By GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a devastating Category 5 storm, tied for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane in history. The deadly storm has also caused devastation in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The world is still learning the extent of the destruction, but relief organizations are already mobilizing to help across the northern Caribbean.

As is typical in disasters, nonprofit groups told The Associated Press that cash is the best way to help, since unsolicited goods donations can overwhelm already strained systems. Experts recommend using sites like Charity Navigator or the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance to check out unfamiliar charities before donating.

Here is some of the work being done and ways to support people impacted by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and beyond.

Locals supporting locals: United Way of Jamaica

The 40-year-old nonprofit has a history of supporting Jamaicans after disasters, especially the country’s farmers.

Last year, United Way of Jamaica mobilized help for female farmers hit hard by Hurricane Beryl, helping them replace farm equipment, repair roofs, and pay tuition fees for their kids right as the school year began.

The Kingston-based group accepts cash donations.

Doubling your dollars: American Friends of Jamaica

AFJ has donated to Jamaican charitable organizations since 1982, supporting education, economic development and health care. Its disaster relief fund helped repair nearly 800 roofs after Hurricane Beryl, according to the group.

The New York-based organization is currently matching donations to its Disaster Relief Fund, up to $1 million.

Fast cash: GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly will deliver emergency cash directly to Jamaica households.

The nonprofit sent households impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton $1,000 last year, using AI to pinpoint the worst impacted areas and making fast electronic transfers.

The New York-based group is trying to raise $1 million and is accepting cash donations.

Immediate relief: CORE and many more

CORE ‘s local staff is already responding in Haiti and will arrive in Jamaica when airports reopen to deliver relief items like hygiene kits and tarps, conduct medical assessments an distribute cash assistance. The group will also help households remove debris and rebuild homes.

The Los Angeles-based nonprofit is accepting cash donations to its Emergency Response Fund. Its board of directors is matching up to $200,000.

There are a host of other humanitarian organizations deployed or in the process of reaching the northern Caribbean, including Convoy of Hope, Mercy Corps, World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, Project HOPE, CARE, Global Empowerment Mission, World Food Program USA and Americares.

Installing backup power systems: Footprint Project

The solar-energy nonprofit supplies communities and first responders with temporary power equipment to aid their response and restore communications.

Footprint Project is shipping 150 portable solar and battery power stations and deploying mobile microgrid equipment, working with local partners like Jamaica Renewable Energy Association to ensure the systems are deployed where they are most needed.

The New Orleans-based group is accepting cash donations. Equipment donations can be coordinated through give@footprintproject.org.

Medical aid: Direct Relief

The humanitarian organization supports the Caribbean year round with medicines and other supplies, and has delivered more than $3 million in medical aid in the last month to areas now under threat.

Direct Relief will support health facilities, many of which it says are in coastal and low-lying areas vulnerable to flooding and power outages. The group also sent 100 field-medic packs for Jamaica’s National Health Fund, and is working with the Pan American Health Organization on supplies for Cuba.

The Santa Barbara, California-based group is accepting cash donations. All contributions specifically designated for “Hurricane Melissa” will go directly to those efforts.

Shipping supplies and logistics: Good360 and Airlink

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Good360 connects corporate donors who have surplus, high-quality supplies with nonprofits that need those items. It will partner with local groups to deliver what’s needed, anticipating demand for generators, tarps and hygiene kits.

Good360 is accepting cash donations to support delivery of these supplies.

Airlink works with major airlines like United and American, using extra cargo space to help humanitarian organizations move aid to disaster zones.

It’s moving cargo to Haiti and Jamaica on behalf of 16 NGOs and finding solutions for moving supplies on the ground when many roads are blocked or washed out.

The Washington, D.C.-based group accepts cash and crypto donations and donations of frequent flyer miles.

Long-term recovery: Center for Disaster Philanthropy

While the immediate needs will be vast, CDP focuses on long-term recovery, an often underfunded aspect of disaster response.

The group will give grants to local organizations that are most in tune with the needs, focusing on the most at-risk residents and emphasizing solutions that leave communities better prepared for future climate events.

The Washington, D.C.-based organization is accepting cash donations to its Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund.

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

The Oak Park Heights City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved a conditional-use permit for a retail cannabis business in the Joseph’s restaurant space.

The business will be known as Mango Cannabis and it will occupy the entire building at 14608 60th St. N., City Administrator Jacob Rife said. The restaurant is expected to move to a different location in the area, he said.

The application for a conditional-use permit to operate the retail cannabis business was submitted by Kevin Pattah, of ABJKM Holdings, and Boundary Waters Capital. They also have submitted an application for a permit to open a Mango Cannabis in the former Devil’s Advocate restaurant at 14200 60th St. N., in Stillwater, a half-mile west of Joseph’s.

When officials at ABJKM Holdings applied for the retail registration in Stillwater, the number of retail cannabis locations allowed in the city was capped at one, Pattah told Oak Park Heights city council members on Tuesday night. Stillwater has since increased the cap to allow four retail locations; Oak Park Heights also will allow four locations.

“Oak Park Heights has always been our destination for a Mango location,” Pattah said. “Joseph’s fit our demographics.”

What about the cupola?

Council member Mark Swenson asked Pattah about his plans for the cupola on the roof of Joseph’s, which has been a city landmark since the restaurant, then known as Big Ben, opened.

Joseph’s, an Oak Park Heights restaurant, pictured Oct. 9, 2025. (Mars King / Pioneer Press)

“Joseph’s has been a staple of the community for years, and the cupola that’s on the top of the roof has always been the kind of the gathering point, ever since it was with Big Ben,” Swenson said.

The community is losing a staple, Swenson said. “I mean, that was the place to go. If you’re going for breakfast or lunch, you go to Joseph’s, right? I’ve received just about as many calls on this as I did about the Highway 36 bridge.”

Swenson said he would like to see the cupola removed if the building will no longer house Joseph’s. “Let it be gone,” he said. “That’s not the restaurant anymore. It’s not what it used to be.”

“You want it gone?” Pattah asked.

“It’s part of change,” Swenson said. “I mean, those are my feelings.”

Joseph’s owner Sam Leon did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Pattah reassured the council that the owners of Joseph’s plan to relocate the restaurant in the area.

“Everyone has been asking about it,” he said. “I’ve talked to them numerous times, and their goal is to relocate, and they’re possibly thinking about relocating up the street, if I’m not mistaken.”

Interest in border community

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The Oak Park Heights City Council in July approved plans for the city’s first retail cannabis business, Oak Park Heights Canna, at 14729 60th St. N., near Carbone’s Pizzeria & Pub. The store is expected to open sometime in 2026, Rife said.

“We get calls all the time from folks interested in opening retail cannabis operations in the city,” Rife said. “We certainly understand their desire to be here. It’s a robust business corridor and a desirable place for people to do business.”

Because cannabis retail businesses are not legal in Wisconsin, just across the border, the Minnesota 36 corridor in Oak Park Heights is a prime location for potential shops, Rife said.

“That obviously is going to enhance the interest in locating here,” he said.

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

Starbucks halted a long sales slide in its fiscal fourth quarter as pumpkin drinks and improved service brought customers back to its stores.

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The Seattle coffee giant said Wednesday that its global same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, rose 1% over last year in the July-September period. It was the first time in nearly two years that the company posted an increase in same-store sales.

That increase was largely due to international markets, where same-store sales rose 3%. In the U.S., same-store sales were flat; spending per transaction was up 1% but transactions were down 1%. Still, that was an improvement from the third quarter, when U.S. same-store sales fell 2%.

Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said the results indicate the company’s turnaround, which he put in place after joining Starbucks a little more than a year ago, is working. Niccol has set new hospitality standards, redesigned stores to be cozier and more welcoming and adjusted staffing levels to better handle peak hours.

New software is also helping stores sequence drive-thru, in-store and mobile orders, cutting down on wait times. Niccol said 80% of company-operated U.S. stores have in-store wait times averaging four minutes or less, even on high-volume days like this year’s record-breaking U.S. launch of fall drinks in August.

“We still have a lot of work in front of us, but it’s clear we’re moving in the right direction,” Niccol said during a conference call with investors Wednesday.

Niccol said this year’s holiday season, which kicks off Nov. 6, will allow even more customers to see the difference that Starbucks’ investments have made over the last year.

Still, those changes have been costly. In addition to hiring more staff and redesigning stores, Starbucks incurred $755 million in restructuring charges in the fourth quarter. Late last month, the company laid off 900 non-retail employees and closed 627 stores as part of that restructuring; 90% of them were in North America.

As a result, Starbucks said its profit fell 85% in the fourth quarter to 12 cents per share.

Adjusted for one-time items, including its restructuring costs, Starbucks said it earned 52 cents per share in the fourth quarter. That was lower than the 56-cent profit Wall Street expected, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Starbucks’ shares were flat in after-market trading Wednesday.

Niccol insisted the improvements in service and speed, along with innovations like protein drinks, will pay off in stronger sales.

Starbucks’ net revenue rose 5% to $9.6 billion in the July-September period. That was better than the $9.3 billion Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

“I believe we’re best-positioned to provide the best customer experience in the industry,” Niccol said. “It is as simple as just being greeted when you walk into our stores. And that has changed.”

Niccol said Starbucks also plans to keep price increases in check even as the cost of labor, coffee and other commodities rises. The company had vowed not to increase prices in its 2025 fiscal year.

“We’re going to be very strategic, very targeted,” Niccol said. “I don’t envision us just doing broad-scale pricing across our menu.”

Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who marked his first year with the company in September, said the fourth-quarter results indicate that Starbucks is making progress in its multi-year turnaround.

Starbucks shares rose nearly 2% in after-hours trading Wednesday.

By BARBARA ORTUTAY

Meta’s stock slid in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the tech giant posted strong third-quarter results but warned that its expenses will be significantly higher in 2026 than this year.

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Like its rivals, Meta Platforms Inc. has been on an artificial intelligence spending spree and said its costs will grow much faster next year, driven by infrastructure costs and employee compensation as it has hired AI experts at eye-popping compensation levels.

“Employee compensation costs will be the second largest contributor to growth, as we recognize a full year of compensation for employees hired throughout 2025, particularly AI talent, and add technical talent in priority areas,” Meta said.

Menlo Park, California-based Meta Platforms Inc. earned $2.71 billion, or $1.05 per share, in the July-September period. Excluding tax-related special expenses, the company would have earned $7.25. Revenue rose 26% to $51.42 billion from $40.59 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $6.72 per share on revenue of $49.51 billion, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

Meta’s daily active user base on its apps — Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram and Threads — was 3.54 billion on average for September, up 8% year-over-year.

For the current quarter, Meta is forecasting revenue in the range of $56 billion to $59 billion. Analysts are forecasting $57.36 billion for the October-December quarter.

Despite the stock drop, analysts were less concerned about Meta’s spending spree than shareholders appeared to be.

“For Meta, advertising is the foundation; AI is the growth engine,” said Debra Aho Williamson, founder and chief analyst at Sonata Insights. “There’s a lot of focus on Meta’s capital expenditures related to AI, which is completely warranted. The spending is absolutely massive. But with 26% growth in revenue in Q3, it’s clear that what Meta is doing to integrate AI into its ad products is working.”

Andrew Rocco, stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research, said “the quarter was not terrible, and forward statements continue to be positive. Most importantly, management confirmed that they expect ad revenue to remain strong.”

Meta also cautioned that it is facing a slew of legal and regulatory issues in the U.S. and the European Union that could hurt its bottom line.

“In the U.S., a number of youth-related trials are scheduled for 2026, and may ultimately result in a material loss,” the company said.

In the U.S., Meta is facing an antitrust case that’s now awaiting a judge’s decision and could force the company to break off WhatsApp and Instagram, startups Meta bought more than a decade ago that have since grown into social media powerhouses.

Meta’s shares fell $57.67, or 7.7%, to $694 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed up slightly at $751.67.