Month: July 2025

Two people were killed after flash floods struck areas of New Jersey on Monday, causing submerged cars, and flooding roadways. A state of emergency was declared in New Jersey after slow-moving thunderstorms unloaded a significant amount of rain, resulting in dangerous flash flooding across the Northeast through Monday night.

According to a Facebook post from the city of Plainfield, NJ At least two people died in Plainfield, N.J., located about 20 miles southwest of New York City, after floodwaters swept away a vehicle into Cedar Brook. Emergency personnel responded to the incident quickly, but both people in the vehicle were pronounced dead on the scene, with the incident coming days after two others were killed in severe storms in Plainfield on July 3.

Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp said in a statement: “All of Plainfield grieves this latest loss. To lose four residents in such a short span of time is unimaginable. We mourn with the families, and we remain committed to doing all we can to strengthen our emergency response systems and protect our residents from future harm.”

Monday’s flash flooding spanned from northern New Jersey to New York City to Westchester County, New York and areas of Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia. Some roads were impassable Tuesday morning, littered with debris left behind by the floodwaters.

On Monday evening, a thunderstorm in New York City caused 2.07 inches of rain to fall in just one hour. The rain gauge in Central Park filled to 2.64 inches of rain, which broke the previous daily record rainfall of 1.47 inches, set on July 14, 1908.  Water gushed into subway stations, stranding some riders aboard a stalled train. with over 1,000 flights were canceled and 1,100 more delayed at airports across the NYC area.

In Lancaster County, PA, a Declaration of Disaster was issued after over 7 inches of rain inundated the town of Mount Joy in less than five hours, which overwhelmed stormwater infrastructure. The Mount Joy Fire Department said on Facebook that “the west end of town was hardest hit, with reports of over 5 feet of water in some homes. Significant property damage was reported, including one basement wall collapse.”

Heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected to continue across the mid-Atlantic through the weekend, keeping the risk of flooding high throughout the region.

Editorial credit: Amy Lutz / Shutterstock.com

President Donald Trump and Pennsylvania Senator David McCormick showcased tens of billions of dollars in planned investments across the energy and tech sectors at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro also made an appearance and delivered remarks.

During the high-profile summit at Carnegie Mellon University, Trump addressed a room full of top business leaders gathered to discuss the future of American energy and innovation: “This is a major victory not only for Pennsylvania but for the entire nation.” The summit, hosted at one of the country’s top engineering universities, served as a platform for state officials and corporate executives to promote the state’s ambitions to become a national leader in artificial intelligence, robotics, and energy development.

Senator McCormick, now in his first term and the event’s primary organizer, said the summit was designed to unite energy firms, AI pioneers, global capital, and labor groups around President Trump’s priorities. According to a list released by Sen. McCormick’s office, the investment announcements included both new and previously planned projects, ranging from power plant upgrades to major infrastructure expansions for data centers and energy transmission systems. McCormick credited his wife, Dina Powell McCormick, with proposing the idea for the summit. A former deputy national security adviser during Trump’s first term and ex-Goldman Sachs executive, Powell McCormick currently works at BDT & MSD Partners, a global merchant banking firm.

Trump, who has long pushed for the U.S. to lead globally in energy production, especially fossil fuels, emphasized Pennsylvania’s critical role in that mission. With its vast coal and natural gas reserves, the state has been central to the former president’s vision of “energy dominance,” a key part of his policy platform in both the 2016 and 2024 elections.

Cabinet members from the Trump administration underscored the strategic need to ramp up domestic energy production—not only to boost the economy but also to gain a competitive edge in the global race for artificial intelligence supremacy, particularly against China. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said during a panel session: “The AI era is already here. Under President Trump’s leadership, we will stay ahead. That means supporting clean coal, natural gas, nuclear—every resource we have. We’d be foolish not to.” Several key Trump administration officials participated, including David Sacks, the White House’s top advisor on cryptocurrency policy; Energy Secretary Chris Wright; with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also present.

Executives from some of the world’s largest corporations were in attendance, including leaders from Blackstone, Bridgewater, SoftBank, Amazon Web Services, BlackRock, and ExxonMobil. They were joined by Pittsburgh-based companies like Gecko Robotics, which uses AI-driven technology to improve energy performance.

Among the largest projects, Google committed $25 billion over the next two years to boost AI capabilities and data center operations within the PJM power grid, which serves the mid-Atlantic. Brookfield, a global investment firm, revealed it has inked deals to deliver more than $3 billion worth of hydroelectric power to Google’s facilities from two dams on Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna River. Blackstone also pledged $25 billion to develop data centers and strengthen energy infrastructure in the northeastern part of the state.

Editorial credit: Amy Lutz / Shutterstock.com