Every house on this street in Queens had significant flood damage from Ida.Benjamin Norman for The New York Times
“Hurricane Ida’s path of destruction exposed a harsh climate reality: The U.S. is not prepared for extreme weather.
Nearly a week after the storm made landfall in Louisiana, roughly 70 percent of energy customers in New Orleans remain without power. Cleanup crews are working to contain what experts called a substantial oil spill Ida left in the Gulf of Mexico. In New York City, 13 people died, many of whom drowned in basement apartments. The storm killed at least 25 people in New Jersey — more than in any other state.
As disasters become more severe, the cost of rebuilding has skyrocketed. Extreme weather has caused more than $450 billion in damage nationwide since 2005; the number of disasters causing more than $1 billion in damage reached a record 22 last year. The price tags mean the U.S. faces another climate dilemma: how to decide which places to try to save.
After a summer of fires and storms, President Biden and progressive Democrats are using the moment to push for aggressive climate provisions in a sweeping $3.5 trillion budget bill.” Read more at New York Times
Students returning for their first day of school at August Schilling Elementary School in Newark, Calif.Clara Mokri for The New York Times
“Students are returning to classrooms, and anxiety is rising over the coronavirus.
There are 48 million U.S. children under 12 who are not yet eligible for Covid-19 shots. Parents are feeling increasingly backed into a corner as they reluctantly send their children back into the classroom — or resort to drastic actions to keep them safe. About a fifth of Kentucky’s school districts have had to close temporarily because of coronavirus infections since classes began last month.
The highly contagious Delta variant has sent pediatric Covid hospitalizations soaring across the country, according to two new C.D.C. studies.
And mask wars persist. At universities, some instructors are finding the return to the classroom a nerve-racking experience.” Read more at New York Times
A Taliban fighter in Kabul celebrating on Friday over reports that the holdout province of Panjshir had fallen.Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
“In the chaotic finale of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan, a Biden Doctrine is emerging: a foreign policy that avoids forever wars while addressing rising powers.
China as America’s existential competitor. Russia as a disrupter. Iran and North Korea as nuclear proliferators. Cyberthreats as ever-evolving. Terrorism as spreading far beyond Afghanistan. The Biden Doctrine ‘calls for a return to protecting human rights and promoting democracy, but only when consistent with U.S. goals, ‘our Washington reporters write in an analysis.
Mr. Biden has said that the evacuation of Kabul was handled as efficiently as possible. But documents obtained by The Times suggest otherwise.
Meanwhile, Afghans are starting to get a glimpse of life under the Taliban. Their fighters violently suppressed a women’s protest on Saturday in Kabul. Safe houses for women began closing in a matter of days as the Taliban began their advance in August.” Read more at New York Times
“KABUL — Kabul’s airport reopened with domesticflights taking off Saturday after a team of engineers from Qatar repaired parts of the airport’s air traffic control system last week, according to Muhammad Salim Saad, the Taliban commander in charge of airport security.
But the airport is still operating without radar or navigation systems, making it difficult to resume international civilian flights, a key step to enable refugees to leave. But the Qatari foreign ministry said Qatari technical officials had prepared the airport for international humanitarian flights.
The resumption of domestic flights sees the Taliban cementing its civilian control of the country, as it faces myriad challenges, including international skepticism, a freeze on government reserves and its need to meet the expectations of fighters who fought two decades for victory. The Taliban has been expected to announce a government for several days.
Taliban fighters took control of several strategic districts during intense fighting Saturday against resistance fighters in the northern Panjshir Valley, the last remaining province in Afghanistan holding out against the Islamist group. If the valley falls, the Taliban would control the country fully, which it never managed during its rule from 1996 to 2001.” Read more at Washington Post
“An estimated 7.5 million people will lose federal unemployment benefits this weekend. The checks going to millions more will drop by $300 a week.
The money has helped stave off financial ruin for millions of laid-off workers over the past year and a half. But this cutoff is the latest and arguably the largest of the benefit ‘cliffs’ that jobless workers are facing. The loss of the added benefits could have long-term effects not just for recipients, but also for the economy.” Read more at New York Times
“AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A judge has temporarily shielded some Texas abortion clinics from being sued by the state’s largest anti-abortion group under a new law banning most abortions.
The temporary restraining order issued Friday by District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Austin in response to the Planned Parenthood request does not interfere with the enforcement of the law. However, it shields Planned Parenthood's clinics, specifically, from whistleblower lawsuits by the nonprofit group Texas Right to Life, its legislative director and people working in concert with the group.
A hearing on a preliminary injunction request is scheduled for Sept. 13. The temporary restraining order only shields Planned Parenthood clinics from Texas Right to Life lawsuits and doesn't prevent Texas Right to Life from suing non-Planned Parenthood abortion clinics in Texas. It also doesn't prevent people who aren't affiliated with the Texas Right to Life from suing Planned Parenthood.” Read more at Boston Globe
Reps. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) participate in a hearing by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, on July 27 at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Leaders of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol are calling out House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for making ‘baseless’ claims regarding former president Donald Trump’s involvement in that day’s violence.
In a joint statement Saturday, committee chairman Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) and vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) criticized a Thursday interview by McCarthy, in which he said the FBI had concluded Trump had ‘no involvement’ in the insurrection.
‘Minority Leader McCarthy … has suggested, based on an anonymous report, that the Department of Justice has concluded that Donald Trump did not cause, incite, or provoke the violence on Jan. 6,’ Thompson and Cheney stated Saturday, adding that when the report was first published, the select committee queried executive branch agencies and committees involved in that investigation.
‘We’ve received answers and briefings from the relevant entities, and it’s been made clear to us that reports of such a conclusion are baseless,’ they continued.
Thompson and Cheney also pointedly noted that McCarthy’s statements — including remarks he gave on the House floor on Jan. 13, a week after the insurrection — ‘are inconsistent with his recent comments.’
The violent Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob seeking to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral win left five people dead, including a police officer.
On Jan. 13, McCarthy said in a House floor speech that Trump ‘bears responsibility’ for the Capitol attack and even floated the idea of censuring Trump, though McCarthy did not support his impeachment.” Read more at Washington Post
“Willard Scott, the iconic ‘Today’ show weatherman, died Saturday morning at the age of 87, NBC spokesperson Elizabeth Bader confirmed to USA TODAY.
‘Today’'s Al Roker shared the news on Instagram, calling Willard "a man of his times, the ultimate broadcaster." The genial Scott was known as the show's signature weatherman until he announced his semi-retirement in 1996, when Roker took over the job.” Read more at USA Today
A young beaver at Five Sisters Zoo in Scotland receiving a health check before relocation to England.Kieran Dodds for The New York Times
“Four centuries after they were hunted to extinction in Scotland for their fur, beavers are back — and so is their age-old battle with humans.
Beavers have incurred the wrath of a farming community as they decimate trees, build dams that flood fields or wreck drainage systems and riverbanks. Some farmers have obtained permits to kill the otherwise protected animals, setting off outrage among conservationists and igniting a debate about farming, biodiversity and the future of Scotland’s countryside.
In other conservation news, the caretakers of an orphaned elephant known as Nania are hoping to reunite her with her family in Burkina Faso; DNA testing revealed that her mother is probably roaming nearby.” Read more at New York Times