Hurricane Florence Kills 17 | Kavanaugh Accuser Comes Forward

“This is historic.” That’s how one National Weather Service meteorologist described the amount of rain the storm has dumped on North Carolina. Officials raised the death toll to 17 Sunday as rivers swelled to record levels and 570,000 residents were left without power. Although downgraded to a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center says Florence could still cause “life-threatening flash flooding” and mudslides. Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Brock Long predicted it would leave “a lot of damage” throughout West Virginia and Ohio as it moves northwest.

President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee is under new pressure after a Palo Alto University psychologist publicly accused the federal judge of sexually assaulting her more than 30 years ago. In July, Christine Blasey Ford sent a confidential letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein about the incident, but she went public yesterday in a Washington Post interview. Ford described suffering long-term effects after Kavanaugh drunkenly forced himself on her during a high school party. He’s denied the allegations, and it’s unclear whether the news will delay Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee vote.

Dozens of miners were found dead yesterday at a site in the northern Philippines, caught in a landslide sparked by what experts are calling the most serious typhoon to hit the region in decades. In Hong Kong, flooding reached its highest level since 1904 and 150-mph winds battered buildings across the city, leaving the global financial powerhouse struggling to return to normal on Monday. Four people are believed to have died in mainland China’s Guangdong province, while officials warn that the death toll in the Philippines could top 100.

Billionaire Marc Benioff and his wife have agreed to purchase the magazine from Meredith Corp. for $190 million in cash. The Iowa-based media company, which also plans to sell Fortune, Sports Illustrated and Money, acquired Time in January. Benioff, who founded Salesforce in 1999, says that he’s politically independent, though the 53-year-old has advocated for gay rights and publicly supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. election. The Benioffs reportedly won’t be involved in editorial decisions and plan to retain the magazine’s current leadership.

Know This: Famous Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, who has not been seen in public since July 1, is feared by fans to have disappeared. A newly released video appears to show South Korean pastor Shin Ok-ju, who is suspected of running a cult, beating her followers. Australian police are investigating the discovery of sewing needles hidden inside strawberries across the country. And today OZY’s Around the World campaign takes you to Brazil — home to one of the world’s best Instagram spots.

Read This: As relations between London and Moscow further deteriorate over the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal, the daughters of wealthy Russian families in the U.K. are taking a hit: Their lavish debutante parties are being canceled amid new travel restrictions.

We need your video! OZY is launching a groundbreaking new TV series — and we’d love to include your voice. Record your thoughts on Colin Kaepernick, mass incarceration, religion, reproductive rights or immigration in a short vlog, then send it to takeonamerica@ozy.com.

The state’s board of education has voted to remove the first major-party female presidential candidate from primary, middle and high school curriculum in an effort to “streamline” lessons. Educators won’t be prevented from teaching Texas’ 5.4 million public school students about Clinton — or deaf-blind activist Helen Keller, who was also eliminated — but they won’t be required to include them. Supporters say the change frees up intellectual space for more “essential” historical figures that “triggered a watershed change.” A final vote will take place in November.

They’re swooping in. Dozens of drone teams have been recruited to help survey and repair the storm’s damage using infrared and high-zoom sensors to inspect flooded areas, assess insurance claims and even help restring power lines. Following their successful work in the aftermath of last year’s Hurricane Harvey, the aerial devices “are poised to play a critical role in the triage” of the southeastern U.S., according to the CEO of one drone company. Meanwhile, amateur drone operators have been warned they could face fines for hindering rescue work.

Visitors flocking to the world’s southernmost continent in greater numbers could further strain a fragile ecosystem already threatened by global warming. New polar-class ships — complete with luxury amenities like underwater lounges — are due to carry 40 percent more tourists over the next several years. But some environmental experts call their imminent presence a “considerable disturbance,” whether through burning fossil fuels or tampering with penguins’ natural habitats. Meanwhile, tour operators dismiss accusations that they’re abusing the continent, claiming smaller private vessels are the real culprits.

In a wide-ranging interview with New York magazine, the 82-year-old director’s current wife described Mia Farrow — her estranged adoptive mother and Allen’s ex — as abusive. Previn, who was adopted by Farrow and then-husband André Previn in 1977, also defended Allen against sexual abuse allegations by Farrow and another adopted daughter, Dylan. “What’s happened to Woody is so upsetting, so unjust,” said Previn. Farrow’s son, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow, whose reporting helped spark the #MeToo movement, defended his mother, calling the interview ”shameful.”

Beat that. Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge finished Sunday’s Berlin Marathon in 2 hours, 1 minute, 39 seconds — smashing Dennis Kimetto’s previous world record of 2:02:57 by an astonishing 78 seconds, the largest margin in more than 50 years. Kipchoge, who lost his pacesetters some 15 miles in, posted an even more impressive 2:00:25 last year in Nike’s Breaking2 event, though the race wasn’t officially recognized. The 33-year-old has now won 11 of 12 the marathons he’s raced, including the Olympic gold medal in 2016.