The U.S. at a glance ... NEWS 7
U.S.-Mexico border
Border surge: Thousands of Central
American asylum seekers surged toward
the U.S. during the first weeks of the
Biden presidency, expecting a friendlier
reception from the new administration.
President Trump had authorized border
agents to expel asylum seekers to Mexico
while they awaited hearings, but Mexico
has begun refusing some families, leading
more than 1,000 people detained at the
border this month to be released into the
United States. Border agents left asylum
seekers at bus stations and shelters in
McAllen, Texas, and hundreds of migrants
were released in San Ysidro, Calif. Some
migrants, encouraged by smugglers, believe
the Biden administration will accept all
families who reach the border with chil-
dren. The White House, however, cau-
tioned asylum seekers that most of those
trying to cross to the U.S. would not be
let into the country. “The vast majority of
people will be turned away,” said White
House press secretary Jen Psaki.Millcreek Canyon, Utah
Deadly slide: Four skiers perished in
the mountains just east of Salt Lake
City last week in one of the deadliest
avalanches in state history. The tragedy,
which raised the number of people who
have died from avalanches this winter to
21 across seven states, occurred when a
2½-foot-deep, 250-foot-wide slide began
at an elevation of almost 10,000 feet on
the ridge line between Big Cottonwood
Canyon and Millcreek Canyon. Louis
Holian, 26; Stephanie Hopkins, 26; Sarah
Moughamian, 29; and Thomas Louis
Steinbrecher, 23 were part of a group of
eight skiers in a backcountry area that
authorities had labeled as “high” risk. A
60-year-old man died in an avalanche in
Montana’s Swan Range on the same day.
Karl Birkeland, director of the U.S. Forest
Service National Avalanche Center, says
that climate change has made such events
harder to predict and “creates challenges
for avalanche forecasters.”Sacramento, Calif.
Recall threat: Gov.
Gavin Newsom,
only recently
considered a
probable future
Democratic
presidential
candidate, will
likely face a
recall challenge after activists last week
said they’ve collected 1.4 million of the
roughly 1.5 million signatures needed by
March 15 to trigger an election. Despite
being elected in 2018 with 62 percent
of the vote and earning praise for taking
swift action last summer to slow corona-
virus infections, Newsom has been pum-
meled for California’s disjointed vaccine
rollout, inconsistent lockdown orders,
ongoing school closures, and news that
California paid out $11.4 billion in fraud-
ulent unemployment benefits. Newsom’s
46 percent approval rating began
sinking last fall after he dined
without a mask at an expensive
Napa Valley restaurant, despite
urging constituents to avoid
groups and wear masks.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
defeated Gov. Gray Davis in a
2003 recall election. Newsom
could face voters again in late
summer or fall.New York
Lawsuit fallout: Fox News
Media canceled Lou
Dobbs Tonight
after the prime-
time host was
prominently
named in a lawsuit brought by voting-
technology company Smartmatic alleging
that he and others smeared the firm with
claims that it helped steal the election
from former President Donald Trump.
Smartmatic, which installs voting infra-
structure around the world, cited “
false statements and implications” that,
taken together, cost the company more
than $500 million in future profits—and
had left the business “decimated.” The
lawsuit also names Fox hosts Maria
Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, as well
as lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney
Powell, who led Trump’s fight to over-
turn the election and frequently appeared
on Fox networks. Dominion Voting
Systems, another maker of vot-
ing machines and software,
has also sued Giuliani and
Powell over similar claims,
and has suggested it is likely
to sue Fox as well. Fox, which
gave no reason for canceling Dobbs’
Fox Business Network show, called
Smartmatic’s lawsuit “meritless.”Calabasas,
Calif.
Pilot error: The
helicopter pilot
who crashed
into a Southern
California
hillside last
year, killing
basketball legend Kobe Bryant and eight
others, violated safety rules by flying
into thick clouds, federal investigators
concluded this week. Pilot Ara Zobayan
was flying the Los Angeles Lakers icon,
41; his daughter Gianna, 13; two other
teenage girls; their family members; and
a coach to a youth basketball game on
Jan. 26, 2020, when he tried to climb to
4,000 feet to escape the clouds, but fog
caused Zobayan to experience “spatial
disorientation,” lose control of his chop-
per, and dive into a hill, investigators said.
Investigators suspect Zobayan was trying
to avoid disappointing Bryant, a long-
time client, though they said there was
no evidence Bryant himself pressured the
pilot to keep flying. Similar circumstances
led to crashes killing Buddy Holly, Patsy
Cline, Aaliyah, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.Oldsmar, Fla.
Water system hacked: A still unidenti-
fied hacker briefly gained control of the
city’s water treatment facility last week
and tried to flood the water supply with
lye. Officials said that an operator at the
plant noticed in the morning that some-
one had remotely taken control of the
mouse on his computer. The employee
ignored the intrusion until 5½ hours
later, believing that a supervisor was
using his machine. At that point, it was
clear that a hacker was trying to increase
the amount of sodium hydroxide—which
is the active ingredient in drain cleaner
but is also used to remove metals from
drinking water—from 100 parts per mil-
lion to 11,100 parts per million. Pinellas
County, Fla., Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said
that at no time were residents in danger,
and that the spiked water wouldn’t have
reached
drinking taps
until at least
24 hours
had elapsed.
Nonetheless,
he added,
“This is dan-
AP, gerous stuff.”
Fo
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AP,
Go
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Facing backlashDobbs canceledKobe and GiannaTargeted by hacker