Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

Your nightly rundown of the day's top stories delivered straight to your inbox. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, September 6, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Wednesday Evening Briefing]( By KAREN ZRAICK AND SANDRA STEVENSON Good evening. Here’s the latest. Alvin Baez/Reuters 1. “I don’t know how you can prepare for a hurricane of that magnitude, but we’re doing our best.” That was a hotel worker as Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, [hit the eastern Caribbean]( with winds of up to 185 miles an hour. At least four people were killed. Check here for an [updated map]( of the storm’s trajectory across Puerto Rico, above, the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and Florida. [Check here]( for the latest. The question on many people’s minds — [whether climate change]( has worsened the hurricane season — is not so easy to answer, our reporter says. _____ Spencer Platt/Getty Images 2. President Trump sided with Congressional Democrats on [a stopgap budget deal that temporarily raises the debt limit]( catching Republican leaders — and his own aides — off guard. Lawmakers also approved funding for Hurricane Harvey relief, as the scope of the enormous cleanup comes into view. High levels [of a dangerous chemical]( were detected in Houston, heightening concerns about leaks from oil and gas facilities. A new [mini-documentary from our video team]( captured some of the devastation, as a 911 dispatcher and a pastor’s daughter felt nature at its fiercest — and saw humanity at its best. Above, members of the National Guard in Orange, Tex. _____ Doug Mills/The New York Times 3. Hours after announcing that he was terminating the DACA program, which shielded young undocumented immigrants from deportation, [President Trump tweeted a puzzling message](. He wrote that Congress “now has 6 months to legalize DACA” and “If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!” The conflicting messages seemed to reflect what aides describe as his own conflicting emotions about the issue. He also discussed tax reform in North Dakota, above. Separately, [Facebook said hundreds of apparently fake Russian accounts]( bought political ads on its network during the presidential campaign. The company said it’s cooperating with the investigations into Russian election meddling. _____ Luis Eduardo Noriega A./European Pressphoto Agency 4. Pope Francis [began a six-day trip to Colombia]( aimed at bolstering the deal the government made late last year to end its 52-year war with the armed rebels known as the FARC. He’ll say Mass tomorrow in Bogotá, and on Friday he’ll beatify clerics killed in the war. Over the weekend, he’ll visit Medellín and Cartagena, which have staged remarkable turnarounds. But his efforts to encourage peace are complicated, because many Colombians disagree with the deal. “The pope may forgive them,” one young woman said of the rebels. “But in my heart I don’t.” _____ Genna Martin/seattlepi.com, via Associated Press 5. A blanket of thick smoke from wildfires has spread [across the Pacific Northwest]( raining ash down on Portland and Seattle. There are up to 35 wildfires burning after an unusually hot and dry summer, and the governor of Washington has declared a state of emergency. Meteorologists say that the smoke in Western Washington is expected to dissipate by morning, and that some rain is in the forecast for Oregon, above. _____ Danish Siddiqui/Reuters 6. Our Southeast Asia correspondent is in Bangladesh, where the government is protesting violence in neighboring Myanmar that is driving a mass exodus. It has also raised official concerns over reports that [Myanmar’s military is placing land mines along the border](. More than 146,000 people, nearly all Rohingya Muslims, have crossed since late last month. A U.N. spokeswoman said that refugee camps that were already packed are now “at the breaking point.” [Prime Minister Narendra Modi]( India met with the Myanmar leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but there were no reports that he raised the issue of the Rohingya. _____ Amit Dave/Reuters 7. In cities across India, journalists, activists and students poured into the streets to protest the killing of an outspoken journalist. [Gauri Lankesh was shot dead this week]( in what opposition officials say appears to be yet another assassination of an intellectual who publicly criticized India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party. _____ Uli Seit for The New York Times 8. At the U.S. Open, [Kevin Anderson will face Pablo Carreño Busta]( in the semifinals on Friday, after beating Sam Querrey in a match that lasted until nearly 2 a.m. And CoCo Vandeweghe, above, defeated Karolina Pliskova — which means that Garbiñe Muguruza will replace Pliskova as the world’s No. 1 women’s player when the rankings are released on Monday. Caveat watcher: The U.S. Open has turned to [artificial intelligence to compile its highlights](. _____ Brooke Palmer/Warner Brothers 9. The film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 novel “It” is about to hit theaters. [Our critic called the film]( “a skillful blend of nostalgic sentiment and hair-raising effects.” The director, Andy Muschietti, narrates a scene [in this video](. _____ Jimmy Kimmel Live! 10. Finally, most of the late-night hosts are back from their breaks. [Jimmy Kimmel took aim]( at the president for rescinding DACA. “It seems like his main agenda is just to undo everything Obama did,” he said. “I hope he doesn’t bring Bin Laden back to life.” Have a great night. _____ If photographs appear out of order, please download the updated New York Times app [from iTunes]( or [Google Play](. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a.m. Sundays. Want to catch up on past briefings? [You can browse them here](. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at [briefing@nytimes.com](mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?subject=Evening%20Briefing%20Feedback). 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