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California is bracing for its first tropical storm in 84 years with almost 1,000 flights cancelled and the ongoing actors’ strike called off due to the impending extreme weather.

Storm Hilary was previously classed as a Category 4 hurricane but weakened as it approached the Mexican coast, from where it was due to head to California and other states in the southeastern US.

At least nine million people in southern California were under flood warnings as they faced “life-threatening” rain, mudslides, tornadoes, high winds and power outages.

People walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame during the tropical storm Hilary, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 20, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
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People walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame during the tropical storm Hilary

Up to 10 inches of rain were set to fall as mud spilled onto highways, water overwhelmed drainage systems and tree branches fell in places from San Diego to Los Angeles. The storm sustained winds of up to 65mph.

Authorities also said there was a 5% risk of tornadoes in southern California – the first time there has been this level of risk since at least 2002.

Residents in some counties were ordered to evacuate while Governor Gavin Newsom declared southern California in a state of emergency.

Authorities ran out of sandbags and supermarket shelves were empty as residents stockpiled supplies.

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Disneyland closed early, football games were rescheduled and some beaches were closed in anticipation of the storm.

Schools also were set to close on Monday – postponing the start of the new school year.

Long time resident of Long Beach, Gabriella Holt, prepares her home that sits on the strand for Hurricane Hilary's arrival in Long Beach, California, U.S. August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Zaydee Sanchez
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Long time resident of Long Beach, Gabriella Holt, prepares her home that sits on the strand for Hurricane Hilary’s arrival

A worker drags caution tape to block off Pico Boulevard after a tree fell, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. Tropical Storm Hilary swirled northward Sunday just off the coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, no longer a hurricane but still carrying so much rain that forecasters said "catastrophic and life-threatening" flooding is likely across a broad region of the southwestern U.S.(AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
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A worker drags caution tape to block off Pico Boulevard after a tree fell in Los Angeles. Pic: AP

Airports in Las Vegas, San Diego and Los Angeles cancelled close to 1,000 flights on Sunday afternoon while two airlines, Southwest and Frontier, suspended all flights to Ontario International Airport in southern California. Dozens more flights across California were also delayed.

The Writer’s Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, cancelled their scheduled pickets on Monday due to the storm.

Hollywood writers have been on strike since May, with the actors union joining them on strike last month in a row over pay and the impact of streaming and new technologies on the industry.

A vehicle splashes through puddles along a street starting to flood in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles as a tropical storm moves into the area on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. Tropical Storm Hilary is no longer a hurricane but it's still packing what forecasters call "life-threatening" rain as it speeds up Mexico's Baja coast toward Southern California. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
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A vehicle splashes through puddles along a street starting to flood in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles. Pic: AP

The unions plan to resume picketing on Tuesday.

Other states such as Nevada, Oregon and Idaho are also set to experience once-in-a-century rain as Storm Hilary moves east, with the Nevada governor declaring a state of emergency on Sunday afternoon.

Bad weather during summer is rare for California – the average rainfall for Los Angeles in August is 0 inches.

The city is predicted to have at least three to five inches, while hills not far away are predicted to get up to 10 inches.

The aftermath in Baja California Pic: Edith Aguilar
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The aftermath in Baja California. Pics: Edith Aguilar

The aftermath in Baja California Pic: Edith Aguilar
The aftermath in Baja California Pic: Edith Aguilar

Michael Brennan, director of the US National Hurricane Centre said some areas could get the amount of rain in hours that they typically get in an entire year.

“You do not want to be out driving around, trying to cross flooded roads on vehicle or on foot,” he said during a briefing from Miami.

“Rainfall flooding has been the biggest killer in tropical storms and hurricanes in the United States in the past 10 years and you don’t want to become a statistic.”

As preparations were under way, southern California got another surprise when an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 struck near Ojai, about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Los Angeles, according to the US Geological Survey.

No immediate reports of major damage or injury were issued.

It comes as one person died when deadly flooding from Storm Hilary made landfall in Mexico‘s Baja California state.

Deadly floodwaters have left streets inundated along the length of the Baja California peninsula, reported the Associated Press news agency.

Caution tapes prevent the passage at El Medano beach, as Hurricane Hilary hits Mexico's Baja California peninsula, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Monserrat Zavala NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
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Caution tapes prevent the passage at El Medano beach

Rescue workers saved four other people in the town of Santa Rosalia when a vehicle was swept away in an overflowing stream.

The storm has left floodwaters surging, with homes and cars destroyed.

The storm is the latest major weather disaster to hit the US, as the Hawaiian island of Maui continues to grapple with last week’s wildfire that killed more than 100 people and destroyed the historic town of Lahaina.

Hurricane Hilary off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Pic: NOAA via AP
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Hurricane Hilary off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Pic: AP

Meanwhile, firefighters in Canada are battling blazes during the nation’s worst fire season on record.

The last tropical storm to hit California was in September 1939 when nearly 100 people were killed as it capsized boats and ripped houses from their foundations.

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Pope Francis’s final moments reveal how quickly he deteriorated before death

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Pope Francis's final moments reveal how quickly he deteriorated before death

Pope Francis died little more than half an hour after being taken ill, Vatican sources have told Sky News.

Pope Francis woke at 6am on Monday, and was fine for at least an hour, sources said, as they revealed details of the pontiff’s final moments.

Around 7am, the Vatican’s medical unit received an emergency call from his Casa Santa Marta apartment.

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Where will Pope Francis be buried?

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An urgent transfer to the Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia earlier this year, was among the options considered.

A request for an urgent escort from the Vatican was received by Rome police after 7am, sources there said, but, given how quickly his condition worsened, it was cancelled by Vatican officials before 7.35am.

Francis died at the age of 88, a day after making his final public appearance at St Peter’s Square, where he greeted crowds on Easter Sunday, one of the most important days of the Christian calendar.

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First images of pope’s casket

The Vatican said he died from a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.

He is currently lying in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household.

Francis will be laid to rest Saturday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects.

The funeral will take place outside, in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica, and will start with a procession led by a priest carrying a cross, followed by the coffin and ordained clergy.

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‘Many were in tears, I was in tears’

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead the service. Nine days of mourning begin afterwards.

Unlike his predecessors, Francis will be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), as per his final burial wishes, announced on Monday.

The basilica is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, and is where Francis traditionally went to pray before and after foreign trips.

He will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.

In another change from tradition, he will be buried in a simple wooden casket, forgoing the centuries-old practice of burying the late pope in three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead, and oak.

Prince William will attend the funeral on behalf of King Charles, Kensington Palace has said.

Cardinals will gather in a conclave to choose his successor afterwards.

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Francis, the first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff, had suffered from a chronic lung disease and had part of a lung removed as a young man.

Health issues plagued him throughout his later life, and he was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on 14 February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He stayed at the hospital for 38 days before being released.

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Kristi Noem: Top Trump official’s handbag – containing $3,000 in cash and security pass – stolen in burger restaurant

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Kristi Noem: Top Trump official's handbag - containing ,000 in cash and security pass - stolen in burger restaurant

A bag belonging to the US Homeland Security Secretary was stolen on Sunday night – containing thousands of dollars in cash and an ID card that gives access to secure agency buildings.

Kristi Noem was eating at a Washington DC burger restaurant with family when a man in a face covering sat near her table and stole her purse, according to two people familiar with the theft.

Officials confirmed the theft to Sky News’ US partner NBC News on Monday.

The cabinet secretary was carrying $3,000 (£2,243) in cash because “her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren”, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NBC.

“She was using the withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities and Easter gifts.”

US Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem visited CECOT in March. Pic: Reuters
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The purse contained her ID card. Reuters file pic

Just before 8pm, a man wearing an N-95 mask walked into the restaurant and up a few stairs to where Ms Noem was eating dinner.

He sat near her table and moved his chair close to hers before sliding her purse toward him with his foot, according to surveillance footage viewed by law enforcement, the sources said.

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Within minutes, the man had Ms Noem’s purse under his jacket and walked out of the restaurant.

At least two on-duty members of the US Secret Service were in the restaurant – between Ms Noem and the front doors – according to a source who witnessed the meal.

They said the restaurant wasn’t very busy at the time.

The purse also contained credit cards, blank cheques, her passport, driver’s licence and a set of keys.

It’s unclear whether Ms Noem was specifically targeted – and investigators are looking into whether the man knew who the purse belonged to.

When asked about the incident, Ms Noem said: “I don’t think I can comment on it yet. It’s not resolved yet.”

She said the Secret Service was aware but said she hadn’t spoken to agency personnel about what happened.

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Ms Noem is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump’s policies of deporting undocumented immigrants and fortifying the US-Mexico border to slow illegal migration.

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Starmer and Zelenskyy discuss ending Russia’s ‘brutal war’ – as Putin says says he is open to bilateral talks on longer ceasefire

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Starmer and Zelenskyy discuss ending Russia's 'brutal war' - as Putin says says he is open to bilateral talks on longer ceasefire

Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about ending Russia’s “brutal war” on Ukraine in their latest phone call on Easter Monday, as Vladimir Putin said he was open to bilateral talks.

The prime minister and Ukrainian president spoke on Monday afternoon, when Sir Keir “reiterated his iron-clad support for Ukraine“.

A Downing Street spokesperson added that the prime minister “said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russia to commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war”.

“They discussed the latest developments on the Coalition of the Willing, and looked forward to further progress towards a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson added.

Mr Zelenskyy later said on social media that he had a “good and detailed conversation” with the prime minister, and added Ukrainian officials will be in London for talks on ending the war with Russia on Wednesday.

“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace,” he added.

The Ukrainian president added that the 30-hour Easter truce, which both Kyiv and Moscow accuse the other of violating, showed that Russia “are prolonging the war”.

It comes as Mr Putin proposed bilateral talks with Ukraine on a longer ceasefire, which would mark the first time Russia held such talks since a failed peace deal soon after the invasion in 2022.

Speaking to a state TV reporter, the Russian president said: “We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative (the Easter truce), especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days.”

When asked about Mr Zelenskyy’s calls to extend the 30-hour ceasefire into a 30-day pause on civilian targets, he added: “This is all a subject for careful study, perhaps even bilaterally. We do not rule this out.”

The Ukrainian president said on Sunday evening that the Russian army had “violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times” during the day, and accused Russia of “failing” to “uphold its own promise of a ceasefire”.

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From Saturday: Why Putin offered an Easter truce?

It also comes after Donald Trump has said he hopes Russia and Ukraine “will make a deal this week,” after he and his secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US will walk away from efforts to broker a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.

The US president said on his Truth Social platform that both countries would “start to do big business” with the US after ending the war.

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Who could be the next pope?

Last month, Ukraine accepted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, but Mr Putin refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire, saying crucial issues of verification had not been sorted out.

He then said he would agree not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. However, both sides have accused each other of breaking the moratorium on attacks on energy targets and at sea.

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