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Parts of East Coast America could be hit with severe flooding, with forecasters predicting some states could see the worst tidal flooding in almost two decades.

Strong winds are pushing water into the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay, moving water inland and flooding parts of Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey.

Flood warnings have been issued from Virginia to New Jersey, including for people in Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia.

People walks on a flooded sidewalk in downtown Annapolis, Md., Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. The city is anticipating potential historic tidal flooding conditions in low-lying areas this Friday and Saturday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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The wet weather is expected to bring the worst tidal flooding to the area since 2003. Pic AP

The storms could bring the area’s worst flooding since Hurricane Isabel in 2003, the National Weather Service warned.

“One of the biggest tidal flood events of the past 10-20 years (possibly since Hurricane Isabel at some locales), is expected Friday & Saturday. Those along tidal shores should get ready for exceptional tidal inundation!” the weather service said in a tweet.

The governor of Maryland has issued a state of emergency in areas under flood warnings, while Baltimore’s transportation department is distributing sandbags for residents.

“Even if you are accustomed to nuisance flooding, this is much more serious and has the potential to be much more damaging over the course of the next 24 hours,” Governor Larry Hogan said on early Friday evening.

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“We are taking this action to bring all necessary state resources to bear, and assist local jurisdictions in their response efforts.”

OXON HILL, MD - OCTOBER 29: View of 'The Awakening' sculpture at the National Harbor at Oxon Hill, almost completely covered from the Nor'easter currently hitting Maryland on October 29, 2021. Credit: mpi34/MediaPunch /IPX
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The Awakening sculpture in Oxon Hill, Maryland, has been almost fully submerged by water. Pic AP

The state of emergency declaration includes Baltimore City and the following counties: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Harford, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Prince George’s, Somerset, St. Mary’s, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester.

Washington is facing flooding from winds pushing water up from the Potomac River and also heavy rain.

The rainfall, by itself, was expected to cause “creeks and streams to rise through late (Friday) afternoon,” the weather service said.

People walk past the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial as they survey the flooding in downtown Annapolis, Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. The city is anticipating potential historic tidal flooding conditions in low-lying areas this Friday and Saturday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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New Jersey, Washington DC and Delaware are also expected to be hit with heavy rain and strong winds. Pic AP

On Friday morning, water flooded streets near City Dock in downtown Annapolis, Maryland.

“The rain is coming in a lot right now,” said Leslie Butler, who had visited Annapolis for the day with her children and stopped near City Dock during their visit.

A street in downtown Annapolis, Md., Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, is flooded. The city is anticipating potential historic tidal flooding conditions in low-lying areas Friday and Saturday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Flood warnings have been issued from Virginia to New Jersey, including for people in Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Pic AP


“It’s crazy high floodwaters. I’ve never seen this before.”

The City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management warned people to prepare for the possibility of extended road closures over the weekend.

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Tennessee: Man tries to detonate 14 explosive devices while being arrested

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Tennessee: Man tries to detonate 14 explosive devices while being arrested

Police in Tennessee have discovered 14 improvised explosive devices in a man’s home as they were arresting him, the local sheriff’s office said.

Officers were executing a warrant in the home of Kevin Wade O’Neal in Old Fort, about 45 miles (70km) east of Chattanooga, after he had threatened to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in Polk County.

After arresting the 54-year-old, officers noticed “something smouldering” in the bedroom where he was found.

Kevin Wade O'Neal. Pic: Polk County Sheriff's Office
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Kevin Wade O’Neal. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office

On closer inspection, they discovered an improvised explosive device and evacuated the house until bomb squad officers arrived at the scene.

Fourteen devices were found inside the property – none of which detonated.

Improvised explosive devices were found in Kevin Wade O'Neal's home. Pic: Polk County Sheriff's Office
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Improvised explosive devices were found in Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office

Kevin Wade O'Neal's home in Old Fort, Tennessee. Pic: Polk County Sheriff's Office
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Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home in Old Fort, Tennessee. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office

O’Neal was charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, corresponding to nine officers and two other people inside the property when the suspect tried to detonate the devices.

He also faces 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.

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O’Neal is being held at the Polk County jail and his bond is yet to be determined.

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Trump orders two nuclear subs to be moved closer to Russia

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Trump orders two nuclear subs to be moved closer to Russia

Donald Trump says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the “appropriate regions” in a row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

It comes after Mr Medvedev, who is now deputy chair of Russia‘s Security Council, told the US president on Thursday to remember Moscow had Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort.

On Friday, Mr Trump wrote on social media: “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.

“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

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Trump: ‘We’re going to protect our people’

Speaking outside the White House later in the day, Mr Trump was asked about why he had moved the submarines and replied: “We had to do that. We just have to be careful.

“A threat was made and we didn’t think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful. So I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia and we’re going to protect our people.”

The spat between Mr Trump and Mr Medvedev came after the US president warned Russia on Tuesday it had “10 days from today” to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face tariffs, along with its oil buyers.

Moscow has shown no sign that it will agree to Mr Trump’s demands.

Trump’s move appears to signal a significant deterioration in relationship with Putin

Normally it’s Moscow rattling the nuclear sabres, but this time it’s Washington in what marks a dramatic escalation in Donald Trump’s war of words with the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

More importantly, it appears to signal a significant deterioration in his relationship with Vladimir Putin.

The US president’s patience with the Kremlin was already at its thinnest earlier this week, when he shrank his deadline for progress towards a peace deal from 50 days to 10.

But Russia’s lack of outward concern with this stricter ultimatum – which has swung from dismissive to (in Medvedev’s case) insulting – seems to have flicked a switch.

For this is the first time Trump’s pressure on Moscow has amounted to anything more than words.

We don’t know where the subs are, or how far they had to move to get closer to Russia, but it’s an act that sits several rungs higher than the usual verbal threats to impose sanctions.

How will Russia respond? I’m not sure Vladimir Putin has ever caved to an ultimatum and I doubt he’ll start now.

But I don’t think he’ll want the situation to deteriorate further. So I suspect he’ll make another offer to the US, that’s dressed up as a concession, but in reality may prove to be anything but.

It’s a tactic that’s worked before, but the stakes have suddenly got higher.

Read more:
Who are the winners (if any) and losers of Trump’s tariffs?

On Thursday, Mr Medvedev reminded Mr Trump that Russia possessed a Soviet-era automated nuclear retaliatory system – or “dead hand”.

Mr Medvedev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was referring to a secretive semi-automated Soviet command system designed to launch Russia’s missiles if its leadership was taken out in a decapitating strike.

He made the remarks after Mr Trump told him to “watch his words” after Mr Medvedev said the US president’s threat of hitting Russia and its oil buyers with punitive tariffs was “a game of ultimatums” and added that “each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war” between Russia and the US.

Dmitry Medvedev. Pic: Reuters
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Dmitry Medvedev. Pic: Reuters

Mr Medvedev served as Russia’s president from 2008 and 2012, when Mr Putin was barred from seeking a third consecutive term, but then stepped aside to let him run again.

As deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, he has become known for his provocative and inflammatory statements since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.

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Trump says ‘nobody has asked’ him to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell – but he has ‘right to do it’

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Trump says 'nobody has asked' him to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell - but he has 'right to do it'

Donald Trump has said “nobody has asked” him to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, but insisted he has “the right to do it” as US president.

Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend is currently serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of helping the paedophile financier traffic and sexually abuse underage girls in 2021.

Prosecutors have said Epstein’s sex crimes could not have been done without Maxwell, but her lawyers have maintained that she was wrongly prosecuted and denied a fair trial, and have floated the idea of a pardon from Mr Trump.

Last week, they asked the US Supreme Court to take up her case.

When pressed on the possibility of pardoning Maxwell, Mr Trump told reporters: “I’m allowed to do it, but nobody’s asked me to do it.”

He continued: “I know nothing about it. I don’t know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it. I have the right to give pardons, I’ve given pardons to people before, but nobody’s even asked me to do it.”

Mr Trump also said he would not pardon Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was convicted in July on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.

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Trump ‘never visited Espstein island’

His comments came shortly after the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) said Maxwell has been moved to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas.

She was being held at a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, that housed men and women, but has now been transferred to a prison camp in Bryan, Texas.

When asked why Maxwell was transferred, BOP spokesperson Donald Murphy said he could not comment on the specifics, but that the BOP determines where inmates are sent based on such factors as “the level of security and supervision the inmate requires”.

Maxwell’s lawyer confirmed the move but also declined to discuss the specific reasons for it.

The Texas camp houses solely female prisoners, the majority of whom are serving time for nonviolent offences and white-collar crimes, Sky’s US partner NBC News reports.

Trump and Epstein at a party together in 1992. Pic: NBC News
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Trump and Epstein at a party together in 1992. Pic: NBC News

Minimum-security federal prison camps house inmates considered to be the lowest security risk and some facilities do not even have fences.

A senior administration official told NBC: “Any false assertion this individual was given preferential treatment is absurd.

“Prisoners are routinely moved in some instances due to significant safety and danger concerns.”

Read more:
All we know about Trump and Epstein’s ‘friendship’
Analysis: Trump hopes to escape Epstein controversy

Maxwell has received renewed attention in recent weeks, after the US Justice Department said it would not be releasing the so-called ‘Epstein files’.

The department said a review of the Epstein case had found “no incriminating ‘client list'” and “no credible evidence” the jailed financier – who killed himself in prison in 2019 – had blackmailed famous men.

Officials from the Trump administration have since tried to cast themselves as promoting transparency in the case.

Last month, they lodged a request to unseal grand jury transcripts – which was denied – and Maxwell was last week interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Epstein survivor’s family criticises move

Maxwell’s move to a lower security facility has been criticised by the family of Epstein abuse survivor Virginia Giuffre, who died in April, and accusers Annie and Maria Farmer.

They said in a statement: “It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received.

“Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency.

“Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas.”

The statement concluded: “This move smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better.”

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