Study: Warmer Arctic led to killer cold in Texas, much of US

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUBLISHED: 2 September 2021 

Warming of the Arctic caused by climate change has increased the number of polar vortex outbreaks, when frigid air from the far north bathes the central and eastern United States in killer cold, a study finds.

The study in the journal Science Thursday is the first to show the connections between changes in the polar region and February´s Valentine´s Week freeze that triggered widespread power outages in Texas, killing more than 170 people and causing at least $20 billion in damage.

The polar vortex normally keeps icy air trapped in the Arctic. But warmer air weakens the vortex, allowing it to stretch and wander south. The number of times it has weakened per year has more than doubled since the early 1980s, said study lead author Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric Environmental Research, a commercial firm outside of Boston.

"It is counterintuitive that a rapidly warming Arctic can lead to an increase in extreme cold in a place as far south as Texas, but the lesson from our analysis is to expect the unexpected with climate change," Cohen said.

Climate scientists are still debating how and whether global warming is affecting cold snaps - they know it's reducing the overall number of cold days, but they are still trying to understand if it leads to deeper cold snaps.

Cohen's study is the first to use measurements of changes in the atmosphere to help explain a phenomenon that climate models had struggled to account for.

FILE - In this Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 file photo, Traffic is sparse on the snow-covered Interstate 45 near The Woodlands Parkway following an overnight snowfall in The Woodlands, Texas, as temperatures plunged into the teens with light snow and freezing rain. A study published in the journal Science on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, is the first to show physical connections between climate change and the Valentine's Week 2021 extreme cold. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Cohen´s study "provides a potentially simpler interpretation of what´s going on," said Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann, who wasn´t part of the study.

Cohen was able to show how there have been dramatic differences in warming inside the Arctic itself, which drives how the polar vortex can stretch and weaken.

When the area north of England and around Scandinavia warms more than the area around Siberia, it stretches the polar vortex eastward and the cold air moves from Siberia north over the polar region and then south into the central and eastern part of the United States.

"The Texas cold blast of February 2021 is a poster child" for the link between a changing Arctic and cold blasts in lower latitudes, said climate scientist Jennifer Francis of the Woodwell Climate Research Center on Cape Cod. She helped pioneer the Arctic link theory, but wasn't part of Cohen´s research. "The study takes this controversial hypothesized linkage and moves it solidly toward accepted science," she said.

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Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears.

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This Associated Press series was produced in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute´s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

NEW SOCIAL COMPACT
4.1 billion lack social safety net

Published on September 3, 2021
By MD Staff


More than four billion people live without any welfare protection today to cushion them from crisis, the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Wednesday, while highlighting how the COVID-19 crisis has pushed up government spending by some 30 per cent.

Leading the call for countries to extend social safety nets far more widely than they do now, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder insisted that such a move would help future-proof workers and businesses in the face of new challenges.

“This is a pivotal moment to harness the pandemic response to build a new generation of rights-based social protection systems,” said Mr. Ryder.

“These can cushion people from future crises and give workers and businesses the security to tackle the multiple transitions ahead with confidence and with hope. We must recognize that effective and comprehensive social protection is not just essential for social justice and decent work but for creating a sustainable and resilient future too.”

In a new report the UN body acknowledged that the COVID-19 crisis had led to greater social protections worldwide, albeit mainly in wealthy countries.

It noted that only 47 per cent of the global population are covered by at least one social protection benefit, while only one in four children has access to national welfare safety nets.

Newborns’ needs unmet

Further research indicated that only 45 per cent of women with newborns worldwide receive a cash benefit, while only one in three people with severe disabilities receive a disability benefit.

Coverage of unemployment benefits is even lower, ILO said, with only 18.6 per cent of jobless workers effectively covered globally.

On retirement welfare, the UN body found that although nearly eight in 10 people receive some form of pension, major disparities remain across regions, between rural and urban areas and women and men.
Regional imbalances

The ILO report underscores the significant regional inequalities in social protection.

Europe and Central Asia have the highest rates of coverage, with 84 per cent of people having access to at least one benefit.

Countries in the Americas are also above the global average (64.3 per cent), in stark contrast to welfare roll-out in Asia and the Pacific (44 per cent), the Arab States (40 per cent) and Africa (17.4 per cent).

Highlighting differences in government spending on social protection, ILO said that high-income countries spend 16.4 per cent of national turnover (above the 13 per cent global average, excluding health), while low-income countries budget just 1.1 per cent.
Billions more needed

The UN body noted that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have had to increase spending massively to ensure minimum social protection for all, by around 30 per cent.

And it maintained that to guarantee basic social protection coverage, low-income countries would need to invest an additional $77.9 billion per year, lower-middle-income countries an additional $362.9 billion and upper-middle-income countries a further $750.8 billion annually. That’s equivalent to 15.9 per cent, 5.1 per cent and 3.1 per cent of their GDP, respectively.

“There is an enormous push for countries to move to fiscal consolidation, after the massive public expenditure of their crisis response measures, but it would be seriously damaging to cut back on social protection; investment is required here and now,” said Shahra Razavi, Director, ILO Social Protection Department.

Underscoring the multiple benefits of social welfare protection, Ms. Razavi insisted that it could promoted “better health and education, greater equality, more sustainable economic systems, better managed migration and the observance of core rights…The benefits of success will reach beyond national borders to benefit us all”.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Renaissance executives agree to pay around $7 Bln  to settle tax dispute with IRS -source

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building is seen in Washington, U.S. September 28, 2020. REUTERS/Erin Scott

Sept 2 (Reuters) - Executives of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies LLC could pay as much as $7 billion under an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, a source familiar with the situation said, following a long-running dispute over the tax treatment of certain derivative transactions.

The firm's founder, James Simons, who stepped down as the firm's chairman in January, will also make an additional settlement payment of $670 million, according to a letter obtained by Reuters which was sent to investors from Renaissance's Chief Executive Peter Brown on Thursday. The news was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Medallion, Renaissance's flagship fund, is solely managed internally for friends and family.

The letter, earlier published by the WSJ, said the fund had resolved its longstanding dispute with the IRS regarding the tax treatment of certain Medallion option transactions during 2005-15.

The dispute was over whether investors should be taxed on portfolio gains at the higher short-term capital gain rates, rather than at the lower longer-term capital gain rates of the options themselves.

"We engaged for several years in the IRS Appeals process," the letter said, but concluded that it was better to agree to the resolution with the IRS "rather than risking a worse outcome, including harsher terms and penalties, that could result from litigation."

According to the letter, the seven individuals who were members of Renaissance's board during those years, and their spouses, will be required to pay the tax and interest and penalties. Investors in the fund will be required to pay additional tax and interest but not penalties.

The IRS did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

The payment would dwarf that of a transfer pricing dispute with GlaxoSmithKline in 2006 which saw the drug firm pay $3.4 billion. The IRS's press statement said at the time it was the largest single payment to the IRS to resolve a tax dispute.

Elise Bean, a former longtime aide to former Sen. Carl Levin, who led the Senate investigation into the tax evasion, said “I wish Senator Levin were here, seven years after he first exposed its outrageous tax scam, to see RenTec finally held accountable.”

"It’s good to see that, despite a years-long knock-down bare-knuckles battle, the IRS prevailed in compelling at least one set of billionaires to pay the taxes they owe," Bean said.

In 2015, the IRS issued guidance that hedge funds using "basket options" had to report them on their tax returns and correct past returns, which came after a U.S. Senate subcommittee reported some funds were using this to avoid federal taxes.

Levin, a Democrat who was then head of the powerful U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, had presented the findings of a year-long probe into basket options, calling for tougher action from the authorities.

The report said the largest user of the options, Renaissance Technologies Corp, saved an estimated $6.8 billion in taxes.

Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru, Maiya Keidan in Toronto, Paritosh Bansal and Megan Davies in New York and Pete Schroeder in DC; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel and Chris Reese

HEAD OF RUSSIAN SPACE PROGRAM TELLS ABSURD LIE ABOUT ABANDONING ISS
ROGOZIN IS EITHER SUFFERING FROM SEVERE MEMORY LOSS — OR, MUCH MORE LIKELY, HE'S TROLLING NASA ONCE AGAIN.




MIKHAIL SVETLOV FOR GETTY / FUTURISM

Emotional Rollercoaster

Dmitry Rogozin, the director-general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, is now cozying up to its Western partners in the International Space Station after years of taking jabs at NASA and SpaceX.

Now he’s claiming that Russia won’t be leaving the International Space Station prematurely, Rogozin told CNN in his first interview with western media since taking charge of Roscosmos. That’s a total departure from Rogozin’s well-documented threats to pull Russia out of the longstanding international partnership and abandon a decades-long partnership with NASA.

“I think there is a problem in interpretation,” Rogozin told CNN. “I, most likely, did not say that.”

Lost in Translation

The only problem? That’s not remotely true. Just a few months ago, Rogozin told reporters that Russia was planning to “hand over the responsibility for our segment.” Roscosmos has also started to develop its own orbital research outpost.


And even more recently, he threatened to leave the ISS unless the US lifts sanctions against Russia.

“Either we work together, in which case the sanctions are lifted immediately, or we will not work together and we will deploy our own station,” he said during a Russian parliament hearing in June.

And that’s without getting into what Rogozin’s colleagues have been saying. Just one day before the CNN interview was published, for instance, a prominent Russian spaceflight official was complaining about potentially-irreparable damage in Russia’s Zarya module at the space station. Last month, Russian officials even accused a NASA astronaut — extremely dubiously — of intentionally damaging ISS equipment so that she could go home early.

All told, Rogozin is either suffering from severe memory loss — or, much more likely, he’s trolling NASA once again.

“It’s just that we’re talking about how we can continue our comradery, our friendly relations with our American partners, when the US government is implementing the sanctions against the very same organizations which supply the International Space Station,” he added in the CNN interview.

READ MORE: ‘Divorce is not possible’ with US over space station, says Russian space chief who threatened to pull out [CNN]

More on Dmitry Rogozin: Russia Says It’s Quitting the ISS, But It’s Also Testing a New ISS Module

NO TRUMP HOTELS IN CANADA

Trump-appointed ambassador 'lined the president's pockets' by making sure to stay at his hotels: report
Brad Reed
September 02, 2021

U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft isn't sure what science is really all about (Photo: Screen capture)
Kelly Craft, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump to be an ambassador first to Canada and then the United Nations, insisted on staying at his hotels during travel.

Forbes has obtained internal emails showing that Craft told a staffer that she wanted to stay at Trump's D.C. hotel when she was in town for a conference for ambassadors.

"I would prefer the TRUMP HOTEL," Craft wrote to the staffer.

And this was not a one-time arrangement, as Forbes found that "Craft stayed at Trump's D.C. hotel at least three times in the first half of 2018 while in town on government business."

Jack Patterson, a spokesperson for government watchdog American Oversight, said Craft's decision to enrich the man who appointed her on the taxpayer's dime was symbolic of the corruption that was rife during Trump's tenure.

"Ambassador Craft's apparent eagerness to direct business to a Trump-owned hotel sends a signal that U.S. foreign policy is pay-to-play," he said. "An American diplomat using their position to line the president's pockets is an example of the casual corruption that permeated the Trump administration and undermines confidence in the United States."

Spain: Intense flooding sees cars swept into Mediterranean Sea and buildings filled with mud in Alcanar

Flash flooding quickly turned into rivers that swept away all in their path, with residents of Alcanar saying it was lucky no one had been killed.

Megan Baynes
News reporter @megbaynes
Thursday 2 September 2021

https://news.sky.com/story/spain-intense-flooding-sees-cars-swept-into-mediterranean-sea-and-buildings-filled-with-mud-in-alcanar-12397464
Play Video - Flash floods hit eastern Spain

Flash floods hit eastern Spain

Intense flooding in Spain has seen cars swept into the Mediterranean Sea, while homes and businesses have been filled with mud and debris.

Residents of the northeast town of Alcanar said it was lucky no one had been killed, as more than 250 litres per square metre of rainfall flooded the area between 12am and 6pm on Wednesday.

"We had to get upstairs to our apartment and then leave it all in God's hands," said Rosa Maria Sancho, the 67-year-old owner of a restaurant on the Alcanar boardwalk.

Image:Wrecked cars got stuck in the rocky shore of Alcanar, in northeastern Spain. 

Pic: AP

Flash flooding quickly turned into rivers that swept away everything in their path. Several cars were carried away, and around a dozen ended up tossed in the surf of the Mediterranean Sea.

Firefighters had to use a helicopter to rescue three people in serious danger, while more were pulled from cars caught in rising waters.

Almost 60 residents were relocated to hotels, while a further 16 spent a night on cots in a sports pavilion. Four people had to be rescued from a nearby camping ground.


Image:Almost 60 residents have been relocated to hotels. Pic: AP

Other parts of Spain's central and northern areas, including Madrid, were also flooded on Wednesday.

Authorities were working to re-establish transit on roads and train lines made unpassable by mud and water, while large areas of Spain's north and its Balearic Islands remain on alert for storms for a second consecutive day.

Image:Flash flooding quickly turned into rivers that swept away all in their path. Pic: AP

Image:Spain's national weather service said the country is seeing an increase in hard rainfall. Pic: AP

Spain's national weather service said that the country is seeing an increase of hard rainfall and droughts linked to climate change.

"Spain is observing, above all in points of the Mediterranean, periods of torrential rain that are more intense and longer periods of drought that are interrupted by these intense rains," national weather service spokesman Ruben del Campo said.

Image:Cars seen in the sea after floods caused by heavy rains. Pic: AP

It comes as the UN has warned weather disasters are striking the world four to five times more often and causing seven times more damage than in the 1970s.

Experts say such extreme weather events will only become more common, with growing calls for national governments to take urgent action to reduce carbon emissions.

Image:Residents are now cleaning up the town. Pic: AP

Image:Large areas of Spain's north and its Balearic Islands remain on alert for storms. Pic: AP

Meanwhile, in America, a state of emergency has been declared in New York and New Jersey after Storm Ida dumped a month's worth of rain on New York City. Nine people have reportedly been killed in the flooding.

Last night, New York City suffered its wettest hour on record, with more than 80mm of rain falling in Central Park in the space of 60 minutes.

Hurricane Ida shows the increasing impact of climate change since Katrina & SANDY

September 2, 2021 

Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina. (Hilary Scheinuk/AP Pool)

Sixteen years to the day that Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Hurricane Ida struck at Port Fourchon, La., on Aug. 29, as a Category 4 hurricane with 240 kilometres per hour winds. Given the date and location of the area affected, Katrina and Ida comparisons are being made.

While no two disasters are the same, looking at differences between past and present disasters can help us to better understand what is needed to prepare for future disasters. As a professor of emergency management, I was on the ground in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, making observations to study aspects of the hurricane’s impact and hurricane evacuations.

Given the scope of the emerging impacts of Hurricane Ida, we see that while this is not a repeat of a Katrina disaster, questions are being raised about the effect of climate change and the resiliency of lifeline infrastructure like electricity.

Remembering Katrina

When Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in 2005, its associated storm surges were among its most significant impacts. The levees that separated New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain failed. Katrina’s toll was 1,833 killed with US$163 billion in economic losses, making it the costliest weather disaster in the past 50 years.

In looking back at Katrina, forces of nature were not the only causative factors for the disaster. Human-caused circumstances, such as a history of economic and engineering decisions that over time replaced natural coastal wetland buffers against storm surges with a 120-kilometre long industrial canal, were in part to blame for the disaster.

In addition, numerous disaster response debacles complicated the immediate aftermath of Katrina. The disaster exposed racial- and class-based segregation that resulted in disproportionate disaster impacts being felt by racialized populations. What started as a natural disaster played out more like a complex humanitarian emergency.

As the aftermath of Hurricane Ida continues to play out, it remains to be seen if the disaster recovery and the economic losses will approach those of Katrina.

The damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward in April 2006. (Jack Rozdilsky), Author provided

Differences in hurricane behaviour

A hurricane’s behaviours related to disaster damage include the combination of the effects of high-speed damaging winds, intense periods of rainfall and storm surge flooding in low lying coastal areas.

Katrina’s behaviour is remembered for its devastating water-related hazards with storm surges inundating New Orleans neighbourhoods such as the Lower Ninth Ward.

For Ida, the entire breadth of the storm’s wind field stood out as significant. The storm’s behaviour will be remembered for its wind-related hazards. Ida had a slow path of inland movement with highly destructive sustained winds of 200 kilometres per hour for eight hours over a 120-kilometre long path through portions of Jefferson and LaFourche parishes.

In 2005, Katrina crossed a cooler water column in the Gulf of Mexico as it neared the shore, weakening it from a Category 5 to a Category 3 storm at landfall. In 2021, Ida did not encounter any cooler waters, resulting in its rapid intensification. Rising water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are related to climate change.

New preparedness challenges

While the situation remains tenuous in hurricane-stricken locales, at least Ida’s casualty count appears to be nowhere near that of Katrina. As of Sept. 1, Ida’s death toll was at six and counting. It is too early to estimate Ida’s economic losses.

Unlike the situation in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina, the levees and drainage systems protecting New Orleans held up under the stress of Ida’s storm surge. Since Katrina, the U.S. federal government has spent $14.5 billion on levees, pumps, seawalls, floodgates and drainage. Apparently, in the case of Hurricane Ida, that investment in hazard mitigation paid off.

However, while preparations to protect against Katrina-like storm surge flooding appeared to be successful, other aspects of preparation did not fare as well. The region’s electrical grid did not remain functional under the hours of sustained hurricane force winds. Local utilities serving Louisiana said it would take days to assess the damage to their equipment and weeks to fully restore service across the state as problems with the electrical grid continue. All the eight main transmission lines bringing electricity from power plants into New Orleans were knocked out, and more than one million people remain without power three days after landfall.

Without power, the situation is becoming increasingly desperate. As one example of the collateral damages related to a lack of electricity, the gasoline distribution system imploded. As conditions degrade due to a prolonged electrical outage, people who did not evacuate during the storm may be forced to, and those who evacuated will be prevented from returning.

Looking at the aftermath of Hurricane Ida illustrates how climate change is making hurricanes more devastating. While studies continue to assess the climate change contribution to hurricane intensity, there is little doubt that the increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes impacting the Gulf Coast of the U.S. is being influenced by global warming.

Sixteen years of additional climate change since Hurricane Katrina adds to preparation needs. Even if we are doing better with challenges like protecting against storm surge flooding, the impacts of future hurricanes call for additional measures. These include increasing the resiliency of our infrastructure to better meet the risks of a changing climate.

Author

Jack L. Rozdilsky
Associate Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management, York University, Canada
Disclosure statement
Jack L. Rozdilsky is a Professor at York University who receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research as a co-investigator on a project supported under operating grant Canadian 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rapid Research Funding.

Dozens dead as Hurricane Ida triggers flash floods in New York area


Issued on: 03/09/2021 - 

Text by: NEWS WIRES|

Video by: Jessica LE MASURIER

Flash flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida killed at least 41 people in the New York area overnight into Thursday, including several who perished in their basements during the "historic" weather event that 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.

Flooding closed major roads across New Jersey and New York boroughs including Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens, submerging cars and forcing the fire department to rescue hundreds of people.

At least 23 people died in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy told reporters.

"The majority of these deaths were individuals who got caught in their vehicles," he said.

Twelve died in New York City, including 11 who could not escape their basements, police said. The victims ranged from the ages of 2 to 86.

"Among the people MOST at risk during flash floods here are those living in off-the-books basement dwellings that don't meet the safety codes necessary to save lives," lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

"These are working class, immigrant, and low-income people & families," she added.

Three also died in the New York suburb of Westchester while another three died in Montgomery County outside Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, a local official confirmed.

Ida blazed a trail of destruction north after slamming into Louisiana over the weekend, bringing severe flooding and tornadoes.

"We're enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said late Wednesday.

State emergencies were declared in New York and New Jersey while the National Weather Service issued its first-ever emergency flash flood warning for New York City, urging residents to move to higher ground.

"You do not know how deep the water is and it is too dangerous," the New York branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet.

The NWS recorded 3.15 inches (80 millimetres) of rain in Central Park in just an hour -- beating a record set just last month during Storm Henri.

The US Open was also halted as howling wind and rain blew under the corners of the Louis Armstrong Stadium roof.

Lingering tornado threat

New Yorkers woke to clear blue skies Thursday as the city edged back to life but signs of the previous night's carnage weren't far away: residents moved fallen tree branches from roads as subway services slowly resumed.

Around 98,000 homes in Pennsylvania, 60,000 in New Jersey and 40,000 in New York were without power, according to the website poweroutage.us.

It is rare for such storms to strike America's northeastern seaboard and comes as the surface layer of oceans warms due to climate change.

The warming is causing cyclones to become more powerful and carry more water, posing an increasing threat to the world's coastal communities, scientists say.

"Global warming is upon us and it's going to get worse and worse and worse unless we do something about it," said Democratic senator Chuck Schumer.

In Annapolis, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Washington, a tornado ripped up trees and toppled electricity poles.

The NWS warned the threat of tornadoes would linger, with tornado watches in effect for parts of southern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and southern New York as Ida tracked north through New England Thursday.

(AFP)

Storm Ida triggers deadly flooding in New York and New Jersey

Issued on: 02/09/2021 - 

People make their way in rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 1, 2021, in the Bronx borough of New York City. © David Dee Delgado, AFP

Text by: FRANCE 24

Video by: Jessica LE MASURIER


The governors of New York and New Jersey declared a state of emergency late on Wednesday as record-breaking rains from tropical storm Ida led to flooding and hazardous conditions on the roads, killing at least 26 people on the US East Coast.

"I am declaring a state of emergency to help New Yorkers affected by tonight's storm," New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Twitter.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio described the flooding and weather on Wednesday night as a "historic weather event". The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency in New York City for the first time.

At least 12 people died in New York City, police said, one of them in a car and eight in flooded basement apartments that often serve as relatively affordable homes in one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets. Officials said at least eight died in New Jersey and three in Pennsylvania's suburban Montgomery County; one was killed by a falling tree, one drowned in a car and another in a home. An on-duty state trooper in Connecticut was swept away in his cruiser and later taken to a hospital, state police and local authorities said.

Nearly all New York City subway lines were suspended late on Wednesday as the remnants of Ida brought torrential rain and the threat of flash floods and tornadoes to parts of the northern mid-Atlantic, CNN reported earlier.

All non-emergency vehicles were banned from New York City's streets until 5am (9am GMT) on Thursday due to the weather, city authorities said on Twitter.

At least five flash flood emergencies were issued on Wednesday evening by the National Weather Service, stretching from west of Philadelphia through northern New Jersey.

Earlier in the night, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also declared a state of emergency. He wrote on Twitter that 81,740 power outages were reported late on Wednesday.

A tornado swept through New Jersey's Gloucester County, damaging multiple homes, according to CNN affiliate WPVI.

All New Jersey Transit rail services apart from the Atlantic City Rail Line were suspended due to the extreme weather, the service said on its website.

The storm damage from Ida had astounded officials on Wednesday, three days after the powerful hurricane pounded southern Louisiana, and reconnaissance flights revealed entire communities devastated by wind and floods.

Tornadoes spawned by the storm ripped through parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, images on social media showed.

New Jersey's Newark Liberty Airport said on Twitter it was experiencing "severe flooding". It said it resumed "limited flight operations" close to midnight after all flight activity was suspended late on Wednesday.

Social media images showed water gushing over New York City's subway platforms and trains. Subway service was "extremely limited" due to the flooding, the Metropolitan Transit Authority said.

First responders evacuated people from the subway system, the acting chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Janno Lieber, said in a statement.

De Blasio urged people to stay home.

"Please stay off the streets tonight and let our first responders and emergency services get their work done. If you're thinking of going outside, don't. Stay off the subways. Stay off the roads. Don't drive into these heavy waters. Stay inside," he wrote on Twitter.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

‘Simply dystopian’: Viral photos of NYC flooding draw comparisons to climate change disaster film

The city looked like a scene from a disaster movie.

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw
Internet Culture
Published Sep 2, 2021

New York and New Jersey were hit by flash floods in the wake of Hurricane Ida on Wednesday night, with both state governors declaring a state of emergency. Footage from New York City is particularly shocking, showing flooded streets, subways, and apartment buildings—and inspiring comparisons to the disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow.

Released in 2004, The Day After Tomorrow depicts a heavily fictionalized image of climate change, where catastrophic weather devastates New York City in a matter of days. First comes a tsunami of floodwater, followed by a new ice age. As one of the quintessential NYC disaster movies, some of its scenes now look disturbingly similar to real life.

Some of the scenes from Wednesday night can best be described as apocalyptic, as people attempted to drive or wade through the flood waters. Mayor Bill de Blasio warned New Yorkers to stay inside due to “record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” but many were still stranded while trying to brave the storm. Eight people have been reported dead so far, and there are widespread concerns about the dangers of walking through contaminated floodwater.

Over the past decade, NYC has experienced an influx of extreme weather, most famously with Hurricane Sandy in 2012. This February saw the heaviest snowfall in the city’s history, and another storm resulted in floods this July.

Hurricane Ida was particularly devastating, highlighting two interconnected problems: The city’s failing infrastructure and the increasingly obvious impact of climate change. New York’s subway system is notoriously in need of maintenance, but it was also never designed to withstand this level of flooding. So while The Day After Tomorrow may be a corny movie that played fast and loose with climate science, the comparisons are wholly understandable. On Wednesday night, New York really did look like a scene from a disaster movie.


Gavia Baker-Whitelawis a staff writer at the Daily Dot, covering geek culture and fandom. Specializing in sci-fi movies and superheroes, she also appears as a film and TV critic on BBC radio. Elsewhere, she co-hosts the pop culture podcast Overinvested. Follow her on Twitter: @Hello_Tailor

‘Nice dystopia you got there’: Grubhub worker spotted delivering food amid NYC floods sparks outrage

'Don't make people deliver food to you in weather like this. What the f*ck?'

@UnequalScenes/Twitter

Mikael Thalen
Internet Culture
Published Sep 2, 2021 

An apparent Grubhub worker who was spotted wading through waist-high water to deliver food in New York City is stirring widespread debate on social media.

And through it all! @Grubhub delivery still out there bringing your dinner,” @UnequalScenes tweeted.

Many Twitter users responded to the clip, which has been seen more than 4.7 million times, by expressing outrage over the fact that someone had felt it necessary to order food.

“Hi folks, I promise you’ll be okay if you just make yourself a PB&J for the night,” @DatFirePrincess wrote. “Or even if you eat the peanut butter straight from the jar. Don’t make people deliver food to you in weather like this. What the fuck?”



“Shame on the person who made the order, and bigger shame on grubhub for accepting the order. The poor delivery person doesn’t deserve this,” another person added.

https://twitter.com/xxoorita/status/1433283917323378688?s=20



The viral video also led many to discuss the current state of the economy as well as poverty in modern day America.

“Forcing your way through dangerous floodwaters in the middle of a storm to deliver someone a burger is the reality of the poverty and precarity at the heart of the gig economy,” @bencsmoke added.

Countless users also began tagging Grubhub to demand that the company provide better conditions for their workers. The official Twitter account for Grubhub has not responded to the viral video. The Daily Dot reached out to Grubhub via email but did not immediately hear back.

“Deliveristas putting their lives at risk to deliver food in a tropical storm are the consequences of an unregulated gig economy,” @SamelysLopez said. “It’s inhumane.”

Hurricane Ida has led to at least 15 deaths across the region and produced record-breaking rainfall across New York. Yet gig workers, many who can’t afford to take time off, continue to face not only the coronavirus pandemic but devastating weather conditions as well.

Update 3:08pm CT: Grubhub told the Daily Dot they were looking into whether the person in the video is one of their drivers and said the safety of their employees is a priority for them.

Mikael Thalen is a tech and security reporter based in Seattle, covering social media, data breaches, hackers, and more.

AOC Blasts Manchin over NYC Flooding: ‘Bipartisan Corruption’ is Killing People

By BRITTANY BERNSTEIN
September 2, 2021 

From left: Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley hold a news conference on Capitol Hill, July 15, 2019. (Erin Scott/Reuters)

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) lashed out at Senator Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) on Thursday after he said he would not support Democrats’ $3.5 trillion in proposed spending, accusing him of “killing people” with “‘bipartisan’ corruption.”

“Manchin has weekly huddles w/ Exxon & is one of many senators who gives lobbyists their pen to write so-called ‘bipartisan’ fossil fuel bills,” the progressive congresswoman wrote in a tweet in response to an essay Manchin wrote for the Wall Street Journal about the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation plan.

“It’s killing people. Our people. At least 12 last night,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to the deaths caused by flooding in New York City during Tropical Storm Ida on Wednesday. “Sick of this ‘bipartisan’ corruption that masquerades as clear-eyed moderation.”

She continued: “Fossil fuel corps & dark money is destroying our democracy, country, & planet. All day our community has been pulling bodies out of homes from the flood. Entire families. And we’re supposed to entertain lobbyist talking points about why we should abandon people & do nothing? No.”

Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), who is a member of the progressive “Squad” along with Ocasio-Cortez, was also critical of Manchin’s essay.

“Instead of writing op-eds, why don’t you look into the faces of my residents who have had their basements flooded with sewage multiple times and their power out for days, Senator Manchin. We deserve better,” she tweeted.

The “Squad” members’ criticism comes after Manchin said Thursday he would not support his party’s $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill in its current form and criticized Democrats’ efforts to pass the measure “with no regard to rising inflation, crippling debt or the inevitability of future crises.”

“Some in Congress have a strange belief there is an infinite supply of money to deal with any current or future crisis, and that spending trillions upon trillions will have no negative consequence for the future. I disagree,” Manchin wrote.

Democrats on the House and Senate committees are working to draft and mark up sections of the spending bill ahead of September 15, the soft deadline to complete the draft.

In order to pass the massive spending bill using budget reconciliation, the party will need the support of all 50 Democrats in the Senate to reach a simple majority.

Ocasio-Cortez threatens to blow up Joe Manchin's bipartisan infrastructure deal after he demands spending 'pause'
Bob Brigham
September 02, 2021

Screengrabs.

Second-term progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) stood up to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on the question of infrastructure spending.

Manchin, a conservative Democrat, on Thursday had an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal calling for a "pause" on the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill.

"Instead of rushing to spend trillions on new government programs and additional stimulus funding, Congress should hit a strategic pause on the budget reconciliation legislation," Manchin wrote.

However, the budget reconciliation legislation amounts to the vast majority of infrastructure spending in President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" agenda.

Ocasio-Cortez threatened to block the smaller portion of Biden's infrastructure agenda, the bipartisan budget framework that Manchin has supported.

She also blasted the bipartisan budget framework as "Exxon lobbyist drafted" and cited climate change as a reason passing the larger legislation is necessary.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) agreed with Ocasio-Cortez's attacks on Manchin, also citing climate change.

With disasters occurring from coast-to-coast, the climate change message progressives are using to support passing both bills is also being used by the White House.

"The past few days of Hurricane Ida, wildfires in the West, and unprecedented flash floods in New York and New Jersey are another reminder that the climate crisis is here," Biden wrote on Thursday.

"We need to be better prepared. That's why I'm urging Congress to act and pass my Build Back Better plan," he said, referring to passage of both bills.

Deadly flash floods show how vulnerable New York’s infrastructure is to climate change

PUBLISHED THU, SEP 2 2021
Catherine Clifford@CATCLIFFORD

KEY POINTS

Hurricane Ida’s remnants exposed vulnerabilities in New York City’s infrastructure to the kind of extreme weather that is being generated by climate change.

“The subway system is a shallow system, and it’s not a submarine,” Janno Lieber, the acting chair and CEO of the New York City MTA, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday.

“The buses have been running nonstop,” Lieber told CNBC. “The bus drivers were heroic. They got a lot of people home.”

WATCH NOW

VIDEO03:32

Ida batters New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania with record rain and floods

Hurricane Ida’s remnants, which triggered flash floods that killed at least 22 people in New York and New Jersey on Wednesday night, exposed vulnerabilities in New York City’s infrastructure to the kind of extreme weather being generated by climate change.

“We really have to work with our friends in the city government to make sure that the street-level drainage is a little more at capacity so we don’t, in these new climate change-era flash-flooding situations, get as much coming down into the subway system,” Janno Lieber, the acting chair and CEO of the New York City MTA, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday.

“Because gravity does its thing, and the subway system is a shallow system, and it’s not a submarine. So we really need to work with the street-level drainage folks at the city government, and we’ll do that,” Lieber told CNBC.

Floodwater surrounds vehicles following heavy rain on an expressway in Brooklyn, New York early on September 2, 2021, as flash flooding and record-breaking rainfall brought by the remnants of Storm Ida swept through the area.
Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images

The MTA was overwhelmed by the massive amounts of rain that fell in a relatively small window of time.

“There was a historic rainfall last night — the first time a flash flood emergency declared in the New York area,” Lieber told CNBC. “What really took a toll was three and a half inches of rain fell in one hour, basically between 9 and 10 p.m.”

“That overwhelmed much of our infrastructure, roads, bridges, so much else, and it took a toll on the mass transit system,” he said.

At 11:27 p.m. Wednesday night, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio instructed New Yorkers not to go outside. “Please stay off the streets tonight and let our first responders and emergency services get their work done. If you’re thinking of going outside, don’t,” de Blasio tweeted.

“Stay off the subways. Stay off the roads. Don’t drive into these heavy waters. Stay inside,” de Blasio said.

New York’s fire department rescued hundreds of people Wednesday night from subways, buildings and roadways, an FDNY spokesperson told NBC News.

While the city’s transportation infrastructure struggled with the flash flooding, it was not as bad as it could have been, according to Lieber. He cited as a saving grace the construction done in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York City in late October 2012.

WATCH NOW

VIDEO02:27

New York City MTA CEO on historic flooding shuttering transit service

“We’ve done a ton of investment in coastal resiliency since Superstorm Sandy, and that paid off,” Lieber told CNBC. “Our underwater tunnels were able to pump, and pumping capacity really did very well, but in some of these higher elevation areas, flash flooding coming from the overwhelmed drains and sewers at the street level found its way into the subway system and knocked us out for a few hours.”

The MTA buses were able to continue running and were key in getting New Yorkers home Wednesday night, Lieber said.

“The buses have been running nonstop,” Lieber told CNBC. “The bus drivers were heroic. They got a lot of people home. They steered their way around all those abandoned cars and all that ponding. And the bus system is working well.”

There was limited service on certain subway lines on Thursday morning, Lieber told CNBC, and “we expect to have a lot of service by the afternoon on the subway.”

The Metro-North commuter train service “is really out of business today” and another local commuter train system, the Long Island Rail Road, “is coming back well, but also has some limits,” Lieber said.

“But the bus system really bailed us out yesterday, and the subway system is coming back quickly,” Lieber said.

HE SHOULD USE HIS YACHT TO RESCUE FOLKS IN QUEENS FROM IDA FLOODING
Sen. Joe Manchin Writes He Won’t Support Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Budget Bill
POLITICSJack Phillips Sep 2, 2021 EPOCH TIMES
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) talks with reporters after stepping off the Senate Floor at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on May 28, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)


Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday said Democrats need to take a “strategic pause” before considering a $3.5 trillion bill that is designed to further push President Joe Biden’s agenda.

“Instead of rushing to spend trillions on new government programs and additional stimulus funding, Congress should hit a strategic pause on the budget-reconciliation legislation,” Manchin, considered by many to be the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. “A pause is warranted because it will provide more clarity on the trajectory of the pandemic, and it will allow us to determine whether inflation is transitory or not.”

He added: “While some have suggested this reconciliation legislation must be passed now, I believe that making budgetary decisions under artificial political deadlines never leads to good policy or sound decisions. I have always said if I can’t explain it, I can’t vote for it, and I can’t explain why my Democratic colleagues are rushing to spend $3.5 trillion.”

Manchin also wrote that he is opposed to the timetable established by top Democrats to try and pass the massive bill by reconciliation, which requires a simple majority to pass and bypasses the filibuster.


Elaborating further, the West Virginia lawmaker said he can’t agree to the plan “or anywhere near that level of additional spending” without conducting a careful assessment of the economy amid fears of inflation and higher prices for goods.

Manchin also reiterated his disapproval for some Democrats’ proposals to pay for that spending including previous White House-backed plans to increase corporate tax rates from 21 percent to 28 percent. A 25 percent corporate tax rate has been previously endorsed by the senator.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) also publicly stated that she opposes the $3.5 trillion spending level, and Republicans are also unified in their opposition to the package.

About a week ago, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives met during an emergency session and approved the budget resolution, which is chiefly supported by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). All 212 Republicans voted against advancing the budget, while all 220 Democrats voted to advance it.

Addressing fears from Manchin and Republicans about increasing the national debt, House Budget Chair John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said during a recent committee hearing that the federal government has the ability to spend as much as they need on the measure.

“The federal government is not a family. And it’s not a small business. And it’s not a local government. And it’s not a state government,” Yarmuth said. “We can spend whatever we need to spend in the interest of serving the American people.”

Despite the House passing the measure, Senate Democrats have just 51 votes including Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaker, meaning they cannot afford to lose even a single defection to pass the budget bill.