Connect with us

Published

on

Tropical Storm Henri has brought strong winds and rain to the north-eastern US as it makes landfall on the coast of Rhode Island.

Henri has sent bands of rain westward, knocking out power to 140,000 homes and causing deluges that have shut bridges and flooded roads.

The storm was downgraded from a hurricane before it reached New England.

Emergency personnel and first responders work to help residents from their flooded homes. Pic: AP
Image:
Emergency personnel and first responders work to help residents from their flooded homes. Pic: AP

However, the National Hurricane Centre has warned the slow-moving storm could continue to dump heavy rain on wide swathes of the region.

Heavy rains flooded areas as far southwest as New Jersey.

The storm also threatened to stall near the New York-Connecticut border overnight on Sunday, before turning east and heading out towards the Atlantic Ocean on Monday.

Henri had sustained winds of around 60mph and gusts of up to 70mph when it made landfall near Westerly, Rhode Island, according to the National Hurricane Centre.

More from World

By late Sunday, it had sustained winds of around 30mph as it moved across Connecticut towards the New York state line.

Some of the harshest rain arrived ahead of the storm’s centre, forcing some 200 residents in Helmetta, New Jersey, to flee to higher ground as water flooded their homes.

“It came so quick – in the blink of an eye,” said the town’s mayor, Christopher Slavicek, whose parents were spending the night after fleeing their home. “Now there’s clean up. So this is far from over.”

Fallen tree branches obstructed roads as Storm Henri brought strong winds and heavy rain. Pic: Associated Press
Image:
Fallen tree branches obstructed roads as Storm Henri brought strong winds and heavy rain. Pic: Associated Press

The National Weather Service recorded what could be the wettest hour ever in Central Park, as 1.94 inches of torrential rain fell between 10pm and 11pm on Saturday.

Some communities in central New Jersey had seen up to eight inches of rain by midday on Sunday.

A bicyclist rides through a flooded street as Tropical Storm Henri approaches South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Image:
A bicyclist rides through a flooded street as Tropical Storm Henri approaches South Kingstown, Rhode Island

President Joe Biden has declared disasters in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

“We’re doing everything we can now to help those states prepare, respond and recover,” the president said.

He also offered condolences to Tennessee, after severe flooding from an unrelated storm killed at least 22 people and left dozens missing.

Waves crash onto a fallen fence during Tropical Storm Henri in Montauk, New York
Image:
Waves crash onto a fallen fence during Tropical Storm Henri in Montauk, New York

Around 250 residents from four nursing homes on the shoreline had to be relocated, while several major bridges in Rhode Island were briefly closed and some coastal roads were nearly impossible to use.

The hurricane centre predicted that Henri will pass back through New England and sweep out into the Atlantic in the next couple of days, where it “will lose its identity”.

A sailboat sits washed up on shore after becoming loose from its mooring when Storm Henri passed through Jamestown. Pic: AP
Image:
A sailboat sits washed up on shore after becoming loose from its mooring when Storm Henri passed through Jamestown. Pic: AP

In the meantime, areas from northeast Pennsylvania to New England are preparing for heavy rain.

Continue Reading

US

Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be US attorney general

Published

on

By

Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be US attorney general

Donald Trump ally Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the next US attorney general.

Mr Gaetz, a controversial pick to be the country’s top legal official, said his selection was “unfairly becoming a distraction” to the transition of Mr Trump’s administration into the White House.

The Florida Republican had faced significant scrutiny over a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl.

He said in a post on the X social media platform: “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general. Trump’s DOJ (Department of Justice) must be in place and ready on Day 1.

“I remain fully committed to seeing that Donald Trump is the most successful president in history. I will forever be honoured that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”

Mr Trump said in a post on his own social media site, Truth Social, that Mr Gaetz had a “wonderful future”.

“I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General,” he wrote.

More from US

“He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect.”

Mr Gaetz previously faced a nearly three-year Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl, which ended in February 2023 without him facing any criminal charges.

He has always denied the allegations.

He has also been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over wider allegations including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts.

The inquiry was dropped on Wednesday 13 November when Mr Gaetz left Congress – the only forum where the committee has jurisdiction.

The Senate ethics committee is deadlocked on whether their report can be released.

Mr Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Mr Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the first sign that he could face resistance from members of his own party.

Continue Reading

US

Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

Published

on

By

Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

A 43-year-old man was shot dead by police after calling 911 to report intruders had entered his home in Las Vegas.

Brandon Durham was at home with his 15-year-old daughter when he called the emergency line to report armed intruders were trying to break into his property on 12 November.

Bodycam footage shows Mr Durham struggling with a person over a knife in the moments before he was shot and killed at the scene.

“The loss of life in any type of incident like this is always tragic, and it’s something we take very seriously,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said on Thursday.

The force is investigating the incident.

Mr Durham called 911 to report multiple people were outside shooting at his residence in Las Vegas’ Sunset Park neighbourhood, where he had been staying with his 15-year-old daughter, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reports.

It was one of multiple emergency calls reporting a shooting in the area.

More on Las Vegas

Mr Durham then said someone had managed to get into his home through the front and back doors of the property and he was locking himself in the bathroom, according to a police statement from 14 November, two days after the incident.

Officers reported to the scene at approximately 12:40am and could hear screaming from inside the residence.

One of the officers, Alexander Bookman, kicked open the front door and once inside, saw Mr Durham and another individual, later identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux, struggling over a knife in a doorway.

Mr Bookman ordered them to drop the knife and about two seconds later, the officer fired the gun and Mr Durham appeared to be struck, the bodycam footage shows.

Read more from Sky News:
Londoner, 18, held in Dubai for having sex with 17-year-old British girl
Labour’s pugnacious stalwart who pulled no punches

Both Mr Durham and Mr Boudreaux fell to the ground and the officer fired another five shots. Roughly three seconds are believed to have gone by between the first and last shot, NBC reports.

Attempts were made to save the 43-year-old but he died at the scene.

Ms Boudreaux was taken into custody and is facing charges of home invasion with a deadly weapon; assault with a deadly weapon domestic violence; willful or wanton disregard of safety of persons resulting in death; and child abuse, neglect or endangerment.

Continue Reading

US

Homeless man charged in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange

Published

on

By

Homeless man charged in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange

A homeless man has been arrested and charged over a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

The 30-year-old man from Florida, Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with attempting to use an explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce, having unveiled some of his plans to undercover agents, according to the FBI.

They began investigating Yener in February based on a tip that he was holding “bomb-making schematics” in a storage unit.

Bomb-making sketches, many watches with timers, electronic circuit boards and other electronics that could be used for building explosive devices were found, the FBI said.

It also said he told undercover FBI agents that he wanted to detonate the bomb the week before Thanksgiving and that the stock exchange in lower Manhattan would be a popular site to target, and that doing so “will wake people up”.

An agent also allegedly recorded him saying: “I feel like Bin Laden.”

Read more:
Google could be forced to sell its Chrome browser
US anaesthetist jailed for 190 years for tampering with IV bags

He described how he hoped the bomb would “reboot” the US government, explaining that it would be “like a small nuke went off,” killing everyone inside the building, according to court documents.

The documents also claim he had rewired two-way radios so that they could work as remote triggers for an explosive device and planned to wear a disguise when planting the explosives.

Yener, who had also searched online for things related to bomb-making since 2017, was sacked from his job at a restaurant in Florida last year after his former supervisor said he threatened to “go Parkland shooter in this place”, the FBI added.

He had his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon and will be detained while he awaits a trial.

Continue Reading

Trending