News Wrap: Rapidly intensifying Melissa becomes a hurricane in the Caribbean

In our news wrap Saturday, meteorologists predict catastrophic flooding in Jamaica and Haiti as Hurricane Melissa gains strength, new details emerged about the private donor who volunteered to pay U.S. troops as the government shutdown stretches on, early voting began in New York and New Jersey, and Trump denied reports that he plans to name the new White House ballroom after himself. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Ahead of Trump’s visit next week, China’s President Xi has launched a major crackdown on the country’s Christians, which number in the tens of millions. Earlier this month, Beijing arrested a prominent underground church pastor and more than 20 other clergy and parishioners. Nick Schifrin reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

To reach the isolated eastern Uganda mountain communities that need her help, nurse Agnes Nambozo scales a treacherous 1,000-foot ladder that is too steep for small children, mothers carrying babies and the sick to climb down. John Yang reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

The Trump administration launched a major military and diplomatic escalation in its new war on drugs, sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America and sanctioning Colombia's president. It comes as the U.S. has increasingly targeted political leaders it opposes across the region, and as the military has launched an unprecedented number of deadly strikes in the Caribbean. Nick Schifrin reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Friday, President Trump says he's ending trade negotiations with Canada because of a television ad making the case against U.S. tariffs, Secretary of State Rubio expressed confidence that the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas would hold and the Pentagon said it accepted a $130 million donation from a private donor to help pay the military during the government shutdown. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Thursday, European officials followed Washington’s lead in approving economic measures aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine, Lithuania's president said Russian military planes violated his country's airspace, Secretary of State Rubio visited Israel to preserve the fragile Gaza ceasefire and President Trump called off plans to send federal agents into San Francisco. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

President Trump took a step that he had not taken during his second term and imposed new sanctions on Russia. The Treasury Department announced the sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies and accused Putin of not taking Trump’s pursuit of peace in Ukraine seriously. Nick Schifrin reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Wednesday, a White House official confirms that the entirety of the East Wing is undergoing "modernization and renovation" for Trump's ballroom project, the U.S. military carried out a strike on what it called a drug-smuggling vessel in the Pacific Ocean and the Louvre reopened for the first time since a heist that saw thieves make off with jewels. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

President Trump is trying to end two brutal wars on two continents, and his pursuit of peace faces challenges in both Ukraine and Gaza. The administration says Trump has no plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin anytime soon. That's as Vice President Vance traveled to Israel to try to ensure a fragile ceasefire holds. Nick Schifrin reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Friday, Republican lawmakers signaled they're not backing down as the government shutdown extended to a 21st day, the jewels stolen in a heist at the Louvre are worth an estimated $102 million, former French President Sarkozy reported to prison to begin serving a five-year sentence and Japan's parliament elected Sanae Takaichi as the country's first female prime minister. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy