AFP USA

Washington is in a standoff and the chips are down — with the government shuttered for weeks, federal workers stuck in limbo and millions who rely on health insurance subsidies scared of losing the shirt off their backs. Behind the scenes, it’s not just about budgets — it’s about who’s winning the blame game.Democrats argue they have the clearer story and the more relatable message. Republicans have President Donald Trump’s megaphone, but critics say their argument is tangled in technicalities.Polling shows the public assigning blame to both parties. The most recent surveys show a plurality blaming Republicans, although Trump remains largely unscathed. But with each missed paycheck and rising premium, the stakes get higher — and someone is going to fold.- The stakes -This shutdown isn’t your garden-variety gridlock — it’s already the second-longest in history and neither side looks close to backing down.It is the first significant shutdown driven by Democrats, and only the second time the government has paused over demands to spend rather than save.Democrats want to extend subsidies for health insurance premiums that help millions afford coverage. Republicans say reopen the government first, then maybe we’ll talk.But Republicans control the White House, House, and Senate. So when the lights go out, Democrats say their opponents cannot offload the blame.- Democrats’ play: Keep it simple -Democrats are betting on clarity: Republicans are in charge and letting the government stall while health care costs spiral. Ashley Kirzinger, from health research group KFF, says the message that “health care is at risk” is a widely understood pitch that lands.”What we found is 78 percent of the public — including majorities of Democrats, independents, Republicans and (Trump) supporters — all think Congress should extend the premium tax credits beyond 2025,” she told NPR.Democrats also feel comfortable taking the fight to Republicans on a “tent pole issue” central to their brand, says American University politics professor Matthew Foster. – Republicans move from red meat to procedure -Republicans — from Trump to Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson — kicked off the shutdown with a blunt message: “Democrats want to fund free health care for illegal immigrants.”The claim didn’t hold up, as undocumented immigrants are barred from the benefits Democrats are pushing, and polling on its effectiveness is threadbare.Republicans soon pivoted to process.They argue they passed a “clean CR” — a temporary funding bill — and blame the gridlock on Democrats wielding the “filibuster,” the 60-vote threshold required to get legislation through the 100-member Senate.Critics say voters don’t care about procedural chess, and trying to explain the filibuster is like reading the fine print on a casino voucher.The voters that matter “aren’t paying close enough attention to know this nuance,” Foster says.- Who’s holding the better cards? -Democrats are playing the emotional hand — health care, working families, real-world consequences.Republicans lean on process and power plays. Trump’s bravado fires up the base but analysts say he risks alienating voters who just want their paychecks and prescriptions.”Polls show that people aren’t necessarily blaming him yet, but as the economy turns, as other things do, that could shift drastically,” Foster says.In the most recent polling, Reuters/Ipsos found 50 percent blame Republicans, 43 percent Democrats. Hart Research showed 52 percent blame Trump and Republicans, while 41 percent point the finger at Democrats.Trump’s approval in the Ipsos poll ticked up over the shutdown, from 40 to 42 percent.- Playing the long game -Democrats are looking past the gridlock, and elevating health care as a defining issue for 2026 midterm elections. As premiums rise and frustration builds, they hope voters connect the dots: Republican control equals shutdown pain.Republicans see leverage — a chance to reshape government and flex muscle. But the longer it drags on, analysts say, the more the shutdown looks like a risky bet.”Both sides are blaming the other for breaking America,” said Peter Loge, a professor of political communication at George Washington University.”And if they’re not careful, both sides will be right.”

Held inside a notorious prison among some of California’s most dangerous felons, the San Quentin Film Festival is not your typical Hollywood affair.Red-carpet interviews take place just yards (meters) away from a now dormant execution chamber where hundreds of death-row inmates met grisly ends.Convicted murderers sit alongside famous actors and journalists, applauding films made by their fellow inmates.Among them is Ryan Pagan, serving 77 years for first-degree murder.”I always wanted to be an actor — but unfortunately that’s not the life I ended up living,” explains Pagan, prison tattoos peeking out from the short sleeves of his jailhouse-issue blue shirt.His film “The Maple Leaf,” made behind bars, is competing for best narrative short film — a category only for currently or formerly incarcerated filmmakers.Pagan, 37, was a teen when he committed his crime, and hopes his new skills directing movies could one day offer “a pipeline to Hollywood, to employment.”Though it did not win, the movie — about a self-help group in which prisoners tackle guilt and shame — won high praise from a jury including director Celine Song (“Past Lives”) and actor Jesse Williams (“Grey’s Anatomy.”)”Right now, I’m just doing the work and rehabilitating myself. Part of the story of ‘The Maple Leaf’ is about guys like me,” he says.- ‘Healing’ -The oldest prison in California, San Quentin was for decades a maximum-security facility that hosted the nation’s biggest death row — and a famous concert by Johnny Cash in 1969.It has become a flagship for California penal reform, and no longer carries out executions.Rehabilitation programs include a media center where prisoners produce a newspaper, podcasts and films. The projects are intended to provide employable skills, as 90 percent of inmates will one day be released.The festival, launched last year, offers inmates a chance to meet mainstream filmmakers from the outside.Founder Cori Thomas, a playwright and screenwriter, had volunteered at the prison for years, and wanted a way to show her Hollywood peers the “exceptional work” being made in San Quentin.”The only way would be for them to come in here to see it,” she realized.After two successful editions, the festival will expand to a women’s prison in 2026.- ‘Warning Signs’ -San Quentin’s film program is also a chance for inmates to confront their often brutal pasts.Miguel Sifuentes, 27 years into a life sentence for an armed robbery in which his accomplice killed a police officer, says creating short film “Warning Signs” was “a transformative healing experience.”He plays an inmate contemplating suicide. Total strangers in prison who watched the film later approached him to open up about their own suicidal thoughts, he says.”It really wasn’t like acting — it was just speaking from a real place of pain,” Sifuentes said.Prison warden Chance Andes told AFP that cathartic activities like filmmaking and events like the festival help “reduce the violence and the tension within the walls.”Inmates who cause fights or otherwise break prison rules temporarily lose their chance to participate. Andes says these lessons resonate after the prisoners are released.”If we send people out without having resolved their trauma and having no skill set, no degree, no schooling, they’re more likely to reoffend and cause more victims,” he says.- ‘Grateful’ -Even rehabilitation-focused prisons like San Quentin remain dangerous places.”We’ve had assaults where nurses have been hurt by patients,” said Kevin Healy, who is a union president and trains staff at San Quentin.”It’s a prison… it comes with the territory.”Overhead circling the courtyard is a narrow walkway, where guards with deadly rifles can appear at the first sign of unrest.But it is a far cry from the terrifying maximum-security prisons where both Pagan and Sifuentes began their sentences, and where Sifuentes nearly died after being stabbed.At least on this sunny festival day, as incarcerated musicians play cheerfully in the courtyard, that violence feels temporarily at bay.”Honestly, I hate to say ‘I’m grateful to be at this prison,’ says Pagan.”But in a sense I am.”

The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its second rate cut of the year on Wednesday, despite a lack of clarity over the health of the US economy due to the ongoing government shutdown.The US central bank’s second-to-last rate meeting of the year is taking place against the backdrop of a weeks-long standoff between Republicans and Democrats over health care subsidies, resulting in a suspension of publication of almost all official data. Without these key insights into the US economy, Fed officials will be forced to set interest rates without the full spectrum of data they normally rely upon.Analysts and traders expect the bank will plow ahead with a quarter percentage-point cut, lowering its key lending rate to between 3.75 percent and 4.00 percent, without giving too much away about the final rate cut of the year in December.The lack of official information complicates the ongoing debate at the Fed over whether to cut rates swiftly in order to support the weakening labor market, or to stand firm in the face of inflation, which remains stuck stubbornly above the bank’s long-term target of two percent, fueled by Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on top trading partners.The US central bank has a dual mandate from Congress to act independently to tackle both inflation and unemployment, which it does by raising, holding, or cutting its benchmark lending rate. “They’ll have to decide how much (inflation) is still to come versus how much is just never going to come, and that’s the big question right now,” former Fed official Joseph Gagnon told AFP. Asked Sunday why consumer prices remain high, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed the “affordability crisis” on the previous administration of Democrat Joe Biden and said he was confident that inflation would ease “in the coming months.” “We will see a drop in inflation back towards the Fed’s two percent target,” Bessent told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”- ‘Blunt tool’ -The only major data point to be published since the shutdown began on October 1 was the US consumer inflation data, which came in hot at 3.0 percent in the 12 months to September, according to delayed Labor Department data published on Friday. But the figure came in slightly below expectations, cheering the financial markets, which closed at fresh records on the news.The Fed uses a different measure to gauge inflation, but that guideline also remains stuck well above target, according to data published before the shutdown.On the other side of the mandate, employment has slowed sharply in recent months, with just 22,000 jobs created in August, even as the unemployment rate hugged close to historic lows at 4.3 percent. “The goal is to get it just right, and that’s a hard thing to do with such a blunt tool,” KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk told AFP, referring to the Fed’s key interest rate.  Swonk expects the Fed to cut twice more this year, and to announce an end to its program of shrinking its balance sheet next week — known as quantitative tightening — in the face of rising liquidity risks. – Fed under political pressure -The Fed has been rocked this year by relentless attacks on personnel directed from the White House, with Trump often taking to his Truth Social network to criticize Fed chair Jerome Powell, who steps down next year. The Trump administration has also gone after Fed governor Lisa Cook, attempting to remove her from her post on accusations of mortgage fraud. Cook fought back against the legal challenge to remove her, with the case going all the way up to the US Supreme Court, which has said it will hear the arguments against her in January next year.The timing of that decision means the Supreme Court is unlikely to rule on whether Cook can remain in her post before the end of February, the deadline for when the US central bank’s board must decide whether to reappoint regional Fed presidents — a process that only happens once every five years. “It seems like the odds that he could do this maneuver are greatly diminished,” said Gagnon from PIIE. 

A US warship arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday for joint exercises near the coast of Venezuela, as Washington ratcheted up pressure on drug traffickers and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.The USS Gravely, whose upcoming arrival was announced Thursday by the Trinidadian government, docked in the capital, Port of Spain.It is set to remain in the small Caribbean nation until Thursday, during which time a contingent of US Marines will conduct joint training with local defense forces.The exercises are part of a mounting military campaign by US President Donald Trump against drug-trafficking organizations in Latin America, which has targeted Trump’s arch-foe Maduro in particular.US forces have blown up at least 10 boats they claimed were smuggling narcotics, killing at least 43 people, and Trump has also threatened ground attacks on suspected cartels in Venezuela.Maduro, a longtime Trump foe whose reelection last year was widely rejected as fraudulent, has accused the United States of “fabricating a war” aimed at toppling him.The standoff escalated sharply on Friday, when the Pentagon ordered the deployment of the world’s biggest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, to the region.Trump has also authorized CIA operations against Venezuela.The standoff has pulled in Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, a sharp critic of the American strikes who was sanctioned by Washington on Friday for allegedly allowing drug trafficking to flourish.Washington has accused both Maduro and Petro of being “narcoterrorists,” without providing any proof of the allegations. In August, Washington deployed a fleet of eight US Navy ships, 10 F-35 warplanes and a nuclear-powered submarine to the region for anti-drug operations — the biggest military build-up in the area since the 1989 US invasion of Panama.- ‘Getting a lash’ -In Trinidad and Tobago, a laidback twin-island nation of 1.4 million people, some welcomed their government’s show of support for the US campaign but others worried about getting caught up in a conflict between Washington and Caracas.”If anything should happen with Venezuela and America, we as people who live on the outskirts of it … could end up getting a lash any time,” 64-year-old Daniel Holder, a Rastafarian who wore a white turban, told AFP, “I am against my country being part of this,” he added.Victor Rojas, a 38-year-old carpenter who has been living in Trinidad and Tobago for the past eight years, said he was worried for his family back home.”Venezuela is not in a position to weather an attack right now,” he said, referring to the country’s economic collapse under Maduro. Trinidad and Tobago, which acts as a hub in the Caribbean drug trade, has itself been caught up in the US campaign of strikes on suspected drug boats.Two Trinidadian men were killed in a strike on a vessel that set out from Venezuela in mid-October, according to their families. The mother of one of the victims insisted he was a fisherman, not a drug trafficker.Local authorities have not yet confirmed their deaths.

US President Donald Trump started his Asia tour in Malaysia Sunday by rewarding Cambodia and Thailand with trade deals after co-signing their ceasefire pact, and saying he was confident of a “great” trade deal at upcoming talks with China’s Xi Jinping.Trump brimmed with confidence ahead of the meeting with Xi in South Korea, that seeks to end the bruising trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.”I think we’re going to make a deal,” he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng concluded two days of meetings.China’s vice commerce minister Li Chenggang told reporters a “preliminary consensus” had been reached.Bessent said the talks, seeking an agreement to avoid further 100 percent tariffs on China due to come into effect on November 1, “set the stage for the leaders’ meeting in a very positive framework”.He later told ABC that “tariffs will be averted” and signalled a tentative deal had been agreed that would delay rare earths curbs and resuming US soybean exports.For Trump, however, first on his agenda in Kuala Lumpur — on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit — was co-signing a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia.Trump called the truce he helped broker — after the deadliest clashes between the neighbours in decades — a “monumental step”, adding that in parallel, he had struck “a major trade deal with Cambodia and a very important critical minerals agreement with Thailand”.As he left Washington, Trump added to speculation that he could meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time since 2019 while on the Korean peninsula, saying he was “open to it”.The US president, on his first trip to Asia since returning to the White House in January in a blaze of tariffs and international dealmaking, heads to Japan on Monday on the next leg of his tour.In Malaysia, Trump’s first visit as president, his flight was escorted on its final approach to Kuala Lumpur by two Malaysian F-18 jets.Greeted with a red carpet welcome and a sea of Malaysian and US flags, a grinning Trump responded with his trademark arm-waving dance to cultural performers.Trump, who also signed a trade and minerals deal with Malaysia, rode with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in his armoured Cadillac — nicknamed “The Beast”.A small group of protesters, including some holding placards reading “Dump Trump”, rallied elsewhere in the city.Trump met Qatar’s leaders — among the guarantors of the Gaza ceasefire deal he spearheaded — during a refuelling stop, and met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to improve ties with the leftist leader.”I think we’ll be able to do some pretty good deals,” Trump said to Lula.- Tariff talks -Trump will on Tuesday meet Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has put strengthening US ties as her “administration’s top priority on the diplomatic and security front”.The US leader said he had heard “great things about her” and hailed the fact that she was an acolyte of assassinated former premier Shinzo Abe, with whom he had close ties.Japan has escaped the worst of the tariffs Trump slapped on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are “ripping off the United States”.The highlight of the trip is expected to be South Korea, where Trump will meet Xi for the first time since his return to office.Trump is due to land in the southern port city of Busan on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.On Thursday, global markets will be watching closely to see if the meeting with Xi can halt the trade war sparked by Trump’s sweeping tariffs, especially after a recent dispute over Beijing’s rare earth curbs.South Korea’s reunification minister has said there is a “considerable” chance that Trump and North Korea’s Kim will also meet.The two leaders last met in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas during Trump’s first term.Kim has said he would also be open to meeting the US president if Washington drops its demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear arsenal.burs-pjm/lb/sst

Hurricane Melissa was cutting a deadly path through the Caribbean on Sunday, strengthening into a Category 4 storm as it crawled along a worryingly slow course toward Jamaica and the island of Hispaniola.Melissa has already been blamed for three deaths in Haiti this week, as its outer bands brought heavy rains and landslides to the impoverished nation.In the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, a 79-year-old man was found dead after being swept away in a stream, local officials said Saturday. A 13-year-old boy was missing.”You feel powerless, unable to do anything, just run away and leave everything behind,” Angelita Francisco, a 66-year-old homemaker who fled her neighborhood in the Dominican Republic, told AFP through tears.Floodwater had inundated her house, causing her refrigerator to float away as trash bobbed around the home.The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Sunday that Melissa had intensified into a Category 4 hurricane, packing winds of about 140 miles (225 kilometers) per hour and moving at 5 mph.The storm was expected to set off “life-threatening and catastrophic” flooding and landslides in parts of Jamaica and southern Hispaniola, the NHC said, forecasting “continued rapid intensification… followed by fluctuations in intensity.”Melissa was “expected to be a major hurricane when making landfall in Jamaica Monday night or Tuesday morning, and southeastern Cuba late Tuesday,” it added.As of Sunday, Melissa was about 120 miles (around 190 kilometers) southeast of Jamaica’s capital Kingston, and 280 miles (450 kilometers) southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba.The Dominican Republic’s emergency operations center said nine of 31 provinces were on red alert Saturday due to risk of flash floods, rising rivers and landslides.Melissa could bring 15 to 30 inches (38 to 76 cm) of rain in portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica, with isolated areas expected to receive as much as 40 inches, the NHC said.Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Friday urged residents of flood-prone areas to heed warnings and be prepared to evacuate.”If you live in an area that was flooded before, expect that it will flood again,” he said.Norman Manley International Airport, which serves Kingston, announced it would close on Saturday evening and urged the public not to travel there.The Jamaica Information Service government agency said on Saturday that all seaports had been closed.Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November.The last major hurricane to impact Jamaica was Beryl in early July 2024 — an abnormally strong storm for the time of year.Beryl brought downpours and strong winds to Jamaica as it moved past the island’s southern coast, leaving at least four people dead.

US President Donald Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday on the first leg of an Asian tour that will include high-stakes trade talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.US-China trade talks in the Malaysian capital entered a second day on Sunday, ahead of Trump’s meeting with Xi in South Korea, in a bid to seal a deal to end the bruising trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he hoped for a “comprehensive deal” with Xi, adding that he expected China to make a deal to avoid further 100 percent tariffs that are due to come into effect on November 1.”We’re moving forward to the final details of the type of agreement that the leaders can review,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.As he left Washington, Trump added to speculation that he could also meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time since 2019 while on the Korean peninsula, saying he was “open to it”.The US president will also visit Japan, on his first trip to Asia since returning to the White House in January in a blaze of tariffs and international dealmaking.It is Trump’s first visit as president to Kuala Lumpur, where his flight was escorted on its final approach by two Malaysian F-18 jets.Greeted with a red carpet welcome and a sea of Malaysian and US flags, a grinning Trump responded with his trademark arm-waving dance to cultural performers.Trump, who is expected to sign a trade deal with Malaysia, rode with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in his armoured Cadillac — nicknamed “The Beast”.A small group of protesters, including some holding placards reading “Dump Trump”, rallied elsewhere in the city.The US president is also expected to witness the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, a truce he helped broker after the deadliest clashes between the neighbours in decades.Trump met Qatar’s leaders — among the guarantors of the Gaza ceasefire deal he spearheaded  — during a refuelling stop, and is expected to meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to improve ties with the leftist leader.- Tariff talks – After Malaysia, Trump is expected in Tokyo on Monday, where the following day he will meet Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.The US leader said he had heard “great things about her” and hailed the fact that she was an acolyte of assassinated former premier Shinzo Abe, with whom he had close ties.Takaichi said she told Trump in a phone call on Saturday that “strengthening the Japan-US alliance is my administration’s top priority on the diplomatic and security front”.Japan has escaped the worst of the tariffs Trump slapped on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are “ripping off the United States”.The highlight of the trip is expected to be South Korea, where Trump will meet Xi for the first time since his return to office.Trump is due to land in the southern port city of Busan on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.On Thursday, global markets will be watching closely to see if the meeting with Xi can halt the trade war sparked by Trump’s sweeping tariffs, especially after a recent dispute over Beijing’s rare-earth curbs.Trump initially threatened to cancel the meeting and announced the fresh 100 percent tariffs during that row, before saying he would go ahead after all.South Korea’s reunification minister has said there is a “considerable” chance that Trump and North Korea’s Kim will also meet.The two leaders last met in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas during Trump’s first term.Kim has said he would also be open to meeting the US president if Washington drops its demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear arsenal.burs-pjm/fox

Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said Saturday the country is conducting military exercises to protect its coast against any potential “covert operations” as the United States expands its regional military presence.The move comes a day after the Pentagon ordered the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group into the region, an escalation of the ongoing campaign of deadly attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats that have killed at least 43 people. “We are conducting an exercise that began 72 hours ago, a coastal defense exercise… to protect ourselves not only from large-scale military threats but also to protect ourselves from drug trafficking, terrorist threats and covert operations that aim to destabilize the country internally,” Padrino said. Tensions are mounting in the region with US President Donald Trump saying he has authorized CIA operations in Venezuela and that he is considering ground attacks against alleged drug cartels in the Caribbean country.Since September 2, US forces have bombed 10 alleged drug boats with eight of the attacks occurring in the Caribbean. The Republican leader accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug cartel, which Maduro denies.Venezuelan state television showed images of military personnel deployed in nine coastal states and a member of Maduro’s civilian militia carrying a Russian Igla-S shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile. “CIA is present not only in Venezuela but everywhere in the world,” Padrino said Friday. “They may deploy countless CIA-affiliated units in covert operations from any part of the nation, but any attempt will fail.” Since August, Washington has deployed a fleet of eight US Navy ships, 10 F-35 warplanes and a nuclear-powered submarine for anti-drug operations, but Caracas maintains these maneuvers mask a plan to overthrow the Venezuelan government.The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford will enter the region to join the fleet. The warship USS Gravely is also traveling to Trinidad and Tobago Sunday for five days of joint exercises.

Hurricane Melissa was cutting a deadly path in the Caribbean on Saturday night, with rapid intensification expected over the weekend as it took a worryingly slow course toward Jamaica and the island of Hispaniola, forecasters said.As a Category 1 storm packing winds of 100 miles (155 kilometers) per hour, Melissa was already blamed for three deaths in Haiti earlier in the week, as its outer bands brought heavy rains and landslides to the impoverished nation.In the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, a 79-year-old man was found dead after being swept away in a stream, local officials said Saturday. A 13-year-old boy was missing.Melissa was expected to set off “life-threatening and catastrophic” flooding and landslides in Jamaica, as well as in southern portions of Hispaniola, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.”Rapid intensification is forecast to continue over the next day or so, and Melissa is forecast to become a major hurricane” Sunday, NHC officials said, adding “it is expected to still be a major hurricane when making landfall in Jamaica early next week.”On Saturday evening Melissa was about 130 miles southeast of the Jamaican capital Kingston, and about 260 miles southwest of Haiti’s Port-au-Prince. The hurricane was moving at crawl of 3 mph.Melissa could batter both countries for multiple days before heading north and threatening eastern Cuba.In the Dominican Republic, Angelita Francisco fled her Santo Domingo neighborhood after her house was inundated by floodwater, causing her refrigerator to float away as trash bobbed around the home.”You feel powerless, unable to do anything, just run away and leave everything behind,” the 66-year-old homemaker told AFP through tears.The country’s emergency operations center said nine of 31 provinces were on red alert Saturday due to risk of flash floods, rising rivers, and landslides.Melissa could bring total rainfall of 15 to 30 inches (38 to 76 cm) in portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica, the NHC said, with isolated areas receiving as much as 40 inches.Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Friday urged residents of flood-prone areas to heed warnings and be prepared to evacuate.”If you live in an area that was flooded before, expect that it will flood again,” he said.Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November.The last major hurricane to impact Jamaica was Beryl in early July 2024 — an abnormally strong storm for the time of year.Beryl brought downpours and heavy winds to Jamaica as it moved past off the island’s southern coast, leaving at least four people dead.