As the Category 4 storm slammed the state, Gov. John Bel Edwards said that evacuating hospitals was not an option because of the high number of coronavirus patients.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said Hurricane Ida would be 'one of the strongest hurricanes to hit anywhere in Louisiana since at least the 1850s.' The hurricane is expected to make landfall in the state as a Category 4 storm by late Sunday or early Monday.

Hurricane Ida is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, which is also the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Mayor LaToya Cantrell warned residents to either evacuate immediately or bunker down in a safe place ahead of the hurricane.

The U.S. said on Friday that it had carried out an unmanned airstrike in retaliation for a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops and as many as 170 other people at Kabul's airport.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said the storm was expected to strengthen to a Category 4 hurricane by the time it made landfall and urged residents in the state to finish preparations and evacuate to safe locations.

President Biden met with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the White House, where the leaders discussed how the U.S. and Israel planned to counter the influence of Iran and ensure that it could not develop nuclear weapons.

Though many witnesses reported seeing two blasts near Kabul's international airport, Maj. Gen. William Taylor of the Joint Staff said the Pentagon does not believe there was a second explosion near or at the Baron Hotel.

At her inaugural event as governor of New York, Kathy Hochul introduced Brian Benjamin. The two have worked together in state government for many years.

Southwest Airlines will reduce flights for the rest of the year as it tries to restore an operation that stumbled over the summer and now faces lower demand because of the rise in coronavirus cases.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced new coronavirus restrictions, requiring all state residents ages 2 and older to wear masks indoors and all educators to be vaccinated or face regular testing as new infections surge in the state.