September 8, 2011 (Thursday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- North Caucasus insurgency/Ingushetia civil war:
- Six people are killed and at least three injured in a series of raids by Russian forces on suspected militants in the North Caucasus. (Monsters and Critics)
- Over 2,600 people are classified as missing in the North Caucasus. (Interfax)
- United States counterterrorism officials investigate reports of a potential terrorist threat against either New York City or Washington D.C., linked to the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Sunday. (New York Times)
Business and economy
- Unemployment in Australia is reported to have risen to 5.3% in August 2011. (Market Watch)
Disasters
- 2011 Northeastern United States floods following Tropical Storm Lee:
- The National Weather Service issues flash flooding warnings for the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia. (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)
- More than 12 inches (30 cm) of rain falls in the region surrounding the capital of Harrisburg, causing heavy flooding and evacuations. (Reuters)
- 115,000 people are ordered to evacuate from the city of Wilkes-Barre and Kingston as flood waters threaten the levees along the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. (The Times Leader)
- Heavy rains and rockslides close the Schuylkill Expressway, a major artery into Philadelphia. (FOX Philly)
- The Siegrist's Mill Covered Bridge, a Burr Arch Truss covered bridge located between the Rapho and West Hempfield townships in Lancaster, is swept away by rushing waters from Chiques Creek. (LNP)
- Pennsylvania closes and evacuates the Pennsylvania Governor's Residence and the state government is suspended. (Patriot-News)
- At least four deaths are reported in Pennsylvania and three in Maryland and Virginia. (WGAL) (Daily Record)
- The death toll in Japan from Typhoon Talas reaches 54, with 55 people still missing. (Kyodo via Japan Times)
- A blackout in southern California, Arizona and Baja California in Mexico caused by the loss of the entire San Diego Gas & Electric system leads to the closure of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and the loss of power to more than two million people. (Los Angeles Times) (NBC San Diego) (AP via Arizona Star)
- Tropical Storm Nate causes heavy rain on Mexico's Atlantic Ocean coast. (NHC)
Politics and elections
- Secretary General Tuiloma Neroni Slade is reappointed to a second, three-year term as head of the Pacific Islands Forum. (Fiji Times)
- Up to 40,000 public sector workers gather in the Australian city of Sydney to protest a wages cap and job cuts in the 2011-12 budget proposed by the Government of the State of New South Wales. (News Limited) (Daily Telegraph)
- U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a speech to a joint session of both houses of Congress, putting forward a new job-creation plan entailing major spending initiatives and tax cuts. (Voice of America)[permanent dead link] (Bloomberg) (Wall Street Journal)
- Former President of Vietnam Võ Chí Công dies in Ho Chi Minh City at the age of 99. (AP via Hindustan Times)
Sport
- In American football, the 2011 NFL season begins, with the Green Bay Packers playing the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin with the Packers winning a shootout 42–34. (Reuters) (Fox Sports)