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In the news today: Hurricane Helene is advancing toward Florida; Trump says Ukraine is ‘demolished’; and Israel is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon. Also, northern lights shine over Washington state.

GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken Wednesday, 5:51 p.m. EDT, shows Hurricane Helene in the Gulf of Mexico. (NOAA via AP)

CLIMATE

Hurricane Helene threatens ‘unsurvivable’ storm surge, forecasters say

Fast-moving Hurricane Helene was advancing Thursday across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, threatening a storm surge in northwestern parts of the state as well as damaging winds, rains and flash floods hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.S., forecasters said. Read more.

What to know:

• Helene is expected to be a major hurricane — meaning a Category 3 or higher — when it makes landfall on Florida’s northwestern coast Thursday evening. As of early Thursday, hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast up into south-central Georgia. The governors of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas have all declared emergencies in their states.
  
  

• The National Weather Service in Tallahassee forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and life-threatening” in Florida’s Apalachee Bay.
  
  

• Helene is forecast to be one of the largest storms in breadth in years to hit the region, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He said since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes were bigger than Helene’s predicted size: 2017’s Irma, 2005’s Wilma and 1995’s Opal.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Follow live updates: Hurricane Helene
  
  
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• Deadly flooding in Central Europe made twice as likely by climate change

POLITICS

Trump says Ukraine is ‘demolished’ and dismisses its defense against Russia’s invasion

Former President Donald Trump described Ukraine in bleak and mournful terms Wednesday, referring to its people as “dead” and the country itself as “demolished,” and further raising questions about how much the former president would be willing if elected again to concede in a negotiation over the country’s future. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Trump painted Ukraine as a country in ruins outside its capital, Kyiv, short on soldiers and losing population to war deaths and neighboring countries. He questioned whether the country has any bargaining chips left to negotiate an end to the war. “Any deal — the worst deal — would’ve been better than what we have now,” he said.
  
  

• Trump laid blame for the conflict on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He said Biden “egged it all on” by pledging to help Ukraine defend itself rather than pushing it to cede territory to Russia.
  
  

• Notably, Trump did not attack Putin’s reasoning for launching the invasion, only suggesting Putin would not have started the war had Trump been in office. He did say of Putin: “He’s no angel.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Speaker Johnson demands Zelenskyy remove Ukraine’s ambassador to US after Pennsylvania visit
  
  
• Putin lowers threshold of nuclear response as he issues new warnings to the West over Ukraine
  
  
• Harris is making a ‘capitalist’ pitch to boost the economy as Trump pushes deeper into populism

WORLD NEWS

Israel tells its troops to prepare for a possible ground operation in Lebanon

Israel is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon, its army chief said Wednesday as Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets across the border and a missile aimed at Tel Aviv that was the militant group’s deepest strike yet. Read more.

Recent developments:

• Addressing troops on the northern border, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Israel’s punishing airstrikes this week were designed to ”prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah.”
  
  

• The United States, France and other allies jointly called for an “immediate” 21-day cease-fire in the conflict that has killed more than 600 people to “provide space for diplomacy.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the ceasefire put forward from the U.S. and France was only a proposal and that he has not yet responded.
  
  

• Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have steadily escalated since war broke out 11 months ago between Israel and Hamas, another Iran-backed militant group. Hezbollah has been firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and Hamas. Israel has responded with increasingly heavy airstrikes and the targeted killing of Hezbollah commanders while threatening a wider operation.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• What to know about the growing conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah
  
  
• Iran’s president tells the UN that his country wants to play a ‘constructive role’ in world affairs
  
  
• Thousands are pouring into Syria, fleeing worsening conflict in Lebanon

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IN OTHER NEWS

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Fall vaccinations: It’s time to roll up sleeves for new COVID, flu shots

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WATCH

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Baby aardvark: An aardvark calf is born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

A CHANGE OF PACE

A table spread featuring a red rice dish from the cookbook "Does This Taste Funny: Recipes Our Family Loves" by Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert. (Eric Wolfinger/Celadon Books via AP)

Stephen & Evie Colbert’s red rice recipe, a dish both jammy and tangy
This red rice dish has its origins in South Carolina, where future late night talk show host Stephen Colbert ate it in elementary school. It uses smoked salt and anchovies instead of bacon and bacon grease. Colbert says he came up with this version after he and food writer Alison Roman made her caramelized shallot pasta sauce on “The Late Show.”

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