The Headlines - ‘Not Very Much Survives a Category 5,’ and the Use of Tear Gas in Chicago

Episode Date: October 29, 2025

Plus, the website reshaping live music.Here’s what we’re covering:Hurricane Melissa Makes Landfall in Cuba After Lashing Jamaica by Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, Jovan Johnson, Camille Williams and Francesca RegaladoJudge Admonishes Border Patrol Leader for Tactics in Chicago by Julie BosmanJust Before Trump’s Visit to South Korea, North Test-Fires Missiles by Choe Sang-HunU.S. Military Kills 14 More People Accused of Smuggling Drugs on Boats by Helene Cooper and Eric SchmittTrump Administration Reinstalls Confederate Statue in Washington by Chris CameronNetanyahu Orders Strikes in Gaza, as Israel Says Hamas Violated Cease-Fire by Liam Stack, Aric Toler and Arijeta LajkaThe Website Reshaping Live Music, One Set List at a Time by Marc HoganTune in every weekday morning, and tell us what you think at: [e-mail] today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, October 29th. Here's what we're covering. As of right now, the reports that are coming in are catastrophic. In Jamaica, officials say that Hurricane Melissa left a swath of devastation as the storm cut across the island yesterday with winds of more than 180 miles per hour. The hurricane made landfall as one of the strongest Category 5 storms on record,

knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people and cutting off access to the Internet. Not very much survives a Category 5 hurricane in terms of infrastructure. So we still are in the early stages, and we're just praying that we will be saved in terms of the loss of lives. As of now, the storm, which has dropped to a Category 3, is tearing across Cuba, where authorities evacuated almost 750,000 people ahead of what they warned would be a very difficult night for the country. Researchers say that hurricanes have been growing increasingly intense, in part because of climate change. And Caribbean nations are considered to be more exposed to climate-fueled disasters than any other part of the world. In recent years, countries there have faced tens of billions of dollars in damage from storms, leaving most of them in deep,

Meanwhile, the American forecasting teams that track storms have been stretched thin by the government shut down, and the Times has learned that a handful of retirees from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have volunteered to help. Noah's so-called hurricane hunter planes have been flying directly into the eye of Melissa to gather crucial data about the storm. But crews that would normally number 15 to 18 people have shrunk by a third. One veteran scientist recently returned as an unpaid intern to help analyze data from the planes. Federal forecasting services were already strained by mass firings earlier this year.

In Chicago yesterday, a federal judge sharply criticized a senior border patrol official for his agency's use of force in the city. Gregory Bovino, has become one of the public faces of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown there, where law enforcement officers, including Border Patrol and ICE agents, have arrested at least 3,000 people, according to the administration. On multiple occasions, crowds have gathered during those arrests, and the agents, including Bovino himself, have often responded by deploying tear gas. Bovino was in court because a coalition of media organizations, protesters,

and clergy members, had filed a lawsuit accusing federal agents of using tear gas and other tactics in a, quote, pattern of extreme brutality that was intended to silence the press and civilians. The judge had previously barred federal immigration agents from deploying tear gas without first issuing two warnings, among other restrictions. But yesterday in court, she said that they've appeared to violate those rules multiple times. She said agents used tear gas in a neighborhood where children were about to march in a Halloween parade, and that at a different scene, they tossed a gas canister out of a car as they drove away. A government lawyer said Border Patrol agents used tear gas to respond to volatile situations. In some cases, protesters have

thrown things at officers or pushed them. Going forward, the judge told Bovino that he needs to come to the courthouse at 6 p.m. every weekday to personally provide her with a report on the day's arrests and incidents. Now, three more updates on the Trump administration. President Trump is continuing his trip across Asia. Today, he's in South Korea, meeting with the country's leader to try and finalize a trade deal. He said multiple times he's also open to meeting with North Korea's leader to try and reopen diplomatic talks with the country, though there's been no response.

Instead, ahead of Trump's visit, North Korea test-fired missiles this week designed to carry nuclear weapons. Also, the U.S. military says it's blown up four more boats it claims were smuggling drugs to the U.S., killing 14 people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes took place in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, and there was one survivor who was rescued by Mexican authorities. Hegsteth has framed the ongoing boat attacks, which have now killed more than four. 50 people as an anti-terror operation, saying, quote, these narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. But the Trump administration has provided little evidence to support its allegations of smuggling,

and a broad range of experts on military use of force have called the attacks illegal. And in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration has reinstalled a statue honoring a Confederate general, The statue, which was torn down and set on fire by demonstrators in 2020, depicts Albert Pike, who some historians believe was a member of the KKK. The re-installment is the latest victory in Trump's effort to restore Confederate symbols in public spaces. It comes as the president has been leaving his mark on D.C. more broadly. He's torn down the east wing of the White House to replace it with a ballroom, unveiled plans to build a giant arch near the Lincoln Memorial,

And this week, he fired the entire board of an independent government agency that would have reviewed those projects. Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to resume strikes in Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire. Explosions could be seen over the territory, and several people were killed, according to officials there. A spokesman for Netanyahu said Hamas broke the truce by attacking Israeli forces. Hamas has denied that. Israel's also accused Hamas of not returning all of the bodies of hostages who've died during the war.

Yesterday, the Israeli military released a video that it said showed Hamas staging the discovery of a body, burying then unburying a white body bag. The military said the scene was Hamas' attempt to create the false impression that it's working hard on recovery efforts. There's believed to be about a dozen bodies of hostages still unaccounted for. Over the weekend, Egypt sent a team of experts in to help locate them, part of an international attempt to shore up the fragile ceasefire. Vice President J.D. Vance said yesterday that the truce is still holding, despite what he called little skirmishes here and there.

Meanwhile, under the agreement, hundreds of trucks a day are now entering Gaza, allowing some humanitarian groups to distribute millions of meals. But relief workers say it's still not enough to address the crisis there. They say most of what's being allowed into the territory appears to be goods headed to markets. And after two years of war, many Palestinians say they can't afford by the food that's arriving. Other aid groups say they're not being allowed to bring in anything at all under a new Israeli registration system, which Israel says is necessary to keep Hamas members from handling aid. A group of organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, said Israeli authorities

have denied their requests to bring in aid 99 times since the ceasefire began. And finally, going to a concert used to be a kind of guessing game. When will the band really go on? How long are they going to play for? What deep cuts will make the show. Now, though, like all things, the Internet has taken a lot of the mystery out of it. On the site Setlist FM, fans meticulously document start times, end times, and every single song, in what order, for every last show? If the band sticks to roughly the same lineup, you can check to get a sense of how late you'll be out or even when to take a bathroom break so you don't miss your favorite song.

This kind of obsessive documentation has some people worried that it's sacrificing the surprise of live shows. But several musicians the Times talked with say it can actually help them stay out of a rut. The artists themselves check the site to make sure they're mixing up their lineups enough. Make enough noise right now, Phoebe Bridgers would come out. And on elaborate arena tours, where it's harder to change the lineup every night, Musicians have taken it as a challenge in the Internet age to keep the audience on their toes. Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, the Jonas Brothers, and more have started integrating at least one surprise song or guest. For the record, the catalog of shows on Setlist FM is encyclopedic and historical.

It's not just what Chapel Roan may have played last night. It's what The Grateful Dead played on May 8th. 1877 at Barton Hall, and even what was Mozart's lineup when he played Prague on September 6th, 1791. Those are the headlines. Today on the Daily, a look at the trade war between the U.S. and China, ahead of President Trump's meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow. Thank you.