Swept Away: Hurricane Ida killed 25 people in New Jersey, more than in any other state, at least a third of them who had been driving and were drowned in their cars or swept away after they got out.

  One woman who got out of her car and was clinging to a tree lost her grip. A man in South Plainfield was swept into a 36-inch sewer pipe.

  In Connecticut, a state police sergeant drowned after his car was caught in floodwaters.

  As always in floods, some people think they can drive through them and if they are lucky, all that happens is their car stalls and they can wade out. That’s not always the case.

  People also died in New Jersey apartments. Four residents of a first-floor apartment in Elizabeth, NJ, were trapped inside by the overflowing waters of the Elizabeth River.

  Overall, Ida killed at least 60 people in eight states.

  Last night Hurricane Larry intensified to a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph. It could reach Category 4 with winds of 140. 

  Larry is now the third storm of the season to be a Category 3 or more. Right now its tracking north and west over the open Atlantic and is not a direct threat to land at least for a few days.

Not Working: The Labor Department issued a surprisingly disappointing jobs report, indicated that the delta variant and resurgence of Cov-19 is a big drag on the economy.

  The US added 235,000 jobs last month, far short of the predicted 735,000. 725,000 jobs. “There’s no question that the Delta variant is why today’s job report isn’t stronger,” President Biden said. “I know people were looking, and I was hoping, for a higher number.”

  Job gains were 962,000 in June and 1.05 million July, but more than 8 million people are still unemployed. Federal pandemic unemployment benefits end this week for about 7.5 million people.

The Shaman Pleads: Jacob Chansley, the man known as the Q-Anon Shaman who stormed the Capitol January 6^th carrying a spear and a bullhorn while wearing a fur and horn head dress, pleaded guilty yesterday to single felony.

  While he could have gone away for as long as 28 years, his plea to a single charge of obstructing an official proceeding reduced that to at most 51 months.

  Chansley thanked the court for having him mentally evaluated and said, “God bless you and thank you for what you do for our country.”

  Chansley’s lawyer, Al Watkins said in a post-plea press conference that his client was under a great deal of “familial pressure” not to plead guilty because they believe Donald Trump will return to the presidency and pardon him.

  Watkins also told the court and the press that Chansley is no longer a Trump-sympathizing  follower of the Q-Anon conspiracy. His said Chansley prefers now to be referred to simply as “The Shaman.”

Legal Target Shooting: The bankrupt Remington Arms Company has subpoenaed the academic, attendance and disciplinary records for five children murdered in the Sandy Hook school massacre whose parents are suing the company. It’s as if they are looking for a reason the kids deserved to be eliminated.

  Remington made the Bushmaster assault rifle used by Adam Lanza to kill 20 school children and six adults. Their defense says the gun was legal to make and own. 

  The families’ lead attorney, Joshua Koskoff, said “The records cannot possibly excuse Remington’s egregious marketing conduct, or be of any assistance in estimating the catastrophic damages in this case.” He said, “The only relevant part of their attendance records is that they were at their desks on December 14, 2012.”

The Spin Rack: General Motors will shut production at most of its North American plants for a week or two because of the shortage of computer chips. Toyota already announced a 40 percent production cut for the same reason. — Google has locked some Afghan government email accounts in order to thwart the Taliban’s hunt for former officials who worked and cooperated with the US. — A Texas judge has issued a temporary order restraining Texas Right to Life from enforcing the state’s new restrictive abortion law by suing planned  Planned Parenthood. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, in Travis County, found that the law created “a probable, irreparable, and imminent injury” for Planned Parenthood and its staff.

Christ Almighty: A picture of Donald Trump seated with a gauzy image of Jesus standing behind him has been making the rounds of the internet. Jesus has a comforting hand on the former president’s right shoulder. 

  But when you take a moment to look, it’s not Jesus in the picture. It’s the notorious 1960s cult leader and murderer Charles Manson.

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