Wednesday, September 28 top stories
It is Wednesday, September 28. Here are today’s top stories.
Cat. 4 Hurricane Ian hits southwestern Florida
This afternoon, Category 4 Hurricane Ian made landfall along the southwestern coast of Florida with sustained wind speeds of 150 mph.
A sheriff’s office in the Naples and Marco Island areas said they are getting reports of people trapped by water in their homes. Some of them said they are going through life-threatening medical emergencies. The sheriff’s office said they have to prioritize calls and that some people will have to wait.
Videos on social media showed storm surges inundating a neighborhood in Pine Island with water that was high enough to flood cars. A person in Fort Myers said he’s seeing cars and boats float down the street and trees almost bent in half. The city of Naples posted an image of a downtown area that was covered with several feet of water. A traffic cam on Sanibel Island showed blowing winds and water rushing over streets. The city of Cape Coral said it is getting reports of significant structural damage.
Before the hurricane made landfall, some coastlines around Tampa Bay seemed to be emptied of water — which is a phenomenon caused by hurricane winds pushing the water away from the coast.
There are concerns that the storm surge could reach 18 feet in some areas.
Over a million customers in Florida lost power.
Weather forecasters said Hurricane Ian could remain at hurricane strength for the next 24 hours and would continue to be a strong tropical storm when it reaches the east coast of Florida.
Florida Gov. DeSantis said it is going to be nasty for two days.
President Biden plans to visit FEMA headquarters in D.C. on Thursday to get briefings on the federal response to the hurricane.
We will know more about the extent of the damage to southeast Florida after the storm moves through the state. Our thoughts are with you all in Florida.
Jan. 6 rioter Kyle Young sentenced to 7 years in prison
A Jan. 6 rioter named Kyle Young (38) was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for being a part of a group that dragged D.C. police officer Michael Fanone into the mob, beat him up, and shocked him with a stun gun. Fanone had a heart attack and has retired from the police department.
The judge in the case said video evidence shows that Young repeatedly assaulted or menaced officers who tried to defend the Capitol’s West Terrace.
Young, who is from Iowa, said in court that he is so, so sorry and he would take it back if he could. He was sentenced to 86 months in prison. He has already served 18 months in prison since he was charged.
Sen. McConnell supports bill on electoral college certification
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), who is the Senate’s most powerful Republican, endorsed a bill that aims to make sure that nobody can take advantage of some ambiguities in the electoral college certification process such as the idea that the Vice President can interfere in the certification process or that state legislatures can send a new slate of electors in an aim to change the outcome of a state’s election.
Both things happened in the days after the 2020 election. Former president Donald Trump pushed his Vice President Pence to intervene in the electoral count certification process before Congress was attacked by a mob on January 6. There were also efforts by several states to send a new slate of electors with the aim of flipping a state that Biden won to be in Trump’s favor.
USA Today explained that the bill is titled, “Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act.” The bill will make it clear that the vice president’s role is purely ceremonial and would make it more difficult for lawmakers to challenge and delay the count of a particular state’s results. The bill would bar state legislatures to appoint their own electors that would go against how their state voted.
Sen. McConnell said, “the chaos that came to a head on January 6 of last year strongly suggests that we find careful ways to clarify and streamline the process” of presidential transitions.
USA Today said McConnell’s support makes it very likely that the Senate will pass the bill. The House passed a similar bill last week but there are some differences so both chambers will have to iron it out before passing a combined bill and handing it to President Biden for his signature.
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Leaks in Nord Stream pipeline considered sabotage
On Tuesday, Swedish officials said they detected explosions and leaks on the undersea Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. The pipelines deliver Russian natural gas to Germany. Earlier this month Russia closed the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, saying they had maintenance concerns.
Today the European Union said they believe the leaks were the result of a deliberate act, an act of sabotage. The EU did not name who they suspected did this.
A former CIA director told CNN that he believes people associated with the Russian government carried out the sabotage. The Russian government denied any involvement.
Russia may annex four regions in Ukraine after “sham” referendums
Russian officials said referendums in four pro-Russian breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine show that its citizens voted in landslides for the areas to no longer be a part of Ukraine and become a part of Russia’s mainland.
Ukrainian president Zelenskyy and many in the international community said the elections are a “sham” and that they wouldn’t recognize the results.
Now it is expected that Putin will move to annex the four regions and make them a part of Russia. It is a big concern because Russia can now say any attack on these regions is an attack on Russian soil.
In separate but related news, the Biden administration is going to provide another $1.1 billion worth of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow sent out a security alert urging all Americans who are still in Russia to depart immediately because they may be prevented from leaving the country during Putin’s military call-up and may even be forced to serve in the Russian army.
Mountain lion attacks 7-year-old boy
In Southern California at a park north of Los Angeles, a mountain lion attacked a 7-year-old boy from behind as he was walking through the park. Officials said the boy was walking up some stairs when he was bitten in his butt by the mountain lion. The boy was injured but is expected to make a full recovery.
The mountain lion has not been found. The boy’s bite wounds were swabbed for DNA to see if they match with a wild cat that is known in the area. Officials said they have placed a trap with a deer carcass to try and capture the lion and test its DNA. If there is a match, it is likely that the lion will be euthanized. Officials said this is a difficult part of their job, but it is necessary if a wild animal starts attacking people, especially small children.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/hurricane-ian-florida-updates-09-28-22/index.html
https://www.axios.com/2022/09/27/live-hurricane-ian-southwest-florida
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/hurricane-ian-florida-forecast-path-landfall-2022-09-28/
https://www.axios.com/2022/09/27/nord-stream-gas-pipeline-leak-sabotage
https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/nord-steam-pipeline-leak-sabotage
https://abcnews.go.com/US/mountain-lion-attacks-year-boy-park/story?id=90625756