News

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane Lee is rapidly intensifying and is forecast to reach Category 5 intensity by Friday, then pass north of the Leeward Islands, but its future beyond that is uncertain regarding potential impacts later next week in Bermuda, Atlantic Canada and possibly parts of the Northeast Seaboard. Hurricane Lee is centered more than 700 miles east of …

The Messenger reports: Bill Gates bought 1.7 million shares of struggling Anheuser-Busch last quarter in a $95 million transaction made through The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Gates’s bet on Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, comes as the beer company struggles to recover from a conservative backlash to its …

The Associated Press reports: Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalized abortion nationwide Wednesday, two years after ruling that abortion was not a crime in one northern state. That earlier ruling had set off a grinding process of decriminalizing abortion state by state. Last week, the central state of Aguascalientes became the 12th state to decriminalize the procedure. Judges in states that still …

Congress Minutes reports: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse wrote to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Monday to lodge an ethics complaint against Justice Samuel Alito and ask Roberts to investigate. “On the Senate Judiciary Committee, we have heard in every recent confirmation hearing that it would be improper to express opinions on matters that might come before the Court,” Whitehouse (D-R.I.) …

The Independent reports: Burning Man attendees were permitted to begin exodus on Monday afternoon after severe flooding left thousands stuck on site. After heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary caused the typically dry Nevada ground to turn into a slippery mud pit, organisers for the festival said people can begin leaving and the annual burning of the man will occur …

Rolling Stone reports: Steve Harwell, who cofounded the band Smash Mouth in 1994, has died at the age of 56, band manager Robert Hayes confirmed. The musician, best known for hits like “All Star” and “I’m a Believer,” died at his home in Boise, ID “surrounded by family and friends.” Harwell had been in hospice care following medical complications. The …

NPR reports: The popular singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett died on Friday after living with Merkel cell skin cancer for four years, according to an announcement posted to his website on Sunday. “He continued to perform during treatment, playing his last show, a surprise appearance in Rhode Island, in early July,” the post read. Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare form of …

Bloomberg News reports: Apple is set to shift its iPhone charging port from Lightning to USB-C after pushing back on such a change for years. If Apple Inc. had its way, the iPhone would continue to use the current Lightning connector for the next few years — until the point when the company is ready to begin phasing out ports …

Reuters reports: Nevada authorities on Sunday said they were investigating one death after a severe rainstorm left tens of thousands of revelers attending the annual Burning Man festival stranded in mud, and asked that they shelter in place and conserve food and water. The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office in northern Nevada said in a statement that the death happened during …

Ars Technica reports: The day before a Texas anti-porn law that requires age verification to access adult websites was set to take effect, the state’s interim attorney general, Angela Colmenero, has been at least temporarily blocked from enforcing the law. US District Judge David Alan Ezra granted a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking enforcement after the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) joined …

The Associated Press reports: Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into an empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76. “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” a statement posted …

The Washington Post reports: The nation’s top health agency is recommending easing restrictions on marijuana in what could portend a landmark shift in federal policy on cannabis. The Department of Health and Human Services has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana be reclassified as a lower-risk, Schedule III controlled substance. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I controlled substance, …

Atlanta’s NBC affiliate reports: Eleven people were hospitalized after a Delta flight landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the airline said. A flight from Milan, Italy to Atlanta “experienced severe turbulence” just before landing in Atlanta. According to records on FlightAware, the flight landed just before 7 p.m. Tuesday. Delta said the plane had 151 passengers and 14 crew aboard …

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane I​dalia is beginning to make landfall as a Category 4 along Florida’s Gulf Coast, where it’s likely to bring catastrophic, life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds and flooding rain. I​dalia will then move quickly inland which will bring significant wind and flooding concerns, as well as the threat of tornadoes, into parts of Georgia, as well …

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane Idalia is producing bands of heavy rain, gusty winds and coastal flooding in Florida as it continues to intensify over the Gulf of Mexico ahead of its likely landfall at Category 3 strength Wednesday morning. Catastrophic, life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds and heavy rain are all expected along portions of the west coast of Florida …

Reuters reports: A U.S. judge has rejected Burger King’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that it cheated hungry customers by making its Whopper sandwich appear larger than it actually is. Customers in the proposed class action accused Burger King of portraying burgers with ingredients that “overflow over the bun,” making it appear that the burgers are 35% larger and …

Penn Live reports: A Pennsylvania man is in custody after police said he pointed a shotgun at two women and a police officer and attempted to enter a predominantly African-American church in Ambridge, Beaver County, Sunday morning. Authorities reported to the intersection of Duss Avenue and Fourth Street shortly after 9 a.m. for a report of a man walking around …

The Associated Press reports: Idalia became a hurricane on Tuesday as it intensified on a path toward Florida’s Gulf coast, with the National Hurricane Center warning of an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds in Florida in the next two days. It’s projected to have sustained winds of up to 120 mph (193 kph) as it …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Tropical Storm Idalia is anticipated to strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane as it enters the Gulf of Mexico, Florida’s emergency chief said on Monday morning as he urged Floridians to prepare for impacts. “People need to expect, even though they are well off outside of the cone, that we are going to have power …

Deutsche Welle reports: Russian investigators on Sunday confirmed that Yevgeny Prigozhin was among those who died in a plane crash in Russia earlier this week. Prigozhin was the leader of the Wagner private military group, which staged a mutiny against the Kremlin in late June. Russia’s Investigation Committee said that the results of genetic tests had confirmed the identities of …