Jamaican officials call on public to get to higher ground and shelters ahead of hurricane amid warning of ‘multiple life-threatening hazards’ * Full report: Jamaicans take shelter as Melissa bears down on island * Tell us if you’ve been affected by Hurricane Melissa Welcome to our live coverage of Hurricane Melissa as it moves closer to making landfall in Jamaica and threatens catastrophic destruction from flooding, winds and landslides. Here’s the latest as it as just passed 12 midnight in Kingston. Jamaican officials called on the public to get to higher ground and shelters on Monday evening ahead of the category 5 hurricane, with the prime minister warning it could be a massively destructive storm – the island’s most violent on record. Melissa was centred about 155 miles (245km) south-west of Kingston on Monday night local time. The system had maximum sustained winds of 175mph (280km/h) and was moving north-west at 2mph (4km/h), the US National Hurricane Centre said. At category 5 – the top of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale – Melissa would be the strongest hurricane on record to hit Jamaica directly. Parts of eastern Jamaica could see up to 30 inches (76cm) of rain, the centre said, citing the likelihood of “catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides”. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in flood-prone communities in Jamaica, with buses ferrying people to safe shelter, although some people insisted on staying. Jamaican government officials said they were worried that fewer than 1,000 people were in the more than 130 shelters open across the island. Melissa has been blamed for seven deaths in the northern Caribbean as it headed towards Jamaica. In eastern Cuba, a hurricane warning was in effect for the Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas. Up to 20 inches (51cm) of rain was forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast. Cuban officials said they would evacuate more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second-largest city. Long bus lines formed in some areas. With agencies Continue reading...

Alonzo Bland Jr., of Richmond, did everything the state asked of him following his felony conviction: He served time in state prison, completed a term of probation upon release, and... Read More

With the NYC mayoral race coming to a close, Andrew Cuomo is courting right-wing creators.