Good evening. I'm Amna Nawaz.

And I'm Jeff Bennett on the news hour tonight. Much of Jamaica is left with severe damage

and no power in the wake of Hurricane Melissa as the storm batters Cuba and the Bahamas.

Vice President Vance and Charlie Kirk's widow host a college event in Mississippi, aiming

to chart a path forward for the young conservative movement.

And federal funding cuts force many top researchers, including the man known as the Mozart

of Mad, to consider leaving the U.S.

In the worst case scenario, which I didn't even think was on the radar, you know, I mean, maybe if the institute closes down, I can no longer find my students, I have to find another option.

Welcome to the News Hour. Caribbean islands have suffered terrible devastation in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. The death toll is in flux, but initial estimates show the storm has killed dozens across Haiti and Jamaica.

Melissa is one of the strongest storms the region has ever seen, leaving widespread destruction in multiple Caribbean nations.

The hurricane landed first on Jamaica yesterday as a Category 5 storm.

It was the strongest storm to ever hit Jamaica,

leaving streets submerged, homes destroyed, and 77% of the island without power.

A lot of my friends' house is gone.

Nice, nice home.

In the fishing village of Alligator Pond, residents like Dennis Elliott began to piece back together their lives.

You gotta pick up your tools in your hand.

The claw bar and the hammer, the machete, the speed and move on to the future seeing me.

Hoping for never to see a stomb like this again.

It was terrible. I witness about, I'm 54 and I witness about three dangerous storm. This one

was worse. It was terrible. The wind, it was violent. It was terrible. Despite the devastation,

Alvin English says this agricultural area, Jamaica's so-called breadbasket will survive.

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