Millions of homes and businesses are without power as Hurricane Milton barrels across Florida, bringing relentless rain and tremendous wind gusts. And Israel gets set to retaliate against Iran after its missile attack. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
Hurricane Milton brings tornadoes, flooding, power outages to Florida
Hurricane Milton hammered Florida, moving east after making landfall as a Category 3 storm in Siesta Key near Sarasota Wednesday night, Oct. 9. The storm has since weakened to a Category 1, but it has knocked out power to more than 3 million homes and caused widespread flooding.
Milton dropped about 16 inches of rain on St. Petersburg — a 1-in-1,000-year amount of rainfall for the area. In St. Lucie County, “multiple fatalities” have been reported from a tornado outbreak ahead of Milton. At least 27 tornadoes were reported.
In Tampa, there is flash flooding all over the city emergency services personnel told people to stay sheltered for the time being.
The National Weather Service has reported some residents in Pinellas County had to be rescued from flood waters as high as their waists after Hurricane Milton passed through.
In what one storm chaser called a “surreal” moment, Milton’s wicked winds tore the roof off Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, the home field of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays.
The stadium was not being used as a shelter, but according to the Tampa Bay Times, it was set up as “a staging site for workers” who arrived in the area to deal with the storm’s aftermath.
A crane that was on top of a high rise in St. Pete came crashing down. So far, no injuries have been reported in connection with either incident.
Recovery efforts have started to get underway in Florida counties where Milton has already come and gone, but the state is still seeing heavy rains and whipping winds, in places such as heavily populated Orlando.
Biden promises Floridians ‘we’ve got your back’ after Milton
The Sunshine State has its work cut out for it when it comes to recovery with two storms to clean up after now. Many communities still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which hit about two weeks ago, are now forced to start the process over again, while others take it on for the first time.
This comes as questions increase about whether FEMA has enough staff and funding to respond to the storm. Wednesday night, President Joe Biden released a video statement promising the federal government will step in as needed, telling those in impacted states “we’ve got your back.”
“We’ve already approved emergency declarations for Florida,” Biden said. “We have thousands of federal personnel on the ground. We have staged and are ready to go — we have 20 million meals, 40 million liters of water. At my direction, the secretary of defense, [Lloyd] Austin, has pre-positioned search and rescue teams, helicopters and high-water vehicles as close to the storm as possible, so they’re ready to conduct lifesaving missions.”
FEMA Administrator Deanna Criswell has also said the agency is prepared to support every state affected by the massive back-to-back storms.
Campaigns turn attention to swing states of Pennsylvania, Arizona
Election Day is just now 26 days away now, both campaigns turned their attention to pivotal swing states Wednesday.
Former President Donald Trump held two rallies in Pennsylvania, including in President Biden’s hometown Scranton. Later in a speech in Reading, he urged his supporters to turn out on Nov. 5.
“All I want is one thing — because we’re going to do this: you have to go out and vote,” he told supporters. “That’s all I want. You don’t even have to give us any money. That’s a pretty good deal, right? Just vote. Vote for all of us. You’re not voting for me. You’re voting for all of us. We’re going to save our country. It’s being run by incompetent people that have no idea what the hell they’re doing.”
Also Wednesday, the vice presidential candidates made stops in Arizona, where early voting is underway.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance also encouraged people to get out to vote early. Meanwhile the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, delivered a speech at an event for military and veterans’ families on the importance of this election.
“So, the issue isn’t people say we’re making everything political,” Walz said. “Look, it’s not about politics. It’s about basic human decency. It’s about leadership and character. It’s about delivering for those folks rather than spending all your time trying to tear people down and divide us. We need president Harris to be there to make sure you’re uniting us, to find solutions together, to work across the aisle.”
Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to visit Arizona Thursday, Oct. 10, and former President Trump will hold a rally there on Sunday, Oct. 13.
Israeli security cabinet to vote on Iran attack response
The Israeli security cabinet is set to vote Thursday on its response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack last week, according to CNN.
President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday night — their first call in weeks — but the White House did not give any details on Israel’s planned response to Iran. Earlier in the day, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the response would be “lethal, precise and surprising.”
Netanyahu has promised Iran will pay for the missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with destruction.
This all comes as Israel launched new strikes against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon Wednesday night.
The U.S. has said it supports Israel going after Iran-backed targets like Hezbollah and Hamas. The Biden administration has tried, unsuccessfully, to stop the conflict from escalating and has called on Israel not to hit Iranian nuclear sites.
Meanwhile, fears the U.S. will get pulled into a wider war in the region continue to grow.
NOAA issues severe geomagnetic storm watch
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch for Thursday into Friday, Oct. 11. The solar storm is currently a level 4 on a scale from 1 to 5, with the potential of reaching five.
The alert Wednesday came after an outburst from the sun was detected earlier in the week. NOAA said the storm could temporarily disrupt power and radio signals.
The agency has notified FEMA, as well as operators of the American power grid, power plants, and satellites to take precautions as parts of the nation continue to deal with devastating weather.
The solar storm could also produce colorful auroras across the country Thursday night, with the northern lights reaching as far south as Alabama.
McDonald’s releases Chicken Big Mac at restaurants nationwide
McDonald’s is bringing a big twist to its signature Big Mac sandwich. It’s switching out the beef for chicken.
Thursday, the fast-food chain is releasing its Chicken Big Mac nationwide, giving its flagship menu item a poultry version for all U.S. customers for the first time since the Big Mac’s debut in the late 1960s. The Chicken Big Mac is following a trend in the industry that puts more emphasis on chicken options.
According to the USDA, chicken consumption has been on the rise in the country over the past several decades, while beef consumption has decreased. McDonald’s itself has confirmed it sells more chicken products than beef.
McDonald’s says the original two-all-beef patty option of the Big Mac is not going away and the chicken version is only available for a limited time.
