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A weakening however nonetheless tremendously highly effective Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida’s west coast on Wednesday evening as a class 3 storm, leaving practically 3 million properties with out energy, whereas bringing “catastrophic” winds more likely to trigger important property injury.
The cyclone, described earlier within the day by Joe Biden as “the storm of the century”, made landfall close to Sarasota, Florida, simply after 8:30pm ET, the Nationwide Hurricane Heart in Miami stated. The storm introduced a storm surge to a lot of Florida’s Gulf coast, together with densely populated areas resembling Tampa, St Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.
Regardless of shedding a few of its efficiency to wind shear because it neared the coast, Milton, which had churned within the Gulf of Mexico over the past two days as a class 5 storm, was nonetheless one of many strongest hurricanes to strike the US mainland in current reminiscence. It was additionally the second direct hit on Florida in 12 days.
Jane Castor, the mayor of Tampa, issued a sobering alert to these in evacuation zones selecting to remain, telling them their properties would grow to be their coffins.
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What do we all know concerning the impression to date? Almost 3 million properties and companies in Florida have been with out energy. St Petersburg has had 16 inches of rain because the storm started, half of which fell in simply two hours.
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What’s a storm surge? As a hurricane approaches a coast, the churning winds drive ocean water up on to land; atmospheric strain from the storm additionally helps squeeze the water ashore. Water is heavy, and it may possibly transfer quick in a surge, sweeping folks to their deaths, throwing boats and automobiles, and pulverising buildings.
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This can be a growing story. Comply with our dwell weblog right here.
US urges Israel to urgently handle ‘catastrophic’ Gaza circumstances
Israel must urgently handle “catastrophic conditions” amongst Palestinian civilians within the Gaza Strip and cease “intensifying suffering” by limiting support deliveries, the US has instructed the UN safety council.
Talking to the UN safety council, the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stated: “These catastrophic conditions were predicted months ago, and yet, have still not been addressed. That must change, and now.”
She additionally warned Israel towards attempting to completely expel Palestinians from Gaza or seizing any territory for itself. “There must be no demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any actions that reduce the territory of Gaza,” Thomas-Greenfield stated.
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What’s the warfare’s impression on Gaza’s refugee kids? The Worldwide Rescue Committee warned that after a yr of battle, as many as 51,000 kids in Gaza might be unaccompanied or separated from their mother and father or caregivers.
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What’s occurring with Israel’s invasion of Lebanon? 1 / 4 of Lebanese territory is now underneath Israeli navy displacement orders, a UN OCHA report discovered. It stated “Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis is deteriorating at an alarming rate” as “Israeli airstrikes have not only intensified but also expanded” and have “increasingly targeted critical civilian infrastructure.”
Tim Walz requires scrapping of electoral faculty to resolve US presidential race
Tim Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, has known as for the electoral faculty system of electing presidents to be abolished and changed with a well-liked vote precept, which most democracies use.
His feedback chime with the feelings of a majority of American voters however danger destabilising the marketing campaign of Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, who has not adopted a place on the matter, regardless of having beforehand voiced related views.
“I think all of us know, the electoral college needs to go,” Walz instructed celebration fundraisers in California. He had earlier made related remarks at a separate occasion in Seattle, the place he known as himself “a national popular vote guy”, whereas qualifying it by saying, “that’s not the world we live in.”
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How does the system work once more? Presidential polls are determined not by who wins essentially the most votes nationwide however as an alternative by which candidate captures a majority of 538 electoral votes throughout the 50 states, plus Washington DC. A president can win the electoral faculty whereas shedding the favored vote, notably in current occasions George W Bush in 2000 and Donald Trump in 2016.
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What did the Harris-Walz marketing campaign make of the feedback? Marketing campaign officers confused that abolishing the electoral faculty was not a part of its agenda.
In different information …
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Croatia’s border police seem like burning clothes, cell phones and passports seized from asylum seekers making an attempt to cross into the European Union – earlier than pushing them again to Bosnia.
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El Salvador faces scrutiny for the ‘political’ trial of 5 environmental activists, with UN consultants calling the case baseless.
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A Turkish Airways flight from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency touchdown at New York’s JFK airport, after its 59-year-old captain died mid-flight.
Stat of the day: Overseas support for fossil gasoline tasks quadruples to $5.4bn in a single yr
Overseas support for fossil gasoline tasks quadrupled in a single yr, a report by nonprofit Clear Air Fund discovered, rising from $1.2bn in 2021 to $5.4bn in 2022. “This shocking increase in aid funding to fossil fuels is a wake-up call,” stated Jane Burston, the Clear Air Fund chief govt.
Don’t miss this: Trump’s radical plan to remake the presidency
For Thursday’s In the present day in Focus podcast, Michael Safi and Ed Pilkington go deep on what Donald Trump’s plans for a second time period could be – and the way he seeks to reshape the White Home to present himself unprecedented energy.
… or this: Is it the top for the ship that helped us perceive life on Earth?
The Joides Decision has contributed to the world’s understanding of the local weather disaster, the origin of life, earthquakes and eruptions. However funding cuts imply it might have sailed its final expedition.
Final Factor: Antarctica welcomes new postmaster to ‘coolest job on earth’
George Clarke will quickly be part of the world’s most southerly museum and submit workplace in Antarctica. For 5 months of freezing temperatures and near-constant daylight, they’ll dwell alongside the resident gentoo penguins. “I’m looking forward to waking up and having my morning coffee looking out over Antarctica, hopefully seeing a whale too,” Clarke stated.
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