Month: May 2020

Floodwater as high as 5 feet — and rising — submerged parts of the central Michigan town of Midland on Wednesday, after days of heavy rain led to the failure of two dams and the evacuation of thousands of people.

The National Weather Service warned of “life-threatening” flooding as water levels of the Tittabawassee River in Midland, about 120 miles northwest of Detroit, reached historic levels and were expected to continue rising. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday called on the federal government to provide help to the state in responding to the flooding, which struck at a time when it is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

About 10,000 people have been evacuated in Midland County, Whitmer said, after days of heavy rain caused the river to overflow and breach the Edenville and Sanford dams. 

The extreme flooding comes as the state struggles with the coronavirus pandemic, which could further strain resources and hamper the response to the crisis.

Thousands evacuate as ‘500-year flood’ destroys 2 dams in Michigan

Via abcnews.go.com

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared a state of emergency.

05/20/2020 4:24 PM

 

Editorial credit: ehrlif / Shutterstock.com

On Wednesday President Trump slammed plans to expand voting by mail in Michigan and Nevada, even briefly threatening to withhold federal funding for the states. He later dropped the warning after criticism from Democrats.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his opposition to mail-in voting, saying the expansion in Michigan and Nevada could lead to voter fraud. Numerous studies have found little evidence of voter fraud connected to voting by mail. States have broad authority to set their own rules for voting.

Many states have pushed to expand vote-by-mail options as a safer alternative in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. “This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!” Trump wrote on Twitter. Trump also threatened Nevada’s federal funding, saying the state’s move to expand voting by mail created “a great Voter Fraud scenario.”

Trump later walked back the threats on the unspecified funds, telling reporters at the White House “I don’t think it’s going to be necessary.” But he kept up his criticism of voting by mail as “a very dangerous thing.”

Trump ramps up attacks on mail voting, targeting battlegrounds Michigan, Nevada

Via abcnews.go.com

President Trump escalated his attacks on mail voting on Wednesday, targeting election officials…

05/20/2020 6:40 PM