Mayorkas warns of funding shortfall for rest of hurricane season
(NYTimes) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency does not have enough funding to ride out the remainder of the hurricane season, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday. The announcement comes as FEMA is conducting search-and rescue operations in remote sections of Appalachia after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and moved north. On Monday, President Joe Biden suggested that he might need to summon lawmakers back to Washington to approve extra funding for disaster relief. But on Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson said that although congressional leaders anticipated that an emergency spending package would be necessary at some point, lawmakers would not return to Washington before the November election.
Soaring temperatures give San Francisco an ‘extreme’ second summer
(NYTimes) — San Francisco, where even the postcards feature fog, rarely sees temperatures over 90 degrees. Even more rarely does the coastal California city see such temperatures in October. But Tuesday, San Francisco hit 94 degrees. The heat has prompted officials to issue an excessive heat warning through Thursday and to encourage residents to go to cooling centers, public pools and to hop on the ferry, which was offering free rides Wednesday. In some inland areas, temperatures are soaring above 100 degrees. This is a phenomenon known locally as “second summer,” said Dylan Flynn, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in California. “But this one is more extreme.”
Ukraine withdraws from mining town that long defied Russian attacks
(NYTimes) — The Ukrainian military said Wednesday that it was ordering the last of its forces to retreat from the ruins of Vuhledar, a mining town that had served as a vital defensive bastion for nearly three years in eastern Ukraine, after it was stormed by Russian troops. The loss of Vuhledar will complicate the defense of the southwestern part of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, allowing Russia to step up attacks in the direction of Pokrovsk, a rail and road hub, soldiers and military analysts said. Pokrovsk is also a gateway to the economically important Dnipro region.
A survivor of clerical sex abuse tells his harrowing tale at St. Peter’s
(NYTimes) — A professional baritone, Laurence Gien has sung in some of the most storied opera houses in the world. So, he wasn’t particularly daunted by the glitter and gold of St. Peter’s Basilica. But speaking about his sexual abuse as a child at the hands of a priest — to an audience that included Pope Francis and dozens of bishops and cardinals — “was amazing for my own spiritual journey as a human being,” Gien said in an interview in his Rome hotel the next morning. It was the first time a survivor of clerical sexual abuse had spoken in a formal prayer service in the basilica, a Vatican spokesman said.
Three men arrested after explosions near Israeli embassy in Denmark
(NYTimes) — Police in Copenhagen, Denmark, arrested three men in connection with two explosions that occurred near the Israeli Embassy just north of the city early Wednesday. The assailants probably used two hand grenades, according to Jens Jespersen, the Copenhagen Police Department’s chief police inspector. The three men arrested were Swedish and between 15 and 20 years old, Jespersen said during a news conference Wednesday. Jespersen added that police were not looking for any more suspects. Police said no one was injured in the explosions, which were reported around 3:20 a.m. in Hellerup, a seaside suburb just north of Copenhagen that is home to several embassies.
Outrage in South Africa over farmers accused of feeding slain women to pigs
(NYTimes) — The white owner of a South African farm and two of his workers are accused of fatally shooting two Black women and dumping them in a pigsty, where police say they found the bodies decomposed and partly eaten. The episode in Limpopo province, northeast of Johannesburg, has sparked widespread outrage and ignited debate over some of South Africa’s most explosive issues: race, gender-based violence and tensions over land. Prosecutors say the two victims were looking for food when they trespassed onto the farm, which was known to community residents as a place where they could get discarded food.
Victim’s unsealed testimony reveals new details in Epstein case
(NYTimes) — One of Jeffrey Epstein’s many sexual abuse victims said the financier often had her followed and was so controlling that she felt she could not break free, according to a recently unsealed deposition in a now-settled class-action lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase. Excerpts from testimony by the woman identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe 1, who served as the lead plaintiff in the litigation filed on behalf of hundreds of sexual abuse victims, were unsealed Wednesday after a motion by The New York Times to Judge Jed Rakoff of U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
JD Vance and Tim Walz debate draws 43 million viewers
(NYTimes) — The vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz drew 43.1 million viewers Tuesday night, significantly fewer than the face-off between the vice presidential candidates in 2020, according to Nielsen. The debate in 2020, between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, drew 57.9 million viewers. Tuesday’s debate was also a significant drop-off from the presidential debate last month between Harris and former President Donald Trump. That event drew 67.1 million viewers. Still, Tuesday’s debate will rank as one of the most-watched live events for the year. Vice presidential debates have averaged roughly 46 million viewers going back to 1976, according to Nielsen.
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