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Today’s top stories

Tropical Storm Isaias intensified into a hurricane overnight and is forecast to make landfall as early as tomorrow night near the Alabama Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle. Coastal communities in its path are preparing for high winds and flooding by stocking up on supplies to board up windows and gather sandbags. Residents who live farther inland are also preparing for inches of rain and wind.

• 🎧 State officials have declared states of emergency so they can stage equipment along the Gulf, Lauren Linahan of NPR network station WBHM tells Up First. They’re coordinating shelters and warning people to be ready, even though, with landfall more than 24 hours away, the forecast could still change. Some non-essential workers from oil production platforms in the Gulf have been evacuated — a common occurrence during hurricane season. If the storm gets really bad, oil prices could be impacted, Linahan says. Big events are still scheduled for this weekend, including the Alabama-Georgia SEC football game in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night, which President Trump is expected to attend. If the storm maintains its path, its worst impacts will happen that morning.

Republicans currently have a slim majority in the House, holding 218 seats to the Democrats’ 214. With less than a month until Election Day, an NPR analysis of both parties’ campaigns highlights key races that will shape control of the House in 2027. The Cook Political Report lists 43 competitive districts, including 22 toss-ups. But both parties are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into shaping a much larger electoral landscape.

• 🎧 Some districts that voted for Trump and a Democratic House representative, or vice versa, in 2024 are expected to be close again in the midterms. But NPR’s Stephen Fowler says the political landscape has changed drastically since then. With an unpopular president, rising prices and strong anti-incumbency sentiments, many more districts are now competitive. The unpopularity of the current administration, particularly among Latino voters who supported Trump, could lead to new Republican-drawn districts electing Democrats. There’s a massive amount of money involved in these campaigns; AdImpact reports half a billion dollars in House ads leading up to Election Day. Both parties are essentially throwing a huge amount of resources at the wall to see what sticks, Fowler says.

The Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville has ordered Tennessee prison officials to preserve all evidence related to the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike last week. This includes log books, medical waste and all communications from officials involved in the execution attempt. The court granted Pike’s attorneys “liberal access” to her, requiring prison officials to respond to requests for in-person visits within two hours. Pike’s attorneys said that she is now awake, speaking and receiving critical medical care after several days of unconsciousness.