Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.
Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica with devastating forceHurricane Melissa carved across Jamaica this afternoon, tearing off roofs and dumping rain. When the storm made landfall around midday, it was spinning with sustained 185 m.p.h. winds, making it one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record — stronger even than Katrina. Follow here for the latest updates. After hours over the country, Melissa weakened to a Category 4 storm. We’re tracking its path, rain and wind forecasts and more. The storm moved slowly across Jamaica, adding to the significant risk of storm surge, flash flooding and devastating landslides. Local officials issued dire warnings and mandatory evacuation orders, but they said that many residents had refused to evacuate. The scale of the damage is likely to be difficult to quickly ascertain because of power and communications outages. In the seaside community Alligator Pond, the local reporter Sashana Small said some residents were trapped by floodwaters. Nearby in Mandeville, residents were forced onto roofs. Where it is headed: Melissa, which is expected to maintain its powerful hurricane strength, is set to make landfall tonight or early tomorrow morning in Cuba. Hundreds of thousands of residents have already evacuated in anticipation. After that, Melissa is forecast to head toward the Bahamas. For more:
The U.S. killed 14 people accused of smuggling drugsDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth said today that U.S. troops had destroyed four more vessels that he accused of smuggling drugs. The strikes, which Hegseth said were carried out in the eastern Pacific, killed 14 people — the biggest one-day toll since the campaign began last month. One person survived, Hegseth added. Many legal experts have said that the attacks violate U.S. law. Hegseth pushed back today: “These narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al Qaeda, and they will be treated the same,” he said. Here’s a timeline of the strikes. In other Trump administration news:
Netanyahu ordered strikes on GazaIsrael’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered the country’s military to strike the Gaza Strip after his government accused Hamas of violating the cease-fire. Israeli officials said that Hamas had fired on Israeli troops and failed to return hostages’ bodies. Hamas denied the accusations and said it remained committed to the cease-fire agreement. In related news, Israel also conducted its first airstrike in months in the West Bank, killing three militants.
States sued over food stamp cutsMore than two dozen states sued the Trump administration today over its recent refusal to fund food stamps during the government shutdown. Weeks ago, the Agriculture Department said that it could reprogram money to prevent benefit cuts, but it now says the funds are not “legally available.” About 42 million low-income Americans, who rely on the monthly payments to buy groceries, are set to lose access to the program on Nov. 1 if Congress fails to fund the government this week. We talked to several families about what comes next for them. In related news, air traffic controllers said the shutdown was making air travel “less safe.” More top news
Misty Copeland is moving onAfter wowing the dance world for more than two decades, Misty Copeland — the first Black female principal dancer at American Ballet Theater and one of the most famous dancers in the world — gave her farewell performance last week. However, she told our dance critic Gia Kourlas, she’s not done with the art form. “I want to keep moving my body, but it can look like whatever I want it to look like,” Copeland said. She expressed interest in producing shows — and, she added, “I’m also very open to Broadway.”
Could you spend two days without A.I.?It sounded easy to me, until I read about A.J. Jacobs’s experiment to avoid artificial intelligence as much as possible for two days. He realized he couldn’t watch Netflix, read emails, meet with colleagues over Zoom, take a taxi, scroll Instagram, pay with his credit card, turn on the lights, use tap water or unlock his phone with facial recognition — all of which use A.I. technology in some way.
Dinner table topics
Cook: Crispy yet juicy chicken Parmesan can be made in an air fryer. Watch: “Little Men” is one of our top under-the-radar streaming picks this month. Listen: Here are six pleasing podcasts about making and appreciating art. Wear: Take inspiration from our fashion photographer’s look of the week. |
