North Korea

Happening Today: Hurricane Irma, Prince William, North Korea, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Bennett

What to Know

  • Hurricane Irma killed at least 10 people in the Caribbean islands as the dangerous storm roared over the area and headed toward the D.R.
  • Rush Limbaugh is suggesting the "panic" caused by Irma benefits retailers, the media and politicians seeking action on climate change
  • Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett accused Las Vegas police of racially motivated excessive force

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Hurricane Irma Brings Death and Destruction to the Caribbean

Hurricane Irma has killed at least 10 people and injured others in the Caribbean islands as the dangerous Category 5 storm roared over the Caribbean and headed toward the Dominican Republic. Speaking on French radio France Info, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said rescue teams have yet to finish their inspection of the islands Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthelemy, where at least two people have died, NBC News reported. "The reconnaissance will really start at daybreak," Collomb said. Irma blacked out much of Puerto Rico, raking the U.S. territory with heavy wind and rain while staying just out to sea, and it headed early Thursday toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti. To the east, authorities struggled to get aid to small Caribbean islands devastated by the storm's record 185 mph winds, while people in Florida rushed to get ready for a possible direct hit on the Miami area.

Prince William Takes George to 1st Day of School, But Kate Stays Home With Illness

Prince William's pregnant wife Kate was too ill with morning sickness to take young Prince George to his first day of school. The 4-year-old prince arrived at school holding the hand of his father. Kate had planned to accompany them but canceled. "Unfortunately the Duchess of Cambridge remains unwell," a Kensington Palace statement said. George arrived on time for his first day at Thomas's Battersea school in south London. He was met by Helen Haslem, a senior teacher who introduced him to the other students. The palace said earlier this week that Kate is pregnant with her third child and is suffering from acute morning sickness, as in her earlier pregnancies.

U.S. Proposes U.N. Ban on Oil to North Korea, Asset Freeze

The United States is seeking the toughest-ever U.N. sanctions on North Korea that would ban all oil and natural gas exports to the northeast Asian nation and freeze all foreign financial assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un. The U.S.-drafted resolution, circulated to council members and obtained by The Associated Press, would also prohibit North Korea from exporting textiles and ban all countries from hiring and paying workers from the northeast Asian nation — two key sources of foreign currency. The proposed resolution identifies nine cargo vessels that have carried out activities for North Korea prohibited by previous U.N. sanctions resolutions and would subject them to inspection by government warships, vessels or aircraft. It would authorize the 192 other U.N. member states to stop these ships on the high seas to inspect their cargo without their consent and to use "all necessary measures" — which in U.N. language includes force — to carry out an inspection and direct the vessel to a port. This would also apply to any other vessels designated by the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea.

U.S. Adds Launchers to THAAD as Dozens Hurt in South Korea Protests

Dozens of people were injured in clashes between South Korean protesters and police as the U.S. military added more launchers to the high-tech missile-defense system it installed in a southern town to better cope with North Korean threats. Seoul has hardened its stance against Pyongyang after its torrent of weapons tests, the latest a detonation of what North Korea said was a thermonuclear weapon built for missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. The clashes came as South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe met in eastern Russia and repeated their calls for stronger punishment of North Korea over its nuclear ambitions, including denying the country oil supplies. The demand contradicted the stance of their host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in an earlier meeting with Moon dismissed sanctions as a solution. In the rural town of Seongju, thousands of police officers in riot gear swarmed some 400 protesters who since had been occupying a road leading to a former golf course where the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense System is installed.

Rush Limbaugh's Dismissal of Irma “Panic” Riles Forecasters

Rush Limbaugh has created a storm of his own by suggesting that the "panic" caused by Hurricane Irma benefits retailers, the media and politicians seeking action on climate change. The conservative radio personality's swerve into meteorology had Al Roker, the "Today" show weatherman, saying Limbaugh was putting people's lives at risk. Limbaugh's lengthy soliloquy on his radio show the day before was apparently set off by seeing a rush on supplies of bottled water in south Florida, where he lives. The powerful Hurricane Irma is still in the Atlantic Ocean, but forecasters warn it could affect Florida by the weekend. Businesses that sell supplies like batteries and water prosper amid fears of an impending hurricane, Limbaugh said. He said the media makes impending storms appear bigger and more dangerous than they are.

Seahawks' Michael Bennett Says He Feared Death at Hands of Police

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett accused Las Vegas police of racially motivated excessive force, saying he was threatened at gunpoint and handcuffed following a report of gunshots at an after-hours club at a casino-hotel. Police said they're investigating, but that Bennett failed to stop for officers searching a crowded casino for what they believed to be an active shooter just hours after the Aug. 26 boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor. Bennett said on a Twitter message titled "Dear World," that police "singled me out and pointed their guns at me for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time." Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill aired a lengthy video clip taken from a police sergeant's body camera during a search of the Cromwell casino after a report of gunfire at the Drai's nightclub. But he said at least one officer who encountered Bennett didn't have his body camera on at the time.

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