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Japan orders thousands to evacuate quake-hit region as rains trigger floods

Japan orders thousands to evacuate quake-hit region as rains trigger floods

A dozen rivers burst their banks in Ishikawa where the meteorological agency issued its highest alert level. Japanese authorities have told tens of thousands of people to evacuate the earthquake-hit region of Ishikawa as “unprecedented” rains triggered floods and mudslides. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on Saturday issued its highest alert level for Ishikawa and public broadcaster NHK reported that two people were reported missing in the prefecture’s Wajima city due to the flooding. The fire department reported receiving several rescue calls in the cities of Wajima and Suzu, in central Japan’s Noto peninsula, which were among the areas hardest hit by a New Year’s Day earthquake that killed at least 236 people. About 44,700 people have already been ordered to evacuate in Wajima and Suzu, as well as Noto town, officials said. JMA forecaster Satoshi Sugimoto told reporters that the areas under the warning were seeing “heavy rain of unprecedented levels”, adding “it is a situation in which you have to secure your safety immediately.” Another 16,000 residents in Niigata and Yamagata prefectures north of Ishikawa were also told to evacuate, the agency said. Hourly rainfall came to a record 121mm (4.8 inches) on Saturday morning in Wajima, while neighbouring Suzu saw 84.5mm in an hour, also an all-time high. Video footage aired by NHK TV showed brown floodwaters turning streets into rivers in Wajima, with cars half submerged. At least 12 rivers in Ishikawa breached their banks on Saturday, according to the Land and Infrastructure Ministry. Power company officials said nearly 6,000 households in Ishikawa were left without electricity, NHK reported. Weather agency officials warned people in the affected areas to exercise “maximum caution” amid flooding and said possible mudslides could be “life-threatening”. Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk of heavy rains in the country and elsewhere because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. The region is still reeling from the magnitude-7.5 quake that toppled buildings, ripped up roads and led to a major fire. Adblock test (Why?)

US lawmaker Rashida Tlaib slams racist image of her with exploding pager

US lawmaker Rashida Tlaib slams racist image of her with exploding pager

Cartoon published in National Review would ‘incite more hate and violence against our Arab and Muslim communities’. Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has condemned as racist a cartoon that depicts her with a detonating pager, days after thousands of communication devices exploded across Lebanon in attacks blamed on Israel. “Our community is already in so much pain right now. This racism will incite more hate + violence against our Arab & Muslim communities, and it makes everyone less safe,” Tlaib said of the cartoon published in conservative magazine National Review. “It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this racism,” the only Palestinian-American lawmaker in the United States Congress wrote on X on Friday. Created by Henry Payne, the cartoon shows a woman sitting at a desk with a name card reading “Rep. Tlaib” where a device explodes. The woman remarks: “ODD. MY PAGER JUST EXPLODED.” Thank you, Mayor @AHammoudMI, for speaking up. Our community is already in so much pain right now. This racism will incite more hate + violence against our Arab & Muslim communities, and it makes everyone less safe. It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this… https://t.co/JTn2mur4Yj — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) September 20, 2024 The illustration alludes to attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies exploded killing at least 37 people and wounding nearly 3,000, including civilians. After the attacks, Tlaib shared a post by fellow Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez referring to it as a clear violation of “international humanitarian law”. Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan in the US House of Representatives who is a vocal critic of Israel’s war on Gaza, has often weathered harsh vitriol from Republican and some Democratic opponents, including baseless accusations of sympathies with Hamas. In November, Tlaib was formally censured by the House, a step just below expulsion, for allegedly “promoting false narratives” about the Gaza war and “seeking Israel’s destruction”, charges she rejects. Tlaib said at the time she “will not be silenced and I will not let you distort my words”. Tlaib voiced her support on Thursday for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, criticising her colleagues in the US Congress for their silence as US-funded weapons continue to fuel bloodshed in the besieged enclave. “We are living through one of, again, the most documented horrific crimes against humanity in our history. These are children who did not live to see their first birthday. We cannot normalize this,” said Tlaib. “My colleagues continue to be silent. I wonder if it’s because these babies are Palestinian? They’re children, that’s it,” she added. Adblock test (Why?)

Harris-Trump showdown: The edge is clear on this key issue

Harris-Trump showdown: The edge is clear on this key issue

Once again, it’s all about the economy. With just over six weeks to go until Election Day on Nov. 5 and early voting and absentee balloting underway in a growing number of states, a slew of public opinion polls agree on a couple of key points. One – the race in the key battlegrounds that will decide the 2024 White House election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump is within the margin-of-error. Two – Harris has a healthy advantage among voters when it comes to the issue of abortion, while Trump has an equally large margin in dealing with the border and immigration. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL SHOWS IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP 2024 SHOWDOWN  Three – the economy remains the top issue on the minds of American voters as they prepare to cast their ballot in the presidential election. “The economy tops voters’ minds,” reads the headline from a new AP/NORC national poll, which was conducted entirely after last week’s first and potentially only debate between the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. Nearly eight in ten questioned in the survey said the economy was one of their top issues, far ahead of everything else. HEAD HERE FOR ALL THE MOST RECENT FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION A Fox News national poll also in the field entirely post-debate spotlighted that 39% of voters surveyed said the economy was their most pressing issue, far ahead of immigration (16%) and abortion (15%). All other issues tested were in single digits.  The economy reigns supreme in pretty much every other survey. While the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic-inflicted recession continues, inflation remains a leading concern among Americans. “An increasing number say grocery prices and housing costs are tough for their family,” the Fox News poll notes. When it comes to which presidential candidate can better handle the economy, Trump continues to have the edge – but his margins over Harris differ dramatically depending on the poll. The former president’s up 13 points over the vice president in a post-debate survey from the New York Times and Siena College, and favored by 7 points in an ABC News Ipsos survey also conducted after the showdown. But Trump’s advantage over Harris on the economy stands at only 5 points in the Fox News poll, and just 2 points in the AP/NORC survey. “The issue profile of this election continues to favor Trump,” said Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll along with Democrat Chris Anderson. But Shaw added that Trump’s “edge on economic issues has decreased, probably due to Harris’ messaging on housing costs and taxes, both of which target the middle class and appear to be paying off.” Boosting Trump when it comes to the economy are apparent fond memories of his tenure in the White House. Voters questioned in the Fox News poll by a 17 point margin said Trump’s policies on the economy were more helpful than harmful. But by 24 points, they said that President Biden’s economic policies have been more hurtful than helpful. “The perception that Trump’s policies helped more than Biden’s creates some heavy baggage for Harris in this campaign and shows why ‘turning the page’ is a central theme she’s tried to stress,” Anderson said. Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

Sen. Tillis issues ultimatum to embattled GOP candidate in crucial swing state: ‘Owes it to President Trump’

Sen. Tillis issues ultimatum to embattled GOP candidate in crucial swing state: ‘Owes it to President Trump’

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., issued an ultimatum to North Carolina’s GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson following the bombshell report of his alleged porn scandal, saying that he “owes it to President Trump.” “If the reporting on Mark Robinson is a total media fabrication, he needs to take immediate legal action,” Tillis said in a Friday post on X.  “If the reporting is true, he owes it to President Trump and every Republican to take accountability for his actions and put the future of NC & our party before himself,” he said. BATTLEGROUND STATE REPUBLICAN DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN PORN SCANDAL, DISMISSES IT AS ‘TABLOID TRASH’ WATCH: Tillis’ statement came after Robinson made a social media video denying his involvement in the scandal and vowing to remain in the race to become the Old North State’s governor. “Let me reassure you, the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson. You know my words, you know my character, and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before. Folks, this race right now, our opponents are desperate to shift the focus here from the substantive issues and focus on what you are concerned with to salacious trap, tabloid trash,” he said in the X video.  NC GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE MARK ROBINSON FACING CALLS TO DROP OUT AMID RUMORS OF LOOMING BOMBSHELL Fox News Digital has reached out to Robinson’s campaign for comment. In comments to CNN, Robinson said that this was “not us.” “This is not us. These are not our words. And this is not anything that is characteristic of me,” Robinson said. “I’m not going to get into the minutia of how somebody manufactured this, these salacious tabloid lies.” In CNN’s report Thursday afternoon, the outlet alleged Robinson’s previous use of a pornography site, called “Nude Africa.” On the pornographic site, Robinson allegedly messaged with fellow users regarding peeping on women in locker rooms as a teenager, describing himself as a “black NAZI” and declaring a fondness for transgender pornography. The candidates’ involvement spanned from 2008 to 2012, according to CNN, well before Robinson entered the political arena in 2019. REPUBLICAN MARK ROBINSON ON HISTORIC LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR WIN: ‘THIS PARTY IS OPEN TO EVERYBODY’ CNN’s report alleged that Robinson used a pseudonym on the porn site, “minisoldr.” “I came to a spot that was a dead end but had two big vent covers over it! It just so happened it overlooked the showers! I sat there for about an hour and watched as several girls came in and showered,” Robinson allegedly wrote on Nude Africa. In another post in 2010, CNN reported Robinson allegedly stated, “I’m a Black Nazi!” while discussing Black Republicans.  The allegations come as North Carolina remains a highly contested battleground state as the 2024 election inches closer. The key battleground states – including North Carolina – had razor-thin margins that decided President Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump. In 2020, Trump narrowly won North Carolina by just over 1 point. The latest polls in the monumental 2024 presidential race suggest a coin-toss race, with the former president holding the slightest edge. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton, Paul Steinhauser and Tyler Olson contributed to this report. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.