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5 things to know for July 21: Flooding, Gaza, Russia-Ukraine, LA crash, Washington Commanders

5 things to know for July 21: Flooding, Gaza, Russia-Ukraine, LA crash, Washington Commanders

CNN21-07-2025
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A system-wide ground stop for all Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights was issued on Sunday night due to an IT outage. Although the cause of the outage wasn't released, the flights were halted for more than three hours. In a statement to CNN, the airline warned of further travel disruptions and delays on Monday. Travelers are advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
Here's what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.
This summer has been defined by a tragic surge in deadly flash floods across the US, underscoring the escalating volatility of our warming world. First, there was the devastating Texas floods that occurred on July 4 that killed more than 130 people. Three more people died after flash floods hit Ruidoso, New Mexico, on July 8. Major roads in Chicago were suddenly under water when a 1,000-year rainfall event struck in early July. New York City saw its second-heaviest rainfall total in one hour on July 14. Torrential rains and flooding also hit portions of North Carolina and Kansas City this month. Despite this chain of events, the Trump administration recently paused work on a new database designed to provide Americans with updated estimates about their risk of experiencing flash floods. However, after reporting by CNN and The Washington Post, and discussions between NOAA leadership and Commerce Department officials, NOAA has received permission to move ahead with work on the database
At least 76 children and 10 adults have reportedly died of malnutrition in Gaza since the conflict with Israel began in October 2023, the Palestinian health ministry says. According to the World Health Organization, most of those deaths have occurred since Israel imposed a humanitarian aid blockade in March. The latest casualties reflect a deepening crisis in the enclave. Aid agencies say the amount of food, medical supplies and fuel reaching Gaza is far too little to sustain the population. And each day, thousands risk their lives to find something to eat. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said nearly 800 Palestinians were killed while trying to access aid between late May and July 7.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for talks with Russia this week in an effort to reach a ceasefire deal. 'The dynamics of the negotiations must improve. We need to do everything possible to achieve a ceasefire. The Russian side must stop avoiding decisions regarding prisoner exchanges, the return of children and the cessation of killings,' Zelensky said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded by saying that Russia was 'ready to move quickly' on achieving a peace deal with Ukraine, but its 'main goal' was to achieve its 'objectives.' The latest round of talks in Istanbul ended in early June, with Russian and Ukrainian delegates meeting for barely over an hour before calling it quits. Since then, Russia has launched waves of deadly missile and drone strikes at Ukraine. Russia may also be days or weeks away from starting a heightened summer offensive, perhaps using the 160,000 troops Ukrainian officials have said are amassing near their front lines.
A man who was reportedly kicked out of a nightclub early Saturday is accused of intentionally driving into a crowd that had gathered outside for valet services, food stands and entry into the hotspot. The crash at The Vermont Hollywood left at least 36 people injured and seven in critical condition. The driver, identified as Fernando Ramirez, 29, was then dragged out of his vehicle by bystanders, beaten and shot in the lower back. Ramirez was transported to the hospital for surgery and arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. The man believed to have shot Ramirez remains at large. Mayor Karen Bass called the incident a 'heartbreaking tragedy' and praised the swift response of more than 100 police and fire personnel.
President Donald Trump is threatening to restrict a stadium deal in Washington, DC, unless the Washington Commanders change their name back to the 'Redskins.' The football team dropped the old name in 2020 after decades of criticism from Native American groups. But on Sunday, Trump posted on his social media network: 'I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,' I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington.' In April, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced plans to build a new stadium on federal land at the site of the old Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and bring the Commanders back to the district. The proposal is currently stalled before the DC Council. CNN has reached out to the Commanders and the DC mayor's office for comment on Trump's posts.
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The president claimed that Woodward had released audio from their interviews without his consent and sought nearly $50 million in damages.
The giant prop experienced a serious malfunction during the pop star's show in San Francisco.
After years of Marvel movies, audiences are up for a little DC action with the Man of Steel.
Researchers have finally decoded an error in the 12th-century epic, 'The Song of Wade.' Apparently, the hero doesn't battle elves.
And it was all due to one lucky mistake.
$14.75 millionThat's how much one famous prop from the 1941 movie, 'Citizen Kane,' sold for at auction.
'I should have just stayed renting.'
— Angel Scheid, who purchased her one bedroom, one bathroom Los Angeles home in 2022 for $915,000, with a 5.99% interest rate. She was planning to refinance her mortgage, but interest rates have remained too high.
🌤️ Check your local forecast to see what you can expect.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other Trump officials seem open to embracing psychedelics to treat conditions such as trauma, depression and drug addiction. The shift has advocates excited, but some experts worry the hype could be getting ahead of science and safety. In part one of a two-part series, we hear from someone who says a powerful hallucinogen helped kick her drug habit.
Today's edition of 5 Things AM was edited and produced by CNN's Andrew Torgan.
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'Once in a hundred years': villagers clean up after deadly China floods
'Once in a hundred years': villagers clean up after deadly China floods

Yahoo

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'Once in a hundred years': villagers clean up after deadly China floods

Villagers in China wade through a stream of muddy water under a blazing July sun, cleaning and collecting belongings washed away by heavy rains and floods that have claimed dozens of lives across the northern region this week. Swathes of the country have been hit by torrential downpours and flooding, killing over 30 people and forcing tens of thousands to be evacuated. On the outskirts of China's vast capital, where 80,000 have left their homes and over 100 villages have lost power, the mountainous district of Miyun was among the hardest hit. In flooded streets in the town of Taishitun, just over 100 kilometres (61 miles) northeast of Beijing's bustling city centre, weary locals worked desperately to retrieve what belongings they could find. "It's the kind of flood seen once in a hundred years," Pang, a 52-year-old who gave only his surname, told AFP. He motioned towards a refrigerator lying on its side, carried by a rush of water from his house 500 metres upstream when the flooding hit on Monday. "Previous years have never been like this," he said. A truck-mounted crane struggled to hoist an SUV out of the wreckage, placing it on the back of another large vehicle waiting to haul it away as its owner looked on, shaking his head. Elsewhere in the village, residents walked past ruined cars in metres-high piles. An office nearby lay in disarray, brown mud covering every surface. A local woman surnamed Zhao recounted to AFP that her house was flooded early on Monday morning. "It was a mess, the mud was this thick," 52-year-old Zhao said, gesturing with her hand. "My mother and I shovelled it, but we couldn't get it out. "We didn't know what to do so we just picked up some clothes and took shelter in a high place," she added. When they got home, she said "the refrigerator, washing machine and other things in the kitchen were all soaked". "There was also this thick mud all over the kitchen." Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered officials to plan for worst-case scenarios and rush the relocation of residents of flood-threatened areas. And authorities warn the rains could continue into Wednesday. At a village called Xinanzhuang visited by AFP journalists around midday, murky water submerged homes, cars and a road leading onto a highway. A local man in his sixties said that he had never seen water levels so high. pfc-oho/je/dhw

More than 30 killed, tens of thousands evacuated in Chinese floods
More than 30 killed, tens of thousands evacuated in Chinese floods

Washington Post

time5 hours ago

  • Washington Post

More than 30 killed, tens of thousands evacuated in Chinese floods

Torrential rains pounded vast swaths of northeastern China this week, with more heavy rain expected, as the country confronts another lethal summer of devastating floods that have left rescuers wading in water up to their elbows. At least 34 people were killed and more than 80,000 evacuated as rains flooded Beijing and cities in nearby Hebei province. More heavy rain is forecast for the region in the coming days, the China Meteorological Administration said, though it's expected to weaken by the end of Wednesday. Southern China is also experiencing heavy downpours, with Hong Kong issuing its highest rainstorm warning this year, although authorities canceled it Tuesday afternoon but still warned the public to remain on alert for landslides after significant rains in eastern and southern districts. China is no stranger to powerful rainstorms and deadly floods, but scientists say global warming is exacerbating already turbulent conditions, making extreme weather events more frequent and more devastating over the past several decades. China experienced notably extreme weather last year, including the highest number of floods in its major rivers since 1998, according to a report released by the Ecology and Environment Ministry last month. The report said China's climate outlook for 2025 was 'unfavorable,' warning of risks to the economy and to human life. Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for all-out search and rescue efforts, ordering authorities to plan for worst-case scenarios, according to state media reports Tuesday. Beijing activated its highest-level flood alert Monday evening, urging residents to stay indoors. At least 21 inches of rain has poured into Miyun, a mountainous district in northeastern Beijing, where most of the deaths have occurred. Significant floods have also washed over the nearby cities of Chengde and Zhangjiakou. More than 80,000 people have been evacuated, state media said, as floods mangled buildings, filled stairwells, uprooted trees and triggered landslides. At least 136 villages in the region suffered power outages, and cars were left scattered across city and provincial streets. 'It's truly heartbreaking. … The extremity of this event is undeniable,' said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing. He said the cumulative rainfall during this week's storm was nearly the same as Beijing's annual average. The death toll of the floods is about half that of the 2012 disaster that killed at least 79 people in Beijing, but experts say climate change and global warming continue to exacerbate extreme weather in China, posing a mounting concern to scientists and the authorities. 'Extreme weather events are on the rise. High temperatures and heat waves are indeed becoming more frequent, and so are extreme heavy rainfall events,' Ma said. 'Over the past 60 years, there has clearly been an increasing trend, and this pattern aligns with the broader global trend of climate change.' Natural disasters in China caused nearly $7.6 billion in direct economic losses in the first half of 2025, China's Emergency Response Ministry said last month, and they have affected an estimated 25 million lives. Experts say Chinese authorities have sought to better prepare for extreme weather events in recent years, anticipating their rising frequency and intensity because of climate change. 'There's still room for improvement,' said Ma Ding, an assistant professor of atmospheric and environmental science at Duke Kunshan University in eastern China. But the country has shown 'considerable progress' in developing early-warning systems and evacuation plans, he said. 'Without those efforts, we wouldn't be talking about 30 deaths — we might be looking at hundreds,' he added, referring to the toll around Beijing. 'That's a clear example of successful adaptation.' Last week, torrential rains devastated other parts of northern China, killing two people in the northeastern province of Shandong and at least one in nearby Shanxi province. An additional 13 were unaccounted for after a bus in Shanxi went missing Sunday, Chinese state media reported, following days of rain that had left roads in the area treacherously waterlogged. Heavy rains and floods also killed at least six people in China's southwestern Guizhou province in June, prompting more than 80,000 to evacuate. Landslides in the area had leveled part of an expressway bridge and submerged a sports field three meters underwater. This month, a record summer downpour in the central province of Hubei saw more than a month's worth of rainfall on the city of Xianfeng in less than 12 hours.

Heavy rain causes flooding, evacuations and at least 38 deaths around Beijing region
Heavy rain causes flooding, evacuations and at least 38 deaths around Beijing region

Yahoo

time7 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Heavy rain causes flooding, evacuations and at least 38 deaths around Beijing region

China Floods BEIJING (AP) — Heavy rain caused flooding and landslides that washed away cars, forced evacuations and knocked out power around the Chinese capital, killing at least 38 people by Tuesday and rescue and relief work continued. The flood risk for parts of Beijing, Hebei province and neighboring Tianjin city remained high until Tuesday evening. State media broadcast footage of muddy waters rising into homes in rural areas and rescuers carrying an injured person on a stretcher and searching on a damaged road. Premier Li Qiang said the heavy rain and flooding in the hard-hit Beijing district of Miyun caused 'serious casualties' and called for rescue efforts, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The storm knocked out power in more than 130 villages in Beijing, destroyed communication lines and damaged more than 30 sections of road. More than 16 centimeters (6 inches) of rain fell on average in Beijing by midnight, with two towns in Miyun recording 54 centimeters (21 inches) of precipitation, the city said. Heavy flooding washed away cars and downed power poles in Miyun, an outlying district that borders Hebei's Luanping county. More than 80,000 people have been relocated in Beijing, including about 17,000 in Miyun, a Beijing city statement said. The city government said 28 people died in Miyun and two others in Yanqing district Monday. Four additional people in neighboring Hebei province were discovered dead Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported, after eight people were said to be missing after a landslide in a rural part of Luanping county in the province. Authorities had found four of the dead Monday. Emergency rescue teams said more landslides occurred in the same region Tuesday, although they did not report any further casualties. Uprooted trees lay in piles in the town of Taishitun, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of central Beijing. Streets were covered with water, with mud left higher up on the walls of buildings.

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