Tropical Storm Hilary makes landfall in Baja California with 'life-threatening' rain

This is the first time the National Weather Service has ever issued a tropical storm warning for Southern California.

Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall Sunday over Mexico's Baja California peninsula, bringing rain that forecasters warn could be "life-threatening."

The National Weather Service said Hilary, which was downgraded from a hurricane, was still carrying enough rain to make "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding likely over Baja California and portions of the southwestern U.S. through Monday."

As of 11 a.m. Pacific time, Hilary was located about 215 miles south-southeast of San Diego and had maximum sustained wind speeds of 65 mph while it moved at 25 mph.

This is the first time that the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service have ever issued a tropical storm warning for Southern California, according to The Weather Channel.

Throughout the region, grocery store shelves emptied and local governments ran out of free sandbags after residents took them to reinforce their homes and keep water at bay.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/environment/tropical-storm-hilary-makes-landfall-baja-california-life-threatening

Attorneys for an IRS whistleblower who said the Justice Department interfered with the Hunter Biden tax probe commented Sunday that the latest revelations about Hunter Biden's plea deal confirm his testimony.

IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Special Agent Joseph Ziegler investigated Hunter Biden's alleged financial crimes but were removed from the probe after telling Congress that the Justice Department interfered with their investigation.

"Everything we have learned since he came forward has only added to the credibility of the testimony he and SA Ziegler provided," attorneys for Shapley with the firm Nixon Peabody and the nonprofit watchdog Empower Oversight said.

"Now, it appears that if it weren’t for the courageous actions of these whistleblowers, who had nothing to gain and everything to lose, Hunter Biden would never have been charged at all thanks to the sweetheart treatment of federal prosecutors in Delaware," the attorneys also said.

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/irs-whistleblower-gary-shapleys-lawyers-say-latest-hunter-biden-probe-reports

Russian space agency says Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into moon

Russia and India have been competing to become the first nations to land on the moon's south pole.

Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft spun into an uncontrollable orbit and crashed into the moon, the Kremlin's space agency Roscosmos said Sunday.

"The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the moon," Roscosmos said, according to The Associated Press.

The spacecraft reported an "abnormal situation" when it encountered issues as it prepared for its pre-landing orbit. Roscosmos said it then lost contact with the spacecraft on Saturday.

"During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters," the space agency also said.

The spacecraft was scheduled to land Monday on the moon's south pole. It was trying to race to the moon ahead of an Indian spacecraft that was launched July 14 and expected to reach the body by Aug. 23.

Russia launched its first lunar mission in nearly 50 years on Aug. 10 with Luna-25.

https://justthenews.com/world/europe/russian-space-agency-says-luna-25-spacecraft-crashed-moon