HURRICANE HENRI over Rhode Island (Wikipedia/NWS)

Mother Nature hit the eastern half of the United States hard on Sunday.  Hurricane Henri made landfall in Rhode Island and began moving further inland, cutting electrical power to more than 100,000 homes.

In Tennessee, torrential rains have killed at least 22 people, flooded roads, closed bridges and leveled telephone poles and cell phone towers, according to the Associated Press. Another 25 to 30 people are reported missing.

Henri is expected to bring heavy rains to a region stretching from New England to New Jersey on Monday, according to The New York Times. Weather forecasters are predicting that the storm will head northwest all the way up to Maine before returning to the Atlantic.

In the Volunteer State, a record 17 inches of rain over a 24-hour period fell in some areas, and accumulated water rose as high as six feet, according to USA Today. Buildings were knocked off their foundations and one resident reported having a flood of water carry away her garage.

U.S. troops may stay past Aug. 31

U.S MARINES provide assistance during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Nicholas Guevara)

President Joe Biden on Sunday mentioned the possibility of U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan past the Aug. 31 deadline.

According to USA Today, he said, “There’s discussions going on among us and the military about extending. Our hope is we will not have to extend.”

American forces are not the only military units participating in the evacuation from Kabul, the nation’s capital. British, Turkish and other soldiers are also on hand, trying to control the chaos prompted by the unexpectedly swift advance by the Taliban. So far at least 20 Afghans have died in the disorder as people rushed to leave the country. About 11,000 people have been airlifted from the country in the previous 30 hours.

Coronavirus deaths cross 4.4 million

GLOBAL COVID-19 cases are over 212 million (Shutterstock).

The worldwide total of people who have died from the coronavirus has topped 4.4 million people, according to United Press International. Total cases is at 212.5 million.

Leading in cases and deaths is the United States. The total of reported cases here is at 38.5 million, with 645,045 deaths. India has had 32.4 million cases and 434,000 deaths. Brazil has 20.5 million cases and 574,000 deaths.