic field.

Magnetic Field Interaction: As the solar wind reaches Earth, the planet’s magnetic field (the magnetosphere) channels these particles toward the poles, where the magnetic field lines converge.

According to NOAA, the most recent geomagnetic storm will be primarily driven by a high solar wind event. This same solar wind event also triggered a previous G1 storm on Sunday, the report said.

February 14, 2025
Homan, lawmakers signal cooperation on ‘overlooked’ northern border amid migrant spike: ‘Same vision’

EXCLUSIVE: Republican lawmakers representing the Northern Border Security Caucus are looking to meet with border czar Tom Homan about the “overlooked” northern border — with Homan telling Fox News Digital he is keen to work with them “ASAP.”

Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., have written to Homan, congratulating him on his new role as border czar in the new Trump administration.

“As this new administration begins, we, as co-chairs of the Northern Border Security Caucus, want to highlight the importance of protecting the Northern border, which as you well know has been overlooked considering the ongoing crisis at our Southwest border,” they write to Homan, in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

BIDEN ANNOUNCES NEW NORTHERN BORDER DEAL, FENTANYL COALITION WITH CANADA AS IMMIGRATION CRISIS RAGES

Migrants are seen crossing the U.S. northern border. (Customs and Border Protection)

While the overall numbers of migrant encounters are vastly outnumbered by the southern border, with just under 200,000 encounters for FY 2024, it has seen a sharp increase in numbers during the Biden administration. In FY 23, there were more apprehensions than the prior 10 years combined.

“The Northern border has faced an unprecedented rise in encounters during the last administration with FY2024 encounters rising nearly 82% over FY2022. The number of unaccompanied children encountered skyrocketed 262% in the same period,” the lawmakers say. “The Swanton Sector, where a Border Patrol agent was shot and killed on January 20th, has seen an outrageous 1,720% increase in encounters from FY2022 to FY2024.”

NORTHERN BORDER SECTOR SEES 550% INCREASING IN MIGRANT APPREHENSIONS LAST FISCAL YEAR

Chairman Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., leads the first public hearing of a bipartisan congressional task force investigating the assassination attempts against then-former President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Kelly and Zinke announced the reintroduction of the caucus earlier this month for the 119th Congress. The 24-member caucus calls for secure borders and looks to raise awareness of the immigration issues facing the states at the border with Canada.

Telling Homan that he has made it clear that he shares “our same vision for a more safe and secure Northern border,” they invited him to a meeting with the caucus on how “Congress and the new Administration can work together to secure the Northern Border.”

U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) speaks at Montana State University on Aug. 9, 2024 in Bozeman, Montana. (Michael Ciaglo)

In response to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, Homan said he will “engage with them ASAP on ways to secure the northern border to decrease illegal crossings of aliens and narcotics and address the national security vulnerabilities.”

The caucus was founded in 2023 as numbers were spiking at the northern border, and the members have raised concerns about the number of migrants on the terror watchlist who have crossed via the border. They have noted that 87% of all terror watchlisted individuals encountered at ports of entry were apprehended at the northern border.

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In 2023, then-President Joe Biden announced a new deal with Canada that means that migrants who attempt to cross illegally between ports of entry into either country will be returned. It updated a 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement, which did not deal with illegal immigration.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

January 31, 2025
Palestinians flock to northern Gaza after Israel lifts closure

Thousands of Palestinians are streaming back into the northern Gaza Strip Monday after Israel lifted its closure as part of the cease-fire and hostage release deal with Hamas.

Starting at 7 a.m. local time, Palestinians were allowed to cross on foot without inspection via a coastal road passing through part of a military zone bisecting the territory just south of Gaza City, that Israel carved out early in the war. A checkpoint for vehicles opened later on Gaza’s main north-south highway, where traffic was backed up for around 2 miles.

“The transfer of militants or weapons via these routes to the northern Gaza Strip will be considered a breach of the agreement. Do not cooperate with any terrorist entity that may try to exploit you to transfer weapons or prohibited materials,” Israel’s military warned in a statement, according to Reuters.

Hamas is calling the return “a victory for our people, and a declaration of failure and defeat for the (Israeli) occupation and transfer plans,” according to the Associated Press.

ISRAEL, HAMAS REACH DEAL TO ALLOW PALESTINIANS TO RETURN TO NORTHERN GAZA

An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows displaced Palestinians returning to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, following Israel’s decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas. (AP/Mohammad Abu Samra)

Yasmin Abu Amshah, a mother of three, told the AP that she walked about four miles to reach her damaged but still habitable home in Gaza City, where she also saw her younger sister for the first time in more than a year.

“It was a long trip, but a happy one,” she said. “The most important thing is that we returned.”

Around a million people fled to southern Gaza in October 2023, while hundreds of thousands remained in the north, which had some of the heaviest fighting and the worst destruction of the war. In all, around 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, the news agency says.

Israel had delayed the opening of the crossing, which was supposed to happen over the weekend, saying it would not allow Palestinians north until a female civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, was released. Israel said she should have been released before four young female soldiers, who were freed on Saturday.

ISRAELI VICTIMS OF TERROR CONCERNED WITH MURDERERS’ RELEASE FROM PRISON, RELIEVED 7 HOSTAGES BACK HOME

Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Hamas in turn accused Israel of violating the agreement by not opening the crossing.

The Gulf nation of Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, then announced early Monday that an agreement had been reached to release Yehoud along with two other hostages.

Hamas also handed over a list of information about the hostages to be released in the ceasefire’s six-week first phase.

Palestinians are seen Monday walking along a road to northern Gaza. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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Under that phase, Hamas is to free a total of 33 hostages in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. So far under the truce, the terrorist organization has released seven hostages in exchange for more than 300 prisoners. Shiri Bibas and her children Ariel and Kfir were expected to be released over the weekend, but that did not happen. Shiri’s husband, Yarden Bibas, is also among the hostages.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

January 27, 2025