Tuesday morning news: October 16, 2018

Recovery efforts continue in storm ravaged Florida panhandle » President Trump witnessed the devastation of Hurricane Michael firsthand on Monday, viewing the destruction from his Marine One helicopter. He told reporters the damage was shocking.

TRUMP: I’ve seen pictures but it’s hard to believe when you’re above it in a plane and to see the total devastation. To see no houses left, not even the pads, it’s incredible. 

The president also toured storm damage in Georgia.

The official death toll from the storm now stands at 18. But some good news Monday: the number of people still unaccounted for in the hard-hit coastal town of Mexico Beach is down to 3. As of Sunday, more than 30 residents were missing.

Officials continue search and recovery efforts, using dogs to locate possible victims or survivors buried in rubble.  

The storm also largely destroyed nearby Tyndall Air Force Base. But Florida Senator Bill Nelson said Monday it’s important to rebuild…

NELSON: Because of the critical location of Tyndall right next to the Gulf training and testing range, which is our largest testing range for the United States military in the world.

He acknowledged rebuilding will be a long process.

Investigators enter Saudi Consulate where Khashoggi vanished » Before departing for Florida, President Trump spoke to reporters Monday about the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

He said he’s sending Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Saudi Arabia to meet with the Saudi king about the matter. But he added that he’s also spoken personally with King Salman by phone.  

TRUMP: The king firmly denied any knowledge of it. He didn’t really know, maybe—I don’t want to get into his mind—but it sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers. Who knows? 

But the president said his administration will get to the bottom of it.

Meantime, Turkish crime scene investigators dressed in overalls and gloves entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where Khashoggi disappeared nearly two weeks ago.

Investigators carrying files and equipment walked through the heavy metal doors of the consulate after sunset. The search represents new cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia in the investigation.

Somali bombings kill at least 16 people » Officials in Somalia are confirming now that a terrorist attack over the weekend killed more than dozen people and wounded 30 others. WORLD Africa reporter Onize Ohikere reports.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: At least 16 people are dead after a pair of bombings by extremists in the town of Baidoa.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber walked into a restaurant and set off his explosives, while another explosion went off in a nearby hotel.

The al-Qaeda–linked extremist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for both bombings.

The attacks occurred a day before Somalia marked the first anniversary of its deadliest terror attack—a truck explosion that killed more than 500 people.

A Somali military official this week confirmed the execution of Hassan Aden Isaq, an al-Shabaab extremist linked to the truck attack.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Onize Ohikere.

Harvard discrimination trial opens » A legal fight is underway this week in a federal court in Boston over Harvard University’s consideration of race in its admissions process. It’s a battle that could ultimately land at the Supreme Court and could have a big impact on affirmative action policies across the country.

Virginia-based Students for Fair Admissions claims Harvard unfairly rejected qualified Asian applicants in the name of racial diversity. Group president Edward Blum said Monday…

BLUM: We have spent four years gathering evidence. That evidence now goes before the court, and we are hopeful and confident that based on the weight of that evidence the court will decide that Harvard’s admissions policies are unconstitutional. 

The suit, filed in 2014 argues Harvard holds Asian-American applicants to higher academic standards and practices “racial balancing,” which has been ruled unconstitutional.

Harvard denies the charges and said race was only one factor in its application process. University leaders also point to earlier Supreme Court rulings that gave schools some leeway to consider race during the admissions process.

Sears files for bankruptcy protection » Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, with plans to shutter 142 stores. The company says it’s hopeful a smaller version of Sears will be better positioned to compete.

But many analysts, including America’s Research Group chairman Britt Beemer say the iconic retailer is unlikely to emerge from bankruptcy.

BEEMER: It’s just a matter of days, weeks and months before Sears is totally gone.

Twelve years ago, shares of Sears were worth $145 dollars. As of Monday, 31¢.

At its peak, the operator of Sears and Kmart had 4,000 stores but will now be left with a little more than 500.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies at 65 » Paul G. Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Bill Gates, has died.  

Two weeks ago, Allen announced that the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma he was treated for in 2009 had returned.

Allen owned the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks and was an active philanthropist. Over the course of several decades, he gave more than $2 billion to, among other things, conservation causes and homeless charities.

Paul G. Allen was 65 years old.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: June Cheng will discuss a new report that sheds light on human rights in China. And Marvin Olasky with a tribute to a poverty-fighting hero. This is The World and Everything in It.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) A Lynn Haven, Fla., homeowner talks with FEMA director Brock Long, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Margo Anderson, Mayor of Lynn Haven, Fla., as they tour a neighborhood affected by Hurricane Michael, Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, in Lynn Haven, Fla. 

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