AP News in Brief at 12:02 a.m. EDT
Coastal evacuations urged as Hurricane Henri heads north
People evacuated popular beach communities and made last-minute runs on batteries and gasoline as Hurricane Henri churned closer to Long Island and southern New England, while officials pleaded with the millions of people in the storm´s path to brace themselves for torrential rain and storm surges.
Hurricane Henri was on course to collide Sunday in the late morning or afternoon with a long stretch of coastline, as hurricane warnings extended from near the old whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, across the luxurious oceanfront estates of New York´s Hamptons, to the summer getaway of Fire Island.
Intense winds and potentially dangerous tidal surges were expected as far east as Cape Cod and as far west as the New Jersey shore, and utilities warned ensuing power outages could last a week or even more. Governors urged people to stay home during the brunt of the storm.
Henri was veering a bit further west than originally expected, placing eastern Long Island in its bull's-eye rather than New England. That gave people directly in the storm's path less time to prepare.
A mandatory evacuation order was issued for some residents closest to the water in Madison, Connecticut. First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons wrote in a public notice, that any "residents who do not leave the evacuation zone by 9 p.m. tonight are putting their lives at risk and public safety crews will not be able to respond to you once winds exceed 50 mph."
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At least 8 killed in Tennessee flash floods; dozens missing
WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP) - Catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee left at least eight dead and dozens missing Saturday as record-shattering rainfall washed away homes and rural roads, authorities said.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told news outlets more than 30 people have been reported missing.
Two of the bodies recovered were toddlers who had been swept away from their father, Davis told WSMV-TV.
The Humphreys County town of McEwen, located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Nashville, was pummeled with 17 inches (43 centimeters) of rain in less than a day, prompting water rescues, road closures, and communications disruptions. That rainfall total smashed the region's 24-hour record of 9.45 inches (24 centimeters) from 2010, according to the National Weather Service Nashville.
McEwen and the nearby city of Waverly were facing a "dire, catastrophic situation," National Weather Service meteorologist Krissy Hurley told The Tennessean. "People are trapped in their homes and have no way to get out."
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IS threat forces US changes to evacuations at Kabul airport
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Potential Islamic State threats against Americans in Afghanistan are forcing the U.S. military to develop new ways to get evacuees to the airport in Kabul, a senior U.S. official said Saturday, adding a new complication to the already chaotic efforts to get people out of the country after its swift fall to the Taliban.
The official said that small groups of Americans and possibly other civilians will be given specific instructions on what to do, including movement to transit points where they can be gathered up by the military. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
The changes come as the U.S. Embassy issued a new security warning Saturday telling citizens not to travel to the Kabul airport without individual instruction from a U.S. government representative. Officials declined to provide more specifics about the IS threat but described it as significant. They said there have beenno confirmed attacks as yet.
Time is running out ahead of President Joe Biden´s Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw most remaining U.S. troops. In his remarks on the situation Friday, he did not commit to extending it, though he did issue a new pledge to evacuate not only all Americans in Afghanistan, but also the tens of thousands of Afghans who have aided the war effort since Sept. 11, 2001. That promise would dramatically expand the number of people the U.S. evacuates.
Biden faces growing criticism as videos depict pandemonium and occasional violence outside the airport, and as vulnerable Afghans who fear the Taliban's retaliation send desperate pleas not to be left behind.
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Mask, vaccine conflicts descend into violence and harassment
PHOENIX (AP) - The Hawaii lieutenant governor watched in horror as protesters showed up outside his condo, yelled at him through bullhorns and beamed strobe lights into the building to harass him over vaccine requirements.
A parent in Northern California barged into his daughter's elementary school and punched a teacher in the face over mask rules. At a school in Texas, a parent ripped a mask off a teacher's face during a "Meet the Teacher" event.
A Missouri hospital leader was approached in a parking garage this week by a man from Alabama who handed him papers accusing him of "crimes against humanity," and it was not the only in-your-face encounter over vaccines and masks. School board members, county commissioners, doctors and local leaders are regularly confronted at meetings and in public with angry taunts that compare them to the Taliban, Nazis, Marxists and the leaders of Japanese internment camps.
Across the country, anti-vaccine and anti-mask demonstrations are taking scary and violent turns, and educators, medical professionals and public figures have been stunned at the level at which they have been vilified for even stating their opinion. And they have been terrified over how far protesters will go in confronting leaders outside their homes and in their workplaces.
"The heat definitely got turned up this week," said Shannon Portillo, a county commissioner in Kansas who was berated at a meeting Wednesday in which the board mandated masks indoors for unvaccinated children. "It got much more hostile than anything I had seen."
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Biden sees dip in support amid new COVID cases: AP-NORC poll
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Joe Biden is facing a summer slump, with Americans taking a notably less positive view of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his job approval rating ticking down.
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 54% of Americans approve of Biden´s job performance, down slightly from 59% last month. While that's still a relatively solid rating for a president during his first year in office, particularly given the nation's deep political polarization, it's a worrying sign for Biden as he faces the greatest domestic and foreign policy challenges of his presidency so far.
The biggest warning sign for the president in the survey centers on his handling of the pandemic. Last month, 66% of Americans approved of his stewardship of the public health crisis; now, that number has fallen to 54%, driven by a drop in support from Republicans and independents.
That decline in support coincides with other storm clouds gathering over Biden's presidency, most notably the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan as U.S. troops withdraw and the Taliban cement their control of the country.
The poll, conducted August 12-16, as news of the Taliban´s movement into Kabul was widely reported in the United States, shows Americans about evenly divided over Biden´s handling of foreign policy (47% approve, 51% disapprove) and national security (52% approve, 46% disapprove).
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Rev. Jesse Jackson, wife Jacqueline hospitalized for COVID
CHICAGO (AP) - The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a famed civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate, and his wife, Jacqueline, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a statement Saturday.
Jesse Jackson, 79, is vaccinated against the virus and received his first dose in January during a publicized event as he urged others to receive the inoculation as soon as possible. He and his wife, 77, are being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
"Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both," according to the statement from Jesse Jackson's nonprofit, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
"There are no further updates at this time," the statement said. "We will provide updates as they become available."
A protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson was key in guiding the modern civil rights movement on numerous issues, including voting rights.
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Henri thwarts Central Park concert hailing NYC virus rebound
NEW YORK (AP) - A superstar-laden Central Park concert meant to celebrate New York City´s recovery from the coronavirus was cut short because of severe weather as Hurricane Henri approached.
Officials asked concert-goers to leave the park during Barry Manilow´s set amid the threat of lightning. New York City police on Saturday night told concertgoers via Twitter to "calmly move to the nearest exits and proceed to areas outside of the park. This is NOT an emergency."
After some confusion over whether the concert might resume, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted, "While it´s disappointing that tonight´s concert had to end early, the safety of everyone in attendance had to come first."
The highly promoted "Homecoming Concert" featured Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Jennifer Hudson, Carlos Santana, LL Cool J and Andrea Bocelli among the performers.
Saturday's event came after a series of hip-hop concerts in the last week at outdoor venues around the city.
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Gaza border clashes wound 24 Palestinians, Israeli policeman
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli gunfire on Saturday wounded 24 Palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy who was shot in the head, health officials said. An Israeli policeman was critically wounded by Palestinian gunfire during the clashes along Gaza's border with Israel.
The violence erupted after hundreds of Palestinians took part in a demonstration Saturday organized by Gaza's Hamas rulers to draw attention to a stifling Israeli blockade of the territory. The demonstration grew violent after dozens of people approached the fortified border fence and threw rocks and explosives toward Israeli soldiers from behind a black smoke screen spewing from burning tires.
The Israeli military said that hundreds of demonstrators approached one area of the fence in northern Gaza and attempted to climb over while throwing explosives at troops. It said that troops fired tear gas and live rounds toward the protesters.
It also said a member of the paramilitary border police was hospitalized in grave condition after being shot. Amateur video from the Palestinian side showed a protester running up to the concrete barrier and firing a pistol into a hole used by an Israeli sniper.
In Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said 24 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire. Two of them, including the 13-year-old boy, were in critical condition.
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Hurricane Henri: What to know as rare cyclone heads north
NEW YORK (AP) - As Hurricane Henri heads toward New York and New England, here's everything to know about this weekend's weather that's tropical in name, but far from its titular home:
HUH, A HURRICANE IS HITTING THE NORTHEAST?
Probably! Rare tropical weather is making its way up off the Atlantic coast of the U.S., destined for New York and New England - two regions that don't often play host to tropical systems.
WHAT AREAS IS HENRI SUPPOSED TO AFFECT?
Right now, it´s looking like New York´s Long Island and southern New England - particularly Connecticut. If it makes landfall in New York, that would be the first time the state´s sustained a direct hit during a hurricane season since 2012´s Superstorm Sandy - the effects of which are still plaguing New York.
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Winds threaten to fan destructive California wildfire
PLACERVILLE, Calif. (AP) - Crews were digging in and burning out fire lines amid another round of high winds Saturday contributed to the fury to a Northern California wildfire.
"We have a firefight ahead of us and the wind today is going to make it very challenging," said Keith Wade, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
The Caldor Fire in the northern Sierra Nevada already destroyed dozens of homes, and authorities on Friday closed down a 46-mile (74-kilometer) stretch of Interstate 50, the main route between the state capital of Sacramento and Lake Tahoe on the Nevada state line.
The highway was closed after debris from the blaze fell onto the roadway and because of red flag warnings for 20- to 30-mph (32- to 48-kph) winds that by Saturday evening "combined with continued extremely dry fuels will result in critical fire weather conditions in the vicinity of the Caldor Fire," the National Weather Service said.
The winds could gust to 40 mph (65 kph) Saturday.
