70 million Americans under severe weather threat from Northeast to Midwest

 70 million Americans under severe weather threat from Northeast to Midwest

From Sunday through Tuesday, hail, winds and a few tornados are possible.

Andrew Spear/Getty ImagesThe aftermath of tornados that came through the region in Indian Lake

Severe weather is projected to impact 70 million Americans from the Northeast Sunday through to Tuesday in the Midwest.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has issued an enhanced risk outlook for the multi-region storm system, designating it a level 3 out of 5 risk for severe weather.

In the Northeast, intense thunderstorms are likely to develop late Sunday afternoon in a corridor across the upper Ohio Valley into the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and the Catskill region in Upstate New York.

Damaging wind, some hail and tornadoes are possible as the storm spreads slowly southward into Sunday evening.

ABC NewsSevere risk forecast for Sunday evening.

A line of these strong to potentially severe storms is projected to impact cities from Pittsburgh to New York Sunday night from 10:00 p.m. ET to 11:00 p.m. ET.

In the Midwest, a dynamic weather system across the Rockies and into the Great Plains from the Dakotas to Texas has the potential to form storms capable of becoming supercells and produce very large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes on Monday.

ABC NewsSevere weather outbreak forecast for Monday and Tuesday.

Scattered severe thunderstorms are likely across the southern to central Great Plains, mainly Monday evening when large hail, damaging wind and a few tornadoes are possible.

Storms may begin as early as 5:00 p.m. CT from Central Texas to Nebraska and then continue to develop overnight across the region.

By Tuesday morning, storms are projected to impact regions from eastern Nebraska to Kansas City, Missouri, and parts of Iowa. These storms may still be strong and possibly severe.

The strongest storms are anticipated in areas from Des Moines, Iowa, to Columbia, Missouri, on Tuesday afternoon.

Scattered severe thunderstorms are likely on Tuesday into the evening from Chicago to east of Dallas.

On Wednesday morning, there may be lingering strong to severe storms in the Ohio River Valley.

SBI filed ‘false affidavit’, recorded electoral bond numbers ‘illegally’: Former finance secy Subhash Garg

 SBI filed ‘false affidavit’, recorded electoral bond numbers ‘illegally’: Former finance secy Subhash Garg

Electoral bonds were brought in to increase transparency in political funding, but it turned into a “sorry chapter in India’s history”, former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said.

A day after the State Bank of India (SBI) provided all details of electoral bonds purchased and redeemed, including the alphanumeric codes of each bond that enabled donors to be matched with the recipients, former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg on Friday said the bank was not supposed to record the bond numbers and in doing so it had violated the anonymity promised to donors under the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018. He also pointed out that the earlier affidavit filed by the bank on the matter was “ostensibly false”.

The SBI had done something “completely unlawful and unexpected”, Garg told The Indian Express. By recording the alphanumeric codes of the bonds sold to donors and encashed by political parties, the bank had hit at the basic feature of the scheme that was brought in by the government in 2018 to enable anonymous political donations, he said.

“The SBI said in its first affidavit that the information of donors and parties was kept in physical form in two silos and that it would take three months to match. But subsequent events have shown that they recorded the information in a digital form. Their first affidavit appears to be motivated by the desire to push the disclosure of the data beyond the Lok Sabha elections. Why did they file the ostensibly false affidavit,” asked Garg.

He said the electoral bond scheme was brought in to increase transparency in political funding by moving from cash to white money, with a feature of anonymity for the donors. But it had become a “sorry chapter in India’s history”. The aims were “frustrated by SBI’s patently illegal act,” he said.

The bank had provided all the details to the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday on the orders of the Supreme Court, which struck down the scheme on February 15. Also on court orders, the EC published the data on its website on Thursday evening. The court had instructed SBI to provide the data to the EC by March 6, but the bank moved the court on March 4 seeking time till June 30 to do so. It argued that matching the donations to the parties was a “time-consuming exercise”.

The court, however, rejected the plea and told the bank to provide the data by March 12 and the EC to publish it by March 15. The SBI provided the names and amounts of the donors and parties, but not the alphanumeric codes. Once again, the court cracked down on the bank and on Monday directed it to provide all details, including the alphanumeric codes, by 5 pm on Thursday.

 

Supreme Court pulls up SBI: Don’t do selective disclosure, give poll bond numbers, full details

The unique alphanumeric codes would enable matching the poll bond donors with the recipients.

There is no manner of doubt that SBI shall make disclosure of all information with it and it shall include the details of electoral bond numbers, the SC said

THE SUPREME Court on Monday told the State Bank of India (SBI) to “disclose all details” on electoral bonds purchased or redeemed after its April 12, 2019 interim order, including their unique alphanumeric codes, to the Election Commission of India (ECI), and to file an affidavit on compliance by March 21, 5 pm.

Expressing its displeasure over “selective disclosure” of details by the bank, the five-judge Constitution Bench, presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, said: “There is no manner of doubt that SBI is required to make a complete disclosure of all details in its possession… This, we clarify, would comprehend the alphanumeric number and the serial number, if any, of the bonds which were purchased and redeemed.”

The unique alphanumeric codes would enable matching the poll bond donors with the recipients.

The Bench, which included Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, rejected a request to direct SBI to disclose the unique codes of bonds purchased or redeemed prior to its interim order on April 12, 2019.

“To fully effectuate (its) order and to obviate any controversy in the future”, the Bench also asked the SBI Chairman and Managing Director to file an affidavit, on or before March 21, 5 pm, “indicating that SBI has disclosed all details of the electoral bonds which were in its possession and custody and that no details have been withheld…”

Referring to its earlier orders, the court said the operative directions required the SBI to submit details of electoral bonds purchased since the interim order. The Bench recalled that it had said that “such details…shall include the date of purchase of each electoral bond, the name of the purchaser of the bond and the denomimation of the electoral bond purchased”.

“SBI was required to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties, inclusive of the date of encashment and the denomination of the electoral bond,” the court said. Read with its February 15, 2024 decision to strike down the electoral bond scheme, this “indicates that SBI was required to submit all details, both in terms of the purchase and in terms of receipt of contributions.” it said.

EXPLAINED

Matching donors with parties

The unique alphanumeric code printed on each electoral bond will enable matching the donors with the recipients. While the electoral bond scheme does not mandate parties to keep records of donor details, some smaller parties, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, either disclosed what they already knew or conducted a special exercise to ascertain contributor details and share them with the EC.

“The expression ‘include’… clearly demonstrates that the inclusive part was treated as illustrative and not exhaustive of the nature of disclosure which was to be made by SBI… In other words, there is no manner of doubt that SBI is required to make a complete disclosure of all details in its possession,” the court said, adding, “This, we clarify, would comprehend the alphanumeric number and the serial number, if any, of the bonds which were purchased and redeemed”.

The court also asked the EC to “forthwith” upload the details furnished by the SBI.

On March 15, the court had issued notice to the SBI, saying the bank was “duty-bound” to furnish the unique alphanumeric codes.

Hearing the bank’s response on Monday, the CJI said: “We had expressly asked SBI to disclose all details. The language of the judgment was that all details have to be disclosed. Therefore, that includes the bond numbers as well”.

“Let SBI not be selective in the disclosure of details … it shall disclose all details, including the bond numbers and every part of the information which is in its possession and custody. Don’t wait for an order of the court. We banked on the fact that the State Bank of India would be candid and fair to the court,” he said.

Asking why the bank had not disclosed the details, the CJI said: “SBI’s attitude appears to be — you tell us to disclose a particular detail and we will disclose it. That’s not a fair process.”

The SBI chairman should have said this being the order of the SC, I am duty bound to comply with it and will disclose every part of the information which is in my custody as directed, he said.

“Because when we said all details of the purchases, that meant every conceivable detail which was available with SBI, and we clarified it by saying ‘include’. SBI has the best legal advice open to it,” the CJI said.

The CJI then remarked: “We take it that you are not arguing a case for a political party.”

Saying that he was not appearing for any political party, Salve said paragraph 16 of the interim order “only required political parties to give all these details, and these details have been given. If they have not been given, that’s between the ECI and political parties… Para 17 was the mechanism for disclosure”.

The senior counsel said that in its February 15 judgment, “the court dealt with diverse aspects, including the need to preserve some degree of anonymity, and discussed electoral trust as an alternative to this system…”

Salve said that at the time of the interim order, “we were functioning under the edict of anonymity, which had not been stayed. So, at that time, we were directed to preserve the anonymity…”

He added that if the court feels that all the information should be given now, the bank was willing to do so.

“We will clarify to put it beyond any doubt… we will say that now SBI will not only disclose the bond numbers, but it shall also file an affidavit again before our court saying that you have not suppressed any (details)… You have to disclose all details, let that be clear. Because the burden should not lie upon the court or the petitioners to say that this has not been disclosed, that has not been disclosed… We must have finality to it,” the CJI told him.

Electoral bonds: 10 biggest revelations as SBI, Election Commission release detailed data

 Electoral bonds: 10 biggest revelations as SBI, Election Commission release detailed data

The Election Commission of India (ECI), on March 14, released detailed data on electoral bonds regarding donations to political parties. The SBI earlier submitted it to the ECI. Let's take a look at the 10 biggest revelations

Future Gaming and Hotel Services, not widely recognised in the public eye, was the top purchaser of electoral bonds REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo/File Photo (REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo/File Photo)

The Election Commission of India (ECI), on March 14, released detailed data showing all the companies, from famous big businesses to lesser-known ones, that bought electoral bonds to donate to political parties

1. Future Gaming and Hotel Services, not widely recognised in the public eye, emerged as the top purchaser of electoral bonds, with an investment of ₹1,368 crore. This figure surpasses contributions from many notable corporate entities. Future Gaming was under scrutiny by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in March 2022.

2. Among the top donors were industry giants such as steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, telecommunications behemoth Bharti Airtel led by Sunil Bharti Mittal and mining conglomerate Vedanta headed by Anil Agarwal. Other renowned firms include ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, DLF, PVR, Birla, Bajaj, Jindal, Spicejet, IndiGo and the Goenkas.

3. Other donors include Grasim Industries, Megha Engineering, Piramal Enterprises, Torrent Power, DLF Commercial Developers, Vedanta Ltd., Apollo Tyres, Edelweiss, Keventer, Sula Wines, Welspun, Sun Pharma, Vardhman Textiles, Jindal Group, Phillips Carbon Black Limited, CEAT tyres, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Kaypee Enterprises, Cipla and Ultratech Cement. 

4. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) benefited the most, securing ₹6,566 crore (54.77% of the total donations) in donations through the electoral bonds. It was way ahead of its closest competitor, the Congress party, which received ₹1,123 crore (9.37%). Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, which operates primarily in West Bengal, received ₹1,092 crore (9.11%).

5. Other parties that redeemed electoral bonds include AIADMK, BRS, Shiv Sena, TDP, YSR Congress, DMK, JD-S, NCP, JDU, RJD, AAP, the Samajwadi Party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, BJD, Goa Forward Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, JMM, Sikkim Democratic Front and the Jana Sena Party.

6. Individual donors included Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Varun Gupta, B K Goenka, Jainendra Shah and one person known only by the first name of Monika.

7. Mumbai-based Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd bought bonds worth ₹410 crore and Haldia Energy ₹377 crore. Ghaziabad-based Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital bought 162 bonds, mostly of ₹1 crore each. Bajaj Auto bought bonds worth ₹18 crore, Bajaj Finance ₹20 crore, three IndiGo firms ₹36 crore, Rahul Bhatia of IndiGo bought bonds worth ₹20 crore and Spicejet ₹65 lakh.

8. The bonds were purchased between April 1, 2019 and February 15 this year. Out of 22,217 electoral bonds, 22,030 were redeemed by political parties. The bonds that had not been encashed by political parties within 15 days were transferred to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, the SBI said.

9. Reliance Industries, helmed by Mukesh Ambani, and Adani Group, led by Gautam Adani, did not make the list of donors. These are two of India’s biggest conglomerates.

10. Following the release of the electoral bonds data, Congress flagged discrepancies. The donors’ file has 18,871 entries, while the recipients’ file has 20,421 entries, it said