Rising floodwaters have caused at least 14,000 people to flee their homes in San Jose, California, as storms cause havoc in the state.
The flooding has caused a major road to be closed in both directions south of nearby San Francisco because of water across lanes.
Officials said they did not know when the US 101, a key commuter link into Silicon Valley, would reopen.
Authorities went door-to-door overnight ordering thousands of residents to leave their homes for safety as streams and reservoirs overflowed.
"The water started to seep in the driveway, and then it started to creep up into the front door. It kept getting worse and worse," said Alex Hilario, who walked in knee-high water to get to his car and leave.
The rains are the latest in a series of storms that are generated by so-called atmospheric rivers that dump massive quantities of Pacific Ocean water on California after carrying it from as far away as Hawaii.
Communities in northern California are also bracing for flash floods for the first time in 20 years, after a surge of water was released from the Don Pedro Dam into the Tuolumne River.
Katie Whitley, who manages the Driftwood Mobile Home Park in Modesto, said residents living close to the river have been moving their trailers out since the start of the weekend.
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Cressida Dick: 'Beyond my wildest dreams' to be Met's first female Commissioner
The first female has been appointed Scotland Yard Commissioner in the force's 188 year history.
Cressida Dick, a former acting Deputy Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, will take over from Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, who has held the post since 2011.
Ms Dick said: "I am thrilled and humbled. This is a great responsibility and an amazing opportunity. I'm looking forward immensely to protecting and serving the people of London and working again with the fabulous women and men of the Met.
"It is beyond my wildest dreams. An extraordinary privilege. I am very humbled.
"Thank you so much to everyone who has taught me and supported me along the way."
Ms Dick was one of the UK's most senior female police officers before leaving Scotland Yard to take up a highly sensitive security-related post within the Foreign Office in 2014.
Her return to lead the country's biggest police force is not without controversy, as she was the officer in charge of the flawed operation which led to the death of a young Brazilian man, Jean Charles de Menezes.
He was mistaken for a suicide bomber and shot dead by armed police in 2005.
The de Menezes family, who waged a sustained campaign for justice in the wake of the shooting, called for Ms Dick's application for Commissioner to be blocked.
Earlier this week, they told the Guardian newspaper: "As a family, we have always felt that those at the highest level, the commissioner and those in operational command, should be held responsible for the mistakes and for the misinformation and lies that were told by the police.
"We cannot be expected to accept that the most senior police officer in the country, a post that is expected to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, to command public confidence and ultimately be responsible for ensuring that no police officer acts with impunity, be filled by someone that is clearly tainted by her failure to live up to any of those requirements."
Despite the family's opposition, the new Commissioner is highly regarded within the police service and seen as one of the foremost commanders of her generation.
Although an inquest jury delivered an open verdict over the death of Mr de Menezes, another jury at a subsequent health and safety prosecution said they believed there was "no personal culpability" for then Commander Dick after listening to her evidence.
The 56-year-old's appointment to the £270,000-a-year post will mean that for the first time, all three top policing jobs in the UK are held by women: the Met Commissioner, the head of the National Crime Agency and the president of the National Police Chief's Council.
The appointment also comes at a time when both the Home Secretary and Justice Secretary posts are held by women.
The decision to appoint the new Scotland Yard Commissioner was made by Home Secretary Amber Rudd, in consultation with London mayor, Sadiq Khan, a former human rights lawyer.
As well as policing London, the Scotland Yard Commissioner has other key UK-wide responsibilities, such as counter-terrorism policing and Royal and diplomatic protection responsibilities.
Cressida Dick, a former acting Deputy Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, will take over from Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, who has held the post since 2011.
Ms Dick said: "I am thrilled and humbled. This is a great responsibility and an amazing opportunity. I'm looking forward immensely to protecting and serving the people of London and working again with the fabulous women and men of the Met.
"It is beyond my wildest dreams. An extraordinary privilege. I am very humbled.
"Thank you so much to everyone who has taught me and supported me along the way."
Ms Dick was one of the UK's most senior female police officers before leaving Scotland Yard to take up a highly sensitive security-related post within the Foreign Office in 2014.
Her return to lead the country's biggest police force is not without controversy, as she was the officer in charge of the flawed operation which led to the death of a young Brazilian man, Jean Charles de Menezes.
He was mistaken for a suicide bomber and shot dead by armed police in 2005.
The de Menezes family, who waged a sustained campaign for justice in the wake of the shooting, called for Ms Dick's application for Commissioner to be blocked.
Earlier this week, they told the Guardian newspaper: "As a family, we have always felt that those at the highest level, the commissioner and those in operational command, should be held responsible for the mistakes and for the misinformation and lies that were told by the police.
"We cannot be expected to accept that the most senior police officer in the country, a post that is expected to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, to command public confidence and ultimately be responsible for ensuring that no police officer acts with impunity, be filled by someone that is clearly tainted by her failure to live up to any of those requirements."
Despite the family's opposition, the new Commissioner is highly regarded within the police service and seen as one of the foremost commanders of her generation.
Although an inquest jury delivered an open verdict over the death of Mr de Menezes, another jury at a subsequent health and safety prosecution said they believed there was "no personal culpability" for then Commander Dick after listening to her evidence.
The 56-year-old's appointment to the £270,000-a-year post will mean that for the first time, all three top policing jobs in the UK are held by women: the Met Commissioner, the head of the National Crime Agency and the president of the National Police Chief's Council.
The appointment also comes at a time when both the Home Secretary and Justice Secretary posts are held by women.
The decision to appoint the new Scotland Yard Commissioner was made by Home Secretary Amber Rudd, in consultation with London mayor, Sadiq Khan, a former human rights lawyer.
As well as policing London, the Scotland Yard Commissioner has other key UK-wide responsibilities, such as counter-terrorism policing and Royal and diplomatic protection responsibilities.
Donald Trump 'to revoke transgender bathrooms rule'
Donald Trump is set to revoke guidelines which allow transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice, a White House document suggests.
The President will reverse an initiative that threatened schools with the withdrawal of federal funding if they forced transgender students to use certain bathrooms against their will, according to the draft document obtained by the Reuters news agency.
The landmark directive was issued by the Obama administration in May 2016 "to create and sustain inclusive, supportive, safe, and nondiscriminatory communities for all students".
However, new guidelines drawn up by the Trump administration suggest officials, parents and students "struggled to understand" the change, which will be "withdrawn and rescinded".
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said: "We are hearing that it will be rescinded today."
Sky News US Correspondent Amanda Walker said Mr Trump's directive was likely to face widespread opposition.
She said: "For a lot of people it will be alarming about the direction of tone this administration is taking and the directives it may want to pursue in the future."
During his campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee, Mr Trump said transgender people "should be able to use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate".
However, the President changed his position after coming under criticism from fellow Republicans.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Mr Trump's "view has been for a long time that this is not something the federal government should be involved in, this is a states' rights issue".
Legal experts said the change in policy could affect a Supreme Court case set to be heard next month, involving a transgender teenager who was denied access to a boy's bathroom in Virginia.
While campaign groups welcomed Mr Obama's directive last year, many Republicans dismissed it as an overreach of federal powers.
Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick claimed the move was "blackmail" and said his state would rather forfeit educational funding than comply with the guidance.
However, the former head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said talk of federalism overlooked the "vital and historic role that federal law plays in ensuring that all children are able to attend school free from discrimination".
Some 150,000 American children (0.7%) aged between 13 and 17 identify as transgender, according to a study by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.
The President will reverse an initiative that threatened schools with the withdrawal of federal funding if they forced transgender students to use certain bathrooms against their will, according to the draft document obtained by the Reuters news agency.
The landmark directive was issued by the Obama administration in May 2016 "to create and sustain inclusive, supportive, safe, and nondiscriminatory communities for all students".
However, new guidelines drawn up by the Trump administration suggest officials, parents and students "struggled to understand" the change, which will be "withdrawn and rescinded".
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said: "We are hearing that it will be rescinded today."
Sky News US Correspondent Amanda Walker said Mr Trump's directive was likely to face widespread opposition.
She said: "For a lot of people it will be alarming about the direction of tone this administration is taking and the directives it may want to pursue in the future."
During his campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee, Mr Trump said transgender people "should be able to use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate".
However, the President changed his position after coming under criticism from fellow Republicans.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Mr Trump's "view has been for a long time that this is not something the federal government should be involved in, this is a states' rights issue".
Legal experts said the change in policy could affect a Supreme Court case set to be heard next month, involving a transgender teenager who was denied access to a boy's bathroom in Virginia.
While campaign groups welcomed Mr Obama's directive last year, many Republicans dismissed it as an overreach of federal powers.
Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick claimed the move was "blackmail" and said his state would rather forfeit educational funding than comply with the guidance.
However, the former head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said talk of federalism overlooked the "vital and historic role that federal law plays in ensuring that all children are able to attend school free from discrimination".
Some 150,000 American children (0.7%) aged between 13 and 17 identify as transgender, according to a study by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.
Scientists find three new planets where life could have evolved
Scientists have discovered at least three new planets in our galaxy that could have allowed life to evolve.
The Earth-sized worlds lie in the "Goldilocks zone" of their sun, where temperatures are not too hot or cold, and are thought to be capable of having oceans of water.
They are in a group of at least seven planets orbiting a dwarf star called Trappist-1, in a newly discovered solar system 39 light years from us. A light year is the distance light travels in a year.
Researchers believe no other known star system contains such a large number of Earth-sized and probably rocky planets.
Trappist-1 lies in the Aquarius constellation and has just under a tenth of the mass of our Sun.
The research, led by NASA and its orbiting Spitzer telescope, was supported by, among others, a robotic telescope operated by Liverpool John Moores University (JMU).
The telescope, which is located in the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa, helped detect the planets as they passed in front of their star.
Dr Chris Copperwheat, part of the JMU team, said: "The discovery of multiple rocky planets with surface temperatures which allow for liquid water make this amazing system an exciting future target in the search for life."
The quest to discover definitively whether life could have been sustained elsewhere in the universe has been intensifying since the first planet outside our solar system was found in 1992.
Since then, astronomers have recorded more than 3,500 worlds in 2,675 star systems.
Just last week, NASA announced it had discovered carbon-based organic material, similar to what may have been the building blocks for life on Earth, on Ceres, a dwarf planet located between Mars and Jupiter.
In November, the US space agency's New Horizons spacecraft found evidence that Pluto may have a huge ocean hidden under its frozen surface.
The vast site, containing as much water as all of Earth's seas, could also potentially be a habitat for life.
The Earth-sized worlds lie in the "Goldilocks zone" of their sun, where temperatures are not too hot or cold, and are thought to be capable of having oceans of water.
They are in a group of at least seven planets orbiting a dwarf star called Trappist-1, in a newly discovered solar system 39 light years from us. A light year is the distance light travels in a year.
Researchers believe no other known star system contains such a large number of Earth-sized and probably rocky planets.
Trappist-1 lies in the Aquarius constellation and has just under a tenth of the mass of our Sun.
The research, led by NASA and its orbiting Spitzer telescope, was supported by, among others, a robotic telescope operated by Liverpool John Moores University (JMU).
The telescope, which is located in the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa, helped detect the planets as they passed in front of their star.
Dr Chris Copperwheat, part of the JMU team, said: "The discovery of multiple rocky planets with surface temperatures which allow for liquid water make this amazing system an exciting future target in the search for life."
The quest to discover definitively whether life could have been sustained elsewhere in the universe has been intensifying since the first planet outside our solar system was found in 1992.
Since then, astronomers have recorded more than 3,500 worlds in 2,675 star systems.
Just last week, NASA announced it had discovered carbon-based organic material, similar to what may have been the building blocks for life on Earth, on Ceres, a dwarf planet located between Mars and Jupiter.
In November, the US space agency's New Horizons spacecraft found evidence that Pluto may have a huge ocean hidden under its frozen surface.
The vast site, containing as much water as all of Earth's seas, could also potentially be a habitat for life.
The Gambia: Jammeh's spy master Yankuba Badjie arrested
Gambia's former spymaster and head of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Yankuba Badjie, has been arrested.
Rights groups say the NIA was involved in the disappearance and torture of critics of ex-President Yahya Jammeh.
Mr Badjie is the first of Mr Jammeh's security officials to be taken into custody by the new government.
Mr Jammeh was forced to resign after 22 years in power by The Gambia's neighbours last month after refusing to accept defeat in December's elections.
He has now gone into exile in Equatorial Guinea.
Africa Live: Updates on this and other news stories
Profile: Yahya Jammeh
Behind Gambia's smile
Can Gambia's new leader halt migrant exodus?
Mr Badjie was arrested on Monday along with another former NIA employee.
The agency is cited by Human Rights Watch (HRW) as being an instrument of serious abuses under Mr Jammeh.
In a 2015 report, HRW painted a bleak picture of human rights in The Gambia:
"The government of President Yahya Jammeh frequently committed serious human rights violations including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture against those who voiced opposition to the government," HRW said.
"State security forces most frequently implicated in violations were members of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA)."
According to HRW, those targeted by the intelligence agency included journalists, political opponents, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, many of whom fled The Gambia out of fear.
No official reasons were given for Mr Badjie's arrest.
But he was taken into custody after new President Adama Barrow promised to reform the NIA, which he has renamed the State Intelligence Service.
Rights groups say the NIA was involved in the disappearance and torture of critics of ex-President Yahya Jammeh.
Mr Badjie is the first of Mr Jammeh's security officials to be taken into custody by the new government.
Mr Jammeh was forced to resign after 22 years in power by The Gambia's neighbours last month after refusing to accept defeat in December's elections.
He has now gone into exile in Equatorial Guinea.
Africa Live: Updates on this and other news stories
Profile: Yahya Jammeh
Behind Gambia's smile
Can Gambia's new leader halt migrant exodus?
Mr Badjie was arrested on Monday along with another former NIA employee.
The agency is cited by Human Rights Watch (HRW) as being an instrument of serious abuses under Mr Jammeh.
In a 2015 report, HRW painted a bleak picture of human rights in The Gambia:
"The government of President Yahya Jammeh frequently committed serious human rights violations including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture against those who voiced opposition to the government," HRW said.
"State security forces most frequently implicated in violations were members of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA)."
According to HRW, those targeted by the intelligence agency included journalists, political opponents, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, many of whom fled The Gambia out of fear.
No official reasons were given for Mr Badjie's arrest.
But he was taken into custody after new President Adama Barrow promised to reform the NIA, which he has renamed the State Intelligence Service.
N Korea says Kim Jong-nam murder suspects 'innocent'
North Korean diplomats have called for the immediate release of suspects arrested in connection with the apparent poisoning of a member of the North Korean ruling family.
A statement released by North Korea's embassy on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur dismissed the police account of Kim Jong-nam's death, describing two women held as "innocent".
Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, died after suddenly falling ill at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last week while he was preparing to board a flight to Macau.
Police earlier said that the women detained had coated their hands with toxins and then rubbed them on his face as he stood in front of a ticketing kiosk at a Kuala Lumpur airport.
If the poison was on their hands, the statement asked, "then how is it possible that these female suspects could still be alive?"
One of the women is Indonesian, the other is Vietnamese.
A North Korean man was also detained. The embassy said he was also "arrested unreasonably".
The embassy's remarks came after Malaysian police said a senior official in the North Korean embassy and a staffer at the North's state airline, Air Koryo, were also wanted for questioning.
Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said that both wanted suspects are still in Malaysia and have been called in for questioning, adding that the North Korean diplomat held the rank of second secretary at the embassy.
Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur have enjoyed relatively warm economic ties, with some bilateral trade and citizens from both countries entitled to travel to the other under a unique reciprocal visa-free deal.
But all that could come to an end following a war of words over Malaysia's probe into Kim Jong-nam's death.
While Pyongyang's envoy to Kuala Lumpur has criticised the local police, Malaysia has recalled its ambassador to the North.
READ MORE: Kim Jong-nam's killing one week on: What we know
Meanwhile, South Korea has said from the start that Pyongyang was behind the Kim Jong-nam's death, citing a "standing order" from Kim Jong-un to kill his elder sibling and a failed assassination bid in 2012.
A statement released by North Korea's embassy on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur dismissed the police account of Kim Jong-nam's death, describing two women held as "innocent".
Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, died after suddenly falling ill at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last week while he was preparing to board a flight to Macau.
Police earlier said that the women detained had coated their hands with toxins and then rubbed them on his face as he stood in front of a ticketing kiosk at a Kuala Lumpur airport.
If the poison was on their hands, the statement asked, "then how is it possible that these female suspects could still be alive?"
One of the women is Indonesian, the other is Vietnamese.
A North Korean man was also detained. The embassy said he was also "arrested unreasonably".
The embassy's remarks came after Malaysian police said a senior official in the North Korean embassy and a staffer at the North's state airline, Air Koryo, were also wanted for questioning.
Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said that both wanted suspects are still in Malaysia and have been called in for questioning, adding that the North Korean diplomat held the rank of second secretary at the embassy.
Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur have enjoyed relatively warm economic ties, with some bilateral trade and citizens from both countries entitled to travel to the other under a unique reciprocal visa-free deal.
But all that could come to an end following a war of words over Malaysia's probe into Kim Jong-nam's death.
While Pyongyang's envoy to Kuala Lumpur has criticised the local police, Malaysia has recalled its ambassador to the North.
READ MORE: Kim Jong-nam's killing one week on: What we know
Meanwhile, South Korea has said from the start that Pyongyang was behind the Kim Jong-nam's death, citing a "standing order" from Kim Jong-un to kill his elder sibling and a failed assassination bid in 2012.
'Refugees Welcome' sign unfurled by activists on Statue Of Liberty in New York
Activists have scaled the Statue of Liberty and unfurled a "Refugees Welcome" banner across the national monument in New York.
The protest took place on the day the Department of Homeland Security announced tougher immigration rules - and after Donald Trump announced he was working on a new travel ban.
National park rangers quickly removed the 3ft by 20ft red and white sign from the public observation deck at the top of the statue's pedestal on Tuesday afternoon.
Donald Trump's travel ban: What happens next?
However, not before images of the protest went viral on social media.
Activists calling themselves Alt Lady Liberty later claimed responsibility for the stunt, posting a photograph on Twitter with the caption: "We must heed the words of Lady Liberty: #RefugeesWelcome."
They said in a statement to CNN: "Almost all Americans have descendants from somewhere else. Immigrants and refugees make this country great. And turning away refugees, like we did to Anne Frank, does not make us great. Refugees are welcome here, Muslims are welcome here and immigrants are welcome here.
"And it's not just our ancestors. Every American knows an immigrant or a refugee. We wanted to send a reminder about America when we're at our best - the country that's a beacon of freedom to the world, built by immigrants.
"Walling off countries or entire religions is against our values. That's what the Statue of Liberty stands for."
Fixing a banner to the Statue of Liberty is illegal and an investigation into the stunt is under way.
:: US families fear raids in immigration crackdown
Mr Trump has shown no sign of backing down on his efforts to restrict immigration and to stop potential terrorists from entering the country.
After being forced to consider a brand new executive order to help revive his controversial travel ban, he has said it is likely that "very little" would be changed.
He has previously tweeted a poll which showed 55% of those who voted thought the travel ban was his most popular order so far.
But moves to ban migrants, visitors and refugees from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Sudan - and to build a wall along the US border with Mexico - have triggered anti-Trump protests at home and abroad.
The protest took place on the day the Department of Homeland Security announced tougher immigration rules - and after Donald Trump announced he was working on a new travel ban.
National park rangers quickly removed the 3ft by 20ft red and white sign from the public observation deck at the top of the statue's pedestal on Tuesday afternoon.
Donald Trump's travel ban: What happens next?
However, not before images of the protest went viral on social media.
Activists calling themselves Alt Lady Liberty later claimed responsibility for the stunt, posting a photograph on Twitter with the caption: "We must heed the words of Lady Liberty: #RefugeesWelcome."
They said in a statement to CNN: "Almost all Americans have descendants from somewhere else. Immigrants and refugees make this country great. And turning away refugees, like we did to Anne Frank, does not make us great. Refugees are welcome here, Muslims are welcome here and immigrants are welcome here.
"And it's not just our ancestors. Every American knows an immigrant or a refugee. We wanted to send a reminder about America when we're at our best - the country that's a beacon of freedom to the world, built by immigrants.
"Walling off countries or entire religions is against our values. That's what the Statue of Liberty stands for."
Fixing a banner to the Statue of Liberty is illegal and an investigation into the stunt is under way.
:: US families fear raids in immigration crackdown
Mr Trump has shown no sign of backing down on his efforts to restrict immigration and to stop potential terrorists from entering the country.
After being forced to consider a brand new executive order to help revive his controversial travel ban, he has said it is likely that "very little" would be changed.
He has previously tweeted a poll which showed 55% of those who voted thought the travel ban was his most popular order so far.
But moves to ban migrants, visitors and refugees from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Sudan - and to build a wall along the US border with Mexico - have triggered anti-Trump protests at home and abroad.
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