CBS News
Deaths reported in eastern Romania as torrential rainstorms flood homes, block roads
Deaths were reported in eastern Romania after torrential rainstorms left scores of people stranded in flooded areas, emergency authorities said Saturday.
Rescue services scrambled to save 95 people in the hard-hit eastern counties of Galati and Vaslui. The bodies of three elderly women and two men were found in the localities of Pechea, Draguseni, Costache Negri, and Corod, the Department for Emergency Situations said.
Authorities later added that it was determined one of the victims had been dead for two days and “did not die due to the effects of the weather” but from other causes.
Emergency authorities released video footage that showed a team of rescuers evacuating an elderly man on a small lifeboat before carrying him to safety.
A Black Hawk helicopter was deployed to Galati to help with the search and rescue missions.
AP
The storms battered 19 localities in eight counties in Romania, with strong winds downing dozens of trees that damaged cars and blocked roads and traffic. Authorities sent text message alerts to residents to warn them of adverse weather as emergency services rushed to remove floodwaters from homes. Some roads have also been closed.
Romania’s environment minister Mircea Fechet told The Associated Press Saturday that, in some of the badly flooded areas, more than 160 liters of rain fell per square meter which he said is a rare occurrence. “What we are trying to do right now is save as many lives as possible,” the minister, who was on his way to Galati to assess the situation, added.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis offered his condolences on Saturday to the victims’ bereaved families and said, “we must continue to strengthen our capacity to anticipate extreme weather phenomena” in the face of climate change.
“Severe floods that have affected a large part of the country have led to loss of lives and significant damage,” Iohannis said. “We are again dealing with the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present throughout the European continent, with dramatic consequences on people.”
The stormy weather comes as several central European nations anticipate severe flooding forecast to hit the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, and Hungary over the weekend.
In the Czech Republic, river waters reached dangerous levels in dozens of areas across the country on Saturday morning, flooding houses and roads in several towns and villages. Heavy rain and high winds left more than 63,000 households without power, the Czech power company CEZ said.
A hospital in Czech’s second-largest city of Brno was evacuated as well as dozens of citizens everywhere. A dozen rail lines were closed after being affected by fallen trees or flood waters.
Heavy rain also hit Moldova on Saturday, where emergency workers pumped floodwater from dozens of peoples’ homes in several localities, authorities said.
Meteorologists say a low-pressure system from northern Italy was predicted to dump much rainfall in most parts of the Czech Republic, including the capital and border regions with Austria and Germany in the south, and Poland in the north.
“We have to be ready for worst-case scenarios,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said after the government’s central crisis committee met. “A tough weekend is ahead of us.”
In Poland, dozens of people were evacuated as a precautionary measure on Saturday from two villages near the town of Nysa, in the Nysa River basin, after meteorologists warned of unprecedented rainfall, and water levels on some rivers in the area sharply rose, according to Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak. “The worst is yet to come,” he warned.
Polish authorities appealed to residents on Friday to stock up on food and to prepare for power outages by charging power banks.
The weather change arrived following a hot start to September in the region, including in Romania. Scientists have documented Earth’s hottest summer, breaking a record set just one year ago.
A hotter atmosphere, driven by human-caused climate change, can lead to more intense rainfall.
At least eight firefighters were hurt when a fire truck crashed on a freeway near Irvine, California, Thursday night, authorities said.
The Orange County Fire Authority truck overturned on State Route 241 at about 6:50 p.m. local time in the Portola Springs area near State Route 133, according to California Highway Patrol.
A ladder in the roadway caused the fire truck and another vehicle in front of it to swerve, highway patrol said, and the truck collided with a nearby guard rail and overturned. It did not appear that any other vehicles were involved.
Initially, highway patrol reported that 12 firefighters were injured, but late downgraded that to eight. Six suffered serious injuries and two minor injuries, highway patrol said.
KCAL News
Helicopters landed on the highway, which is a toll road, and airlifted the victims to area hospitals.
CHP officers issued a five-hour closure of the freeway’s northbound lanes shortly after the crash.
Video from the collision site showed the crashed vehicle with an “Orange County Fire Authority Santiago Hand Crew” decal. Highway patrol said the firefighters had been battling the massive Airport Fire prior to the crash.
This is a developing story. Check back for more details.
CBS News
Trump rails against Jewish Americans who don’t vote for him in speech focused on antisemitism
Washington, D.C. — Former President Donald Trump criticized Jewish Americans who don’t vote for him in speeches aimed at addressing antisemitism Thursday night in Washington D.C., while claiming that if he is not elected in November, Israel would be “eradicated.”
“If I don’t win this election, and the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens, because at 40%, that means 60% of the people are voting for the enemy,” Trump said.
Trump made the comments during a small event focused on addressing antisemitism with Dr. Miriam Adelson, a prominent Republican Party donor and the widow of late casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
“With all I’ve done for Israel, I received only 24% of the Jewish vote,” Trump said.
Trump later repeated the comment regarding the polls during remarks at the Israeli-American Council National Summit, which was gathering to commemorate the nearing one-year mark of the October 7 attack.
“You should have your head examined, because it will face an unceasing, bloody war to obliterate the Jewish state and drive Jews out of the Holy Land,” Trump said about Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats. He claimed at his first stop that Democrats have a “hold” or “curse” on Jewish voters.
“It’s only because of the Democrat hold or curse on you. You can’t let this happen. 40% is not acceptable, because we have an election to win,” Trump said.
Trump told the ballroom full of Israeli-Americans tonight that Israel will face “total annihilation” if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected.
“Rockets will rain down from above until the Iron Dome has been exhausted,” Trump said.
CBS News has reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.
The former president also recognized the Israelis still held hostage by Hamas, vowing to “get them out” if he wins the presidency in November. Family members of victims of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas were among the crowd.
“Somehow it’s going to work out. We’re going to get it to work out,” Trump said.
The twin speeches come as Trump tries to court Jewish American voters who may have become disaffected with factions of the Democratic Party over the Biden administration’s handling of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
An April 2024 Pew Research survey found that 69% of registered Jewish voters defined themselves as Democrats, while 29% said that they consider themselves Republicans, but Trump grew his support among Jewish voters in the first two presidential elections he ran in, an Associated Press survey found.
“Honestly, I went from 25 to 29 [percent support], and based on what I did, and based on my love of- the same love that you have, I should be at 100. I should be at 100,” Trump said Thursday.
Using a similar format to her former long-running talk show, Oprah Winfrey hosted a campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris in suburban Detroit Thursday evening which featured a mix of celebrities, campaign organizers and a crowd of battleground state voters.
The event in Farmington Hills, Michigan — which had an in-person crowd of a few hundred and also featured virtual attendees — opened with talk of a “new day” and the sense of “joy” Democrats have associated with the Harris campaign. But the conversation later steered towards issues featuring personal, intimate stories of people impacted by state abortion bans and school shootings.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
The parents of Natalie Griffith, a 15-year-old injured in the deadly Apalachee High School shooting earlier this month in Winder, Georgia, spoke. Griffith’s mother, Marilda, made an emotional plea for a “change to be made” to address gun violence. Her father, Doug — who noted that he was not a registered Democrat — called for metal detectors to be placed inside schools.
Harris did not explicitly say if she agreed with the call for metal detectors, but said “we just need to apply common sense.” She repeated her calls for an assault weapons ban and universal background checks. When Winfrey made note of Harris being a gun owner, as she revealed in prior campaigns and repeated in her debate with Trump, Harris said that “if somebody breaks into my house, they’re getting shot.”
“Sorry, probably should not have said that,” Harris joked. “My staff will deal with that later.”
The mother and sisters of Amber Thurman — a Georgia woman who died in 2022 after medical care was delayed due to the state’s abortion ban — also spoke for the first time publicly since the ProPublica report about Thurman was released.
“I’m beyond hurt, disappointed…we trusted them to take care of her, you know?” said CJ, Thurman’s sister. “And they just let her die because of some stupid abortion ban. They treated her like she was just another number.”
Harris called Thurman’s death “preventable,” and as she has throughout her campaign and vice presidency, blamed former President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court appointments for leading to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. She also criticized states with abortion restrictions but have exceptions “to save the life of the mother,” arguing it should not reach that point.
“So is she on death’s door before you actually decide to give her help, Is that what we’re saying?” Harris asked. “Like, literally, a doctor or a nurse has to say, ‘She might die any minute, better give her care.'”
Hadley Duvall, a Kentucky woman who was impregnated by her father at 12-years-old and was able to get an abortion, also spoke. Duvall had been featured in several of Harris’ campaign ads, and also spoke at the Democratic National Convention.
The event was livestreamed and conducted in an interview-style discussion similar to Winfrey’s old talk show. It was billed as a way to bring together many pro-Harris coalitions, including “Win with Black Women,” “White Dudes for Harris” and “Swifties for Harris.”
All are groups that have been holding Zoom conference calls to raise money for Harris’ campaign and mobilize voters. Harris campaign advisers saw the event as a way to reach persuadable voters, and Winfrey often structured her questions to be geared towards undecided voters.
Several celebrities also appeared by video, including Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jennifer Lopez, Julie Roberts, Tracee Ellis Ross, Bryan Cranston and Meryl Streep.
Earlier Thursday, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley panned the event, saying in a statement that Harris was campaigning with “an out-of-touch celebrity, further confirming that the Democrat party is not the party of hardworking Americans – it is the party of elitists.”
Streep asked Harris what her plan would be if she wins in November and there is another push to try and overturn the election results, as Trump and some Republicans are criminally charged with allegedly doing in 2020.
“We will be ready,” Harris said, pointing to Republicans disaffected by the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection that may vote for her. “To try and upend a free and fair election where the American people voted, that was a bridge too far for a lot of people…I think there is absolutely no tolerance whatsoever from the vast majority of Americans for that, and they’ve seen the lies.”
Harris made a quick reference to her campaign’s legal team, and pleaded for the audience to help curb misinformation and support poll workers.
Winfrey, an independent who has endorsed Harris and spoke at the DNC last month, closed the program with a call to undecided voters to choose Harris.
“This is the moment for people who are tired of all of the bickering and all of the name calling, people who are exhausted by the craziness and the made up stories and the conspiracies. This is the moment you want to get on with your life, because you know that we can do better and that we deserve better.”