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The death and destruction caused by Storm Ida is a reminder that “the climate crisis is here” and “we must better prepare,” US President Joe Biden has said.

The flooding caused by the storm has killed at least 25 people in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including a two-year-old boy, NBC reports.

States of emergency were declared in New York and New Jersey as the remnants of a hurricane sparked flash floods that forced New York City to suspend its subway services.

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

Storm Ida: New York flooding live updates

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Flash flooding hits New York City

That surpassed the previous record of 49mm that was set in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Henri just last month.

Ida was the fifth most powerful storm to hit the US when it made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as a hurricane, bringing maximum winds of 150mph and causing tens of billions of dollars in damage.

More on Hurricane Ida

Addressing the nation in a news conference on Thursday, Mr Biden said: “The past few days of Hurricane Ida and the wildfires in the west and the unprecedented flash floods in New York and New Jersey is yet another reminder that these extreme storms and the climate crisis are here.”

“We must better prepare. We need to act,” he said.

“It’s a matter of life and death, and we’re all in it together.”

It comes as eight people were killed in five separate incidents during flooding in New York City.

A ninth victim was confirmed by mayor Bill de Blasio he did not provide any further details.

In New Jersey, 13 people have died, while there have been three fatalities in Pennsylvania, according to NBC News.

The two-year-old boy, a 50-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman were found dead in Queens, New York, after their basement apartment flooded.

Police officers stand outside a home in the Queens borough of New York where three people died including a 2-year old child when their basement apartment flooded, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in New York
PIC:AP
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Police officers stand outside a home in the Queens, New York, where three people died including a two-year-old boy after their basement apartment flooded. Pic: AP
Felix Delapuente, a neighbor of the home in the Queens borough of New York where three people died including a 2-year old child, shows the flood damage in his basement, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in New York 
PIC:AP
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Felix Delapuente, pictured in his flooded basement. He lived near the home where three people died in Queens. Pic: AP

A 48-year-old woman and a 66-year-old man were also found at separate residences in the city and a 43-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man were discovered inside another home.

Meanwhile, New York’s fire department said it responded to a report of flooding in Queens shortly after 11pm and one person taken from the building was pronounced dead.

Another victim in Passaic, New Jersey, was found dead in a vehicle which became submerged when it was caught in flooding near the Passaic River, according to the town’s mayor.

New York City suffered its wettest hour on record last night
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New York City suffered its wettest hour on record last night

A further four people died in an apartment complex in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

The National Weather Service said Wednesday was the first time it had issued a “flash flood emergency” for New York City.

The term is used for exceedingly rare situations in which flash flooding poses a severe threat to human life and causes catastrophic damage – or will do so soon.

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Floodwater cascades into New York subway

“We’re enduring a historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” Mr de Blasio said late on Wednesday.

He urged people to stay off the streets, saying: “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.”

A travel ban that barred non-emergency vehicles from streets and highways was in place until 5am local time this morning (10am UK time).

New York City Subway tweeted that anyone trapped between stations should stay put as videos posted online showed passengers standing on seats and trains filled with water.

A vehicle moves along a flooded road in Williamsburg, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City
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A flooded road in Williamsburg, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City

The city’s LaGuardia and JFK airports reported flight disruptions, while New Jersey’s Newark airport limited its operations after initially suspending all flights.

At least one tornado hit New Jersey, with posts on social media showing houses reduced to rubble by strong winds.

The extreme weather seemingly failed to deter some people from ordering food deliveries as video appeared to show a worker wading through knee-high waters on a bicycle.

The latest wave of devastation caused by the storm comes as the UN warned that weather disasters are striking the world four to five times more often and causing seven times more damage than in the 1970s.

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Charlie Kirk posthumously awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump

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Charlie Kirk posthumously awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump

Charlie Kirk has been posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump.

The USA’s highest civilian honour was received by the conservative activist’s widow, Erika, at the White House.

Mr Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on 10 September while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.

He founded Turning Point USA and toured American university campuses, debating students about current affairs.

Erika Kirk at the White House. Pic: Reuters
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Erika Kirk at the White House. Pic: Reuters

Erika Kirk and Donald Trump. Pic: Reuters
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Erika Kirk and Donald Trump. Pic: Reuters

Addressing those attending the ceremony in the White House rose garden, the US president said they were there to “honour and remember a fearless warrior for liberty” and a “beloved leader who galvanised the next generation”.

He said Mr Kirk’s name was being entered “forever into the eternal roster of true American heroes”.

Mr Trump described Charlie Kirk as an “American patriot of the deepest conviction, the finest quality and the highest calibre”.

He said his nation had been “robbed” of an “extraordinary champion”.

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Has Charlie Kirk become a MAGA ‘martyr’?

And Mr Trump said Mr Kirk was assassinated in the “prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America”.

The ceremony coincided with what would have been Mr Kirk’s 32nd birthday.

Mr Trump described Erika Kirk, now head of Turning Point USA, as someone who had “endured unspeakable hardship with unbelievable strength”.

Read more:
What do we know about Erika Kirk?
Charlie Kirk’s movement is growing in wake of his assassination

Charlie Kirk. File pic: AP
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Charlie Kirk. File pic: AP

A 22-year-old man, Tyler Robinson, from the city of Washington in Utah has been charged with Mr Kirk’s murder. Prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty.

At a memorial event held at a stadium in Arizona, Erika Kirk told an enormous crowd she forgave her husband’s killer.

“The answer to hate is not hate,” she said.

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Grammy-winning R&B and soul star D’Angelo dies after ‘prolonged battle with cancer’

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Grammy-winning R&B and soul star D'Angelo dies after 'prolonged battle with cancer'

Grammy-award winning R&B and soul singer D’Angelo has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer, his family has said.

He died on Tuesday, leaving behind a “legacy of extraordinarily moving music” following a “prolonged and courageous battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement.

The prominent musician, born Michael D’Angelo Archer, was 51 years old.

A family statement said: “We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.

“We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, but invite you all join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left for the world.”

The singer rose to prominence in the 1990s with his first album, Brown Sugar.

The track “Lady” from that album reached No. 10 in March 1996 and remained on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 20 weeks.

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‘Treat adult users like adults’: ChatGPT to write erotica

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'Treat adult users like adults': ChatGPT to write erotica

ChatGPT will soon write erotica for verified adults, according to OpenAI’s chief executive, as well as becoming more “human-like”.

As part of the company’s policy to “treat adult users like adults”, the chatbot will be able to create sexual content once age verification is fully rolled out across the tool.

“In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults,” said Sam Altman in a post on X.

The announcement wasn’t popular with everyone.

One X user asked Mr Altman: “Why do age-gates always have to lead to erotica? Like, I just want to be able to be treated like an adult and not a toddler, that doesn’t mean I want perv-mode activated.”

“You won’t get it unless you ask for it,” he responded.

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New ‘AI you can trust’

According to the announcement, ChatGPT had become more restrictive and “less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems” while the company tackled problems concerning the chatbot and vulnerable users.

“We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues,” Mr Altman said. “Given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right.”

In August, the family of teenager Adam Raine began suing OpenAI over his death. It was the first time the company had faced a wrongful death lawsuit.

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Parents suing OpenAI after death of son

Adam’s parents accused Sam Altman of putting profit over safety after ChatGPT instructed their son on how to end his life, and even offered to write a suicide note for him.

At the time, OpenAI told Sky News it learned its safeguards “can sometimes become less reliable in long interactions where parts of the model’s safety training may degrade” and said it would continually improve those safeguards.

“Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases,” said Mr Altman on Tuesday evening.

“In a few weeks, we plan to put out a new version of ChatGPT that allows people to have a personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4o (we hope it will be better!).”

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Hunger strikers want end to ‘superhuman’ AI

The latest ChatGPT model, 5o, has faced criticism by users for being less playful and creative than the previous model.

Now, OpenAI will allow 5o to “respond in a very human-like way and “use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend” if users want that option.

Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI. File pic: AP
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Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI. File pic: AP

In response to Mr Altman’s post, one X user said: “About time… ChatGPT used to feel like a person you could actually talk to, then it turned into a compliance bot.

“If it can be made fun again without losing the guardrails, that’s a huge win. People don’t want chaos, just authenticity.”

Read more on artificial intelligence:
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Sunak hired as a senior adviser by Microsoft
New ‘AI you can trust’ for when safety matters

Mr Altman responded: “For sure; we want that too.

“Almost all users can use ChatGPT however they’d like without negative effects; for a very small percentage of users in mentally fragile states there can be serious problems.

“0.1% of a billion users is still a million people.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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