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President Biden on Friday toured damage from Hurricane Ida in Louisiana as the state struggles to restore power and rebuild after the Category 4 storm. Biden was greeted by local officials after stepping off Air Force One in New Orleans. The tarmac welcome party included Democratic Gov. John Edwards and Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat, also welcomed Biden. Biden walked to the Marine One helicopter with a cheat-sheet of officials’ names and photos, along with what appeared to be a script of remarks, sticking...

Tens of millions of Americans woke up on the US East Coast Thursday to the aftermath of destruction left behind by remnants of Hurricane Ida. Now meteorologists are turning their attention to a hurricane in the Atlantic Basin that could be upgraded to a major hurricane (Category 3 or stronger) by this weekend. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), hurricane larry is packing 80 mph winds and strengthening as it travels west at 17 mph. The eye of the storm is about 660 miles west of the southernmost Cabo Verde Islands. NHC’s cone of uncertainty is tracking near Bermuda...

President Biden said on Thursday his administration would help those impacted by Hurricane Ida, outlining his response ahead of his trip to Louisiana to survey the storm’s damage. “My message to everyone effected is we’re all in this together. The nation is here to help. That’s the message I’ve been making clear to the majors, governors, energy and utility leaders in the region who my administration has been working closely with over the last few days,” he said during remarks at the White House. “We’ll be working around the clock until the critical needs of the region are fully met....

New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have been hit by severe flooding and dangerous winds as the remnants of Hurricane Ida sweep up to the northeast. The National Weather Service's office in New York issued a Flash Flood Emergency for New York City for the first time ever, as more than 60 million people throughout the northeast are under flash flood watches while Ida - now a tropical depression - moves its way into the area. 'This particular warning for NYC is the second time we've ever issued a Flash Flood Emergency. (It's the first one for NYC). The first...

The Dukes of Hazzard's John Schneider has revealed that his production studio in Holden, Louisiana was left badly ravaged by Hurricane Ida. The New York-born star, 61, who played Bo Duke on the show during its six-year run, took to Facebook to share an image of the damage on Monday, with the picture showing one of the General Lee cars from the show smashed by a fallen tree. He penned: 'Well… When something like this happens you have two choices: Tears and laughter. I choose laughter. So… What’s your caption? Here’s mine: "Miss Ida stopped by to see the General...

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Tuesday imposed a citywide curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Tuesday night as the city remained without power and residents struggled to find gasoline and other essentials. The announcement came with just three hours notice, but Cantrell characterized the curfew as a "proactive" public safety measure. New Orleans Police Chief Shaun Ferguson said officers have made "several" looting arrests and said it was not widespread, but he refused to disclose how many there had been. Ferguson said he was withholding the number of arrests to prevent "a false narrative about this city."

Mississippi police issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for an Ohio man who they say confronted NBC News' Shaquille Brewster on live television. The man, Benjamin Eugene Dagley, of Wooster, Ohio, will be charged with two counts of simple assault, one count of disturbing the peace and one count of violating an emergency curfew, Gulfport police said in a statement. He could also be in violation of his probation in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, if he traveled without authorization, police said. Brewster was doing a live MSNBC shot from Gulfport, reporting on Tropical Storm Ida in coastal Mississippi, when a man pulled...

“It (is) a primitive situation,” Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn said.

Update (1302ET): Moments ago, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards spoke with reporters at a press conference. He said following Hurricane Ida, it may take upwards of 30 days to restore power to parts of the state. He said he wasn’t “satisfied” with the timeline to restore power, adding that the situation is very dangerous, and requested that those who evacuated don’t return home.Here’s part of the governor’s press conference where he also went on to say that “many of the life-supporting infrastructure elements are not operating right now.” “If you have already evacuated, do not return here or elsewhere in...

More than a million customers across Lousiana are without power on Tuesday morning. Some reports indicate it could take weeks for the lights to come back on as thousands of miles of transmission lines were damaged after Hurricane Ida rolled through on Sunday. The Category 4 hurricane raises fresh questions about how well New Orleans and other coastal areas across Lousiana are prepared for natural disasters. As of 0630 ET, PowerOutage.US reports a little more than one million customers are without power across the state’s coastal plain. Energy provider Entergy Corp has been surveying the damage since Monday and has...

POWER All eight transmission towers that deliver power into the New Orleans area are currently out of service Entergy is working to assess damage and identify a path forward to restore power Unknown when power will be restored. Could be weeks. WATER S&WB says they are currently maintaining water pressure in the city of New Orleans, meaning no precautionary boil water advisories Both 52-WATER and backup phone lines are down, so there is no way for customers to reach S&WB Despite losing Entergy power, the S&WB turbines continue to churn out power for the city's 96 operational drainage pumps Sewer...

Officials say at least 200 people are in "imminent danger" as a levee breached around Lafitte and Jean Lafitte in Jefferson Parish. video report at link

A flash flood warning was issued for LaPlace on the west side of Lake Pontchartrain as Hurricane Ida, now a Category 2 storm, makes its way north through Louisiana:

With Hurricane Ida intensifying over the Gulf of Mexico Saturday and barreling towards the Gulf Coast, thousands of fleeing residents clogged highways as they raced inland, and the New Orleans airport cancelled all of Sunday's inbound and departing flights. As of Saturday night, Ida was whipping winds of 105 mph and is about 145 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to the National Hurricane Center. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said that the storm will be 'one of the strongest hurricanes to hit anywhere in Louisiana since at least the 1850s.' Forecasters predict it could make...

Hurricane Ida, after making two landfalls over western Cuba later during the day on Friday, was barreling into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. AccuWeather forecasters warned that Ida, headed over exceptionally warm waters, was likely to rapidly intensify and approach the U.S. coast as Category 4 hurricane. Meteorologists warned residents along the central Gulf Coast that time is running out to prepare for the storm or evacuate the storm's projected path. -snip-The latest forecast from AccuWeather meteorologists indicates that the storm will continue to increase in strength and take a path into the central Gulf of Mexico. AccuWeather forecasters expect...

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell says there's not enough time to evacuate the city before Hurricane Ida

Ida became a tropical storm over the West-Central Caribbean Sea. Initial forecast model guidance predicts landfall as a hurricane in the North-Central Gulf of Mexico. Mash the graphics below to enlarge. All links and images are self-updating. GOES Satellite Floater NHC Public Advisories NHC Forecast Discussions Buoy Info Tropical Tidbits by Levi Cowan NWS Radar Local News Sources: NOLA.com New Orleans Local WWLTV.com New Orleans Local KPLC.com Lake Charles Local WLOX.com Biloxi MS Local FOX4 Beaumont Beaumont/Port Arthur Local KHOU.com Houston Local

New York City’s “Homecoming” concert at Central Park was canceled after coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of Barry Manilow’s performance Saturday evening — as lightning storms tied to approaching Hurricane Henri descended on the Big Apple. Concertgoers were told at 7:37 p.m. to “proceed to your vehicles and protected areas outside of the event center” as Manilow was singing his 1978 hit “Can’t Smile Without You.” An announcer could be heard saying that the highly anticipated concert was “canceled.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lashed out at a reporter who asked about claims made by his attorney alleging they have discrediting information about one of his accusers during a Saturday press briefing on Hurricane Henri - just days before he is slated to leave office after announcing his resignation. The reporter asked about a claim by Cuomo's attorney Rita Glavin, who said Friday she had information related to the credibility of Charlotte Bennett, one of the women who accused the governor of sexual misconduct. Glavin would not specify what the information is, WTEN-TV reported. Cuomo, a Democrat, dismissed the...

It is not hard for one to see the overwhelming warning signs and the evidence of a coming Hurricane Henri, for they are all around us. As for this storm, we as a state have been watching and preparing for it for a week. Only a fool or "nut" at this point would pretend that Hurricane Henri is not real and be ill-prepared to bunker down for what is to be. As we awoke this morning it was safe to say that this storm was all that the weathermen stated that it would be and more. I have not seen...