Thursday, October 10, 2024
It is Thursday, October 10, 2024. Here are today’s top stories.
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Milton “significant” but “not the worst case scenario”
Hurricane Milton barreled through Florida last night into this early morning and although it caused significant damage and spawned tornadoes, the Florida governor said “thankfully, this was not the worst case scenario.” The governor said Hurricane Helene had a worse storm surge.
Five people were killed in St. Lucie County, Florida, which is in the southeast part of the state, after tornadoes hit the area. There were about 45 reported tornadoes across Florida yesterday.
Two people died in St. Petersburg (near Tampa). One was due to a medical-related incident and the second was someone who was found in a park.
A crane collapsed in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida and caused a huge hole in an office building, but fortunately nobody was injured.
Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team, saw its roof partially torn off due to high winds.
There were several areas in western Florida that experienced significant flooding.
Over three million people in Florida are without power and about 50,000 linemen are working to restore power.
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Ethel Kennedy dies at 96
Ethel Kennedy, who was the sister-in-law to President John F. Kennedy and the widow of Robert Kennedy, passed away today at the age of 96. Her grandson said she died from complications from a stroke she suffered last week. Ethel leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/obituaries/ethel-kennedy-dies-96-rcna102978
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Rafael Nadal to retire next month
Rafael Nadal, the tennis legend who won 22 Grand Slam tournaments, announced he will be retiring after the Davis Cup next month. Nadal is 38 years old and has been competing less lately due to injuries. Nadal said it was a difficult decision for him, but that in this life, everything has a beginning and an end.
https://apnews.com/article/rafael-nadal-retirement-tennis-e8d5c3ea277d4bb9e060a350319c66c7
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Israeli airstrike kills 28 people in Gaza
Reuters reported that an Israeli airstrike on a school that was a shelter for displaced people in central Gaza killed at least 28 people including women and children. The Israeli military said there were Hamas fighters who were in the building, but Hamas denied their members were there.
In other news, the Israeli military told three hospitals in northern Gaza to evacuate because they would do an offensive in the area to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping. Hospital leaders said they can’t evacuate without putting patients’ lives at risk.
Reuters said most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced and much of the region has been destroyed by Israel’s military.
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Pilot dies mid-flight
On Tuesday, a Turkish Airlines pilot passed away after taking off from Seattle on a journey towards Istanbul, Turkey. The 59-year-old pilot collapsed. Fortunately, there was a second pilot and a co-pilot that were able to take over the controls and the plane made an emergency landing in New York. There were efforts to resuscitate the pilot, but he died before the emergency landing. The pilot’s name was Ilcehin Pehlivan.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jd7dg5z5lo
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Washington woman calls 911 due to 100 raccoons
In Washington state, a woman called 911 to ask for help in dealing with up to 100 raccoons that swarmed around her home. The woman said she fed a family of raccoons many years ago and that it was fine until about six weeks ago, when the numbers of raccoons started to increase. The woman said the raccoons were becoming increasingly aggressive and demanded food by scratching the outside of her home or at her car whenever she pulled up. Wildlife officials said the woman created her own problem by feeding raccoons and that after she stopped, the raccoons started to disperse. Officials discourage people from feeding raccoons because they can carry diseases.
https://apnews.com/article/washington-state-raccoon-invasion-cadf885cc7a4f2bd05e7755d448e7d8c
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.