As New York grapples with torrential floods, a looming crisis overshadows the excitement of the World Cup final. The deluge threatens to derail plans for hundreds of soccer enthusiasts who might miss the once-in-a-lifetime match, marking a tumultuous ending to the United States’ experience hosting this tournament.

Anticipation builds as Spain prepares to clash with Argentina in tonight’s highly anticipated World Cup final. The showdown will take place at the iconic MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, a short distance of about five miles from the heart of New York City.

Weather conditions have stolen much of the spotlight throughout the tournament. Both France and England experienced game delays due to Mother Nature’s unpredictable temperament, ranging from intense heatwaves to unexpected lightning warnings.

A cloud of uncertainty hangs over tonight’s grand finale as weather concerns once again challenge the scheduled kick-off. The match, planned for 3 p.m. ET (8 p.m. BST), now faces potential delays due to the adverse conditions.

On the eve of the tournament’s conclusion, New York City found itself underwater, with torrential rains wreaking havoc across the metropolis. Scenes of chaos unfolded as vehicles sat submerged and pedestrians navigated streets turned into waterways, with some trudging through waist-deep floods.

Between two and four inches of rain are said to have fallen, with a tornado warning also issued. 

A flood watch covering eastern Bergen County, where MetLife is located, northeastern New Jersey and New York City remained in effect until 2am Sunday.

Although the heaviest rain had moved south and east by late Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service warned that further storms could produce rainfall rates of one to two inches per hour.

The final showstopper between Spain and Argentina will be able to go ahead unaffected – but many fans may miss out. 

While the worst of the horrific weather had passed by Sunday morning, leaving blue skies in its wake, the torrential conditions of the previous day left mayhem in its wake. 

The dangerous conditions caused further turmoil at the region’s three major airports wreaking havoc for the thousands descending on New York and New Jersey where 80,000 fans are expected to fill MetLife Stadium for Sunday’s final. 

Hundreds of flights into the New York area from across the United States were rocked by delays, or worse, cancellations as the downpours compounded travel problems. 

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered multiple ground stops at LaGuardia, JFK and Newark, until at least 5pm ET on Saturday due to the thunderstorms.

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway was flooded, leaving drivers stranded on the washed-out roadway. Many sought safety on the roofs or bonnets of their vehicles as the water in some areas rose as high as car windows.

An FDNY fire truck was captured wading through the flooding – the water almost reaching its windscreen – to rescue the drivers. Firefighters assisted New Yorkers slowly inch their way along a ledge to dry land. 

There had been calls to move the World Cup final and, while conditions are starting to improve, severe thunderstorm warnings remain for parts of New Jersey.

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani posted on social media: ‘Don’t risk your safety in these dangerous conditions. – Exercise caution while traveling.

‘Take public transit whenever possible. Never walk, bike, or drive through floodwaters. No destination is worth risking your safety.’

It is understood, however, that there are hopes there will be no delay to tonight’s proceedings.

The downpours presented a lone benefit with the deluge of rain expected to help clear Canadian wildfire smoke from the air.

An air-quality health advisory remained in effect across New York City until midnight Saturday after fine-particle pollution pushed the Air Quality Index above 100.

Meteorologists interviewed by the Associated Press said the storms should improve air quality from unhealthy to moderate before kickoff.

On Saturday, New York residents received an alert from the National Weather Service, branding conditions ‘a life threatening situation’.

It read: A FLASH FLOOD WARNING is in effect for this area until 3.30pm EDT,’ it read.

‘This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.’

The New York Yankees’ baseball game against the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium was cancelled on Saturday due to the weather, but it is set to be rescheduled for this afternoon.

Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart, who has been working as a pundit for BBC throughout the tournament, has been in New York and highlighted the struggles prior to kick-off.

Hart and the likes of Wayne Rooney had been based in Salford until the BBC opted to end their work from home World Cup ahead of England’s semi-final defeat by Argentina.

‘Weather’s absolutely banging here. Shoes are off, trainers are ruined’, Hart said in a video he shared to Instagram. He could be seen walking in heavy rain, drenched.

Argentina’s training session was delayed by 45 minutes on Saturday, while Spain’s flight from Kansas to New York was also delayed.

How much is David Beckham set to pocket from his World Cup brand deals? Take on our quiz in our newsletter HERE

NEW YORK — Health officials have confirmed a second fatality linked to the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak currently affecting the Upper East Side.

The declaration was made by Dr. Alister F. Martin, New York City’s Health Commissioner, on Friday evening.

As of Saturday night, the city reports that 72 individuals have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, with nine of these patients currently hospitalized.

This unfortunate news follows shortly after health authorities disclosed that more than 45 positive Legionella tests have been traced back to cooling towers in the affected area.

Efforts to control the outbreak have led to orders for 76 buildings to clean their cooling towers to mitigate the spread of the disease.

SEE ALSO | What to know about Legionnaires’ disease

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

In a surprising twist in the Massachusetts trial of Lindsay Clancy, the mother charged with the murder of her three young children, her husband plans to stand as a key witness in her defense.

Lindsay Clancy, once a caregiver herself at 35 as a former nurse, will face her murder trial this week for the tragic deaths of her children: Cora, aged 5, Dawson, aged 3, and Callan, just 8 months old. The trial’s jury selection is set to commence Monday morning at the Plymouth Superior Court.

Among the over 200 potential witnesses is Patrick Clancy, Lindsay’s husband. Patrick and Lindsay argue that doctors both failed to correctly diagnose her and prescribed ineffective medications, which they claim led her to experience hallucinations that pushed her to commit the horrific acts.

These claims form the basis of lawsuits suggesting that medical practitioners neglected to recognize and treat her worsening postpartum psychosis, a condition she allegedly suffered from prior to the tragic incident.

In an amended complaint filed in Norfolk Superior Court, Lindsay Clancy alleges a network of psychiatric providers misdiagnosed her, failed to properly treat what she says was bipolar disorder with postpartum onset and prescribed a changing regimen of medications that allegedly worsened her condition before the Jan. 24, 2023, deaths of her children.

The complaint accuses the defendants of medical malpractice and negligence, alleging they failed to recognize that Clancy’s reported “intrusive thoughts” were actually auditory hallucinations that made her a danger to herself and her children.

“Lindsay Clancy did everything a mother in her situation could do,” the lawsuit says, alleging she sought treatment, went to emergency rooms, contacted crisis services, admitted herself to hospitals and repeatedly reported her worsening symptoms.

The filing offers a medical-failure narrative of the months before the killings, portraying Clancy, a registered nurse who worked in labor and delivery at Massachusetts General Hospital, as a woman unraveling.

According to the complaint, Clancy began showing signs of hypomania soon after giving birth to Callan in May 2022.

By about 12 weeks postpartum, the filing says, Clancy’s condition shifted into severe anxiety, depression, exhaustion and insomnia. She was allegedly sleeping only a few hours a night and struggling with basic daily activities.

The lawsuit says Clancy first sought psychiatric care in September 2022 and was prescribed Zoloft. After the dose was increased, she allegedly went 48 hours without sleep, developed racing thoughts and suffered worsening anxiety.

The lawsuit alleges that these symptoms should have triggered concern for antidepressant-induced activation and possible bipolar disorder. Instead, the suit alleges, Clancy was moved through a series of medications, including Prozac, Ambien, Remeron, Klonopin, Seroquel, Trazodone, Valium and Amitriptyline, without proper coordination among her providers.

The complaint claims the providers failed to obtain a complete psychiatric history, failed to communicate with one another and failed to recognize that antidepressants appeared to be worsening her symptoms.

In late November 2022, after taking Remeron, Clancy allegedly became dissociated, disoriented and unsure what was real, according to the filing.

Days later, after starting Seroquel, she allegedly developed suicidal ideation and began hearing a voice telling her she would not be the same and wanted to die.

Her husband, Patrick, allegedly contacted nurse practitioner Rebecca Jollotta’s office on Dec. 15 to report that his wife had suffered a “devastating week” and was hearing voices all day, the complaint says.

The filing also alleges Lindsay Clancy told family members she had thoughts of harming the children. At the same time, she allegedly believed people could hear her thoughts and feared she would be locked in a hospital and lose her children.

Clancy went to Massachusetts General Hospital on Dec. 20, then entered a partial hospitalization program at Women & Infants Hospital in Rhode Island, the lawsuit says.

The complaint alleges Dr. Zobeida Diaz concluded Clancy did not have postpartum depression and rejected bipolar disorder despite severe depression and anxiety scores.

Days later, Clancy admitted herself to McLean Hospital on New Year’s Eve. The complaint says she was placed on a locked unit with suicide checks but did not see a doctor until Jan. 3 because of the holiday weekend. She was discharged Jan. 5 after a five-day stay.

Back in outpatient care, the lawsuit says, Clancy continued to deteriorate.

On Jan. 16, she allegedly reported hallucinations saying, “You should harm the children” and “You should kill yourself.” Tufts then prescribed Amitriptyline, another antidepressant, according to the complaint.

On Jan. 23, the suit says, Dr. Jennifer Tufts increased the Amitriptyline dose. That night, Clancy allegedly did not sleep.

The next day, the complaint alleges, Clancy was severely depressed and experiencing nonstop suicidal hallucinations. After her husband left to pick up takeout, a commanding voice allegedly told her it was her “last chance” and ordered her to kill the children so she could kill herself.

The lawsuit claims Clancy then entered a dissociative, dream-like state before strangling the children and trying to kill herself by taking medications, cutting her wrists and neck, and jumping from a second-floor window.

Cora and Dawson died that day. Callan died three days later. Clancy has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case.

Clancy is suing Tufts, Diaz, Jollotta, Dr. Alia Goodheart, Aster Mental Health, South Shore Health System, McLean Hospital and Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.

The lawsuit seeks damages for Clancy’s physical injuries, psychological trauma, medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, permanent disability and loss of consortium with her husband and children.

The trial will begin with jury selection on Monday, July 20 at 9 a.m.

News Media has reached out to Clancy’s attorney, Rosemary Curran Scapicchio, for comment.

In the murky world of jailhouse informants, Paul Skalnik possessed a peculiar knack: he always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to hear the secrets of accused murderers.

A recurring figure in Pamela Colloff’s engrossing book, “Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast,” Skalnik was no stranger to deception. Colloff notes that “whenever his personal luck turned sour and imprisonment loomed,” Skalnik inexplicably found himself privy to assassination confessions.

In the sweltering summer of 1981, Skalnik was lodged in Florida’s Pinellas County Jail on grand-theft charges, facing the prospect of five years behind bars. Seizing a slender lifeline, he reached out to the state attorney’s office in Clearwater, claim‌ing he had incriminating information on three murder suspects. According to Skalnik, all had unburdened themselves with confessions, either in full or in part.

By 1984, Skalnik had become entrenched in the judicial fabric of Pinellas County, having testified against or furnished pivotal insights into at least 27 cases. His influence was profound, aiding in placing four individuals on death row. Surprisingly, the prosecutorial ranks appeared unperturbed by his dubious history, marveling instead at his improbable success at extracting confessions akin to an elite detective.

Despite his grandiose facade, Skalnik was a mere conman with extraordinary endurance. The hallmarks of his life included nine marriages, forged checks, and crimes against women and widows. He had a chameleon-like ability to morph identities, masquerading at times as a Southwest Airlines executive, a Stetson law scholar, a former Marine, or even a Boston lawyer named Avery Harrison.

In jail, he found the role that paid best. He became a professional witness.

His first major turn as an informant came in Houston in 1978, after he landed in the Harris County Jail on bad-check charges. He spotted Thomas Hirschi, one of three activists charged with inciting a riot at a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Moody Park, in Houston’s Near Northside, and called an old friend in the district attorney’s office. 

“I’ve got something to tell you,” Skalnik said. “Something that will interest you.” Soon he was out of jail for the day, sitting in the DA’s office, reading from a small spiral notebook about conversations he claimed to have had with Hirschi.

By the early 1980s, he’d taken the act to Florida. In the Pinellas County Jail, he worked in the law library, where frightened defendants kept their legal paperwork and a confident man with jailhouse jargon could pass himself off as helpful. He read the local papers, studied case details, and then called prosecutors and reported that inmates had confessed. The reward was recorded in the state attorney’s files with an exclamation point: “Probation was discussed!”

That was the basic bargain. Prosecutors got a witness who could turn messy cases into cleaner stories. Skalnik got leniency and repeated chances to resume his career as a criminal. Colloff calls him “the state’s closer, the witness whose words moved jurors to choose death.”

On the stand, Skalnik played the penitent sinner with a badge-shaped heart. “I still do have law enforcement inside of me,” he told jurors. When asked whether he had received anything for testifying, he replied, “No, ma’am. I was probably treated worse than if I hadn’t testified.” 

Behind the scenes, prosecutors and investigators lobbied for him, wrote letters for him, and helped keep him in the county jail where he could remain close to defendants awaiting trial.

The case at the center of “Catch the Devil” is that of James Dailey, a Vietnam veteran from Kansas who served three tours and came home a man unrecognizable to his own family. His mother would later tell Colloff she’d sent away “two lovely young men to the Air Force and Marines,” and “they came back, and they were different boys.” By 1985, alcoholism had cost Dailey his marriage, his children, and any stable foothold in the world. He drifted to Pinellas County with Jack Pearcy, a violent drinking companion.

On May 5, 1985, a fourteen-year-old girl named Shelly Boggio crossed paths with Pearcy and Dailey at a house in Seminole. By morning, her body was under a drawbridge at Indian Rocks Beach, stabbed thirty-one times, her hands cut from trying to shield herself, water in her lungs. 

During his polygraph session, Pearcy seemed to incriminate himself almost by accident. He grew so rattled that he said he might need to speak to a priest, then described a recurring nightmare in which the killer turned toward him and the face he saw was his own. But when it came time to give investigators a usable story, Pearcy blamed Dailey.

Detective John Halliday went to the Pinellas County Jail and pulled men from Dailey’s cellblock one by one. His notes recorded what each told him: “Nothing.” “Knows nothing.” “Wish I could have helped you but it’s a little outa my league.” Then Skalnik got word to Halliday that Dailey had confessed to him. 

Dailey told his lawyer, “This is a damn setup,” and drew a diagram of the cellblock showing that any conversation between them would’ve required him to shout across the floor in full view of guards and other inmates. The jury never saw the diagram.

At trial, Skalnik testified that Dailey told him the girl “kept staring at him, screaming, and would not die.” It was the kind of line a jury remembers. The defense cross-examination, meanwhile, went nowhere. Colloff writes that it became so tangled and dull that it “left several jurors dozing in their seats.”

The jury deliberated for less than two hours and returned a unanimous verdict of guilty. The penalty-phase recommendation was death, also unanimous. Five days after the verdict, Skalnik walked out of jail.

Skalnik’s parole officer, reviewing his conduct after a subsequent release, was less impressed than the prosecutors had been. “This man has been, is, and always will be a danger to society,” she wrote in her official report, warning that he had “perfected the role of con man” and left behind victims who’d “never be able to recoup the financial loss or psychological well-being that they have suffered.”

Skalnik kept reinventing himself until the routine finally wore thin. When Colloff first met him in a federal prison in Texas in 2018, he pulled out a soiled rag stained with dried blood and told her he was dying of cancer, then promised to reveal everything about his years as an informant. The promised confession never came. “I refused to admit to myself, until it was much too late,” Colloff writes, “that Skalnik had been stringing me along.”

He died in a Texas nursing home on March 10, 2020, one day before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. His ashes went unclaimed.

Dailey remains on Florida’s death row after nearly four decades. He turned 80 on June 11. He paints landscapes from his cell with commissary art supplies, small scenes of forests, streams, and a cobalt-blue swimming hole from his Kansas childhood. 

A prosecutor once defended the use of such witnesses as Skalnik with the old line: “You’ve got to make a deal with a sinner to catch the devil.” Colloff’s book arrives at a harder conclusion. “What made him so dangerous,” she writes, “was not his intelligence or cunning, but rather how readily the institutions that were supposed to uphold the law and protect the most vulnerable had amplified his lies.” 

In Pinellas County, prosecutors thought they’d found a sinner who could help them catch devils. What they really found was a con man who understood exactly what they wanted to hear.