“There is nothing under your position that prevents Microsoft from storing United States communications, every one of them, either in Canada or Mexico or anywhere else, and then telling their customers, ‘Don’t worry. If the government wants to get access to your communications, they won’t be able to,'” Roberts said.
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Federal officials confirmed that they launched a big immigration enforcement action this week in Northern California.
Federal officials confirmed that they launched a big immigration enforcement action this week in Northern California.
Photo: LM Otero/AP
FILE – In this Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, file photo, Diana Colin, right, with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights shouts as the group from California protests outside the office of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, of California, on Capitol Hill in Washington, in favor of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. On Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, a federal judge issued a sweeping ban on the U.S. government revoking deportation protection of immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. less
Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP
Federal officials said Tuesday they arrested more than 150 undocumented immigrants in a Northern California sweep aimed at countering local sanctuary laws, while suggesting Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s decision to alert the public to the secret operation may have allowed some targets to elude capture.
Since Sunday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have fanned out from the Central Valley to the far northern reaches of the state, knocking on doors, detaining people and prompting alarm from community activists and some Democratic politicians who oppose President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Agency officials, who had remained silent about the operation for three days, said in a written statement that they arrested people in cities including San Francisco, Bay Point, Sacramento and Stockton, and that half of those arrested had criminal convictions, including for violent crimes.
The operation was named Keep Safe. Officials did not say whether the first letters of the operation were intended as a reference to Kate Steinle, the San Francisco woman shot dead on a bay pier in July 2015 by a homeless undocumented immigrant. ICE also did not say whether the sweep was over.
“Sanctuary jurisdictions like San Francisco and Oakland shield dangerous criminal aliens from federal law enforcement at the expense of public safety,” said Thomas Homan, the acting director of ICE. “Because these jurisdictions prevent ICE from arresting criminal aliens in the secure confines of a jail, they also force ICE officers to make more arrests out in the community, which poses increased risks for law enforcement and the public.”
Mayor Schaaf said she had multiple sources confirming that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are planning to conduct raids this week. (Feb. 25)
Media: Associated Press
Homan slammed Schaaf, who on Saturday night released an unprecedented warning that ICE was about to begin arresting people. Schaaf said she issued the alert after receiving confidential tips from “credible sources,” and conferring with attorneys to make sure she wasn’t opening herself up to federal prosecution.
The mayor’s move endangered ICE officers and alerted their targets, Homan asserted, “making clear that this reckless decision was based on her political agenda.” He said 864 “criminal aliens and public safety threats remain at large in the community, and I have to believe that some of them were able to elude us thanks to the mayor’s irresponsible decision.”
Fox News, which was given a ride-along with ICE officers during the operation, reported that agency officials were asking the Department of Justice to investigate whether Schaaf broke any laws.
In a statement Tuesday night, Schaaf stood by her decision to go public.
“My statement on Saturday was meant to give all residents time to learn their rights and know their legal options. It was my intention that one mother, or one father, would use the information to help keep their family together,” the mayor said. “I do not regret sharing this information. It is Oakland’s legal right to be a sanctuary city and we have not broken any laws. We believe our community is safer when families stay together.”
San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell released a statement saying that the city won’t “cower” as the “administration pursues their political plan of haphazardly punishing sanctuary cities.”
“We stand with our hardworking, law-abiding immigrant neighbors and we are unified in our response to the divisive rhetoric of this president.”
The Chronicle reported in January that federal officials were planning the Northern California operation. The Trump administration has repeatedly expressed frustration at sanctuary laws in the state, which restrict cooperation between local authorities and ICE in an effort to convince undocumented immigrants they don’t need to live in the shadows.
Trump seized upon the killing of Steinle to argue that sanctuary policies are dangerous. The undocumented immigrant shooter, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, had previously been released from San Francisco County Jail under the city’s sanctuary ordinance, even though immigration officers had asked that he be turned over for a sixth deportation.
This week’s sweep is the second to target California since a statewide sanctuary law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, SB54, went into effect in January. The legislation, among other things, limits the circumstances in which jails across the state can turn over undocumented inmates to ICE and forbids police from arresting people on immigration warrants.
Earlier this month, ICE arrested more than 200 immigrants suspected of being undocumented in an operation in Los Angeles. Federal agents also told 122 businesses there that they would be checking whether their employees were authorized to work. ICE launched a similar action in Northern California in January, visiting 77 businesses.
“If you take all of the administration’s statements in context … it suggests that this is highly politically motivated and meant to send a message to California,” said Pratheepan Gulasekaram, a professor and immigration expert at Santa Clara University School of Law. The message, he said, is that “not cooperating with federal immigration authorities will result in aggressive immigration enforcement.”
The ACLU of Northern California said Tuesday that reports from rapid-response networks over the previous three days suggested “that ICE enforcement is terrorizing communities of color. The targeting of cities and states that refuse to use their limited resources to fuel the Trump administration’s deportation machine is cruel and inhumane.”
ICE said the agency “focuses its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety, and border security.” But officials also said ICE “no longer exempts classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement.”
Among those arrested this week, ICE said in a statement, was a 38-year-old “documented Sureño gang member” with four previous deportations to Mexico and multiple criminal convictions, including for assault with a deadly weapon.
In Bay Point, officials said, officers arrested a man with eight past deportations and a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, and in Stockton they arrested a man with a conviction for committing lewd acts on a child. ICE did not release a full list of those arrested.
The Northern California sweep began three days after Trump threatened to remove ICE officers from the state, saying, “In two months they’d be begging for us to come back.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said the Department of Homeland Security was working with state and local elections officials to prevent attacks on electoral systems, which were wider than initially thought during the 2016 vote. She also cited a program to provide $40 million to counter Russian and Chinese propaganda, though she failed to mention that the money was delivered to the State Department only after months of delays and withering criticism from Republicans in Congress.
As for Admiral Rogers, “nobody is denying him the authority,” Ms. Sanders said before blaming the Obama administration, noting that the Russian campaign began on its watch.
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Asked during the earlier hearing whether he had the authority and the ability to disrupt the Russian attacks “where they originate,” Admiral Rogers replied, “I don’t have the day-to-day authority to do that.”
“So you would need, basically, to be directed by the president,” said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.
“Have you been directed to do so?” Mr. Reed added.
“No, I have not,” Admiral Rogers said.
But, Admiral Rogers insisted, he is using the authorities already at his disposal “to begin some specific work.” He would not give details in the open hearing because the work was classified, he said.
Exactly what capabilities the United States has to deter Russian meddling are highly classified and shrouded by layers of secrecy. But the N.S.A. is known to have developed dangerous cyberweapons. A number have leaked out in the past few years, providing hackers with the tools they needed to infect millions of computers around the world, crippling hospitals, factories and businesses.
But Mr. Rogers said on Tuesday that “it’s probably fair to say that we have not opted to engage in some of the same behaviors that we are seeing, if I could just keep it at that.”
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The court’s decision not to hear the appeal could also relieve the immediate political pressure on lawmakers to permanently address the status of those immigrants, or to deal with the additional one million Dreamers who had never signed up for the DACA program. They remain at risk of deportation if immigration agents find them.
Even as he ended the DACA program, Mr. Trump had called upon Congress to give the young immigrants legal status — and an eventual path to citizenship — before the program was scheduled to expire March 5.
But that proposal has been bogged down in partisan gridlock as members of Congress argue about broader changes to the United States’ immigration system that the president and his conservative allies in Congress have demanded as part of any deal to address the future of the young immigrants.
This month, senators failed to reach consensus in a series of votes on bills to address the Dreamers and other immigration issues. A bipartisan coalition in the Senate roundly rejected a measure backed by Mr. Trump that would have all but ended the family-based migration system that has been in place for decades. A separate bipartisan measure that would have legalized the Dreamers and allocated $25 billion for a wall on the border with Mexico fell six votes short of the 60 needed to proceed to a final vote.
Now, the court’s action is likely to lessen the urgency on Capitol Hill over the issue, making it even more probable that Congress will take no action as the legal process plays out.
Lawmakers are working to extend legal protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, but the discussion is complicated by other issues on the table.
As a possible fallback plan after the Senate’s failure this month, lawmakers could negotiate a short-term patch that would continue the DACA program for a few years, perhaps in exchange for partial funding of Mr. Trump’s wall. Such a deal could be tucked into a broad spending bill that lawmakers must approve by March 23, when government funding is set to expire.
But the court’s move could undercut any momentum to push for even a very narrow deal in the next few weeks, and there has been little evidence of progress toward any kind of bipartisan pact that would be acceptable to Mr. Trump. House Republican leaders still appear focused on a hard-line conservative immigration bill that would be a nonstarter in the Senate.
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“While the court’s decision appears to have pushed this deadline beyond March, House Republicans are actively working toward a solution,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly condemned Democrats in recent days, accusing them of not caring about the young immigrants. In one recent Twitter post, he said Republicans “stand ready to make a deal” to protect the Dreamers from deportation.
Dems are no longer talking DACA! “Out of sight, out of mind,” they say. DACA beneficiaries should not be happy. Nancy Pelosi truly doesn’t care about them. Republicans stand ready to make a deal!
—
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Feb. 24, 2018
But Democrats, and some Republicans, accuse Mr. Trump and his hard-line conservative White House advisers of using the Dreamers as leverage for changes to the immigration system that conservative, anti-immigrant activists have long sought.
The case at the Supreme Court was brought in California by five sets of plaintiffs. They included four states — California, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota — and Janet Napolitano, the president of the University of California. As secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration, Ms. Napolitano signed the document that established the program in 2012.
In January, Judge William H. Alsup of the Federal District Court in San Francisco ruled that the administration had abused its discretion and had acted arbitrarily and capriciously in rescinding the program. Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Federal District Court in Brooklyn issued a similar ruling this month.
The judges acknowledged that presidents have broad powers to alter the policies of earlier administrations. But they said the Trump administration’s justifications for rescinding the program did not withstand scrutiny.
The administration had argued that the program was an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the executive branch, relying on a ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, concerning a related program. The Supreme Court deadlocked, 4 to 4, in an appeal of that ruling.
The judges said the two programs differed in important ways, undermining the administration’s legal analysis. They noted, too, that Mr. Trump had issued conflicting statements about the DACA program.
Both judges issued nationwide injunctions ordering the administration to retain major elements of the program while the cases moved forward. Such nationwide injunctions from judges in individual cases, which have been used to block executive actions in both the Obama and Trump administrations, have been the subject of much commentary and criticism.
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The administration appealed Judge Alsup’s ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, and that court put the appeal on a fast track. In an unusual move, the administration also asked the Supreme Court to grant immediate review, leapfrogging the appeals court.
That procedure, called “certiorari before judgment,” is used rarely, typically in cases involving national crises like President Harry S. Truman’s seizure of the steel industry and President Richard M. Nixon’s refusal to turn over tape recordings to a special prosecutor.
In a statement, the Justice Department said it would continue to make its legal arguments as the case proceeded.
“While we were hopeful for a different outcome, the Supreme Court very rarely grants certiorari before judgment, though in our view, it was warranted for the extraordinary injunction requiring the Department of Homeland Security to maintain DACA,” said Devin M. O’Malley, a spokesman for the department. “We will continue to defend D.H.S.’s lawful authority to wind down DACA in an orderly manner.”
Lawyers for the challengers expressed satisfaction with Monday’s developments.
“We are pleased that the Supreme Court is allowing the normal appellate process to run its course,” said Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., who represents people affected by the program. “DACA is a lawful and important program that protects young people who came to this country as children and who know this country as their only home.”
In a brief urging the Supreme Court to deny review, lawyers for the University of California wrote that “it has been nearly 30 years since the court granted certiorari before judgment without the benefit of a court of appeals ruling on the question presented.”
In a second brief, lawyers for the four states wrote that no national emergency warranted use of the unusual procedure.
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“Since 2012, the DACA program has allowed hundreds of thousands of young people to receive deferred action, work authorization and other benefits,” they wrote. “The district court’s preliminary injunction only partially and temporarily restores the situation that existed prior to petitioners’ abrupt decision to terminate the program — and only for individuals who had already received deferred action under DACA.”
“Petitioners are entitled to a prompt appeal,” the brief said, “but there is no imminent deadline posing a critical threat to the public interest of the sort that might justify bypassing the normal channels for that review.”
In the administration’s brief, Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco told the justices that “an ongoing violation of federal law being committed by nearly 700,000 aliens” required the Supreme Court to act. But he did not ask the court to stay Judge Alsup’s injunction while the case moved forward. Mr. Francisco wrote that an immediate stay would interfere with the administration’s goal of an “orderly wind-down” of the program.
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Washington (CNN)As critics have taken aim at law enforcement for missing warning signs about South Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz, public records have emerged that conflict with Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel’s statements about the number of times deputies were dispatched to the shooter’s home.
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Aerial footage of Tristate flooding on Tuesday Feb. 20, 2018. The floods affected businesses and communities alongside the river.
The Enquirer/Phil Didion
For the latest flood updates on this developing story, click or tap here.
Editor’s note: More up-to-date reporting can be found above.
Earlier reporting: A record rainy day followed by a night of wild weather strengthened flooding’s grip on multiple portions of Greater Cincinnati early Sunday.
The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday afternoon that a tornado touched down overnight in Clermont County southwest of the Village of Felicity. Meteorologists did not have a rating for the strength of the tornado as of Sunday afternoon.
The number of road closings seemingly multiplied by the hour late Saturday and into the morning hours. Cincinnati Police Department reported making numerous water rescues of drivers whose vehicles became caught up in the floodwaters.
According to the city of Cincinnati, the Mill Creek Barrier Dam had all eight pumps in service for the first time in recent memory, but only four were in operation as of 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Additionally, five of the city’s 24 floodgates are in place and functioning.
The impact of the flooding has been widespread.
Sun., Feb. 25, 2018: Chad Koller carries his cat, Livy, on Sunday afternoon, after the Ohio River flooded his Aurora, Indiana apartment. Saturday morning, he “woke up into it Ð waist-high water,” he said. Koller lost his phone and his water in the flood the day before and came back Sunday to rescue his two cats. “I couldn’t find her. I was hoping she was still alive. Then she poked her head out of cabinet,” he said. He still hadn’t found his other cat. This has been the most significant Ohio River flooding since 1997. The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran
Heavy rains lead to landslides in Mount Adams and Paddock Hills
The National Weather Service and emergency management officials are examining storm damage in Clermont and Brown counties in Ohio caused by high winds.
Even two U.S. post offices have had to relocate because of the floodwaters.
The weather Saturday night into Sunday morning did exactly what meteorologists feared: It dumped another 2-3 inches of rain on already soggy southwest Ohio communities.
“To put that much water on already saturated soil without much vegetation to suck it up – that was what we were most concerned about,” said Kristen Cassady, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
The heavy rains led to 195 sewer backup calls by Sunday morning, according to the city. Fourteen crews from the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati were out servicing those as quickly as possible Sunday afternoon.
The Ohio River is expected to crest at 60.7 feet by Sunday evening, the National Weather Service said. The river on Sunday morning rose above the 60 feet mark for the first time in two decades.
“At stages near 61 feet, flooding worsens in the East End, as well as along the riverfront,” a weather service statement said. “Increasing numbers of homes and businesses in New Richmond are flooded. Pete Rose Way remains flooded and Kellogg Road flooding worsens. Homes and businesses in the East End and California are significantly flooded. Much of Route 52 continues to flood between Cincinnati and New Richmond. Backwater flooding up the Little Miami River affects Anderson Township up to Newtown. Low-lying roads in Newport, Ludlow and Bromley, Kentucky flood, as well as portions of Lawrenceburg outside the flood wall, as well as in Aurora, Indiana.”
Nonetheless, meteorologist Cassady said, the Ohio will reach the highest level at Cincinnati since the 1997 flooding, when it crested at 64.7 feet.
“Luckily, we will be dry the rest of the day,” Cassady said. With no rain in the forecast Monday or Tuesday, the river should slowly start to recede.
Cassady put an emphasis on “slowly,” because tributaries that flow into the river like the Little and Great Miami Rivers will continue to drain to the Ohio, meaning it will take some time for river levels to return to normal.
According to the city, the Ohio could return to normal levels by the latter part of this week.
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Flooding along Kellogg Avenue | 0:30
Two to three inches of rain dumped Saturday night and Sunday morning to the already soggy Cincinnati area.This is the first time the river rose above the 60 feet mark for in two decades. Cara Owsley/The Enquirer
Cara Owsley/The Enquirer
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River view from a plane approaching CVG | 0:14
A look at the Ohio River from a plane on approach to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Saturday afternoon.
The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran
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What’s Cincy’s most flood-prone month? It’s coming soon | 0:49
Cincinnati has had 105 floods since records started to be kept in 1858. Three of 10 have occurred in March, an Enquirer analysis of National Weather Service records shows. NWS forecasters also are projecting we have up to a 10 percent chance of a ‘moderate’ flood for the week of March 6.
Wochit
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Watch: Bird’s-eye view of local flooding | 0:39
Aerial footage of Tristate flooding on Tuesday Feb. 20, 2018. The floods affected businesses and communities alongside the river.
The Enquirer/Phil Didion
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2018 Ohio River flood by the numbers | 0:00
Here’s a look at the numbers that explain the 2018 flood of the Ohio River.
The Enqurer/Mike Nyerges
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What does ‘moderate’ flooding look like in Cincinnati? | 1:00
The Ohio River is forecast to crest at 55.5 feet in Cincinnati, just over the line between “minor” and “moderate” flooding. How often does such flooding occur and what does it look like in and near the city?
Wochit
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Ohio River on the rise at Smale Park | 0:53
An amended forecast released Tuesday predicted the river will crest Tuesday night at 55.5 feet, about six inches lower than earlier forecasts.
Luann Gibbs/Wochit
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The Ohio River on the rise | 0:30
Forecasters are predicting the Ohio River will reach the moderate flood stage in a new warning issued Monday morning.
Amanda Rossmann
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Ohio River flood of 1937: Worst natural disaster in Cincinnati history | 0:54
After unprecedented precipitation, the Ohio River in Cincinnati rose to its all-time high on Jan. 26, 1937. It was a natural disaster than spanned the entire length of the 981-mile-long river.
Michael Nyerges
As of 2 p.m., the river was at 60.37 feet.
As the river reached 60 feet Sunday, area residents should expect these impacts, according to the weather service:
Regionally, flood warnings are in place today for the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Portsmouth, Maysville, Meldahl Dam and Markland Dam. The Ohio was prompting flooding concerns upstream in Pittsburgh and downstream in southeast Indiana and Louisville.
On the brighter side, the worst of stormy weather had passed in the predawn hours, according to the weather service. The night had seen tornado warnings in portions of Northern Kentucky and flash flood warnings throughout the region.
“Heavy rain showers are ending from west to east the potential for severe weather has greatly diminished,” the weather service tweeted overnight. “A cold front will approach from the west this morning, which will bring dry conditions after it passes a brief period of gusty winds to 40 MPH.”
The flash flood warnings drew to a close in the 4 a.m. hour. Winds gusting to 45 mph were forecast around dawn as a cold front began moving in. By midday, residents can expect sunshine and a high around 50 degrees.
On Saturday, Cincinnati had its wettest Feb. 24 on record, drenched by 2.26 inches of rain. (The previous local record for the date was 1.37 inches.) All that rainfall is flowing into already swollen streams, creeks and rivers.
The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday afternoon that a tornado touched down overnight in Clermont County southwest of the Village of Felicity. Meteorologists did not have a rating for the strength of the tornado as of Sunday afternioon.
From Clermont County officials:
Preliminary assessments indicate that than 70 structures in Clermont County have been impacted by flooding. These include properties in the Village of New Richmond, the Village of Neville, Monroe, Pierce and Ohio Townships.
High winds late Saturday night/early Sunday morning damaged properties and downed trees in the communities of Monroe Twp, Washington Twp, Franklin Twp, and the Village of Felicity. The National Weather Service is assessing damage to determine if caused by a tornado or straight-line winds. The Clermont County Building Inspection Department is inspecting structures.
Tensions were high overnight in Sharonville as officials kept a close eye on the dam at Sharon Woods.
“The dam is holding steady at the moment,” Sharonville Mayor Kevin Hardman wrote in a Facebook post to residents at about 1:45 a.m. “We are hopeful that it will not topple over at this point. We have a crew stationed at the dam to provide notice in the event a breach becomes imminent.”
Flood waters did go over the dam, Sharonville dispatcher Amy Smith said Sunday morning, but evacuations were not necessary and the water is beginning to recede. Some roads are closed.
“Right now, everything is pretty good,” Smith said. “We hope to get the roads opened up as soon as we can.”
Jack Sutton, executive director of Great Parks of Hamilton County, which operates Sharon Woods, said the park is open today. Safety checks have been made on bridges and trails downstream from the dam.
“We have a lot of downstream neighbors in Sharonville, on Cornell Road, some along Route 42,” Sutton said. “No one is in jeopardy from what happened last night.”
The boathouse on the lake may be a different story. When the lake flash floods, water can get in.
The park district was working to assess property damage this morning.
Some of the county parks closer to the Ohio River are closed, including Otto Armleder in Cincinnati’s East Side and Fernbank Park on Cincinnati’s West Side.
Sutton’s biggest concern is the Little Miami Golf Center in Newtown. In 1997, when the Ohio River reached 59 feet, the golf center was three feet underwater. The park district is working this morning to get merchandise, golf and office equipment out of the building.
Ohio River: The river was at 60.47 feet by 2 p.m. and headed for as high as 60.7 feet by Sunday afternoon. Flood stage is 52 feet. This is the highest level seen since the 1997 floods.
“Moderate flooding is occurring and is forecast to continue,” the National Weather Service at Wilmington said in a predawn flood warning. After cresting at about 60 feet, the Ohio River’s waters are forecast to recede. Yet the river may remain above flood stage until late in the week.
At the Mehldahl Dam, the level was at 55.31 feet at 2 p.m. Sunday. Waters are to continue rising to near 55.9 feet by after midnight Sunday, and should remain above flood stage until Friday morning.
Downriver at the Markland Damn, levels were at 56.64 feet as of 2 p.m. and projected to reach 58.4 by early Monday morning.
Great Miami River: At 1 a.m. Sunday, the river’s stage was 23.32 feet and headed toward 23.9 feet, just below moderate flood stage.
This means minor flooding has been occurring and will continue.
At 23.9 level, moderate flooding is likely to occur south of Miamitown in southwest Miami Township, as well as between New Baltimore and Cleves and in Sidney.
The river will remain above flood stage until midday Tuesday.
Other rivers with flood warnings:
Cincinnati Police reported these new road closings as of 3:30 a.m. Sunday:
Also, road closures have made the neighborhood of California accessible only by the I-275 west entrance and exits.
“With water rising throughout the day Sunday, it is reasonable to believe additional major roadways will become flooded,” Cincinnati Police warned, noting both police and firefighters had made water rescues of stranded drivers Saturday night.
“Turn around, don’t drown,” Cincinnati Police cautioned drivers.
From the U.S. Postal Service:
The California, Kentucky, Post Office 41007, is temporarily closed due to flooding. Retail and delivery operations have been temporarily relocated to the Alexandria, Kentucky, Post Office 44101.
The Ripley, Ohio, Post Office 45167 is temporarily closed due to flooding. Retail and delivery operations have been temporarily relocated to the Georgetown, Ohio, Post Office 45121.
Mail delivery is being attempted daily as flooding conditions permit.
The bureaucratic chips that accompany major flooding episodes began to fall Friday and Saturday as the banks of the Ohio River inched outward.
On Saturday afternoon Ohio Gov. John Kasich issued an emergency declaration for 17 Ohio counties in response to flooding.
The declaration activated the Ohio National Guard to assist community responses to flooding. Preparation efforts included deploying troops in response to local requests to help install floodgates along floodwalls.
The impacted Ohio counties as of Saturday evening were: Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Clermont, Columbiana, Gallia, Hamilton, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Monroe, Meigs, Muskingum, Scioto and Washington.
“As the weather and flooding is expected to get worse, we’re staying ahead of things by taking our readiness up to the next level and declaring an emergency where we expect the worst conditions,” Kasich said in a news release. “We’ll quickly add to those areas as it’s needed.”
Also on Saturday afternoon, Dearborn County officials announced an “orange level” travel advisory, meaning only essential travel is recommended and conditions are threatening to public safety.
More: Cincinnati flooding: Kasich declares emergencies for 17 counties, storms may bring 1-2 inches
More: Cincinnati traffic: Several roads are closed due to flooding
Dearborn County Emergency Management Director Jason Sullivan said in a news release, “only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended, and emergency action plans should be implemented by businesses, schools, government agencies and other organizations.”
Those moves followed declarations on the Kentucky side of the swelling river.
Covington and Kenton County declared a state of emergency Friday evening due to the flooding. The declaration allows city and county officials to take any step needed to protect citizens.
Covington Mayor Joe Meyer and Kenton County Judge-Executive Kris A. Knochelmann said the declaration was a precautionary measure. Declaring an emergency allowed access to Federal Emergency Management Agency aid if needed.
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin Friday evening declared a statewide state of emergency in response to “continued heavy rainfall events which have caused widespread flooding and damage to critical infrastructure across Kentucky.”
The move allowed state resources to be mobilized and made ready to assist Kentucky’s cities and counties.
Search and rescue teams were placed on standby around the state and the National Guard is preparing for flood response activities, according to a news release from Bevin’s office.
Additionally, the Kentucky Emergency Management activated the State Emergency Operations Center on Thursday.
At 4:15 p.m. Saturday the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Little Miami River at Kings Mills and at Milford, the Great Miami River near Middletown and Ohio Brush Creek above West Union.
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Here’s a look at the numbers that explain the 2018 flood of the Ohio River.
The Enqurer/Mike Nyerges
Forecasters said the Little Miami River at Kings Mills will rise above flood stage by early Sunday morning and continue to rise to 23.7 feet by Sunday morning.
“At stages near 17 feet, flooding of lowland areas occurs from South Lebanon to Foster,” the weather service said in a news release. “Portions of Mason-Morrow-Millgrove Road also flood.”
Kristen Cassady, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, said the lack of vegetation this time of year is contributing to the rising waters.
“The vegetation that we would have in the spring and summer usually would help soak up some of the water from the ground,” Cassady said. “So now we’re having a lot of rainfall that is just being converted to runoff with the ground being so saturated.”
Weather service forecasters predicted the Ohio River would crest at 60 feet Sunday morning.
More: Smale Riverside Park evacuated by police as the Ohio River rises
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the river was projected to crest higher than the 1997 flood.
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Yeong Mi Kim of South Korea delivers a stone during the women’s gold medal match between Sweden and Korea. Her beloved team won silver.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
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Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Yeong Mi Kim of South Korea delivers a stone during the women’s gold medal match between Sweden and Korea. Her beloved team won silver.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
In a triumph over South Korea’s much-loved “Garlic Girls,” the Swedish women’s curling team won a gold medal.
The game was one of Swedish vengeance. Nearly every time South Korea put a stone in a promising position, Sweden deftly took it out. By the fifth round, Sweden was up 4-1. Their tactics kept up, and by the eighth round, the team was up 7-3.
The Garlic Girls, affectionately nicknamed for their garlic-producing home county, were between a stone and a hard place by the ninth round. The Swedes scored another point, lengthening their lead over South Korea by five points. With one end remaining, the Garlic Girls talked among themselves and conceded the gold medal to Sweden. Both teams exchanged enthusiastic handshakes and pats on the back, among cheers throughout the Gangneung arena.
It was incredible end to South Korea’s highly-watched arch in a sport that is still unfamiliar to most South Koreans. The nation’s first women’s Olympic curling team debuted in just 2014 in Sochi.
Unlike South Korea, Sweden has had a solid presence in women’s curling. The women’s curling team took gold in both 2006 and 2010, and silver in 2014.
The Garlic Girls all hail from the small town of Uiseong, where about half of its residents are farmers. Its mayor decided more than a decade ago to use government funds to build a curling center in hopes of becoming a destination for curlers.
The team shares the same surname, Kim; two are sisters. They also share nicknames rooted in food: Captain Eun Jung Kim is “Yogurt,” and her teammates are “Pancake,” “Steak,” “Cho-Cho” and “Sunny,” for sunny side-up eggs.
The Swedish team was led by captain Anna Hasselborg in her very first Olympic appearance, with solid performances Sara McManus, Agnes Knochenhauer, Sofia Mabergs and Jennie Waahlin.
The Swedish men’s team took silver in Pyeongchang, after a stunning upset by the U.S. which earned gold. After the medal ceremony, the American men inspected their hard-earned bounty and realized that all but one of them had been given the gold medal for “women’s curling.”
The Swedish women will, presumably, be quite happy to take those off their hands.