Helene weakens to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph over Georgia
CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Helene weakened to a tropical storm over Georgia with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) early Friday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Helene continues to weaken while moving farther inland over Georgia. The storm was about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Macon and about 100 miles (165 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, moving north at 30 mph (48 kph) at 5 a.m., the center in Miami reported.
The storm made landfall in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm as forecasters warned the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeastern U.S. There were at least three storm-related deaths.
The hurricane center said Helene roared ashore around 11:10 p.m. Thursday near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast. It had maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 mph (225 kph). That location was only about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of where Hurricane Idalia came ashore last year at nearly the same ferocity and caused widespread damage.
The hurricane’s eye passed near Valdosta, Georgia, as the storm churned rapidly north into Georgia Thursday night. The National Hurricane Center issued an extreme wind warning for the area, meaning possible hurricane-force winds exceeding 115 mph (185 kph).
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Lebanon fears Gaza-like carnage as Israel ramps up airstrikes across the country
When she first heard about the evacuation warnings Israel was sending to residents of Lebanon, Aline Naser’s thoughts immediately turned to Gaza.
For the past year, the 26-year-old Beirut resident has been following with horror the reports about besieged Palestinians in the Gaza Strip ordered to move from one place to the other, fleeing to “humanitarian zones” only to be bombed and ordered to leave again.
The Israeli calls for Lebanese citizens to evacuate ahead of a widening air campaign, delivered via mobile phone alerts, calls and leaflets this week, seemed chillingly familiar.
“It’s definitely something on the back of my mind, and we don’t really know where exactly is safe,” she said.
Almost a year after the start of its war in Gaza, Israel has turned its focus on Lebanon, significantly ratcheting up its campaign against its archenemy Hezbollah. Among many in Lebanon, there is fear that Israel’s military operations in Lebanon would follow the same Gaza playbook: Evacuation orders, mass displacement and overwhelming airstrikes. Israel says its strikes target Hezbollah weapons sites and militants.
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What obstacles stand in the way of an Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire?
Israel and Hezbollah each have strong incentives to heed international calls for a cease-fire that could avert all-out war — but that doesn't mean they will.
Hezbollah is reeling after a sophisticated attack on personal devices killed and wounded hundreds of its members. Israeli airstrikes have killed two top commanders in Beirut in less than a week, and warplanes have pounded what Israel says are Hezbollah sites across large parts of Lebanon, killing over 600 people.
So far, Israel clearly has the upper hand militarily, which could make it less willing to compromise. But it's unlikely to achieve its goal of halting Hezbollah rocket fire with air power alone, and a threatened ground invasion of Lebanon poses major risks.
After nearly a year of war, Israeli troops are still fighting Hamas in Gaza. And Hezbollah is a much more formidable force.
“Hezbollah has yet to employ 10% of its capabilities,” military affairs correspondent Yossi Yehoshua wrote in Yediot Ahronot, Israel's largest daily newspaper. “The euphoria that is evident among the decision-makers and some of the public should be placed back in the attic: the situation is still complex and flammable.”
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Belgian PM blasts Pope Francis for Catholic Church's sex abuse cover-up legacy in blistering welcome
BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium’s prime minister blasted Pope Francis for the Catholic Church’s horrific legacy of clerical sex abuse and cover-ups, demanding “concrete steps” to come clean with the past and put victims’ interests ahead those of the institution in a blistering welcome at the start of Francis’ visit on Friday.
The speech by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo was one of the most pointed ever directed at the pope during a foreign trip, where the genteel dictates of diplomatic protocol usually keeps outrage out of the public speeches. But even King Philippe had strong words for Francis, demanding the church work “incessantly” to atone for the crimes and help victims heal.
Their tone underscored just how raw the abuse scandal still is in Belgium, where two decades of revelations of abuse and systematic cover-ups have devastated the hierarchy’s credibility and contributed to an overall decline in Catholicism and the influence of the once-powerful Catholic Church.
Francis applauded at the end of De Croo’s speech, and was expected to meet with victims in private later Friday.
“Today, words alone do not suffice. We also need concrete steps,” De Croo said. “Victims need to be heard. They need to be at the center. They have a right to truth. Misdeeds need to be recognized,” he said in front of an audience of royals, church officials, diplomats and politicians at Laeken Castle, the residence of Belgium’s royal family.
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Harris heads to the US-Mexico border to face down criticism of her record
PHOENIX (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday will make her first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee to confront head-on one of her biggest vulnerabilities ahead of the November election.
She is scheduled to appear in Douglas, Arizona, as former President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans pound Harris relentlessly over the Biden administration's record on migration and fault the vice president for spending little time visiting the border during her time in the White House.
Immigration and border security are top issues in Arizona, the only battleground state that borders Mexico and one that contended with a record influx of asylum seekers last year. Trump has an edge with voters on migration, and Harris has gone on offense to improve her standing on the issue and defuse a key line of political attack for Trump.
In nearly every campaign speech she gives, Harris recounts how a sweeping bipartisan package aiming to overhaul the federal immigration system collapsed in Congress earlier this year after Trump urged top Republicans to oppose it.
"The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games,” Harris plans to say, according to an excerpt of her remarks previewed by her campaign.
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As the Ukraine war enters a critical period, the EU moves ahead without the US
BRUSSELS (AP) — As the war in Ukraine enters a critical period, the European Union has decided that it must take responsibility for what it sees as an existential threat to security in its own neighborhood and is preparing to tackle some of the financial burden, perhaps even without the United States.
EU envoys have been working in Brussels this week on a proposal to provide Ukraine with a hefty loan package worth up to 35 billion euros ($39 billion). It was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a trip to Kyiv last Friday.
“Crucially, this loan will flow straight into your national budget," she told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “It will provide you with significant and much-needed fiscal space. You will decide how best to use the funds, giving you maximum flexibility to meet your needs.”
Zelenskyy wants to buy weapons and bomb shelters and rebuild Ukraine's shattered energy network as winter draws near.
In international matters, particularly involving major conflicts, the EU rarely moves ahead without the U.S., but it hopes this decision will encourage others to come forward.
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Trump and Zelenskyy will meet as tensions rise over US backing for Ukraine
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as public tensions have been rising between the two over Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion.
Trump said Zelenskyy asked for the meeting. The visit is set for about 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time at Trump Tower in New York, less than a day after Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent, met with the Ukrainian leader and expressed unwavering support.
“I look forward to seeing him tomorrow,” Trump said in a press conference Thursday. “I believe I will be able to make a deal between President (Vladimir) Putin and President Zelenskyy, quite quickly.”
The meeting is highly anticipated and comes as Election Day nears, with Trump and Harris taking sharply different positions on backing Ukraine in the third year of its war with Russia.
Trump argues Putin would never have invaded had he been president while derisively calling Zelenskyy a “salesman” for getting U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump has in recent days praised Russia’s historic military victories and insisted the U.S. needs “to get out” and end its involvement with Ukraine.
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Jews and Catholics warn against Trump's latest loyalty test for religious voters
Former President Donald Trump recently reissued his loyalty test to religious Americans, declaring that he can best protect their freedoms while preemptively blaming members of certain faiths should he lose the presidential election in November.
Jews and Catholics can vote for him and ace the test, but those who don’t, he says, “need their head examined.” If he loses, Trump added, "Jewish people would have a lot to do with the loss.”
Among the Jewish leaders appalled at Trump’s remarks was Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism — an umbrella group for more than 800 Reform synagogues in North America.
“Your words preemptively blaming Jews for your potential election loss is of a piece with millennia of antisemitic lies about Jewish power,” Jacobs said in a social media post. “It puts a target on American Jews. And it makes you an ally not to our vulnerable community but to those who wish us harm. Stop.”
Trump's speeches for years have hewed to divisive “us” versus “them” messaging, but tying those themes to specific religious Americans who oppose him is out of line and even dangerous, according to rhetoric experts, religious leaders and academics.
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Indicted New York City mayor could appear before a judge Friday
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's embattled and indicted mayor, Eric Adams, could make his initial court appearance Friday on charges that he accepted illegal campaign contributions and free overseas trips from people looking to buy his influence in city government.
An indictment unsealed Thursday accused the Democrat of taking a variety of improper gifts from Turkish officials and businesspeople, including free hotel stays and deeply discounted airline tickets to destinations including France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary, Ghana and Turkey.
In return, prosecutors said, Adams did favors for his patrons. That included helping Turkey get fire department approvals to open a new diplomatic tower in Manhattan, despite concerns about its fire safety system, prosecutors said.
Adams says he is innocent. His lawyer has said it was neither unusual nor improper for a government official to accept some travel perks. The mayor has denied ever knowingly accepting an illegal campaign contribution and said any help he gave people navigating city bureaucracy was just part of doing his job.
Adams was scheduled to appear at noon before Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker.
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Mexico's populist president held court each morning for 6 years. Now he's retiring from public life
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Every day at 7 a.m., President Andrés Manuel López Obrador strolls onto a stage in Mexico's National Palace, clad in a smart suit and tie, and peers out at a room of bleary-eyed reporters and social media personalities. “Buenos días, look alive!” the 70-year-old leader calls out in a gravelly voice.
And the show begins.
Throughout his nearly six-year term in office, López Obrador’s morning media briefings, known as “las mañaneras,” have provided him with a powerful tool: a direct line to his political base, broadcast live on government and local news channels, and streaming online. Without pausing to take bathroom breaks or even a sip of water, the president stands at the podium talking for sometimes more than three hours, often in long, roundabout musings or rambling diatribes, all in simple language that anyone tuning in can understand.
Before he leaves office Monday, the daily briefings, beloved by many supporters and criticized by opponents as full of falsehoods and personal attacks, are emblematic of the particular brand of folksy populism that López Obrador wielded to become one of the most powerful political forces Mexico has seen in decades. It's a model that his successor and protege, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, will be hard-pressed to emulate.
“The national conversation revolves around him,” said Daniela Lemus, a National Autonomous University of Mexico professor who researches political communication and has written about the briefings. “He is the protagonist of the mañaneras … and what he says becomes the main topic of conversation by the media, day and night.”
The Associated Press
