A day after a strong nor’easter hit New Hampshire, tens of thousands of customers are still without power.

Heavy, wet snow and strong winds from a nor’easter caused power outages throughout the day Tuesday as downed trees and power lines.

>> Updates: Closures

Eversource said there are 800 crews in New Hampshire, including some from Canada, helping to restore power.

“Right now, it’s going to be a multi-day restoration effort,” said Eversource’s William Hinkle. “Customers without power now, many will be restored by the end of today, or the day after tomorrow for those without power today.”

When long-term storms like this come through, Hinkle said crews work in rotation to keep the lights on.

“One of the main behind-the-scenes efforts to prepare for a storm like this is the logistics of ensuring shelter and food and meals for the out-of-state teams that come to support,” Hinkle said. .

Visit the following links to view the latest outage maps at any time. Customers without power are reminded to report the outage to their utility provider at least once daily until power is restored:

>> View updated New Hampshire power outage maps

Power surge protection

Anyone who sees downed power lines should call 911. Do not touch or run over them as they are still live wires. If a line falls on your car, stay in the car until emergency crews arrive.

People are also urged to stay at least 35 feet away from low lines and anything they fall into.

State fire officials urged those without power to use caution when using generators or alternative heat sources.

Residents should only use generators that have been properly wired to their home by a professional, officials said.

Generators should be operated outside and at least 10 feet away from a building, with exhaust vents away from the home.

Improperly installed or operated generators can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. Anyone who suspects carbon monoxide in a home or building is asked to evacuate immediately and call 911 before calling the State Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222.

WASHINGTON — Republican senators on Tuesday slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for saying that defending Ukraine against Russian aggression is not a “vital” U.S. interest.

“I totally disagree with his comments,” said Sen. said Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

About half a dozen of Wicker’s GOP colleagues expressed varying degrees of opposition to DeSantis’ comments on Fox News Monday night.

The high-profile comments by DeSantis, a 2024 presidential hopeful seen by many GOP elites as the main replacement for former President Donald Trump, are intensifying a conflict within the party between conservation hawks who want to preserve the post-World War II order. A right-wing populist faction that wants to withdraw from global affairs.

RN.D [Russian President] I would certainly hate to send a signal to other allies around the world that we don’t care about Vladimir Putin, you’re on your own. Because it would lead to nuclear proliferation, which we have avoided for decades. So no, I think it’s in our interest.

Cramer, who praised DeSantis, said he was “not too surprised” by the comments because DeSantis leads a complicated movement with the party base.

“We have a restless base, and if he’s running for president, he needs to speak to that base a little bit,” Kramer said. “That’s not to say it’s not his position, but I think he is. The president of the United States and he has that authority, and then he explained the details well enough to make a decision. But hopefully the position will evolve little by little.”

DeSantis’s view that Russia’s war in Ukraine is a “territorial dispute” between the two sides, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Rejected.

“This is not a territorial dispute — it would be a territorial dispute if the United States decided to invade Canada or take over the Bahamas,” Rubio told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “Just because someone claims something doesn’t mean it belongs to them. It is an invasion.”

Rubio added: “I don’t know what he’s trying to do or what the goal is. Obviously, he doesn’t deal with foreign policy every day as governor.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., said DeSantis’ comments reflect a “misunderstanding of the context.”

“This is not a territorial conflict. It’s a war of aggression,” he said, adding that DeSantis “is a great governor, but in my opinion, if you don’t get Ukraine right, it’s an opportunity to stop Putin before it turns into a big war. – and China is taking notice.

RS.D “As you know there are various opinions within the membership of our party.”

Many Republicans have said that protecting Ukraine is ultimately about protecting the United States and its allies in Europe.

“They are a vital interest,” Sen. said Rep. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. “We are basically defending NATO and Europe.” But he said there is a valid debate about how far the U.S. can go in helping Ukraine. “We’re broke,” he said. “We have to have a better plan.”

Sen. John F. Kennedy, R-La., said: “I don’t want America to be the policeman of the world, but I don’t want Vladimir Putin or [Chinese President] Xi Jinping should also be the world’s policeman. I have never seen our aid to Ukraine as charity. I saw it as self-preservation.

Other Republicans said the issue would spark a primary debate.

“I think that before any of the individuals who are interested in serving as the next president of the United States make up their mind on this particular issue, they should get a full explanation,” Sen. Mike Rounds, RSD, told reporters.

“So we’ll see how it moves. But we’re seeing a lot of people in the 2024 race and we’ll find out whether others feel the same way or not.

(CNN) A Russian fighter jet Forcefully shot down a US Air Force drone A US MQ-9 Reaper drone damaged its propeller over the Black Sea on Tuesday, according to the US military.

A Reaper drone and two Russian Su-27s were flying in international waters over the Black Sea on Tuesday when a Russian jet deliberately flew ahead and repeatedly dumped fuel on the unmanned drone, a statement from the US European Command said.

The aircraft then struck the drone’s propeller, prompting US forces to bring the MQ-9 drone down in international waters. Pentagon spokesman Brig. General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday that the Russian plane flew “in close proximity” to the drone for 30 to 40 minutes before it crashed shortly after 7 a.m. CET.

“While our MQ-9 aircraft were conducting routine operations in international airspace, the MQ-9 was intercepted and attacked by a Russian aircraft, causing the MQ-9 to crash and become a total loss,” Air Force Gen. James P. Hecker, commander of US Air Force Europe and Air Force Africa, said in the statement. “In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional action by the Russians almost caused both planes to crash.”

The incident is the first time since Russia that Russian and US military aircraft have made direct physical contact Invaded Ukraine A year ago, and likely to escalate tensions between the two countries, the US called Russia’s actions “irresponsible, environmentally unfriendly and unprofessional”.

Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, arrived at the State Department on Tuesday afternoon and did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Antonov is expected to meet with Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Danfried, a senior State Department official said. He was summoned to the department “to convey our strong objections,” department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday, and U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynn Tracy “conveyed a strong message to the Russian Foreign Ministry.”

President Joe Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was briefed on the incident Tuesday morning, National Security Council communications coordinator John Kirby said. Ryder said Defense Department officials “have not specifically spoken to Russian officials” about the incident.

Price said separately that the US was “engaging at a high level with our allies and partners” to inform them of the incident. He said the United States was “not in a position to talk about what the Russians wanted to do” with the maneuvers, but ultimately the intent was less than “what actually happened.”

Kirby said it was “unusual” for Russian aircraft to intercept U.S. aircraft in the Black Sea, adding that other interceptions had taken place in recent weeks.

But he said Tuesday’s episode was unique in how “unsafe, unprofessional and irresponsible” the Russian actions were.

The Russian Defense Ministry denied contact with the drone in a statement on Tuesday, saying warplanes “scrambled to identify the intruder” after spotting the intruder in the Black Sea, adding that the drone “entered an unguided aircraft with a loss of altitude.” .”

“The drone flew with its transponders, exceeding the boundaries of the temporary airspace regime established for special military operations, communicating with all users in international airspace and issued in accordance with international standards,” the ministry said.

The U.S. Department of Defense is currently declassifying images from the incident, Ryder said Tuesday. He also said that Russia did not recover the downed drone.

Russian and American aircraft operated during the Black Sea Ukraine warBut this is the first known such interaction, a fatal escalation at a crucial time in the fight.

The US has been operating Reaper drones in the Black Sea since before the start of the war, and has been using spy drones to monitor the area. According to the Air Force, Reaper drones can fly at altitudes of 50,000 feet and have the sensitivity and capabilities to gather intelligence and conduct long-range surveillance, making them ideal platforms for monitoring movements on the battlefield and in the Black Sea. .

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Kevin Lipdock, Katarina Krebs and Radina Kikova contributed reporting.

WASHINGTON — The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have come under fresh scrutiny over a 2018 law that rolled back some banking regulations, with some Democrats calling for the restoration of those rules as the federal government moves to protect SVB depositors.

“Congress, the White House and banking regulators must reverse dangerous Trump-era banking regulations. Repealing the 2018 law that weakened rules for banks like SVB should be an immediate priority for Congress,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. , wrote a The New York Times Comment Section Monday.

Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., who is running for the Senate, said the House is working on legislation to replace the 2018 law, led by Republicans and signed by then-President Donald Trump.

“Congress—in a bipartisan vote—pushed over Wall Street and loosened our nation’s banking laws. I have no problem standing up to Wall Street, so I’m writing legislation to reverse that dangerous law,” he wrote in a Sunday email to supporters. .

In a speech announcing the federal measures on Monday, President Joe Biden said the deregulation act played a role and called on Congress to tighten banking rules.

“During the Obama-Biden administration, we put tougher requirements on banks like Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, including the Dodd-Frank Act, to make sure the crisis we saw in 2008 doesn’t happen again,” he said. “Unfortunately, the last administration has rolled back some of these requirements. I urge Congress and bank regulators to strengthen rules for banks to prevent bank failures like this from happening again and to protect American jobs and small. businesses.”

Protest against the 2018 Act

Five years ago, Warren was the most outspoken opponent of a push by the Republican-led Congress to repeal regulations imposed on small and medium-sized banks under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. Sen. The bill, led by Rep. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, sought to reclassify the “too big to fail” standard that came with enhanced regulatory scrutiny. Mid-sized banks were exempted from those regulations by raising the limit from $50 billion in assets to $250 billion.

“If Congress and the Federal Reserve do not withdraw strict oversight, SVB and Signature will be subject to strong liquidity and capital requirements to withstand financial shocks,” Warren wrote Monday. “They used to have to conduct regular stress tests to expose their vulnerabilities and improve their businesses. But with those requirements scrapped, when the old-fashioned bank run hit SVB, the bank couldn’t withstand the pressure – and Signature’s collapse was behind it.

Sen who opposed the 2018 Act. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., blamed it for the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

“Let’s be clear. “The failure of Silicon Valley banking is a direct result of the ridiculous 2018 bank deregulation bill signed by Donald Trump, which I strongly opposed,” he said in a statement. “Five years ago, the Republican director of the Congressional Budget Office issued a report that found the law would ‘increase the likelihood that a large financial institution with $100 billion to $250 billion in assets will fail.'”

The 2018 battle featured intense lobbying by banks — including Silicon Valley Bank and an array of smaller community banks — seeking regulatory relief.

In the Senate, a few Democrats needed 60 votes to defeat a filibuster. Warren angered some colleagues when she called out some Senate Democrats by name for trying to weaken the Dodd-Frank rules.

Tensions boiled over in a contentious March 2018 meeting among Senate Democratic leaders before the vote, according to two sources familiar with the closed-door conflict.

One source said Dan Kelton, Warren’s boss at the time, “took a clobbering” from other leaders who were angry that Warren was targeting their bosses. Kelden stood his ground, telling them that bank oversight is a signature issue for him and that no one should be surprised that he’s calling out those who want to roll back Dodd-Frank, the two sources said.

One of the sources said it was “an unusually contentious meeting of leaders”. Another said it was so hot she felt “like throwing a chair”. A few days later, 17 Democrats joined A unanimous Senate Republican convention to pass it. It emptied the council 258-159It won 225 Republicans and 33 Democrats. Trump signed.

Kelton declined to comment on the meeting.

‘Appropriate regulatory status’

One of those Democrats, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner backed the legislation on Sunday when asked if he regretted supporting it.

“I think these mid-sized banks need some regulatory relief,” Warner said on ABC’s “This Week,” adding that the law “put the right amount of regulation into the mid-sized banks.”

Warner said there will be “a lot of time to look back at what regulators did and didn’t do and why banking administrations didn’t get this right.” He called it “Banking 101, Managing Interest Rate Risks.”

“What we have to focus on now is how to make sure that there is no epidemic, and at the same time, you know, that SVB can be acquired,” he said.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who voted for the 2018 legislation while he was in the House.

“They certainly don’t need any restrictions. It doesn’t mean you’re going to be mismanaged,” he said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” “We’ve seen a sharp increase in interest rates, which has put some of the smaller banks at odds with their own balance sheets. Now, of course, the Federal Reserve is trying to change its balance sheet at the same time. Maybe we need to review all of that a little bit more. But the smaller banks need more oversight and I don’t think there’s a need for more regulation — perhaps better oversight, but certainly not more regulation.”

Another supporter of the deregulation measure, Sen. Kirsten Sinema, I-Ariz. He was a member of the House and ran for the Senate at the time.

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is running for Cinéma’s seat in 2024, issued a statement Monday saying he voted against the 2018 legislation. attacking her

“What’s the difference between Senator Cinema and me?” Gallego said. “When banking lobbyists asked me to weaken banking regulations, I said no. When they asked Senator Sinema, he asked how much – and voted yes. Now we are all going to pay for her mistake.

Beijing (AP) – An Agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic relations It has also catapulted China into a leading role in Middle Eastern politics – a role previously reserved for longtime global heavyweights such as the United States and Russia. This is another sign that China’s diplomatic influence is growing to match its economic footprint.

Under strongman leader Xi Jinping, Chinese diplomacy has become known for angry outbursts against the West, threats against Taiwan, aggressive moves in the South China Sea and a refusal to condemn Russia over Ukraine.

The deal reached Friday in Beijing, which agreed to reopen their embassies and exchange diplomats after seven years of tensions, shows a different side of Chinese diplomacy. Xi appears to have played a direct role in the talks by hosting the Iranian president in Beijing last month. He visited the Saudi capital Riyadh in December for meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab states that are critical to China’s energy supplies.

The agreement was seen as a major diplomatic victory for China as the Gulf Arab states see the US as ending its involvement in the Middle East.

“I think it’s a sign that China is more confident in taking a more assertive role in the Middle East,” said Muhammad Zulfikar Rakmat, an Indonesian academic affiliated with the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

China’s economic interests are increasingly drawing it into conflicts far from its shores. It remains the largest customer for Middle Eastern energy exports, while the US has reduced demand for imports as the country moves toward energy independence.

June Teufel Dreyer, a political scientist at the University of Miami who specializes in Chinese politics, said Chinese officials have long argued that Beijing should play a more active role in the region.

Meanwhile, Dreyer said, US-Saudi frictions had “created a vacuum that Beijing was happy with.”

China has invested heavily in regional energy infrastructure. It has occasionally contributed naval ships to join anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, although since the 1980s the U.S. Navy has served as the main security guarantor of the Middle East littoral.

In a statement issued on SaturdayAn unidentified spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said Beijing was “not pursuing any selfish interests”.

“China has no intention and is not seeking to fill the so-called vacuum or set up exclusive blocs,” it pointed out to the US.

At the end of the ceremonial annual session of the Legislative Assembly on Monday, President Xi Jinping said China should “actively participate in the reform and construction of the global governance system” and promote “global security efforts”.

The diplomatic victory comes as Washington sharply criticized China for failing to condemn Russia’s invasion and accusing the US and NATO of fomenting the conflict.

However, many Middle Eastern governments view China as a neutral party, with strong ties to both Saudi Arabia, China’s largest oil supplier, and Iran, which relies on China for 30% of its foreign trade, in which China has pledged to invest $400 billion. Over 25 years. Iran, which has few export markets because of sanctions over its nuclear program, sells oil to China at a substantial discount.

The deal “boosts Beijing’s ability to project itself as a constructive actor for peace, helping to fend off accusations from the West that it supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” said Taipei-based analyst Amanda Seo. International Crisis Group.

“China is trying to compete with the US in foreign diplomacy, not just in its immediate neighborhood,” said Wang Lian, a professor of international relations at Beijing’s prestigious Peking University. Wang said the two countries “have confidence in China” for the successful negotiations.

In 2002, China created a special envoy for the Middle East with a focus on Israel and the Palestinian Authority. While China sells drones and other weapons to countries in the region, it does so nowhere on the scale of the United States and without political conditions.

Earlier, China moved aggressively to build ties in the South Pacific, signing Security Treaty with the Solomon Islands Chinese naval vessels and defense forces can be seen stationed in the country. The United States, Australia and other countries moved quickly to strengthen ties in the Pacific, and China’s efforts to sign similar agreements with other island nations eventually foundered.

Having secured a third five-year term in violation of the rules, Xi appears more confrontational than ever toward the West, his foreign minister warned days ago. Future “conflict and confrontation” with the United States

However, the tough-talking “wolf warrior” strain of diplomacy is mainly reserved for developed countries seen as rivals, while China has been “remarkably diplomatic” with others, Miami’s Dreyer said. China, which has largely written off the democratic West, is willing to forge closer ties with authoritarian regimes from North Korea to Nicaragua.

UN Although China is active in peacekeeping operations, Beijing’s previous third-party mediation efforts have sagged under the weight of its political baggage. A A recent Chinese proposal Ceasefire and peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have gone nowhere.

Yitzhak Shichor, a professor of political science and Asian studies at Israel University, said China’s decision to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia was very deliberate, as both are key to regional stability and the opportunity to “poke the finger” in Washington’s eye. A leading expert on Haifa and Beijing’s relations with the region.

It is too early to tell whether the deal will bring about lasting improvements between the two longtime adversaries. None of their fundamental contradictions seem to have been discussed.

But for Saudi Arabia, the deal could ease its quest to exit its proxy war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. For Iran, it could contribute to greater regional stability at a time of mounting internal troubles.

Not everyone was happy with the deal.

Under political pressure at home, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened military action against Iran’s nuclear program because it is closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Riyadh is taking a potential ally off the table to stay with Tehran.

It’s unclear what the development means for Washington, whose presence in the Middle East has dwindled amid the end of its withdrawal from Iraq and its growing energy independence.

However, the White House grumbled at the notion that the Saudi-Iran deal in Beijing suggests Chinese influence could replace the US in the Middle East. “I would strongly push back on this idea that we’re retreating in the Middle East — far from it,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

The fact that Saudi Arabia struck the deal without Washington shows that they are “trying to diversify their bets on security and not fully trust the United States.”

“The US government has two views on this; It wants the Saudis to take increased responsibility for their own security, but does not want Saudi Arabia to act independently and undermine U.S. security strategies,” Alderman wrote.

“History will hold Donald Trump accountable on January 6th,” Pence told hundreds of reporters at the typically humorous white-tie affair. “Make no mistake about it: What happened that day was a disgrace, and to portray it in any other way is an insult to dignity. What President Trump did was wrong. His reckless words put my family and everyone in the Capitol at risk that day.

Pence used similar words to address Trump in his book — writing that his former boss’ “irresponsible words put my family and everyone who works at the Capitol at risk.”

But his advisers saw the gridiron dinner as an opportunity not only to echo those sentiments but to amplify them. They also hoped it would help Pence win over his most skeptical audience these days: Washington insiders and journalists who gave him short shrift in early 2024.

“It was a different audience for him,” said Mark Short, Pence’s former vice presidential chief of staff and his senior adviser.

Pence’s world has long believed that the former congressman and Indiana governor could take the path to adulthood in 2024, now that he is in a unique position to speak truth to power as he is free of the constraints of the vice presidency.

“Mike is in another place where he can be free and free in ways that I don’t think other people in the industry have,” Short said. “So I don’t see where he is at the moment. I believe he’s got a good path forward.

A person close to Pence, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak without the endorsement of the new campaign, noted that Pence has more room to grow among Republican primary voters than a rival like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis, a person close to Pence, said that the combination of Ronald Reagan and Willie Nelson and Bono all together had sky-high expectations. But he is everything to everyone now, because no one really knows him. Pence, the person added, “is almost on the other side of it. Everyone thinks they know him. They think they have an expectation of who he is. Then when they meet them, they say, ‘I don’t think so. He is funny. He is personable. He is good.”

It remains to be seen if GOP primary voters want someone fun, personable and nice. Trump’s election victory was the opposite. DeSantis’ charisma owes a great deal to his battles with his political opponents.

Pence’s inner circle includes the late Sen. It looks to John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 2008 campaign as a template. Then, as Pence is now, McCain found himself written off by other contenders — considered a relic of outdated politics when he rode the Straight Talk Express. They point out that as a congressman, Pence often freelanced for Fox News hits and bantered with reporters in wide-ranging hallway interviews before becoming governor and then vice president.

Those close to Pence are trying to help him regain some of his freewheeling attitude, ensuring that his campaign events include fireside chats and don’t take a pragmatic stance that the press is the enemy.

Pence — Joined Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in 2006. Start a Congressional caucus for press freedom – Delivered on Saturday night. “We were able to stay part of our position because you stayed in your position,” he told reporters of the attack on the Capitol. “The American people know what happened that day because you didn’t stop reporting.”

But there are limits to how far Benz can go. He is fighting a subpoena to testify about that day, though he has called it crucial to be transparent about what happened on Jan. 6 — something he argues is based on protecting the separation of powers as Senate president. His criticism of Trump’s actions surrounding the insurgency was not echoed by any other major candidate in the field. While the gridiron comments were harsh, they didn’t roll off the camera — Pence’s advisers denied playing into their calculation in attacking Trump.

Fresh off his gridiron appearance, Pence will campaign in New Hampshire on Thursday and Iowa on Saturday, two early Republican primary states where he has drawn attention along with South Carolina. Specifically, for his Iowa caucus victories in 2008 and 2016, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and his aides are eyeing the rebuilding of his predecessor, then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

“If there’s a caucus of 150,000 people and I can put him one-on-one in front of 150,000 people, do I have a chance of winning?” A person close to Pence said. “I would tell you absolutely, unequivocally, yes.”