Thursday morning news: September 12, 2024

SOUND: [Weather]

Hurricane Francine » Hurricane Francine slammed coastal Louisiana last night as a Category 2 with sideways rain bending trees with winds about 100 miles per hour.

Saint Mary Parish Sheriff Gary Driskell said officials have been preparing for the cleanup.

DRISKELL: For days now, we've been prepping for the storm, getting different things together; chainsaws, so that we can clear off roads because if they're closed, we can't get to people that need help. We have high water vehicles, boats, you name it.

The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi have both declared states of emergency with many local officials having ordered evacuations of low-lying areas.

With downed trees and power lines, New Orleans Fire Chief Roman Nelson urged residents to stay out of harm’s way.

NELSON: If at all possible, stay at home and help us to do our job.

The storm is forecast to drop rain on much of the southeast in the coming days and stretching as far north as the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.

Typhoon Yagi » Meantime in Vietnam, a flash flood swept away a hamlet in a northern region killing 22 people with dozens missing. That pushes the official death toll from Typhoon Yagi well over 150.

Local media said floodwaters gushing down from a mountain buried a hamlet with 35 families in mud and debris.

Yagi made landfall Saturday as the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades.

Speaker on Johnson funding bill » House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled back a stopgap government funding bill shortly before a planned vote on Wednesday.

JOHNSON:  No vote today because we're in the consensus building, uh, business here in Congress with small majorities. That's what you do.

That speaker conceding that he’s still working to lock down the support of more Republicans.

JOHNSON: We're having thoughtful conversations, family conversations within the Republican conference, and I believe we'll get there.

Johnson and other top Republicans want to tie government funding to a bill that would require voters to show proof of citizenship before casting a ballot.

Democrats argue it's already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and that the bill adds unnecessary barriers to voting.

Aid for Ukraine's energy grid » The United States and Britain pledged nearly $1.5 billion in combined additional aid to Ukraine Wednesday during a visit to Kyiv by their top diplomats.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy:

LAMMY:  This is the first time in well over a decade that a Secretary of State from the U. S. and a Foreign Secretary in the U. K. have traveled together, and that is to reiterate our complete support for the Ukrainian struggle. We come here at a critical moment.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken announced more than $300 million dollars in new funding to help repair Ukraine’s energy grid amid Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure.

BLINKEN: As we're meeting here today, we're again seeing Putin dust off his winter playbook, targeting Ukrainian energy and electricity systems to weaponize the cold against the Ukrainian people.

Ukrainian officials also used the occasion to renew their pleas to use Western-provided missiles against targets deeper inside Russia.

Blinken said he listened intently and will take that message back to the White House.

Mexico judicial overhaul » The Mexican government has moved one step closer to a massive controversial overhaul of its courts. WORLD’s Paul Butler has more.

PAUL BUTLER: The Mexican Senate on Wednesday approved legislation that would make nearly every seat on the bench an elected position. Nearly all of the country’s more than 7,000 judges and magistrates would no longer be appointed, but would instead have to win a popular vote.

Critics say the move will politicize the courts and allow less experienced judges in important positions.

SOUND: [Protesters]

Hundreds of protesters stormed the Senate Tuesday night in an attempt to thwart the vote, but to no avail.

The Senate approved the changes by a 2-to-1 margin.

The lower house of Congress passed the plan last week.

Both outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum support the measure.

But before the legislation can take effect, it must be ratified by a majority of Mexico’s 32 states.

For WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

Inflation » U.S. inflation continued to cool in August, hitting a three-year low. Consumer prices rose 2.5% from a year ago, down from July's 2.9% increase. That marks the fifth straight month of slowing price growth.

The latest numbers pave the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates for the first time since 2020. The Fed is expected to lower rates by a one-quarter of a 1 percent.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: parental responsibility after a school shooting. Plus, displaced Christians in Mexico.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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