 |
| |
 | | | Swamped and stunned | | New York City was swamped by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. And some people are getting secret COVID-19 vaccines. It's Thursday's news. | | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| The remnants of Hurricane Ida blasted the Northeast, overwhelming the region with historic downpours and devastating floods. The Supreme Court denied an effort to halt the controversial abortion law now in effect in Texas. And some people are getting a COVID-19 vaccine, but they're keeping it a secret. |
| 👋 Hey, hey! Laura here, it's Thursday, and I've got all the news you need to know. |
| But first, we've got worm problems, y'all. 🐛 Tiny troops of armyworms are munching their way through lawns across the country, leaving grass and plants dead in their wake. Here's what to look for. |
| The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here. |
NYC streets turned into rivers |
| The death toll from the remnants of Hurricane Ida's stunning blast through the Northeast rose to at least 40 Thursday after a wide swath of the region became overwhelmed by fierce downpours and localized flooding. At least 12 people died in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Twenty-three deaths were reported Wednesday and Thursday in New Jersey, three in Pennsylvania, one in Maryland and one in Connecticut. The body of a Virginia resident missing in flooding earlier this week was also found. The downpours turned the city's streets into rivers and swamped basements and first-floor apartments. The carnage comes days after Hurricane Ida barreled ashore Sunday in Louisiana packing 150 mph winds. At least six deaths had been reported earlier, including two each in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Power remained out to almost 1 million Louisiana power customers Thursday. |
| |
Supreme Court won't block Texas abortion law |
| Many people woke up Thursday to the news that the Supreme Court denied an effort by abortion rights groups to halt a Texas law that bans women from having the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy. Wading into a divisive debate hours after the prohibition had already taken effect, the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling was handed down one minute before midnight and followed a daylong outcry from abortion rights groups and applause from anti-abortion advocates across the nation after the Texas prohibition took effect and several clinics said they would honor it. Similar abortion bans in other states had been quickly halted by federal courts before they took effect. The court declined to block enforcement of the law, the most restrictive in the nation, over the objection of three liberal associate justices and Chief Justice John Roberts. In a rare statement criticizing the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden on Thursday described the ruling as an "unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights" and called for an "immediate response," though he did not say specifically what that might look like other than to say federal agencies would study their options. |
| |
 | | Protest on abortion outside the Supreme Court in 2005. | | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP | |
What everyone's talking about |
| |
Some keeping their vaccine a secret |
| Secrets don't make friends, but some people say this particular secret might help keep a friend. Even though the COVID-19 vaccine has been proven safe and effective, the stigma of actually believing in vaccines is so powerful in some communities that millions of Americans are getting inoculated in secret to avoid reproach. About 1 in 6 who are vaccinated against COVID-19 say they're keeping that information a secret from at least some people, while more than 1 in 17 aren't telling anyone, according to a poll. With more than 174 million being fully vaccinated in this country, that adds up to upward of 10 million declining to share that information. In many cases, vaccinated people hide it because they know others in their life wouldn't approve. Read the whole story here. |
| |
 | | Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center nurse Maggie Bass gives Eric Wilson, 20, a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at an open vaccination site sponsored by the university and the medical center in the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., on Aug. 3. Wilson recently lost his father to COVID-19. | | Rogelio V. Solis/AP | |
GM hitting the brakes on production |
| The chips are down – semiconductor chips, that is – and the problems it's causing have extended to General Motors' assembly plants. GM will idle nearly all its assembly plants in North America starting Monday as the COVID-19 pandemic affects production of semiconductor chips overseas. The industry has been experiencing a global shortage of the chips, used in a variety of car parts, since early this year. The chips are also used in small electronics, and as more workers and children stayed home from work and school last year during the pandemic, demand for personal electronics, such as laptops, rose, creating a shortage of chips. |
| |
 | | Two UAW workers at GM's Orion Assembly plant where GM builds its Bolt EV and the self-driving test cars. | | General Motors | |
Real quick |
| |
Labor Day weekend traffic begins |
| In news that shouldn't surprise anybody, traffic in certain corridors is expected to get gnarly over the weekend as holiday travelers hit the road for Labor Day. While the CDC is advising unvaccinated Americans to stay home this Labor Day weekend, traffic is expected to spike between Thursday and Tuesday as travelers take advantage of the three-day weekend. While more people are expected to hit the road this weekend, travel isn't expected to return to 2019 levels and will likely pale compared with earlier holidays like July Fourth and Memorial Day that were driven by pent-up demand. If you're still planning on hitting the road, check out the worst times to hit the road each day. |
| |
 | | Drivers make their way on the US 101 freeway in Los Angeles on August 30, 2019, ahead of Labor Day weekend. | | Mario Tama, Getty Images | |
A break from the news |
| |
| This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here. |
| |
| MORE ARTICLES |
| |
| |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment