New York Post - 27.08.2019

New York Post, Tuesday, August 27, 2019

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17

Rep. Sean Duffy of Wisconsin is
leaving Congress next month, be-
coming the 13th Republican to an-
nounce their retirements in recent
weeks as he told constituents on
Monday that he was bowing out to
care for his baby,
due in October.
“With much
prayer, I have
decided that this
is the right time
for me to take a
break from pub-
lic service in or-
der to be the
support my wife, baby and family
need right now,” Duffy (inset)
wrote on Facebook.
Like President Trump, Duffy
had been in reality TV before en-
tering politics. He was one of the
roommates on “The Real World:
Boston,” which aired in 1997. And
he met his wife, Rachel Campos-
Duffy, on “Road Rules: All Stars,”
another MTV franchise, in 1998.
They have eight children.
The Wisconsin Republican said
his end date is Sept. 23.
He joins 12 other Republicans in
the Democratic-led House who
are exiting the chamber instead of
running for re-election in the
2020 cycle. Nikki Schwab

Latest GOP

retirement

Tenants at the Manhattan build-
ing where a man was crushed to
death by a malfunctioning elevator
last week say they are still in the
dark about what happened.
“This is ridiculous,” a man who
lives at the Manhattan Promenade
told The Post. “I can’t believe they
aren’t going to tell us what’s going
on. I mean, we live here.”
Sam Waisbren, 30, was killed in
the horrific accident in the luxury
Kips Bay tower Thursday morning.
Tenants said the only word that
they’ve gotten from management
was an e-mail stating they can’t
discuss the situation without “ap-
proval from the building’s liability
insurance carrier and legal coun-
sel.” Daniel Cassady

Residents blast

elevator silence

Two teens were killed and four
other people injured early Monday
after their car hit two utility poles at
an intersection in Stamford, Conn.
One passenger, Kymoni Pollock,
19, died at the scene of the 2:30 a.m.
crash. Another, NiShawn Tolliver,
18, died at a hospital. Two of the in-
jured, including driver Jerry Diaz,
18, were in critical condition. Two
were in serious condition. AP

Conn. crash kills 2

By AMANDA WOODS

Brazilian warplanes dumped

thousands of gallons of water to

battle the raging Amazon rain-

forest fires over the weekend as

leaders of the G-7 nations

pledged more than $20 million in

aid to the South American coun-

try on Monday.

Video released by Brazil’s De-

fense Ministry shows a C-

military plane dumping tons of

water on a smoldering area in

the Rondônia state of the coun-

try.

Firefighters also worked on the

ground in the state of Pará to ex-

tinguish the flames, the Brazilian

Embassy in the UK said.

Brazilian President Jair Bol-

sonaro gave in to global pressure

over the weekend and made

some 44,000 troops available for

“unprecedented” operations to

put out the fires.

French President Emmanuel

Macron, the host of this year’s

G-7 summit, and Chilean Presi-

dent Sebastián Piñera an-

nounced on Monday that

$20 million would be given to

Brazil to help battle the flames.

The money will be made avail-

able “immediately” and be used

primarily to provide more fire-

fighting planes, Macron said.

Macron called the Amazon the

“lungs” of the planet, adding that

leaders were weighing the possi-

bility of providing similar sup-

port to Africa, which has also

been struggling with rainforest

fires.

The support comes as Bolson-

aro spars with foreign leaders

over his handling of the fires.

On Monday, the Brazilian

leader accused rich countries of

treating his country like a “col-

ony” that they wish to exploit.

“Look, does anyone help any-

one... without something in re-

turn? What have they wanted

there for so long?” he said.

Although the US supported the

initiative, President Trump was

not present for Monday’s work-

ing session on the environment

at the G-7 summit, according to

Macron.

Once the fires are extin-

guished, German Chancellor An-

gela Merkel said, her country

and others would speak with

Brazilian leaders about refores-

tation in the Amazon.

“Of course [this is] Brazilian

territory, but we have a question

here of the rainforests that is re-

ally a global question,” Merkel

said.

Pope Francis has come forward

as well, expressing concern

about the fires in Brazil, which

neighbors his homeland of Ar-

gentina.

On Sunday, he urged the faith-

ful to pray that “they are con-

trolled as quickly as possible.”

Bolsonaro tweeted on Sunday

that Israeli Prime Minister Ben-

jamin Netanyahu said his coun-

try would send a specialized

plane to battle the flames.

Fires are common in Brazil’s

dry season but are more wide-

spread this year. Nearly 77,

wildfires have been reported

across the country this year, up

85 percent over the same period

in 2018. With Wire Services

GLOBAL FIREFIGHT

$20M G-7 boost, int’l aid vow vs. Amazon blaze

SOUTH AMERICA IN FLAMES:SOUTH AMERICA IN FLAMES:

A satellite-photo composite highlightsA satellite-photo composite highlightsA satellite-photo composite highlights

all of the fires detected across Brazil,all of the fires detected across Brazil,all of the fires detected across Brazil,

Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador andBolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador andBolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador and

Uruguay from Aug. 15 to Aug. 22.

AFP/Getty Images