GOP Tries to Stop Bleeding Ahead of Midterms

President Donald Trump and Republican leaders have begun campaigning for vulnerable candidates in the midterms as low polling plagues both Trump and GOP nominees for federal and state offices.

Trump has begun increasing his trips to battleground states in an attempt to shore up support among the party faithful, though the expanded battleground map, which now includes Republican states such as Alaska, Texas, Kansas, and Iowa, has put a strain on resources, both monetarily and logistically.

 Potentially competitive Democratic-held Senate seats include Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. 

Polo Weakens as Its Moisture Fuels Flooding in the Southwest

Hurricane Polo, which became the third Category 5 hurricane of the Pacific season last week, made landfall late Monday night in Baja California Sur as a strong Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph.

After crossing the Gulf of California, Polo came ashore again just east of Guaymas, Sonora, as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing flooding, power outages and fallen trees before weakening to a tropical storm inland. Before Polo reached Baja, the Santa Elena River in Jalisco overflowed and swept away a family's home in Talpa de Allende, killing both parents and two children. .

In the US, Polo and a jet-stream disturbance are pushing atmospheric moisture near or above record levels for late September across parts of the Southwest. Storms had already caused flash flooding Monday, prompting several water rescues in Bullhead City, Arizona. Flood watches covered about 28 million people early Tuesday, and Maricopa County sheriff's deputies performed several water rescues in and around Phoenix. Forecasters expect the threat to spread into the Plains and Midwest over the week.

 

25 Years After 9/11, Familiar Rituals and Unfinished Business

A quarter-century after hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, this month's anniversary kept its familiar rituals, with names read aloud and bells tolled.

On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al Qaeda hijackers seized four commercial jets, killing 2,977 people. More than 9,000 members of the federal World Trade Center Health Program have since died, though the program's death count includes deaths from all causes. This year, organizers added a seventh moment of silence for those lost to 9/11-related illnesses.

The attacks were followed by the 20-year U.S. war in Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, conflicts in which thousands of American service members and far more Afghans and Iraqis were killed. At home, they prompted the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration and passage of the Patriot Act, while reshaping debates over surveillance and the treatment of Muslim Americans.

All four living former presidents attended the Ground Zero ceremony, which has barred speeches by politicians since 2012. President Trump spoke at the Pentagon.

For many families, the milestone underscored unfinished business. The military trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind, and three co-defendants is scheduled to begin June 5, 2028. Terry Strada, whose husband died in the North Tower, drew cheers as she accused administration after administration, including the former presidents seated before her, of protecting Saudi Arabia rather than standing with the families. The kingdom has repeatedly denied involvement in the attacks.