Vox Sentences: Florence’s flooding continues

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Hurricane Florence reaches the Northeast; Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in embrace in Pyongyang.

Hurricane Florence is far from over

The worst of Hurricane Florence seems to have passed as the storm makes its way toward the Northeast. But in its wake, Florence has so far claimed 32 lives and dumped 18 trillion gallons of rain on the southeastern United States. [CNN / Holly Yan and Kaylee Hartung]
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has warned residents not to try to return home yet because dangerous flooding is far from over and roads are still blocked. [ABC / Emily Shapiro]
More than 343,000 people are without power, and 10,000 are in shelters in North Carolina. [CBS]
The extent of the damage to industries such as farming in the Carolinas is still unclear. However, farmers report that flooding has destroyed their properties and their resources. [NPR / Dan Charles]
Another concern in the wake of Florence is how pollution will affect the region. Pollution from hazardous waste is rampant, from coal ash to hog lagoon refuse. [Axios / Andrew Freedman]
Florence has also threatened chemical plants in the region, which has been a concern as the Trump administration looks to weaken the Risk Management Plan Rule that requires chemical companies and wastewater treatment plants to prepare for disasters in advance. [The Hill / Brendan Doyle]

The Koreas summit in Pyongyang

South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a historic three-day summit in Pyongyang on Tuesday. It’s the third summit between the two nations but the first time they’ve met in the North Korean capital. [NPR / Bill Chappell]
The most famous image to come from the summit thus far was one of Moon and Kim hugging. The embrace symbolizes a relationship between the North and South that has changed rapidly over the past year. [Vox / Alex Ward]
Moon was greeted by calls for the “reunification of the fatherland” from passionate North Koreans as strengthening ties between the North and South were on both leaders’ minds. But the summit focused more on whether Kim would agree to work with Moon on proving to the US that North Korea was willing to denuclearize. [NYT / Choe Sang-Hun]
North Korea has promised to denuclearize and said it “destroyed its main nuclear and missile engine test site,” but US officials report that they have tangible proof of North Korea working on its nuclear program in secret. [Independent / Adam Withnall]

Miscellaneous

Artist Brian Whiteley claims he hung up a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin in DC’s Trump International Hotel … where it remained for a full month. [Hyperallergic / Jasmine Weber]
The word “diversity” dominated the 2018 Emmys — but so did the white people who won the awards. The ceremony has left many wondering if inclusivity was simply a ploy for some good publicity. [Broadly / Danielle Kwateng-Clark and Sara David]
CEO Elon Musk revealed that SpaceX, his space exploration company, has chosen Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa as the first private passenger it will send to the moon. It’s unclear how much money Maezawa paid for the mission. [CBS]
Instagram is launching an ad campaign on its platform to encourage and help users register to vote in the midterm elections. [The Verge / Chaim Gartenberg]