5 things to know for Sept. 27: Hurricane Ian, Japan, Trump, Student loans, Ukraine

By CNN

Published September 27, 2022 4:50 AM

CNN

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN

The CIA has a museum with exhibits featuring spy gadgets, declassified artifacts and items like the covers for the binder and tablet used for President Joe Biden’s daily briefing. Interested in visiting? Well, unfortunately, the museum isn’t open to the public — but the agency has shared some very interesting pictures from inside.

Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.

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1. Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba this morning as it continues barreling toward Florida, where residents in some coastal areas are already evacuating. The Category 3 storm is packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and life-threatening storm surge, the National Hurricane Center said. According to its projected path, Ian is expected to emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and continue churning toward Florida, passing west of the Florida Keys later today, and then approach the state’s west coast late Wednesday into Thursday. Projections show the Tampa Bay area could get its first direct hit from a hurricane since 1921, and the impact on the region could be devastating.

2. Japan

Japan held an elaborate state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today. Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot dead during a campaign speech in July, stunning a nation where gun violence is extremely rare. More than 4,300 guests attended the service in Tokyo, including Vice President Kamala Harris and other foreign dignitaries. While many mourners left flowers and visited memorial sites to pay their respects to the late leader, thousands took to the streets in anti-funeral protests across Tokyo. The demonstrations grew tense at times as large groups of protesters voiced their discontent about Abe’s policies while in office and their opposition to the high cost of the funeral while the country grapples with rising inflation.

3. Trump

The Justice Department on Monday declared that their list of seized materials from the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence was “full and accurate,” despite Trump’s claims of planted evidence. According to the FBI, the agency had only a single business day to compile the first version of the inventory — filed several weeks ago — but has since had more time to review and catalog the list. An FBI agent said the revisions to the new list were “minor.” Trump now faces a Friday deadline to submit to the special master descriptions of any seized items that he claims are missing from the list, or items that were included in the inventory that he claimed, without evidence, the FBI may have planted during their search.

4. Student Loans

President Biden’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for low- and middle-income borrowers could cost $400 billion, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released Monday. Biden announced the forgiveness plan in August, after facing mounting pressure from Democrats to broadly cancel some student loan debt. The Department of Education plans to release an application for the program in October. Under the plan, individual borrowers who earned less than $125,000 in 2020 or 2021 and married couples or heads of households who made less than $250,000 annually in those years will see up to $10,000 of their federal student loan debt forgiven. If the borrower also received a federal Pell grant while enrolled in college, the individual is eligible for up to $20,000 of debt forgiveness.

5. Ukraine

The so-called secession referendums in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine are set to conclude today. With the results of the Russian-organized voting expected to be announced as soon as this evening, US officials anticipate Russia could move quickly to escalate its faltering war and annex those areas of Ukraine, potentially within days. Doing so would prompt a swift response from the US, which has pledged not to recognize the results. The US is not currently expected to respond until Russia has moved to annex the regions, officials said, and whether Russia ultimately attempts to do so remains to be seen.

BREAKFAST BROWSE

Halloween decorations perplex the internet in viral video

An Illinois family has the internet wondering how they created this levitating Halloween decoration inspired by the Netflix show “Stranger Things.”

Should you eat bread?

Bread tastes so good, but we often get messages that, nutritionally, it’s so bad. Here’s expert advice about which loaves are healthier than the rest.

‘The Crown’ gets a new queen

Production of Season 6 of “The Crown” was briefly paused after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, but Season 5 is still on track to start on November 9. Here’s who will take over the role of the Queen.

President Biden welcomes Atlanta Braves to the White House

The reigning baseball champions were invited inside the White House on Monday to celebrate their 2021 World Series win. Check out photos from the event here and see the jersey they gifted to Biden.

Regaining sense of smell and taste after Covid-19

Imagine if your cup of coffee one day had no smell or taste at all. Well, that’s the reality for some people with long Covid. This week on Chasing Life, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Stanford University smell expert Zara Patel discuss how “smell training” can help some people regain their lost senses after Covid-19.

TODAY’S NUMBER

That’s how many protesters have reportedly been killed in violent demonstrations in Iran over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, state media outlet the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting said. The death of Amini this month, who was arrested in Tehran by the morality police — a unit that enforces strict dress codes for women — has sparked protests in more than 45 Iranian cities over issues ranging from women’s freedoms to the crippling economic impacts of sanctions in the region.

TODAY’S QUOTE

“We’re embarking on a new era of humankind, an era in which we potentially have the capability to protect ourselves from something like a dangerous, hazardous asteroid impact.”

— Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, celebrating after a spacecraft intentionally slammed into an asteroid Monday in humanity’s first test of planetary defense. The purpose of the DART mission, or the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, was to help determine how NASA could deflect objects that could pose a threat to Earth in the future. The impact occurred at 7:14 p.m. ET Monday and was greeted by cheers from the mission team. Watch the moment DART collided with the asteroid here.

TODAY’S WEATHER

Check your local forecast here>>>

AND FINALLY

Elephants smash giant pumpkins

Carve out a few minutes of your day to watch these elephants smash massive pumpkins. Have a gourd Tuesday! (Click here to view)

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