The Blue Ridge Times

Tropical Storm Hermine has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center reported. Previously dubbed Tropical Depression Nine, it strengthened into a tropical storm with 40-mph winds Wednesday afternoon. Hermine is moving north at 2 mph and is expected to make landfall in the Florida panhandle's "Big Bend" region late Thursday or early Friday, the hurricane center said. It is then forecast to cross Florida before continuing northeast along the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas. 

Donald Trump made a last-minute trip Wednesday to Mexico in his first visit as the Republican nominee to meet with a world leader -- one who has publicly insulted him and criticized his immigration and border policies. The lightning-speed visit with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto takes place in the frenzied build-up to Trump's speech in Arizona Wednesday night clarifying his murky policy on immigration. Trump's calls for deporting all undocumented workers, labeling many Mexican immigrants "rapists" and "criminals," and plan to build a wall along the border -- that Mexico would pay for -- have earned him withering criticism from Peña Nieto, as well as many independents and moderate Republicans. But they are central pillars of his campaign, which has galvanized his white working class base behind his White House bid. Those most fervently opposed to immigration have pushed back against the rumored "softening" in his stance that he coul...

If you want to see where you fall according to Facebook, log into the social network on a computer, visit the ad preferences page, then click "Lifestyle and Culture." Your political views should be included there, depending on how much Facebook knows about you.  This shouldn't come as a surprise, though the presentation may be jarring to some. Facebook has allowed users to self-identify as politically liberal, conservative, or whatever on their profiles for years and years. And the bargain we make to use "free" online services is practically an internet cliche at this point: Companies like Facebook and Google trade on the information we willingly provide them with in exchange for use of their products. There's nothing nefarious about the ad preferences page, in other words, especially given that you can "remove" anything that you're uncomfortable with. Still, the function raises some questions that aren't easy to answer. "Med...

The price of entry to see Hillary Clinton on Sunday evening was $50,000 per person, a sum that got you an al fresco meal of tomato and mozzarella salad, lobster, strawberry shortcake and an intimate conversation with the possible next president of the United States. “It was the easiest event I’ve ever done,” said Elaine Schuster, a longtime Clinton friend who hosted the soiree at her waterfront home on Cape Cod, Mass. “Everyone wanted to come.” Not everyone could, of course: Just 28 people joined Clinton for cocktails and dinner in Schuster’s back yard. The Democratic nominee has spent much of August in such exclusive environs, helping her campaign and the party scoop up at least $32 million in three weeks as part of a nonstop press of high-dollar fundraisers. Clinton has touted her growing support from small contributors, whose donations of $200 or less made up nearly 40 percent of her campaign’s $62 million haul in July. But the former secretary of state devote...

A strong, shallow earthquake devastated towns in central Italy  early Wednesday, killing at least 39 people and leaving rescuers desperately digging through the rubble to free survivors. The 6.2-magnitude earthquake badly damaged villages in a mountainous rural area of central Italy that is a popular vacation spot, bustling with tourists during the summer break. Italy's civil protection agency reported 39 dead, but the death toll is expected to continue to rise as rescue teams reach the remote sites where the damage is worst. Among the dead are 10 people in the village of Pescara del Tronto, six in Accumoli and five in Amatrice, CNN affiliate Rai reported, adding that children were among the victims. Roberto Paoletti, a firefighter in the municipality of Arquata del Tronto told CNN a young girl had died in the village. Authorities say they cannot put a figure on the number trapped under the rubble. The earthquake hit 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) southeast of Norcia at 3:36...

The blare of car horns still shows the support for picketing Verizon communications and electrical workers four weeks after they went on strike. A major sticking point: how to adjust to American households hanging up on landline service and going wireless. Long gone are the days of needing an extra landline in the house for dial-up internet service and more. “I remember the days of the teenager line. When as soon as someone reached a certain milestone age, say 15 or 16 and they got their own phone. Those days are gone at this point. It seems that people at a much younger age wind up getting a cell phone,” said Senior VP of National Operations Support for Verizon, Tom Maguire. A national study shows the percentage of households with landlines and no cell phone is shrinking while the percentage of wireless-only households is growing. Verizon says in the last five years, it lost nearly eight million landline customers, some to wireless, some to competition. “The unions are well a...

A week-long manhunt for a suspect who wounded an Illinois police officer ended Sunday in a shootout more than 200 miles south that wounded an FBI agent and left the suspect dead. Police in southern Illinois said that after the shootout, a police robot entered an abandoned house in near Eddyville, Ill., near the Kentucky border, and found the body of Darcy “Clint” Pendleton on the second story. Officials did not immediately say whether he was killed by police or himself. "Darcy Clint Pendleton is no longer a threat," Illinois State Police Captain Bill Sons told reporters Sunday afternoon. The manhunt began May 7, after Pendleton allegedly shot a police officer in the arm in Mahomet, Ill., near Champaign, during a traffic stop. Police said a fleeing Pendleton got an assault rifle from his home, stole a truck from a rock quarry and drove south into the Lusk Creek Wilderness area in southeast Missouri. The search focused on the Shawnee National Forest are...

The woman who went missing Friday from the Carnival Liberty cruise ship, had climbed up on a deck railing and fell backwards into the Gulf of Mexico, the cruise line said today. After Samantha Broberg, 33, was reported missing by her travel companions, a ship-wide search was conducted and the ships camera footage was reviewed, Carnival said. "Based on the video analysis, we can confirm that it appears she climbed up and sat on a deck railing and subsequently fell backwards," Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz said. Carnival Liberty departed from Galveston, Texas, on a four-day Mexico cruise on Thursday and is scheduled to return on Monday morning. Broberg had not been found as of midday Sunday, despite a search by the Coast Guard. The video shows that she fell into the Gulf of Mexico from the 10th deck of the ship at approximately 2 a.m. Friday, but the Coast Guard was not contacted until 5 p.m. Friday, when her disappearance had been confirmed. "Autho...

On Fox News Sunday, Reince Priebus promised that Donald Trump will “bring an earthquake to Washington.” At the least, he’s put the RNC chairman on shaky ground. Priebus, the top official in the Republican Party, has a conundrum. His party’s presumptive nominee is making it extremely hard for him to attack Hillary Clinton, as Priebus’s most recent Sunday morning TV tour made excruciatingly clear. For years, the Republican Party has been developing talking points and strategic attacks to use against Clinton. And one by one, Trump seems to be rendering them useless. Priebus’s walk of Sunday shame came in the wake of a brutal few days for Trump. The Washington Post  produced audio of Trump allegedly pretending to be his own PR flack, The New York Times  released a scorching report about Trump’s creepy and predatory treatment of pageant contestants and female employees. On top of that, Trump spent the week arguing that he doesn’t have a r...