5 things you need to know Wednesday

Editors | USA TODAY

As Jose heads out to sea, Maria slams into Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria, moving across the Caribbean, slammed into Puerto Rico early on Wednesday, bringing more howling winds, torrential rain and devastating storm surge to the island territory. The storm should move away from Puerto Rico by late Wednesday and impact the Dominican Republic on Thursday and the Bahamas on Friday. The only good news from this devastating storm is that forecasts are favoring a miss for the mainland United States. Maria is now expected to veer away from the U.S. East Coast and out into the open Atlantic Ocean by early next week, following Hurricane Jose. Jose is expected to spin in the western Atlantic, bringing rain, wind and high surf to New England on Wednesday.

Category 5 Hurricane Maria menaces Caribbean Hurricane Maria pounded the small island of Dominica with catastrophic winds on Monday night. The storm is charging into the eastern Caribbean threatening islands wrecked by Irma. Maria's top sustained winds were 160 mph on Tuesday morning. (Sept. 19

Rescue efforts ongoing after deadly quake rocks Mexico City

The death toll is expected to rise Wednesday following the massive magnitude-7.1 earthquake that struck Mexico City, killing at least 217 people and injuring many others. The destructive tremor, which struck 32 years to the day after a major quake devastated Mexico's capital in 1985, crumbled at least two dozen buildings across the city. Rescue workers and residents through the city were searching through the rubble of collapsed buildings seeking survivors, The Associated Press reported. The quake's epicenter was near the town of Raboso, about 76 miles southeast of Mexico City, according to U.S. Geological Survey.

Major announcements expected as Fed meeting ends

The Federal Reserve Bank will make an announcement on monetary policy Wednesday as its two-day September meeting comes to a close. Although economists don't expect interest rates to rise, officials have indicated they will start shrinking the bloated $4.5 trillion asset portfolio the central bank has amassed since the Great Recession. Doing so will slowly push up long-term interest rates. This is one of the last meetings before Chair Janet Yellen's four-year term ends in February, and she has not indicated whether or not she'll return if re-appointed by President Trump.

'The Wall' report maps every foot of U.S.-Mexico border

USA TODAY Network journalists explored every foot of the 2,000-mile border between the U.S. and Mexico in a landmark report, "The Wall," which launches Wednesday. Reporters for The Arizona Republic and other local news organizations examined the impact of President Trump's proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall and found that such a construction project would cover an unimaginably remote area far from roads or a supply of construction labor. They also found that it could require the seizure of thousands of parcels of private land. Learn more and explore a map of the border at thewall.usatoday.com.

A 2,000-mile border journey Could a wall be built? What would it do? Journalists from the USA TODAY NETWORK flew and drove the entire length of the U.S.-Mexico border in search for answers. This is what they found. A USA TODAY NETWORK video production.

Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown

Jews around the world begin celebrating Rosh Hashanah at sundown local time Wednesday. Literally meaning "the head of the year" in Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days and is usually celebrated in September. Unlike the Gregorian calendar New Year of January 1, the Jewish New Year is determined based on the lunar calendar which is why it falls out in the middle of the month this year (and fell out on October 2 last year). The holiday is traditionally filled with time spent in synagogue, the blowing of the shofar — a hollowed out ram's horn symbolizing a call to repentance — and eating sweet festive foods such as apples dipped in honey to symbolize hopes of having a sweet New Year. Shanah Tovah!

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