Aishah Sofey 💋

The North American Aerospace Defense command released video of an intercept of a Russian aircraft off the coast of Alaska in the Air Defense Identification Zone.

Business owners in Asheville's River Arts District returned to completely devastated buildings just days after Hurricane Helene passed through the area. Tap the link in our bio to find out how you can help victims of Helene.

Comedian Bowen Yang appeared on "Saturday Night Live" as Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippo who has found fame online. The bit was a nod to singer Chappell Roan, who recently told fans she needed to take a break from the spotlight.

After the northern bald ibis disappeared from Europe more than 300 years ago, some assumed that 16th century drawings of its gleaming plume and long, arching beak were works of the imagination. But by the 1990s, the once-thriving species was considered one of the rarest birds in the world, with its global population in the wild reduced to just 59 pairs – all in Morocco – due to hunting, habitat loss, and the use of pesticides. Today, tenacious conservation efforts in Morocco have increased the population to more than 500 individuals, resulting in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species changing its status from critically endangered to endangered in 2018. In addition, thanks to a first-of-its-kind reintroduction program, the ibises are back migrating in Europe for the first time since the 1600s, with a managed migratory population of around 270 birds. Click the link in bio for more. 📸: Bill Baston/imageBROKER/Shutterstock; Waldrappteam Naturschutz & Forschung; Jose Luis Roca/AFP/Getty Images

A fire at a Georgia industrial plant caused a chemical reaction that has forced around 17,000 people to evacuate, potentially leaving harmful chlorine in the air. Read more at the link in bio.

There's been widespread destruction in Nepal after heavy monsoon rain triggered flooding and landslides. Rescue efforts are underway. Read more at the link in bio.

Video filmed by Charlotte City Council member Tariq Bokhari shows a "post apocalyptic" scene in Lake Lure, North Carolina, after floods caused by Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on the village of Chimney Rock and the surrounding region. Read about the recovery effort at the link in bio.

CNN's Nic Robertson was aboard an Israeli tanker for strikes on Houthi-controlled Yemen where targets included a seaport and power station. The strikes come after the Iran-backed Houthis launched recent rocket and missile attacks on Israel. Tap the link in our bio to read more.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill that bans the use of red dye No. 40 and five other chemicals from use in foods served at public schools. On Saturday, September 28, the Golden State became the first in the country to pass a law forbidding the use of the ingredients found in some popular cereals, ice creams, drinks, candy, ice pops, cheese-flavored chips, jellies and more, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental health organization that cosponsored the law with Consumer Reports. The law will be enacted on December 31, 2027. California is home to the largest public school system in the nation, with more than 6.3 million students and 10,000 schools, Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of public instruction and bill cosponsor, said in a news briefing hosted by the EWG on August 6. The bill stems from concerns these dyes would harm children’s ability to learn, as they have been linked to behavioral difficulties and decreased attention among children, according to a 2021 study by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. 📸: Paul Greenwood/Alamy Stock Photo

On "State of the Union," CNN's Jake Tapper gets Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) reaction to former President Donald Trump's latest rhetoric about Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

It had been 48 hours since the winds and rains from Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina and Sam Perkins still had not heard from his parents. So, on Saturday morning, he got in his vehicle and started driving toward their home, nestled on a mountain between Spruce Pine and Little Switzerland, to find them. When he realized how many roads were cut off, Perkins said he left his vehicle near a closed highway at the bottom of the mountain and started hiking to his parents’ home. “I tried every road route I could, but the roads, no matter where you go, are blocked by landslides or failures,” Perkins explained to CNN. “I can’t tell you how many failing roads and deep mudslides I had to cross, how many fallen trees I had to take off my backpack for and navigate through.” Perkins found his parents in decent health and their home was mostly fine, but they were effectively trapped, unable to hike down the mountain on foot, he said. “I’m still processing it all. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Perkins said. At least 93 people are dead after Helene tore through the southeastern United States, according to CNN’s tally. North Carolina was hit hard: Days of unrelenting flooding have turned roads into waterways, left many stranded without basic necessities and strained state resources. Click the link in bio for more. 📸: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh talks to eight-year-old Batoul, who has been living on the street with her mother. She is one of over a million civilians who have been displaced because of the Israeli airstrikes in Beirut, Lebanon. Follow live updates at the link in our bio.

“I want to stun the world, like, ‘How is an 80-year-old lady so healthy?’” Born almost a decade before the first Miss Universe contest was held in 1952, 80-year-old Choi Soon-hwa could now make history as the pageant’s oldest ever participant. She was unveiled earlier this month as a finalist in the annual Miss Universe Korea competition. On Monday, Choi will go head-to-head with 31 other contestants for the tiara — and a chance to represent South Korea at the Miss Universe final in Mexico this November. For decades, the Miss Universe Organization enforced strict age restrictions limiting participation to women aged 18 to 28. But from 2024, amid growing calls to modernize, the upper age limit has been lifted. Last year, the organization also updated eligibility criteria to remove a longstanding ban on pregnant women or mothers, and women who were — or ever had been — married. National-level Miss Universe pageants, although not all directly administered by the Miss Universe Organization, were obliged to follow suit. “Now that the age restriction has been lifted, I said, ‘I should give it a try,’” Choi said, adding: “Whether I get through or not, I was determined to try and get this opportunity.” Speaking with CNN before the pageant, Choi shared some advice for fellow seniors. Read more at the link in bio. 📸: Charlie Miller/CNN | Jean Chung/Getty Images/File

Before he was the mayor, Brandon Scott was a regular at a barbershop just steps from an intersection notorious for illegal drugs. For decades, the small business – on Frederick Avenue in the city’s southwest Irvington area – gave neighbors shelter from gangs and dealers. The mayor’s office – through its revived Group Violence Reduction Strategy effort – in March led a takedown of the alleged drug trafficking organization that long had plagued the neighborhood and driven violence citywide, with 12 people indicted on drug and gun charges, Scott said at the time. The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement had helped “answer … the community’s call” by investigating the alleged crime ring, Scott said. The mayor then issued a warning to anyone unwilling to accept that same office’s inverse, perhaps more important mission: to help deter violence in the first place. Aimed at curbing shootings through an “intentional collaboration between law enforcement, social services, and community members,” the violence reduction strategy last year helped drive Baltimore’s record 21% annual decline in homicides, Scott said. With similar trends emerging across the country, officials in Baltimore – as well as in cities including Detroit and San Antonio – are crediting their own recent investments in crime-fighting strategies that, beyond traditional arrest-and-prosecution, include social services, intervention by trusted community members and backing in part by federal funds from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. Tap the link in bio for more. 📸: Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Billionaire Elon Musk is an outspoken critic of illegal immigration. But he has used the phrase “gray area” to describe his own past immigration status. Read more at the link in our bio.

Comedian Roy Wood Jr. reacts to a young tractor enthusiast's commentary on the economy. Watch CNN’s new comedy quiz show, “Have I Got News For You,” Saturdays at 9pm ET/PT.

Some types of sea robins, a peculiar bottom-dwelling ocean fish, use taste bud-covered legs to sense and dig up prey along the seafloor, according to new research. Sea robins are so adept at rooting out prey as they walk along the ocean floor on their six leglike appendages that other fish follow them around in the hope of snagging some freshly uncovered prey themselves, said the authors of two new studies published Thursday in the journal Current Biology. The findings of the study team’s new research show how evolution leads to complex adaptations in specific environments. Read more at the link in our bio. 📸: Anik Grearson