The Short List

Wed Sep 25 2024

Laura L. Davis | Audience Editor

@lauradavis

Helene reached hurricane status as it bears down on Florida. Three Outer Banks, North Carolina, houses have fallen into the ocean over the past week. And will the current COVID-19 downswing last?

👋Hey, Wednesday! Laura Davis here, writing to you from Central Florida, where we have made our customary Publix trips to stock up on supplies (and snacks) as we hunker down and prepare for Helene's arrival. If you're also in the path, I hope you stay safe! To stay in the loop, sign up for our text updates on the weather. In the meantime, here's Wednesday's biggest news.

But first: A scary surprise. 🐻 No one wants to come face-to-face with an intruder in their homes, especially one with four legs.

Hurricane Helene forms, eyeing Florida

Growing more fearsome as it rakes across the Gulf of Mexico, Helene reached hurricane status Wednesday and was forecast to make landfall late Thursday as a devastating Category 3 hurricane.

What's in the forecast? The National Hurricane Center said Helene would rapidly strengthen over the eastern Gulf of Mexico before making landfall while driving winds of 120-125 mph − and warned that "upward adjustments to the forecast intensity" could be required as the storm closes in.

Landfall warnings: The storm was expected to make landfall somewhere along the Florida Panhandle − possibly the Big Bend area, the curve of Florida's peninsula around the Gulf of Mexico − by late Thursday. 👉 Follow our live updates.

•	Tracking the storm: See Helene's projected path.
•	'Uninhabitable for weeks or months': Why Helene's category matters.

🌀From our reporters on the ground in Florida:

•	Helene could the be worst hurricane impact in living memory for many Floridians.
•	How to prepare and protect your car ahead of a hurricane.

People fill sandbags on Wednesday at Helen Howarth Park ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Helene in Pinellas Park, Fla.

Joe Raedle, Getty Images

🎥 Watch: Residents prep for arrival of Hurricane Helene.

Another Outer Banks home collapses into the ocean

A third house has collapsed within a week on the Outer Banks island of Hatteras in North Carolina as storms grow in intensity and rising sea levels encroach on beachfront homes. North Carolina park officials warned swimmers and surfers to avoid the beaches in Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo due to the debris floating amid the waves. The collapse of the unoccupied house, which occurred Tuesday afternoon, comes after two other beachfront houses in Rodanthe collapsed within hours of one another on Friday. 👉 See more about the collapses.

🎥 Watch: Outer Banks house collapses into the ocean.

Houses in Rodanthe – as well as others adjacent to the seashore – have been especially susceptible to coastal erosion caused by a combination of winds, waves, tides and rising seas, the National Park Service said.

National Park Service

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Support the Short List and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today.

Middle East tensions flare

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified this week as Lebanon experienced its single deadliest day in decades, escalating a conflict that has been brewing with the Lebanese militant group.

What's going on now? On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired a rocket toward Tel Aviv amid Israel airstrikes that killed more than 500 people on Monday, pushing both sides closer to a wider war. The group, an ally of Hamas, has ramped up its rocket fire on Israel ever since its siege of Gaza began following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. An all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel could have devastating consequences. 👉 We break down the conflict.

Smoke billows over southern Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.

Aziz Taher, REUTERS

Summer COVID surge is slowing

After a summer wave of COVID-19 swept across the country, cases are falling after a peak in early August, surveillance data shows.

By the numbers: The percentage of positive COVID-19 tests dropped from 17.8% the week of Aug. 10 to 14.9% the week of Sept. 7, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A substantial wave: Summer travel for vacations and gatherings typically drives a bigger wave of COVID-19 cases – but experts say this summer's wave was a particularly large one. 📊 See more data.

A break from the news

•	😷 Smelly airplane seat neighbor? Here's what to do.
•	🍿 Why Amy Poehler wants Beyoncé for 'Inside Out 3.'

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hi: laura@usatoday.com. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.