Steve McGookinUS buckles under extreme weather
After slamming into the Gulf Coast, bringing record winds and leaving thousands without power, Hurricane Ida left a deadly trail of flooding along the northeast part of the US this week before moving back out to sea. At the same time, massive wildfires continued to rage on the west coast.
President Biden visited Louisiana on Friday to see the extent of the storm damage, as doubts continued over the political fate of his $3.5 trillion infrastructure plan.
Meanwhile, there was maybe not such an auspicious start to the run-up for November’s COP26 climate conference…
And perhaps not unrelated…
See Also:
Broadcasting As Usual As The Planet Burns: Media Coverage of Climate Breakdown
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America’s Longest War Is Over. What Now?
As the Taliban consolidates control over Afghanistan and fallout from the US withdrawal continues, the rest of the world – not to mention the Afghan population – watches anxiously to see what the new order might look like. There were reports this weekend that a number of flights out of Afghanistan were being “held” by the Taliban, but US officials said they were unable to confirm the claims.
And this, frankly, is the last thing anyone needs…
Elsewhere, with the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaching, President Biden instructed law enforcement agencies to explore declassifying documents related to US intelligence surrounding the episode, something the families of victims have long pressed for.
As the President turns back to domestic politics, his approval rating has taken a hit. A disappointing jobs report and expiring unemployment benefits ahead of the Labor Day weekend probably hasn’t helped.
Meanwhile, in the investigation into the events of January 6th, the so-called “QAnon Shaman” pleaded guilty this week, while the committee moved closer to obtaining the phone records of some Republican members of the House, prompting GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to threaten tech companies against handing over the data.
But the biggest domestic political story of the week, with the greatest potential national ramifications, was the decision by the US Supreme Court not to obstruct a Texas measure targeting abortion rights in the state, which threatens the legal precedent of the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling.
See Also:
Taliban Tightens Grip As Afghan Chaos Unfolds
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Covid continues to confound and caution
As the Delta Variant continues to be the globally dominant strain – the US this week hit 40million Covid cases and more than 650,000 deaths – the World Health Organization designated the so-called “mu” variant as a “variant of interest.” While its overall number of cases is relatively small, it has so far been detected in 39 countries in the Americas and Europe, including here in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, there are continuing concerns about the potential spread of Covid as schools return, the UK government is to “press ahead” with plans for vaccine passports for nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues, and this week’s meeting of the Executive to discuss the latest status of restrictions was pushed back to next week after Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill picked up a Covid infection.
See Also:
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Flu shot warnings blamed on Covid and Brexit
There were warnings this week of disruption to this winter’s supply of flu shots as a result of the shortage of HGV drivers. The reports come on the heels of disruption to blood tests because of problems with the supply chain for test tube vials.
Meanwhile, as the Northern Ireland Protocol refuses to go away, the additional financial burden of conducting EU trade to British business was this week put at £7.5 billion a year, as much as a “no-deal” Brexit would have cost.
And yet…
Meanwhile in NI this week, the long-awaited “Troubles Pension” opened for applications; a report recommended the closure of the PSNI station in Crossmaglen; and a plan to look into bias in Northern Irish media was received pretty much how you’d expect it to be.
Tributes were paid from home and around the world on the death of Pat Hume.
See Also:
Genuine Progress On Legacy Remains Elusive
A Seismic Assembly Election On The Horizon?
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The Winner Takes It All…
For the first time in four decades, there will be a brand new Abba album – “Voyage” – in November, with the group set to embark on a technically ambitious live show next year, featuring themselves as digitally-enhanced holograms, or “Abba-tars”, performing in front of a live band.
Finally, congratulations to everyone who took part in the Paralympics, which closed in Tokyo on Sunday.
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See Also Last Week’s Five Points:
Also published on Medium.
