Wednesday, October 9, 2024
It is Wednesday, October 9, 2024. Here are today’s top stories.
———
Hurricane Milton to hit Florida tonight
The Weather Channel said Hurricane Milton will make landfall in Florida as a major hurricane tonight into early tomorrow morning. Forecasters expect for there to be destructive, life-threatening storm surge along the western Florida Gulf Coast and for there to be damaging hurricane-force winds to impact inland across central Florida. Forecasters also expect life-threatening flash flooding from rainfall as well as several tornadoes.
As of this afternoon, Milton is a Category 4 storm and its eye is on track to hit the Sarasota region, which is just south of Tampa. It has sustained wind speeds of around 145 mph.
Millions of people on Florida’s western coast have evacuated, but staff at a zoo and aquarium in Tampa are staying there along with many animals to ride out the storm. Elephants and giraffes will be in barns that are “hurricane-proof.”
The Tampa General Hospital is setting up an “aquafence,” which is a barrier set up around the hospital designed to withstand storm surges up to 15 feet above sea level. The hospital has backup power and has five days’ worth of supplies.
My thoughts are with you all in Florida.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/10/08/milton-tampa-florida-zoos-aquariums/
———
FBI arrests man suspected of planning attack on Election Day
The FBI arrested a 27-year-old man from Afghanistan on suspicion that he planned to carry out an Election Day attack targeting large crowds in the U.S. The FBI said the man, Nasir Tawhedi of Oklahoma City, was inspired by ISIS and was prepared to die. He recently ordered AK-47 rifles, sold his family’s possessions, and bought one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan. AP News said Tawhedi entered the U.S. on a special immigrant visa in 2021 that allows eligible Afghans who helped Americans, such as acting as interpreters for the U.S. military, to come to the U.S. with their families.
A spokesperson for an organization that supports those who are trying to leave Afghanistan said although this situation is serious, it’s important to not assign blame to an entire community for the actions of one individual.
———
Biden announces 10-year deadline to remove lead pipes
President Biden announced that there is a 10-year deadline for all lead pipes in the U.S. to be identified and replaced. Biden said there is $2.6 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to help states and cities do this. The EPA estimates that nine million homes in the U.S. still have lead pipes. One example is the city of Milwaukee, which has 65,000 lead pipes that will cost about $700 million to remove. President Biden said lead pipes poses a danger to our drinking water and that communities of color have been the hardest hit.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-lead-pipes-infrastructure/
———
[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
———
Newly elected mayor in Mexico is beheaded
A mayor in southern Mexico was brutally murdered and beheaded less than a week after he took office. His name was Alejandro Arcos and he was the mayor of Chilpancingo in Guerrero state. CBS News said Guerrero has endured years of violence linked to turf wars between cartels fighting for control of drug production and trafficking. Now four other mayors in Mexico have asked federal authorities for protection. CBS said many politicians in Mexico have been murdered amid pressure from cartels who demand payments, government contracts or the appointment of their members to city police forces.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mayor-beheaded-mexico-others-ask-federal-protection/
———
“The Office” actress Jenna Fischer says she was treated for breast cancer
“The Office” actress Jenna Fischer announced on her Instagram that last December, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and that she is now cancer free after completing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. She said she’s sharing this now because October is breast cancer awareness month. She said doctors discovered the cancer after she did a routine mammogram and encouraged others to do the same. Fischer said she’s feeling great but continues to receive medication infusions.
———
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.