5 Things To Know For Your New Day-Wednesday September 20th

via CNN:

Thousands In Shelters As Puerto Rico Awaits Direct Hit From Hurricane Maria:

Thousands of Puerto Ricans heeded the calls of government officials and have taken refuge in shelters as the Caribbean island braces for Hurricane Maria’s direct hit early Wednesday.

“As of 2:30 a.m. we count 10,059 refugees and 189 pets (in shelters),” the island’s governor, Ricardo Rosselló, wrote in a tweet. On Tuesday, he called Maria an “unprecedented” atmospheric system.

The record-breaking Category 4 hurricane — with sustained winds of 155 mph (250 kph) –is the first storm of its strength to hit the US territory in nearly 80 years.

Central Mexico Earthquake Kills More Than 200, Topples Buildings:

Rescuers searched for survivors through the night after Tuesday’s powerful earthquake shook Mexico City and surrounding states, killing scores and leaving many trapped under collapsed buildings.

At least 216 people died in Mexico City — the country’s capital — and in the states of Puebla, Mexico and Morelos, officials said. Previously, authorities had said that as many as 248 people had died. The death toll was later revised.

The epicenter of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake was 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) east-northeast of San Juan Raboso and 34.1 miles (55 km) south-southwest of the city of Puebla, in Puebla state, according to the US Geological Survey.

Jimmy Kimmel Takes On New Health Care Bill, Says Sen. Cassidy Lied ‘Right To My Face’:

Jimmy Kimmel didn’t pull any punches when it came to the Senate’s new health care bill and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, saying that Cassidy lied “right to my face.”

“A few months ago after my son had open heart surgery, which was something I spoke about on the air, a politician, a Senator named Bill Cassidy from Louisiana was on my show and he wasn’t very honest,” Kimmel said opening Tuesday night’s show.

Kimmel then explained how Cassidy came up with what the senator called the “Jimmy Kimmel Test,” which according to the host was a test that said that “No family should be denied medical care, emergency or otherwise because they can’t afford it.”

“He agreed to that,” Kimmel said. “He said he would only support a healthcare bill that made sure a child like mine would get the health coverage he needs, no matter how much money his parents make.”

Shakira Shows Her Inner Rocker To Trevor Noah On ‘Carpool Karaoke:

Trevor Noah and Shakira are two rocking peas in a moving pod in this week’s “Carpool Karaoke: The Series.”

In a sneak peek first on CNN, the late-night host and the former “Voice” coach hop in car for one of the most international episodes of the Apple Music series to date.

Once buckled up, Shakira surprises Noah with her song choice — “Zombie” by The Cranberries.

“I like to rock out,” Shakira said in the clip. “I became a pop singer, but I grew up listening to hard-core rock music.”

Noah has some surprises of his own in store for the episode, in which Sharkia takes Noah on a tour of Barcelona.

Opioid Overdoses Shorten US Life Expectancy By 2½ Months:

Opioid drugs — including both legally prescribed painkillers such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, as well as illegal drugs such as heroin or illicit fentanyl — are not only killing Americans, they are shortening their overall life spans. Opioids take about 2½ months off our lives, according to a new analysis published in the medical journal JAMA.

In 2015, American life expectancy dropped for the first time since 1993. Public health officialshave hypothesized that opioids reduced life expectancy for non-Hispanic white people in the United States from 2000 to 2014. Researchers have now quantified how much opioids are shortening US life spans.

The researchers noted that the number of opioid overdose deaths are probably underestimated because of gaps in how death certificates are completed.

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