Trump Says He Will Not Talk to North Korea. Experts Fear He Will.

President Trump vowed on Wednesday that he would not talk to Kim Jong-un, cooling off what has become his on-again, off-again cultivation of North Korea’s rogue dictator.

But if Mr. Trump’s tweet, in which he said, “talking is not the answer!,” seemed to reignite tensions with North Korea, it also revealed a paradox in how Asia experts view the crisis. Some fear less that Mr. Trump is going to start a war with Mr. Kim than that he is going to stumble into a risky, unpredictable dialogue with him.

The world’s attention has understandably focused on Mr. Trump’s saber-rattling threats against Mr. Kim — most dramatically, his promise to rain “fire and fury” on North Korea if Mr. Kim fired ballistic missiles at United States territory.

But a meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim, these experts said, could open the door to ratifying North Korea’s nuclear status or scaling back America’s joint military exercises with South Korea. That could sunder American alliances with Japan and South Korea and play to the benefit of China, which has long advocated direct dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

“What the North Koreans are angling for is to bring the danger and tension to a crescendo, and then to pivot to a peace proposal,” said Daniel R. Russel, who served until March as the assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs. “All of this is focused on pressuring the U.S. to enter direct talks with Kim on his terms. That is the big trap.”Continue reading the main story

Previous presidents avoided that trap, Mr. Russel said, even if Bill Clinton briefly contemplated meeting Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il. But Mr. Trump brings a deal-maker’s swagger to the North Korea issue that his predecessors did not. He has in the past expressed a willingness to sit across a table from the willful young scion of North Korea’s ruling family.

“I would speak to him,” Mr. Trump said during the presidential campaign. “I would have no problem speaking to him.” Last April, he said, “If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely; I would be honored to do it.”

While the Pentagon has drawn up options for a military strike on the North, officials concede it would be all but impossible, given the retaliation it would provoke and the calamitous casualties that would result. Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s former chief strategist, reflected that internal consensus when he told The American Prospect, “There’s no military solution. Forget it.”

That leaves diplomacy, which Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and other officials have made clear is still the administration’s preferred course. If North Korea curbs its behavior, Mr. Tillerson said recently, there is a “pathway to sometime in the early future having some dialogue.”

Hours after Mr. Trump ruled out talks on Twitter, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis contradicted him. “We’re never out of diplomatic solutions,” he told reporters. In Geneva, Robert A. Wood, the American ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, said the United States remained open to dialogue. “We do not seek to be a threat to the Kim Jong-un regime,” he said.

You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services.

Trying to explain Mr. Trump’s tweet, Mr. Wood, who was once the State Department’s acting spokesman, said, “What the president is saying is that he doesn’t see talking as solving this problem and part of the reason is that the North is not interested in dialogue.”

Indeed, Mr. Trump’s sudden hostility to talks appeared to be less a reversal of his previous statements than an expression of frustration with Mr. Kim’s continued belligerence. Days after Mr. Trump praised him for his newfound restraint, Mr. Kim lobbed a missile over Japan.

For now, a Trump-Kim summit remains a far-fetched notion. Even if North Korea was interested in speaking to the United States, its string of belligerent actions — not to mention the June death of Otto F. Warmbier, the Ohio college student held for nearly 18 months in Pyongyang — would make a meeting politically untenable for Mr. Trump.

In his tweet, the president declared, “The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years.” While Mr. Trump’s precise meaning was unclear, he seemed to be referring to the promises of fuel oil, nuclear-power reactors, humanitarian aid and the lifting of sanctions that accompanied previous diplomatic negotiations.

Mr. Trump, experts said, is correct that talks with North Korea — whether conducted by Democratic or Republican administrations — have been costly and unproductive. And with the North Koreans now capable, by some estimates, of producing an atomic bomb every sixth or seventh week, the cost of reaching any new agreement would be even higher.

“We’re long past the point where we can fob them off with a few light-water reactors,” said Michael Auslin, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, who argued in an essay in Politico Magazine this week that Mr. Trump should shun negotiations in favor of a policy of explicitly deterring and containing a nuclear North Korea.

Other experts said it was not diplomacy itself that was problematic — particularly if the United States negotiated, along with its allies and China — but that Mr. Trump, acting alone, could be an unpredictable negotiator.

“Trump is not the first president to think he can make a deal with these guys,” said Mr. Auslin. “Bill Clinton thought he was the great negotiator. His aides thought if they could get him in a room with Kim Jong-il, they could seal a deal. There’s clearly a sense, because of the capriciousness of Trump and the ‘Art of the Deal,’ that he could do the same.”

Mr. Trump’s tweet could be interpreted as a negotiating tactic. But experts said he was not helping his case with his wildly divergent statements about Mr. Kim. Last Tuesday, at a rally in Phoenix, Mr. Trump said, “I respect the fact that I believe he is starting to respect us. I respect that fact very much.”

Further complicating the administration’s approach is its weak diplomatic bench. It still has not named an assistant secretary for East Asian affairs and no ambassador is in Seoul, although the White House is close to nominating Victor D. Cha, a veteran of the George W. Bush administration and well-regarded North Korea expert at Georgetown University.

Some experts said they took comfort from the fact that in any summit meeting, the North Koreans would never allow the Americans to determine either the setting or the terms of the negotiation. For a deal maker and showman like Mr. Trump, that would probably be unacceptable.

“I suspect that in the end, the president might fall back on his event-planning background,” said Michael J. Green, who served as a top Asia adviser to Mr. Bush. “This is not a Miss Universe pageant or a pro wrestling match, so that might stop Trump in his tracks.”

Nick Cumming-Bruce contributed reporting from Geneva, and Eileen Sullivan from Washington.

FEC Approves Mambilla Hydro Project Worth Over $5BN

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the award of the contract for the Mambilla hydro plant worth 5.792 billion dollars, VON reports

The Minster of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola told newsmen at the end of Wednesday’s meeting of the FEC presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Fashola said the contract has a completion period of six years, and would be financed jointly with the Peoples’ Republic of China.

Nigeria started talking about it since 1972, which is about 45 years ago. Several efforts have been made to bring it to reality but am happy to announce to you that this government approved the award of the contract today to a joint venture with a Chinese civil engineering company for the engineering contract including civil and electromechanical works for 5.792 billion dollars.

The construction should take about 72 months, which is roughly about six years. The scope of works are very extensive, it requires the construction of 4 dams, one of them is a 150 metres in height, intermediate two are 70 metres in height and the smallest of them is 50 metres in height.

Just for concept and scope, the 150 metres one is essentially the size of a 50-storey building, because you have approximately 3 metres per floor. The intermediate one is roughly 20-storey building. It also includes 700 kilometre of transmission line. It will be in Taraba State, in the area called Gembu. It will involve a lot of preparatory work, resettlement,” he said.

The Works Minister said when completed, the plant will boost, energy supply in Nigeria, as well as the agriculture and tourism sectors.

It will really unleash the potential that have been reported about Mambilla; Agric, Tourism and also for energy. It will also help Nigeria strike a very big blow on the climate change issue and fulfil its commitment under the Paris agreement, because this is going to be renewable energy, coming also at a relatively competitive cost. This was approved by council today,” he said.

On his part, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige said the Council gave an approval for the regulation of the activities of factories, in order to maintain standard of products and training of personnel.

The Ministry of Labour sought Council’s approval for the boiler and pressure vessels regulation, which we want to draw from the factories act law of the federation. The law makes for how the factories would be run in Nigeria and how they can be monitored, to enable us talk about the type of boilers and pressure vessels that will come into Nigeria, so that we have a standard to comply with that of the international community, so that we maintain safety in the factories,” he said.

On the ongoing ASUU strike, he said the Vice President will head the negotiation on certain aspects of the demands of ASUU.

The issue was discussed at our meeting today and the Vice President has taken over some aspects of the negotiation so we are continuing the meeting in his office, after which we will invite ASUU for another round of meetings,” the Minister stated.

On the National Minimum Wage Committee, he said the government is ready but the organized private sector is yet to constitute its own representatives.

Sports Minister, Solomon Dalong said the Afro Basketball Champions, Nigeria’s D’Tigress were presented and those who won laurels in other sorts would soon be presented and rewarded too.

Dalong said it was economical to present the basketballers now that they were still in the country, instead of allowing them to go back to their bases abroad and invite them at a later date.

We felt it was economical to present the basketball team which was handy on ground, in view of the fact that if you look at the components of players, they were mixed with national players and foreign based.

So we got the opportunity handy and had received them and for those we have not been able to do, we will still do it at the appropriate time knowing too well that this government is always committed to receiving an honouring our athletes whenever they make the country proud,” he said.

ASUU Strike: No End In Sight, Osinbajo Heads Govt Negotiating Team

There seems to be no end in sight to the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities as the Federal Government says it is still studying the fresh demands made by the union.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, disclosed this on Wednesday while responding to an enquiry by one of our correspondents.

The correspondent had, in an SMS, asked if a date had been fixed for a meeting between the Federal Government and ASUU.

Ngige, who responded through an SMS, said, “No. Government side is still studying their new demands with the Vice-President (Prof. Yemi Osinbajo) as mandated by FEC (the Federal Executive Council).”

Although both the Federal Government and ASUU failed to disclose the fresh demands by the university teachers, there were reports on Wednesday that the union asked the Federal Government to pay the shortfall in salaries in the universities.

The reports also indicated that the union wanted universities to manage their internally generated revenue and grant a waiver to Universities Pension Management Company.

At the August 17 meeting with ASUU, the Federal Government rejected the demand of ASUU that universities should be exempted from the Treasury Single Account.

ASUU, on August 13, began a nationwide strike over the failure of the government to implement an agreement it reached with the union in 2009.

The union also alleged that the Federal Government did not implement the Memorandum of Understanding the two sides signed in 2013.

I’ve not been invited to any meeting –ASUU president

When contacted on Wednesday, ASUU said the Federal Government had responded to its August 28, 2017 letter.

The union had, in the letter, listed the minimum demands that must be met before it would call off the ongoing strike.

The ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, stated that the government had responded to the fresh letter, adding that the union would deliberate on the response before accepting or rejecting the offer.

“Yes, they (government) have responded to our letter and we are discussing with them. We will discuss their offer with our members and then get back to them,” he said on the telephone, but declined to provide further details.

When asked if the union had a meeting with government officials on Wednesday, Ogunyemi said, “No, I have not been invited to any meeting, we have only received a response to our letter.”

ASUU had, on Tuesday, boycotted a scheduled meeting with a Federal Government delegation in Abuja.

Asked if the government had paid the N23bn, a source stated, “No, I didn’t think they have paid anything. They have an offer to what they said they would pay and ASUU gave what it said was a counter position.”

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, had said on August 18, 2017 that the Federal Government had offered to release N23bn to ASUU.

The government had insisted that the sum of N30bn released to the universities should be subjected to forensic investigation.

Investigation by one of our correspondents revealed that there were no signs that the meeting scheduled to hold between the union and the government on Wednesday or Thursday would take place.

Officials of the ministry, who confided in The PUNCH, said there was no mention of the meeting from the office of the Minister of Labour and Employment.

It was learnt that the minister would have a meeting with the National Association of Resident Doctors in his office at 10 am on Thursday.

The PUNCH could not get the Deputy Director in charge of Press, Mr. Samuel Olowookere, and the Special Assistant to the Minister, Mr. Nwachukwu Obidiwe, to comment on the issue as they did not return calls to their telephones on Thursday.

The Federal Government’s negotiation team with the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities will now be headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, said this during an interview with State House correspondents at the end of Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Ngige said the government would ensure that an agreement was reached so that the striking university teachers could return to work.

The minister stated, “The government thanks the parents and even the students, who are supposed to take their examinations now but have been forced by circumstances beyond their control to stay at home. I have one of my children at home as we speak.

“Government will make sure that we reach a conclusive agreement with ASUU so that they can go back to the classrooms. This is the first national strike that this government is facing and we want to discuss.

“At council today, the Vice-President has taken over some of the aspects of the negotiations and discussions. So, we are continuing the meeting in his office and when we finish meeting, we will get back to ASUU for another round of meeting.

“We are hopeful that we will be able to go to an appreciable extent to solve some of the outstanding issues that are preventing them from going back to work.”

Four ministers on minimum wage panel –Ngige

Meanwhile, Ngige announced that the National Minimum Wage Committee on the government’s side had been constituted with four ministers as members.

Although he said the chairman had been nominated, Ngige said the nominee would only be unveiled after all members of the committee had been named.

He added that the government was still expecting nominees from the private sector. This is responsible for the delay in the announcement.

Ngige said, “The National Minimum Wage committee on the government’s side is ready.

“We have on the government’s side four ministers – ministers of Labour and Employment; Finance; and Budget and Planning. I can’t remember the last one now but we have our team ready.

“We also have the Head of Service of the Federation and the acting Secretary to the Government (of the Federation) on the government’s team. The chairman will be unveiled when we have full component of the committee.

“The aspect that is delaying us from inaugurating the committee is the organised private sector. The organised private sector has eight representatives of which Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association has four nominations; we have not got their nominations.

“The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has two nominations; its nominations just came in yesterday.

“Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises has one; it has not sent in its nomination.

‘‘The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industy, Mines and Agriculture has not sent in its nominations. So we are waiting for these nominations. ‘‘When they come in, the government will nominate the chairman and inaugurate the committee.”

Both Backstreet Boys And Florida Georgia Line Were Confused By ‘H.O.L.Y’ Lyrics

Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean is a huge fan of the song “H.O.L.Y.” by Florida Georgia Line. But on CMT Crossroads it was revealed he didn’t know it was an acronym for “High on Loving You.”

McLean said at first he didn’t realize it was an acronym. But he said, “I listened to it and then I’m like, ‘Oh!’ Light bulb.”

The song appeared on FGL’s third album “Dig Your Roots.” And while it was a smashing success, Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley had a confession of their own.

Hubbard said, “I’m not gonna’ lie. I had that same experience a few listens in. It wasn’t first listen for me.”

His bandmate Kelley said, “I’ve got to come clean, too. The first time I heard it, I literally thought… I thought it was ‘Your holy, holy, holy. Hi, I’m loving you.’”

The Backstreet Boys and Florida Georgia Line then collaborated to treated fans to a new version of ‘H.O.L.Y.”

Reese Witherspoon And Daughter Ava's Doppelgänger Moments (Photos)

No you’re not seeing double, that’s Reese Witherspoon and her teenage daughter! Thanks to the Instagram era, we’ve been able to see Ava Phillippe who turns 18 on September 9 grow up before our eyes and she’s a spitting image of her Oscar-winning mother. Take a look at their best doppelgänger moments.

South-East Governors Meet With IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu

South-east governors yesterday had a closed door meeting with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

The meeting was held in Enugu State.

Present at the meeting were the governors of Enugu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Ebonyi Governor Dave Umahi, Anambra Deputy Governor Nkem Okeke.

Flood ;Benue State Government Officially Opens Camp For IDPs Affected By The Flood

Benue Government on Wednesday announced the official opening of two camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.

Gov. Samuel Ortom made the announcement after inspecting flooded areas within Makurdi and its environs.

Ortom said the empty International Market and the Presidential Building at Agan Toll Gate would become camps for IDPs, pending when water level would subside.

He explained that his administration would do everything possible to provide minimum comfort to all displaced persons while in camps.

He added that “as you can see, the level of flood water is increasing, more houses are being submerged and more of our people are displaced.

“We hope Federal Government will come to our aid as soon as possible; the flood committee headed by my deputy will ensure that victims have minimum comfort while in the camps”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) on Wednesday said more than 110,000 persons in 24 communities, including Makurdi, were displaced by flood in the state.

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Mr Boniface Ortese, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Makurdi on Wednesday that over 2, 769 households were also affected.

He explained that places affected included Achusa, Idye, Wurukum Market, Genabe, Industrial Layout, Demekpe, Wadata Market, Katungu, behind the Civil Service Commission, Agboughul-Wadata among others.

“In Achusa, 200 houses were affected with 5,125 persons displaced, in Idye 217 houses while 5,200 persons were displaced.

“Also, behind the Civil Service Commission, 200 houses were submerged in flood and 5,777 persons were displaced.

“At Genabe, 200 houses were affected with 5,021 persons displaced, 218 houses around the Wurukum market were affected with 1,000 persons displaced, and at Wadata market150 houses were affected and 4,300 persons were displaced.

“Similarly at Industrial layout, 69 houses were flooded and 4,310 persons displaced; Demekpe 111 houses were affected while 7,820 persons displaced,’’ the official said.

Ortese further said that 137 houses were flooded in Katungu, with 6,031 persons displaced while at Agboughul-Wadata 201 houses were affected and 5,728 persons displaced.

He said government was doing everything within its little resources to assist flood victims in the state.

We Don't Have The Power To Arrest People For Hate Speeches - Nigerian Military

The Defense authorities have denied the claim that the military is monitoring hate campaigners with the aim of arresting them, saying it does not have the powers to arrest Nigerians in that capacity.

The Director of Defense Information, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, said this while featuring on Sunrise Daily on Channels Television on Wednesday.

He explained that the military would only monitor the social media for information that could be useful for the planning of its operations.

When asked to respond to the accusation that the military was planning to arrest hate campaigners, he said,

“There was nothing like that. We do not have power to arrest people for hate speeches. It is just false assertion, against the military, and against my humble self that I said that we will be arresting people or checkmating people. 

“The military is not going to be monitoring hate speeches. Did I tell you hate speech in your recordings? We have a strategic media centre, our strategic media centre monitors the media, simple. And it is like that all over the world. 

And we take that because it helps us to transform the nature of the intelligence to enable us to prepare for whatever call up we get to ensure security in this country. 

“Let me tell you and tell the public without fear of anybody; we are trained to do threat analysis of anything that would threaten the security of this country. 

So, it is part of our threat analysis. Any person can interpret it to mean that it is a follow up to the speech of the Vice-President (Yemi Osinbajo), the then Acting President and then the minister of interior; then that person can be right. 

Where do we take instruction from, where do we get information from? But on the whole, it is part of what is called threat analysis.”

“We Will Be With You Every Single Day…” - Trump Sends Passionate Message To #HurricaneHarvey Victims

President Donald Trump who is still baffled and perturbed at the devastating wrath of Hurricane Harvey can not hold off on his compassion with the border town citizens of southwestern Texas.

The President who made a journey to Missouri today to deliver a speech on tax cuts and reforms resorted to sharing his sympathetic feeling on Twitter.

He wrote, “Texas &; Louisiana: We are w/ you today, we are w/ you tomorrow, & we will be w/ you EVERY SINGLE DAY AFTER, to restore, recover, &; REBUILD!”

Texas & Louisiana: We are w/ you today, we are w/ you tomorrow, & we will be w/ you EVERY SINGLE DAY AFTER, to restore, recover, & REBUILD! pic.twitter.com/YQb82K2VSB— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2017

Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm which has made a second landfall along Louisiana-Texas border has caused great havoc on the fourth largest state in the US sending numerous thousands to the road search of shelter and recording 10 deaths including a police man involved in rescue efforts.

The Rock Accepts Kelvin Hart Challenge, Donates $25k To Houston Relief And Take A Slight Swipe At The Comedian For Calling Out Celebs (Video)

American actor, Dwayne Johnson, popularly known as The Rock, has accepted Kevin Hart's challenge by donating $25k to the Houston relief, but in the process, he took a slight swipe to the comedian for calling out celebs by name.

Yesterday, Kevin Hart donated $25k and then called out The Rock, Steve Harvey, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake and Jerry Seinfeld challenging them to donate big bucks.

In his message to the victims of the Hurricane Harvey, The Rock announced he has donated $25k to the Houston Relief and his company is equally donating too. But the former wrestler ignored calling out his celebrity friends to donate, citing the fact that Celebs know what to do without being called out.

Watch the video below...

Stay strong Houston and hold onto faith. Me and my family know what you're going thru. We survived the eye of Andrew and became stronger - so will you. All my love and strength. * Link in my bio in you can donate a buck or two to our Houston families in need.

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Aug 28, 2017 at 4:27pm PDT

Harvey Swamps Evacuee Shelter On Texas, Louisiana Border

A sodden Texas coastal community was becoming increasingly isolated Wednesday, as Harvey-fed rains flooded most major roadways leading out of the city and swamped a shelter for those displaced by the storm that ravaged the Houston area.

Jefferson County sheriff's deputy Marcus McLellan said he wasn't sure where the 100 or so evacuees at the Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur would be sent. Most of them were perched on bleacher seats to stay dry, their belongings largely stranded on the shelter floor below them under about a foot (30 centimeters) of water, he said.

"People started coming to the shelter on Monday," McLellan said. "And now it's just all the rainfall that's coming in, and there's a canal by there also that's overflowing."

With at least 18 people killed by Harvey and 13,000 more rescued in the Houston area and surrounding cities and counties, yet more people were still trying to escape from their inundated homes. Weakened levees were in danger of failing, even as a less-ferocious but still potent Harvey returned to shore.

Harvey initially made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Friday then lingered off the coast of Southeast Texas for five days as a tropical storm that dropped record amounts of rain on Houston, the nation's fourth largest city, and the surrounding area. It made landfall for a second time early Wednesday, coming to shore near Cameron in southwest Louisiana and bringing with it a heavy dose of rain that is forecast to spread further north as the day progresses, perhaps as far as Missouri, Tennessee and Arkansas. Some sunshine was, finally, forecast for Houston.

Authorities expected the human toll to continue to mount, both in deaths and in the tens of thousands of people made homeless by the catastrophic storm that is now the heaviest tropical downpour in U.S. history. In all, more than 17,000 people have sought refuge in Texas shelters, and that number seemed certain to increase, the American Red Cross said.

Houston's largest shelter housed 10,000 of the displaced — twice its initial intended capacity — as two additional mega-shelters opened Tuesday for the overflow. Louisiana's governor offered to take in Harvey victims from Texas, and televangelist Joel Osteen opened his Houston megachurch, a 16,000-seat former arena, after critics blasted him on social media for not acting to help families displaced by the storm.

In an apparent response to scattered reports of looting, a curfew was put into effect from midnight to 5 a.m., with police saying violators would be questioned, searched and arrested.

In Port Arthur, near the Louisiana border, Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens told KFDM-TV that county resources were struggling to rescue Port Arthur residents because of the flooding.

Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman posted on his Facebook page that the "city is underwater right now but we are coming!" He also urged residents to get to higher ground and to avoid becoming trapped in attics.

McLellan said Wednesday that the city and surrounding area is becoming increasingly isolated because Interstate 10, highways and many secondary roads are flooded. Speaking from nearby Beaumont, where he has been stuck for more than 24 hours because of the flooding, he said roads leading east into Louisiana are still open, but likely will lead evacuees right into Harvey's path.

A much-weakened Tropical Storm Harvey steered into new territory, coming ashore again early Wednesday just west of Cameron, Louisiana, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (70 kph), the National Hurricane Center said.

Cameron is just 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of Port Arthur.

"To get out of this area I'd have to head east toward Orange (Texas) and into Louisiana," McLellan said.

Harvey is expected to weaken, but will slog through Louisiana for much of the day before taking its downpours north. Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Missouri are on alert for Harvey flooding in the next couple of days.

"Once we get this thing inland during the day, it's the end of the beginning," said National Hurricane Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen. "Texas is going to get a chance to finally dry out as this system pulls out."

But Feltgen cautioned: "We're not done with this. There's still an awful lot of real estate and a lot of people who are going to feel the impacts of the storm."

Still, the reprieve from the rain in Houston was welcome.

Eugene Rideaux, a 42-year-old mechanic who showed up at Osteen's Lakewood Church to sort donations for evacuees, said he had not been able to work or do much since the storm first hit, so he was eager to get out of his dark house and help.

"It's been so dark for days now, I'm just ready to see some light. Some sunshine. I'm tired of the darkness," Rideaux said. "But it's a tough city, and we're going to make this into a positive and come together."

The city has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for more supplies, including cots and food, for an additional 10,000 people, said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who hoped to get the supplies no later than Wednesday.

Four days after the storm ravaged the Texas coastline as a Category 4 hurricane, authorities and family members reported at least 18 deaths from Harvey. 

They include a former football and track coach in suburban Houston and a woman who died after she and her young daughter were swept into a rain-swollen drainage canal. Two Beaumont, Texas, police officers and two fire-rescue divers spotted the woman floating with the child, who was holding onto her mother.

Authorities acknowledge that fatalities from Harvey could soar once the floodwaters start to recede from one of America's largest metropolitan centers.

A pair of 70-year-old reservoir dams that protect downtown Houston and a levee in a suburban subdivision began overflowing Tuesday, adding to the rising floodwaters.

Engineers began releasing water from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs Monday to ease the strain on the dams. But the releases were not enough to relieve the pressure after the relentless downpours, Army Corps of Engineers officials said. Both reservoirs are at record highs.

The release of the water means that more homes and streets will flood, and some homes will be inundated for up to a month, said Jeff Linder of the Harris County Flood Control District.

Officials in Houston were also keeping an eye on infrastructure such as bridges, roads and pipelines that are in the path of the floodwaters.

Water in the Houston Ship Channel, which serves the Port of Houston and Houston's petrochemical complex, is at levels never seen before, Linder said.

The San Jacinto River, which empties into the channel, has pipelines, roads and bridges not designed for the current deluge, Linder said, and the chance of infrastructure failures will increase the "longer we keep the water in place."

Among the worries is debris coming down the river and crashing into structures and the possibility that pipelines in the riverbed will be scoured by swift currents. In 1994, a pipeline ruptured on the river near Interstate 10 and caught fire.

After five consecutive days of rain, Harvey set a new continental U.S. record for rainfall for a tropical system.

The rains in Cedar Bayou, near Mont Belvieu, Texas, totaled 51.88 inches (132 centimeters) as of Tuesday afternoon. That's a record for both Texas and the continental United States, but it does not quite surpass the 52 inches (133 centimeters) from Tropical Cyclone Hiki in Kauai, Hawaii, in 1950, before Hawaii became a state.

Trump Blocks Obama Rule On Collecting Info On Pay By Race, Gender

Trump's administration has announced that The White House will shut down an Obama-era rule that required businesses to track how much they pay workers of different genders, races and ethnicities according to a new report.

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, reported that Trump officials will remove the rule, which would have gone into effect in March 2018, adding that the rule created a burden for employers.

Neomi Rao, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs said:

"It's enormously burdensome" . "We don't believe it would actually help us gather information about wage and employment discrimination."

The Obama rule would have required employers with 100 or more employees to hand over data on wages to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with the goal of preventing pay discrimination.

Ivanka Trump, who is serving as an unpaid adviser to her father in the White House and has pushed for equal pay for women, said in a statement that the "policy would not yield the intended results."

"We look forward to continuing to work with EEOC, OMB, Congress and all relevant stakeholders on robust policies aimed at eliminating the gender wage gap."

Billioanire Kidnapper, Evans, Pleads Guilty To Kidnapping Charges

Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, otherwise known as Evans, has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and kidnapping.

He was arraigned before the Ikeja High Court in Lagos this morning. Evans and five others were arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy and kidnapping.

The judge ordered that all the male defendants be remanded at Kirikiri Maximum Prison while the female defendant, who pleaded not guilty to all the charges, be kept at the Kirikiri Female Prison.

The case was adjourned till October 19th.

Beyonce Pledges To help Victims Of Hurricane Harvey Amidst Rumors She's Donated $7 Million

Beyonce is pledging to do her part to help her hometown of Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

In a statement to the Houston Chronicle, Beyonce said she was devising a plan for relief.


"My heart goes out to my hometown, Houston, and I remain in constant prayer for those affected and for the rescuers who have been so brave and determined to do so much to help. I am working closely with my team at BeyGOOD as well as my pastor (Rudy Rasmus at St. John's in downtown Houston) to implement a plan to help as many as we can."

Beyonce's pastor, Rev. Rudy Rasmus from St. John’s United Methodist Church, said the Houston native has "really stepped up" in her efforts to help her hometown.

Rumors are circulating that she has donated as much as $7 million, though Rasmus won’t confirm that.

Speaking exclusively to ET, Beyonce's lifelong pastor, who's close friends with Beyonce's mom and has known the singer since childhood, says Beyonce has always used her platform to help those in need.

He said: "She's starting out with a significant donation, and that donation is getting us to launch out into some areas that help us more effectively impact the communities that have been the most affected. She has, over the years, been very generous to our cause, and we continue to work together. She has been a huge benefactor to our efforts here in Houston, Texas.

"She has one huge platform, and information can go out to places that really need to know what's going on in her hometown. She has always availed not only her platform, her voice, but also resources -- tangible resources -- to help those most in need in Houston and around."

He continued to praise Beyonce and her family for their charitable works, saying: "When Hurricane Katrina hit, they were present for us. When Ike devastated Houston, they were present for us, and times in between, so now won't be any different. I'm counting on them right now

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Aug 27, 2017 at 6:11pm PDT

Why Paris Jackson’s Eyes Are So Incredibly Blue

 If you’ve been poring over photos of Sunday night’s VMAs like we have, then you’ve undoubtedly noticed Paris Jackson’s icey blue eyes (swoon). Seriously they’re like literal gems on her face.

 

And it turns out there’s actually a super-specific reason for the unique shade, and it has nothing to do with lighting, contacts, or makeup. In an interview with TeenVogue.com, Jackson’s makeup artist, Jo Baker, revealed that Paris actually has a rare genetic condition that gives her eyes that super particular hue.

Baker didn’t reveal the name of the condition, but we did some quick internet research and it looks like it could potentially be something known as Waardenburg Syndrome, which — among other things — can cause unusually pale blue eyes (this is of course pure speculation on our part. We have no way of knowing for sure).

And regardless of the cause, Baker was super clear that she LOVES experimenting with makeup on those baby blues.

She said, “Paris likes a really clean look. Every time we have a red carpet moment, we look each other in the eyes and I ask, ‘How far are you going to let me go?’ She has to be gently nudged into [experimenting with] color.”

She also noted that Paris definitely enjoys playing up her lashes and brows. “They’re absolutely striking…Her eyes are always something I’m keen to draw attention to.”

OH, and Baker provided a pro-eye makeup tip (which we’re literally always here for): “I love using eyeshadows with a damp brush since it really brings out the pigment,” she said, noting it will make your shadow look super creamy. Um…brb…trying this now in the office bathroom. Sorry not sorry!

Mayweather-McGregor Outages Expose Limitations Of Streaming Tech

 In 2015, boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao set an all-time Pay-Per-View record when their fight garnered 4.6 million total buys, generating $460 million in revenue.

 

While the official numbers won’t come out until next week, Mayweather’s Aug. 26 fight against Conor McGregor is expected to surpass 5 million buys.

But many fans who have cut the cable cord paid $99 to view the fight through the UFC Fight Pass or Showtime apps, and still didn’t get to see it.

In the minutes leading up to the bout, Twitter lit up with widespread complaints about the UFC Fight Pass and Showtime.com streams of the fight. There were major failures.

It was a sign that for all the promise of the live sports streaming revolution, the tech still has a long way to go.

The failures were widespread enough, and frustrating enough to consumers, that there’s already at least one class action lawsuit against Showtime over the app’s technical difficulties. Zack Bartel, of Portland, Ore., is suing for unlawful trade practices and unjust enrichment and seeks $200 per Oregon resident who ordered the fight from Showtime and had problems.

Showtime has no comment on the lawsuit. But a spokesperson gave Yahoo Finance this statement on the streaming issues:

“We received a very limited number of complaints, and we’re reviewing all of them carefully, and we will respond accordingly. Refunds are handled at the point of sale, so of course anyone who bought directly from Showtime, via our online distribution or our app, and could not see the fight because of an issue with that distribution, we will issue a full refund.”

UFC, for its part, gave this statement:

“We’re incredibly disappointed by the technical difficulties that were experienced Saturday night, and we’re working with our vendor NeuLion to assess exactly what happened. We are reviewing each [refund] request on a case-by-case basis. We are in direct contact with consumers regarding a resolution.”

In an additional comment, UFC president Dana White said, “Nothing is more important to the UFC than our fans. They’ve always been incredibly loyal and supportive and we’ll always take care of them.”

Showtime and UFC won’t say exactly how many reports they received of failed streams. There were enough of them that the fight was delayed by an hour to give them time to refresh their servers. But for many fans, the streams never worked.

To be clear, cable PPV providers suffered big outages as well. And both failures are equally aggravating: a viewer expects that if they’re going to cough up $100 to watch a fight, it will work perfectly, regardless of whether they did it through cable or the Internet.

But the failures are especially troublesome when one considers all of the promise and hype of the many new streaming options for sports. Yes, Showtime’s platform was relatively new and untested, and the expectation that it would work seamlessly during such a high-volume event is asking a lot—but if you’re going to charge $100, that’s what customers expect. And in the days before the fight, it was clear there would be record-setting demand.

The problems make traditional television look reliable by comparison. Faced with all the streaming glitches and angry fans, plain old cable television starts to look pretty good.

This fight, and all of Mayweather’s fights since 2007, when he split from promoter Top Rank, was only available through cable PPV or PPV streaming options. But Top Rank, which represents many of the best boxers, announced this week a four-year exclusive deal with ESPN that will put its fights on ESPN.

The contract is a win for the ailing cable network, and a rare retort to the cord-cutting revolution: If you get ESPN, you’ll be able to watch these fights. That’s a lot simpler than paying for PPV or for glitchy, untested streaming services.

As a new NFL season approaches, sports fans are hearing a lot of noise about the myriad options for cable cord-cutters: Amazon Prime will stream 10 Thursday Night Football games; NFL Mobile on Verizon phones will offer certain in-market games; NFL sells its own NFL Game Pass service for $99 that streams out-of-market games.

But after seeing the failures of streaming on fight night, it may serve as a reminder, for many, that a cable subscription, that much-maligned option for watching live sports, can still be more reliable than all the new bells and whistles.

Trump: 'All Options Are On Table' After North Korea Launch

President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to reassert an American military threat against North Korea, saying that "all options are on the table" in response to its launch of a missile over close U.S. ally Japan.

In a terse, written statement, Trump said that North Korea's missile launch "signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior."
Related SearchesNorth Korea Missile Launch TodayNorth Korea Submarine Missile Launch PhotosTrump Response To North Korea Missile Launch

"Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime's isolation in the region and among all nations of the world," Trump said. "All options are on the table."

Trump later told reporters, "We'll see, we'll see" when asked what he would do. Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, was departing the White House to survey storm damage in southeast Texas.

North Korea on Tuesday fired a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload. It flew over Japan and splashed into the northern Pacific Ocean, officials said, as Washington and South Korea were conducting war games nearby.

While the tone of Trump's statement was tough, it was far less bombastic than his tweets and threats earlier this month. Three weeks ago, he warned of "fire and fury" if North Korea persisted in threatening the United States. A military solution, he added days later, was "locked and loaded."

But last week, the Trump administration suddenly adopted a more conciliatory tone. It praised the North for not launching any missiles for nearly a month and suggested its newfound restraint could point the way toward new negotiations. The hiatus ended when the North tested three short-range missiles off its eastern coast last Friday.

The president has repeatedly declined to discuss in any detail the potential for a pre-emptive strike on the North, telling reporters that any such deliberations must be kept private to avoid ceding any leverage to Pyongyang.

Still, Tuesday's statement implied that U.S. military action remains an option for resolving the standoff over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons that could eventually strike the American mainland. Still, a U.S. military strike against North Korea is considered highly unlikely. Even Trump's own strategic adviser, Steve Bannon, dismissed the threat as a bluff shortly before he was dismissed earlier this month.

North Korea has the world's largest standing army and a massive conventional weapons arsenal that can easily target the South Korean capital of Seoul and its metropolitan area of about 25 million people.

While Democrat and Republican presidents have routinely offered the "all options on the table" formulation, U.S. officials have long assessed that the North would likely respond to any U.S. strike by attacking its southern neighbor or nearby Japan. The result could be a war with mass casualties on both sides. Hundreds of thousands of Americans in Northeast Asia, military and civilians, would be endangered.

Despite the heated rhetoric of recent weeks, the U.S. administration has been emphasizing it wants to use economic and diplomatic tactics to pressure North Korea into concessions.

Earlier this month, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted its toughest sanctions yet on North Korea after it tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles that put the U.S. mainland in range. The U.S. and its partners have been urging China, the North's traditional ally and main trading partner, to help in intensifying the pressure.

Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan conferred by telephone over the latest missile test, agreeing that North Korea poses "a grave and growing direct threat" to their countries, South Korea and others around the world, according to a White House statement. They vowed to increase pressure on the North.

"Japan's and the U.S. positions are totally at one," Abe added in a statement, adding that Trump expressed his "strong commitment" to defending Japan.

The U.N. Security Council was expected to hold an emergency meeting on the North Korean missile launch later Tuesday.

The test rattled nerves in the region. Within minutes, residents on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido were alerted on their cellphones, and with loud alarms and an email telling them to stay indoors. Speakers broadcast an alert saying "missile is passing, missile is passing."

The latest tests punctured hopes the tensions might subside after reaching their highest levels in years with Trump's "fire and fury" warning and the North's counterthreat to launch missiles into the sea close to the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

Trump and his top diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, went out of their way last week to credit the North's leader for days of relative restraint. Noting that no missiles had been launched for three weeks, Tillerson had said further restraint could provide a path toward dialogue in the near future.

"Kim Jong Un, I respect the fact that I believe he is starting to respect us," Trump said at a campaign rally. "I respect that fact very much. Respect that fact. And maybe, probably not, but maybe something positive can come about."

Joel Osteen Faces Criticism On Social Media For Closing Houston Megachurch's Doors Amid Harvey

Joel Osteen, the famed pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, is defending himself after facing criticism on social media for not offering shelter at the megachurch to victims of Hurricane Harvey.

In a post on Twitter Saturday, Osteen said he was praying for those affected by the storm, which has dumped 20 to 40 inches of rain on the Houston area, with more on the way.


Victoria & I are praying for everyone affected by Hurricane Harvey. Please join us as we pray for the safety of our Texas friends & family.

But on Sunday, in response to requests that the church, which can hold more than 16,000 people, be opened for evacuees, Lakewood Church posted on Facebook that it is "inaccessible due to severe flooding" and directed displaced residents to shelters in the city.

The Facebook post courted criticism on social media, where photos appeared to suggest that the massive building, which was once home to the NBA's Houston Rockets, had not been damaged by the torrential rains. It's unclear if the church was damaged in the storm.

In response, Osteen insisted in a statement Monday evening that he and his church are "prepared to house people once shelters reach capacity."

"We have never closed our doors. We will continue to be a distribution center for those in need," the statement reads.

It adds, "Lakewood will be a value to the community in the aftermath of this storm in helping our fellow citizens rebuild their lives."

Lakewood Church sent photos that it says show flooding in and around the building.


PHOTO: Photos that Lakewood Church says show flooding in and around the church. (Lakewood Church)More


PHOTO: Photos that Lakewood Church says show flooding in and around the church. (Lakewood Church)More


PHOTO: Photos that Lakewood Church says show flooding in and around the church. (Lakewood Church)

Houston's @indivisible_usa is acquainted with @JoelOsteen's Lakewood Church. They took these pics about an hour ago w/ commentary. pic.twitter.com/YTWrD9UG1z

— Charles Clymer🏳️‍🌈 (@cmclymer) August 28, 2017

Thousands of evacuees have streamed in by the busload to Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center, the largest shelter serving victims of Harvey. The shelter originally said it could take 5,000 people but is currently over capacity, with 6,000.

Tens of thousands of area residents are expected to need shelter in the area because of catastrophic flooding, according to officials.

Jesus promises us peace that passes understanding. That’s peace when it doesn’t make sense.

— Joel Osteen (@JoelOsteen) August 28, 2017

John Gray, an associate pastor at the Lakewood Church, defended it on Instagram, insisting that staffers couldn't open the building because flooded highways were blocking access.

US Congress Notified Of Sale Of 12 Tucano Fighter Jets To Nigeria

The Pentagon has notified the U.S. Congress of the sale to Nigeria of 12 Super Tucano A-29 planes and weapons worth $593 million, needed for the fight against the militant group, Boko Haram.

The move on the sale, which included thousands of bombs and rockets and was originally agreed by former President Barack Obama’s administration, was announced by the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The sale was initially announced on 2 August.

North Korea Fires A Ballistic Missile That Flew Over Japan Leaving Residents Scared

Yesterday, North Korea fired a missile over Japan which the country's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called the "most serious and grave ever" threat to the country.

The missile was fired just before 6 a.m. in Japan. The launch of the missile set off series of warnings in the northern part of the country urging people to seek shelter via messages on their mobile phones and there was panic among residents.

According to reports, the missile flew over Erimomisaki, on the northern island of Hokkaido, and broke into three pieces before falling into the Pacific Ocean, about 1,180 kilometers (733 miles) off the Japanese coast.

The missile was in flight for about 14 minutes, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at an emergency press conference. "There is no immediate report of the fallen objects and no damage to the ships and aircraft," he added.

Japanese Prime Minister condemned the launch as a reckless act saying, 'we have fully grasped the movement of the missile immediately after their launch and have been taking every possible effort to protect the lives of people. It is a serious and grave threat which impairs the safety and peace of the region'.

McGregor Issued Medical Suspension After Loss To Floyd Mayweather

The Nevada Athletic Commission has announced a 60-day medical suspension for UFC lightweight champion, Conor McGregor, according to MMA Fighting.

McGregor lost to Mayweather on Saturday in his first professional boxing fight.


The martial arts champion will be unable to fight for at least 60 days.

“I was actually very surprised with his ability to do certain things,” Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said. 

“If he chooses to, he definitely has a future in boxing—if he chooses to. To be able to last as long as he did, he’s a very tough competitor. He has a big heart and, again, he’s showed a lot.” 

UFC President Dana White, however, did not like the idea of competing in a boxing ring.
“I would rather he did not,” White said. 

“This isn’t what he does. He’s a mixed martial artist, he’s better when he uses all of his weapons. I think he did great tonight but I want to see him back in the UFC.”

2017 MTV Video Music Awards: Red carpet arrivals (Photos)

While the debut of Taylor Swift’s new music video for her latest single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” 

was one of the most anticipated parts of the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, the singer wasn’t the only exciting part of the show. With Katy Perry hosting, — from Demi Lovato in a sheer jumpsuit to Lorde in a purple princess gown — there was a lot to take in. To catch ever

Miley Cyrus performing, Kendrick Lamar having the most nominations for a Moon Person, and countless other celebrities in the audience 

Taylor Swift Revisits All Her Past Personas In Dazzling 'Look What You Made Me Do' premiere

The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards arrived in divided political times with a promise of many intense moments on its roster, but perhaps the most anticipated moment for many was the premiere of Taylor Swift’s new video, for the vengeful single “Look What You Made Me Do,” a purported ode to her many detractors and enemies.

Swift’s video caused a swirl of controversy before it even aired in full: A snippet tease that was released prior to the show drew heated comparisons to Beyoncé’s 2016 video “Formation,” apparently due to its use of a line of dancers standing at attention wearing all-black outfits.
Content is currently unavailable.

Fortunately, that gossip was laid to rest with the very first seconds of Swift’s premiere, which made it clear from the start that the “Formation”-ish moment was probably the least interesting of the video’s four-minute, 15-second run.

Swift channeled another iconic video — Michael Jackson’s ’80s hit “Thriller” — by crawling out of a grave in full corpselike makeup. From there, she raced through a dizzying array of visuals, many of them highlighting a much more noir side than fans might be used to — including snakes serving her tea on a velvet throne, a scene of her swinging in a giant birdcage, and a writhing group of female dancers all clad in bondage gear (with Swift herself wielding a whip).

While the video itself was an undeniable whirlwind, the song portion of it didn’t live up to the final moments.

After the song ended, a string of Swifts appeared onscreen, each one representing one of her various images over the years — including such unforgettable looks as the curly-haired “Teardrops on My Guitar” ingenue, the bespectacled nerd from

“You Belong to Me,” the ballerina from “Shake It Off,” and the silver-sequin-clad VMA recipient who had her award ruined by Kanye West in 2009.

Clearly, Swift’s lyric “The old Taylor can’t come to the phone … because she’s dead,” wasn’t quite accurate here.)

The end result was a face-off between the “good” Taylors and the “bad” ones, with her darker personas sneering such slurs as “Stop acting like you are so nice” and “There she goes, playing the victim again” while the more angelic ones sobbed and looked horrified.

Interestingly, Swift did not address her two biggest rivals — Katy Perry and West — at least not directly. The closest she came? “I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative,” noted the 2009 VMAs Swift.

To which her “sisters” all screamed, “Shut up!”

The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards were aired live from Los Angeles on Aug. 27.

Houston crippled by catastrophic flooding with more rain on the way

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Houston is facing worsening historic flooding in the coming days as Tropical Storm Harvey dumps more rain on the city, swelling rivers to record levels and forcing federal engineers on Monday to release water from area reservoirs in hopes of controlling the rushing currents.

Harvey, the most powerful hurricane to strike Texas in more than 50 years, first hit land late on Friday and has killed at least two people. It has since lingered around Texas' Gulf Coast, where it is forecast to remain for several more days, drenching parts of the region with a year's worth of rain in the span of a week.

Schools, airports and office buildings in the nation's fourth largest city were ordered shut on Monday as scores of roads turned into rivers and chest-high water filled neighborhoods in the low-lying city that is home to about 2.3 million people. The area's vital petrochemcial industry also was crippled.

Torrential rain also hit areas more than 150 miles (240 km) away, swelling rivers upstream and causing a surge that was heading toward the Houston area, where numerous rivers and streams already have been breached.

More flooding is expected as water levels continue to rise, putting more residents at risk. More than 30,000 people are expected to be placed temporarily in shelters, FEMA Administrator Brock Long said at a news conference on Monday. The National Weather Service said the worst of floods are expected Wednesday and Thursday, although there is still uncertainty over the storm's path.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Monday that it was releasing water from two nearby reservoirs into Buffalo Bayou, the primary body of water running through Houston.

"If we don’t begin releasing now, the volume of uncontrolled water around the dams will be higher and have a greater impact on the surrounding communities," said Colonel Lars Zetterstrom, Galveston district commander of the Corps.

The Harris County Flood Control District said it expected the release to start flooding homes around the Addicks and Barker reservoirs on Monday morning.

Authorities ordered more than 50,000 people to leave parts of Fort Bend County, about 35 miles (55 km) southwest of Houston, as the Brazos River was set to crest at a record high of 59 feet (18 m) this week, 14 feet above its flood stage.

Brazos County Judge Robert Hebert told reporters the forecast crest represented a high not seen in at least 800 years.

"What we're seeing is the most devastating flood event in Houston's recorded history," said Steve Bowen, chief meteorologist at reinsurance company Aon Benfield.

Harvey is expected to produce an additional 15 to 25 inches (38 to 63 cm) of rain through Friday in the upper Texas coast and into southwestern Louisiana, the National Hurricane Center said.

By the end of the week in some Texas coastal areas the total precipitation could reach 50 inches (127 cm), which is the average rainfall for an entire year, forecasters said. Nearly 24 inches fell in 24 hours in Baytown, a city with major refineries about 30 miles east of Houston, the weather service said early on Monday.

Dallas, 240 miles (386 km) north of Houston, will set up a "mega shelter" at its convention center to house 5,000 evacuees, the city said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump plans to go to Texas on Tuesday to survey the storm damage, a White House spokeswoman said on Sunday. On Monday he approved an emergency declaration for Louisiana.

Trump, facing the first big U.S. natural disaster since he took office in January, had signed a disaster proclamation for Texas on Friday, triggering federal relief efforts. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Sunday he planned to add 1,000 more National Guard personnel to the flood battle.

Almost half of the U.S. refining capacity is in the Gulf region. Shutdowns extended across the coast, including Exxon Mobil's Baytown refinery. More than 2.3 million barrels of capacity were offline as of Monday morning, representing 13 percent of daily U.S. production.

Gasoline futures rose more than 4 percent to two-year highs on Monday morning. The outages will limit the availability of U.S. gasoline and other refined products for global consumers and push prices higher, analysts said.

The center of Harvey was 90 miles (148 km) southwest of Houston on Monday morning and forecast to arc slowly toward the city through Wednesday.

Thousands of people were rescued on Sunday by Harris County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Coast Guard and Houston police as residents brought boats to staging centers and helicopters were deployed to save others stranded.

Federal authorities predicted it would take years to repair the damage from Harvey. The expected rain conjured memories of Tropical Storm Allison, which lingered for days over South Texas in 2001, flooding 70,000 homes and causing $9 billion in damage.

Damages are not likely to be as extensive as Katrina in 2005, which killed 1,800 people in and around New Orleans, or Sandy, which hit New York in 2012, said a spokeswoman for Hannover Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers. Those caused $80 billion and $36 billion in insured losses, respectively.

All Houston port facilities will be closed on Monday because of the weather threat, a port spokeswoman said.

More than 247,000 customers in the Houston area were without power on Monday morning, utilities CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas and TNMP said. CenterPoint warned, though, it could not update its figures due to limited access caused by flooding.

Jose Rengel, 47, a construction worker who lives in Galveston, helped rescue efforts in Dickinson, southeast of Houston, where he saw water cresting the tops of cars.

"I am blessed that not much has happened to me but these people lost everything," he said.

"And it keeps raining. The water has nowhere to go."

1 Dead As Harvey Continues To Churn Over Texas, Photos

Though Hurricane Harvey weakened to a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned of additional downpours forecast to drench already flooded communities in the coming hours and days.

"Our biggest concern is between 20 and 30 more inches of rain in areas ranging from Corpus Christi over to Houston," Abbott said at a press conference Saturday afternoon. "We want to do everything we possibly can to keep people out of rising water."

Abbott said search-and-rescue missions and cleanup efforts have already begun in some parts of Texas, after Harvey slammed into the state's Gulf Coast Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane, unleashing a dangerous wrath of torrential rain and 130 mph winds. By Saturday afternoon, Harvey had gradually downgraded to a tropical storm as maximum sustained winds dropped to 65 mph, but the National Weather Service still warned of a "serious flooding event unfolding" inland over Texas, as well as "torrential rains."

As of 4 p.m. local time, the storm had barely moved for hours, with the eye hovering about 45 miles away from Victoria, Texas.

Abbott, who visited with evacuees from the Corpus Christi area in San Antonio, said the displaced residents he met with are in "strong" spirits despite the damage done and the ominous forecast.

"They are what I call typical Texans. They were resilient, they were strong, they were strong-spirited, they were happy," he told reporters at the press conference Saturday afternoon. "They were just happy to be there and be alive."

But the Harvey has already proven to be deadly. In the Texas coastal city of Rockport, one person was confirmed dead Saturday afternoon as a result of the storm. More victims are likely, officials there said.

Although Harvey is projected to churn over southeastern Texas through the weekend, residents in hard-hit communities re-emerged Saturday to assess the damage and risk their lives to save others after a tumultuous night of rain, wind and reported tornadoes.

Here's what you need to know about the strongest storm to hit the Lone Star State in decades:
What's ahead: More rain, flooding, tornadoes

What can Texans expect from this storm as it hovers over the region? Rain -- and lots of it.

At 2:30 a.m. local time Saturday, as much as 9.6 inches of rain had already fallen in Texas. Around 9:30 a.m. local time Saturday, 14.46 inches of rain had accumulated in an area in Austwell and more than 10 inches was recorded in Fulshear, according to the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi.

Although Harvey is expected to weaken further, it will also slow down and meander between Victoria and San Antonio through the weekend.

"We are still expecting 25 to 30 inches [of rain] across southeast Texas," ABC News Meteorologist Daniel Manzo said Saturday. "This is in addition to what has already fallen this morning."

Flash-flood watches and warnings were in effect Saturday for much of southeastern Texas. Around 40 inches of rain is expected in some areas.

The latest forecast track shows Harvey heading back toward the coastline and interacting with the warm waters of the Gulf Coast early next week. This means areas that were already hit hard along the Texas coast should expect even more rain and wind, setting the stage for potentially catastrophic flooding.

Harvey is projected to take off Wednesday heading northeast and moving further inland into Texas, but staying west of Houston.

The storm is an evolving system, and its track could change.

Tornadoes are also a concern as there is a high risk of them in the region.

A tornado watch was issued Saturday in the early morning hours for parts of Texas and Louisiana. The warning was expanded inland and extended through much of Saturday, according to ABC News meteorologists.

Despite UN Sanctions, North Korea Fires 3 New Missiles

The crisis in the Korean Peninsula is far from being resolved as North Korea fired “several projectiles” into sea off its eastern coast on Friday August 25, 2017.

According to the South Korean military, the missiles were launched from a site in the North Korean province of Gangwon and flew for about 250km (150 miles). Since firing an intercontinental ballistic weapon last month, Pyongyang has threatened to aim missiles at the United States.


The latest test did not threaten the U.S. the U.S. military said. The projectiles were first launched at 06:49 on Saturday (21:49 GMT Friday), South Korea’s Defence Ministry said.

“The first and third missiles failed in flight. The second missile launch appears to have blown up almost immediately,” said Commander Dave Benham of the U.S. Pacific Command. The launches were spread over a period of 30 minutes,

He added. “The military is keeping a tight surveillance over the North to cope with further provocations,” the South Korean defence ministry said. Thousands of U.S. and South Korean troops are currently taking part in joint military drills, which are mainly largely computer-simulated exercises.

FG Asks Court To Revoke IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu’s Bail

The Federal Government has filed an application at the Federal High Court Abuja seeking the revocation of the bail granted to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu on April 25th this year.

In the application filed by the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, the Federal government cited disobedience of the bail conditions granted to Kanu as part of the reasons for its request.


In a Motion on Notice, the government is seeking an order of the court “directing the arrest and committing the 1st defendant to custody pending trial”.

Kanu and some members of his group are standing trial for conspiracy to commit acts of treasonable felony, treasonable felony and other related offences at the court, offences that the government said are not ordinarily bailable.

In the application, the Federal government said the IPOB leader had violated the terms of his bail conditions, which include that he should not be seen in a crowd exceeding 10 people; he should not grant any interviews, hold or attend any rallies; and that he should file in court medical updates of his health status every month.

Other grounds for the government’s application are that “rather than observing all of the conditions listed above, the 1st defendant in flagrant disobedience to the court order flouted all conditions of the bail; the first defendant has in furtherance to the offence (for which) he was charged, inaugurated Biafra Security Service; and that such an act is a grave threat to national security and unity of the country”.

Joined in the application with Kanu are: Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawuisi and Bright Chimezie.

Kanu was granted bail on April 25th and was released from Kuje prison on April 28th.

President Buhari Approves Rail Lines From Kano To Daura His Hometown, Others

President Buhari has approved a rail line from Kano to his hometown in Daura, Katsina state.

Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi who disclosed this yesterday, said the rail will run from Kano to Jibia local government areas of Katsina state.

Amaechi disclosed this at The Osasu Show Symposium today August 25th. He also announced some new rail lines that would be constructed.

Amaechi said the approved rail lines would run from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, Kano to Maiduguri, Makurdi to Jos, Gombe to Yobe to Borno, Jigawa to Niger Republic.

Samsung Heir, Jay Lee, Bags 5 Years Jail Term For Bribery

A court on Friday sentenced the billionaire head of South Korea’s Samsung Group, Jay Lee, to five years in prison for bribery.

After a six-month trial over a scandal that brought down the then president, Park Geun-hye, a court ruled that Lee had paid bribes in anticipation of favors from Park.


The court also found Lee guilty of hiding assets abroad, embezzlement and perjury.

Lee, the 49-year-old heir to one of the world’s biggest corporate empires, has been held since February on charges that he bribed Park to help secure control of a conglomerate that owns Samsung Electronics,.

Lee, who re-emerged stony-faced from the courtroom in a dark suit, but without a tie, and holding a document envelope, was escorted by justice ministry officials back to his detention center.

“This case is a matter of Lee Jae-yong and Samsung Group executives, who had been steadily preparing for Lee’s succession … bribing the president,” Seoul Central District Court Judge Kim Jin-dong said, using Lee’s Korean name.

Kim said that as the group’s heir apparent, Lee “stood to benefit the most” from any political favors for Samsung.

Lee denied wrongdoing, and one of his lawyers, Song Wu-cheol, said he would appeal.

Jay Z Explains Why He And Beyonce Named Their Twins Sir And Rumi Explains Why He And Beyonce Named Their Twins Sir And Rumi

Jay-Z has finally opened up on why he and Beyonce choose the names Sir and Rumi for their twins .

The 47-year-old rapper told Rap Radar podcast:

'Rumi is our favorite poet, so it was for our daughter. And then Sir was, like, man, come out the gate. He carries himself like that. He just came out, like, Sir.'

Speaking in the second part of his Rap Radar podcast interview which was published on Friday, the Smile rapper said:

'I booked the tour for October so I could have at least four months ... to just really bond and see their fingers and s*** like that.'

'They'll be with me [on tour] anyway, but I'm just saying, like, [I needed] a space where I'm not doing nothing, I'm just focused on them. I'm not thinking about a show at night or anything like that. That's why the tour is so far away from the release of the album.'

Eid-El-Kabir: 70 Trailer Load Of Lake Rice Arrive Lagos

…As Govt Assures Of Fair Distribution Across Sales Centres

In an effort to ensure even distribution across all the sale centres, the Lagos State Government on Wednesday said that at least 70 trailer load of the LAKE RICE have arrived the State ahead of the commencement of the sale on Thursday.

The State’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Toyin Suarau who spoke to journalists, said that the Government has made adequate arrangement to ensure that Lagosians willing to purchase LAKE RICE can do so without much hassles.

How I Escaped Being Shot On My Birthday – How I Escaped Being Shot On My Birthday – Angela Okorie

Nollywood actress, Angela Okorie was almost killed on her birthday last week.

Angela in a chat with Saturday Beats revealed that she was accosted by men of the underworld after her charity event to celebrate her birthday.

She said,

“I am grateful to God for life. I am a humanitarian and I am always happy whenever I give back to the society. That was why I celebrated my birthday with the underprivileged.”  

“My brother was driving and since the road was rough, he had to slow down because of a pothole. All of a sudden, he just told me to bend my head in the car because I was not concentrating. By the time I would realise what was happening, some armed robbers had double crossed us and they alighted from their cars with guns.
They approached our car and cocked their guns, ready to shoot. They almost shot us but before we knew it, some officers of the Nigerian Customs Service showed up from nowhere. They intervened and immediately, my brother seized the opportunity to zoom off. That was how we were saved.

“I believe it was God that sent those Customs guys to us because they were not on the road and they came out from nowhere. When I saw the robbers, I was scared but I had faith in God. I wonder what would have happened if God was not on my side.”