Top Stories this PM: Louisiana reels from Hurricane Ida; R. Kelly's first male accuser testifies in court

Good afternoon. Here are the top stories so far today.

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What happened today:

Louisiana reels from Hurricane Ida. No power. Blocked roads. Frantic efforts to check on loved ones. Hurricane Ida slammed into Louisiana on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane, the second-highest storm category. While just one death was reported, Gov. John Bel Edwards said he expects the death toll to "go up considerably throughout the day."

US removed from EU's "safe" list. The European Union recommended Monday that member countries reimpose travel restrictions on US visitors due to rising COVID-19 cases. But its recommendations aren't mandatory, and it's unclear which countries will follow the guidelines and what timeline they'll use in doing so.

Federal benefits are about to expire. Pandemic-era federal unemployment benefits end in exactly a week. The Century Foundation has projected that 7.5 million Americans will lose benefits completely, an unprecedented fiscal cliff that is likely to drastically affect incomes, spending, and jobless workers' lives.

US missile killed civilians. Ten civilians - including seven children - were killed in a US drone strike targeting a vehicle in a residential area of Kabul on Sunday, according to several reports. The US Central Command said that the drone strike took out an Islamic State car bomb that posed an "imminent" danger to the Kabul airport.

R. Kelly's first male accuser speaks. The first man to accuse R. Kelly of sexual abuse testified that the singer asked him what he was "willing to do for music." Testifying under the pseudonym "Louis," the man said he met Kelly in 2006 while working the overnight shift at a McDonald's drive-thru in suburban Chicago and that Kelly later performed oral sex on him. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him.

That's all for now. See you tomorrow.