Imelda Pounds Southeast Texas; Trudeau Apologizes For Wearing Brownface; Washington Monument Reopens

Plus, a real bachelor party hangover: a $12,460 ER bill. by Jill Hudson First Up [Angel Marshman walks through floodwaters in Galveston after trying to start his flooded car Wednesday.]( David J. Phillip/AP Here's what we're following today. Some parts of southeast Texas could see 25 to 35 inches of rain through Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Rain from [Tropical Depression Imelda]( forced Houston's airport to order a full ground stop around 9:30 a.m. local time. President Trump denied allegations that he said something inappropriate to a foreign leader. According to a report in The Washington Post, Trump, [in a phone call]( with an unnamed foreign leader, made an unspecified promise that so alarmed one member of the intelligence community that the government whistleblower filed a complaint with the inspector general. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is apologizing for having worn brownface makeup at a costume party in 2001. The prime minister, who just launched his reelection campaign a week ago, also admitted that there was [another time he had worn brownface](. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Saudi Arabia this week to discuss the Sept. 14 air attack on a major Saudi oil processing plant. [Here's what we know]( — at this time — about the attacks based on physical evidence. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- The Daily Good Our long wait is over as the Washington Monument reopens. [The Washington Monument has undergone more than $10.7 million in repairs and renovations. The monument reopens on Sept. 19.]( Mhari Shaw/NPR After more than three years and $10 million of renovations, [the Washington Monument reopened to tourists]( on Thursday. America's best-known obelisk will again welcome visitors up to its observation deck, where, from more than 500 feet up, visitors can see national landmarks including the U.S. Capitol, Washington National Cathedral, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today's Listen Once a “rocket ship,” the NSC is now a no-no for government pros. [President Trump with his new national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, on Wednesday in Los Angeles.]( Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images The National Security Council is traditionally one of the most desirable places for ambitious and talented people to work in the U.S. government, because it affords such close proximity to power. But in the Trump administration, some of the government's brightest minds are turning down high-powered NSC assignments, and others are avoiding the place altogether. Career foreign policy professionals tell NPR they increasingly fear that joining the NSC will taint them as political operatives. (Listening time, 4:30) [► LISTEN]( Tracking the Sackler family's hidden assets. NPR's Audie Cornish interviews attorney Chris Redmond, an expert on tracing and recovering assets internationally, about how to claw back Sackler assets from offshore accounts. (Listening time, 4:02) [► LISTEN]( The chess grandmaster’s diet. Chess grandmasters spend hours sitting over game boards. And yet, high-level players lose 10 to 12 pounds on average over a 10-day tournament. ESPN's Aishwarya Kumar dug into that statistic. (Listening time, 3:59) [► LISTEN]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Podcasts Of The Day Shaping the history of Puerto Rico. [Puerto Rican nationalists Irvin Flores Rodriguez, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Lolita Lebron, and Andres Figueroa Cordero, standing in a police lineup following their arrest after a shooting attack on the U.S. Capitol, March 1, 1954.]( Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898, and for much of the next 50 years Puerto Ricans fought fiercely about this status. Should they struggle for independence, or to be a U.S. state, or something in between? This episode of Throughline looks at Puerto Rico's relationship with the mainland U.S. and the key figures who shaped the island's fate. [► LISTEN]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Digging Deeper Bahamians who fled Dorian now face an uncertain future in the U.S. [Kendieth Russell Roberts and her 5-year-old son Malachai are living with her sister in Florida.]( Greg Allen/NPR Some 4,000 Bahamians have evacuated to the U.S. since Hurricane Dorian struck earlier this month. Many of them landed in Florida, less than 100 miles away. [U.S. immigration restrictions have made it difficult]( for many Bahamians to come here even temporarily after the hurricane. Bahamians need only a passport and a police document showing they don't have a criminal record to take a commercial flight to the U.S. But the airport on Grand Bahama is closed, so the only way off the island now is by boat — and under the current rules, that means Bahamians first have to go to the U.S. Embassy to get a visa. Many who have arrived in the U.S. are receiving six month visitor's visas. Some arrivals recently told The Miami Herald they've been told they can stay just two weeks. An immigration lawyer says many of her Bahamian clients want authorization to work while they're here. So far, there is no sign the federal government is going to allow that. --------------------------------------------------------------- Before You Go [Cameron and Katlynn Fischer celebrated their April wedding in Colorado. But the day before, Cameron was in such bad shape from a bachelor party hangover that he headed to an emergency room to be rehydrated. That's when their financial headaches began.]( Courtesy of Cameron Fischer - Here’s the story of a real bachelor party hangover: [a $12,460 ER bill](. - Yes, people are looking at your our LinkedIn profile. [They might be Chinese spies](. - A rare Frank Lloyd Wright “Usonian” home in New Hampshire is [on the market for the first time](. --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [dailynewsletter@npr.org](mailto:dailynewsletter@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Daily News emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy](