Hurricane Erin’s furthest bands began brushing the outer banks of North Carolina’s coast Wednesday, where the Category 2 storm triggered mandatory evacuation orders, and officials warned summer beachgoers along the US East Coast of life-threatening surf and rip currents in coming days.Landfall isn’t expected for Erin — welcome news for the southern US state still reeling from last year’s deadly Hurricane Helene — but North Carolina officials declared an emergency Tuesday as Erin’s predicted impacts began taking shape.Portions of coastal North Carolina and Virginia were under tropical storm warnings, according to officials at the National Hurricane Center (NHC).”Swells generated by Erin will affect the Bahamas, Bermuda, the east coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada during the next several days,” NHC said, adding that “Erin is a large hurricane.”As of Wednesday afternoon, Erin was churning northward some 245 miles (395 kilometers) southeast of North Carolina, packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), the NHC said — with the possibility it could still restrengthen to a major hurricane.Its unusually large size means tropical storm-force winds extend hundreds of miles from its center, earning it the moniker “Enormous Erin” by hurricane specialist Michael Lowry, who wrote on Substack the United States was fortunate to be spared a direct hit.Mandatory evacuation orders were in effect for Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands in North Carolina.North Carolina Governor Josh Stein urged residents to store enough food, water and supplies to last up to five days — and to safeguard important documents like insurance policies.”We have already pre-positioned three swift water rescue teams and 200 National Guard troops to various locations on the coast, along with boats, high clearance vehicles and aircraft,” he added.- Massive waves -Highway 12 — which runs through the scenic Outer Banks of North Carolina, a string of low-lying islands and spits already under threat from sea-level rise and erosion  — could be left impassable by waves as high as 20 feet (six meters).Last year’s Hurricane Helene caused approximately $60 billion in damage to North Carolina, equivalent to almost two years of the state’s budget, said Stein, who criticized what he called inadequate federal assistance from the administration of President Donald Trump.Trump has mused about dismantling the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — whose work he believes should fall to state leaders and has long been a target of conspiracy theories from the political right. – Insurance risks -The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, has entered its historical peak.Despite a relatively quiet start with just four named storms so far, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continues to forecast an above-normal season.Scientists say climate change is supercharging tropical cyclones: warmer oceans fuel stronger winds, a warmer atmosphere intensifies rainfall, and higher sea levels magnify storm surge.There is also some evidence, though less certainty, that climate change is making hurricanes more frequent.

The Texas legislature’s lower chamber passed a contentious new electoral map on Wednesday that aims to help Donald Trump’s Republican Party retain its razor-thin US House majority in the 2026 midterm elections.The vote had been delayed by two weeks after Democratic legislators fled the southern state to halt the aggressive redistricting drive, which carves out five new Republican-friendly districts.More than 50 Democrats walked out, stalling legislative business and generating national headlines as they sought to draw attention to the rare mid-decade redistricting push.The rebels returned this week, but not before their protest had set off a national map-drawing war, with Trump pressuring his party’s state-level officials to do everything they can to protect the majority in the US House of Representatives.The stakes are sky-high for Trump, who will be bogged down in investigations into almost every aspect of his second term if Democrats manage to flip the handful of districts nationwide needed to win back the House in next year’s midterm elections.As lawmakers in the Lone Star State debated the map, Democratic representative Chris Turner called it a “clear violation of the Voting Rights Act and the constitution,” according to Austin-based news site The Texas Tribune.Republican leaders of the Texas House sped up the normal legislative process, bringing the new map to a final vote Wednesday evening. It passed along party lines 88-52.After the state House’s green light, it moves to the state Senate, where it has passed in a previous session, before heading to Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s desk.- Playing hardball -Individual states redraw their own congressional districts, usually only once every 10 years, after the US Census.But “redistricting can be done at any point in time,” argued the Texas map’s sponsor, Republican Todd Hunter, according to the Tribune. “The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance.”There is little Democrats in Texas can do to thwart the map change, but it has prompted retaliation in California, and serious discussions in other Democratic-led states alarmed that the Texas maneuver could be replicated nationwide.Republicans are mulling drawing at least 10 new seats and are targeting Ohio, Missouri, New Hampshire, Indiana, South Carolina and Florida.Trump on Monday posted the proposed map of Texas on his Truth Social platform, calling it “one of the most popular initiatives I have ever supported.”State lawmakers in Democratic stronghold California — the largest and richest US state — introduced three bills on Monday to create a voter referendum this year for a new congressional map that would effectively counteract Texas.If approved, the referendum would appear on California’s November 4 ballot.”Nothing about this is normal, and so we’re not going to act as if anything is normal any longer,” Governor Gavin Newsom told reporters Wednesday. “Yes, we’ll fight fire with fire. Yes, we will push back. It’s not about whether we play hardball anymore, it’s about how we play hardball.”New York Democrats may follow suit, with Governor Kathy Hochul calling the Texas redistricting plan nothing short of a “legal insurrection.”

The United States on Wednesday defiantly expanded efforts to hobble the International Criminal Court over its prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sanctioning a judge from ally France.Secretary of State Marco Rubio also targeted a Canadian judge in a separate case in his latest volley of sanctions against the tribunal in The Hague, which is backed by virtually all other Western democracies as a court of last resort.”The Court is a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel,” Rubio said in a statement, using a term popular with President Donald Trump’s supporters.He attacked the court for investigating US and Israeli citizens “without the consent of either nation.”Among the four people newly slapped with sanctions was Judge Nicolas Guillou of France, who is presiding over a case in which an arrest warrant was issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.France — whose president, Emmanuel Macron, was in Washington two days earlier — expressed “dismay” over the action.The sanctions are “in contradiction to the principle of an independent judiciary,” a foreign ministry spokesman said in Paris.The ICC in its own statement denounced the “flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.”The court’s prosecution alleges Netanyahu is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel’s offensive in Gaza including by intentionally targeting civilians and using starvation as a method of war.Netanyahu saluted Rubio for his “decisive act against a smear campaign of lies against the State of Israel” and the Israeli army.Israel launched the massive offensive in response to an unprecedented attack by Hamas against Israel in which mostly civilians were killed.The ICC has also sought the arrest of former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who has since been confirmed killed by Israel.Guillou is a veteran jurist who previously participated in trials over Kosovo and Lebanon. He worked for several years in the United States assisting the Justice Department with judicial cooperation during Barack Obama’s presidency.Under the sanctions, he will be refused entry to the United States and any assets he has in the world’s largest economy will be blocked — measures more often taken against US adversaries than citizens of friendly nations.- Defending Israel, exempting Putin -Also targeted by the latest US sanctions was a Canadian judge, Kimberly Prost, who was involved in a case that authorized an investigation into alleged crimes committed during the war in Afghanistan, including by US forces.Rubio also slapped sanctions on two deputy prosecutors — Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal. The State Department said the two were punished by the United States for supporting “illegitimate ICC actions against Israel,” including by supporting the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.Rubio imposed sanctions on four other ICC judges in June.The Trump administration has roundly rejected the authority of the court, which was set up as a court of last resort when national systems do not allow for justice.Trump on Friday welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Alaska even though Putin faces an ICC arrest warrant, a factor that has stopped him from traveling more widely since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine.The United States, Russia and Israel are among the nations that reject the ICC.Previous president Joe Biden’s administration also opposed its action against Israel but withdrew previous sanctions and was open to narrow cooperation with the ICC, including in gathering evidence in Ukraine.