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 Alps get early snowfall, clear roads that were blocked by snow and ice. Parts of Austria and Switzerland were surprised by unseasonably early snowfall overnight a month before it is expected. The Swiss meteorological agency said earlier today that the town of Montana, in the southern canton of Valais, experienced almost 10 inches (25 centimetres) of snowfall — a new record for this time of year. The change came after a sharp drop in temperatures and heavy precipitation.  Authorities were out in force across mountainous regions in the two Alpine nations to clear roads that had become blocked by snow and ice. In parts of Austria, snowfall was recorded as low as 1,805 feet (550 meters) above sea level.     Late October usually heralds the very first big snowfalls and the early signs of winter in the Alps when average temperatures in the valley drop to below 50F (10C).

 White Supremacist killed California, recognizing that his vehicle belonged to a wanted felon. Deputies had tried to conduct a traffic stop on Christopher Michael Straub, 38, in Templeton, California, after recognizing that his vehicle belonged to a wanted felon. Straub then ran through nearby vineyards to a cemetery before hiding and ambushing the deputies with a handgun, according to a press release from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office. It described how the deputies returned fire after Straub fired multiple rounds and hit one of them in the leg. Straub then ran back through the vineyard while still armed and attempted to get back into his vehicle, where two other deputies intercepted him. "The two additional deputies pulled up, engaged the suspect, who was still armed with a handgun, and engaged in a gun battle where the suspect was struck and pronounced dead at the scene," Sheriff Ian Parkinson said at a news conference on Thursday,  as reported by The Trib

 Public lands chief William Pendley, Montana Judge Boots Acting Bureau of Land Management. A federal judge in Montana has ousted President Trump's top public lands official. The ruling blocks William Perry Pendley from continuing to serve as the temporary head of the Bureau of Land Management, a post he's held for more than a year. The judge ruled  in response to a lawsuit  filed by Montana Gov. Steve Bullock who argued it's illegal for Pendley to lead the agency because he'd never been confirmed by the Senate. Bullock is also in a tight race to unseat Montana's Republican Sen. Steve Daines. A U.S. Department of Interior spokesman called the ruling "outrageous," adding, "we will be appealing this decision immediately." Trump nominated Pendley to lead the BLM in June. The Bureau manages roughly one-tenth of the land mass of the United States and approves development of vast publicly owned energy resources including oil and gas wells and coal

 Tyler Technologies ransomware,  but insisted customers were safe. Tyler Technologies has copped to the ransomware attack that still has the company’s phone lines and website off line. In an update to its online statement, Plano, Texas-based Tyler confirmed that early Sept. 23 it was hit with ransomware. It did not specify which variant was used against its network. The company -- No. 46 on the 2019 CRN Solution Provider 500 -- is sticking by its claims that the only portion of its system that was attacked was the internal network used by Tyler Technologies employees, as well as the telephone systems. Tyler said addressing this with clients is the company’s “highest priority.” “We are deploying every resource at our disposal, both internal and external, to take whatever steps are needed to return to business as usual,” the company said. “We are committed to doing that in a responsible, deliberate way, and we are laser-focused on those efforts.” Tyler said it has been in contact with th

 TikTok US ban hearing, decided on few weeks ago. The Trump administration has refused to back down from the TikTok ultimatum that the US President  Donald Trump  decided on few weeks ago. Trump,  few days ago, decided to ban all new downloads of the Chinese app  TikTok  from Sunday.  Trump  has cited national security issue as the reason behind his ban — a claim which has been denied by the app. TikTok   petition for an injunction to block the order from the US government. The US District Judge Carl Nichols set a hearing for Sunday at 9 am — hours before the President's order goes into effect on Sunday noon. The government lawyers have requested the court to let them submit an "under seal", which means the documents submitted will not be available for public record. While  TikTok  has agreed to it for the time being, the company has the right to demand that some documents be made available for the public eye. The ban can cause an irreparable damage to the Chinese video-s

 Coronavirus bird songs, sparrows could sing more softly and sweetly. Early in the pandemic in March and April (or what feels like 10 years ago), there were reports around the world of animals moving into previously busy cityscapes, and  a rising chorus of bird calls . And while many people reported increased sightings of coyotes, mountain lions and other animals,  the reason may simply have been  that we were all stuck at home and thus paying more attention to our surroundings. While it is possible that nearby wildlife, normally turned off by our noise, were now wandering into the territory of their human neighbors, the reports were mostly anecdotal. It’s hard to tell whether these were actually changes in animal behavior versus changes in our perspective. In San Francisco, birders pondered a similar question. “We received many anecdotal accounts of birdsong being more noticeable,” Pam Young, executive director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society, told  Popular Science  in an email. Bu