Politics, flooding, and the return of Morningside Lights feature in today’s Bwoglines!

Happening in the World: Polls for early elections in Slovakia are being led by the populist party of Robert Fico, who was forced to step down as prime minister in 2018. Fico has pledged to end military support for Ukraine, with many unsure whether or not he will go through with the plan upon winning. Most of the support provided by Slovakia takes the form of commercial contracts of heavy weapons, and as the manufacturers are majority state-owned, Fico could possibly intervene. (BBC)

Happening in the US: A government shutdown is imminent after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s bill, which would have kept operations open until October 31, failed yesterday. As today is the deadline to deadline to provide funding for government programs, few options remain. Those rejecting the bill aim to keep pushing 12 individual spending bills, a process which could end up taking weeks. (AP)

Happening in NYC: Record-breaking rain drenched the city yesterday, causing suspension, delays, and reduced service for much of the subway system. Although the MTA has the ability to pump millions of gallons of water, it relies on the city’s sewer system, which is only able to process 1.75 inches of rain per hour. Yesterday morning saw up to 2.5 inches of rain per hour. According to the National Weather Service, Friday saw the most rain on record since 1948 at 7.88 inches total. (The Gothamist)

Happening in Our Community: Morningside Lights returns tonight! The theme for this 12th annual event is The Open Book, a celebration of access to knowledge, free exchange of ideas, and freedom to read. Over 50 community-built lanterns based around books will begin the procession in Morningside Park at 8 pm.

Morningside Lights via Bwog Archives