Northeast flooding, SCOTUS Texas decision, ex-officers’ hearing: 5 things to know Thursday – USA TODAY

Ida brings shocking, massive flooding to NYC, the Northeast

Relentless rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida and the prolific flooding that came with it sent New York – including New York City – and New Jersey into states of emergency Thursday, as the storm carried north. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy each declared states of emergency late Wednesday as the National Weather Service also warned water-logged New Jersey was at risk for tornadoes. The death toll from the flooding in the two states rose to at least eight Thursday. Dozens of photos and videos on social media showed water pouring into New York City’s subways. The service was extremely limited on all lines due to the weather, the Metropolitan Transit Authority announced. Other videos showed flooded streets and water pouring into basement apartments. Jarring footage showed water inside Newark Liberty International Airport and water rushing into baggage facilities. The airport announced Wednesday night that it had suspended all flight activity.

• What we know about Ida aftermath: 2 million in Louisiana without power amid stifling heat and supply shortages
• ‘The Gulf is warm. It’s getting warmer’: Experts push for electric grid investment in Ida’s wake
• Surveying damage and more: President Joe Biden plans to visit New Orleans in wake of Hurricane Ida destruction

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Supreme Court declines to block controversial Texas abortion law

Many people will wake up Thursday to the news that the Supreme Court denied an effort by abortion rights groups to halt a Texas law that bans women from having the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy. The 5-4 ruling, handed down one minute before midnight Wednesday, came a day after the law went into effect. The court declined to block enforcement of the law, the most restrictive in the nation, over the objection of Chief Justice John Roberts and the three liberal associate justices – Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan. In an effort to steer around the high court’s abortion precedent, the Texas law encourages private citizens to sue anyone who helps a woman receive an abortion after a heartbeat is detected. The majority’s opinion noted that enforcement mechanism as part of its reason for not stepping in and stressed that its decision was not “based on any conclusion about the constitutionality of Texas’s law.”

• What to know: Looking at the Texas abortion law that bans the procedure once heartbeat is detected
• ‘We’re going to help everybody that we can’: Texas clinic’s final hours ahead of abortion ban
• Planning ahead: Some Texas residents are stockpiling contraceptives and pregnancy tests after abortion ban

Hearing in George Floyd’s death to debate broadcast of ex-cops’ trial

At a hearing Thursday, attorneys for two former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death will ask a judge to bar their upcoming trial from being livestreamed, saying some witnesses won’t testify if it is broadcast. The petition from attorneys for Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng is an about-face from their earlier request to have the trial publicly broadcast, and it’s opposed by prosecutors and news media outlets. Lane, Kueng and Tou Thao are scheduled for trial next March on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s 2020 death. Their co-defendant, Derek Chauvin, was convicted in April of murder and manslaughter. Another issue expected to be addressed ahead of the trial is if the jury will remain anonymous. Kueng’s lawyer, Thomas Plunkett, opposes an anonymous jury because it violates his client’s right to a fair and open trial. The jury from the Chauvin case remains anonymous.

• The pandemic forced judges to let livestream cameras into court: The Chauvin trial showed it could work. Will it last?
• ‘They need to be watched’: How livestreaming the Derek Chauvin trial lets people of color monitor the justice system
• Previous coverage: Cameras in the Supreme Court? Not anytime soon.

U.S. men’s soccer team opens World Cup qualifying

The U.S. men’s national soccer team will play its first qualifier for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when it takes on El Salvador at Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador Thursday night (10 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network and Paramount+). This is the USMNT’s first World Cup qualifier since that dreadful October 2017 night in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago, when it failed to reach the 2018 World Cup. U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter has called on an inexperienced group of players to get the team’s World Cup qualifying off to a successful start. There are 13 players who are 23 years old or younger. Only six players on the roster – Christian Pulisic, DeAndre Yedlin, Kellyn Acosta, Tim Ream, John Brooks and Sebastian Lleget – have previous World Cup qualifying experience. And, only Brooks and Yedlin have previously played in a World Cup. Unfortunately for the U.S., Pulisic – arguably the team’s most talented player – will miss the El Salvador game after testing positive for COVID-19.

• Key moment: Christian Pulisic became the first American to play in and win a European Champions League
• Column: If Nashville wants to host World Cup 2026 games, it needs to start acting like it

Labor Day weekend traffic begins 

While the CDC is advising unvaccinated Americans to stay home this Labor Day weekend, traffic in certain corridors is expected to spike between Sept. 2 and 7 as travelers take advantage of the three-day weekend, according to transportation analytics company INRIX. “Thursday and Friday are the toughest days, for sure, as you’re heading out of town,” INRIX analyst Bob Pishue told USA TODAY. “It’s that kind of early afternoon period all the way into the early evening,” which often overlaps with work traffic and people running errands. For those who are planning to travel by car this year, here are some of the best – and worst – times to hit the road, according to INRIX.

• CDC discourages unvaccinated people from traveling Labor Day weekend
• US Forest Service is closing California’s national forests as wildfires spread