That’s all the more encouraging given the number of weather-related disasters to hit the world has increased five-fold over the past 50 years, according to the WMO report.
Flash flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida killed at least 44 people in the New York area overnight into Thursday, including several who perished in basements during the “historic” weather event officials blamed on climate change.
Record rainfall, which prompted an unprecedented flash flood emergency warning for New York City, turned streets into rivers and shut down subway services as water cascaded down platforms onto tracks.
“I’m 50 years old and I’ve never seen that much rain ever,” said Metodija Mihajlov whose basement of his Manhattan restaurant was flooded with three inches of water.
“It was like living in the jungle, like tropical rain. Unbelievable. Everything is so strange this year,” he told AFP.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled at LaGuardia and JFK airports, as well as at Newark, where video showed a terminal inundated by rainwater.
“We’re all in this together. The nation is ready to help,” President Joe Biden said ahead of a trip Friday to the southern state of Louisiana, where Ida earlier destroyed buildings and left more than a million homes without power.
A Coraopolis gas station sold a scratch-off ticket worth $1 million, Pennsylvania Lottery officials announced this week.
The Feelin’ Like a Million Bucks scratch-off ticket was sold at Sunoco, located at 6700 University Boulevard. The gas station will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling the ticket.
Feelin’ Like a Million Bucks is a $20 game that offers a top prize of $1 million.
The chances of winning $1 million are one in 1.8 million, according to the lottery website.
The winner of the game was not identified.
Scratch-off prizes expire within a year from the game’s end-sale date. Winners should sign the back of their ticket and call the lottery at 1-800-692-7481.
President Biden on Thursday told Jewish leaders that he spent time at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh after the October 2018 mass murder of 11 people there — but the synagogue told The Post he never visited.
“I remember spending time at the, you know, going to the, you know, the Tree of Life synagogue, speaking with them,” Biden said in a 16-minute virtual address ahead of the Jewish holidays Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Barb Feige, executive director of the Tree of Life, said that Biden did not visit the synagogue in the nearly three years since the anti-Semitic attack.
In a phone interview, Feige, executive director since July 2019, said firmly that “no” Biden didn’t visit, even before taking office when he had a lower public profile as a former vice president and then-Democratic presidential candidate.
CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Cambria County man is behind bars again after police allegedly found him passed out and hanging outside his car door with drugs in his vehicle.
According to Upper Yoder Township police, 30-year-old Jesse Lamer had the following in his vehicle:
1 plastic container with white crystal substance approx. 34.6 grams
15 stamp bags with white crystal substance approx. 5.15 grams
1 glass vial with white crystal substance approx. 8.01 grams
1 glass vial with white crystal substance approx. 13.24 grams
3 glass smoking devices in the center console
1 glass smoking device in the glove box
1 kit containing a scale, baggies, straws and two glass smoking devices on the passenger seat and throughout the vehicle
Police managed to seize this evidence after they were dispatched to the 200 block of Derby Street Aug. 29 for a report of a man hanging out the passenger side of his car, according to the affidavit.
The Supreme Court’s dramatic 5-4 action leaving a Texas abortion ban in place at midnight Wednesday establishes that the Roberts Court no longer is Roberts’ Court.
(CNN)The Supreme Court’s dramatic 5-4 action leaving a Texas abortion ban in place at midnight Wednesday establishes that the Roberts Court no longer is Roberts’ Court.
Chief Justice John Roberts dissented with three liberal justices in what could be regarded as the least considered but most consequential case in years.
Since Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court last October and he lost his position at the ideological center of the bench, Roberts has been on the dissenting side in a handful of close cases. But the Texas abortion controversy arguably marked his most significant loss to date.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki snapped at a reporter Thursday after he asked how President Biden can consider himself a Catholic while also supporting abortion.
Owen Jensen, a reporter with EWTN, a Catholic news network, asked Psaki during her daily press briefing why the president supports abortion “when his own Catholic faith teaches abortion is morally wrong.”
(CNN)House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is offering a glimpse of the Donald Trump-inspired authoritarian streak likely to animate a Republican majority if the party triumphs in next year’s midterm elections.
In the latest manifestation of the possible future House speaker’s hard right turn, he warned telecom and social media companies could lose their right to operate on US soil if they comply with any requests by the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection to turn over records of calls made by lawmakers.
His threat is best understood in the context of McCarthy’s role as the ex-President’s chief protector on Capitol Hill, after helping to scupper an independent commission into the worst attack on US democracy in modern history and joining the whitewash of what happened. He has also made clear he sees Trump as his best hope of capturing the House next November, after several visits to consult with the de-facto GOP leader, who retains a firm hold on his loyal base voters. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has made a different calculus when it comes to retaking the Senate. He also helped thwart that independent commission but has had a much icier relationship with the former President after blaming him for January 6, and Trump on Wednesday called for the Kentucky Republican to be “removed as the leader.”
The idea that a Republican House could simply close telecommunications companies on a whim appears fanciful and lacking any obvious legal basis. The Republican leader might simply have been trying to please his party’s most powerful figure and to engage GOP voters in a new political fight. Nothing would be more Trump-like than stirring the conservative media machine by making a bullying threat that he has no legal capacity or even an inclination to carry out.
Yet McCarthy’s warning was still one of his most extraordinary moves yet in the service of a twice-impeached former President who left office in disgrace after inciting the insurrection based on his multiple lies about election fraud.
In effect, a potential future speaker was warning he could use government power to punish private companies that comply with routine requests by a legally mandated committee probing a political mob that sacked the US Capitol.
Reuters has a bombshell report about a July phone call between Joe Biden and then-Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, in which the US president promises military aid in return for lies.
The “perception around the world and in parts of Afghanistan, I believe, is that things aren’t going well in terms of the fight against the Taliban,” says Biden in the July 23 call. “And there’s a need, whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture.”
Whether it is true or not.
No, things weren’t going well, three weeks after the US abandoned Bagram Airfield in the dead of night.
Biden’s solution was to create the “perception” that all was fine. He wanted to keep the illusion going long enough to cover his Aug. 31 self-imposed deadline to withdraw US troops and have a victory lap on September 11th, when he would preen as the first president to end the forever war.
So he asked Ghani to trick up an event to make it look as if he had a plan to push back on the Taliban to reassure America’s allies who were beginning to question Biden’s timetable.
“I don’t know whether you’re aware,” said Biden, “just how much the perception around the world is that this is looking like a losing proposition . . . so the conclusion I’m asking you to consider is to bring together everyone from [ex-Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid] Dostum, to [ex-President Hamid] Karzai and in between. If they stand there and say they back the strategy you put together, and put a warrior in charge, you know a military man . . . in charge of executing that strategy, and that will change perception.”
Ghani tried to explain that the situation was dire: “Mr. President, we are facing a full-scale invasion, composed of Taliban, full Pakistani planning and logistical support, and at least 10-15,000 international terrorists.”
He begged for US air support. “What is crucial is, close air support . . . a very heavy reliance on air power.”
The Afghan army was based on the US model, which relies on air support for enemy strikes, ferrying the wounded, and so on. But the contractors who serviced Afghan aircraft had left, leaving the Afghan army exposed.
Biden offered conditional air support, in return for Ghani going along with his ruse, but only until his Aug. 31 deadline. After that, “who knows?”
The Los Angeles Dodgers are now the “most hated” team in Major League Baseball, according to a sports betting website.
BetOnline examined some 100,000 tweets over the course of a month and the “Boys in Blue,” struck out amongst baseball fans in nine states including Arizona and Colorado. This comes as no surprise to those who have taken a trip to Phoenix to root for the Dodgers as the Arizona crowds frequently roar with “Beat LA,” chants.
The New York Yankees weren’t far behind and were the most hated Major League Baseball team in eight states.
Going into the 2021 season, the Yankees and Dodgers were predicted to meet in the World Series, but despite all the star power, both teams have dealt with injuries. Los Angeles has had to revamp its pitching rotation, including the additions of Max Scherzer and Cole Hamels, amid sexual assault allegations against Trevor Bauer. He remains on administrative leave and hasn’t taken the mound since late June.
Pointing to a recent study from the City of Pittsburgh Office of Community Health and Safety, the Mayor’s Office says there’s been an increased presence of fentanyl in drugs like heroin, cocaine and meth in the greater Pittsburgh area.
“While fentanyl has been present in the heroin supply for several years in this region, there are increasing reports of other, non-opioid drugs that have been cut with or contaminated by fentanyl,” the report says.
Return to the Magic and Mystique of the Renaissance!
The Festival is back and better than ever! The celebration begins on Saturday, September 4, and runs six consecutive weekends, and Labor day, ending on Sunday, October 10. The Festival is celebrating its return to the past with new entertainment, beautiful new displays from local artisans, as well as some classic shows and craftspeople that bring thousands of guests joy year after year.
The Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival is an entire day of immersive experiences for people of all ages. Guests can enjoy three armored Jousts a day, Knighting ceremonies, and nine stages of non-stop entertainment including music, dancing, comedy, sword fighting, and more! With so much unique entertainment, guests can revel in a different experience with every visit.
Returning Favorites like the CRAIC show and The Washing Well Wenches are back along with a variety of new performances.
The 2021 Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival is open Saturdays and Sundays only, September 4 through October 10, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Festival is open rain or shine in the Gateway to the Laurel Highlands, just thirty miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Admission for the 2021 season is $24 for adults and $12 for children ages 5-12. Children aged four and under are always free. Tickets can be purchased on their website at a discounted rate, or through the on-site box office on festival days.
Coupons can be found at Wendy’s and Eat N’ Park and must be redeemed at the Box Office.
For more information please visit the Festival website at www.pittsburghrenfest.com, or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
One person was rescued and five others were missing after a U.S. Navy helicopter crashed on Tuesday in the water off the coast near San Diego, according to military officials.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. In a statement, the Navy’s Third Fleet said the helicopter “crashed into the sea” at 4:30 p.m. local time while it was conducting “routine flight operations” about 60 nautical miles off the coast.
Search efforts were ongoing early Wednesday, according to the Navy.
The helicopter had been assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier based in San Diego. In a statement on Facebook on Wednesday, Lincoln officials called the crash a “tragedy.”
The 14,000-pound helicopter has a range of 245 nautical miles and can reach a top speed of 180 knots, according to the command.
The Navy has more than 250 MH-60S helicopters in use, according to the Command.
MH-60S helicopters are used for a wide array of purposes, including “vertical replenishment, combat search and rescue, special warfare support and airborne mine countermeasures” according to Naval Technology, a website that reports on military equipment.
Among the questions: What happens to the Americans still in Afghanistan? And: What does the exit mean for Biden’s approach to the world?
President Biden issued a stern defense Tuesday of his decision to exit Afghanistan. He also hailed the final evacuation — which saw more than 120,000 Americans, Afghans and others airlifted from the country — as an “extraordinary success.”
“My fellow Americans, the war in Afghanistan is now over,” Biden said from the White House. He added, “I refuse to continue a war that was no longer in the service of the vital national interest of our people.”
Americans have largely supported getting out of the country. The 20-year war cost thousands of lives.
How U.S. troops withdrew, however, has drawn its share of criticism. The far-faster-than-expected Taliban takeover created conditions that left the U.S. scrambling to get out. For security, American forces had to rely on a former enemy that once gave cover to the terrorist group that planned the 9/11 attacks in the first place.
Biden will hope that as the exit sign gets smaller in the rearview mirror, the decision grows more popular.
The ramifications from the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, and the withdrawal from the country, will likely have long-lasting effects, and they raise lots of questions.
Here are five:
1. What happens to the Americans still in Afghanistan?
In his remarks Tuesday, Biden said there are about 100 to 200 Americans who remain in Afghanistan. Most are dual citizens, he said, who initially didn’t want to leave because of family roots in the country.
2. What happens to Afghan refugees and visa holders?
3. What does the exit mean for Biden’s approach to the world?
4. Will the exit affect Biden politically long term?
5. Does the American public separate the ultimate decision on leaving Afghanistan from the last couple weeks of the war?
Police say the man was suspected of shooting a woman who was found on Penn Avenue around 2 p.m. with a gunshot wound to her thigh. She told officers that a known man had shot her in the Hill District.
A Hempfield man is accused by police of being intoxicated during a 2019 wrong-way crash on Route 30 that seriously injured another motorist, according to court papers.
Larry Thomas Miller Sr., 74, is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence and several other related misdemeanors and summary offenses.
State police said they were called at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 14, 2019 to a head-on crash on Route 30 eastbound near the Cedar Street exit in Hempfield. Miller was driving west in the eastbound lanes and collided with another vehicle around a bend, according to court papers.
The female driver of the eastbound vehicle saw headlights coming toward her but didn’t have time to react, police said. She was hospitalized with a fractured neck vertebrae.
Police said Miller appeared to be intoxicated at the scene and told authorities that he had a few beers at a local bar before heading home. He was taken by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital for treatment of what authorities described as extensive injuries.
Troopers said Miller’s blood-alcohol content was 0.156%. The legal limit to drive in Pennsylvania is 0.08%. Miller also had opiates and prescription medication used to treat anxiety in his system, according to court papers. Police said they found about 3 grams of suspected cocaine in Miller’s pocket.
Labor Day often marks the time to change home decor from summer to fall. Shoppers will find a large array of seasonal and holiday decorating items this weekend at the 28th annual Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts Labor Day Festival at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds. About 200 vendors will fill five buildings
Shoppers will find a large array of seasonal and holiday decorating items this weekend at the 28th annual Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts Labor Day Festival at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds.
About 200 vendors will fill five buildings and line walkways during the four-day event. Hours will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Monday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
“This is a nice opportunity to get out and do some shopping,” said Trisha Cusick, assistant to promoter Dave Stoner, owner of Family Festivals Association Inc. “You can go online and get anything from all over the world delivered to you in 48 hours, but here you can pick something up and turn it around and see what it really looks like.
Police ask that you do not attempt to make contact with the occupants of the vehicle.
GREENSBURG, Pa. —
The City of Greensburg Police Department is requesting the public’s assistance in locating a dark gray 2016 Kia Soul, AZ registration EFA 9KD that may be involved in a child abduction.
Police say the parents of the child, who are prohibited from having contact by the Arizona Department of Child Safety, removed the child from the custody of a family member in Greensburg Tuesday at 1 p.m.
Two people were killed and at least 10 others were injured after a roadway collapsed in Mississippi on Monday night
LUCEDALE, Miss. — Two people were killed and at least 10 others were injured when seven vehicles plunged into a deep hole where a dark, rural highway collapsed as Hurricane Ida blew through Mississippi.
Torrential rain may have caused the collapse Monday night, and the drivers may not have seen that the roadway in front of them had disappeared, Mississippi Highway Patrol Cpl. Cal Robertson said. The George County Sheriff’s Department received the first call about a crash at about 10:30 p.m.
The final U.S. plan left Kabul at 3:29 p.m. ET, General Kenneth F. McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said Monday.
Washington — President Biden will address the American people Tuesday afternoon following the end of the nation’s two-decade-long war in Afghanistan, which came to a close Monday with the departure of the final U.S. military aircraft from the main airport in Kabul.
The U.S. completed its historic airlift of tens of thousands of evacuees hours before Mr. Biden’s August 31 deadline for the military presence in Afghanistan to end. More than 122,000 people flown out of the country since late July by U.S. military and coalition aircraft, including more than 5,400 U.S. citizens.
Masks will be required in all Pennsylvania K-12 schools, Gov. Tom Wolf was set to announce Tuesday, reversing course amid a statewide COVID-19 resurgence that is filling hospital beds just as students return to class.
According to the Port Authority, they are currently 100 drivers and 60 maintenance crew members short.
Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph says there were a larger number of issues Monday morning.
“We are aware that riders are being left at stops, buses aren’t showing up and they’re coming very late. Of course, if you’re somebody who’s relying on transit to get to work, to get to childcare, or to get to schools, that can be unacceptable, right?” said Laura Wiens, Pittsburghers for Public Transit executive director.
The Port Authority said the shortage could also impact Pittsburgh Public Schools students riding buses to school.
The Port Authority and a union for the drivers said there have been retirements and recruitment efforts have been difficult. They also said the extensive 10-week training course drivers have to go through is tougher to do with social distancing requirements.
The Port Authority said it is working on recruitment and is hosting a job fair Sept. 10 at the PA Career Link on Wood Street in downtown Pittsburgh at 10 a.m.
“We take this very seriously. When we put out a schedule, that is our contract with the public and when we can’t make that schedule, we really take that seriously. We ask for patience and some courtesy and even kindness for the operators, the drivers who are out there busting their butts today,” Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said.
Pittsburgh Public Schools leaders said they’re aware of the Port Authority’s shortages, and for any student taking a port authority bus that’s late, they will not be penalized by the school.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 spoke with Felicia Snyder, a parent, who says she’s expecting some transportation issues given the delay in the school start time and staggering of schedules, but Snyder encourages patience among parents and the district.
“It’s just one of those things where we’re going to have to learn how to be kind. We’re going to have to learn how to be empathetic, and we’ll have to learn how to just be decent human beings because it’s the right thing to do,” Snyder said.
The full statement from Pittsburgh Public Schools is below:
“Our transportation department works very closely with Port Authority and stays up to date on the challenges they are also facing due to the driver shortage. As part of our planning, we consider the impact students’ commutes will have on bus capacities to alleviate overcrowding concerns. With many of our students getting to school in new ways and expecting that challenges with driver coverage will continue, school leaders will not penalize students who face challenges getting to school on time due to unexpected delays and inconsistent route coverage.”
President Biden appears to have broken his promise to stay in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated.
Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. announced Monday evening that the last of the U.S. troops stationed at the Kabul airport had left, completing the military’s drawdown in the country, even though hundreds of Americans likely remain.
McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, said some American citizens who wanted to leave Afghanistan remain in country.
(CNN)North Korea appears to have restarted operations at a power plant capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, according to the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that clues, such as the discharge of cooling water, observed in early July indicated the plant is active. No such evidence had been observed since December 2018, the IAEA said.
“The continuation of the DPRK’s nuclear program is a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable,” the report added, referring to North Korea by its official acronym, The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The IAEA said there also were signs of activity at the nearby radiochemical laboratory, from mid-February until early July. The power plant is used to make nuclear fuel, and the radiochemical laboratory is used to reprocess the fuel rods from the plant into plutonium that can, theoretically, be used in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons.
Both the plant and the lab are located in North Korea’s best-known nuclear complex, Yongbyon.
The IAEA and other independent analysts have previously reported on the observed activity at the radiochemical laboratory and believed it may have been part of a campaign to turn nuclear fuel into plutonium for nuclear weapons.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said in June that the duration of activity at the lab was consistent “with the time required for a reprocessing campaign.”
Ed Asner, legendary actor, activist and philanthropist, passed away peacefully Sunday morning, surrounded by family. He was 91. Asner, former president of the Screen Actors Guild, is best known for Mary Tyler Moore.
WASHINGTON – The United States carried out a military strike on Sunday against an ISIS-K target in Kabul, a development that comes in the final days of an immense humanitarian evacuation mission.
“U.S. military forces conducted a self-defense unmanned over-the-horizon airstrike today on a vehicle in Kabul, eliminating an imminent ISIS-K threat to Hamad Karzai International airport,” U.S. Central Command spokesman Navy Capt. Bill Urban wrote in a statement.
“We are confident we successfully hit the target. Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material,” he added.
There were no known civilian casualties following the strike.
The latest strike follows a Friday drone strike that killed two high-profile ISIS-K members believed to be involved in planning attacks against U.S. forces in Kabul. Army Maj. Gen. William Taylor said that there were no known civilian casualties following the strike.
Friday’s strike came less than two days after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the gates of Kabul’s airport, resulting in the deaths of 13 American service members.
The White House said Sunday that the president and first lady will meet with the families of the fallen and observe a dignified transfer of the remains at Dover Air Force Base.
A dignified transfer is a solemn process in which the remains of fallen service members are carried from an aircraft to an awaiting vehicle. A dignified transfer is conducted for every U.S. service member killed in action.