Friday morning news: September 6, 2019

Hurricane Dorian pounds the Carolinas » Dorian is battering the North Carolina coast today. 

Ed Rappaport at the National Hurricane Center said the southeastern part of the state will take the first hit—with conditions worsening during the day. 

RAPPAPORT: Winds potentially going over 100 miles an hour with storm surge of 4 to 7 feet and rainfall of as much as 15 inches.  

The storm sideswiped South Carolina on Thursday with shrieking winds and sideways rain. In Charleston’s historic downtown, Wind gusts topped 80 miles per hour. Trees and power lines littered flooded streets. You could actually hear the sound of a live wire from one of those power lines… 

AUDIO: [Sound of live wire]

The hurricane also spun off tornadoes—peeling away roofs and flipping trailers. 

The storm has killed at least four people in the southeast. 

Meantime in the Bahamas, the death toll has risen to at least 30. And the Bahamian health minister said Thursday that he expects that number to increase “significantly” as crews continue search and rescue missions.

Dorian hit the Abaco Islands on Sunday as a Category 5 hurricane and then hovered over Grand Bahama for a day and a half as a Category 4.

China, U.S. trade negotiators to meet in early October » Negotiators for the U.S. and China will meet early next month for another attempt to end the trade war. 

Stock markets rose following Thursday’s announcement. 

Trade envoys had been expected to meet this month in Washington before the Chinese government cast doubt over those talks. In a statement, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said the two sides will work together in the coming weeks to create—quote—”favorable conditions” for the October meeting.

U.S. service member, at least 11 others killed in Kabul bombing » Another Taliban attack in Kabul, Afghanistan has killed more than 10 people, including a U.S. service member. WORLD Radio’s Anna Johansen has that story. 

ANNA JOHANSEN, REPORTER: A car bomb exploded Thursday in Kabul in an area that houses the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters. Officials confirmed that a U.S. service member died in the attack, but did not provide details.

The blast also killed at least 10 civilians in the second deadly Taliban attack in a week. 

U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad recently reached an agreement “in principle” with the Taliban on a peace deal. And this week he visited Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul to discuss a possible pact. 

But Ghani said—quote—“Peace with a group that is still killing innocent people is meaningless.”

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Anna Johansen. 

Iran set to speed up uranium enrichment » Iran is set to speed up its enrichment of uranium once again as it works toward building a nuclear weapon. 

ROUHANI: [Speaking in Farsi]

In a televised address, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his government will start developing centrifuges to speed up the process.

He said—quote—“All limitations on our Research and Development will be lifted on Friday.”

The 2015 nuclear deal continues to unravel despite efforts by European countries to rescue it. But Rouhani said Iran will give them two more months to figure out a way to save the pact. And Iran reportedly released seven crew members from the detained British-flagged oil tanker in a goodwill gesture.

Judge rules terror watchlist violates constitutional rights » A federal judge has ruled the government’s terror watchlist is unconstitutional. WORLD Radio’s Kristen Flavin reports. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The U.S. government has compiled a watchlist of more than 1 million people identified as “known or suspected terrorists.” 

But U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga ruled this week that the list violates the constitutional rights of those named on it. The judge wants more information before deciding what remedy to impose.

The ruling grants summary judgment to nearly two dozen Muslim U.S. citizens who had challenged the watchlist.

The plaintiffs said they were wrongly placed on it and that the government’s process for adding names is too broad and riddled with errors.

Lawyers for the FBI argued that the difficulties suffered by the plaintiffs pale in comparison to the government’s interests in preventing terrorism.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Kristen Flavin. 

NFL season kicks off » It is officially football season. 

AUDIO: [National Anthem]

The Star Spangled Banner heard there in Chicago last night as the Bears and the Green Bay Packers prepared to kick off the NFL season. 

AUDIO: The 38 yard field goal is good!

Bear’s kicker Eddy Pineiro delivering the first 3 points of the season with that field goal. But those were the only points Chicago scored all night as the Packers pulled out the win in a low-scoring affair 10-to-3. 

That was the only game last night. Most everyone else kicks off on Sunday with 13 games on the schedule—including a nightcap with the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers.

(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) Volunteers walk under the wind and rain of Hurricane Dorian, on a flooded road after rescuing several families that arrived on small boats, near the Causarina bridge in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. 

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