News Wrap: Storm system blasts eastern U.S. with severe weather

Amna Nawaz:

The nation's weather has etched more entries today in the journal of extremes that's marked this summer. Millions of Americans faced everything from steaming heat across the South to stormy destruction in the Northeast.

Laura Barrón-López has our report.

Laura Barrón-López:

In North Baltimore County, emergency crews cleared through the damage. Enormous trees completely uprooted left homes crushed, and roads impassable.

This morning, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said it's a long road ahead.

Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD):

This is going to take some time to fix. The damage from last night is significant, and it will take time to make sure that we are getting everything done.

Laura Barrón-López:

A fast-moving storm swept through the East Coast on Monday night, prompting severe weather advisories in 10 states and the District of Columbia.

In Upstate New York, outside Dryden, tornado funnel clouds whipped through gray skies. Nearly 30 million people were under a tornado watch yesterday, as strong gusts caused tree limbs in several states to snap.

BILL, Pennsylvania Resident:

This is the worst I have seen it. I mean, I have no trees left. They're all gone now.

Laura Barrón-López:

The storm the storm killed two people, officials said, after a tree fell on a 15-year-old boy in South Carolina, and a 28-year-old Alabama man was struck by lightning. Last night, more than 1.1 million households and businesses lost power.

By midday today, that number was down to 240,000 customers. The huge storm front also wreaked havoc on air travel in the region. Yesterday's storm led to some 10,000 flights being canceled or delayed. By midday today, more than 2,500 flights in and out of the U.S. were delayed and 370 canceled, according to FlightAware.

And, in Washington, D.C., as ominous clouds rolled over the White House on Monday, federal offices shut down early, giving government employees time to dodge the hazardous commute. Today, about 10 million residents in New England remained under flood watches as the system moved north.

Elsewhere in the U.S., dangerous heat is in the forecast for 67 million people, roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population, from Southern California to the Florida Panhandle.

Kristie Ebi (University of Washington):

Summer temperatures are increasing. And along with that increase is an increase in the frequency, the duration and the intensity of heat waves.

Laura Barrón-López:

Kristie Ebi is a professor of global health at the University of Washington. She says health problems caused by extreme heat are becoming more and more frequent.

Kristie Ebi:

People, for example, who have a heart attack who didn't have a heart attack otherwise, or pregnant women of having an increased prevalence of low birth weight babies, with babies coming sooner.

And so you see a wide, wide variety of impacts that people experience that show up in doctor's offices, urgent care facilities and our emergency departments.

Laura Barrón-López:

Blistering heat and severe storms, both made more frequent and deadly by climate change, creating a more unpredictable world to live in.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Laura Barrón-López.

Amna Nawaz:

Severe weather also dominated Northern Europe again today, as a powerful storm battered the region. Heavy rainfall inundated Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Baltic states.

Downpours in Western Sweden sent a river pouring out of its banks, flash-flooding a nearby town. A day earlier, a train derailed when the rail bed was washed away. So far, the storm is blamed for two deaths in the Baltics. Forecasters say the rough weather could continue through tomorrow.

There's fresh evidence of global warming affecting Antarctica. A study out today finds sea ice in the southern polar region hit a record low in February, and minimal ice levels were 20 percent below the 40-year average. The findings appear in the journal "Frontiers in Environmental Science."

In Niger, leaders of the military coup rejected a proposed visit today by U.N. and African diplomats. They cited popular anger at the West African regional bloc ECOWAS and its threat to use force to reinstate Niger's elected president.

Meanwhile, a delegation from neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali arrived in Niger's capital, in a show of support for the coup.

Abdoulaye Maiga, Mali Government Spokesman (through interpreter):

To the brotherly people of Niger, these are difficult times. Mali and Burkina Faso have been through similar ordeals. We would like to reassure them most firmly of our support and solidarity. Let us remain resilient and stoic.

Amna Nawaz:

Later, the president of Nigeria, who chairs the ECOWAS bloc, said the group now prefers a diplomatic resolution in Niger.

Thousands gathered in Ireland today to say goodbye to Sinead O'Connor. Ahead of a private funeral, mourners lined up to view a procession through the late singer's hometown of Bray. A hearse carrying the coffin drew rounds of applause and flowers, as fans honored O'Connor's legacy of music and activism.

Pauline Scullion, Mourner:

She was so passionate, and she was so forthright, and she stood up for people who couldn't stand up for themselves. And she spoke for people who couldn't speak for themselves. And she was vilified for it. And it was just wrong. And time has proven that she was right.

Amna Nawaz:

O'Connor died on July 26th in London. She was 56 years old.

Back in this country, the Supreme Court has reinstated a federal regulation aimed at curbing the spread of ghost guns. Such weapons, privately assembled from parts, have no serial numbers. A Biden administration rule sought to change that, but a federal judge in Texas tossed it out in June. The Supreme Court today set that ruling aside while the legal challenge proceeds.

More than 11,000 Los Angeles city employees were on a 24-hour strike today. Sanitation workers, lifeguards, and airport staff accused the city of unfair labor practices. The mayor denied that. Two other major strikes are already under way in Los Angeles. Hollywood writers have been off the job since May, and actors walked out a month ago. Hotel workers have staged job actions through the summer.

And on Wall Street, stocks retreated, as China reported sharp drops in exports and imports, and Moody's downgraded credit ratings for 10 smaller and mid-sized banks.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 158 points to close at 35314. The Nasdaq fell 110 points, and the S&P 500 slipped 19.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": Ukraine continues its counteroffensive against Russia, but progress remains slow and casualties continue to mount; questions mount about the lack of consequences for COVID misinformation that led to injury and death; award-winning author James McBride discusses the themes of race, religion, and personal history in his new novel; plus much more.