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...