I was so thrilled to join @NoraBanton on @Nationwideradio this morning on the Consumer Hour for @USEmbassyJA's monthly "Ask the Consul!" We chatted about preparing for summer travel, U.S. visas, and U.S. passport renewals. Big up, Nora, it was great to join you! 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇲
In response to the devastation in Jamaica caused by Hurricane Melissa, the State Department has mobilized:
🚁 U.S. first responders
🥖 Food supplies for 40K people
💧 Water treatment systems
🆘 Emergency shelter materials
We are right there with the people of Jamaica as our teams deliver life-saving assistance.
The United States is in close contact with the governments of Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic and The Bahamas as they confront the devastating impacts of Hurricane Melissa. We have rescue and response teams heading to affected areas along with critical lifesaving supplies.
Our prayers are with the people of the Caribbean.
The TROPICAL STORM WATCH in effect for Jamaica has been upgraded to TROPICAL STORM WARNING, and a HURRICANE WATCH is now in effect for Tropical Storm Melissa. This means tropical storm conditions pose a possible threat to Jamaica within 36 hours and Hurricane conditions are likely to pose a threat within 48 hours.
Maximum sustained winds are near 85 km/h (50 mph) with higher gusts. Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to continue in the direction of Jamaica before turning towards the west on Saturday and moving over the waters south of the island. As the system nears Jamaica, showers will begin to affect the island with periods of moderate to heavy rainfall beginning late October 23, 2025. This will continue through October 24, 2025 and the weekend. Strong, gusty winds, possibly reaching tropical storm strength, are expected to gradually develop late October 23, 2025 and October 24, 2025, continuing into the weekend. These winds will initially affect eastern and southern parishes, before gradually spreading across the remainder of the island. Winds reaching hurricane strength are possible over sections of eastern parishes as early as October 25, 2025, as Tropical Storm Melissa continues to move closer to Jamaica.
The U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica will be available for limited emergency services only as of 2:00 p.m. on October 23 through October 24, 2025. All routine ACS and visa appointments have been canceled. We will work to reschedule them as soon as possible after Tropical Storm Melissa.
Actions to Take:
• Monitor NOAA, the National Meteorological Society of Jamaica, and the local news for updates.
• Seek secure shelter.
• Stock sufficient food, water, batteries, and medicine before the storm arrives.
Assistance:
U.S. Embassy Kingston, Jamaica +1-876-702-6000
[email protected]
https://t.co/27YydaGvZJ
U.S. Consular Agency Montego Bay Montego Bay, St. James, Jamaica +1-876-953-0620
[email protected]
U.S. Consular Agency Cayman Islands George Town, KY1-1010 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands +345-945-8173
[email protected]
State Department - Consular Affairs 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444
Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program: https://t.co/ggjxDH7fzA
Embassy Kingston welcomes Secretary of State @SecRubio to Jamaica where he will meet with Prime Minister @AndrewHolnessJM, Foreign Minister, @kaminajsmith, and other senior officials from the Government of Jamaica. https://t.co/SYBFqKNFc5
As a Director and founding member of Narrative, McHenry Lee specializes in multi-state issue advocacy, crisis communications, and campaign management in the financial services and healthcare sectors.
Fun fact: McHenry and his wife both met at Narrative!
https://t.co/EyjgP6T1cr
Congratulations to our own @Fort_McHenry and former member of #TeamNarrative, @CarolineLoop, on celebrating their marriage earlier this year. We're honored to have been a part of their journey and wish the newlyweds a lifetime of happiness in the years ahead!
Desperately need a DC beat reporter to dig into the trivia cheating scandal currently rocking Red Bear Brewing — where it was heavily implied that reigning champions (who have won four straight weeks) were caught cheating, including by using a Shazam-enabled Apple Watch.
Competition between cloud vendors is heating up.
But there is a threat to vibrant, dynamic competition from a select group of incumbent companies trying to leverage their position to keep customers locked-in to their contracts.
@CarolineLoop has more: https://t.co/h9zYOENAyW
But there exists anticompetitive behavior by a few dominant vendors, stifling competition by blocking customers' ability to switch providers for more cost-effective and efficient #cloud services.
More in my blog and our full comments:
https://t.co/4IiPtxZ237
Recently, the @FTC sent out a request for information about competition in the cloud computing industry.
In NetChoice's comments, we argue that #cloud competition is vibrant and strong: hundreds of players exist in the marketplace, with ever more startups entering.
Privacy and cybersecurity expert James X. Dempsey and @NetChoice released a paper identifying some of the key risks for regulators to watch on AI, from design to data privacy. https://t.co/bBhJrDZA1c