Good morning. It's Wednesday, Aug. 26, and the Gulf Coast is bracing for the year's first major hurricane. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Hurricane Laura Strengthens

Hurricane Laura is now expected to strengthen into a Category 3 storm, with forecasts predicting landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border overnight tonight. If projections hold, Laura would become the first major hurricane—defined as Category 3 or higher—of the busy Atlantic storm season. Hundreds of thousands of residents along the Texas coast were under evacuation orders, with peak winds expected near 115 miles per hour and a storm surge of more than 10 feet. Some areas are expected to see up to 15 inches of rain.

Laura follows Tropical Storm Marco, which broke up overnight Monday as it approached the eastern Gulf Coast. Early models suggest the system will veer eastward once inland, eventually bringing storm conditions to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast over the weekend (see trajectory). Laura's arrival comes almost 15 years to the day Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans. 

See real-time satellite imagery of Laura here.

California Fires

Officials in California said yesterday improvements in weather conditions helped firefighters make progress in calming historic wildfires surrounding the Bay Area. Along with cooler temperatures, expected lightning storms—which ignited the existing fires—did not materialize. Reinforcements from 10 states have also added support.

North of Napa, the LNU Lightning Complex has burned through more than 356,000 acres and was 27% contained as of this morning. The SCU Lightning Complex has burned 365,000 acres east of San Jose and is at 20% containment. The CZU Lightning Complex has burned almost 80,000 acres north of Santa Cruz and is 20% contained. Since mid-August, more than 1.25 million acres—an area six times larger than New York City—have been consumed by more than 650 separate fires across the state (live map).

At least seven people have died and more than 1,200 structures destroyed; see photos here. 

Wild Polio Eradicated in Africa

An independent organization of health officials has officially declared wild polio eradicated in Africa. The milestone marks the culmination of a three-decade vaccination effort to eliminate a virus that once killed thousands of children on the continent each year. It also represents a major step toward global immunization—only Afghanistan and Pakistan still report cases. 

In a small percentage of patients, the highly contagious virus—typically transmitted via contaminated water—attacks the nervous system, and can cause temporary or permanent paralysis (fatal in some cases). With no known cure, the disease was one of the most feared until a vaccine was developed in the late 1950s. It was eliminated in the Western Hemisphere in 1991, but doctors have faced challenges reaching full (more than 95% for polio) immunization levels in underdeveloped countries. 

A weakened form of the virus—which originated in vaccines, but escaped due to low vaccination rates—continues to circulate in Africa.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Lionel Messi, widely regarded as the world’s best soccer player, reportedly intends to leave FC Barcelona after nearly 20 years with the team (More) | Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito throws first no-hitter of the season (More)

> “Joe Exotic” limited drama series starring SNL’s Kate McKinnon gets cross-platform release on NBC, USA, and Peacock (More) | Gail Sheehy, influential journalist and author of bestselling book “Passages,” dies at 83 (More)

> Track legend Usain Bolt tests positive for COVID-19 after maskless birthday party, becomes one of the most high-profile athletes to contract the coronavirus (More)

Science & Technology

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> AstroZeneca begins testing antibody-based treatment for existing COVID-19 cases (More) | More than 20,000 coronavirus cases linked to a single February scientific conference in Boston (More) | US deaths at 178,524 as of this morning; new US cases averaging 43,000 per day, still elevated but down 20% since August peak (More)

> In scientific first, researchers disable a neurological pathway of a primate while monitoring the result in real time; snipping the connection showed an instant decrease in motivation but not in learning behavior (More)

> Russia declassifies and releases new 1961 footage of Tsar Bomba, the largest hydrogen bomb ever detonated (More, w/video—action begins around 22:30)

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Business & Markets

> New US home sales increase 13.9% in July, highest monthly growth since 2006 (More) | US consumer confidence slips for second consecutive month, drops to a six-year low (More)

> American Airlines will likely cut workforce by 40,000 in October assuming no additional government aid—airline received $25B stimulus in March; shares fall nearly 3% (More)

> Meet the promising startups from Y Combinator’s Summer Demo Days (Day 1, Day 2) | Y Combinator 101, the world’s leading startup accelerator (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Melania Trump speaks during second night of the Republican National Convention, watch remarks here (Watch) | Trump to nominate acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to permanently fill post (More)

> Jacob Blake, whose shooting by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, sparked protests, said to be at least partially paralyzed (More) | Reports say multiple people shot, one person killed in confrontation as Kenosha protests turn violent; shooter said to have carried a long gun (More) | At least 68 arrested during demonstration over death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky (More)

> Typhoon Bavi heads toward North Korea at the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane; rains could threaten harvest season in food-insecure country (More)

ETCETERA

Happy Women's Equality Day—see the history here. 

Mesmerizing slow-motion videos of strange insects taking flight.

Painted turbine blades drop bird deaths by 70%. 

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Amazon to let you decorate your living room via augmented reality.

Apple's newest store is a giant glowing, floating orb.

This ancient preserved pup ate one of the last woolly rhinos. 

Actress Jennifer Garner (very) moved by "The Office" finale.

Dead body found not so dead by funeral home workers.

Clickbait: A fittingly terrible trend for 2020.

Historybook: Mother Teresa born (1910); 19th Amendment, granting US women right to vote, takes effect (1920); First televised Major League Baseball game (1939); RIP aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh (1974).

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."

- Mother Teresa

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