1 Officials Estimate Nearly 80 Dead, 4k Hurt In Massive Beirut Explosion
A massive explosion in Beirut is being blamed on 27-hundred tons of ammonium nitrate. Lebanon's prime minister says it was left unsecured in a warehouse for years. He's vowing to punish those responsible and calling for a two-week state of emergency. According to reports, the blast released toxic gases and now people are being told to wear masks and stay inside. Whole neighborhoods of the Lebanese capitol have been flattened. Officials – both in Lebanon and elsewhere have hesitated to say this calamity was some kind of attack, but President Trump has said otherwise – while offering condolences during a press briefing yesterday afternoon. Still, questions about why so much of the compound weren’t secured remains. "I will not rest until we find the person responsible for what happened,” Prime Minister Hassan Diab says in a statement. “To hold him accountable and impose the most severe penalties.”
2 Isaias Destroys Homes, Causing Flooding, Rescues & Outages
Hurricane/turned tropical storm/turned post-Tropical Cyclone Isaias is now a post-tropical cyclone. And after marching up the Eastern Seaboard, officials report at least six are dead and more than three-million customers are without power. The storm came ashore Monday night in North Carolina as a category one hurricane, weakening as it moved quickly up the East Coast – but still caused plenty of damage. At last check, two people were killed by a storm-spawned tornado in North Carolina, three were killed by falling trees in Maryland, New York City and Delaware – and another person died when her car got caught in floodwaters in Pennsylvania. The remnants of the storm are expected to dissipate over Canada, but as millions are waking up this morning, the trail of destruction is evident. While many received Isaias as a wind event – as opposed to the rainmaker that was expected – limbs and power lines down and other property damage mark his devastating path. Still, flooding was an issue for many. New Jersey declared an emergency and the DC area got hit with six inches of rain. Flooding was also seen in Maryland and Delaware where dozens of drivers had to be rescued.
3 Lawmakers Face Off Over Coronavirus Stimulus Priorities As Trump Hints At Action
In case you’re wondering...no one seems to know if/when that next round of rumored $12-hundred stimulus checks is coming. The reason why likely depends on what side of the political aisle you frequent. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Congressional Democrats want to "burn cash on a thousand unrelated things" instead of getting money to the American people during the pandemic. He called it a "massive far-left wish list.” On the other side, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republican leadership “doesn’t want to spend money and resources to solve the pandemic.” Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy says this is a moment when "a band aid is totally insufficient to treat the wound." Meanwhile... President Trump says he might act unilaterally to at least stop tenant evictions if his administration can't work out a deal on a new coronavirus relief bill with congressional Democrats. "A lot of people are going to be evicted,” he noted during a press briefing. “But I'm going to stop it because I'll do it myself if I have to."