Biden slams SCOTUS refusal to block Texas abortion law, vows to pursue legal remedies

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden says he is launching a “whole-of-government effort” in response to the Supreme Court allowing the nation’s most restrictive abortion law to take effect in Texas, directing his Gender Policy Council and the White House legal team to tap federal agencies to ensure women maintain their constitutional right to an abortion.

“While the Chief Justice was clear to stress that the action by the Supreme Court is not a final ruling on the future of Roe, the impact of last night’s decision will be immediate and requires an immediate response,” Biden said in a statement on Thursday.

“Hence, I am directing that Council and the Office of the White House Counsel to launch a whole-of-government effort to respond to this decision, looking specifically to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice to see what steps the Federal Government can take to ensure that women in Texas have access to safe and legal abortions as protected by Roe, and what legal tools we have to insulate women and providers from the impact of Texas’ bizarre scheme of outsourced enforcement to private parties,” the statement said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland also said in a statement on Thursday that the Justice Department is “deeply concerned” about the Texas law, known as SB 8, and is “evaluating all options to protect the constitutional rights of women, including access to an abortion.”

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 vote Wednesday night formally rejected a request by Texas abortion providers to block the state’s severe new law restricting the procedure while legal challenges continue. Most abortions in Texas are now illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, and private citizens — who do not have to be Texas residents — are encouraged to sue a person they believe is providing an abortion outside the new parameters or assisting a woman in getting one, whether they are a rape counselor or an Uber driver taking a woman to a clinic.

Biden said the SCOTUS decision “unleashes constitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed enforcers to have devastating impacts” and that the law will now “significantly impair women’s access to the health care they need, particularly for communities of color and individuals with low incomes.”

“This law is so extreme it does not even allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest. And it not only empowers complete strangers to inject themselves into the most private of decisions made by a woman—it actually incentivizes them to do so with the prospect of $10,000 if they win their case,” Biden’s statement said. “For the majority to do this without a hearing, without the benefit of an opinion from a court below, and without due consideration of the issues, insults the rule of law and the rights of all Americans to seek redress from our courts.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing on Wednesday that the president would continue to call for the “codification of Roe” through Congress, but Biden’s statement did not make mention of that call.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi echoed Biden’s anger on Thursday, calling the court’s decision “cowardly” and vowing to bring up the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify Roe v. Wade, to a vote.

“The Supreme Court’s cowardly, dark-of-night decision to uphold a flagrantly unconstitutional assault on women’s rights and health is staggering,” she said in a statement. “Upon our return, the House will bring up Congresswoman Judy Chu’s Women’s Health Protection Act to enshrine into law reproductive health care for all women across America.”

The House is scheduled to return from recess on Sept. 20., but that vote will be symbolic given that Democrats don’t have 60 votes to pass the bill in the Senate or 51 votes to change Senate rules to allow its passage over GOP opposition.

The Supreme Court’s decision has prompted progressive Democrats to renew their calls for changes to the Senate’s filibuster rules — and legislation that would expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court.

“We need to restore balance to the court after Donald Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell blatantly stole the seats of Justice Scalise and Justice Ginsburg,” Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in a statement.

Advocates are also concerned about other states implementing laws similar to the one in Texas.

Nancy Northrop, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told CNN on Wednesday she expects the Supreme Court decision will embolden states “to completely ignore Roe V. Wade.”

While the majority of state legislatures are not currently in session, about 70 bills attempting to ban all or most abortions were introduced this year, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks state-level sexual and reproductive health bills. Eight of those bills were enacted, including two in Texas (one of which was SB 8), as well as six others in Arkansas, Idaho, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

Seven other laws either haven’t gone into effect yet, including several that would ban abortions only if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, or have been temporarily blocked by the courts.

Florida, for example, is not in session, but at least one state representative, congressional candidate Anthony Sabatini, has promised to introduce the “exact same” bill as Texas’ in the Sunshine State.

He told ABC News on Thursday the bill is being drafted. Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson told WFLA News that the Florida legislature would take up a bill similar to the Texas law in the next session.

More than six in 10 Americans say they agree with the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decisions establishing a woman’s right to an abortion, according to a national Quinnipiac poll from May, a view that has remained consistent in the nearly two decades Quinnipiac has polled on this issue, it said. In 2003, Americans agreed with the Roe decision 62-35%.

Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Women’s Health which operates four clinics in Texas, told ABC News her team is not giving up the fight to ensure women in Texas have access to reproductive health care.

“At this moment we are in an unprecedented and complicated situation,” she said, “but we are sure of one thing — our vales, our commitment and what we stand for has not changed.”

ABC News’ Devin Dwyer, Benjamin Siegel, Alex Mallin, Quinn Scanlan and Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.

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Ida updates: 12 dead in NYC as subway stations turned into waterfalls, streets became rivers

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ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — So far in the Northeast, at least 21 deaths have been attributed to the storm.

A flash flood emergency was declared for the first time in New York City as subway stations were turned into waterfalls and Midtown streets became rivers. New York City also declared a state of emergency.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday morning the death toll in the Big Apple was nine. That number rose to 12 by afternoon after firefighters in Queens discovered three more bodies.

“We saw a horrifying storm last night. Unlike anything we’ve seen before,” De Blasio said. “Unfortunately the price paid by some New Yorkers, was horrible and tragic.”

President Joe Biden spoke on Ida’s damage in the Northeast Thursday afternoon, citing that New York recorded more rain Wednesday “than it usually sees the entire month of September.”

“People were trapped in the subways. But the heroic men and women of the New York Fire Department rescued all of them. They were trapped,” Biden said.

He said he’s made it clear to East Coast governors that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is “on the ground” and ready to provide assistance.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a Thursday morning briefing that the “Metro-North, LIRR and the New York City subway system are not fully functioning” and her focus will be on flood prevention.

“Before we worried about coastal areas, now it’s about what’s happening in the streets, the drainage systems that need to be enhanced,” Hochul said. “Because of climate change, unfortunately, this is something we’re going to have to deal with with great regularity.”

She said more than 100 people were rescued in Rockland and Westchester county alone.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said 8 of the 9 deaths took place in residential homes in basements. A sentiment echoed by New York officials in the briefing was improving flooding resilience in the city.

Four residents of the Oakwood Plaza apartment complex in Elizabeth, New Jersey, were found dead in the aftermath of the flooding, Mayor Chris Bollwage said in a press conference Thursday morning.

The victims included a 72-year-old wife, a 71-year-old husband, a 38-year-old son and a 33-year-old female who was their neighbor, officials said.

Rescuers have been checking the rent roll and going door-to-door though the entire complex to make sure no other bodies are found, a spokesperson for the Mayor told ABC News. The complex is across from the Elizabeth Fire Department headquarters, which was inundated with 8 feet of water.

At least one person also died due to the flooding in Passaic, New Jersey, Mayor Hector Carlos Lora confirmed on Facebook Thursday morning.

Early Thursday in Queens, the New York Police Department said that after responding to a flooding condition at a partially collapsed building, they found two people — a 43-year-old female and a 22-year-old male — unconscious and unresponsive inside. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman was taken to the local hospital, where she later died. “The investigation is ongoing and the Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. The identification of the deceased is pending family notification,” they said.

At a second flooded location in Queens, the NYPD said they found a 50-year-old male, a 48-year-old female and a 2-year-old male, unconscious and unresponsive, within the residence. They were all pronounced dead at the scene.

Also in Queens, police responded to a 911 call of a flooding condition and discovered a 48-year-old female, unconscious and unresponsive, within the residence. “The aided female was removed by EMS to Forest Hills Hospital where she was pronounced deceased,” they said. An 86-year-old woman also died in her Queens apartment due to flooding, police said.

After responding to a similar flooding incident in Brooklyn, the NYPD said officers found “a 66-year-old male, unresponsive and unconscious, within the residence.” He was pronounced dead at the scene.

On Thursday afternoon, the landlord at an apartment in Flushing, Queens, called 911 to say there were three bodies submerged in a flooded basement, according to the FDNY.

“FDNY members rescued hundreds of people citywide during the storm, removing occupants from trapped vehicles on flooded roadways and removing New Yorkers from subway stations,” department spokesman Frank Dwyer told ABC News.

A 19-year-old male was found dead due to flooding at the Rockville Apartments in Montgomery County, Maryland, police said in a news release. Officials received multiple calls for flooding at the home at 3:50 a.m. and 150 residents were displaced by flood waters.

In Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, three storm-related fatalities were reported, Commissioner Dr. Val Arkoosh said in a press briefing Thursday morning.

One of those was an unnamed woman who died when a tree fell onto a home in Upper Dublin Township, Pennsylvania, local ABC Philadelphia affiliate WPVI reported.

The inundating rainfall Wednesday evening broke records. Central Park reported a record of 3.15 inches of rain in one hour from 8:51 p.m. to 9:51 p.m., the National Weather Service reported.

New York issued a citywide travel ban just before 1 a.m. ET Thursday until 5 a.m.

“All non-emergency vehicles must be off NYC streets and highways,” the city said.

Every subway line in the city was suspended, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, due to so many flooded stations. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told ABC station WABC that people were being evacuated from subway cars stuck underground.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also declared a state of emergency to “help New Yorkers.”

“Earlier tonight I declared a State of Emergency in New York State within the counties of Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester in response to major flooding due to Tropical Depression Ida,” she said in a statement, also encouraging New Yorkers to “please pay attention to local weather reports, stay off the roads and avoid all unnecessary travel during this time.”

In Passaic, New Jersey, Mayor Lora said Thursday on the confirmed fatality that the person was trapped inside their car, which was “overtaken by water.”

The mayor — who declared a state of emergency in the city — also said that two other residents are reported to have been swept away by the water. The search continues for them.

“We continue to receive reports of incidents that have occurred throughout the city. Vehicles can be repaired, property can be replaced, but loss of life we cannot bring that back,” Lora said.

At the same time, he said, 60 residents are receiving temporary shelter in City Hall.

“We have too many areas where the flooding has gotten so bad that cars are stuck and we have bodies underwater,” Lora said in a video posted to Facebook. “We are now retrieving bodies.”

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy quickly declared an emergency with 3 to 5 inches of rain falling per hour in some locations across the tristate area.

“We will use every resource at our disposal to ensure the safety of New Jerseyans,” Murphy tweeted. “Stay off the roads, stay home, and stay safe.”

He was not specific about how many people may have been killed or injured in the floods.

At Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey, a baggage area was flooded and flights were grounded.

“We’re experiencing severe flooding due to tonight’s storm,” the airport’s account tweeted. “All flight activity is currently suspended & travelers are strongly advised to contact their airline for the latest flight & service resumption information. Passengers are being diverted from ground-level flooded areas.”

The U.S. Open, taking place in Queens, New York, had to pause one tennis match as the court was flooded — despite there being a roof over the court — due to rain coming in the side of the stadium.

Several homes were damaged in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, across from Philadelphia, after warnings went out about possible tornadoes.

“Gloucester County has experienced devastating storm damage,” the county said in a statement. “It is likely that multiple tornadoes have touched down within our communities. Our Emergency Operations Center is fully activated with multiple local, county, state, and regional partners assessing damages and deploying resources.”

In Gloucester County, 20-25 homes were “completely devastated,” and roughly 100 more sustained some damage, when a tornado ripped through Harrison Township, Wednesday, the mayor of the Harrison Township told ABC News.

Mayor Lou Manzo said the community is “blessed” that no one died and only one person had to go to the hospital, but the damage to property across the township is “extensive,” he said.

Fire and emergency personnel made “a few rescues” of people who became trapped after sheltering in their basement, according to the mayor.

There was also a “confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado” located near Woodbury Heights, New Jersey, at about 6:30 p.m. and another “confirmed large and destructive tornado” over Beverly, near Trenton, at 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Early Thursday there were 101,652 customers without power in Pennsylvania, 73,348 in New Jersey, 51,931 in New York and 34,449 in Connecticut, according to poweroutage.us.

The Schuylkill River in Philadelphia is rising into major flood stage early Thursday morning and is forecast to rise a few additional feet before cresting around 9 a.m.. The National Weather Service has increased their predicted water level for the river to 17.2 feet, which would be greater than the highest recorded total of 17 feet. The rain has stopped, but flood risk continues, the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management wrote on Twitter.

ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bastille explores virtual reality in new “Thelma + Louise” video

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Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett

Bastille has premiered a new video for “Thelma + Louise,” the band’s latest single.

The clip finds frontman Dan Smith joining another person, played by British actress Remmie Milner, in a virtual reality adventure using a device similar to the one in the “USS Callister” episode of Black Mirror.

“The four of us in Bastille and Remmie had our heads and bodies scanned to make the digital avatars that you see,” Smith says. “We’re massively excited for people to watch this mad little two-minute film that takes you right into how the innerverse could work. It totally captures the sense of escape and endless possibility.”

You can watch the “Thelma + Louise” video now streaming on YouTube.

“Thelma + Louise” premiered in August. It’s one of three new singles from Bastille this year, along with “Distorted Light Beam” and “Give Me the Future.”

Bastille has also been working on a new album, the follow-up to 2019’s Doom Days.

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Olivia Rodrigo officially scores “Song of the Summer” title — in the UK

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Geffen Records

The jury’s still out in the U.S., but in the U.K., Olivia Rodrigo has officially captured the title of “Song of the Summer 2021.”

The song in question is “Good 4 U,” which has sold 834,000 units during the U.K.’s Official Charts Company’s summer tracking period, which ran from the first week of June to the last week of August.  The song narrowly beat Ed Sheeran‘s “Bad Habits” for the title: That song sold 812,000 units.

“Good 4 U” is Olivia’s second British number one and spent five weeks on top of the chart.  That’s the longest reign for a rock or rock-influenced song in 18 years.

Coming in at number three is “Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd.

In the U.S., Billboard’s official Song of the Summer will almost certainly be BTS‘ “Butter.”

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“Cold Heart” makes Elton John hot on Pop Airplay chart for first time since 1998

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Interscope Records

Thanks to his Dua Lipa collabo, “Cold Heart,” any barriers keeping Elton John from returning to the pop charts have melted away.

As Billboard notes, the mash-up of three past Elton songs created by dance duo Pnau has entered Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart at number 39. This is the first time Elton’s appeared on that chart since January of 1998, with his song “Something About the Way You Look Tonight.”

If you’re having a hard time imagining how long ago that was, Billboard has put it into perspective: Two artists who are currently on top of the Pop Airplay chart weren’t even born in 1998.  The Kid LAROI and Olivia Rodrigo were both born in 2003.

In addition, 74-year-old Elton has now set a record for having the longest span of songs on the Pop Airplay chart. He appeared on the very first one, back in October of 1992, so now his span is a month shy of 29 years.

As previously reported, “Cold Heart” will be part of The Lockdown Sessions, an upcoming album by Elton featuring collaborations he recorded during the pandemic.  It features him working with everyone from Lil Nas X to Stevie Nicks to Charlie Puth.

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“We’re work wives”: See Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson tangle with Gal Gadot in ‘Red Notice’ trailer

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NETFLIX/Frank Masi

Netflix has unveiled the trailer for its upcoming action comedy Red Notice, starring Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Gal Gadot.

The snippet is sumptuously shot, spanning locations in Europe as Johnson’s John Hartley, the FBI’s top profiler, hunts two fugitives on the list that shares the movie’s title: Reynolds plays con man Booth, and Gadot is a notorious, unnamed art thief. “Now that you’ve been tagged with Red Notices, I’m the only one who can bring you in,” Hartley states.

Johnson previously starred with Gadot in the fifth Fast & Furious installment, and with Reynolds in the F&F spin-off Hobbs & Shaw. Ryan and Dwayne’s bantering here matches the rapid-fire chatter they shared in that film. 

“Where’d you get that jacket?” Booth asks Hartley, who has a gun trained on him. “It’s a statement piece. Somewhere there’s a very nude cow saying, ‘Worth it.'”

The pair form an unlikely alliance to catch Gadot’s thief, with Reynolds literally choking on the word “teamwork”: “It just feels weird in my mouth,” he quips.

“We’re work wives,” Reynolds’ Booth tells Gadot later in the trailer.

“Not work wives,” Johnson corrects.

“Sister wives?” Reynolds counters. 

“We’re not any kind of wives!” Hartley snaps.

For her part, Gadot is devastating, wearing a red gown and at one point she takes them both down, leaving the men handcuffed together.

“This is gonna end with you in handcuffs,” Johnson tells Gadot as they stand nearly cheek-to-cheek.

“Promises, promises,” she purrs.

Red Notice was supposed to debut in theaters for Universal Pictures, but Netflix scooped up distribution rights in 2019. 

Reynolds posted the trailer, noting, “Life doesn’t always imitate art, but I’d wear a tux and do karate with
@TheRock and @GalGadot everyday if I could.”

Red Notice hits Netflix November 12.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Freeform announces spooky lineup for “31 Nights of Halloween”

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Columbia Pictures

Halloween is fast approaching, which means it’s almost time to crawl onto the couch, mummify yourself in a blanket, unwrap a king-size candy bar and prepare for Freeform’s annual 31 Nights of Halloween.

This year’s lineup of spooky movies was released Wednesday, and it’s packed with classics, fan favorites and some new faces.

Joining the roster this year will be the premiere of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Jaws, Fright Night, Men in Black II and many others.

However, it’s not 31 Nights of Halloween without the staples, with Casper kicking off the inaugural event at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday, October 1.  Other must-have classics that will keep viewers up at night will be Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Craft, Halloweentown, The Addams Family and Ghostbusters. 

Multiple movies and Halloween-centric episodes from Family Guy, The Simpsons and others will play every day until Halloween, with Ghostbusters capping off another year of spooks and frights.

You can view the full schedule on Freeform’s website.

In addition, Los Angeles residents will be able to enjoy an additional fright fest when Freeform takes over Heritage Square Museum from October 1 to the 5 for Freeform’s Halloween Road, “a bewitching bash full of mischief and mayhem” where fans can enjoy an “immersive outdoor walk-thru experience” through the worlds of Hocus Pocus, Tim Burton‘s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ghostbusters and The Addams Family.

Tickets for the spooktacular event are currently sold out.

Freeform is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.

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Kanye West is engulfed in flames in new “Come to Life” video

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Universal Music

Kanye West survives being engulfed in flames in his new “Come to Life” video, which he dropped Thursday.

The clip captures one of the most memorable scenes from his Donda listening event at Solder Field in his hometown of Chicago on August 26. 

Yeezy is sitting in a replica of his childhood home when fire suddenly erupts throughout the structure. He walks out on the stage, completely on fire. Then the video flips to his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, walking slowly in a long white gown and a veil, as wedding music plays. Kanye emerges, fire-free and apparently unscathed, to greet her. Their four children are also in attendance: daughters North, 8, and Chicago, 3, plus sons Saint, 5½, and Psalm, 2.

Kim’s sister, Khloe Kardashian, reacted to the scene, tweeting, “Damn…I’ve never seen anything this sick!!!!!”

As previously reported, despite West claiming that Def Jam released Donda without his permission, the album shattered an Apple Music record within its first day of release. Billboard reports that fans streamed Ye’s 10th studio effort a whopping 60 million times over the course of 24 hours. In addition, the rapper overtook the top 20 spots in Apple’s Daily Top 100 Global songs chart. This milestone officially makes the “Stronger” rapper the service’s most-streamed artist.

In addition, Donda debuted atop the streamer’s albums charts in 152 countries.

The studio effort also made a splash on Spotify, racking up 94 million global streams in its first 24 hours of release, becoming the album with the second-best debut in the streaming service’s history.

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New Bring Me the Horizon single “Die4U” dropping in two weeks

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Steve Jennings/WireImage

In two weeks’ time, Bring Me the Horizon will be bringing you new music.

The U.K. outfit is set to drop a fresh single titled “Die4U” on September 16. In announcing the song’s arrival, Oli Sykes and company cryptically teased, “CLub H3LLh0Le OpeNS.”

“Die4U” will be the first new Horizon track since the band’s 2020 EP, Post Human: Survival Horror, which features collaborations with Yungblud, Evanescence‘s Amy Lee, BABYMETAL and Nova Twins.

You’ll also be able to hear Bring Me the Horizon on Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello‘s upcoming solo album The Atlas Underground Fire, due out October 15. They’re featured on a song called “Let’s Get the Party Started,” which we can only hope is a cover of the Pink song.

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Harrowing Ida stories of survival, rescues, recovery: ‘Bodies under water’

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Getty Images/David Dee Delgado

(NEW YORK) — Harrowing stories of survival and rescues are surfacing after a rain-drenched night of deadly storms in the northeastern United States.

The remnants of Hurricane Ida brought historic floods and damaging tornadoes across the region on Wednesday and caused 22 fatalities in areas where the storm hit. Although the death toll is expected to rise as the damage is surveyed, scores of people were also saved or spared.

The New York City Fire Department “rescued hundreds of people citywide during the storm,” removing them from trapped cars and flooded subway stations, FDNY spokesman Frank Dwyer told ABC News.

One FDNY water rescue crew saved a family of six who became trapped in their Brooklyn home as floodwaters rose in the basement overnight. The husband and wife, who have four young children, spoke to New York City ABC station WABC about the ordeal.

“When the water came through our walls, it trapped me,” the husband recalled. “So my wife is at the bottom of the stairs, trying to scream to me to get out, and I didn’t know what to do. I was trapped.”

“Thankfully, our fire department was amazing and they came and they rescued us,” the wife added, fighting back tears. “It was so scary.”

Footage from Mullica Hill, New Jersey, showed where a tornado ripped through the area, obliterating homes and scattering debris across green lawns.

Speaking to Philadelphia ABC station WPVI, Troy Bonnenberg said he and his children took cover in the basement of their house in Mullica Hill on Wednesday night. When they emerged unharmed minutes later, the back half of their home was gone and their belongings were scattered throughout the neighborhood.

But Bonnenberg’s neighbor across the street bore the brunt of the storm. The house was destroyed and aluminium sliding, roofing, furniture and children’s toys were all piled atop the family’s car, according to WPVI.

In Passaic City, New Jersey, Mayor Hector Lora was on scene with local authorities and rescue crews amid the pouring rain as he urged residents to stay indoors.

“We have too many areas where the flooding has gotten so bad, the cars are stuck and we have bodies under water,” Lora said in a Facebook Live video on Wednesday night. “We are now retrieving bodies.”

The power of the storms were also felt in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County. Mike Zajack of Maple Glen, a small suburb of Philadelphia, recalled how his house shook as the rain beat down outside.

“I couldn’t even hear myself think,” Zajac told WPVI. “I see branches start to get carried by the wind past my house, the chair on our front porch got flipped and it was nuts.”

ABC News’ Alexandra Faul and Aaron Katerksy contributed to this report.

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