Shownotes Transcript
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stephens. Hundreds of thousands of Floridians are once again under evacuation orders, this time because of a devastating hurricane on track to hit the state this week. Hurricane Milton is a Category 5 storm projected to make landfall between Tampa and Fort Myers.
As NPR's Greg Allen reports, many of the areas of the region are bracing for storm surge and massive power outages. A lot of the focus is on Tampa Bay, but the worst winds and the storm surge will come south of the eye, wherever that happens to be. But in Tampa Bay, because of its topography, it's extremely susceptible to storm surge.
Helene, you know, made landfall more than 150 miles north of there. But even so, the eight-foot storm surge in Tampa Bay was the worst seen in at least a century. It claimed a dozen lives. The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Milton may bring a much bigger storm surge up to 12 feet in Tampa Bay. NPR's Greg Allen reporting.
Somber vigils and tense confrontations were held on and off campuses around the nation Monday to mark one year since the attack by Hamas on Israel. As NPR's Tovia Smith reports, police say multiple people were arrested. Pro-Palestinian students led a walkout of classes at several colleges, including Columbia University. Meantime, pro-Israel students there staged an art installation and prayer service.
But elsewhere in New York City, it was less peaceful, like when a pro-Palestinian protester grabbed an Israeli flag from a man who ended up with a bloody nose. Pro-Palestinian protesters waved flags of their own, along with signs accusing Israel of genocide.
Two City University of New York campuses saw what the university called violent vandalism and hateful rhetoric, including smashed windows and divest now spray-painted on a building. School officials say students responsible may be subject to disciplinary actions.
Tovia Smith, NPR News. In another gun case, the U.S. Supreme Court today wrestles with another question on whether the ATF overreached by requiring ghost guns to be treated the same as other firearms. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports. They're called ghost guns because these build-it-yourself gun kits, when assembled, have no serial numbers and can't be traced when found at a crime scene. Moreover, buying a kit does not require a background check.
At least until 2022, as these assembled guns became more and more of a problem for law enforcement, and the Biden administration issued a rule classifying the kits as firearms under the 1968 Gun Control Act.
The statute defines a firearm as any weapon that is, quote, designed to or may readily be converted into a functional firearm. The government contends that the kits thus qualify as guns. The sellers of the kits challenge the rule, contending that a bunch of parts do not count as guns. Nina Totenberg reporting. This is NPR.
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