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Florida, September 11, N.F.L.: Your Monday Briefing

“Tribute in Light” at ground zero in New York on Sunday. Thousands of people are expected to gather at the site today, the 16th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil.Credit...Kena Betancur/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Irma weakens to a tropical storm.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour this morning, and forecasters expected it to remain inland as it moves north. Check here for the latest.

At least four deaths have been reported in Florida, where almost six million people are without power. The state is accustomed to hurricanes, but this one is different.

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Two hardy souls braved the effects of Hurricane Irma in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Sunday.Credit...Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

Irma left at least 27 dead in the Caribbean, and looting erupted on some of the hardest-hit islands.

Here are our maps tracking the storm’s path, and a selection of photographs. The Times is providing free digital access to hurricane coverage.

• After the storm.

As Florida deals with Irma, Texas is recovering from Harvey. We joined a group of residents who gathered to pray and to start rebuilding.

We also have an update from our reporter who wrote a harrowing account as water engulfed his home in the Houston area.

“Recovery is in sight, even if I need a pair of binoculars to see it,” he says.

Is it insensitive to discuss climate change in the midst of deadly hurricanes? Scientists and the federal government disagree.

• In the age of Trump.

Before becoming president, Donald Trump switched party affiliations at least five times.

His independent streak was on display again last week, when he struck a fiscal deal with Democrats. Our chief White House correspondent explains a trend that some Republicans fear could split their party.

As part of our series about regulatory changes under the Trump administration, we looked at aggressive initiatives to promote conservative priorities, including policies affecting gun ownership, gay rights, reproductive choices and immigration.

And Stephen Bannon, the former White House strategist, told “60 Minutes” he would continue to be Mr. Trump’s “wingman.” But he called the president’s firing of James Comey, the former F.B.I. director, the biggest mistake in “modern political history.”

• Death toll in Mexico rises.

Rescue workers are trying to assess the damage after the country’s strongest earthquake in a century left at least 90 people dead. Violent aftershocks rattled the area on Sunday.

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A funeral procession on Sunday in Juchitán de Zaragoza, a city in southern Mexico that was heavily damaged in last week’s earthquake.Credit...Brett Gundlock for The New York Times

• “The Daily,” your audio news report.

On today’s show, we speak with two Miami residents, one who refused to evacuate and one who drove to supposed safety, only to end up in Irma’s path.

Listen on a computer, an iOS device or an Android device.

• Apple is expected to unveil a top-of-the-line iPhone on Tuesday that comes with facial recognition and a $1,000 price tag.

One of our tech reporters is taking your questions.

• Amazon is looking for a second headquarters, so we ran the data to see where the retailer should put it.

• Hurricane recovery efforts and new federal guidelines on self-driving cars are among the headlines to watch this week.

• U.S. stocks were mixed on Friday. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.

• Our weekly newsletter suggests four steps to deal with the Equifax breach.

• What to do when travel plans are affected by major storms.

• Recipe of the day: Go for comfort with velvety Cheddar mashed potatoes.

• The N.F.L. season began in full on Sunday. Here are the highlights of Week 1.

• Rafael Nadal and Sloane Stephens won the singles titles at the U.S. Open, his 16th Grand Slam championship and her first.

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Rafael Nadal after beating the 28th-seeded Kevin Anderson in straight sets on Sunday to win his third U.S. Open title.
Credit...Ben Solomon for The New York Times

• “It” smashed September box office records, earning $117.2 million at North American multiplexes.

• We have TV recaps of the season finale of “Twin Peaks” and the premieres of “The Deuce” and “Narcos.”

• Robots and humans team up at Amazon.

In today’s 360 video, visit one of the company’s warehouses in New Jersey. Amazon employs more than 125,000 people and uses 100,000 robots.

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Amazon’s warehouses, which now employ more than 125,000 people across the United States, are being outfitted with the latest in robots and tech, but not at the expense of human jobs.CreditCredit...Jean Yves Chainon / The New York Times. Technology by Samsung.

• Remembering 9/11.

On the 16th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, our friends at New York Today look at a documentary film project by and about children who lost parents that day.

• The new arts season.

There’s a lot in store: museums and galleries; theater and dance; classical and pop music; television and film.

• In memoriam.

Don Ohlmeyer produced ABC’s “Monday Night Football” during its 1970s heyday, and guided NBC to No. 1 in prime time two decades later. He was 72.

• Quotation of the day.

“All the food is gone now. People are fighting in the streets for what is left.”

Jacques Charbonnier, a resident of the Caribbean island of St. Martin, on conditions after Hurricane Irma.

This month in 1972, the South Pacific Forum recognized the Kingdom of Tonga’s sovereignty over two submerged atolls, ending the short life of a micronation unilaterally declared by an American and built on sand.

Michael Oliver, a Las Vegas real estate tycoon with visions of a libertarian utopia, had declared the Republic of Minerva nine months earlier. He laid claim to the Minerva Reefs, a pair of remote atolls a foot or so beneath the surface of the South Pacific, named for a ship that had foundered on one.

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The Minerva Reefs are about 250 miles from Tonga.Credit...Dave Saggs, via YouTube

Morris Davis, a developer of the Minuteman missile, was appointed president.

The new country had its own flag and coins, and it was free of taxes and regulation. To overcome the small matter of not having any dry land, a barge was brought in to dump sand.

But in June, King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV of Tonga landed on the north atoll with a brass band and a group of convict laborers. The Tongan anthem was played, and the Minervan flag was taken down.

The Tongan annexation was soon ratified, setting off a dispute with Fiji. Mr. Oliver went on to foment independence movements in Vanuatu and the Bahamas. Those, too, failed.

Penn Bullock contributed reporting.

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