September 26 top stories
It is September 26. Here are today’s top stories.
New Orleans officials bracing for saltwater intrusion in drinking water
CNN reported that the drinking water supply in the New Orleans area may be threatened by “an expected saltwater intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico in October.”
CNN explained that this is when “ocean water pushes north into drinking water systems, unimpeded by the Mississippi’s normally mighty flow rate.”
The Louisiana governor said the Mississippi River is forecast to reach historic lows over the next several weeks. He said this saltwater intrusion would be as serious as a previous incident in 1988.
Officials have put out a forecasted timeline that shows when they think saltwater will reach a specific area water treatment plant. It shows that an area about 50 miles south of New Orleans is already inundated and that a sill designed to block the flow of saltwater has been overtopped. A water plant in Jefferson Parish, New Orleans is forecast to be impacted on October 29.
Nola.com reported that “officials with the Army Corps of Engineers said they will make sure New Orleans has drinking water by transporting 36 million gallons of river water to the area by barge every day for use by local utilities.”
The Louisiana governor asked the public to not panic and cause a run on water bottles and said stores should be restocking their bottles quickly, unlike the national shortage of toilet paper during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Corps said they need a lot of rain across the entire Mississippi Valley to start pushing back the salt water, but it’s unlikely according to weather forecasts.
Government shutdown may happen on September 30
The federal government will go into a shutdown this Saturday, September 30 if Congress cannot pass appropriation bills.
Axios explained that conservative Republicans in the House have been pushing for significant spending cuts and more border security measures. They are in conflict with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other moderate Republicans in the House.
Reuters explained that the Senate, controlled by Democrats, plans to vote on a funding bill that would keep the government operating after current money runs out so negotiators will have more time to agree on full-year spending numbers.
If the government does shut down, non-essential federal employees would stop working. The last time the government put down was from December 2018 to January 2019.
Canadian parliament mistakenly praises Nazi-linked veteran
On Friday, the Canadian parliament, during a ceremony attended by the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, honored a 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian man named Yaroslav Hunka for being a war hero during World War II.
The Guardian explained that several Jewish groups condemned the meeting because Hunka fought in a volunteer unit that served under the command of Nazi Germany. Members of this unit called the SS 14th Waffen Division, were accused of killing Polish and Jewish civilians, but the division was not found guilty of war crimes. The Guardian said there is a long controversy in Canada because about 600 members of this division were allowed to live in Canada after the end of WWII.
Canada’s house speaker Anthony Rota said he didn’t know about Hunka’s history and that he regrets that he recognized him during the meeting. He said he extends his deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world.
Canadian PM Trudeau said what happened was “deeply embarrassing to the parliament of Canada and by extension to all Canadians.”
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[Sponsored video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
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Biden to join striking auto workers in Michigan
President Biden plans to visit Michigan today to show solidarity with striking United Auto Workers (UAW) members. Biden said UAW members gave up a lot when the automobile industry was struggling back then and now that the industry is roaring back, the union workers should benefit from it and not just the auto industry executives.
The White House said it is the first time that a sitting president has visited a picket line in modern times.
Former president and potential 2024 rival Donald Trump plans to visit Detroit on Wednesday night to deliver a speech to current and former UAW members. So it feels like a preview of the presidential race.
Rare “Dumbo” octopus spotted in deep sea
A rare “Dumbo” octopus was spotted in a livestream of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in deep waters off Hawaii. Check out this clip.
[Clip] Credit: YouTube/EVNautilus
The organization operating the ROV, EVNautilus, said the octopus was hovering near the ocean floor 5,518 feet deep.
The dumbo octopus’ official scientific name is the Grimpoteuthis. It is called “dumbo” because it has ear-like fins that look like the Disney character Dumbo.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/23/us/freshwater-new-orleans-saltwater-mississippi-river/index.html
https://www.axios.com/2023/09/25/us-government-shutdown-september
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/congress-returns-dc-five-days-government-shutdown
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66919862
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-66903382
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scKA-pXGckE
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/26/politics/biden-picket-line-michigan-uaw/index.html