By JONATHAN DREW WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — The big slosh has begun, and the consequences could be disastrous. Hurricane Florence’s leading edge battered the Carolina coast Thursday, bending trees and shooting frothy sea water over streets on the Outer Banks, as the hulking storm closed in with 100 mph (155 kph) winds for a drenching…
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST , Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Elizabeth Smart said Thursday the news that one of her kidnappers will be released next week was “a big shock,” but while she urged authorities to reconsider the decision she also conceded there is no viable, legal recourse for her to pursue. Wanda Barzee…
By JEFFREY COLLINS , Associated Press MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — The outer bands of wind and rain from Hurricane Florence began lashing North Carolina on Thursday as the monster storm moved in for an extended stay along the Southeastern coast, promising to drench the homes of 10 million people with immense amounts of water.…
By JEFFREY COLLINS , Associated Press MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Time is running short to flee Hurricane Florence, a monster of a storm zeroing in on the Southeastern coast with more than 10 million people in its potentially devastating sights. Florence’s top sustained wind speeds dropped from a high of 140 mph (225 kph)…
By JEFFREY COLLINS , Associated Press MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Hurricane Florence put a corridor of more than 10 million people in the crosshairs Wednesday as the monster storm closed in on the Carolinas, uncertainty over its projected path spreading worry across a widening swath of the Southeast. Faced with new forecasts that showed…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday authorizing sanctions against foreigners who meddle in U.S. elections, acting amid criticism that he has not taken election security seriously enough. “We felt it was important to demonstrate the president has taken command of this issue, that it’s something he cares deeply about —…
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis summoned the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences Wednesday to a summit on preventing clergy sex abuse and protecting children, responding to the greatest crisis of his papacy with the realization that Vatican inaction on the growing global scandal now threatens his legacy. Francis’ key cardinal advisers announced plans…
NEW YORK (AP) — CBS News on Wednesday fired “60 Minutes” top executive Jeff Fager, who has been under investigation following reports that he groped women at parties and tolerated an abusive workplace. The network news president, David Rhodes, said Fager’s firing was “not directly related” to the allegations against him, but because he violated…
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and AUDREY McAVOY , Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Maui was hit with heavy rain and powerful winds Wednesday as a gradually weakening tropical storm neared Hawaii, with forecasters predicting Tropical Storm Olivia could dump 5 to 10 inches (12 to 25 centimeters) of rain. Some places could get as much…
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Florence (all times local): 4:40 p.m. Forecasters at the University of Michigan predict that 2.4 million people will lose power from Hurricane Florence and some outages could be prolonged. That’s about one-fourth the number who suffered outages from Hurricane Sandy, which hit a more populated area around…