Europe: Authorities warned of a high risk of avalanches on the northern side of the Alps, after heavy snowfall in recent days created dangerous conditions across parts of southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A 20-year-old skier died in an avalanche on Mt Teisen, near the Austrian border, German police said. The woman's five companions were unharmed. In Austria, public broadcaster ORF reported that a 26-year-old man died after being struck by an avalanche while skiing near the town of Schoppernau. Hundreds of passengers were stuck for hours on a train after a snow-laden tree crashed onto the tracks near Kitzbuehel, Austria. ORF reported that about 600 residents and tourists were still stuck in the Austrian village of Soelktal following a road closure. An Austrian army helicopter managed to drop some supplies there. The German weather service DWD forecast a further 40cm of snowfall in some areas by tomorrow.
United States: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sought to quell a rising furore over whether Democratic lawmakers will seek to impeach President Donald Trump, saying in an interview on CBS News that the public has yet to hear the conclusions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Democrats are unlikely to pursue a path of impeachment without Republican backing, Pelosi hinted. That could hinge significantly on whether Mueller's probe uncovers concrete evidence of wrongdoing. "If and when the time comes for impeachment it will have to be something that has such a crescendo in a bipartisan way." Pelosi's remarks come amid days of Democratic infighting after newly elected Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib vowed at a progressive gathering on Friday to "impeach the mother******," referring to Trump.
Afghanistan: At least 30 workers were killed in a landslide in northeastern Afghanistan while illegally sifting for gold. The landslide occurred in Badakhshan province, Mohammad Zekriya, a lawmaker from the province, said. The mining activity did not prompt the landslide, he said. The workers were in a riverbed sifting for gold when rocks and debris tumbled down the mountainside.
Sudan: Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Sudan to demand the resignation of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, whose nearly 30 years in power have been punctuated by civil war, ethnic conflict and a crumbling economy. The protests were the latest — and among the largest — in more than two weeks of demonstrations in the North African country.
A troubling trend has come to a frightening point where there has been an astonishing 86 percent decline in the amount of Monarch Butterflies in California this year: #monarchshttps://t.co/e9aoYRIXJt pic.twitter.com/ksKqWjc2ww
— The American Geographical Society (@AmericanGeo) January 6, 2019