Hurricane Erick Rapidly Intensifies Ahead Of Mexico Landfall; Major Flooding And Wind Threat Hurricane Erick is expected to come ashore in southern Mexico as the first major hurricane prior to July with flooding rain, damaging winds and storm surge by Thursday. The hurricane continues to rapidly intensify. Erick became the Eastern Pacific’s second hurricane of the season early Wednesday morning, almost four weeks ahead of the season’s average second hurricane pace.

Trump meets with national security team on Iran as U.S. prepares to evacuate citizens from Israel President Donald Trump is meeting with his national security team in the White House Situation Room for the second time in two days, as he considers whether to order a military strike against Iran amid its ongoing conflict with Israel. The meeting began shortly before 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, a White House official told NBC News. Meanwhile, his administration has begun preparing for large-scale evacuations of Americans who want to leave Israel.

US resumes visas for foreign students but demands access to social media accounts The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review. The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles. In a notice made public Wednesday, the department said it had rescinded its May suspension of student visa processing but said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to “public” and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected.

Amid the increasingly precarious security situation in Eretz Yisroel, Mir Yerushalayim has launched an initiative for its talmidim to take shifts in order to learn for three consecutive days without a single break in limud torah.

Mincha in מצרים as hundreds make their way out of Israel via the Taba crossing to Sharm el-Sheikh Airport around 2 hours south.

THIS SUMS IT UP! CBS, The Wall Street Journal, and ABC News report that President Trump has approved a military strike plan but has not yet made a final decision on whether to carry it out. The New York Times reports that Iranian officials are expected to meet with U.S. representatives “soon,” signaling possible diplomatic movement. Axios indicates that Trump is uncertain about the military option, citing a lack of confidence in its effectiveness. Semafor reports that a strike appears increasingly unlikely due to a limited U.S. stockpile, which may constrain operational feasibility. In other words:

FOXS’ MARC THIESSEN: “The MAGA movement is not isolationist…but I think some of the Republican isolationists are suddenly discovering that they’re out of touch with the MAGA movement & Donald Trump.” “This is the guy who killed Qasem Soleimani.”

New York Gov Kathy Hochul announces New York taxpayers will be footing the bill for $50M in legal services for illegal immigrants in the state.