By Jade Walker

In an effort to stop undocumented immigrants from crossing the southern border with Mexico, the Trump administration has built a wall, installed coils of razor wire, deployed guards and added cameras and sensors. Earlier this week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she’s going to add yet another deterrent — at the president’s request.

Here's what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

CSU/CIRA & NOAA/Reuters

Hurricane Erin

The massive size of Hurricane Erin and days of powerful winds over the open ocean have caused water levels along the East Coast to rise. Tidal gauges from South Florida to New York are all running about a foot higher than normal, prompting authorities to close or restrict swimming at many beaches. Despite not making landfall, the Category 2 storm is still producing heavy rain, strong winds, powerful rip currents and dangerous storm surge. According to the National Hurricane Center, tropical-storm-force winds now extend up to 320 miles from the hurricane’s eye, up from 265 miles as of late Wednesday. North Carolina is under a state of emergency and evacuations have been ordered in parts of the Outer Banks, which may see waves of 20 feet or higher. Click here to track the storm's projected path.

HHS

More than 750 current and former staffers of the CDC, NIH and HHS have signed a letter to demand work environments that are safe from violence and public health leaders who tell the American people the truth. The letter, which was addressed to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the US Congress, said the deadly attack on the CDC's global headquarters in Atlanta earlier this month was not random. “The attack came amid growing mistrust in public institutions, driven by politicized rhetoric that has turned public health professionals from trusted experts into targets of villainization — and now, violence,” the letter said. The staffers claim Kennedy was “complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.” They also expressed gratitude to David Rose, the DeKalb County police officer who was killed in the August 8 attack.

Tulsi Gabbard

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard plans to cut the staff at the nation’s top intelligence agency by nearly 50 percent. Although it was not immediately clear how much of that reorganization is underway or has already taken place, Gabbard said it will “save taxpayers at least $700 million per year.” According to a fact sheet released on Wednesday, she has already reduced the size of her office’s workforce by more than 500 staffers — or roughly 30%. This new effort appears to largely target several subagencies and offices that Gabbard claimed were either redundant or had been “politicized.” This includes the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which monitors efforts by foreign entities to influence the American public, and the National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center, which monitors the spread of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

Texas floods

The parents of some of the 27 girls who died when a catastrophic flood swept through Camp Mystic in July sat before a Texas state Senate committee on Wednesday and called for stronger safety standards at youth camps. “Our precious, hilarious, kind, caring, silly, loving little girl who always wanted to help others, died because there was no plan, because there was no backup system or sirens, because the sweet 18- and 19-year-old counselors did not have the training they needed. Instead, they were told to stay in place, a rule that proved to be fatal,” said Carrie Hanna, whose 8-year-old daughter Hadley perished at the camp, which largely sat in a flood-prone area. The parents were testifying about a bill that would require camps to have emergency rooftop ladders in every cabin in the floodplain and flash flood evacuation plans. The bill would also create a line of succession for officials in the event they are absent when a disaster strikes.

DC

President Trump’s declaration of a crime emergency in Washington, DC, and his decision to federalize the city’s police force were meant to restore order in the nation’s capital. “I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC, and they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly,” Trump said. So, how do the city's residents feel? According to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll, 61% said they feel less safe now. Roughly 8 in 10 residents oppose Trump’s crime crackdown as well as his deployment of the National Guard and FBI to patrol the city. About half of residents said DC Mayor Muriel Bowser should be doing more to oppose Trump, and 71% said DC police should not help the federal government much or at all to deport undocumented immigrants.

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9

That’s how many home runs the New York Yankees hit during their 13-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. This makes the Bronx Bombers the first franchise in Major League Baseball history to record two games with nine homers in the same season or otherwise.

“If you’re a federal worker and you have any kind of identity that doesn’t agree with this current administration, then you must be silent or you will be eliminated.”

— Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a Yosemite National Park ranger and biologist, who was fired after hanging a transgender pride flag from El Capitan.

He’s snapped photos of 17,000 different species 
… and he's not done yet.

5 Things AM is edited by CNN's Andrew Torgan.

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