Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, at 1:40 pm ET, as a powerful Category 4 storm. Professional storm chasers and journalists are capturing the massive storm and the damage it is causing to the Florida Panhandle, packing 155 mph sustained winds as of 1:30 pm ET.
Go deeper: Our full Hurricane Michael coverage ...
33 people in California have tested positive for the coronavirus, and health officials are monitoring 8,400 people who have recently returned from "points of concern," Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.
The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,850 people and infected over 83,000 others in some 50 countries and territories. The novel coronavirus is now affecting every continent but Antarctica, and the WHO said Wednesday the number of new cases reported outside China has exceeded those inside the country for the first time.
Family room without a family, in Idlib. Photo: Muhammed Said/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The worst humanitarian crisis of Syria’s brutal civil war is colliding today with what could be the war’s most dangerous geopolitical showdown, after at least 29 Turkish troops were killed in an airstrike.
The big picture: The fighting is taking place in Idlib in northwest Syria, where a ferocious Syrian and Russian offensive has displaced 1 million civilians and infuriated Turkey, which borders the region.
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