Hurricane Delta, Trump's coronavirus battle, Nobel Peace Prize, Lakers: 5 things to know Friday

Editors, USA TODAY
·5 min read

Louisiana braces for Hurricane Delta while still recovering from Laura

Hurricane Delta is taking aim at Louisiana on Friday at nearly the same spot where Hurricane Laura ripped apart buildings, severed power lines and clogged streets with debris just six weeks ago. Likely maintaining Category 3 status over the Gulf Coast, Delta's latest path presents a "worst-case scenario" for Lake Charles and southwestern Louisiana. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said President Donald Trump has approved the state's request for a federal emergency declaration in advance of the storm. Heavy rainfall, winds and isolated tornado threats will also expand into Mississippi and part of Alabama late Friday and Saturday. Delta would be the 10th named storm to hit the U.S. in a single season, also an all-time record.

  • We are having a record-setting hurricane season. Here's why.

  • Dual disasters: How is climate change worsening wildfires and hurricanes?

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House Speaker Pelosi to outline presidential line of succession

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, contending President Donald Trump is "in an altered state," will discuss legislation Friday regarding the 25th Amendment, which outlines presidential succession. In a press release, Pelosi and Congressman Jamie Raskin said the legislation will create "the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office, the body and process called for ... to help ensure effective and uninterrupted leadership in the highest office in the Executive Branch of government." Trump was diagnosed with the coronavirus last week. He spent a few days at Walter Reed Medical Center before going back to the White House.

Teen charged in Kenosha shootings due back in court

A 17-year-old accused of killing two protesters and injuring a third days after Jacob Blake was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is due back in court Friday as his attorneys fight efforts to send him from Illinois to Wisconsin to stand trial on homicide charges. Kyle Rittenhouse was among more than a dozen armed men in the area claiming they were protecting property. Rittenhouse, from Antioch in Illinois, shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, of Kenosha, and Anthony Huber, 26, of Silver Lake, according to prosecutors and court documents. Attorneys for Rittenhouse argue that he was acting in self-defense and sending him to Wisconsin would violate his constitutional rights. They also argue that Wisconsin prosecutors and Illinois authorities didn’t follow legal technicalities required for extradition. The shooting happened Aug. 25 during the third night of protests after a Kenosha police officer shot Blake, a Black man, seven times in the back. Rittenhouse faces six charges, including one count of first-degree intentional homicide.

2020 Nobel Peace Prize goes to World Food Program

The United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) on Friday was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger and food insecurity around the globe. The Nobel Committee said that the coronavirus pandemic has added to the hunger faced by millions of people and called on governments to ensure that WFP and other aid organizations receive the financial support necessary to feed them. The prize has been given annually since 1901 to the person or group that has done the most to advance world peace. On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize for physiology and medicine for discovering the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus. Tuesday’s prize for physics honored breakthroughs in understanding the mysteries of cosmic black holes, and the chemistry prize on Wednesday went to scientists behind a powerful gene-editing tool. The Nobel Prize for literature was awarded to American poet Louise Glück on Thursday. The prize for outstanding work in economics will be announced on Monday.

Lakers can clinch their 17th NBA title with a win in Game 5

The Los Angeles Lakers can clinch their record-tying 17th NBA championship Friday night if they can defeat the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals (ABC, 9 p.m. ET). The Lakers, who would secure their first title since 2010 with a win, are expected to honor the late Kobe Bryant in various ways if they come out victorious. The team will wear the "Black Mamba" City Edition jerseys that Bryant once collaborated with Nike on the design. They are 4-0 in the playoffs when they wear those jerseys. The Heat, who are down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, will likely be without key guard Goran Dragic for Game 5. He hasn't played since Game 1 after he suffered a torn plantar fascia in his left foot and is listed as "doubtful."

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Delta, Nobel Peace Prize, NBA Finals: 5 things to know Friday

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