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00:12A lot of money for Eric Adams, for Andrew Cuomo.
00:17We've seen billionaire Bill Ackman
00:20really weighing where he's going to throw in his money.
00:23He was one of the largest donors to Cuomo.
00:25There is a lot of money to go around
00:28if you're the anti-Mumdani candidate.
00:30The problem is not all of this donor class
00:34is settled on who that person is.
00:36We just saw Cuomo's announcing his campaign.
00:39He thinks he has the fundraising to be successful.
00:43Eric Adams obviously has the support
00:45of a lot of real estate titans
00:47and business class individuals
00:50who also want to donate to him.
00:52And then, of course, you have Curtis Sliwa
00:54who might turn out some GOP donors.
00:56If all of these donors, just like their candidates,
01:00chose one person to challenge Zoran Mamdani,
01:03perhaps there would be a better path for them at this point.
01:06But it's just so fractured
01:08and there's not a clear action plan.
01:10And, of course, Cuomo hopes that plan
01:12is that everyone drops out in September besides him.
01:16Well, Jason, it's a long way to November.
01:18I'm sure we'll be speaking in the interim.
01:20Thanks so much.
01:21Have a good night.
01:21Great reporting.
01:23Take care.
01:24Okay.
01:25In the meantime here,
01:25I wanted to kind of cover that story
01:26from all angles today.
01:28And to Jason's point,
01:29this was somewhat to be expected
01:31that Cuomo would make this decision.
01:33But it definitely kind of threw a wrench
01:35into the mayoral race in general there in the Big Apple.
01:38All right.
01:38Let's take a quick commercial break.
01:39When we come back,
01:40we'll be diving into some of these extreme weather headlines,
01:44especially focused on the recovery efforts
01:46still going on in Texas' Hill Country,
01:49also staying as well in the tri-state area,
01:52New York and New Jersey,
01:53getting a lot of rain just in the last couple of hours.
01:56We'll tell you about it in two minutes.
02:06Let's make it.
02:12Let's make it.
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03:14Automate your workflow and get back to growing now.
03:44And welcome back here to Live Now from Fox.
04:07I'm Andrew Kraft.
04:08Unfortunately, we have to cover yet more of this really, really nasty weather, especially
04:12happening in the Northeast.
04:15We have live pictures there in Midtown Manhattan.
04:18Heavy rain slamming the tri-state area.
04:20Another live vantage point there in Midtown.
04:23Take a look at this.
04:24It looks like the rain has somewhat let up there, but New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declaring
04:32a state of emergency, he says, given flash flooding and high levels of rainfall in parts
04:36of the state.
04:37He says, please stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.
04:41He says, stay safe, New Jersey.
04:43Well, some of our Fox weather colleagues, including Greg Diamond, says, New York City just experienced
04:48their second wettest hour on record.
04:52So that is quite something.
04:55He says, no other event has seen the city record more than two inches in one hour.
05:002.07 inches fell between 7 and 8 p.m., and he says it's behind only the 3.47 inches that
05:08fell in one hour from the remnants of Hurricane Ida some years back.
05:13So Governor Murphy there in Jersey, also New York City officials weighing in on so much of
05:19this rain.
05:19Take a look at our XRAD weather system.
05:21You see that system right there.
05:22Look at that.
05:23That band that's stretching, what, from the D.C. area all the way up to Connecticut there.
05:30Wow.
05:31Also, back to New Jersey, Senator Andy Kim, the Democrat, saying this, stay safe, New Jersey.
05:37The governor has declared a state of emergency due to flash flooding.
05:40Please take the necessary precautions and do not drive, walk, or swim through floodwaters.
05:46Saying, if you need emergency assistance, please call 911.
05:50So we're going to stay on top of this story.
05:52If we see any really compelling, crazy video, we'll make sure you see it, too, as well.
05:59But let's step out of this for now.
06:02I want to get to the main, main story of some of this extreme weather that we have been following
06:07ever since the Fourth of July holiday there in Kerr County in Kerrville, Texas.
06:12Our reporters have been down there for now almost two weeks detailing and telling the stories
06:20of grief and loss and recovery and rebuilding, as so many are still searching for loved ones.
06:28We heard today from Texas Governor Greg Abbott that the number of fatalities has risen,
06:34131 people losing their lives in these deadly flash floodings.
06:39Our colleagues at Fox 7 in Austin has a look at the announcement made today by Governor Abbott.
06:44It's been 10 days since the catastrophic flooding swept across central Texas.
06:57The stories about those who have been swept away is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking.
07:04And the kind of thing that spurs us to do even more to make sure that we're going to be searching
07:12and finding everybody that we can.
07:14On Monday, Governor Greg Abbott toured the damaged Sandy Creek Bridge
07:18met with first responders before delivering an update on the state's response.
07:22Statewide, there's a total of 131 fatalities to be reported.
07:28I had visited the big Sandy Creek Bridge and was astonished at what I saw.
07:33The center part of the bridge was literally moved about a half a foot in one direction,
07:41which shows the power of the water that was pushing through there.
07:44Abbott announced 21 counties are now under a disaster declaration.
07:48Including Kerr, Travis, and Williamson, making them eligible for FEMA assistance.
07:52With the flood watch in effect through Tuesday morning, Abbott says resources are being pre-staged
07:57in vulnerable areas like Uvalde, Del Rio, and Concan.
08:00Turn around, don't drown. Don't drop through a low water crossing if you can't see the road in front of you.
08:05And if you were in a low-lying area, please plan on moving to higher ground once the rain starts to come.
08:10TxDOT also provided an update on the destroyed Cow Creek Bridge on FM 1431.
08:15Our bridge teams with the Austin District of the Texas Department of Transportation have been working literally 24-7 to design a new bridge to replace that bridge that was washed out.
08:26The agency plans to award a construction contract this week with hopes to finish the 60-day project in just 40 days.
08:32Travis County ESD1 says support from out-of-state agencies is making a big difference.
08:51The department reported 50 rescue missions saving hundreds.
08:54The support just adds to some of our self-assurance that we can still provide for our citizens while we take care of the normal, as you mentioned, our day-to-day operations,
09:05but also with the extended operations that we have with the search and rescue and still meeting and taking care of others.
09:12All right, we thank Fox 7 Austin reporter Jenna King for filing that report here.
09:19What we want to do now is let you listen to more of these Texas officials led by Governor Greg Abbott at this press conference today.
09:26Let's watch.
09:27Thanks for helping us get this message out.
09:31Life safety remains our number one priority.
09:33As such, as we've talked about additional rains coming into the state, we have pre-positioned swift water rescue assets, as the governor mentioned, around Uvalde, around Del Rio, and around Concan.
09:44Help us get that message down to those folks to turn around, don't drown.
09:47Don't drive through a low water crossing if you can't see the road in front of you.
09:50And if you are in a low-lying area, please plan on moving to higher ground once the rain starts to come.
09:55Another thing I need you to remember is it does not have to be raining where you are in order for you to be impacted by flooding.
10:02Second, the governor mentioned the 21 counties in his declaration.
10:05We have six counties right now that are in the federal declaration for individual assistance.
10:10Those counties are Burnett, Kerr, Sansaba, Tom Green, Travis, and Williamson for individual assistance.
10:19We have a disaster recovery center open in Kerr County right now, and you will be hearing from your local partners here, many of those standing behind us,
10:27about the disaster recovery centers that will be opening in Travis and Williamson counties very soon.
10:34On the public assistance side, this is the money that goes to the local governments to help with emergency response costs and debris and repairing.
10:40You have ten counties that are under the president's disaster declaration.
10:44Those are Burnett, Kendall, Kerr, Kimball, Lano, Mason, McCullough, Menard, Sansaba, and Tom Green.
10:53Both Travis and Williamson counties are, it appears to us they have met their threshold.
10:58We're working with them to get the documentation to FEMA.
11:00We expect those to be turned on very soon.
11:03I want to let you know we have over 2,300 state employees working under the governor's direction to support our local government partners.
11:10But a number that continues to blow me away is the over 13,000 volunteers just coming out to help anywhere they can.
11:18We are grateful for the volunteers, but I need help getting the message to the volunteers also.
11:23In each of these communities, we will be establishing volunteer reception centers.
11:28The idea is for your volunteers to go to those sites so that we can match up your capabilities and skills with the needs of the community.
11:36We also want to be able to communicate with you.
11:38Up in Kerr County on the Guadalupe River, we've had a tactical pause for a day and a half now because of the rain and the waters that are coming down that river.
11:47We cannot afford to have people in the water and right next to the water that are not swift water rescue trained and capable of at least saving themselves from being near that water because of the amount of rainfall that we're getting.
11:57Please help us communicate with the volunteers.
12:00Thank the volunteer that's out there.
12:01If you see them helping, do everything you can to make sure they understand the message, and we will continue to work together to support our partners.
12:07And finally, Governor, to your point, 25 other states, not counting ours, focused on this.
12:12It has been a tremendous response from the nation.
12:16One thing that Chief Kidd mentioned is worth reemphasizing, and that is those who lose their life by driving into water.
12:26Those who lost their lives at Camp Mystic, those stories have been told a lot.
12:33And it's tragic and horrendous.
12:36Less told are those who have lost their lives because they chose to drop into water and got swept away.
12:44The power of water sweeping a vehicle away is far more extreme than what most people know.
12:49As waters rise over the coming days, could be in the Uvalde area, wherever it may be, people should drive with caution, knowing that you are totally in control of protecting your life and saving your life by not putting it into danger in the first place.
13:04In the first place.
13:05We'll take a few questions.
13:06Governor, for those that are still missing, could you give us some insight as to how long did it take from when the moment it was found to when they identified, family notified, how long did it take to the state with them to update the number of missing?
13:24Sure.
13:25First, I will tell you this, because I did not share this with you earlier.
13:30I didn't mention those who were missing in the greater Kerrville area, which is 97 reported as of now.
13:38Let me first tell you an issue about those who are missing, then I'm going to answer your question.
13:43So, everybody who is at a camp, everybody who is at a hotel and places like that, they've been identified.
13:51Those who are missing on this list, most of them, were more difficult to identify because there was no record of them logging in anywhere.
14:00And it was through information provided by a friend, a family member, co-worker, whatever the case may be, that they haven't been found.
14:08Even though we are reporting 97 people missing, there's no certainty that all 97 of those people were swept away by the storm.
14:17That point aside, to more specifically answer your question, and that is the goal, obviously, is to continue to find those who are alive.
14:27For those who have passed away, it's so important to closure for their families that we find them and identify them.
14:37Sometimes it does require using DNA testing to identify who they are and identify who their family is to make sure that we connect appropriately, correctly, the family member with the person who lost their lives.
14:51And sometimes that takes a few days to complete that process.
14:56Governor, given, understandably so that for county, they sustained, they received a lot of attention, especially federal assistance.
15:03But what up here in Travis County, they were added late, kind of, to that declaration.
15:08What was that process like, how do you get them added, to go and receive federal assistance?
15:12Sure.
15:13So it is truly a mathematical construct that Chief Kidd has mastered.
15:19I'm going to have him answer that question in general, but also for Travis County.
15:24Yep.
15:25So great question, and thank you for that.
15:26Two parts to it.
15:27One is the governor's declaration.
15:29There was no delay in getting these counties on the governor's declaration once we knew that they were in the target area.
15:34That's part one.
15:35Part two is the individual assistance for both of these counties, which is the money that goes and is made available to homeowners and renters, is already turned on in these counties as well.
15:45What we're working through right now is the public assistance, and that is a mathematical equation, as the governor said, based on the population of a county and the amount of damage that FEMA can certify in that county.
15:56The less populated counties have a much smaller threshold, $500,000, $600,000, versus millions of dollars for these two populated counties.
16:04I am confident both counties have met their threshold.
