Sign up for our daily briefing

Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Denver news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Des Moines news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Tampa Bay news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Charlotte news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Maria levels entire towns, leaves Puerto Rico without power

Two girls play on cots at Humacao Arena refugee center in Puerto Rico Tuesday while waiting for the imminent impact of Maria. Photo: Carlos Giusti / AP

Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico just after 6:15 a.m. this morning as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 155mph. It has since been downgraded to a Category 2 with winds at 110mph off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. Homes are flooding and power lines have been downed across the entire island. Officials predict entire towns will have to be rebuilt.

Maria is the most powerful hurricane to threaten the region in almost 90 years.

Up next: The Dominican Republic is expected to experience hurricane conditions soon and Maria is expected to move to the Turks and Caicos Islands and to the southeastern Bahamas Thursday morning.

The latest:

  • The governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosello, implemented a curfew, 6pm-6am effective Wednesday to Saturday.
  • One of Puerto Rico's biggest shelters lost its roof, according to witness accounts. More than 500 shelters were opened, per Rosello.
  • At least 7 have died from the hurricane in Dominica. 2 reportedly died on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. The U.S. Virgin Islands Operations Center said it was too dangerous to check on St. Croix residents.

Go deeper: Caribbean islands leveled by back-to-back hurricanes

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 9 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Health: Pandemic fatigue quantified — The pandemic could be worsening childhood obesity.
  2. Vaccine: Moderna says vaccine appears to protect against new COVID-19 variants — Cities launch efforts to vaccinate the homeless.
  3. Politics: Deborah Birx went "on the road" for local COVID efforts to avoid White House censorship — Sanders says Democrats will push coronavirus relief package through with simple majority.
  4. Business: Budweiser skips Super Bowl ads in favor of vaccine education campaign.
  5. World: Mexican President López Obrador tests positive for coronavirus.
  6. 🎧 Podcast: Google's chief health officer Karen DeSalvo on vaccinating America.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Lachlan Markay
14 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Trump political team disavows "Patriot Party" groups

Marine One carries President Trump away from the White House on Inauguration Day. Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Donald Trump's still-active presidential campaign committee officially disavowed political groups affiliated with the nascent "Patriot Party" on Monday.

Why it matters: Trump briefly floated the possibility of creating a new political party to compete with the GOP — with him at the helm. But others have formed their own "Patriot Party" entities during the past week, and Trump's team wants to make clear it has nothing to do with them.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Orion Rummler
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

DOJ watchdog to probe whether officials sought to alter election results

Donald and Melania Trump exit Air Force One in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 20. Photo: Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

The Justice Department's inspector general will investigate whether any current or former DOJ officials "engaged in an improper attempt to have DOJ seek to alter the outcome" of the 2020 election, the agency announced Monday.

Driving the news: The investigation comes in the wake of a New York Times report that alleged Jeffrey Clark, the head of DOJ's civil division, had plotted with President Trump to oust acting Attorney General Jeffery Rosen in a scheme to overturn the election results in Georgia.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow