Approximately 23 million people were under flood watches across parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on Friday morning, as extreme rainfall shut off subway lines and flooded streets.
A state of emergency has been declared in New York City and two other surrounding areas after “extreme rainfall” caused widespread flooding in the northeast region.
Up to 13cm (five inches) of rain fell in some areas overnight, and as much as 18cm (seven inches) more was expected throughout the day, New York governor, Kathy Hochul, said.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday morning, she declared a state of emergency in New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley, due to the weather.
Earlier on Friday, Ms Hochul said: “This is a dangerous, life-threatening storm. Count on this for the next 20 hours.”
She said her message to New Yorkers is that the “water is deadly”.
Pic: AP
Approximately 23 million people were under flood watches across parts of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut on Friday morning, with flash flood warnings in effect for parts of Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and New Jersey, according to NBC.
Footage posted on social media showed water pouring into underground stations and streets that had been turned into small lakes.
Pic: AP
Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, warned people against attempting to travel in the conditions until it clears.
Chaos during rush hour saw some drivers abandon their cars as traffic came to a standstill on a stretch of FDR Drive – a major road along the east side of Manhattan.
India and the US agreed to continue their cooperation in the areas of defence, space and clean energy as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary of State Antony Blinken, amid a simmering diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Washington, US.
India and the US agreed to continue their cooperation in the areas of defence, space and clean energy as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary of State Antony Blinken, amid a simmering diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.
Jaishankar is currently on a five-day official trip to Washington DC. This is the highest-level interaction between the two countries after the recent G20 Summit in New Delhi.
“Great to meet my friend US Secretary of State @SecBlinken at State Department today. A wide ranging discussion, following up on PM @narendramodi’s June visit. Also exchanged notes on global developments. Laid the groundwork of our 2+2 meeting very soon,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
Great to meet my friend US Secretary of State @SecBlinken at State Department today.
A wide ranging discussion, following up on PM @narendramodi’s June visit. Also exchanged notes on global developments.
The two top diplomats “discussed a full range of issues, including key outcomes of India’s G20 presidency, and the creation of India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and its potential to generate transparent, sustainable, and high-standard infrastructure investments,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
VIDEO | EAM @DrSJaishankar meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) at the US Department of State.
The two leaders did not take any questions from the media.
“The Secretary and the External Affairs Minister also emphasised the continued importance of cooperation ahead of the upcoming 2+2 Dialogue, in particular in the areas of defence, space, and clean energy,” Miller said in a statement after the meeting.
New Delhi will host the fifth edition of India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, Jaishankar announced on Thursday. Although he did not reveal the dates of the meeting, it is learnt that the ministerial dialogue would be held in the first half of November.
The US delegation would be represented by Blinken along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian delegation.
“I actually look forward to seeing you in Delhi for the 2+2,” Jaishankar told Blinken, as the latter welcomed him at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department for the meeting.
The last 2+2 ministerial was held in Washington DC on April 11. Started during the previous Trump administration, the first 2+2 ministerial was held in New Delhi on September 6, 2018.
“Focused discussion on India-US collaboration on critical and emerging tech and creating resilient supply chains at discussion convened by @USISPForum,” Jaishankar said in another post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
A bus carrying members of a high school marching band on a trip to a music camp ran off a highway and tumbled down a steep ravine in New York state on Thursday, killing two people and injuring dozens of others, several of them severely.
Reuters Graphics
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, speaking at a news conference hours later, said it appeared likely “a faulty front tire contributed to the accident,” though the cause of the wreck remained under investigation.
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Mazzone of the New York State Police said the wreck killed two adult women who were among 44 passengers, 40 students and four adults, headed from Farmington High School on Long Island to Pennsylvania.
Hochul said five or six other people were critically injured. One of the dead was a faculty adviser for the school’s band program.
Dozens of students suffered minor bumps and bruises and were seen walking around the scene after the crash. The injured were taken to a half-dozen area hospitals.
“Imagine the fear, the screams in the aftermath. These high school students, many of them freshmen were surrounded by this chaos,” Hochul said.
The two dead were identified as Beatrice Ferarri, 77, of Farmingdale, and Gina Pellettiere, 43, of the nearby Long Island town of Massapequa. Pellettiere was one of three advisers to the marching band, as well as the lone adviser to both the school’s jazz and “pep” bands, the Farmingdale High School website shows.
In a Facebook posting, an individual named Ray Eugenio wrote that his grandson was among those injured in the wreck and asked for prayers.
“He was involved in a very serious accident and we do not know the extent of his injuries,” the post said. The account could not be independently verified.
The crash occurred in the early afternoon along Interstate 84 near the town of Wawayanda, about 75 miles (120 km) northwest of New York City near the border with New Jersey. The New York State Police said in a posting on social media the westbound lanes of the highway were closed at that point.
Karolina Geits, 29, said the sign started as a joke after dating apps didn’t work for her
A woman has made waves on social media after she posted a video of herself walking around the streets of New York City with a sign that said, “Looking for a husband.”
Karolina Geits is a 29-year-old living in New York City who recently went through the streets holding the self-made, cardboard sign signifying her wishes.
Geits told Fox News Digital on Tuesday the idea for the sign was originally a joke between her and her friends.
“We had a discussion with friends that dating apps [were] not working because it takes a long time to chat,” she said.
“As a joke, I said that I’ll go outside with a sign.”
Karolina Geits walked outside on the streets of New York City with a “looking-for-a-husband” sign — and got quite the reaction from others. (Karolina Geits)
The next day, she did just that.
She took a cardboard box she received in the mail, ripped off a piece of it, wrote the words, “Looking for a husband” — and took to the streets, she said.
COUPLES SAY THE KEY TO HAPPY MARRIAGE IS THE ‘2-2-2 RULE’
The TikTok video of her moment has over 10 million views and 1.2 million likes since it was posted on September 3.
The influencer and model said it was funny to her to see the response from people passing by.
She said she was shocked by how many supported the action.
“I didn’t expect such a reaction,” she said. “People began to support me.”
Geits said people were sending her their dating profiles for potential review — although she said she’s still looking for “the best.”
Health experts have warned Americans to be cautious this Labor Day Weekend as a new Covid variant is sparking concerns and has the potential to cause an explosion in cases.
With summer coming to an end and a new Covid variant on the loose, some health experts are recommending people begin taking precautions again – starting with mask-wearing.
There is potential for a major spike in Covid cases following Labor Day weekend, when socializing will be at its peak with people going to parties, parades, and celebrations.
Patrick Gallahue of the New York City Department of Health exclusively told Daily Express US: “As cases rise, precautions become increasingly important, especially for our most vulnerable New Yorkers who are older, disabled, or have underlying health conditions.
“Staying up to date with Covid vaccines, along with other proven prevention tools – like masking, testing, and staying home when sick – continue to be our best defense against Covid and other respiratory viruses.”
CDC spokesperson Scott Pauley told Daily Express US the CDC recommends that all people are up to date on their vaccines before they travel.
New Yorkers flock to beach for Labor Day weekend (Image: Getty)
Pauley said: “Anyone may choose to wear a mask in crowded or poorly ventilated indoor areas, including on public transportation and in transportation hubs at any time.”
Labor Day weekend may bring an increase in Covid cases as people flock to beaches to celebrate the end of summer with friends and family.
Mercedes Carnethon, a professor of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University, told Daily Express US that she expects the new Covid BA.2.86 variant – dubbed ‘Pirola’ – will “spread rapidly through travel this Labor Day weekend.”
Some New Yorkers’ Labor Day plans were dampened when a few Long Island beaches closed due to rough surf and strong rip tides from hurricanes Franklin and Idalia, but those beaches seem to have reopened just in time for the holiday.
The Biden administration again shunted the responsibility of New York’s spiraling migrant crisis — this time by telling the Empire State’s private businesses to step up while it offers a measly $600 million to offset the multi-billion dollar crisis.
The proposal put forward by White House officials in a meeting with Gov. Kathy Hochul Wednesday suggested putting out a call to city companies to provide free services to the asylum seekers, including pro bono legal advice, The Post learned Thursday.
The request for handouts also extends to free help educating and consulting migrants on how to apply for work permits.
Meanwhile, the Biden admin said it would ask Congress for $600 million to help New York feed and house the crush of migrants arriving in the Big Apple under the president’s soft border policies.
Even if the Big Apple gets the paltry amount from the feds, the overall tally would be $746 million — just a fraction of the $5.2 billion already spent to care for the more than 107,000 asylum-seekers that have arrived from the southern border since spring 2022.
Mayor Eric Adams has also already warned the crisis could cost the city an eye-watering $12 billion by 2025.
The new strategy from the federal government — a slap in the face to NYC’s business community that demanded Biden take ownership of the immigration crisis — emerged just hours after Hochul trekked down to DC on Wednesday to meet with the president’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients.
The governor claimed she came out of Wednesday’s meeting “with a sense they are committed” after being promised a “surge of resources” into the city over the next couple of weeks.
Biden is again asking Congress for an additional $600 million for New York to care for migrants. AP
“They understand that a lot of time has passed and that this situation has only grown more dire,” the governor told NY1.
The proposal also came just days after the White House scoffed at the notion it is to blame for the influx, saying the Big Apple’s and state’s own issues caused the catastrophic mess.
New York City is currently caring for nearly 60,000 asylum seekers — and thousands of migrant kids are expected to start attending public school on Sept. 7, according to the Department of Education.
The flood continues to cripple the Big Apple’s resources, with officials scrambling to find places to house the roughly 3,000 migrants that have arrived each week recently, according to City Hall officials.
Meanwhile, New York City is still waiting for the “liaison” — a point person between the federal Department of Homeland Security and Mayor Adams’ administration promised during Hizzoner’s trip to Washington, DC on July 27.
Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai arrives at Taoyuan International Airport before his departure to the United States for a stopover in New York on his way to Paraguay, in Taoyuan, Taiwan August 12, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Taiwan Vice President William Lai arrived in New York on Saturday at the start of a sensitive U.S. stopover, which China has condemned and Taiwanese officials fear could prompt more Chinese military activity around the democratically governed island.
Lai, the front-runner to become Taiwan’s president in elections in January, is officially making only transit stops in the United States on his way to and from Paraguay for the swearing in of its president next week.
Lai said that he had arrived in New York, on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Happy to arrive at the #BigApple, icon of liberty, democracy & opportunities,” Lai posted.
“Looking forward to seeing friends & attending transit programs in #NewYork.”
The China Airlines flight Lai took from Taipei landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport shortly after 8:15 p.m. local time (0015 GMT), according to flight tracking app Flightradar24.
Neither Taiwan nor the U.S. have given exact details about his U.S. schedule, which both are aiming to keep low key, according to officials briefed on the trip.
Laura Rosenberger, chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a U.S. government-run non-profit that carries out unofficial relations with Taiwan, said on X that she would meet Lai in San Francisco.
Taipei and Washington call U.S. stopovers by Taiwanese officials routine and no cause for China to take “provocative” actions, but Beijing has reacted with anger at what it sees as a further sign of U.S. support for Taiwan, which it claims as its own.
China is likely to launch military drills next week near Taiwan, using Lai’s U.S. stopovers as a pretext to intimidate voters ahead of a next year’s election and make them “fear war,” Taiwanese officials say.
Lai, speaking to reporters before leaving Taiwan, made only fleeting mention of the U.S. part of his trip, simply noting he was going to New York first.
Lai’s U.S. stopover will be the 11th by a Taiwanese vice president, according to the State Department, which calls them routine but “private and unofficial.”
Washington does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but is its most important international source of weapons, and the island’s contested status is a constant source of friction with Beijing.
Paraguay is one of the few remaining countries in the world that retains formal ties with Taiwan.
Lai has made one prior U.S. transit as Taiwan’s vice president, in January 2022 on a trip to Honduras, a then-ally of the island that switched its diplomatic recognition to Beijing in early 2023.
Lai said he would use the Paraguay visit not only to deepen ties with that country but also to have “self-confident” exchanges with other countries and meet with delegations from like-minded partners. He did not say who.
Despite the availability of vaccines and boosters, COVID-19 cases are rising nationwide this summer. Christopher Sadowski
In May, the COVID-19 emergency was officially declared over — but the coronavirus is still a significant concern, according to some in the medical community.
The latest data from the New York state Department of Health, released Aug. 2, shows that COVID cases spiked by 55% since the prior week, with an average of 824 reported cases per day across the state.
And hospital admissions for the disease increased by 22% compared to the previous week, which translates to more than 100 admissions a day.
Meanwhile, a new variant — dubbed EG.5, or eris — has arisen as the dominant strain, causing about 17% of COVID cases nationwide, according to a new alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the NYC health commissioner, has said “the good news is that we’re not seeing anything in the virus that suggests it’s getting more transmissible or more lethal. What this really is, is just waning immunity … This is part of living with COVID and these fluctuations are to be expected.”
The latest data from the New York state Department of Health. NY PostDespite the availability of vaccines and boosters, COVID-19 cases are rising nationwide this summer. Christopher Sadowski
The rise in COVID-19 cases isn’t limited to New York: The CDC recorded 8,000 US hospital admissions for COVID-19 in the week ending July 22, a 12% increase from the week before.
CDC data also shows that each year since the pandemic began in 2020, an annual winter spike in cases — such as when the omicron variant caused a leap in infections in the winter of 2021-22 — is followed by a smaller increase in the middle of the summer.
“The most frightening thing to me is, we don’t know where that [omicron] variant came from,” Bershteyn said, adding that an even deadlier variant could arise without warning.
“That event could happen anytime,” she added. “That thought sends chills down my spine.”
As new variants continue to appear, health experts are concerned that we’re not prepared — especially for a worst-case scenario.
“The most frightening thing is if the virus was more deadly,” Anna Bershteyn, assistant professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU’s medical school, told The Post.
“That’s really scary,” Bershteyn added, “if a virus had the transmissibility of COVID and was as deadly as the MERS coronavirus,” referring to Middle East respiratory syndrome, a disease with a fatality rate of over 30%.
Lack of testing frustrates health experts
Even as cases increase and people gather for summer travel, popular movies and other events, tests for COVID-19 aren’t as readily available as they once were.
Despite a rise in COVID-19 cases, testing and test kits are in short supply. REUTERS
In June, the Biden administration stopped mailing out free test kits, and the ones people stockpiled over the past year or two are either expired or will be soon.
Without testing, “it will be hard for people to know if what they have is COVID,” Bershteyn said.
Because of the availability of the antiviral Paxlovid, “we actually have no supply problems” when it comes to treating cases of COVID-19, Bershteyn added. “Testing is really the key way to take advantage of these medications.”
And even though the number of COVID-19 deaths has dropped, “1 out of every 100 deaths is still something,” Bershteyn noted, referring to the CDC’s estimate that 1% of US deaths are due to the disease.
Moreover, many health insurance plans stopped paying for over-the-counter test kits once the requirement to do so ended when the emergency declaration was lifted.
The lack of available test kits could add to a rise in COVID hospitalizations and deaths, say health experts.
“We are going to continue to see people hospitalized for COVID … that could have been prevented had testing been freely and widely available,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, told the Washington Post.
Thousands of people gathered in Manhattan’s Union Square for the event organised by popular Twitch streamer and YouTube content creator Kai Cenat. Chaos erupted as people climbed on vehicles, hurled objects, threw punches and scaled structures in a park.
A YouTuber’s game console giveaway has sparked chaotic scenes in Manhattan’s Union Square.
Detectives are planning to charge Kai Cenat with inciting a riot – and the police say 65 arrests were made.
Thousands of people had gathered on Friday afternoon for a much-hyped event organised by the popular Twitch streamer and content creator.
The giveaway was expected to include PlayStation 5 consoles and a computer for livestreaming.
Video footage from the scene showed chaos erupting – with people hurling objects, throwing punches, scaling structures in a park and pushing over barriers.
People were also filmed running through the streets, climbing on top of a moving car and pounding the side of a city bus.
A number of people were also injured, including a police officer who broke a hand. Four people were taken away in ambulances.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the firebrand left-wing congresswoman, may have violated congressional rules by accepting the custom “tax the rich” dress she wore at the Met Gala, according to a nonpartisan watchdog.
The House ethics committee said it was extending its investigation into the firebrand left-wing congresswoman after the watchdog found “substantial reason to believe that she accepted impermissible gifts”.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez has denied breaking any rules.
The New York Democrat made headlines when she wore a white dress with the words “Tax The Rich” scrawled across it in red to attend the prestigious Met Gala in 2021.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez was provided the “couture dress, handbag, shoes, and jewellery” as rentals by designer Aurora James and brand Brother Vellies, according to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE).
It initially led to a bill for nearly $2,300, but that was revised later to about $990. Her partner received a bow tie and shoes.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez also received hair, makeup and transport and accommodation for the event, according to the OCE.
The cost for the car service, a stay at the Carlyle Hotel, and the bow tie and shoes amounted to $5,579.99.
The congresswoman’s hair and makeup was done by two separate stylists arranged by Condé Nast, the company behind the gala, at a cost of $477.73 and $344.85 respectively.
The OCE, a non-partisan watchdog, said on Thursday: “If Rep Ocasio-Cortez accepted impermissible gifts, then she may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.”
It said Ms Ocasio-Cortez later paid for the rental value of the clothing, and services she and her partner received, but that “did not occur until after” the watchdog informed her it was investigating the matter.
New York City is planning to compensate protesters from a 2020 demonstration following George Floyd’s death with $21,500 each in a new settlement.
In the proposed settlement, the city has agreed to pay $21,500 to each member of the class-action suit, plus an additional $2,500 to those who were issued “Desk Appearance Tickets.”
If it is approved by a judge, the settlement could amount to an estimated $4 million to $6 million. There were reportedly around 300 people in attendance at the protest, and roughly 90 have already settled with the city regarding alternative complaints.
The class-action suit participants alleged “violations of their rights under the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments” stemming from a June 4, 2020, protest, when police allegedly boxed demonstrators in.
