The Nation

According to social media posts by members of some trucking groups, a number of drivers plan to idle or slow their rigs to a crawl on Tuesday, Aug. 31, in protest of mandatory workplace COVID-19 vaccinations and virus-related travel restrictions. Although it’s unclear just how many truckers will actually participate in the one-day protest, social media groups, including StopTheTires2020 and The Disrespected Trucker on Facebook, both primarily followed by professional drivers, seem to be supporting the effort. There is currently no known nationwide movement to require mandatory vaccines for truckers. Several major corporations such as Walmart and Tyson, which employ thousands of truck drivers, have mandated the vaccine for some workers but, as of now, not for their transportation fleet employees. In Australia, truckers have recently protested mandatory vaccinations by blocking roads and slowing the movement of goods. Many U.S. truckers say the Aug. 31 protest here is in solidarity with their Aussie brothers and sisters of the road. Jeremy Rewoldt, founder of the Facebook group StopTheTires2020, said in a recent post that he had warned fellow U.S. truckers about coming policies that are designed to stifle freedoms. “Well, I told you it was about future policies and how the(y) would effect [sic] every American. Remember without any consumers all of us drivers are useless. With out us product don’t get to the people. It’s a circle,” he wrote in a Aug. 14 post. “Now do you believe me? Now is it time to wake the hell up?,” the post continues. “I have said it from the start it’s not about me. It’s not about you (yes you reading this), it’s about every hard working American in this great country. It effects [sic] everyone.” Facebook user Diana Tolle wrote the following on the Facebook group We The People: “I believe our truckers should shut this country down. America stand up due to these vaccine mandates and passports and so much more that is BS. Turning one another against each other because we should all be vaccinated I don’t agree.” One of the most outspoken truckers against the vaccine is TikTok user @disrespectedtrucker3. TikTok, which has millions of users, allows members to post video clips up to 90 seconds long and on just about any topic. “On August 31st, on Tuesday, we’re asking that everybody not go to work,” he said in a video posting last week. “If they’re out on the road, shut your truck down. There are guys that plan on putting their trucks across the road. There’s guys who plan on parking on the side of the road, parking at home, and at truck stops.” Beyond that, he didn’t offer any specific instructions about how to protest, saying only that he’s “just telling people to shut your trucks down, and nobody go to work at least for Tuesday. Maybe for the rest of the week. Until we get their attention in DC, we’re going to have to keep putting up with bulls**t mandates. What’s going on with the nurses and the military right now isn’t right. So, we’re going to stand up for Freedom.” While the concept is not popular among some drivers and other workers, employers can legally require employees to get the shot. According to the American Trucking Associations, in December 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance on how COVID vaccines apply to existing labor law. In sum, the guidance affirms an employer’s right to mandate that their employees receive a vaccine, as the law permits employers to set “a requirement that an individual shall not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of individuals in the workplace.” In doing so, regulations require the employer to show the duration of the risk, the nature and severity of the potential harm, the likelihood that the potential harm will occur, and the imminence of the potential harm. However, the guidance also notes two exceptions — protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts — for employees with disabilities or “sincerely” held religious beliefs that prohibit them from receiving a vaccine. In those cases, employers are required by regulation to provide “reasonable accommodations.” Efforts to reach the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding mandatory Covid vaccines on Monday, Aug. 30, were unsuccessful.  

NEW ORLEANS — Rescue workers set out in hundreds of boats and helicopters to reach people trapped by floodwaters and utility crews mobilized Monday, Aug. 30, after a furious Hurricane Ida swamped the Louisiana coast and shattered a large swath of the state’s electrical grid in the sweltering, late-summer heat. One of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland weakened into a tropical storm overnight as it pushed inland over Mississippi with torrential rain and shrieking winds, its danger far from over. Ida was blamed for at least one death — someone hit by a falling tree outside Baton Rouge — but with many roads impassable and cellphone service knocked out in places, the full extent of its fury was still coming into focus Monday morning. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a regional emergency declaration for Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas. The declaration grants temporary relief for drivers and carriers that are providing direct emergency response with the transport supplies, goods, equipment, fuel and persons. Click here to review the declaration and requirements. The hurricane “came in and did everything that was advertised, unfortunately,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said. All of New Orleans lost power right around sunset Sunday as the hurricane blew ashore on the 16th anniversary of Katrina, leading to an uneasy night of pouring rain and howling wind. The weather died down shortly before dawn, and people began carefully walking around neighborhoods with flashlights, dodging downed light poles, pieces of roofs and branches. “I had a long miserable night,” said Chris Atkins, who was in his New Orleans home when he heard a “kaboom” and all the sheetrock in the living room fell into the house. A short time later, the whole side of the living room fell onto his neighbor’s driveway. “Lucky the whole thing didn’t fall inward. It would have killed us,” he said. Four Louisiana hospitals were damaged and 39 medical facilities were operating on generator power, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said. An area just west of New Orleans got about 17 inches of rain in 20 hours, Greg Carbin of NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center tweeted. It appeared that the levees that failed in 2005 during Hurricane Katrina held up in Ida, the governor said. “For the most part, all of our levees performed extremely well — especially the federal levees — but at the end of the day the storm surge, the rain, the wind all had devastating impacts,” Edwards said. “We have water systems that are out. We have tremendous damage to homes and to businesses.” The rain and surge of seawater in the maze of rivers and bayous south of New Orleans threatened hundreds of homes. On social media, people posted their addresses and directed search-and-rescue teams to their attics or rooftops. The Louisiana National Guard said it activated 4,900 Guard personnel and lined up 195 high-water vehicles, 73 rescue boats and 34 helicopters. Local and state agencies were adding hundreds of more. Jefferson Parish in suburban New Orleans knew of 500 people who said they were going to stay in areas that were flooded, and it began sending out dozens of boats to account for everyone and start rescuing them, Parish Council member Deano Bonano told WWL-TV. More than a million customers in Louisiana and Mississippi were without power, according to PowerOutage.US, which tracks outages nationwide. That left them without air conditioning and refrigeration in the dog days of summer. The hurricane twisted and collapsed a giant transmission tower in Jefferson Parish along the Mississippi River, and the wires fell into the river, causing widespread outages and halting river traffic, parish Emergency Management Director Joe Valiente said. Those lines supplied power to the New Orleans area. “One-hundred percent of the grid is smashed, hundreds of telephone poles snapped, trees hit power lines and just ripped them out,” Valiente told NPR. He said that the entire power grids collapsed in about 10 parishes and that it could take six weeks to fully restore power. Entergy said all eight of its major transmission lines into New Orleans were down and the only power was coming from generators, the city’s emergency office tweeted, citing “catastrophic transmission damage.” The city relies on Entergy for backup power for its stormwater pumps. Edwards said on Sunday that 30,000 utility workers were in the state to help restore electricity. New Orleans’ levees underwent major improvements after Katrina, which breached the city’s flood defenses, caused catastrophic flooding and was blamed for 1,500 deaths. Ida posed the levee system’s biggest test since that disaster. Farther south, emergency officials had not heard from Grand Isle since Sunday afternoon. About 40 people stayed on the barrier island, which took the brunt of the hurricane and was swamped by seawater, Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng told NBC. Ida’s 150 mph winds tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane ever to hit the mainland. Its winds were down to 45 mph early Monday, and forecasters said it would rapidly weaken while still dumping heavy rain over a large area. Parts of Interstate 10 — the main east-west highway along the Gulf Coast — were closed because of high water and debris on the road. At one spot, near LaPlace, Louisiana, the water over the highway was at least 4 feet deep, state officials said. In Mississippi’s southwestern corner, entire neighborhoods were surrounded by floodwaters, and many roads were impassable. Ida was expected to pick up speed Monday night before dumping rain on the Tennessee and Ohio River valleys Tuesday, the Appalachian mountain region Wednesday and the nation’s capital on Thursday. Forecasters said flash flooding and mudslides are possible along Ida’s path before it blows out to sea over New England on Friday. By Rebecca Santana, Kevin McGill and Janet McConnaughey. Associated Press writers Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi; Seth Borenstein in Kensington, Maryland; Michael Biesecker in Washington; Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; contributed to this report.

Updated 4 p.m. Central time (originally posted 1:44 p.m. Central time). NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Ida struck Cuba on Friday, August 27, as a rapidly intensifying storm that could speed across warm Gulf waters and slam into Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane on Sunday, the National Hurricane Center warned. Residents along Louisiana’s coast braced for Ida to bring destructive wind and rain on the exact date Hurricane Katrina devastated a large swath of the Gulf Coast exactly 16 years earlier. Capt. Ross Eichorn, a fishing guide on the coast about 70 miles southwest of New Orleans, said he fears warm Gulf waters will “make a monster” out of Ida. “With a direct hit, ain’t no telling what’s going to be left — if anything,” Eichorn said. “Anybody that isn’t concerned has got something wrong with them.” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell ordered the evacuation of everyone living outside the levee system that protects the area from flooding. She did not say how many people lived there, but urged residents with medical conditions and other special needs to get out early. Officials warned they plan to close floodgates Saturday afternoon on two highways near New Orleans, increasing the sense of urgency for those planning to flee. “Now is the time,” Cantrell said. Officials decided against evacuating New Orleans hospitals. There’s little room for their patients elsewhere, with hospitals from Texas to Florida already reeling from a spike in coronavirus patients, said Dr. Jennifer Avengo, the city’s health director. The White House said President Joe Biden and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell would discuss hurricane preparations Friday in a conference call with the governors of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said FEMA plans to send nearly 150 medical personnel and almost 50 ambulances to the Gulf Coast to assist strained hospitals. Ida became a hurricane with maximum winds of 75 mph Friday afternoon just before its first landfall on Cuba’s southern Isle of Youth. The Cuban government issued a hurricane warning for its westernmost provinces, where forecasters said as much as 20 inches of rain could fall in places, possibly unleashing deadly flash floods and mudslides. An even greater danger will then begin over the Gulf, where forecasts were aligned in predicting Ida will strengthen very quickly into a major hurricane, reaching 120 mph before landfall in the Mississippi River delta late Sunday, the hurricane center said. If that forecast holds true, Ida would hit on the 16th anniversary of Katrina’s landfall as a Category 3 storm with 125 mph (201 kph) winds near the riverside community of Buras in Plaquemines Parish, just down the Mississippi River from New Orleans. Katrina is blamed for an estimated 1,800 deaths from the central Louisiana coast to around the Mississippi-Alabama state line. A massive storm surge scoured the shores and wiped houses off the map. In New Orleans, failures of federal levees led to catastrophic flooding. Water covered 80% of the city and many homes were swamped to the rooftops. Some victims drowned in their attics. The Superdome and New Orleans Convention Center became scenes of sweltering misery as tens of thousands were stranded without power or running water. Memories of Katrina still haunt many who scrambled to prepare for Ida on Friday, lining up for groceries, gas and ice, as well as sandbags that the city was offering. Traffic snarled at entrances to a New Orleans Costco, where dozens of cars were backed up at the gas pumps and shoppers wheeled out carts stacked with cases of bottled water and other essentials. Retired police officer Wondell Smith, who worked on the police force when Katrina hit, said he and his family were planning to stay, but were also getting ready to head farther inland if the forecasts worsened. He spoke as he loaded water, bread and sandwich meat into his SUV. “I know what that looks like,” Smith said, referring to the potential devastation. “This is my first time being home in 34 years of service. And I want to be prepared.” Kickoff for Saturday’s preseason game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Saints at the Superdome was moved up seven hours to avoid the weather, to a noon Central Time start after consultation with city and federal officials and the National Weather Service. “Ida certainly has the potential to be very bad,” said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami. “It will be moving quickly, so the trek across the Gulf from Cuba to Louisiana will only take one-and-a-half days.” A hurricane watch for New Orleans and an emergency declaration for the state of Louisiana were declared. Category 3 hurricanes are capable of causing devastating damage. “Unfortunately, all of Louisiana’s coastline is currently in the forecast cone” for the storm, said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “By Saturday evening, everyone should be in the location where they intend to ride out the storm,” the governor added. A hurricane watch was in effect from Cameron, Louisiana, to the Mississippi-Alabama border — including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metropolitan New Orleans. The mandatory evacuation outside New Orleans levees was prompted by storm surge predictions of 7 to 11 feet in the area, said Collin Arnold, the city’s director of homeland security and emergency preparedness. “Being east of this storm’s track is not ideal,” Arnold said. “We’re anticipating significant impacts, including tropical storm-force or stronger winds that could cause downed trees and prolonged power outages. Heavy rain in excess of 10 inches — now that’s over a day or two — could cause significant street flooding.” By the time Ida reaches the central Gulf Coast Sunday, it could dump 8 to 16 inches of rain, with 20 inches in isolated areas, from southeast Louisiana to coastal Mississippi and Alabama through Monday morning. By Kevin McGill and Janet McConnaughey. Associated Press contributors include Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.; Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia; Darlene Superville in Washington; and Seth Borenstein in Kensington, Maryland.

BOSTON — Plans to replace the Sagamore and Bourne bridges connecting Cape Cod to the rest of Massachusetts will go forward even as Congress works to nail down funding for two new replacement bridges, members of the state’s congressional delegation said this week. A $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill recently approved by the U.S. Senate includes about $8 billion for Massachusetts — with more than a billion of that set aside for replacing bridges like the two aging spans over the Cape Cod Canal, according to Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Markey. “The Bourne and the Sagamore bridges are vital parts of the Cape’s economy and their way of life, connecting the residents of this region to the rest of Massachusetts,” Markey said Wednesday, August 25. “Unfortunately, these two bridges are also over 80 years old, structurally deficient and in desperate need of replacement.” Markey made the comments at an event Wednesday near the Sagamore bridge, according to the Cape Cod Times. “Amongst all those various programs and funding sources, I know that we can deliver two new bridges for the people of Cape Cod and Massachusetts,” Markey added, pointing to a separate $3.5 trillion budget resolution also approved by the Senate. The U.S. House is still working to move both pieces of legislation forward. Democrats hold slim majorities in both chambers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the owner of the bridges. The Corps will maintain control of the existing bridges until the new bridges are completed, at which point control of the new structures will be transferred to the state. A final report from the Corps of Engineers said if the bridges aren’t replaced within five years or so, one of the spans will have to be completely closed for 18 months for maintenance. That will exceed the cost of the replacements, according to Democratic U.S. Rep. William Keating. “We will replace the bridges. It is going to happen. And it’s a timeframe where we have to have it happen,” Keating said, according to the Times. Construction on both existing bridges began in 1933. Their narrower lanes no longer meet current highway standards. Officials have said there are no plans for tolls on the new bridges, which will be designed to better handle vehicle traffic as well as pedestrians and bicyclists.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Fremont Bridge in Portland was closed for at least an hour Sunday, Aug. 22, as more than 100 people arrived at southbound Interstate 405 to watch what appeared to be a planned car stunt. Hundreds of cars and trucks were at a standstill around 10:30 p.m. while other cars raced along the shoulder of southbound Interstate 405 to gather in the center of the bridge, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. A group of cars blocked traffic, performed stunts and lit fireworks. Dozens of people jumped out of their cars and ran toward the chaotic scene, maneuvering between cars filled with people trying to get home that had been stuck in the mayhem. The event was called a “bridge takeover.” Sergeant Kevin Allen, a public information officer for the Portland Police Bureau, said officers were aware of the takeover at Fremont Bridge, but that officers were responding to “high priority safety calls.” Early Monday morning, officers did respond and disperse a street event where police issued one citation, Allen said. Last week, Portland City Council passed an emergency ordinance to revise city code to make “street racing” or “sliding” misdemeanor offenses — labeling them, “Unlawful Street Takeover” and “Unlawful Staging of a Street Takeover Event.”

POINT EDWARD, Ontario, Canada — Charges have been filed against the driver of a commercial truck following the seizure of 183 pounds of suspected cocaine by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) earlier this month. On Aug. 9, a commercial truck driven by 46-year-old Gurdeep Singh Mangat of Brampton, Ontario, entered Canada from the U.S. at the Blue Water Bridge in Point Edward, Ontario. The truck was referred for a secondary inspection, where CBSA officers found and seized approximately 183 pounds (83 kg) of suspected cocaine. The CBSA arrested Mangat and transferred him and the suspected cocaine to the custody of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who are conducting the investigation. The RCMP has charged Mangat with importation of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking. “We are proud of our officers at the front line who work tirelessly to protect Canadians and keep drugs out of our communities,” said An Nguyen, district director of St. Clair District Operations for CBSA. “This seizure is another example of the ongoing cooperation that exists between the CBSA and the RCMP.”

WESTLAKE, Ohio — TravelCenters of America Inc. (TA) is now serving drivers along Interstate 35 in Kansas, thanks to the opening of a new TA Express travel center at exit 205 in Edgerton. The new TA Express is a franchised location and expands TA’s total nationwide network of travel centers to 275, including 42 franchises. TA Express Edgerton is a newly constructed 9,000 square foot building, and offers a convenient stop between Kansas City and Wichita. Amenities include: Dunkin’ Express, on-site deli with hot and cold food options; Store with coffee, snacks and merchandise; 90 truck parking spaces; 40 car parking spaces; Six diesel fueling positions with Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) on all lanes; 16 gasoline fueling positions; Four showers; A driver lounge; and Laundry facilities. “As we continue expanding our footprint across the country, we are strategically opening travel centers in locations where our services are needed by both professional drivers and motorists,” said Jon Pertchik, CEO of TravelCenters of America. “In partnership with our franchisee, we are proud to join the growing and vibrant Edgerton community and look forward serving both travelers and residents along the Interstate 35 corridor.”

BOSTON — New Englanders bracing for their first direct hit by a hurricane in 30 years began hauling boats out of the water and taking other precautions Friday, Aug. 20, as Tropical Storm Henri barreled toward the Northeast coast. Henri is expected to intensify into a hurricane by Saturday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Impacts could be felt in New England states by Sunday, including on Cape Cod, which is teeming with tens of thousands of summer tourists. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday urged people vacationing on the Cape to leave well before Henri hits, and those who planned to start vacations there to delay their plans. “We don’t want people to be stuck in traffic on the Cape Cod bridges when the storm is in full force on Sunday,” he said. “This storm is extremely worrisome,” said Michael Finkelstein, police chief and emergency management director in East Lyme, Connecticut. “We haven’t been down this road in quite a while and there’s no doubt that we and the rest of New England would have some real difficulties with a direct hit from a hurricane.” Finkelstein said he’s most concerned about low-lying areas of town that could become impossible to access because of flooding and a storm surge. Thursday marked exactly 30 years since Hurricane Bob came ashore in Rhode Island as a Category 2 storm, killing at least 17 people and leaving behind more than $1.5 billion worth of damage. Bob, which left streets in coastal towns littered with boats blown free of their moorings, left hundreds of thousands without power and water for days. Large swaths of the Eastern seaboard were mopping up on Friday from the effects of Henri’s predecessor, Tropical Depression Fred. In North Carolina, Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher said seven individuals remained unaccounted for, down from around 20 people reported missing on Thursday. Christopher also confirmed the identities of the two people who died during Fred, which include a 68-year-old and an 86-year-old resident living in the Cruso area. “Our thoughts and prayers are extended to both these families, and we will support both these families in this tragic loss,” he said. The National Weather Service warned of the potential for damaging winds and widespread coastal flooding from Henri. Authorities urged people to secure their boats, fuel up their vehicles and stock up on canned goods. The system was centered in the Atlantic Ocean about 345 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and about 745 miles south of Montauk Point, New York. It had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. The hurricane watch stretched across the South Shore of Long Island from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk, and the North Shore from Port Jefferson Harbor to Montauk. It also covered the coast from New Haven, Connecticut, to Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts; and Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island. The main threats are expected to be storm surge, wind and rain, forecasters said. Storm surge between 3 and 5 feet is possible from Watch Hill, Rhode Island, to Sagamore Beach. Rainfall between 2 to 5 inches is expected Sunday through Monday over the region. Henri was heading northwest Friday morning, but forecasters expect it to make a turn toward the north and approach the New England coast. At Safe Harbor Marina in coastal Plymouth, Massachusetts, Steve Berlo was among the many boaters having their vessels pulled out of the water ahead of the storm. “It’s rare, but when it happens you want to be sure you’re ready,” said Berlo, 54. “Got to protect our second home. So that’s that. Now I can sleep tonight.” The National Weather Service warned residents and beachgoers on the North Carolina coast of rip currents and rough surf associated with Henri. Meteorologist Steven Pfaff of the weather service’s Wilmington office said swells from Henri were expected to create hazardous surf conditions beginning Friday and continuing on Saturday. At the U.S. Navy’s submarine base in Groton, Connecticut, personnel on Friday were securing submarine moorings, installing flood gates in front of doors on some waterfront buildings, and doubling up lines on small boats, officials said. Families were being encouraged to watch the forecast and make any necessary preparations. The Coast Guard urged boaters to stay off the water, saying in a statement: “The Coast Guard’s search and rescue capabilities degrade as storm conditions strengthen. This means help could be delayed.” At the Port Niantic marina in Niantic, Connecticut, Debbie Shelburn and her employees were already busy Friday hauling boats out of the water and into a large storage building. “Basically, it’s become all hands on deck. No matter your position — mechanic, whatever — everybody is out there helping with the logistics of moving the boats and getting them secure on land,” she said. By Philip Marcelo and Pat Eaton-Robb, The Associated Press. Eaton-Robb reported from Columbia, Connecticut. Associated Press writers Skip Foreman in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and William J. Kole in Warwick, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Love’s Travel Stops is now serving customers in Monroe, Louisiana, and Elk Grove Village, Illinois, thanks to two travel stops that opened Aug. 19. The Monroe store, located off Interstate 20 at 335 Highway 594, adds 90 truck parking spaces and 80 jobs to Ouachita Parish. The Elk Grove Village store, located off Illinois Route 83 at 1900 Busse Road, adds 17 truck parking spaces and 50 jobs to Cook County. “We’re excited to open our 10th and 29th locations in Louisiana and Illinois, respectively,” said Greg Love, co-CEO of Love’s. “We place Love’s in locations that are easy to access and help get customers back on the road quickly and safely. These two locations — one in the South and one in the Midwest — fit the bill.” Both locations are open 24/7 and offer many amenities, including a CAT scale, laundry facilities bean-to-cup gourmet coffee, brand-name snacks, a Fresh Kitchen concept, and a Mobile to Go Zone with the latest GPS, headsets and smartphone accessories. The Monroe store also offers: More than 13,000 square feet; Chester’s Chicken, Godfather’s Pizza and Subway (all opening Aug. 23); 90 truck parking spaces; 73 car parking spaces; Three RV parking spaces; Eight diesel bays; Seven showers; Speedco (opening soon); and Dog park. The Elk Grove Village store also features: More than 8,000 square feet; Chester’s Chicken and Godfather’s Pizza (both opening Aug. 23); 17 truck parking spaces; 33 car parking spaces; Five diesel bays; and Four showers. In honor of the grand opening, Love’s will donate $2,000 to be split between Ouachita Parish High School and the Louisiana State Police-Troop F in Monroe, and $2,000 to be split between the Greater Chicago Food Depository-Elk Grove Village Branch and the Alligator Aquatics Swim Club in Elk Grove Village.

MIAMI and BOSTON — On the 30th anniversary of the last hurricane to make a direct hit on New England, the region warily braced Thursday, August 19, for Tropical Storm Henri as it gathered strength and headed for the northeastern U.S. On Friday morning, forecasters issued a hurricane watch as Henri continued its projected track toward the southern New England coast. Henri was expected to intensify into a hurricane by Saturday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. Impacts could be felt in New England states by Sunday. The system was centered in the Atlantic Ocean about 370 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and about 780 miles south-southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts. It had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. The hurricane watch stretched across the South Shore of Long Island from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk, and the North Shore from Port Jefferson Harbor to Montauk. It also covered the coast from New Haven, Connecticut, to Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts; and Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island. The main threats were expected to be storm surge, wind and rain, forecasters said. Storm surge between 3 and 5 feet was possible from Watch Hill, Rhode Island, to Sagamore Beach. Rainfall between 2 to 5 inches was expected Sunday through Monday over the region. Henri was heading west early Friday, but forecasters expect it to make a turn toward the north and approach the New England coast. Exactly 30 years ago Thursday, in 1991, Bob made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 90 miles per hour and wind gusts up to 138 mph. At least 17 people were killed in the storm, the costliest in New England with more than $1.5 billion in property damage — nearly $3 billion in today’s dollars. The National Weather Service warned of the potential for damaging winds and widespread coastal flooding from Henri. Authorities urged people to secure their boats, fuel up their vehicles and stock up on canned goods in case the storm makes a direct hit. New Englanders had to begin thinking about Henri even as the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred lashed the region, unleashing drenching rains that stranded drivers as floodwaters swamped their vehicles. In Worcester, Massachusetts, the region’s second-largest city, a woman and her two young children had to be carried out of their stalled car by a Good Samaritan after waters rose to the vehicle’s windows. The National Weather Service warned of the potential for damaging winds and widespread coastal flooding from Henri. Authorities urged people to secure their boats, fuel up their vehicles and stock up on canned goods in case the storm makes a direct hit.

PHARR, Texas — Offers with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) office of field operations at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility found $2,007,700 in alleged cocaine hidden in a commercial vehicle last week. On Aug. 12, CBP officers at the cargo facility encountered a tractor-trailer entering the U.S. from Mexico. The truck was referred for inspection, which included nonintrusive imaging equipment and screenings by a K-9 team. After physically inspecting the trailer, agents discovered 96 packages of alleged cocaine weighing 260.36 pounds hidden in the trailer. “Our frontline CBP officers continue to remain vigilant and utilize inspections experience and technology and all of that came together perfectly as they intercepted this significant cocaine load,” said Carlos Rodriguez, director of the Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry. CBP officers seized the narcotics and the tractor-trailer. The case remains under investigation by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Tropical Depression Fred blew into the northeastern U.S. Wednesday, Aug. 18, unleashing heavy rains and threatening to cause mudslides and flash floods in upstate New York after closing highways in the lower Appalachians. Dozens of people were rescued from flooded areas in North Carolina after downpours washed out bridges and swamped homes. Unconfirmed tornados unleashed by the stormy weather had already caused damage in places in Georgia and North Carolina on Tuesday as Fred moved north, well inland from the coastal areas that usually bear the brunt of tropical weather. One death was reported in Florida, where authorities said a driver hydroplaned and flipped into a ditch near Panama City. About 37,000 customers were without power Wednesday in North Carolina and West Virginia, according to the utility tracker poweroutage.us. In North Carolina, where steady downpours swelled waterways and washed rocks and mud onto highways, multiple landslides temporarily closed several lanes on Interstate 40 and closed another highway Tuesday. Fred’s remnants moved into Pennsylvania by midday Wednesday, and although the post-tropical cyclone no longer had much of a swirling center, it was still capable of spawning tornadoes and other dangerous weather. Rich Otto, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said rainfall is forecast to range from 2-4 inches, with some spots of 6 inches, across a swath from Pennsylvania to New England through Friday. “The bigger threat is probably just the chances of flooding and widespread flood watches that are in effect right now,” he said. Schools were closed and people evacuated along three rain-swollen rivers in far eastern Tennessee. “The areas around the Pigeon, French Broad and Nolichucky Rivers have become unsafe,” Cocke County Mayor Crystal Ottinger said in an order posted to Facebook late Tuesday. Four shelters opened. Schools in Lincoln County, West Virginia also canceled classes Wednesday due to high water from heavy rains. In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday he had declared a state of emergency and approximately 100 people had been rescued during the flooding in the state’s mountains. There were at least 70 water rescue efforts in Buncombe County, spokesperson Lillian Govus said, and 911 call records show 2,400 calls within 24 hours, more than twice the typical volume. Authorities also found at least 10 cars abandoned in flooded roads where people apparently sought safety and had to leave their cars behind, said Taylor Jones, the county’s emergency services director. The town of Candler saw significant flooding, with impassible roads and two washed-out bridges preventing dozens of people from leaving their houses. No deaths or injuries were immediately reported. To the west in the Canton area, a rescue team from the eastern part of the state performed water rescues of 15 adults, two children and several pets in the Canton area, New Hanover County Fire Rescue Chief Rudolph Shackelford said in a statement. Photos posted by the team showed rescue personnel in bright yellow vests staging rafts with outboard motors at the edge of yards that were submerged with muddy water up to the front doors of multiple homes. They also helped evacuate several apartment buildings threatened by floodwaters. Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers said the hours of inundation Tuesday “created a major disaster area” in his town. “What really caught us by surprise was how quickly the water rose, the tremendous amount, and intensity of it,” Smathers said by phone. Meanwhile, Grace became a hurricane after unleashing torrential rain on earthquake-damaged Haiti. Grace’s sustained winds grew to 75 mph Wednesday as it moved away from the Cayman Islands, and was expected to strengthen before hitting Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula Thursday morning. A hurricane warning was in effect for the Yucatan from Cancun to Punta Herrero, including Cozumel. Tropical Storm Henri, meanwhile, moved toward the U.S. coast, and forecasters said it’s now expected to become a hurricane by the weekend, on a path that’s more likely to affect the northeastern U.S. states. Henri was about 795 miles (1,280 kilometers) south-southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Wednesday. Its top sustained winds were holding steady at 65 mph (100 kph), but the hurricane center warned that life-threatening ocean swells could affect East Coast beaches later this week. By Bryan Anderson, The Associated Press. Associated Press writers Jeff Amy in Atlanta, Rebecca Yonker in Kentucky and Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.