Sunday, May 3, 2026

Jenna Bush Hager Pays Emotional Tribute To White House Butler Who Died Of Coronavirus

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Jenna Bush Hager Pays Emotional Tribute To White House Butler Who Died Of Coronavirus

Jenna Bush Hager paid an emotional and heartfelt tribute to former White House butler Wilson Roosevelt Jerman, who died last weekend, describing him as “the loveliest” person who made the official residence feel like a real home. 

Jerman died at the age of 91 after contracting the coronavirus. He served 11 presidents, from Dwight Eisenhower to Barack Obama, during his 55-year career at the White House. He retired in 2012.

The “Today” show host Bush Hager, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, reflected on Jerman’s impact on her family to co-host Hoda Kotb on Thursday’s episode.

“He was the loveliest. I think ‘lovely’ is a word that can kind of be overused. But he was always smiling,” she said. “You know, it’s interesting because people will say, ‘Gosh, how was the White House? Did it feel like home?’ And the reason why it felt like home was because of people like him.”

Bush Hager recalled telling former first lady Michelle Obama, when showing her around the White House, that the staff would become part of their family. At the funeral of another butler who she called “Smiley,” Bush Hager said Obama approached her and said she now knew what she meant.

“Smiley made my girls feel like this place was a home,’” Jenna remembered Obama telling her. “And Mr. Jerman did that in tenfold. We loved him. He was beloved by my family, and he will be so missed.”

Check out the interview here:

Bush Hager’s parents, former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush, also described Jerman as “a lovely man.” 

Michelle Obama, who included a photograph of Jerman in her bestselling memoir “Becoming,” praised him for his “kindness and care” and for helping “make the White House a home for decades of First Families, including ours.”

“His service to others ― his willingness to go above and beyond for the country he loved and all those whose lives he touched ― is a legacy worthy of his generous spirit,” Obama added in a statement. “We were lucky to have known him. Barack and I send our sincerest love and prayers to his family.”

Former first lady Hillary Clinton also honored Jerman for making “generations of first families feel at home.”

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East in grip of cold snap while WA braces for rare cyclone

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East in grip of cold snap while WA braces for rare cyclone

While the eastern states remain in the grips of a cold snap, Western Australia is preparing for a rare cyclone expected to hit tomorrow.

Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia are in for a cold weekend as they recover from two consecutive cold fronts earlier in the week.

A bout of cold weather in Victoria is expected to last through the weekend. (AAP)

On the other side of Australia, Cyclone Mangga is forecast to bring a violent storm to Perth.

Here is a breakdown of this weekend’s weather in all states and territories around the country.

New South Wales is also feeling the wrath of the cold snap – leaving rain, hail, snow and strong winds across the state.

Sydney is in for a cold and rainy Saturday with a maximum temperature of just 17C and a minimum of 10C with showers expected throughout the day.

Clouds gather over the Sydney CBD skyline. Workers are expected to return to the office in greater numbers over the coming weeks.
Clouds gather over the Sydney CBD skyline. Workers are expected to return to the office in greater numbers over the coming weeks. (Peter Braig)

A severe weather warning is in place for surfers today due to vigorous southerly winds and large southerly surf to exposed parts of the New South Wales coastline. This low is expected to linger in the region over the next few days before slowly moving away.

Damaging surf is expected in Metropolitan, Illawarra and South Coast regions while damaging winds could hit Wollongong, Bulli, Port Kembla, Kiama, Huskisson and Ulladulla.

Large swells have already hit Sydney beaches with surfers and swimmers being warned of dangerous conditions.

Melbourne is forecast to experience another icy weekend with a low of 9C today and 10C on Sunday with the chance of showers over both days.

Like NSW, Victoria is still feeling the bite of the cold front with snow forecast on Mt Hotham today.

Areas including Latrobe Valley, Ballarat, Wangaratta and Horsham could all experience temperatures below 5C as the wintry weather continues.

Queenslanders are waking up to a chilly morning..

An icy blast of record temperatures plummeting as much as 11 degrees below average.

Just weeks out from Winter, forecasters say it could be one of the coolest days of the year.

Brisbane’s temperatures could sink as low as 11C today with a maximum of 17C.

Widespread rain is forecast around the state including in Carins, Townsville, and Mackay and Rockhampton.

Western Australia bracing for cyclone

West Australians have been urged to reconsider their intrastate travel plans this weekend as the remnants of a rare, out-of-season cyclone hurtle towards the state.

Tropical Cyclone Mangga is impacting the Cocos Keeling Islands before heading towards the north-west of WA and tracking down the west coast.

Satellite image of cyclone headed for WA. (Weatherzone)

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said the system was likely to weaken to below cyclone intensity when it reached Australia, but it would still be considered a once-in-a-decade storm, producing wind gusts up to 130 kilometres per hour and heavy rainfall.

The severe weather is expected to hit the upper part of the west coast on Sunday morning and extend down the coast during the day to reach the Perth metropolitan area and the south coast during Sunday afternoon and evening.

South Australia is experiencing the tail end of two consecutive cold fronts earlier in the week.

Adelaide will be sunny with a possible shower and a maximum of 16C today and Sunday.

Isolated showers and cool temperatures are forecast around the state including in Mt Gambier and Clare.

Maximum temperatures are expected to stay below 20C for the entirety of SA  today with the highest maximum temperature expected in Coober Pedy which could reach 18C.

Below-average temperatures and windy conditions are forecast in the NT today.

Darwin will stay relatively warm in comparison to the rest of the state with a minimum of 19C and maximum of 26C today.

Meanwhile, Alice Springs could experience morning frost  with a minimum of 1C today.

Showers and cloudy conditions are forecast around Tasmania this weekend .

Hobart could see rain later today with a maximum temperature of 16C today and 13C tomorrow.

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This is now the world’s busiest airport… on certain Saturdays

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This is now the world’s busiest airport… on certain Saturdays

(CNN) — Alaska’s Anchorage International Airport lacks the waterfalls and razzmatazz of Singapore Changi or the eight runways of Chicago O’Hare.

But this unassuming little airport — equidistant between New York and Tokyo — has lately had an unexpected rise in prominence.

It’s now the busiest airport in the world… on some Saturdays, at least.

“Saturday’s a busy day for cargo operations, which is our bread and butter, but it’s also the slowest day for passenger service,” explains airport manager Jim Szczesniak over video call.

“So for example, on Saturday, May 2, we in Anchorage had 744 flight operations, whereas Chicago had only 579 and Atlanta had only 529.”

Anchorage also briefly snatched the world’s busiest title on Saturday, April 25.

Top of the world

Airports Council International’s annual report on the world’s busiest airports, released earlier this week, makes for sobering reading.

The coronavirus pandemic means that passenger traffic is currently down by more than 90%, according to Angela Gittens, ACI World’s director general. “The demand is pretty much gone.”

One area that has been on the rise, however, is cargo traffic, which is why Anchorage Airport — in ordinary times, the world’s fifth-busiest cargo airport — is on the ascendant.

“We’re seeing an increased demand for cargo capacity,” says Szczesniak. “And that’s primarily because a lot of the supplies for the fight against Covid in North America are produced in Asia.”

Anchorage is positioned to perfect geographical advantage, at what the airport says is 9.5 hours’ flying time from 90% of the industrialized world.

Its location, quite literally at the top of the world, means that planes “fly up and over the top [of the globe] to shorten the distance,” says Szczesniak.

“The advantage of Anchorage is airplanes can fly filled with cargo but only half-filled with fuel. They fly into Anchorage and then they re-fuel and then onto their destination.”

The little airport that could

It calls to mind the story of Gander Airport in Newfoundland, which welcomed 7,000 displaced airline passengers on 9/11, inspiring the Broadway musical “Come From Away.”

“We’re using different areas of the airport to accommodate parking that we normally wouldn’t,” says Szczesniak.

The airport has recently played host to the heaviest aircraft ever built, the Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, and also some titans of sport — the New England Patriots’ plane stopped here because it was flying supplies between Boston and Asia.

In order to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the aircraft crew passing through Anchorage “minimize their ability to interact with Alaskans,” explains Szczesniak. They use private transport to and from hotels and avoid mixing with ground crew.

Vacation destination

“Post-coronavirus, we think Alaska is going to become quite a popular tourism destination,” says Szczesniak. “You know, they tell you to stay six feet away from people. In Alaska you can come here and have a fantastic vacation and not be within six miles of somebody.”

There are around 60 glaciers within a 50-mile radius of the airport and this most gorgeously wild of US states is covered with mighty national parks and preserves. There’s hiking, there’s fishing, there’s white-water rafting and more; it’s ideal for backwoods adventurers.

The airport is preparing for the return of passenger service by upgrading its cleaning program to Covid-19 battle-ready standards, using all hospital-grade disinfectants.

In the terminal, they’ve added sanitizing UV LED lights to the escalator handrails. Says Szczesniak, “As the handrail travels through the machinery, it’ll be blasted with UV light to kill any microbes, viruses or bacteria that happen to them.”

$97 billion in losses

At the time of our video call between London and Anchorage, there were 90 planes in the air heading from the UK capital to the Alaskan airport, according to real-time flight-tracking site Flightradar24.

“There are more airplanes in the sky right now to and from Anchorage than there are for both JFK and LaGuardia,” says Szczesniak.

The world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, saw 110.5 million passengers in 2019. But in the first quarter of 2020, the Atlanta airport logged 20.7 million passengers, down more than 18% from the same period last year.

The aviation industry is facing a $97 billion reduction in revenue in 2020 and recovery is likely to be a slow and painful process.

The team at Anchorage are proud of their efforts in facilitating the transport of medical supplies during this time of global need — but they hope that their time as occasional record-holders will be mercifully short.

CNN’s Marnie Hunter contributed to this report

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Fox’s Chris Wallace Hits Trump With Blunt Fact-Check On Mail Ballot Fraud Claims

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Fox’s Chris Wallace Hits Trump With Blunt Fact-Check On Mail Ballot Fraud Claims

Fox News host Chris Wallace risked drawing the ire of Donald Trump yet again on Friday after he debunked the president’s false claims on mail-in voter fraud.

Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against mail-in voting in recent weeks, at one point even threatening to withhold federal funds from Nevada and Michigan if they went ahead with sending applications to voters.

That’s despite Trump himself voting by mail in Florida’s GOP primary in March.

Wallace, the host of “Fox News Sunday,” fact-checked the president’s claims on Friday’s broadcast of “America’s Newsroom.”

“Well, you know, I’ve done some deep dive into it, there really is no record of massive fraud or even serious fraud from mail-in voting,” he said.

Check out the video here:

“It’s being carried out in Republican states. It’s being carried out in Democratic states,” Wallace continued. “There’s no indication that mail-in voting, as opposed to in-person voting, tends to favor one party over another.”

Wallace noted how “if anything, it tends to favor Republicans” because “the people, now we’re talking about outside a pandemic, who historically have tended to vote most often by mail are elderly people, people over 65, and they tend to vote more Republican than Democratic.”

“Have there been some cases? Yes,” Wallace acknowledged, also citing the potential problem of vote harvesting. “But when people get their ballots and mail them in themselves, no history of fraud at all,” he said.

Trump has also falsely claimed on multiple occasions that up to 5 million votes were illegally cast in the 2016 presidential election. He lost the popular vote to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by almost 3 million votes.

Wallace’s fact-checking of Trump came amid an escalation in tensions between the president and Fox News, whose primetime hosts, in particular, have been widely accused of being a propaganda vehicle for the Trump administration.

Trump lashed out at the widely watched conservative network earlier this week after anchor Neil Cavuto slammed the president’s claim about taking the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine as protection against the coronavirus.

“Many will disagree, but @FoxNews is doing nothing to help Republicans, and me, get re-elected on November 3rd,” Trump tweeted Thursday.

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Hillary Clinton Puts Trump On Notice Over His Coronavirus Drug Advice

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Hillary Clinton Puts Trump On Notice Over His Coronavirus Drug Advice

Hillary Clinton has made it crystal clear what she thinks of President Donald Trump’s hyping of unproven treatments for the coronavirus.

Trump in recent weeks has repeatedly promoted the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential cure for COVID-19, contrary to the advice of the Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies that have warned against its use. He’s even claimed he’s been taking it himself.

Clinton called out Trump on Friday, tweeting “the president needs to stop playing a doctor on TV.” The former secretary of state shared reporting from The Washington Post on a new analysis that discovered that taking the drug is ”linked to increased risk of death in coronavirus patients.”

It was Clinton’s latest in a long line of attacks on Trump’s fumbled response to the pandemic that has now killed more than 97,000 people nationwide.

On Monday, Trump’s Democratic rival in the 2016 election tweeted that “Americans deserve a president who will listen to science and act decisively to mitigate the pandemic ― not waste time, peddle fakes cures, and wish it away.”

In March, as cases soared worldwide, Clinton hit Trump on his favorite social media platform for “turning to racist rhetoric to distract from his failures to take the coronavirus seriously early on.” She also advised Americans not to take medical advice “from a man who looked directly at a solar eclipse” and has repeatedly urged people to vote Trump out in November.

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Cruise links to historical WA virus cases

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Cruise links to historical WA virus cases

Three historical cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Western Australia, but only two remain active in the state, with the regions now case-free.

WA recorded no new cases overnight for the ninth consecutive day.

The Health Department said two of the historical cases were related to cruise ships and had recovered before returning to WA, while the other had travelled overseas and also had contact with a confirmed case.

She self-isolated when she was ill as a precaution.

All three cases, which were identified through blood tests, are no longer infectious and do not carry any ongoing risk to the public.

They bring the state’s total to 560.

The two people whose cases are active are not in hospital.

Meanwhile, Premier Mark McGowan continues to resist pressure to open interstate borders, saying they will remain closed for months.

He also urges Western Australians to be patient as the state government considers gradually loosening other restrictions after reducing intrastate travel bans on Monday.

“I’m pretty keen to get as much normality back in place as quickly as we can but we also want to make sure we don’t risk any outbreaks,” Mr McGowan told reporters on Friday.

“What you’ve seen in Victoria and NSW is continued community transmission – we just don’t want to risk that at all.”

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WA Premier refuses to budge on hard border policy

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WA Premier refuses to budge on hard border policy

But the Premiers of these states refused to be lectured by the one with the highest number of cases.

Mr McGowan said on Saturday the border closure would be one of the last restrictions to be lifted.

“At this stage no consideration is currently being given to lifting WA’s hard border with the rest of Australia,” he said.

“The WA health advice from our chief health officer is clear on this, the hard border has been an effective measure as part of our success in the fight against COVID-19.

“Our hard border will likely be one of the last measures to be lifted, to ensure we protect the health of Western Australians.”

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The Premier said other states were still seeing instances of community spread and clusters of cases and he would not expose Western Australia.

“Allowing cases of COVID-19 into WA while we are easing restrictions could potentially be disastrous – and a significant outbreak could mean we need to return to the strict conditions once again,” he said.

“The hard border won’t last forever, but for now it is important that it remains in place.”

The WA roadmap to ease restrictions was based on the best health advice for WA.

“It’s Western Australian health advice formulated by the best health advisors in Western Australia, for Western Australia,” he said.

The plan was to get people back to work safely and begin the process of restarting the State’s economy.

The decision has come under scrutiny.Credit:WA Government

In the next phase, this would mean larger gatherings, less restrictions on businesses and community sport, playgrounds opening and further reductions in regional travel boundaries within WA.

“We know the regional boundaries have been difficult for many regional communities – and if health advice supports it, we will move to reopen those regions within Western Australia as soon as possible,” he said.

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Darwin venue forced to close after being inundated with patrons

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Darwin venue forced to close after being inundated with patrons
A brewery in Darwin was forced to close on Friday night after being overwhelmed with patrons, while another was issued a formal warning for not adhering to COVID-19 measures.

Beaver Brewery in Coconut Grove made the decision to stop serving and close its doors just after 7 o’clock due to the high number of customers flooding in.

The local brewery opens just one night a week.

Beaver Brewery in Darwin. (Supplied)

Police applauded the decision of Beaver Brewery.

“The one that was really busy actually had a plan in place and it was doing a very good job,” Superintendent Shaun Gill said.

Pubs are opening for some patrons in many parts of the country.
Pubs are opening for some patrons in many parts of the country. (Nine)

“A large crowd attended on very short notice, and they were unable to deal with the public due to the number of people who arrived, so to their credit they actually closed their doors and no longer served because they couldn’t abide by the COVID-19 restrictions.”

NT police say no fines were issued throughout the evening, and authorities are still taking an educative approach.

“We want to give them an opportunity to comply and then after that, if they continue to fail, then infringement notices will be issued,” Superintendent Gill said.

The fine for a licensed premises breaching COVID-19 measures is $5000.

NT Police officer (9News)

“People still need to be reminded that we’re still coming out of quite a serious event,” Superintendent Gill said.

“We want businesses and individuals to abide by what’s going on – the ramifications are that we could end up where we were before which is what we don’t want.”

The third and final stage of restrictions will be lifted on June 5 – which will see all other businesses and organisations able to re-open, with no time limit on services, nor will people have to order meals with their drinks at bars and clubs.

“This is just a timely reminder for all involved that the onus is on individuals as well as licensed premises.”

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Dozens of mammoth bones found at Mexico airport

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Dozens of mammoth bones found at Mexico airport

Both discoveries reveal how appealing the area – once a shallow lake – was for the mammoths. The National Institute of Anthropology and History said Thursday there was no immediate evidence that the 60 mammoths newly discovered at the old Santa Lucia military airbase had been butchered by humans.

Archaeologists have found the bones of about 60 mammoths at an airport under construction just north of Mexico City, near human-built “traps” where more than a dozen mammoths were found last year. (AP)

Institute archaeologist Pedro Sánchez Nava said the giant herbivores had probably just got stuck in the mud of an ancient lake, once known as Xaltocan and now disappeared.

But the bones will be subject to further study, because Sánchez Nava said humans might have carved up the mammoths once they got stuck. About 15 human burials with simple offerings were found nearby, but they probably dated from around 500 to 1000 years ago, long after the mammoths had disappeared.

That was quite different from the mammoth pits found in the hamlet of San Antonio Xahuento, about 10 kilometres away. There, two human-built pits were dug 15,000 years ago to trap mammoths, which were apparently very plentiful in the area, and which apparently couldn’t clamber out.

The pits were found during excavations on land that was to be used as a garbage dump. They were filled with bones from at least 14 mammoths, and some of the animals appeared to have been butchered.

The institute said hunters may have chased mammoths into the traps. Remains of two other species that disappeared in the Americas – a horse and a camel – were also found.

The work on the airport started late last year, and Sánchez Nava said the existence of mammoth remains had long been suspected there.

He said nothing had been found that would require halting work on the airport project, in which the old military base is being converted into a civilian terminal.

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NSW approaches 500,000 COVID-19 tests

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NSW approaches 500,000 COVID-19 tests

As restaurants, pubs and cafes re-open across NSW, authorities say its vital anyone with a hint of respiratory illnesses gets tested for COVID-19.

Another three cases of the virus have been recorded in the state, while almost 9000 people were tested over 24 hours.

Across the state, young people in their 20s and 30s make up around 40 per cent of the state’s 3086 confirmed cases.

Of the total, 2653 patients have recovered. Almost half a million tests have been conducted.

“Just one little symptom of anything that looks like a cough, a cold a flu – go and get tested,” Health Minister Brad Hazzard said on Saturday morning.

“With these freedoms come big responsibilities.”

Chances are the test will be negative, he said.

But there remains concern people who are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms could spread the virus.

Up to 50 people will be allowed in restaurants, pubs and cafes from June 1 as NSW eases more COVID-19 restrictions.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday announced the “big and critical” step, but said strict rules would be in place for venues.

Venues will still have to allow at least four square metres of space per person.

Additionally, bookings of more than 10 will be banned, and patrons won’t be allowed to stand.

Currently, dining venues can only have a maximum of 10 patrons if they maintain social distancing. That includes alcohol table service with meals at NSW pubs and clubs.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro says gyms, yoga studios, and beauticians could also be back in business in the coming month or so.

“(It’s) no different to yoga studios, a whole range of other areas, beauticians, you name it, we’re still working with all of those, but we’re not talking September,” he told 2GB Radio on Friday.

“We’re looking at all these restrictions coming off over the next month or so.”

ClubsNSW on Friday confirmed the state’s clubs will reopen on June 1.

The increase in patronage aligns with the easing of regional travel restrictions across the state and the opening of museums, galleries and libraries from June 1.

In a statement, Australian Hotels Association NSW chief executive John Whelan said 94 per cent of the hotels’ workforce had been stood down or sacked – but from June 1 the industry could start re-employing staff.

The Tourism and Transport Forum said Friday’s announcement sends a message that the state was once again open for business.

NSW on Friday reported its 50th COVID-19 death after an 80-year-old woman died in Concord Hospital. Her death brings the national toll to 101.

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