FILE - New York City Mayor Eric Adams listens at the state Capitol, Jan. 10, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. Mayor Adams has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 1993, according to a legal summons filed Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)
Parts of the northeast were bracing for a stormy night Sunday, with high winds and heavy rains bringing threats of flooding and power outages through the Monday morning commute.
Flood watches were in effect in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and southern New England through Monday. The National Weather Service said 3 to 5 inches of rain was expected across parts of Long Island and southern Connecticut, with other areas in line for 2 to 3 inches.
Wind gusts of up to 50 mph were forecast, including in New York City, where the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a ban on empty tractor-trailers and tandem trucks for 12 hours beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday.
New York Mayor Eric Adams activated the city’s flash flood emergency plan.
“We’re preparing for heaviest rains and strongest winds Sunday night into Monday morning, which means everyone should take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their belongings in the event of potential flooding conditions in low lying areas,” he said during a radio broadcast Sunday. “So, this is some serious stuff.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said state agencies were standing by with generators, portable heaters, chainsaws and other equipment.
Palestinians in the sealed-off Gaza Strip are scrambling to find safety, as Israeli strikes demolish entire neighborhoods, hospitals run low on supplies and a power blackout is expected within hours.
Claudia Goldin, a Harvard University professor, was awarded the Nobel economics prize on Monday for research that helps explain why women around the world are less likely than men to work and to earn less money when they do.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel after the attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead on both sides. Americans were reported to be among those killed and missing.
Men dug through rubble with their bare hands and shovels in western Afghanistan on Sunday in desperate attempts to pull victims from the wreckage of earthquakes that killed at least 2,000 people.
Israel’s military ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip on Monday, halting entry of food, fuel and supplies to its 2.3 million people as it pounded the Hamas-ruled territory with waves of airstrikes in retaliation for the militants’ bloody weekend incursion.