Riley is a writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).
23: Twenty-three people have died in Haiti after Hurricane Melissa passed near the island, adding more anguish to a country that has been in crisis for most of the past decade and without a president since Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021. The hurricane is now headed toward Bermuda.
430,000: The UN reports that sectarian violence in post-Assad Syria has already displaced 430,000 people. Syria’s 14-year long civil war had pushed more than half the country’s 22 million people from their homes. The end of that conflict with the ouster of Assad last December had raised hopes for an end to the displacements.
41%: US coffee roasters’ stockpiles are running low as they wait for a new US-Brazil trade deal. Since US President Donald Trump put 50% tariffs on Brazil, coffee prices in the US have gone up by 41% from a year ago, to an average of $9.14 a pound. Brazil alone accounts for a third of American coffee consumption.
5: French authorities arrested five more Louvre heist suspects outside Paris on Wednesday. However, the stolen jewels, valued at more than $100 million, have yet to be recovered.


