All publications of Kristian Guttensen . Houston , United States of Ame

Many people take advantage of Memorial Day to either visit family or friends or play host to loved ones, but rain can derail plans. Fortunately, this year, people across the country should have at least one nice day for any barbecuing or other outdoor plans they may have. Originally called Decoration Day, it was initially celebrated on May 30. The federal holiday gradually became known as Memorial Day and in 1968 was moved to the last Monday of May when Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This year, Memorial Day falls on May 27. At times confused with Veterans Day, which is celebrated in November and honors all living veterans, Memorial Day is a time to remember those who passed away serving their country. The first long weekend of the (almost) summer season, people across the country seize the opportunity to spend time in the sunshine. However, you know what they say about the best-laid plans and in years past, May’s fickle weather has put the kibosh on outdoor plans. While the Midwest is looking at a wet weekend, southeast cities, such as New Orleans and Atlanta, could reach and surpass 90 degrees, according to The Weather Channel. New York City Those planning to stay in or visit New York City for Memorial Day Weekend are looking at lovely weather, which is particularly nice for Navy sailors in white uniforms in the Big Apple for Fleet Week. Monday, according to The Weather Channel, will have the best weather with a mostly sunny forecast and a high of 81. Sunday will be the hottest day with a high of 86 degrees but will be partly cloudy, which could make it a great day to be outside. Saturday is forecasted to be the coolest day at only a high of 70 degrees, although, it’s expected to be mostly sunny. Washington, D.C. Heading south, the nation’s Capital could break 91 degrees on Sunday, according to The Weather Channel. Both Sunday and Monday are forecasted to be partly cloudy, but the temperature should dip slightly on Monday to a high of 84 degrees. Saturday, which should be mostly sunny, will be slightly cooler with a high of 80 degrees. Still, it could be near-perfect weather for a day spent on the National Mall. Chicago Moving west, in Chicago, Memorial Day Weekend may be better spent with deep dish than the deep end of the pool. Morning thunderstorms are expected for Saturday and Sunday, according to The Weather Channel, and highs of 77 and 62 respectively. Unfortunately, this seems like a time for the saying, “cheer up, it can always get worse,” because on Monday, Chicago’s looking at scattered thunderstorms throughout the day, according to The Weather Channel. Dallas Memorial Day Weekend revelers in the southwest may have the biggest gamble with the weather this weekend, as it’s a bit of a mixed forecast. Saturday, according to The Weather Channel, could have showers in the morning but sun in the afternoon and a high of 90 degrees. While not ideal for many who want a whole day of sun, it’s perfect for anyone who wants to be able to sleep in and still carpe solis. Sunday and Monday also have a 40 percent chance of morning showers with a high of 89 degrees, as reported by The Weather Channel. Los Angeles Coming as a possible surprise to some, Los Angeles is looking at the chilliest Memorial Day Weekend out of all the cities mentioned in this article. Monday will likely be the best day weather-wise, as The Weather Channel predicted it would be sunny with a high of 67 degrees. Sunday is only forecasted to have a high of 61 degrees with a 30 percent chance of rain in the morning. Saturday’s forecast was partly cloudy with a high of 68 degrees and a low of 57. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/memorial-day-weekend-forecasts-is-rain-heading-your-way/ar-AABTJPL

The bodies of a man and a woman were discovered Friday in a submerged vehicle near the Mississippi River in Missouri, bringing the death toll to nine from storms that have ravaged the central U.S. this week and threaten major flooding through the holiday weekend. John Reinhardt, 20, and Caitlin Frangel, 19, both of Hazelwood, Missouri, were reported missing May 15. Their bodies were found around 4 a.m. on a flooded rural road that runs along the river at Portage Des Sioux, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of St. Louis. Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Dallas Thompson said an autopsy determined they both drowned. "We believe they went into it in the dark, not knowing the roadway was flooded, and they were unable to get out," Thompson said. Heavy rain in recent weeks has spurred major flooding in several states. Flooding along the Arkansas River will threaten communities from Tulsa into western Arkansas through at least the holiday weekend, officials said Friday, as water released from an Oklahoma dam combines with additional rain in the forecast. To control flooding in Tulsa, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday began increasing the amount of water being released into the river from the Keystone Dam northwest of the city of about 400,000 people. "The dam is doing what it is supposed to do. It has maintained the flood to a manageable level," said Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford, following an aerial tour of the region. The river in Tulsa was just above 22 feet (6.71 meters) Friday, four feet (1.22 meters) above flood stage, and was expected to remain at that level through Tuesday. Riverside residents were urged to leave their homes and at least one oil refinery suspended operations. "The most disturbing thing that I've heard in the last 24 hours from our first responders are reports of parents letting their kids play in the river," said Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum. "If you're a parent that's letting your kid play in this river right now, you ought to be ashamed of yourself." Arkansas officials braced for record flooding as the water moves downstream. Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared a state of emergency Friday to lift hurdles in what state agencies can do to assist flooded areas along the Arkansas River. The proclamation came after he ordered the state's National Guard to station high-water rescue teams in the western part of the state by Saturday and the Corps of Engineers warned residents to stay off the river throughout the Memorial Day holiday weekend. "We hope people are getting to safer areas now," said Aric Mitchell with the Fort Smith, Arkansas, police department. The Arkansas River is expected to reach 41 feet (12.5 meters) by Sunday near Fort Smith, which is the state's second-largest city with nearly 89,000 residents. That's nearly 20 feet (6 meters) above flood stage and 3 feet (0.9 meters) above the record of 38.1 feet (11.61 meters) set in 1945. "Nearby business, residences could be flooded ... it's going to be a mess," said National Weather Service meteorologist Pete Snyder. "We've not seen it get this high before. It's a different situation than we've ever seen." The concerns in Oklahoma and Arkansas follow days of severe storms that exacerbated spring flooding throughout the Midwest and spawned dozens of tornadoes. More rain with possible tornadoes is likely through the weekend from western Texas through Illinois, according to weather service meteorologist Matt Mosier with the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. On Friday evening, a tornado touched down just south of Iowa City, Iowa, the home of the University of Iowa, causing some damage but no injuries. A high school commencement was disrupted by the storm, prompting people attending to scurry to the bowels of a basketball arena in Iowa City while a tornado siren blared. Floodwaters from the Missouri River topped a levee at Jefferson City Friday and prompted some streets around the state Capitol to be shut down, as residents worked to clean up from one of the twisters, which cut a 3-mile-long path through the city earlier this week. Jefferson City's airport already had been evacuated, but other residents and workers drove precariously through flooded roads to escape the rising waters. The Capitol building sits on a bluff on the south side of the river and is not in danger of flooding. The tornado had also damaged the Missouri headquarters for the Special Olympics, prompting the organization Friday to cancel its summer games. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/bodies-in-submerged-missouri-vehicle-bring-storm-toll-to-9/ar-AABTcLj

In the Trump era, I can’t remember a social gathering that didn’t eventually turn to politics. So if you’ve got any plans this Memorial Day weekend, plan to talk politics. Here’s a guide to some of the most common questions I get asked: Who’s going to win the Democratic nomination? I DON’T KNOW. NOBODY KNOWS. You’re allowed to say that, in the equivalent of all-caps, because it’s true. HOWEVER. Here are three things we can say with certainty about the Democratic field: Former vice president Joe Biden is leading in most polls right now by double-digit percentage points. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is often next, with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) ping-ponging each other within the margin of error. There are 23 serious candidates. There are 255 days until the Iowa caucuses, the first state to vote in the nominating process. What we don’t know outweighs what we do right now: Who will stand out in the debates this June and July and gain traction? Who will voters in early states — Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada — support when voting starts next year? Will anyone stumble and be unable to recover? What openings would that provide to lower-tier candidates? Okay. But who do you think would do the best against President Trump? This is the question Democratic voters are mulling over right now, according to Washington Post reporting. And there’s no consensus answer, at least not yet. Many are willing to sacrifice the candidate their heart wants for the candidate they think can beat Trump. But could that backfire? Amy Walter, a political analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, thinks there could be a divide between who party elites think would be electable and who the rest of the party wants. A new Pew Research survey shows base voters get more excited by minority candidates. So picking a Joe Biden or another moderate, white male, Walter writes, could depress “the very voters Democrats need to turn out if they are going to beat President Trump." Is Trump going to be impeached? Maybe. It’s something House Democrats are seriously considering whether to seriously consider. The tipping point for many came Tuesday, when former White House counsel Donald McGahn, a key witness to Trump’s obstruction-y actions as outlined in the Mueller report, ignored a congressional subpoena and didn’t show up to testify. House Democrats have been unable to get a lot of Trump officials to testify about anything. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said she doesn’t think Trump is worth the political cost her party might bear if they considered impeaching him. But Congress’s ability to exert itself as a coequal branch of government could be at risk if they don’t act to impeach him. Is Justin Amash a crack in the dam or a loner? A reader in my live chat on Tuesday posed this smart question to me. To which I answer: Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) is pretty well-respected in Congress. But when it comes to impeachment of Trump, he’s definitely on a lonely road in his party, and it’s not clear that will change. Party leaders have ostracized him for even being open to impeachment. To them, loyalty to Trump is how their party survives. Trump has remade the Republican Party in his image, and many of these lawmakers fear primary challengers if they’re not seen as pro-Trump. (A day after announcing he thinks Trump engaged “in impeachable conduct,” Amash had a primary challenger.) I dig more into how Amash illustrates the tribalism of our times here. Is anything going to get done by this Congress before 2020? Maybe not. At least not as long as all of the above is going on. One promising area of compromise to rebuild roads, bridges and public transit got tanked this week after Trump walked out of a meeting with Democratic congressional leaders, saying he wouldn’t work on anything until Democrats stop investigating him. (Note: The Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee is also still investigating Trump-Russia connections.) Democrats may not be sure about impeachment, but they are certain that investigating the executive branch is part of their jobs. (I count 27 questions related to Trump they’re trying to answer in as many as 20 investigations.) So don’t expect much to get done anytime soon. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/analysis-how-to-talk-politics-this-memorial-day/ar-AABTHv7