Thursday, May 12 top stories

It is Thursday, May 12. Here are today’s top stories.

Destructive wildfire near Laguna Beach

On Wednesday night and overnight today, a wildfire destroyed over 20 homes near Laguna Beach, California. The fire is called the Coastal Fire. It started burning residential areas around 3 p.m. local time and was fanned by ocean winds. Many homes that were valued at several million dollars were destroyed.

There are no reports of residents being harmed and it seems like most evacuated in time. One firefighter was injured.

Firefighters said it was difficult to control the flames because of the steep terrain. There were aircraft dropping water and fire retardant on the hills.

An Orange County fire official said that he unfortunately thinks that this is what we will experience over the next several weeks and years because the vegetation is so dry that it’s easy for fires to spread quickly.

Image of black hole at center of Milky Way

Astronomers said they’ve captured the first image of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, the galaxy that we’re in.

The black hole is called Sagittarius A*. It is four million times bigger than our sun.

The image had false colors added to it to show the shape of the black hole. The orange-yellow color represents radio waves detected from hot plasmas swirling on the edge of the black hole.

It is not the first time that we’ve seen an image of a black hole, just the first time we’ve seen the black hole in the galaxy we are in. This image from 2019 was the first image of a black hole, which is from a galaxy 53 million light-years from Earth.

Both images were captured by the Event Horizon Telescope, which is a global network of radio telescopes. Scientists believe that most galaxies have a black hole at their center, which has extremely powerful gravity that can suck in light.

Naomi Judd died of self-inflicted gunshot wound

Naomi Judd, a famed country musician, passed away on April 30 of suicide. Her younger daughter, actress Ashley Judd, said in an interview that Naomi used a firearm.

Ashley and her sister Wyonna, who sang with Naomi in a duo called “The Judds,” said their mother died from “the disease of mental illness.” She was 76.

Ashley said in the interview that her family agreed to share the case of death (firearm) so it would not come out in another way, in some kind of gossip. She said she was the one who discovered her mother and now has grief and trauma from it.

Naomi died the day before she and “The Judds” were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Both daughters attended the ceremony and gave an emotional tribute to their mother.

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Jan 6 panel subpoenas McCarthy

The Jan. 6 House Committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol has subpoenaed House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and four other Republican members of Congress.

It is very rare for a Congressional panel to subpoena a sitting member of Congress.

The committee requested testimony from McCarthy and the four others, but they refused to provide it. The committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson said they believe the five Congressmen have important information relevant to their investigation, such as phone calls with Trump on Jan. 6 or other activities related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

One of the five, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa), said this is all a political witch hunt.

Finland to apply for NATO membership

Finland’s president and prime minister both announced that they will apply for NATO membership to strengthen its own security and strengthen NATO’s defense.

Finland borders Russia, so it’s a big deal for Finland to make this move during this time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Axios said if Finland becomes a NATO member, the military alliance’s borders with Russia would “more than double.”

Russia’s government said they are opposed to Finland joining NATO and warned that it would cause serious damage to their relationship and regional security.

Finland’s president Niinistö said Russian President Putin caused this to happen and that he should look at the mirror.

Axios said Sweden is expected to make a similar announcement on its intention to join NATO on Sunday. In order for them to join, they need the approval of NATO’s 30 member states. NATO will have a summit at the end of June.

That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/laguna-beach-fire-nigel-homes-destroyed/

https://www.axios.com/2022/05/12/black-hole-milky-way-image-sagitarrius-a

https://apnews.com/article/black-hole-milky-way-image-e482ee7b773b1053bcb296bbd9abea16

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/12/entertainment/naomi-judd-cause-of-death/index.html

https://www.axios.com/2022/05/12/jan-6-panel-subpoenas-mccarthy-republicans