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Tag Archives: suburbs
Migrants bussed to sanctuary city Chicago are promptly shipped off to suburbs
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A group of over 100 migrants from the southern border were moved to an Illinois suburb after being welcomed in Chicago – an action that is reportedly frustrating local officials.
The migrants are staying at a Hampton Inn in Burr Ridge and a Holiday Inn in Countryside, according to reporting by WGN-TV. An estimated 300 migrants have been bused from Texas to Chicago in the past two weeks.
While Chicago is a sanctuary city and Cook County is a sanctuary county, the migrants at the Burr Ridge Hampton Inn are in DuPage County. The county’s sanctuary status is unclear. However, Burr Ridge Republican Mayor Garry Grasso previously said he would work to secure the border and “defund sanctuary cities,” according to WGN-TV.
REPORTER TO CHICAGO’S LIGHTFOOT: HOW CAN YOU ‘POSSIBLY EVEN CONSIDER’ RE-ELECTION AFTER ‘HARM YOU’VE CAUSED’
Some of the 100 migrants were reportedly sent to the Burr Ridge Hampton Inn in suburban Illinois.
(Google Maps)
Now, Grasso said he is “frustrated” by the sudden influx of migrants.
“I’m the mayor of the village, I should have been told. I’m as frustrated as Mayor Lightfoot was in her not being told,” Mayor Gary Grasso said. “I’m frustrated but we’re dealing with the situation and I’m going to keep my residents and my businesses apprised.”
Grasso referenced Mayor Lightfoot previously lashing out at Governor Abbott for the transportation of migrants, calling it “unacceptable” at a press conference this week.
“My frustration comes from the actions of the governor of Texas,” the Chicago mayor said. “There could be a level of coordination and cooperation, but he chooses to do none of those things. Instead, he chooses to send human beings across the country to an uncertain destination.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a science initiative event in Chicago.
(REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski)
“He is manufacturing a human crisis and it makes no sense to me,” Lightfoot added. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker made similar comments, accusing Abbott of treating migrants “like cattle.”
CHICAGO MAYOR LIGHTFOOT DENOUNCES ‘TOXICITY IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE’ DAYS AFTER SHOUTING ‘F— CLARENCE THOMAS!’
Abbott shot back at Lightfoot’s comments, accusing her of deflecting the blame to him instead of President Biden.
“[Biden’s] inaction at our border is putting the lives of Texans at risk & is overwhelming our communities,” the Texas governor in a tweet. “Texas is doing Biden’s job to secure the border.”
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Mayor Lightfoot’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Tens of thousands of Sydney residents told to evacuate as rains flood suburbs
An emergency crew rescues two ponies from a flooded area in Milperra, Sydney metropolitan area, Australia July 3, 2022 in this screen grab obtained from a handout video. NSW State Emergency Service/Handout via REUTERS
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SYDNEY, July 4 (Reuters) – Fresh evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of Sydney residents on Monday after relentless rains triggered floods for the third time this year in some low-lying suburbs.
An intense low-pressure system off Australia’s east coast is forecast to bring heavy rain through Monday across New South Wales after several places in the state were hit with about a month’s worth over the weekend.
Since Sunday, about 30,000 residents in New South Wales state have been told to either evacuate or warned they might receive evacuation orders.
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Frustration swelled in several suburbs in the west of Australia’s largest city after floods submerged homes, farms and bridges.
“It’s just devastating. We are in disbelief,” Camden Mayor Theresa Fedeli said.
“Most of them have just come out of the last flood, getting their homes back in place, their businesses back in place and unfortunately we are saying it is happening again.”
More than 200mm of rain have fallen over many areas, with some hit by as much as 350mm since Saturday. read more
Some areas could approach or exceed the flood levels seen in March 2021, and in March and April this year, the weather bureau warned. The risk of major flooding remained though the intense weather system may weaken later on Monday, it said.
An operation was underway to rescue 21 crew members from a cargo ship, which lost power south of Sydney and risked being swept ashore, local media reported.
“It has been a very difficult time for many months to have this flood event off the back of others. It makes it more challenging,” New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said during a televised media briefing.
Paul O’Neill, a resident from flood-hit Wisemans Ferry, said he was taking food supplies by boat to his stranded family after rising waters cut off access.
“The road collapsed and hasn’t been fixed since the last floods, hasn’t been touched. So now they close our road access and then the ferry, the only way to get home now is by boat,” O’Neill told Reuters.
AUSTRALIA ‘UNDER-PREPARED’
Footage on social media showed petrol stations, homes, cars and street signs partially under water while garbage bins floated down flooded roads. Military vehicles were seen going into flooded streets to evacuate stranded families.
About 100 millimetres (4 inches) of rain could fall in the next 24 hours over a swath of more than 300km (186 miles) along the New South Wales coast from Newcastle to the south of Sydney, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
The weather could trigger flash floods and landslides, with river catchments already near full capacity after the La Nina phenomenon, typically associated with increased rainfall, lashed Australia’s east coast over the last two years.
Climate change is widely believed to be a contributing factor to the frequent severe weather events, the Climate Council said, adding Australia is “under-prepared”.
Federal emergency management minister Murray Watt said climate change must be taken “seriously” due to the frequent occurrence of floods.
“The reality is we are living in a changing climate,” Watt told ABC television.
Bad weather has delayed by 24 hours Monday’s scheduled launch of a NASA rocket from the Arnhem Space Centre in north Australia, operator Equatorial Launch Australia said.
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Reporting by Renju Jose and Jill Gralow; Editing by Sam Holmes, Lincoln Feast and Edwina Gibbs
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
‘Heavy fighting’ expected in suburbs of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in the ‘coming days,’ intel says
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence said Thursday that “despite Russian statements indicating an intended reduction of military activity around Chernihiv, significant Russian shelling and missile strikes have continued.
“Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Kyiv despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units,” it added in a tweet. “Heavy fighting will likely take place in the suburbs of the city in coming days.”
Ukraine-Russia talks to resume Friday by video, Turkey hoping for another in-person meeting
Talks aimed at ending the war are set to resume Friday by video, Ukrainian delegation leader David Arakhamia says.
During in-person talks in Istanbul Tuesday, Ukraine set out a detailed framework for a peace deal under which the country would remain neutral but its security would be guaranteed by a group of third countries, including the U.S., Britain, France, Turkey, China and Poland.
Meanwhile, top Turkish diplomat Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday that Turkey is hoping to arrange another meeting between Ukraine and Russia within the next two weeks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ukraine claims Russia has lost about 17,500 people, more than 6,000 tanks
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense claimed that Russia has lost about 17,500 people, 6,614 tanks, 1,735 armored vehicles, 311 artillery systems, 54 anti-aircraft systems, 135 planes, 131 helicopters, 1,201 vehicles, 7 ships, and more.
Ukraine says 380 kids killed or injured in war
Ukraine’s prosecutor general claimed that 148 children have been killed and another 232 injured during the Russian invasion. She further said that 797 educational institutions had been damaged, 76 of which had been completely destroyed.
The United Nations Children’s Fund said Wednesday that two million children have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24.
“The situation inside Ukraine is spiralling,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement. “As the number of children fleeing their homes continues to climb, we must remember that every single one of them needs protection, education, safety and support.”
UNICEF also estimates that more than 2.5 million children have been internally displaced inside of Ukraine. Overall, the U.N. believes more than 4 million people have fled Ukraine during the conflict.
Ukraine retakes three settlements from Russia
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that Ukrainian forces retook three settlements: Orlove, Zagradivka, and Kochubeyevka on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian forces also claimed that the Russian armed forces lost several senior military officers, including: Commander of the 1st Panzer Army Lieutenant General Serhiy Kisel, removed from office; Commander of the 6th General Army Lieutenant General Vladislav Yershov, removed from office and arrested; Chief of Staff – Deputy Commander of the 35th All-Military Army, Major General Sergei Nirkov, was seriously wounded; Chief of Staff – Deputy Commander of the 36th General Army, Major General Andrei Seritsky, was seriously wounded; Deputy Commander of the 41st All-Military Army, Lieutenant General Andriy Sukhovetsky, died; Commander of the 49th General Army Lieutenant General Yakov Ryazantsev, died; Commander of the 58th All-Military Army, Lieutenant General Mykhailo Zusk, was removed from office and arrested.
United Nations names panel of experts to examine war crimes in Russia
The United Nations named three human rights experts on Wednesday to investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine where Russia has been accused of indiscriminate bombardment of civilians, Reuters reported.
The independent panel, led by Erik Mose of Norway, will probe all accusations of rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law “in the context of the aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation,” a statement said.
China says it is seeking closer ties with Russia
China is seeking closer ties with Russia, even as the U.S. and other NATO nations have called on China to apply more pressure to Moscow amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
China and Russia are “more determined” to tighten their relationship, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
“Both sides are more determined to develop bilateral ties, and are more confident in promoting cooperation in various fields,” Wang said.
“China is willing to work with Russia to take China-Russian ties to a higher level in a new era under the guidance of the consensus reached by the heads of state,” he added.
Both sides have also condemned what they called illegal counter- productive sanctions against Russia, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Click here for Wednesday’s live coverage.
Body of Skier Rory Angelotta Missing Since Christmas Found in Suburbs
The body of a 43-year-old avid skier who got caught up in a sweeping snow storm over Christmas has been found in an unlikely spot. Roy Angelotta disappeared around 10 p.m. Christmas Eve while skiing at the Northstar California Resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains and was thought to have gone off-piste due to low visibility and bad weather. Hi body was found Saturday about three miles from the resort in a residential area. Law enforcement officials say he was likely trying to find a safe haven from the storm when he collapsed. “It is possible Angelotta was attempting to find the neighborhood near Truckee when he succumbed to the elements,” the sheriff’s office said, according to NBC News. “There was no indication of any suspicious or unusual activity.” An autopsy is scheduled to determine his exact cause of death.
Read it at NBC News
GOP roars back to life in Trump-resistant Pennsylvania suburbs
Pennsylvania will be home to highly competitive House, Senate and gubernatorial races in next year’s midterm elections — and the GOP’s local comeback here shows that Democrats’ newfound shakiness among suburban voters reaches far deeper than one or two states.
“This November was an early insight into what Democrats could be facing in the suburbs in 2022,” said Dan Sena, former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “The suburbs have become much more competitive for Democrats than they have been in the last two elections, and provide opportunities for Republicans to make gains.”
Though district attorney, sheriff and judicial races that took place across Pennsylvania didn’t garner much attention nationally, political insiders view them as virtually as important as Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin’s victory farther down Interstate 95.
From April to October, Biden’s approval rating fell 14 points among suburban voters in Pennsylvania, according to surveys by Morning Consult. Biden’s favorability saw similar drops in the swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida.
Biden’s suburban fade is no small matter. The big margins produced by the suburban Philadelphia counties of Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, and Chester — where Biden outperformed Hillary Clinton — allowed him to win the state back from Trump in 2020.
The most recent election results, however, suggested the GOP is on much favorable footing in these areas now that Trump is out of office. From Loudoun County, Va., to Bucks County, Pa., suburban voters appeared to reject the idea that every Republican candidate is a Trump foot soldier. Just as Virginia Democrats sought to paint Youngkin as a Trump acolyte, Pennsylvania Democrats sought to tie local Republican candidates to the former GOP president — and there were few signs that it worked.
“Don’t let Trump’s Bucks County crew take over our school boards and local government,” warned one Democratic mailer. The flip side read, “Bucks County Republicans are keeping Trumpism alive here at home. To stop them — Vote!”
Just as in Virginia, where the fleece vest-wearing Youngkin did not campaign with Trump in the general election, GOP candidates likewise kept Trump at arm’s length in the Philly suburbs.
“Throughout [southeastern Pennsylvania], I can’t think of a candidate, whether it was a judge candidate or a township supervisor or a county row office race, that embraced Trump,” said Mike Conallen, former chief of staff to Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican who represents Bucks County.
Conallen pointed to Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub, a Republican who won reelection and outperformed other successful GOP candidates on the ticket. He ran as a moderate who had managed high-profile prosecutions and supported diversionary programs.
“There was not a whisper of Trump,” said Conallen. “It’s not like he was distancing himself from Trump, but he just never, ever talked about it, and realized it’s just not a winning formula anymore.”
Tom Bonier, chief executive of the Democratic data firm TargetSmart, said a question going into 2021’s off-year elections was whether Trump’s base would go to the polls when he wasn’t running for office.
The results showed that “the Republican base was engaged without Trump on the ballot,” he said. “And at the same time, without Trump on the ballot, it seems that some number of these mostly suburban, mostly better-educated Republicans who had fled the party under Trump were more comfortable coming back to the party.”
The fact that Republicans saw increased support in the collar counties surrounding Philadelphia, as well as the suburbs of Virginia and New Jersey, also “tells us that a lot of what happened in these races was actually driven by more national trends, which is interesting by itself because generally these off-year elections tend to be the least nationalized,” Bonier said.
Republican Party operatives listed a familiar litany of issues that have gained national prominence — inflation, education, immigration and crime — when explaining why voters in Philly’s suburbs returned to the GOP this year.
“I had so many people talk to me about the books that they’re finding out are in their schools,” said Bucks County Republican Party chair Pat Poprik. “That woke up a lot of people.”
Poprik said outrage over schools and crime drove more residents in Bucks County to get involved in the GOP: A party training session that normally draws 30 or 40 people, she said, brought out hundreds this year.
GOP ads that aired in the Philly media market accused Democrats of being tied to groups that want to defund the police and of being weak on crime, while touting Republicans as “independent” candidates who had been endorsed by law enforcement and labor unions. One spot drew attention to crime in the city of Philadelphia, where homicides are at a record high, and warned that Democratic state Supreme Court candidate Maria McLaughlin “would make it worse.”
While McLaughlin won three of the four suburban counties, she lost Bucks County narrowly to the Republican running for the state Supreme Court, Kevin Brobson. In 2020, Biden won Bucks County by 4 percentage points.
One upside for Democrats in next year’s elections is that GOP candidates will have a much harder time keeping Trump on the sidelines. The early frontrunner for the Republican nomination in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race is Lou Barletta, a former congressman who was one of the first elected officials to back Trump in 2016.
Trump has already endorsed a candidate, Sean Parnell, in the race for an open Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Parnell, who is close with Donald Trump, Jr., has faced allegations of domestic abuse in child custody hearings.
Several Democratic consultants pointed out that the swings toward Republicans in the Philly suburbs were unlike the double-digit swings to the right that took place in Virginia and New Jersey: They were smaller shifts that reflect the reality that suburbs like Bucks County are up for grabs by either party, they said.
Still, optimism about their chances in the Philly suburbs is surging among Republicans after this month’s races. The National Republican Congressional Committee added Montgomery County Rep. Madeleine Dean, who won by nearly 20 points in 2020, on its list of “offensive targets” one day after the Nov. 2 election.
Dean said her name being added to the list “tells me that they know Pennsylvania is critical and important, and we have been for many election cycles.” To succeed next year, she said, Democrats need to draw attention to achievements such as coronavirus relief legislation and the infrastructure package.
“I predict Pennsylvania will be pivotal again,” she said. “What I think we have to do is stop telling and simply show — we have to show the fruits of our labor.”
Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood who is now co-chair of the top Democratic outside group American Bridge 21st Century, agreed.
“What’s really important, with all the noise that’s happening, is that we both spend time listening to suburban women but also make sure they understand who is actually pushing for the things that they need in their lives whether it’s affordable child care access, support for elder care, so many things,” she said. “I don’t think this is a permanent shift. But I also think it’s a cautionary tale.”
New Orleans levees pass Ida’s test while some suburbs flood
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The levees, floodwalls and floodgates that protect New Orleans held up against Hurricane Ida’s fury, passing their toughest test since the federal government spent billions of dollars to upgrade a system that catastrophically failed when Hurricane Katrina struck 16 years ago.
But strengthening the flood protection system in New Orleans couldn’t spare some neighboring communities from Ida’s destructive storm surge. Many residents of LaPlace, a western suburb where work only recently began on a long-awaited levee project, had to be rescued from rising floodwaters.
Marcie Jacob Hebert evacuated before Ida, but she has no doubt that the storm flooded her LaPlace home based on what she has seen and heard from neighbors. Her house didn’t flood in 2005 during Katrina, but it took on nearly 2 feet (60 centimeters) of water during Hurricane Isaac in 2012.
“We haven’t had these problems until everybody else’s levees worked,” said Hebert, 46. “It may not be the only factor, but I sure do think it contributes.”
Louisiana State University professor emeritus Craig Colten, who has taught historical geography, said most of the New Orleans levee systems has been in place for decades. He said the flooding in LaPlace can be explained by wind direction, not by any floodwater diverted from New Orleans.
“Isaac was really a minor storm in terms of wind speed, but it did drive water into Lake Pontchartrain to the western edge, toward LaPlace, as this storm did. And that just is going to pile water up where LaPlace is,” Colten said. “I haven’t seen anything that was done since Katrina that’s really going to make a huge difference.”
Gov. John Bel Edwards said a preliminary survey of levees across Louisiana showed they did exactly as they intended and held water out.
“We don’t believe there is a single levee anywhere now that actually breached or failed. There were a few smaller levees that were overtopped to a degree for a certain period of time,” Edwards said.
Two flood protection districts oversee the system in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes. Neither district reported any breaches or overtopping of levees.
“The system performed as designed,” said Nicholas Cali, regional director of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West, which oversees the west bank of Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, which covers St. Bernard Parish and most of Orleans and Jefferson parishes, also planned to inspect its system Monday but hadn’t found any problems, according to regional director Kelli Chandler.
Tulane University history professor Andy Horowitz, author of “Katrina: A History, 1915-2015,” said it is “unequivocally great news” that the levees held up against Ida’s surge. That doesn’t mean that a city as vulnerable as New Orleans is safe from flooding “in the face of a changing climate,” he added
“It does not mean that the lesson of Hurricane Ida is that metropolitan New Orleans has adequate hurricane protection. It means it had adequate protection against this storm surge,” Horowitz said. “As the system is challenged by stronger and more frequent hurricanes. I think many experts are very concerned about the rather low level of protection that New Orleans has.”
A federal judge in New Orleans ruled in 2009 that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ failure to properly maintain and operate the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet was a significant cause of the catastrophic flooding during Katrina. Levee failures near Lake Pontchartrain also flooded New Orleans neighborhoods.
After Katrina, the federal government spent $14.5 billion on projects designed to enhance protection from storm surge and flooding in New Orleans and surrounding suburbs south of Lake Pontchartrain. Starting with a giant surge barrier east of the city, the system is a 130-mile (210-kilometer) ring built to hold out storm surge of about 30 feet (9 meters).
Work recently began on a levee project to protect tens of thousands of residents of LaPlace and other communities outside New Orleans’ levee system. That project is not projected to be completed until 2024.
“I’m glad they’re building us a levee, but I worry about what happens to the next group further to the west,” Hebert said. “The water has got to go somewhere. We can’t just keep funneling it from person to person, place to place.”
Bernardo Fallas, a spokesperson for Phillips 66, said the company did not immediately have information about whether a reported levee collapse in Plaquemines Parish affected its Alliance Refinery in Belle Chasse. Fallas said the refinery has been shut down since Saturday, ahead of Ida’s arrival.
“We will proceed to conduct a post-storm assessment of the refinery when it is safe to do so,” Fallas said.
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Kunzelman reported from College Park, Maryland. Amy reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker in Washington; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; and Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge contributed to this report.
Census data puts target on rural, Rust Belt House districts
While suburban congressional districts are swelling with new residents, lawmakers in large swaths of rural America and some Rust Belt cities are in need of more people to represent.
In rural Illinois, Republican Rep. Mary Miller’s district is short 73,000 people. In northeastern Ohio, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan needs an additional 88,000 people. And the Detroit-area district of Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib lacks over 100,000 people — one of the biggest shortfalls in the country.
That makes them all potential targets for map makers — and possibly vulnerable to job loss — as their districts are redrawn in the coming months to rebalance the nation’s shifting population.
The numbers come from an Associated Press analysis of new 2020 census data revealing the boom of urban and suburban America, at the expense of small towns. The emptying out of rural areas was particularly rough news for Republicans, who have increasingly relied on rural voters to win seats in Congress. Of the 61 U.S. House districts that lost population, 35 are held by Republicans.
The party needs to net just five seats to win control of the House in 2022. But it is guaranteed to lose a seat in West Virginia, and likely to take hits in Illinois and New York.
However, Republicans are well positioned to make up those seats — and possibly more — in the growing states of Texas, Florida and North Carolina, where they control the mapmaking process. Fast growing areas, such as Republican-held congressional districts in suburban Texas, are fertile ground for adding new districts or spreading surplus Democratic voters among neighboring districts.
That tactic is among those certain to be contested both in the legislatures and in courts. Democrats on Friday wasted no time filing a fresh lawsuit challenging the current maps in Wisconsin, anticipating a redistricting stalemate in the divided state government and arguing the courts should intervene.
The political parties will be battling not just over where they can gain seats but also where they can eliminate seats held by their opponents. That means some of the toughest battles for mapmakers will occur over districts that have fewer residents than a decade ago, like those in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio — all states that will be losing a U.S. House seat because of lagging population.
Ohio will drop from 16 to 15 U.S. House seats with redistricting. Among the 10 districts with the largest population shortfalls, three were in Ohio, according to the AP analysis, based on the number of residents required per district.
That included Ryan’s district as well as Republican Rep. Bill Johnson’s eastern Ohio district and the Cleveland-area district of former Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge, who resigned to join President Joe Biden’s administration. Fudge’s district, where Democrat Shontel Turner recently won the primary, is on the hunt for 94,000 more people.
Ryan’s district, though still voting for Democrats, has been trending toward Republicans in recent presidential elections.
Republicans, who control redistricting in Ohio, could “sort of dismember” Ryan’s district and place its residents in other nearby districts, said Paul Beck, a retired political science professor from Ohio State University. “I think that district is going to be on the cutting boards.”
Ryan has announced his plans to run for the U.S. Senate.
A lost Democratic district in Ohio wouldn’t necessarily result in a Republican gain, because the GOP still would have to defend 12 seats that it already holds.
Republicans are guaranteed to lose a congressional seat in West Virginia. That’s because they currently hold all three seats, and one must be eliminated in redistricting.
Another blow may be awaiting Republicans in Illinois, which must trim its congressional delegation from 18 to 17. Democrats who control redistricting there are almost certain to try to eliminate a district in heavily Republican areas of central and southern Illinois. All five of Illinois’ congressional districts held by Republicans lost population between 2010 and 2020, according to the census, giving Democrats the justification to get rid of one.
“I don’t think there’s going to be anything Republicans can do to stop that,” said Alvin Tillery Jr., an associate professor of political science and director of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy at Northwestern University.
A similar scenario could play out in New York, where Democrats also control redistricting and thus will hold sway over which seat must be eliminated.
The fight could be messier in Pennsylvania, where the state’s congressional delegation currently is split 9-9 between Democrats and Republicans. The GOP controls the Legislature, which will draft a new map eliminating one seat, but Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf holds veto power.
The rural Pennsylvania district of Republican Rep. Glenn Thompson ranks among the top 10 nationally in population shortfalls, needing to pick up over 90,000 people to meet the redistricting target. It’s one of six Pennsylvania districts that lost population in the 2020 census, all but one of which are held by Republicans.
Citizens’ commissions will be responsible for deciding how to eliminate one district each in California and Michigan. After the 2010 census, Michigan’s districts were drawn by a Republican-led Legislature and governor and provided the GOP one of the most enduring advantages in the nation, according to an AP analysis.
Michigan lost population in the 2020 census in some rural areas as well as in Detroit and Flint, which was scarred by a tainted water crises this past decade. The districts of Democratic Reps. Dan Kildee, who represents Flint, and Rashida Tlaib of Detroit each are more than 100,000 people short of the redistricting target — the largest gaps nationally outside of West Virginia.
If Republicans were still drawing the maps, one of those districts might be a likely target for elimination. But the state constitution says the citizens’ redistricting commission can neither favor nor disfavor incumbents. That means the new map could look significantly different.
“The commission is very unlikely to just sort of start from the current map and make small adjustments,” said Matt Grossmann, a political scientist who directs the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University. “I really think they’re going to be closer to starting from scratch.”
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Associated Press writer Sara Burnett contributed to this report from Chicago.
Blaze sweeps through Athens suburbs in fifth day of Greece wildfires
The fire on Mount Parnitha on the outskirts of Athens has forced the evacuation of thousands of people since late Thursday, with emergency crews facing winds and high temperatures as they battle to contain its spread.
Wildfires have erupted in many parts of the country amid Greece’s worst heatwave in more than 30 years, tearing through tens of thousands of acres of forestland, destroying homes and businesses and killing animals. Temperatures have been over 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) all week.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking after visiting the main fire control centre in Athens on Saturday, called it a “nightmarish summer,” adding the government’s priority “has been, first and foremost, to protect human lives.”
The government planned to reimburse people affected by the fires and would designate the burned land as areas for reforestation, he said.
More than 700 firefighters, including reinforcements from Cyprus, France and Israel, have been deployed to fight the blaze north of Athens, assisted by the army and water-bombing aircraft.
Overnight on Saturday, strong winds pushed the fire into the town of Thrakomakedones, where it burned homes. Residents had been ordered to evacuate and there were no immediate reports of casualties.
“(It’s) really bad,” said Thanasis Kaloudis, a resident of the town. “All of Greece has burned.”
Fires on Evia, Greece’s second biggest island, are scattered from one end on the Gulf of Euboea across to the other, facing the Aegean Sea.
Hundreds of people, including many elderly residents, were evacuated by ferry late on Friday from the town of Limni on Evia as flames reached the shore and the sky turned an apocalyptic red.
Authorities have battled more than 400 wildfires across the country in the last 24 hours, with the biggest fronts still burning in the north of Athens, Evia and areas in the Peloponnese including Mani, Messinia and ancient Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games.
One man died on Friday after being injured by electricity pylon in a fire-stricken area near Athens, and at least nine others have been injured, authorities said.
Residents in suburbs north of Athens have been forced to leave in a hurry with the few belongings they can take.
“Our business, our home, all of our property is there. I hope they don’t burn,” Yorgos Papaioannou, 26, said on Friday, sitting in a parking lot with his girlfriend as ash fell around them from the smoke-filled sky.
He had left the town of Polydendri when police ordered him and his girlfriend to leave. read more
In neighbouring Turkey, authorities are battling the country’s worst-ever wildfires. Flames sweeping through its southwestern coastal regions forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. In Italy, hot winds fanned flames on the island of Sicily this week.