Severe weather over days has caused havoc and destruction across the U.S. That includes torrential rains and flooding in the Upper Midwest and powerful storms in the Northeast that left a least two people dead from falling trees.

The deadly storms that raked parts of the Northeast late Wednesday into early Thursday spun off tornadoes and initially left some 250,000 customers in the region without power.

The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado moved through parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts on Wednesday evening, and in western Pennsylvania, the storms are believed to have spun off at least three tornadoes. High winds of up to 70 mph brought down power lines and trees and damaged some homes and other structures in the area. No injuries were reported.

The storms came on the heels of widespread flooding in parts of the Midwest after days of torrential rains soaked the area. Much of the country has also been hit with a scorching heat wave as scientists have sounded the alarm that climate change is likely to bring more weather extremes.

Here is where weather events stand in the U.S. and what’s expected in the coming days:

Minnesota dam failure

Heavy rains over days engorged the Blue Earth River, sending water surging around the aging Rapidan Dam in southern Minnesota. Rushing water washed away large chunks of the riverbank as it toppled utility poles and wrecked an Xcel Energy substation. But despite fears for the dam itself, the 1910 concrete structure remains intact; the river is now flowing entirely around it, with none going over the spillways.

A home that had stood near the banks of the river for decades saw the ground gradually erode from underneath it until it collapsed into the river Tuesday.

While their house is gone, Jim Hruska and his wife plan to keep the nearby family restaurant and store, called the Dam Store, going — if it doesn’t fall into the raging river, too. The swelling water had eroded the land away to only about about 10 feet away from the building.

Local law enforcement has been helping salvage items from the store “in case it disappears,” Hruska told the Associated Press. If it remains on solid ground, the family hopes to move the entire structure.

“It can be done, we’ve looked into that,” he said. “But it’s just too saturated now. We got to wait for things to dry out a little more, so they can get their heavy equipment in there to get it out of there.”

Elsewhere in southern Minnesota, flooding has affected the Cannon, Cottonwood, Crow, Des Moines and Minnesota rivers. Overflowing lakes in Waterville and Windom have also swamped homes.

The Minnesota National Guard was enlisted to help fight the floods, which have also closed numerous highways in the region, including stretches of U.S. 169 in the Minnesota River Valley between Le Sueur, St. Peter and Mankato.

In St. Paul, the Mississippi River was continuing its gradual rise toward a Saturday crest. The river stood at about 19.4 feet early Thursday evening, with a 20.8-foot crest forecast for Saturday afternoon. That would rank among the top 10 floods on record in St. Paul and the biggest flood event in 23 years.

Still, minimal damage to public and private property is expected in a city that has undergone extensive flood mitigation for decades.

Iowa

In northwest Iowa, neighborhoods in Sioux City and smaller towns have been ravaged by floodwaters. Gov. Kim Reynolds toured the damage alongside federal officials Thursday.

Some communities are still dealing with failing water and sewer systems as residents work to clean up debris. In Rock Valley, officials were tagging homes with color-coded signs to indicate whether they were safe to enter.

Communities along the west fork of the Des Moines River were bracing for the impacts of the swollen river, although officials were encouraged that the threat appeared to be easing.

The river crested Thursday morning at Humboldt, Iowa, at about 17 feet and was expected to soon recede, said Humboldt County Emergency Management coordinator Kyle Bissell.

South Dakota

The southeastern corner of South Dakota was hit hard this week with torrential floods that devastated the lake community of McCook in North Sioux City, collapsing streets, felling utility poles and trees, and washing several homes off their foundations.

Along the Big Sioux River in the town, the flooding broke apart a more than 100-year-old railroad bridge.

Near the small town of Canton, Bob Schultz saw flooding destroy most of his soybean and corn crops.

“They were absolutely beautiful, had a good stand and no weeds,” he said Thursday. “Then the rain started, and we live by the river, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Nebraska

In northeastern Nebraska, South Sioux City and other nearby towns along the swollen Missouri river saw flooded low-lying riverfront roads, homes and cropland.

Downstream, flood warnings were in effect for communities along the river through much of next week, but flooding has been less severe there than expected.

What’s next

Those farther south along flooded tributaries have been scrambling to get ahead of any flooding as the glut of water makes its way downstream.

Justin Spring and dozens of volunteers have spent days hauling his entire inventory of heavy auto parts and machinery to higher ground from his auto recycling business located along the Missouri River in Plattsmouth, a low-lying Nebraska city of about 6,500.

“It was all friends and other businesses who helped move it all out,” he said. “It was just a lot of community support. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

The river is expected to crest at 32.3 feet Saturday. That’s high enough to flood riverfront roads and flood Plattsmouth’s water wells. If it holds to below 33 feet, Spring’s machine shops should be spared, he said.

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By STEVE LeBLANC

BOSTON (AP) — Drivers for Uber and Lyft will earn a minimum pay standard of $32.50 per hour under a settlement announced Thursday by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, in a deal that also includes a suite of benefits and protections.

The two companies will also be required to pay a combined $175 million to the state to resolve allegations that the companies violated Massachusetts wage and hour laws, a substantial majority of which will be distributed to current and former drivers.

Campbell said the settlement resolves her office’s yearslong litigation against the two companies and stops the threat of their attempt to rewrite state employment law by a proposed 2024 ballot initiative.

That question would have resulted in drivers receiving inadequate protections and an earnings standard that would not guarantee minimum wage, she said.

“For years, these companies have underpaid their drivers and denied them basic benefits,” Campbell said in a written statement. “Today’s agreement holds Uber and Lyft accountable, and provides their drivers, for the very first time in Massachusetts, guaranteed minimum pay, paid sick leave, occupational accident insurance, and health care stipends.”

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey said the settlement delivers “historic wages and benefits to right the wrongs of the past and ensure drivers are paid fairly going forward.”

In a statement Lyft said the agreement resolves a lawsuit that recently went to trial, and avoids the need for the ballot initiative campaign this November.

“More importantly, it is a major victory in a multiyear campaign by Bay State drivers to secure their right to remain independent, while gaining access to new benefits,” the company said.

Uber also released a statement calling the agreement “an example of what independent, flexible work with dignity should look like in the 21st century.”

“In taking this opportunity, we’ve resolved historical liabilities by constructing a new operating model that balances both flexibility and benefits,” the company said. “This allows both Uber and Massachusetts to move forward in a way that reflects what drivers want and demonstrates to other states what’s possible to achieve.”

The companies were pushing a ballot question that would classify drivers as independent contractors eligible for some benefits, but Campbell said the settlement stops the threat of the ballot question. A competing ballot question seeks to give drivers the right to unionize in Massachusetts.

Drivers will now earn one hour of sick day pay for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year. As part of the agreement, Uber and Lyft must update their driver applications so drivers are able to view and claim their sick leave directly in the app. Drivers will also receive a stipend to buy into the state’s paid family and medical leave program.

Under the deal, Uber and Lyft will also allow drivers to pool together their hours driving for the two companies to obtain access to a health insurance stipend. Anyone who drives for more than 15 hours per week — for either or both companies — will be able to earn a health insurance stipend to pay for a plan on the Massachusetts Health Connector.

Drivers will be eligible for occupational accident insurance paid by the companies for up to $1 million in coverage for work-related injuries.

The agreement also requires the companies to provide drivers with key information — about the length of a trip, the destination and expected earnings — before they are expected to accept a ride.

The companies are barred from discriminating against drivers based on race, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or other protected identities — and can’t retaliate against drivers who have filed a complaint about the companies with the Attorney General’s Office.

The deal also requires the companies to provide drivers in-app chat support with a live person in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French and must provide drivers with information about why they have been deactivated and create an appeals process.

When your team doesn’t have a Top 10 pick, the NHL Draft itself can take a backseat to the other stuff that comes with it, trades and the looming free agency period that begins Monday. The Minnesota Wild can get a good player with their No. 13 pick Friday night in Las Vegas, but he won’t be Macklin Celebrini.

Celebrini, a star center from Boston University, is the consensus No. 1 pick because he’s expected to play right away — on the first or second line — for the San Jose Sharks and be very good for a long time.

Technically a lottery pick, the Wild’s first-round slot could net them an NHL player — Matt Boldy was the 12th overall pick in 2019 — but it in all likelihood won’t start next season.

That’s why the possibility of trading goaltender Filip Gustavsson for a top six forward — or perhaps a higher draft pick — has in some ways become fans’ biggest interest heading into Friday’s first round in Las Vegas. Every general manager and personnel director in the NHL will be prowling the Sphere for the magic move that can make them immediately better.

And there is no doubt, after missing the playoffs for just the second time in 12 seasons, the Wild need to get immediately better. They were in the playoff chase in the season’s final week, but after a 5-10-2 start, the Wild (39-34-9) never held a playoff position.

“I’m open to anything — moving up, moving back, trading (trading the pick),” Wild general manager Bill Guerin said this week. “I’m open to anything, but it’s got to be right.”

This year’s draft class is considered deep, and the plethora of mock drafts reflect that. After players such as Celebrini, Russian winger Ivan Demidov — signed with a KHL team for next season — Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov and CHL center Cayden Lindstrom, there are several players whose positions vary between the fifth and 15th picks.

“It’s a really exciting group, and an accomplished group,” Wild director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett said last week. “So, at our position, we have to wait and see how it unfolds. … The cross section of talent ranges from power-play defensemen to some size and strength back there, to some centers and certainly a lot of production.”

Among exciting prospects who could fall into the Wild’s slot:

OHL Beckett Sennecke, who had 68 points in 63 regular-season goals, then added 10 goals and 22 points in 16 playoff games at Oshawa; defenseman Zayne Parekh, who won the CHL’s Memorial Cup with Wild prospect Hunter Haight at Saginaw; and center Konsta Helenius, who scored 16 goals among 40 points in 57 games (regular and postseason) for Jukurit in Finland’s top professional league last season.

Or they could go higher. It’s hard to predict what the 12 teams ahead of the Wild will do. As Brackett noted, “The draft will be dictated to us in some ways, but I think it’s exciting.”

“It’s a good pick,” Guerin said. “We’re not going to devalue it. We’re not going to throw it away. If we move back or forward, or trade it, we’re going to get something of good value.”

With Marc-Andre Fleury signed for one last season, and prospect Jesper Wallstedt ready to take the next step, Minnesota has the flexibility to fill an immediate need by trading Gustavsson, 26, for a reliable scorer up front — if the “Gus Bus” can attract one.

After being acquired in the deal that sent Cam Talbot to Ottawa, Gustavsson emerged as one of the NHL’s best young goaltenders in his first full NHL season, going 22-9-7 with a 2.10 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. But he took a step back last season, 20-18-4, 3.06, .899.

Fleury will turn 40 in November, but he was the Wild’s best goaltender last season, 17-15-5 with a 2.98 GAA and .912 save percentage. Wallstedt was rocked in his NHL debut, a 7-2 loss at Dallas, but was 2-0 with a 1.01 GAA and .962 save percentage in April road starts at Chicago and San Jose.

Signed for two more seasons at $3.75 million, is Gustavsson the goalie who had the NHL’s second-best season in 2022-23, or has he settled into being an average pro? That’s the question facing potential suitors who so far have demurred.

“There’s no rush to do it,” Guerin said. “We have three good goalies, four with the kid we signed from Slovakia (Samuel Hlavaj, 22, who signed a two-way deal that starts this season). He’s good, too.”

WILD PICKS

The Minnesota Wild’s selection position heading into this weekend’s NHL entry draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Friday

Round 1 — 13th overall

Saturday

Round 2 — 45th overall
Round 4 — 110th overall
Round 5 — 140th overall (from Buffalo); 142nd overall
Round 6 — 174th overall

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“Opening the Section 8 waitlist was huge, but it only addressed part of the problem—the city must invest more resources in addressing discrimination against voucher holders by increasing funding for the City Commission on Human Rights.”

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When the waitlist for Section 8, otherwise known as the Housing Choice Voucher, opened up earlier this month, over half a million households (633,808 to be exact) applied to get on the waitlist.

The overwhelming number of applicants highlights the deep need for income support that is provided by a rental assistance voucher. Section 8 vouchers are a lifeline for many families, which is why more than twice as many households than the number of available waitlist slots applied within the first 24 hours alone. In his press release announcing the re-opening of the Section 8 waitlist, the mayor said, “Addressing our city’s housing crisis means using every tool our city has, and that’s exactly what we are doing.”

However, Mayor Adams is certainly not using every tool at the city’s disposal; the ongoing understaffing of the City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is allowing discrimination against voucher holders to continue under-enforced, and is keeping people stuck in homelessness. 

According to research by the Furman Center, nearly 50 percent of NYCHA Section 8 voucher recipients lost their vouchers because they were unable to find housing. One of the largest barriers to accessing housing with a voucher is source of income (SOI) discrimination. This occurs when a landlord refuses to rent to people based on how they will pay their rent.

SOI remains a significant barrier for voucher recipients seeking housing because the CCHR, the government body responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws in New York City, is underfunded and understaffed. After years of budget cuts, vacancy reductions, and resignations from overstretched workers, only 17 staff attorneys are left to enforce the rights of over 8 million New Yorkers, compared to nearly 50 in 2018. 

The overwhelming number of applications to the Section 8 waitlist shows the immense need that exists for rental assistance vouchers. The city reopened the waitlist for Section 8, but is undercutting the effectiveness of the very same vouchers by not investing sufficient resources in the capacity of CCHR.

The city touted the additional $3 million it budgeted in fiscal year 2024 for SOI enforcement outside of CCHR, however the administration never spent the money. What’s worse, in fiscal year 2025, the mayor failed to include any funding to increase capacity at CCHR, despite voucher holders, advocates, and City Council calling for an $18 million investment in the Commission. 

Nationwide, 65 percent of voucher holders are Black and Latinx, and 78 percent are female-headed households. People reporting source of income discrimination often experience discrimination based on multiple identities—race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability status, and more.

New York City has one of the most robust human rights laws in the country, with over 25 protected categories. With the Fair Chance for Housing Act going into effect in January, CCHR will also be responsible for protecting New Yorkers with criminal records from housing discrimination. And yet, despite the increasing responsibilities given to the Commission, it continues to be understaffed and underfunded. 

Additionally, staff attorneys at CCHR are underpaid. Starting salaries for staff attorneys are thousands of dollars below that of attorneys at legal services nonprofits, as well as other city agencies. If the city values the work of the Commission, then it must invest in the work of the commission—salaries must be raised to competitive levels, or CCHR will not be able to attract or retain talent. 

Staffing levels at CCHR have a real and felt effect on New Yorkers’ experience of reporting discrimination to the Commission. With only 17 staff attorneys, New Yorkers who are willing to invest the time and effort into pursuing litigation through CCHR have to wait an average of three and a half months for intake with an attorney.

“I have a fully functioning Section 8 voucher, but I couldn’t obtain housing for more than three years. The city must relieve the pressure of the unjust and discriminatory systems that keep us homeless by adequately funding CCHR’s law enforcement bureau to hire enough staff. Without enough staff, there won’t be enforcement, and the lack of monitoring and accountability will allow illegal discrimination across the city to continue unpunished,” said Charisma White, a leader with Neighbors Together. 

The Commission on Human Rights’ budget is less than 0.01 percent of the city’s total budget, yet despite being a drop in the bucket compared to other spending areas, the mayor continues to subject CCHR to budget cuts. CCHR was also subject to a 2-to-1 hiring freeze, meaning that the Commission had to wait until two staff members left before being allowed to fill one position. Under the 2-to-1 hiring freeze model, the Commission will always come up short and be unable to address its staffing shortage. Even under a 1-to-1 hiring freeze, CCHR will remain short-staffed and the people of New York will suffer. 

The mayor continues to tout his efforts to address the homelessness crisis, but actions speak louder than words. It’s time for Mayor Eric Adams to stop short-shrifting his own proclaimed fixes, and take a holistic approach. 

Yes, opening the Section 8 waitlist was huge, but it only addressed part of the problem—the city must invest more resources in addressing discrimination against voucher holders by increasing funding for the City Commission on Human Rights. Investing in CCHR means protecting tenants, workers, and all vulnerable New Yorkers—without a well functioning CCHR, our city cannot be equitable.

Amy Blumsack is the director of organizing and policy at Neighbors Together.