10 things you need to know today: September 2, 2019

(Image credit: EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP/Getty Images)

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1. Hurricane Dorian hits the Bahamas and threatens Florida
2. Death toll rises in West Texas mass shooting
3. Trump calls for Congress to help stop mass shootings
4. Trump says China trade talks still on as tariffs take effect
5. Hezbollah, Israel strikes raise tensions
6. Hong Kong students boycott first day of classes
7. German president asks Poland's 'forgiveness' on key World War II anniversary
8. Actor Kevin Hart, two others injured in car crash
9. Defending champion Djokovic out at U.S. Open
10. Verlander joins elite group with third career no-hitter

published 2 September 2019

1. Hurricane Dorian hits the Bahamas and threatens Florida

Hurricane Dorian crashed into Elbow Cay in the Bahamas' Abaco Islands on Sunday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm. With top sustained winds of 185 mph and gusts up to 225 mph, it is the most powerful storm on record to strike the Bahamas. Dorian tore roofs from buildings and ripped down power lines as people sheltered in schools and other strong structures on high ground. "It's devastating," said Joy Jibrilu, director general of the Bahamas' Ministry of Tourism and Aviation. "There has been huge damage to property and infrastructure. Luckily, no loss of life reported." The hurricane continued west toward Grand Bahama Island and Florida, with its top sustained winds dropping to 165 mph early Monday. Authorities ordered evacuations of some coastal areas in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

The death toll from a mass shooting in West Texas rose to seven from five, police said Sunday. Police identified the alleged gunman as Seth Aaron Ator, a white 36-year-old male who had just been fired from his trucking job. Witnesses said he opened fire with an assault-style rifle after fleeing a routine traffic stop and hijacking a mail truck. Twenty-two people, including motorists and shoppers, were wounded between Odessa and Midland. Ator was killed by police after being cornered in a movie-theater parking lot. The Saturday rampage was the second deadly mass shooting in Texas in four weeks. Police said there did not appear to be any link to domestic or international terrorism. "There are no definitive answers as to motive or reasons at this point," Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said.

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President Trump on Sunday called on Congress to work with him to "stop the menace of mass attacks." Trump spoke hours after the nation's latest deadly mass shooting occurred, in West Texas, and shortly after the death toll from the rampage rose to seven. Trump said any new laws would have to balance public safety with Second Amendment gun rights. Trump said it would be "wonderful" to promise progress toward eliminating mass shootings, but that it was unrealistic. "We want to substantially reduce the violent crime," he said. Trump came out in favor of stronger background checks for gun buyers after the shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school killed 17 people in 2018, but he backed off that proposal under pressure from the National Rifle Association.

President Trump said Sunday that trade talks with Beijing were still on even though both the U.S. and China imposed new tariffs on each other's goods starting Sept. 1. "We are talking to China, the meetings in September, that hasn't changed," Trump said. Trump's new tariffs, which he recently raised to 15 percent from an initially-announced 10 percent, hit $112 billion worth of Chinese imports. China imposed retaliatory tariffs on some products on a list of $75 billion worth of newly-targeted U.S. imports. The U.S. tariffs, along with a second round due to hit Dec. 15, affect $300 billion in Chinese imports. J.P. Morgan estimated the levies could cost the average U.S. household $1,000 per year.

Hezbollah on Sunday fired antitank missiles into northern Israel, which responded with artillery strikes against three villages in southern Lebanon. The exchange of fire came after Hezbollah threatened to retaliate over an Israeli airstrike in Syria that killed two of the Lebanese Shia Islamist group's commanders. The Hezbollah strike made good on the threat by targeting an Israeli military vehicle, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV station said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is heading into contentious elections on Sept. 17, said Hezbollah's strike was a failure. "We have no casualties, no injuries, not even a scratch," he said.

Hong Kong students boycotted classes in a pro-democracy protest on Monday, the first day of the new school year. High school students gathered outside their schools, kneeling, holding hands, and chanting, "Free Hong Kong! Democracy Now!" Organizers estimated 9,000 or more students from more than 200 schools were participating. Pro-democracy demonstrators also followed up a tense weekend of protests by disrupting transportation during rush hour, blocking train doors from closing in the city's mass transit railway stations. Several editorials in Chinese state media condemned the protests against Hong Kong's Beijing-backed government. An editorial on the state-run Xinhua news agency's site said "the end is coming for those attempting to disrupt Hong Kong."

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier marked the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II on Sunday by asking Poland's forgiveness for the conflict. "This war was a German crime," Steinmeier said during a ceremony attended by world leaders in the Polish city of Wielun, the target of one of the first Nazi bombings in the country. Elderly Polish war veterans also attended the event, as did a Holocaust survivor wearing a yellow Star of David and striped prison clothes like the ones Nazi death camp prisoners wore. "I bow to the victims of the attack in Wielun, I pay tribute to the Polish victims of German tyranny, and I ask for forgiveness," Steinmeier said. More than 50 million people died in World War II, including 6 million Poles.

Actor-comedian Kevin Hart suffered "major back injuries" in a car crash near his California home on Sunday. Hart was riding as a passenger in a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda he had bought in July as a 40th birthday gift to himself. The driver, Jared Black, lost control and the car fell down an embankment. Both Hart and Black were transported to hospitals for treatment. Black also suffered serious back injuries. A third person in the Calabasas, California, crash was also injured, but not severely. California Highway Patrol officers determined that the driver was not under the influence of alcohol.

Top-seeded Novak Djokovic dropped out of the U.S. Open on Sunday, pulling out in the third set of his match against fellow Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka due to an injured shoulder. Djokovic, the defending U.S. Open men's singles champ, said he had been bothered by the shoulder for weeks, and was taking painkillers. Wawrinka was leading the tennis match 6-4, 7-5, 2-1 when Djokovic walked up to the net to say he couldn't go on. Wawrinka now advances to the quarterfinals to play Daniil Medvedev. "I congratulate Stan," Djokovic said. "He's a great player. I really wish him all the best the rest of the tournament."

Justin Verlander pitched the third no-hitter of his career on Sunday, leading the Houston Astros to a 2-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Verlander (17-5) struck out 14 batters, a crowning achievement in a dominant season. He is the sixth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw three or more career no-hitters. The others include legendary pitchers Sandy Koufax, Cy Young, and Nolan Ryan, who holds the record with seven no-hitters. Verlander said he was "definitely aware" that he was making history. "It means a lot," Verlander said. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't know that. I've come so close. Since I've had two, I think I've blown two in the ninth and another couple in the eighth."

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.