Hurricane Idalia, Trump Trial Set, and a New $800M City

Tropical Storm Idalia Intensifies

Tropical Storm Idalia is forecast to intensify into a Category 3 hurricane before striking Florida’s northwestern Gulf Coast early tomorrow. Experts predict Idalia will make landfall along the Big Bend region of Florida—roughly between the eastern Florida Panhandle and just north of Tampa Bay—with peak sustained winds between 111 to 129 mph and warn of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 12 feet in some areas.

Idalia is the ninth named storm of what is projected to be a busy Atlantic hurricane season. The storm is expected to head northeast (see trajectory), eventually bringing heavy rains to Georgia and the Carolinas through the end of the week.

Separately, Hurricane Franklin became the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season—Category 3 or higher—and is expected to bring swells to the eastern US coastline this week. Since 1966, only nine seasons have had two major hurricanes by the end of August. Read how Atlantic storms develop and are classified here. 

Trump Trial Scheduled 

A judge yesterday tentatively scheduled a March 4 start date for former President Donald Trump's federal trial in Washington, DC, over charges related to alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election. If the date holds, the trial would begin the day before Super Tuesday presidential primaries in 15 states. Special counsel Jack Smith had requested the trial to begin in January, while the defense had sought a 2026 start date. 

Trump, who is the front-runner for the Republican nomination, faces three other court dates (see overview), including in New York for allegedly falsifying business records and for a separate federal case brought by Smith over classified documents found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. Those cases are slated to go to trial March 25 and May 20, respectively. Trump has maintained his innocence in all the cases. 

Separately, Trump and 18 other defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 6 in Fulton County, Georgia, for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results at the state level. One of the defendants, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testified yesterday in a bid to move his trial from a state court to a federal court. 

Spanish Soccer Turmoil

Spanish prosecutors will investigate Spanish soccer president Luis Rubiales for allegedly kissing national team member Jennifer Hermoso without her consent, the latest in an accelerating weeklong controversy.

The incident, captured on video, occurred after Spain won the Women's World Cup a week ago. Rubiales released an apology last week and has described the kiss as consensual; Hermoso has stated it was not. Calls for the 46-year-old to resign continued through the week, including from Spain's deputy prime minister, though Rubiales has refused. Over the weekend, the entire championship women's team said they would not play under Rubiales, while FIFA, soccer's world governing body, suspended Rubiales for 90 days.

In a move some observers argue was an act of leverage, the Spanish federation—which supports Rubiales—requested Europe's confederation suspend all Spanish soccer from play yesterday, which the confederation declined to do.

Rubiales' mother reportedly began a hunger strike in defense of her son. See a timeline of Rubiales' tenure as Spanish soccer president here. 

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> The Mysterious Man From Fifth Avenue

Slate | Josh Levin. Solving the decadeslong mystery of why American Joe Mauri starred in a 1986 Soviet propaganda film about life in the US in the middle of the Cold War. (Read)

> The $800 Million City

NY Times | Conor Dougherty, Erin Griffith. A group of ultrawealthy Silicon Valley investors is investing over $800M to purchase thousands of acres of farmland in the Bay Area, aiming to construct a new city from the ground up. (Read)

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