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How NORAD tracks Santa on Christmas Eve
Every year, for the past 68 years, NORAD tracks the global progress of Santa and his sleigh. John Cornelio from NORAD explains how they track this highly anticipated mission.
It was the night before Christmas and all through the house, the children were wondering where’s that guy Claus?
If you’re looking to track Santa Claus’s flight over Providence and Rhode Island’s other cities and towns this Christmas Eve, there are a few ways you can track the big guy with nearly the same accuracy as a late Amazon package.
The military is on it with the NORAD Santa Tracker, and Google, which often feels all-knowing, is also on the case with its own Santa Tracker.
Check out the trackers to see Santa’s location:
NORAD is the most reliable name in Santa tracking. On the job since 1955, when a young child from Colorado Springs accidentally called in (he meant to call a number advertised by a local department store), they’ve been following Santa’s journey using their radar technology ever since.
Now, NORAD, the joint U.S.-Canada command responsible for protecting the skies over both nations, staffs up for the big night, with a number available for children to call for status reports and an online tracker.
On Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, of course.
Santa is on the move, as you can see below. If it doesn’t load, it can be found at www.noradsanta.org
You can also call NORAD directly at +1 (877) HI-NORAD.
In 2004, Google started tracking Santa as well, because, well, there’s a lot of interest in Old St. Nick. Google has a website. While you’re waiting around for Santa, Google’s guide includes a family guide, quizzes and various Christmas-themed games to play.
All of our tracking technology is made for mere mortals, but Santa is magic, and he likes to create a little bit of mystery. It wouldn’t do for children all over the world to be catching him as he comes down the chimney to deliver presents. He would never get any work done! So sometimes, to keep the magic alive, he throws off the trackers, just a little bit.
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
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