The House of Representatives voted on Friday to approve a stopgap bill to fund the government through December 16, averting a shutdown just hours ahead of a midnight deadline when funding was set to expire.
Lawmakers had expressed confidence there wouldn’t be a shutdown, but it is typical of Congress in recent years to run right up against funding deadlines.
In part, that’s because the opposing parties find it easier to reach last-minute deals to stave off a shutdown under tight time pressure.
This time around, neither party wanted to be blamed for a shutdown – especially so close to the consequential November midterm elections where control of Congress is at stake and as Democrats and Republicans are both trying to make their case to voters that they should be in the majority. Lawmakers up for reelection are also eager to finish up work on Capitol Hill so they can return to their home states to campaign.
In addition to money to keep government agencies afloat, the short-term funding measure provides around $12 billion for Ukraine as it continues to counter Russia’s invasion of the country, and requires the Pentagon to report on how US dollars have been spent there. The aid to Ukraine is a bipartisan priority.
The continuing resolution also extends an expiring FDA user fee program for five years.
The $12 billion in additional funding for Ukraine provides money for the US to continue sending weapons to replenish US stocks that have been sent to the country over the past seven months during the ongoing conflict.
In order to continue providing Ukraine with weapons to counter Russia’s offensive, the bill allocates an additional $3 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. This pot of money allows the US to procure and purchase weapons from industry and send them to the country, instead of drawing directly from US stockpiles of weapons.
The bill also authorizes an additional $3.7 billion in presidential drawdown authority funding, which allows the US to send weapons directly from US stockpiles, and $1.5 billion is included to “replenish US stocks of equipment” provided to Ukraine, a fact sheet from Senate Democrats about the bill states.
The bill designates $4.5 billion for the “economic support fund” to provide “support to maintain the operation of Ukraine’s national government,” the fact sheet states.
The US has provided Ukraine with significant economic and military support since Russia’s invasion of the country began in February, committing more than $16.2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, since the Russian invasion began in February, a Department of Defense release stated on Wednesday.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
Brazil’s hotly contested presidential election is less than 24 hours away, and for many Brazilians, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Two household names – former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and current leader Jair Bolsonaro – are battling to become the country’s next president. Depending on who ultimately wins, Latin America’s largest economy will likely either continue on Bolsonaro’s conservative, pro-business path, or else take a left turn under Lula.
In recent weeks, both candidates have ramped up efforts to woo voters. But this is an arduous task in a country where 85% of voters say they have already made up their minds, according to a Datafolha poll released Thursday.
For Lula, more votes could mean victory in the first round of voting, with no need for a runoff. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro needs to catch up, after slipping 14 points behind his rival in the same survey.
Brazilians will vote for their next president on Sunday, October 2, in the first round of the elections. On the same date, governors, senators, federal and state deputies for the country’s 26 states plus the federal district will also be chosen.
Voting is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. local time in Brasilia (7 a.m. ET) and concludes at 5 p.m. local (4 p.m. ET).
In the Brazilian electoral system, a winning candidate must gain more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate crosses that threshold, a second round of voting will be organized, in which the options will be narrowed down to the two frontrunners from the first round.
In Brazil, opinion polls always estimate candidates’ potential performance in the first round (competing against with all other candidates) and in the second round (with just two top candidates).
Over 156 million Brazilians are eligible to vote.
Bolsonaro and Lula are by far the candidates to watch. Though other candidates are also in the race, they’re polling with one-digit percentages and are unlikely to pose much competition.
Lula, 76, was Brazil’s President for two terms – from 2003 to 2006 and 2007 to 2011. A household name, he first came into the political scene in the 1970s as a leader of worker strikes which defied the military regime.
In 1980, he was one of the founders of the Workers’ Party (PT), which went on to become Brazil’s main left-wing political force. Lula’s presidential terms were marked by programs aimed at reducing poverty and inequality in the country but also rocked by revelations of a corruption scheme involving the payment of congressional representatives to support government proposals. Due to lack of evidence of his involvement, Lula himself was never included in the investigation of this scheme.
Lula’s campaign for the presidency now promises a new tax regime that will allow for higher public spending. He has vowed to end hunger in the country, which has returned during the Bolsonaro government. Lula also promises to work to reduce carbon emissions and deforestation in the Amazon.
Bolsonaro is a former army captain who was a federal deputy for 27 years before running for President in 2018. A marginal figure in politics during much of this time, he emerged in the mid-2010s as a leading figure of a more radically right-wing movement, which perceived the PT as its main enemy.
As a President, Bolsonaro has pursued a conservative agenda, supported by important evangelical leaders. His government also became known for its support for ruthless exploitation of land in the Amazon, leading to record deforestation figures. Environmentalists have warned that the future of the rainforest could be at stake in this election.
In his program, Bolsonaro promises to increase mining, privatize public companies and generate more sustainable energy to bring down energy prices. He has vowed to continue paying a R$600 (roughly US$110) monthly benefit known as Auxilio Brasil.
Vote counting begins right after ballots (mostly electronic) close on Sunday.
Brazil’s electoral authorities say they expect final results from the first round to be officially announced that evening, on October 2. They will be published on the electoral court’s website.
In the last few elections, results were officially declared two to three hours after voting finished. If the leading candidate does not manage to muster more than half of all valid votes, a second round will take place on October 30.
Observers will be watching closely to see if all candidates accept the vote result publicly. Bolsonaro, who has been accused of firing up supporters with violent rhetoric, has sought to sow doubts about the result and said that the results should be considered suspicious if he doesn’t gain “at least 60%.”
Both he and his conservative Liberal Party claimed that Brazil’s electronic ballot system is susceptible to fraud – an entirely unfounded allegation that has drawn comparisons to the false election claims of former US President Donald Trump.
There have been no proven instances of voter fraud in the electronic ballot in Brazil.
The Supreme Electoral Court has also rejected claims of flaws in the system, as “false and untruthful, with no base in reality.”
Editor’s Note: Affected by the storm? Use CNN’s lite site for low bandwidth. You also can text or WhatsApp your Ian stories to CNN +1 332-261-0775.
CNN
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As post-tropical cyclone Ian moves inland across North Carolina early Saturday, communities in Florida and South Carolina are recovering after the deadly storm brought torrential rain, powerful winds and cataclysmic flooding over the course of three terrifying days.
Ian slammed into southwest Florida as a severe Category 4 hurricane Wednesday, packing sustained winds of 150 mph. Officials believe the death toll of at least 45 people is likely to climb in the coming days as search-and-rescue crews access additional areas blocked off by debris and floodwaters.
After striking South Carolina on Friday, the storm is roughly 50 miles south-southeast of Greensboro, North Carolina, and has weakened to maximum sustained winds measured at 40 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center as of 2 a.m. ET Saturday.
“Considerable flash, urban and small stream flooding is possible across portions of North Carolina and southern Virginia through this morning, with minor river flooding possible over Coastal Carolinas,” the hurricane center warned. Wind gusts of up to tropical storm force are also possible and 3-6 inches of rainfall are forecast for the region.
Possible isolated tornadoes threaten parts of southeast Virginia and the Delmarva peninsula through Saturday morning, the hurricane center said. Ian is forecast to move north through Virginia Saturday and should dissipate by early Sunday.
This week, Ian left a trail of destruction felt most intensely in Florida’s southwestern coastal communities, including Fort Myers and Naples. Tampa, Orlando and cities along Florida’s northeastern coast were also impacted by downpours and high winds. Across the state, more than 1.3 million homes and businesses were still in the dark early Saturday.
“I made it about two-thirds down the island and I’d say 90% of the island is pretty much gone,” Fort Myers Beach Town Councilman Dan Allers said. “Unless you have a high-rise condo or a newer concrete home that is built to the same standards today, your house is pretty much gone.”
By Friday afternoon, Ian had weakened to a tropical storm before strengthening over Atlantic waters and making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Georgetown, South Carolina, bringing extreme storm surge, collapsing structures and ripping roofs off buildings.
More than 70,000 customers in South Carolina did not have power early Saturday, according to tracker PowerOutage.us. Another 340,000 homes and businesses in North Carolina and more than 100,000 in Virginia were also in the dark Saturday morning.
Authorities in South Carolina began cataloging damage on Pawleys Island, a coastal town roughly 70 miles north of Charleston. The biggest concern there, according to the mayor, is how to remove debris so the island can be safe again.
“It was a Category 1 hurricane, but we experienced tremendous storm surge today, probably beyond what most people anticipated,” Mayor Brian Henry told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday.
“Most of us did not believe we would see the storm surge at 7-plus feet,” Henry said. “It’s beginning to recede, but we have a huge amount of water on the roadways and across the island.”
Pawleys Island residents are not allowed to return home until safety assessments are fully conducted Saturday, police said.
The storm has flooded homes and submerged vehicles along the shoreline. Two piers – one in Pawleys Island and another in North Myrtle Beach – partially collapsed as high winds pushed water even higher.
In Horry County, where North Myrtle Beach in located, crews began removing debris left by the storm. Officials are urging residents to remain home and to not drive.
“It’s a pretty scary sight,” Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said of the hurricane. “I’m seeing way too many cars passing by. And I think people just don’t realize how dangerous it is to be out in these types of conditions. We’ve seen so many people’s cars get stuck, and emergency personnel has to go out and rescue people.”
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said on social media Friday, “A lot of prayers have been answered,” adding that the storm is “not as bad as it could have been, but don’t let your guard down yet. We are not out of the woods, there is water on the roads, still heavy winds, and it is still dangerous in many parts of the state.”
A swath of destruction was cut across the Florida peninsula Wednesday and Thursday, with communities along the southwestern coast facing the brunt of Ian’s storm surge at landfall. Sanibel and Captiva islands have been cut off from the mainland after parts of a causeway were obliterated by the storm.
Those living in Charlotte County are “facing a tragedy” without homes, electricity or water supplies, said Claudette Smith, public information officer for the sheriff’s office.
“We need everything, to put it plain and simple. We need everything. We need all hands on deck,” Smith told CNN Friday. “The people who have come to our assistance have been tremendously helpful, but we do need everything.”
From Florida’s coastal shores to inland cities such as Orlando, dangerous flooding has forced locals into dire circumstances. In one Orlando neighborhood where deep water has covered roads, some residents traveled by boat to assist others.
Rivers rising due to the substantial rainfall are still impacting areas headed into the weekend. A 12-mile portion of Interstate 75 in Sarasota County is closed in both directions due to the rising Myakka River, according to the Florida Department of Transportation Friday evening.
The US Coast Guard has rescued more than 275 people in Florida, according to Rear Admiral Brendan McPherson, and hundreds of additional rescues were being performed by teams from FEMA and local and state agencies. But post-storm conditions remain a huge challenge, he told CNN on Friday.
“We’re flying and we’re operating in areas that are unrecognizable. There’s no street signs. They don’t look like they used to look like. Buildings that were once benchmarks in the community are no longer there,” he said.
At least 45 deaths suspected to be related to Ian have been reported in Florida, including 16 in Lee County, 12 in Charlotte County, eight in Collier County, four in Volusia County, one in Polk County, one in Lake County, one in Manatee County and two in unincorporated Sarasota County, according to officials. Unconfirmed death cases are being processed by local medical examiners, who decide whether they are disaster-related, state emergency management Director Kevin Guthrie said.
The 85-year-old canned block of meat has undergone a cultural reinvention.
Hormel
(HRL) has sold a record amount of Spam for seven straight years, and 2022 is on pace for another such milestone. The conglomerate behind Skippy and Jennie-O turkey says it can’t make Spam fast enough and is increasing production capacity.
Spam is a trending ingredient on TikTok and on the menu at fine-dining restaurants in coastal cities. In 2019, a limited-edition Spam pumpkin spice flavor sold out in minutes. (You can still buy it on Ebay, where it goes for up to $100 per can.)
What is behind this phenomenon? Why does this slab of cooked pork that has long been stigmatized as fake meat, linked to wartime rations and hilariously spoofed on Monty Python now have cachet with foodies?
Spam’s popularity in Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Island cuisine has influenced its growth in the United States. As more immigrants came to the United States and fusion dishes and ethnic cuisines entered the cultural mainstream, Spam has reached new, younger foodies, say Hormel, food analysts and researchers.
Edgy and clever advertising campaigns also have helped Spam attract a broader customer range than the Baby Boomers who grew up eating it, sometimes reluctantly.
“Spam has undergone a reputation makeover,” said Robert Ku, an associate professor of Asian and Asian American studies at Binghamton University and the author of “Dubious Gastronomy: Eating Asian in the USA.” “A lot of celebrity chefs have been Asian and Asian American, and reintroduced Spam to a new audience.”
More than 100,000 visitors stream into the Spam museum every year in Austin, Minnesota, with stories to tell about Spam and recipes to share, said Savile Lord, the manager of the museum in the brand’s hometown. Visitors most often ask her and other museum “Spambassadors” how Spam got its name and what the heck is in it.
Spam first hit shelves in 1937 as a 12-ounce, 25-cent, convenient and long-lasting protein in a tin can during the lean years of the Great Depression. Spam contained nothing but pork shoulder, chopped ham, water, sugar and sodium.
It was a concoction of George Hormel and his son, Jay, meatpackers in Austin. The Hormels had been working on the “problem of canning a nonperishable pork product for a good many years and at last we solved it,” Jay told The New Yorker in 1945.
They offered a $100 prize for the best name for the food. It needed to be short for display purposes and to fit on one-column newspaper advertisements. It also had to pronounceable in any language.
The brother of a corporate executive threw out “Spam,” a combination of “spice” and “ham,” at a party, and Hormel “knew then and there that the name was perfect.”
From the beginning, Spam was marketed as a time-saver and a food for any meal: Spam and eggs. Spam and pancakes. Spam and beans, spaghetti, macaroni and crackers. Spamwiches.
“Never have you imagined a meat could turn into so many interesting uses. Morning, noon or night – cold or hot – Spam hits the spot!” read one early advertisement. Spam was a “miracle meat,” the company told consumers in newspaper spots and radio ads.
And then came the United States’ entrance into World War II in 1941, the decisive moment in Spam’s growth.
At many Pacific outposts, which had little refrigeration or local sources of meat, American and Allied troops relied on the canned meat that could be stored away for months and eaten on the go.
Hormel says more than 100 million pounds of Spam were shipped overseas to help feed the troops during the war. Uncle Sam became known as Uncle Spam, much to the dismay of troops forced to eat it every single day.
“During World War II, of course, I ate my share of Spam along with millions of other soldiers,” Dwight D. Eisenhower later wrote to Hormel’s president. “I’ll even confess to a few unkind remarks about it – uttered during the strain of battle.”
For the citizens of conflict-wracked countries in the Pacific struggling with hunger and famine during the war and rebuilding years, however, Spam was a symbol of access to American goods and services. Sometimes, it was the only protein source available. After US troops left, Spam remained, becoming an ingredient in local dishes.
“Spam became part of Asian culture,” said Ayalla Ruvio, a consumer behavior researcher at Michigan State University who studies identity and consumption habits. “It represented a piece of America. It’s like Coca-Cola or McDonald’s.”
American troops also introduced Spam in Korea during the Korean War in the early 1950s, and Budae Jjigae (Army Stew) became a popular Korean dish. Spam also remains a common ingredient in dishes almost anywhere US soldiers were stationed, such as Guam, the Philippines and Okinawa, Japan.
In Hawaii, where the US military has long been a major presence, more Spam is consumed per person than any other state. It’s stacked on a block of rice and wrapped in seaweed to make Spam musubi and sold at fast-food chains like McDonald’s in Hawaii. There’s even an annual Waikiki Spam Jam festival.
Many US soldiers returning from World War II vowed never to eat Spam again, and the brand became linked to rationing and economic hardship. But Spam has appealed to new consumers in the United States in recent years.
“When I first started getting into the brand, we started to notice this transition to a stronger multicultural set of consumers,” said Brian Lillis, who has been product’s brand manager for six years. “They brought with them the traditions of utilizing the product in their home country or where maybe their ancestors came from.”
Hormel has worked with chefs at Korean, Taiwanese and Vietnamese restaurants to get Spam on menus. As more people have been introduced to these dishes, they go home and try to make their own versions, Lillis said.
Spam highlights its versatility in dishes on social media and TV advertisements. There are ads for Spam and eggs, as well as Spam fried rice, Spam musabi, yakitori, and poke.
Spam has made a comeback in the United States because Asian and Asian American chefs such as Chris Oh have tried to reinvent it in their own ways, said Ku, the Binghamton University professor. “They brought some of the culinary influences of Asia and the Pacific and upscaled it.”
Authorities in Austin, Texas, said Friday that there was no active shooter at a local hospital after police responded to a call of “shots fired.”
“Officers have secured the scene and it is safe,” Austin police said on Twitter Friday afternoon. “This was not an active shooter incident. No injuries reported, roadways are expected to open soon.”
There was no indication that shots were fired, Austin police said, adding there is no criminal investigation.
Earlier, the police department had said it was responding to a “shots fired” call at Seton Hospital, adding the facility was placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure.
Police Sgt. Brian Preusse later explained someone reacting to a loud noise inside the hospital emergency room was what led to the shots fired call and prompted the lockdown and facility search.
“The hospital is back open again and secure,” Preusse said Friday evening.
No patients were located, treated or transported from the scene, the Austin-Travis County EMS said on Twitter. The agency said earlier in the day that among the resources that were deployed to the hospital were five ambulances and had urged residents to “avoid the area.”
It later said it was scaling down the units on scene, before announcing all EMS resources were demobilized.
“Today was a best-case scenario,” EMS Capt. Christa Stedman said about the incident. “This is the best possible outcome we could have had.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday said the state plans to assist people who suffered damage to their homes after Hurricane Ian with insurance claims and called for them to be “paid very quickly so that people can get back on their feet.”
As part of Florida’s disaster recovery centers, the state will also set up “insurance villages” under the leadership of Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis to assist with insurance claims, anticipating that there will be a lot of flood claims and wind claims, DeSantis, a Republican, said in Tallahassee during an update on hurricane recovery efforts.
The “insurance villages” are a site for Floridians to file their claims in-person with their carrier. The state’s preliminary site will have between 20 to 25 carriers in RVs to initially give out living expense funding, according to Patronis.
Florida homeowners had already been facing an expensive and difficult market for home insurance before Hurricane Ian hit the state, and damage from floodwaters is not covered by homeowners’ insurance. Such claims are filed with the National Flood Insurance Program, a federal insurer operated by FEMA.
“Make sure if you’re looking at claims on your property, you document that. Take photos, make sure you have it. We want you to be able to be made whole as quickly as possible,” DeSantis advised.
Patronis advised people who have suffered damage to their homes that the “first phone call” for people to make “needs be to your agent, your carrier, or to my office.”
On Thursday, he warned those impacted by Hurricane Ian to be cautious of insurance scammers.
“The predators that are going to come up, that are initially try to sign up construction management contracts, public adjusters. They’re going to come in like a bunch of locusts, and they’re going to try to hit the neighborhoods, and people are vulnerable right now,” Patronis said in Punta Gorda during a briefing with DeSantis, adding, “If it sounds too good to be true, it is.”
On Friday, DeSantis praised the “Herculean effort” from the response and rescue efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ian, as the state works to assess the damage, restore power and get food, water and supplies to people.
The governor also spoke with President Joe Biden by phone on Friday, the third time this week as the Sunshine State deals with catastrophic devastation.
Biden said Thursday that he plans to visit Florida “when the conditions allow” and that he would meet with DeSantis, a top political rival, during his trip “if he wants to meet.”
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke clashed over gun restrictions in a debate Friday night, with O’Rourke claiming that Abbott blames “everybody else” for mass shootings while “misleading this state.”
“It’s been 18 weeks since their kids have been killed, and not a thing has changed in this state to make it any less likely that any other child will meet the same fate,” O’Rourke said in their debate at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg. “All we need is action, and the only person standing in our way is the governor of the state of Texas.”
Abbott was shown a video of a child in Uvalde asking why Texas will not raise the age minimum to buy assault-style rifles. He said he believes such a move would be “unconstitutional” under recent court rulings.
“We want to end school shootings, but we cannot do that by making false promises,” Abbott said.
Abbott also said he opposed “red flag” laws, saying that those laws “would deny lawful Texas gun owners their right to due process.”
O’Rourke, meanwhile, did not back away from comments that he made as a 2020 presidential candidate, in the wake of the racially motivated mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart in 2019, that he would seek to confiscate assault-style rifles such as AR-15s and AK-47s. But he said as governor, he would be “focused on what we can get done.”
He said that would include raising the age minimum to purchase such firearms to 21, implementing universal background checks and enacting “red flag” laws.
“This is the common ground,” he said, citing conversations with Republican and Democratic voters, as well as families of those slain in Uvalde.
Friday night’s showdown was the only scheduled debate between Abbott, the Republican seeking a third term as governor, and O’Rourke, the Democratic former El Paso congressman whose near-miss in a 2018 race against Sen. Ted Cruz electrified Texas Democrats.
Democrats have not won a gubernatorial race in Texas since Ann Richards was elected governor in 1990. The party also hasn’t won a statewide race in the Lone Star State since 1994 — Democrats’ longest statewide losing streak in the country.
Abbott, who is viewed as a potential 2024 presidential contender, has consistently led in the polls. A Quinnipiac University survey conducted September 22-26 found the governor with a 7-point edge over O’Rourke among likely voters, 53% to 46%.
The most recent campaign finance reports in mid-July showed O’Rourke keeping pace with Abbott’s fundraising, but the incumbent maintained a significant cash-on-hand edge with $46 million in the bank to his challenger’s $24 million.
On the campaign trail, O’Rourke has criticized Abbott’s opposition to abortion rights – the governor signed a so-called trigger law last year that went into effect in August and bans nearly all abortions in the state following the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. The Democrat has also criticized the Abbott administration’s management of the power grid during last year’s winter freeze and the governor’s rejection of gun restrictions in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.
O’Rourke famously confronted Abbott and other officials at a news conference in Uvalde the day after the shooting, saying, “The time to stop the next shooting is right now and you are doing nothing.”
Abbott, meanwhile, has campaigned on tough border security policies, including busing migrants out of state to Democratic-run cities up North to protest the Biden administration’s immigration policies. He has also accused O’Rourke of seeking to undercut police funding, saying in an ad that O’Rourke wants to “defund and dismantle the police.” It was a reference to O’Rourke’s comments in 2020, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, praising protesters for targeting “line items that have over militarized our police.” O’Rourke has said he does not support cutting funding for police in Texas.
“Look, I don’t think Greg Abbott wakes up wanting to see children shot in their schools or for the grid to fail, but it’s clear that he’s incapable or unwilling to make the changes necessary to prioritize the lives of our fellow Texans. That’s why it’s on all of us to make change at the ballot box,” O’Rourke said in his closing remarks.
In his closing, Abbott said: “I’m running for reelection to keep Texas No. 1 — to cut your property taxes, to secure the border, to keep dangerous criminals behind bars, and to keep deadly fentanyl off our streets.”
The two also sharply diverged on abortion rights, an issue that has moved to the center of the gubernatorial race after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Abbott signed into law a measure that restricts abortion except to save the life of the mother and in certain health emergencies.
O’Rourke said he would seek to return Texas to the abortion protections that existed under Roe v. Wade.
“This election is about reproductive freedom. If you care about this, you need to turn out and vote,” O’Rourke said. “I will fight to make sure that every woman in Texas can make her own decision about her own body, her own future, and her own health care.”
Abbott said O’Rourke’s position on abortion is “the most extreme,” casting O’Rourke as supporting the right to abortions up until birth.
“No one thinks that in the state of Texas,” O’Rourke shot back. “He’s saying this because he signed the most extreme abortion ban in America: No exception for rape, no exception for incest, it begins at conception, and it’s taking place in a state that is at the epicenter of a maternal mortality crisis, thanks to Greg Abbott — three times as deadly for Black women.”
Abbott was asked whether emergency contraception is a viable alternative for victims of rape and incest.
“It’s incumbent upon the state of Texas to make sure that it is readily available,” he said. “For those who are victims of sexual assault or survivors of sexual assault, the state of Texas pays for that, whether it be at a hospital, at a clinic, or someone that gets a prescription because of it.”
He also touted the state’s “alternative to abortion program,” including living assistance and baby supplies, for those victims.
Abbott touted reforms to the power grid after the deep freeze, pointing to record high temperatures this summer.
“Time and again, the power grid was able to keep up, and it’s because of the reforms that we were able to make. The power grid remains more resilient … than ever before,” he said.
But O’Rourke said the power failure was “part of a pattern” during Abbott’s almost eight years in office, and that the governor had been warned about the possibility.
“The grid is still not fixed,” O’Rourke said, pointing to higher energy bills, Toyota stopping its third shift in San Antonio “because it was drawing too much power,” and Texas residents receiving conservation notices over the summer.
“All Beto does is fear-monger on this issue, when in reality, the grid is more resilient and more reliable than it’s ever been,” Abbott responded.
Particularly hard hit by Hurricane Ian, the Fort Myers area in southwest Florida is in shambles.
“It’s horrific,” Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson told CNN’s John Berman Friday morning at the city’s devastated marina, its boats strewn about and cement slabs ripped from the water and dropped onto land. “Look at some of these docks. They could weigh as much as a ton… and they’ve been thrown around like they were nothing.
“There’s some large boats and they’ve been thrown around like they were toys.”
Fort Myers Beach, which sits on a 7-mile-long island along the Gulf of Mexico,saw “total devastation, catastrophic,” Fort Myers Beach Town Councilman Dan Allers said Friday. “Those are words that come to mind when you see what you see.”
He also said that pictures show the damage but don’t “show the magnitude of exactly what it is.”
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office in a Friday morning update called Fort Myers Beach “impassable.”
“We hear you. We understand you have loved ones on the island,” the sheriff’s office said, noting that it is not safe to drive there. “Bicycles cannot even make it through clear pathways.”
You’re talking about no structure left. You’re talking about … homes thrown into the bay. This is a long-term fix, and it’s life-changing,” said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Friday an unknown number of bodies was found in a house in Lee County. Crews will need water to recede and special equipment to learn more.
Also Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Lee County has asked for support from FEMA after experiencing a water main break at their county water utility, which means that the county does not have water at this point.
Bobby Pratt said he has lived in Fort Myers his entire life.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said. His roof, porch and fence were damaged.
In the city of Fort Myers, rescuers had reached more than 200 people in the area, and fire officials believe there are no remaining people to be rescued, Anderson said.
Power lines and trees are down, so conditions remain dangerous, and the city is trying to clean up.
“We’d love for people to stay home,” Anderson said. “It’s not safe out there.”
Allers told CNN’s Don Lemon on Thursday night that his town was destroyed.
“I’d say 90% of the island is pretty much gone,” Allers said. “Unless you have a high-rise condo or a newer concrete home that is built to the same standards today, your house is pretty much gone.”
Allers told CNN that many people in the town struggled to get to higher ground amid the storm surge.
“I’ve heard stories of people getting in freezers and floating the freezers to another home… and being rescued by higher homes,” Allers said.
“Every home pretty much on the beach is gone,” Allers told CNN. “Some of the homes on the side streets are completely gone, and there’s nothing but a hole with water.”
Allers evacuated to higher ground during the storm. He later discovered that his own home was lost.
Friday, he pleaded for federal assistance.
“I don’t know if anyone in Washington can hear this: If you can send help, we need it.”
Liz Bello-Matthews, spokesperson for the city of Fort Myers, said on CNN Friday that safety workers are “responding constantly… It has been literally nonstop.”
She said many residents are struggling, though none are still reported stranded. There’s no internet or electricity, and many sections of the city have no water.
“We’re still just moving forward and trying to make sure that we’re there when they need us,” she said.
Shelters are open, including a large one that’s not being used enough, she said.
“The resources are there. They’re still open. We still have resources at those shelters and that’s where we’re guiding people to go at this time to make sure that their safe if their home is just not inhabitable,” she said.
As Florida wakes up Friday to apocalyptic, coast-to-coast damage – with searchers still going door-to-door and millions without power – deadly Hurricane Ian has begun lashing South Carolina, where an expected Friday afternoon landfall threatens more lethal flooding and could be powerful enough to alter the coastal landscape.
Winds of tropical-storm strength – 39 to 73 mph – already were hitting much of the Carolinas’ coast by 8 a.m., and life-threatening storm surge and hurricane conditions were expected within hours, the National Hurricane Center said.
“This is a dangerous storm that will bring high winds and a lot of water,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster tweeted. “Be smart, make good decisions, check on your loved ones, and stay safe.”
Meanwhile, Florida is taking stock of the dizzying destruction Ian wrought through much of the peninsula Wednesday and Thursday after it smashed the southwest coast as a Category 4 storm. Homes on the coast were washed out to sea, buildings were smashed throughout the state, and floodwater ruined homes and businesses and trapped residents, even inland in places like the Orlando area.
Hundreds of rescues have taken place by land, air and sea, with residents stuck in homes or stranded on rooftops, and searchers still are performing wellness checks, especially in the Fort Myers and Naples areas, where feet of storm surge inundated streets and homes.
And now, the storm’s aftermath poses new, deadly dangers of its own. Some standing water is electrified, officials warned, while maneuvering through debris-strewn buildings and streets – many without working traffic signals – risks injury. Lack of air conditioning can lead to heat illness, and improper generator use can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
In North Port between Fort Myers and Sarasota, Rosanna Walker stood Thursday in the flood-damaged home where she rode out the storm. Part of her drywall ceiling was hanging down.
“And all of a sudden, the water was coming in through the doors – the top, the bottom, the windows over here,” she told CNN’s John Berman. “It’s all in my closets; I’ve got to empty out my closets.”
“Everything got ruined.”
Here’s what to know:
• Dozens of deaths reported: At least 19 storm-related deaths have been reported so far in Florida, though that number is likely to rise. A majority of the fatalities are in hard-hit Lee and Charlotte counties.
• More than 2 million outages: Millions of Floridians who were in Ian’s path are still in the dark as of early Friday, according to PowerOutage.us. Most counties with the highest percentage of residents without power lie in the southwest, including Lee, Charlotte, DeSoto and Hardee.
• Historic flooding in some areas: Record flooding was recorded across central and northern Florida, including at least three rivers that hit all-time flood records. Officials in Orlando warned residents of dangerous flooding, which exceeded a foot in some areas.
• Hundreds of rescues and thousands of evacuations: More than 700 rescues have happened across Florida so far, the governor said Thursday, and thousands of evacuees have been reported. In Lee County, a hospital system had to evacuate more than 1,000 patients after its water supply was cut off, while other widespread evacuations have been reported in prisons and nursing homes.
• Coastal islands completely isolated from mainland: Sanibel and Captiva islands in southwest Florida are cut off from the mainland after several parts of a critical causeway were torn away. At least two people were killed in the storm in Sanibel, and the bridge may need to be completely rebuilt, local officials said. Chip Farrar, a resident of the tiny island of Matlacha, told CNN that 50 feet of road essential to reaching the mainland bridge has been washed out, and a second nearby bridge has also collapsed.
• Storm’s impacts today: A hurricane warning has been issued from the Savannah River at the Georgia-South Carolina state line to Cape Fear, North Carolina. Considerable flooding is possible from seawater and rain, especially in parts of coastal South Carolina, where storm surge up to 7 feet and 4 to 12 inches of rain could hit, forecasters say.
As Hurricane Ian moved away from Florida, governors in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia declared emergencies.
McMaster, of South Carolina, implored residents not to underestimate the storm’s danger and urged them to follow storm warnings closely to prepare for impact on Friday.
And when all is said and done, Ian’s storm system will likely have left behind lasting changes in its wake.
The coastlines along Georgia and South Carolina may sustain significant alterations because the powerful waves and storm surges brought by Ian could inundate coastal sand dunes, according to the US Geological Survey.
In addition to flooding communities behind the dunes, the storm may push sand back and deposit it inland, which could “reduce the height of protective sand dunes, alter beach profiles and leave areas behind the dunes more vulnerable to future storms,” the agency said.
California is attempting to stymie abortion prosecutions in other states by making it illegal for Silicon Valley giants and other businesses based in the Golden State to hand over the personal information of abortion-seekers to out-of-state authorities.
A new law signed Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom forbids California-based businesses from giving up geolocation data, search histories and other personal information in response to out-of-state search warrants, unless those warrants are accompanied by a statement that the evidence sought isn’t connected to an abortion investigation.
The prohibition also bars companies in the state from complying with out-of-state law enforcement requests related to abortion, including subpoenas and wiretaps.
It’s the latest example of how California is using its status as a powerful state, with jurisdiction over the world’s most powerful tech companies, to influence policy at a national scale.
“California is setting a national privacy standard,” said Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, an architect of the bill, in a statement Tuesday. According to a release by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the law went into effect immediately upon signing.
Bauer-Kahan’s law, AB 1242, bars California-based companies, including Google, Meta, Uber and others, from producing records about a person if the companies know “or should know” that the warrant they’re responding to is related to an abortion probe. CNN has reached out to the companies for comment.
The new law prohibits abortion-related search warrants in the first place, and requires all out-of-state search warrants to attest that they are not abortion-related.
But in directly undercutting the anti-abortion laws of other states, California’s new law could put businesses in the difficult position of having to pick sides — and face potential legal penalties no matter what they choose.
Companies that violate AB 1242 could face prosecution by the California attorney general. But if they comply with AB 1242, they could also face legal action in states that have restricted abortion for failing to comply with legal process.
“Anti-choice sheriffs and bounty hunters are going to be highly motivated to do anything they can to get this data,” said Adam Schwartz, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group that supports the California law.
In the event of a conflict between state laws, Schwartz said courts first look to whether a state has jurisdiction over a company and then, if it does, they fall back on a procedural tool known as “choice of law” to determine which law should apply.
A state with only some employees of a company, or that is home to users of an electronic service, isn’t likely to satisfy the jurisdictional test, Schwartz said. Even if it did, he added, it would likely fail in the choice of law because the California law is tailored to govern businesses that are incorporated in California or that have their “principal executive offices” in California.
Still, he acknowledged there will likely be many court battles ahead.
“We are going to see more of this situation where a business is facing, at one time, legal process from an anti-choice state commanding it to disclose abortion-related data, and a blocking statute from a pro-choice state forbidding it from disclosing that same data,” Schwartz said. “This is an important new area, this contest between anti-choice legal process and pro-choice blocking statutes, and it is a matter that could work its way up the courts to the highest court.”
In the meantime, tech companies could find themselves between a rock and a hard place, according to tech trade group Chamber of Progress.
“Red states and blue states are at war over abortion, and online platforms are caught in the crossfire,” Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich said in a statement to CNN. “California’s new law could potentially have a big impact on protecting reproductive privacy — but first it will create a challenging conflict between state laws.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday filed murder charges against a father and son in connection to the fatal shooting of musical artist PnB Rock.
Freddie Trone, who is being sought by police, along with his minor son were each charged with murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and second-degree robbery, according to a release from the DA’s office. A woman was charged with accessory after the fact.
The minor appeared in juvenile court Thursday and is set to return for a preliminary hearing on October 19. The woman is expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.
Trone is considered armed and dangerous, police said, and anyone who sees him should immediately call 911, according to a LAPD news release.
On Tuesday, LAPD arrested a 32-year-old woman and young man under 18 years old who police “believed to be involved” in the rapper’s death, according to the release.
LAPD did not have information on the young man or woman’s relationship to Trone.
The fatal shooting of PnB Rock took place September 12 while the rapper and his girlfriend were eating at Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘N Waffles on West Manchester Avenue, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore. The chief identified the rapper by his real name, Rakim Allen.
“[Allen] was brutally attacked by an individual who, apparently, we believe… came to the location after a social media posting of the artist and the woman accompanying him,” Moore said.
Moore said a picture of the pair’s meal had been posted on Instagram, with the location tagged. He said a Black man attacked the rapper at the restaurant, demanding his property. PnB Rock “had an extensive amount of jewelry and other valuables,” Moore said.
Between 2016 and 2019, PnB Rock had eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100, four of which were in 2019.
The rapper’s latest song, “Luv Me Again,” was released on September 2.
In emotional testimony on Thursday, Robbie Parker, the parent of a Sandy Hook shooting victim, recounted the violent threats and harassment he and his family have suffered in the years since conspiracy theorist Alex Jones called him a crisis actor.
The day after their six-year-old daughter, Emilie, was murdered in the 2012 shooting, Parker gave a statement to the press. Hours later, Jones was on his InfoWars show describing him as a crisis actor to his audience of millions. (Jones acknowledged that he spoke about Parker by name when he testified earlier during the trial, which is to determine how much he must pay to families of Sandy Hook shooting victims for his lies about the massacre.)
Later that night, unable to sleep, Parker said he saw the start of a deluge of hateful messages about the press conference on the Facebook memorial page for Emilie. Parker said he removed Emilie’s Facebook memorial page weeks after the shooting because the harassment was too much to control.
“I felt like I couldn’t protect Emilie’s name, or her memory anymore so I had to get rid of it,” Parker said through tears.
As days passed and the harassment increased, Parker’s family grew paranoid. They questioned what of Emilie’s life to share with guests during the wake and funeral services. Ultimately, they chose to have a closed casket wake out of concern someone would try to take photos of Emilie’s body or her things, Parker testified.
“I was paranoid and he was paranoid. Like we just shut down. We were just zombies. I don’t even hardly remember what was said on the day of the funeral,” Alissa Parker said during testimony before her husband. “They stole that from me.”
Robbie Parker, who has in many ways been the face of Jones’ hoax narrative about the shooting, said he reported the harassment and threats to law enforcement and social media attacks to Facebook and YouTube. “I was like pleading and pleading for their help,” he said. But that didn’t work either, he testified.
For years, he tried to ignore it, choosing not to engage with the people threatening his family and calling him an actor. “I’d been taught that like, you don’t engage with a bully,” he said. “If somebody’s bullying you, you ignore them and eventually they get tired and they leave you alone. And that had worked for me in my life.”
The family moved to Washington state in early 2014. Within months of moving, however, Robbie Parker realized the “hoaxers” had found them. He said he saw a YouTube video detailing the sale of their new home and address.
“And so immediately that sense of security that I thought that we had was totally shattered,” he said. “They would come in these waves and it was almost like I knew when Alex Jones said something because we would get a huge wave of stuff.”
Through tears, he recalled a man confronting him on the street in Seattle in the fall of 2016, nearly four years after the shooting. Yelling and cursing at him, the man asked him how he could sleep at night and how much he was paid by the government for acting in the hoax.
Robbie Parker said he confronted the man attempting to defend his family for the first time as a crowd of onlookers gathered. He said he eventually walked away from the heckler, but first he circled the block several times to make sure no one was following him before returning to his family.
His wife described the change she saw in her husband as the weight of their family’s safety got to him.
“I would say the most painful is just how it’s changed his view about himself. He felt so much shame. And he felt like it was his fault that all of this happened. And he felt like it was because of him that our family got attacked and all the other families got attacked,” she said.
The emotional testimony capped off the third week of the trial. Plaintiffs in three Connecticut lawsuits against Jones, including family members of eight school students and employees and one FBI agent who responded to the scene, have all been condensed into the trial.
The jury has now heard from most of the named plaintiffs in the case and the plaintiffs’ attorneys have indicated they’ll wrap up their case early next week.
Jones is expected to testify again next week during his own defense case. Then the jury will deliberate to determine how much Jones and the company should pay in damages to each of 15 plaintiffs that say their lives were negatively impacted by his’ hoax coverage of the shooting.
Judge Barbara Bellis found the defendants liable by default last year largely because Jones and the company did not comply in turning over evidence during the discovery process, according to court filings.
Robbie Parker had flown back and forth each week to sit in the Connecticut courtroom ahead of his testimony this week. At the beginning of his testimony Wednesday, he said: “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”
President Joe Biden said Thursday that it’s time for the country to pull together to help those affected by Hurricane Ian as he sought to deliver unifying remarks at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington.
“My message to the people of Florida and to the country in times like this: America comes together. We’re gonna pull together as one team, as one America,” the President said.
Biden said that already “many families are hurting” and the entire country hurts with them.
“They’re wondering what’s gonna be left? What’s gonna be left when they get to go home?” he said. “Or even if they have a home to go to.”
Biden also announced that those in Florida without enough insurance will be provided individual assistance of $37,900 for home repairs and another $37,000 for loss of property, including “everything from automobile to a lost wedding ring.” He also warned Floridians to not go outside “unless you absolutely have to,” adding that it’s both risky and impedes first responders from doing their job.
Biden said that he intends to visit Florida and Puerto Rico, which continues to deal with devastation caused by Hurricane Fiona. He added that he would meet with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis when he surveys damage in the state “if he wants to meet.” Biden and DeSantis – who have criticized one another over a variety of issues the years – spoke on Thursday over the phone for the second time in two days.
The President also once again warned oil and gas companies to not use the storm as “an excuse” to raise gasoline prices in the US.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced during Biden’s visit that he’s activated his agency’s surge capacity workforce to deploy more personnel to Florida in response to the storm.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell also warned Hurricane Ian will continue to be life-threatening as it moves into Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Ian came ashore Wednesday in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, making it one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall on Florida’s west coast. The storm has since weakened to a tropical storm with 70 mile per hour sustained winds, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In southwest and central Florida, which bore the brunt of the storm, survey crews reported collapsed buildings, flooding, downed power lines and impassable roads early Thursday. More than 2.6 million customers had no power Thursday morning, according to PowerOutage.us, and some drinking water systems have broken down completely or have boil notices in effect.
Biden on Thursday speculated that Ian “could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history,” adding that “the numbers are still unclear, but we’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life.”
The total extent of devastation resulting from the storm – including the number of hurricane-related deaths, the number of people who remain trapped and the number of homes that have been destroyed – remains largely unknown.
One person’s death was connected to the storm in Osceola County in central Florida, the county’s emergency management director Bill Litton told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Thursday morning. According to Litton, the person who died was in hospice, and a cause of death was not given.
Roughly five people are believed to have died in Lee County, the sheriff said, and parts of a key bridge there from Sanibel and Captiva islands to Florida’s mainland have been washed out.
Many people are believed to need rescuing in southwest Florida’s Fort Myers area, FEMA chief Deanne Criswell said Thursday. The nearby Naples area was similarly slammed, with feet of water submerging streets, nearly swallowing vehicles and rushing into the first floors of homes and businesses.
The Coast Guard and National Guard were “pulling people off of roofs in Fort Myers” with aircraft Thursday morning, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson told CNN. Coast Guard crews have rescued at least 23 people since Wednesday, the service said.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the name of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The US and Europe are closing ranks, signaling to Moscow their unity over the war in Ukraine won’t be shattered by what they say is the “sabotage” of dual undersea gas pipelines that could represent a possible new front in energy warfare.
The transatlantic allies have yet to directly blame Russia for what they say are leaks in the pipelines from Russia to Germany that followed underwater explosions. European security officials on Monday and Tuesday observed Russian Navy support ships in the vicinity of the leaks, CNN reported Wednesday, citing two Western intelligence officials and one other source familiar with the matter. But it remains unclear, according to these sources, whether the ships were connected to the explosions, and three US officials said that the US has no thorough explanation yet for what happened, CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis, Natasha Bertrand and Kylie Atwood reported. On Thursday, Germany’s ambassador to the United Kingdom said a fourth leak was discovered and that there was a “very strong indication” these were acts of sabotage.
The leaks have raised suspicions that Russian President Vladimir Putin is moving up to the next notch on his escalatory scale to hike pain on his foes for their support of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. If confirmed, Russian attacks on external pipelines would deepen fears that Putin is ready to widen operations outside Ukraine at a time when he is also seeking to scare Western publics with his nuclear rhetoric.
And while Russia has denied involvement in the pipeline leaks, the leaks could emphasize Moscow’s leverage over natural gas markets and raise new fears of shortages and fast rising prices in Europe over the winter as it seeks to fracture Western resolve and support for Ukraine.
The leaks did not immediately cause a crisis since neither pipeline was actually in use. One pipeline, Nord Stream 2, never went online because of sanctions over the war in Ukraine and Nord Stream 1 had been shut down for weeks. Given the conditions at sea, it may take time to assess the damage as gas bubbles to the surface and it could be complicated to ascribe blame.
But if nothing else, the pipeline leaks are a metaphorical severing of an era of post-Cold War US and European energy relations, which left the continent overly reliant on Russian gas exports and prone to geopolitical blackmail. A long estrangement now appears certain at least as long as Putin is in power, which will bring reminders of the Warsaw Pact’s decades-long standoff with the West.
But perhaps to Putin’s disappointment, there was no immediate sign of weakening European resolve. In a fresh sign of solidarity that has surprised some observers, the US and Europe quickly issued similar statements over the pipeline breaches, vowing to investigate and to lessen reliance on Russian energy.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the leaks appeared to be a “deliberate act,” comments that were echoed by the Danish and Swedish prime ministers. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen referred to “sabotage action” in a tweet. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan called the leaks “apparent sabotage” in a tweet on Tuesday night, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was no sign the leaks would weaken Europe’s energy resistance and that sabotage would be “clearly in no one’s interest.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the idea that the Russia might have deliberately sabotaged the pipelines as “predictably stupid,” and Moscow promised its own investigation.
European officials earlier said the leaks were discovered on Monday and that initial investigations showed that powerful underwater explosions occurred before the pipelines burst. CNN reported on Wednesday that the US warned several allies over the summer, including Germany, that the pipelines could be attacked.
The warnings were based on US intelligence assessments, but were vague and did not say who might carry out such action.
The drama over the pipelines came as the war of words between the West and Moscow took another hostile lurch, with Western leaders slamming what they regard as sham referendums in captured Ukrainian territory that Moscow reported resulted in majorities voting to join Russia. It also follows strong warnings from Washington over the weekend that any use by Putin of nuclear weapons in Ukraine would be “catastrophic” for Russia.
Peskov upped the rhetoric from the Russian side, warning that the US was getting “closer to becoming a party” to the conflict in Ukraine. The US has sent billions of dollars in support to Kyiv’s forces with weapons that have caused carnage among Russia’s poorly performing military. But the White House hit back by saying it would not be deterred from supporting Ukraine, announcing a new $1.1 billion package of weapons – including 18 new High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and hundreds of armored vehicles, radars and counter-drone systems.
In another sign of deepening crisis, the United States warned Americans that Russia might try to conscript dual US-Russian citizens for service in Putin’s partial mobilization, which has caused tens of thousands of young men to try to flee the country to avoid being used as cannon fodder in his disastrous war.
Political reverberations are growing from Putin’s warnings last week that he was not bluffing over the possible use of nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory – a threat that caused anxiety given the referendums that could soon lead to the annexation of Ukrainian territory, which could then could come under attack from Kyiv’s forces and potentially trigger the Kremlin.
Some analysts see the warnings as an example of Putin trying to scramble support for Ukraine among the West and to warn the US and its NATO allies off of more strident support for the country. Using a tactical battlefield nuclear weapon would cross a dangerous threshold and mark the first use of an atomic device in warfare since the US dropped two on Japan at the end of World War II. A tactical nuclear weapon has a far smaller footprint than the strategic warheads that Russia and the United States have previously lined up against each other and that could cause a nuclear Armageddon if World War III erupted. But a tactical weapon could still cause major destruction on a scale not seen since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, wiping out large parts of the Ukrainian armed forces and causing nuclear contamination.
The US has no seen indication so far that Russia is moving nuclear weapons around, CNN’s Bertrand and Lillis reported Wednesday. But one theory among some observers is that Putin might use a nuclear blast as a last resort in order to stave off a defeat that could result in his toppling from power in Moscow. Such a battlefield loss has appeared more likely after stunning Ukrainian offensives in recent weeks.
There are many reasons why the use of such weapons might give Putin pause, including the possibility that it could further cement Russia’s isolation from nations like China and India, which have been prepared to defy US attempts to box Putin in economically. The idea that what Putin initially sold to the Russian people as a limited “special operation” in Ukraine could culminate in a nuclear detonation would also raise new questions about his capacity to stave off backlashes inside and outside the Kremlin.
Still, officials are sufficiently worried that Putin has invested so much personal capital in the war that he could not survive a humiliating defeat and might turn to weapons of mass destruction in an attempt to save himself.
And there has been speculation over whether his strategic sense is decaying. French President Emmanuel Macron, for instance, told CNN’s Jake Tapper last week that long periods of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic might have changed the Russian leader. CIA Director Bill Burns said in an interview with CBS News on Tuesday that Washington was not taking the issue lightly. “We have to take very seriously his kind of threats given everything that is at stake,” Burns said.
Sullivan indicated over the weekend that Washington had sent stern messages through private channels to Moscow warning against the use of nuclear weapons. The administration has not said how it would respond. But it appears to be trying to develop some level of deterrence, and there is speculation that Russia crossing such a threshold would raise pressure for a direct NATO military response and risk the kind of clash and wider escalation of the war that President Joe Biden has painstakingly tried to avoid.
Western officials have spent the 22 years that Putin has been in power seeking to understand his motives and decision making. But no one can read his mind, or know fully how a leader who has built his ruthless rule on an image of strength would react to the possibility of looking weak and having to admit defeat.
That is why Putin is likely to use all of his remaining leverage – from nuclear rhetoric to the possibility of attacks on critical energy infrastructure – and it underscores that the worse the war inside Ukraine goes for him, the more the possibility of escalation grows.
At least three sections of the Sanibel Causeway were washed away by storm surge from Hurricane Ian, according to video from CNN affiliates WBBH and WPLG, severing the Sanibel and Captiva islands’ only connection to Florida’s mainland.
The videos from the causeway show two portions of the ramp to both bridges washed away, as well as a stretch of roadway that crossed an island in the middle of the causeway.
A portion of the Sanibel Causeway Bridge “was damaged/washed out,” Lieutenant Gregory S. Bueno with the Public Affairs Division of Florida Highway Patrol told CNN. All lanes of the bridge are currently closed and the severity of the closure is listed as “major,” according to Florida 511.
Hurricane Ian damage: Causeway connecting Florida mainland to island crumbled into ocean
Law enforcement and personnel from the Lee County Department of Transportation are on scene at the causeway, officials said in an update Thursday morning, and bridge inspectors were working to asses all bridges in Lee County. Residents are advised to remain off the roads “unless absolutely necessary.”
The county, which includes Fort Myers in addition to Sanibel and Captiva islands and Cape Coral, suffered “catastrophic damage” from the storm, officials said in their update, noting that 98% of the county remains without power.
Urban search and rescue crews from local agencies are “actively engaged in search and rescue efforts,” with federal search and rescue teams being deployed. In the meantime, the 15 shelters opened prior to the storm’s arrival remain open.
An estimated 6,400 people lived in the City of Sanibel as of April 2021, per the US Census Bureau. The islands are home to a number of hotels and resorts, as their beaches draw a significant amount of tourists each year.
A 2017 City of Sanibel count measured annual bridge traffic over the causeway at over 3 million vehicles.
The Biden administration, including the Treasury Department, is concerned by the UK’s tax-cut plan, an administration official familiar with the matter told CNN Thursday.
The risk for the United States is that any trouble on the other side of the Atlantic could spill over to the global financial system and world economy.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo criticized Truss’s plan Wednesday, pointing out that the British pound has “plummeted” since the proposal was unveiled.
“The policy of cutting taxes, and simultaneously increasing spending, isn’t one that is going to fight inflation in the short term or put you in good stead for long-term economic growth,” Raimondo said in response to a question at an event held by The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution.
Raimondo sought to contrast the UK’s approach with that of the Biden administration.
“We’re pursuing a different strategy … We’re taking inflation seriously, letting the Federal Reserve do its job, watching deficit spending,” she said. “Investors, businesspeople want to see world leaders taking inflation very seriously. And it’s hard to see that out of this new government.”
Biden officials have conveyed their worries about the UK plan through the International Monetary Fund, according to Bloomberg News, which previously reported on the concerns of US officials.
The United States is the largest shareholder in the IMF, which issued a rare criticism of the UK plan this week and urged the country’s officials to “reevaluate” the tax cuts.
“Given elevated inflation pressures in many countries, including the UK, we do not recommend large and untargeted fiscal packages at this juncture, as it is important that fiscal policy does not work at cross purposes to monetary policy,” an IMF spokesperson said earlier this week.
Truss defended her tax plan, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper last week that her government is incentivizing businesses to invest and helping ordinary people with their taxes.
Some US officials have been careful not to directly criticize their UK counterparts.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday declined to comment directly on the UK economic plan, though she noted the UK is dealing with “significant inflation problems” — just like the United States.
Asked if she is concerned about disorderly markets, Yellen said “markets are functioning well” and she hasn’t seen liquidity problems emerge.
Yet the large swings in bond and currency markets raise questions about just how well markets are functioning.
A day after Yellen’s comments, the Bank of England announced an emergency intervention. The central bank promised to buy UK government debt “on whatever scale is necessary” to prevent a bond market crash and ease “dysfunction” in financial markets.
As Hurricane Ian continues to pummel Florida, trapping residents in their homes and leaving millions without power in what’s already being called a “life-changing event,” authorities are fielding rescue calls from across the state and 911 call centers are being inundated.
Ian slammed into southwestern Florida near Cayo Costa Wednesday afternoon as one of the strongest storms to make landfall on the state’s west coast, sending rising ocean water onshore and lashing the state with catastrophic 150 mph winds as it moved deeper inland.
The monster storm flooded roads and homes, uprooted trees, sent cars floating in the streets and left nearly 2.5 million homes and businesses without power as of early Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us.
By early Thursday morning, authorities were reporting heavy rain and flooding in the Orlando metro area, where 8 to 12 inches of rain had already fallen and up to 4 more inches of rain was expected.
The storm has since weakened to a Category 1 hurricane and is crawling across central Florida as it heads toward the east coast, dumping heavy rains on low-lying areas.
Here are the latest developments:
Sustained winds of 75 mph: The center of the storm is about 55 miles south-southeast of Orlando, packing powerful winds while it makes its way across the state. Hurricane Ian is tied with 2004’s Hurricane Charley as the strongest storm to make landfall on the west coast of the Florida Peninsula, both with 150 mph winds at landfall.
Record-high storm surges: The storm surge from Hurricane Ian hit up to 12 feet in some places, while multiple areas, including Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Fort Myers and Naples, were facing record-high storm surge of 12 to 16 feet. By Wednesday night, the storm surge along the west coast of Florida was believed to have peaked and was beginning to recede, while officials in Tampa warned residents to stay on guard.
More than a foot of rainfall: Up to 20 inches of rain was expected in some areas, including Lehigh Acres, which received 14.42 inches of rain and Warm Mineral Springs which got 11.05 inches.
Hurricane warnings and tornado watches continue: The storm is moving northeast at 9 mph, prompting hurricane warnings for a stretch of Florida’s west coast north of Bonita Beach to the Anclote River, and on the east coast from Sebastian Inlet to the Flagler-Volusia County line.
Other states brace for Ian’s destruction: The storm is expected to exit Florida and move into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, where governors in Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina have already declared a state of emergency
With Hurricane Ian continuing to cut a path of destruction through Florida, the state is planning a “three-pronged” search and rescue response, with crews ready to fan out and help residents from the air, ground and sea once it is safe to do, officials said.
Calls for help were coming into several counties Wednesday.
In Fort Myers – where about 96% of the city was without power – Fire Chief Tracy McMillion told residents to stay inside, and to stay hopeful. “We’re coming for you, be encouraged,” he told residents.
The city’s downtown streets were flooded with almost four feet of water Wednesday, Mayor Kevin Anderson told CNN.
Crews surveying damage in the city early Thursday reported debris in the roadways, flooding, electrical lines down, power poles in the roads, traffic lights out, disabled vehicles and collapsed buildings.
Fort Myers resident Thomas Podgorny told CNN he was trapped in his two-story home with three others, watching vehicles float away outside and worrying for his neighbors who did not evacuate.
“I’ve lost my house. I have water and gas flowing through my bottom floor,” Podgorny said. “My neighbors have very little breathing room in their one-story house.”
A couple in Fort Myers said they were trapped in their home when the ceiling caved in, sending water inside.
“Something is dripping on me,” Belinda Collins recalled her partner saying. “He got up, and the ceiling – the family room ceiling – caved in.’”
The couple said they called 911 and were waiting for a call back about when it would be safe to leave.
In Port Charlotte, the roof above an ICU at a hospital was torn off by the storm while there were about 160 patients inside, Dr. Birgit Bodine, an internal medicine specialist at the facility, told CNN.
The staff moved patients to a safe place, but they couldn’t evacuate yet because of the conditions outside, the doctor said Wednesday night, adding, “It’s actually pretty terrible.”
People in nearby Collier County were also without power and trapped in their homes, calling for help.
“Some are reporting life threatening medical emergencies in deep water. We will get to them first. Some are reporting water coming into their house but not life threatening. They will have to wait. Possibly until the water recedes,” a Collier County Sheriff’s Office statement said.
Complicating matters further, neighboring Lee County’s 911 system was down and calls were being rerouted to Collier County, Chief Stephanie Spell told CNN. “At this point the majority of our 911 calls are water rescues,” Spell added.
Elsewhere, conditions were too severe for first responders to be out.
Emergency crews in Charlotte County were not able to respond to 911 calls Wednesday due to dangerous storm conditions, county Emergency Management Director Patrick Fuller told CNN.
And in Sarasota, authorities decided Wednesday to withdraw all police officers from the street due to wind speeds and hazardous conditions, Mayor Eric Arroyo told CNN.
While other areas began rescue efforts Wednesday evening, authorities in Tampa and Orange County warned residents that the worst of Hurricane Ian had “yet to come” Wednesday night.
Curfews were in effect for residents in Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties while severe conditions continued.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
NOAA/NASA
A satellite image shows Hurricane Ian making landfall on the southwest coast of Florida on Wednesday, September 28.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Marco Bello/Reuters
A flooded street is seen in downtown Fort Myers, Florida, after Hurricane Ian made landfall on Wednesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Marco Bello/Reuters
A woman surveys damage through a door during a power outage in Fort Myers on Wednesday.
shelter in place until further notice.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1042″/>
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Naples Police
The streets of Naples, Florida, are flooded on Wednesday. City officials asked residents to shelter in place until further notice.
water was receding due to a negative storm surge.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1264″/>
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A woman is helped out of a muddy area on Wednesday in Tampa, Florida, where water was receding due to a negative storm surge.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images
Strong winds hit Punta Gorda, Florida, on Wednesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS/Abaca/Reuters
Sailboats anchored in Roberts Bay are blown around in Venice, Florida, on Wednesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Crystal Vander Weit/TCPalm/USA Today Network
Melvin Phillips stands in the flooded basement of his mobile home in Stuart, Florida, on Wednesday.
water was receding from Tampa Bay on Wednesday.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1125″/>
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images
Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1332″/>
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network
Damage is seen at the Kings Point condos in Delray Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Marco Bello/Reuters
A TV crew broadcasts from the beach in Fort Myers on Wednesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/AP
Utility trucks are staged in a rural lot Wednesday in The Villages, a Florida retirement community.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Highways in Tampa, Florida, are empty Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Ian making landfall. Several coastal counties in western Florida were under mandatory evacuations.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Wilfredo Lee/AP
An airplane is overturned in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Wednesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
Zuram Rodriguez surveys the damage around her home in Davie, Florida, early on Wednesday.
causing an islandwide blackout.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1953″/>
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Ramon Espinosa/AP
People play dominoes by flashlight during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, on Wednesday. Crews in Cuba have been working to restore power for millions after the storm battered the western region with high winds and dangerous storm surge, causing an islandwide blackout.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images
People walk through a flooded street in Batabano, Cuba, on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Chris O’Meara/AP
Southwest Airlines passengers check in near a sign that shows canceled flights at the Tampa International Airport on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Ramon Espinosa/AP
Maria Llonch retrieves belongings from her home in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP
Traffic builds along Interstate 4 in Tampa on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters
A man carries his children through rain and debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters
People drive through debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Frederic and Mary Herodet board up their Gulf Bistro restaurant in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
NASA’s Artemis I rocket rolls back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday. The launch of the rocket was postponed due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
NASA via AP
Hurricane Ian is seen from the International Space Station on Monday, September 26.
Hurricane Ian reaches Cuba on Monday.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1145″/>
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images
A Cuban family transports personal belongings to a safe place in the Fanguito neighborhood of Havana on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images
A family carries a dog to a safe place in Batabano on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
People wait in lines to fuel their vehicles at a Costco store in Orlando on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Mike Lang/USA Today Network
Ryan Copenhaver, manager of Siesta T’s in Sarasota, Florida, installs hurricane panels over the store’s windows on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Imagaes
A man helps pull small boats out of Cuba’s Havana Bay on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images
Shelves are empty in a supermarket’s water aisle in Kissimmee, Florida, on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, Florida, references a map on Monday that indicates where storm surges would impact the county. During a news conference, she urged anyone living in those areas to evacuate.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Andrew West/USA Today Network
Sarah Peterson fills sandbags in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Saturday, September 24.
Even before the hurricane made landfall, officials knew the damage would be severe, and there will be a long road to recovery.
“Ian is going to be a life-changing event. This is a very powerful, catastrophic storm that is going to do significant damage,” President and CEO of Florida Power & Light Eric Silagy, said.
There will be sections of infrastructure that crews won’t be able to repair and will have to be rebuilt, which can take weeks, Silagy said.
Jennifer Dexter, a spokesperson for the town of Fort Myers Beach, told CNN backup water pumps are down.
“When the backup water pump system goes down, that shows you how serious it is,” Dexter said.
Lee County Utilities issued a system-wide boil water notice for all customers effective immediately due to the impacts of the hurricane, according to county officials. Residents in parts of Pasco County were also asked to boil their tap water as the water distribution system in the area lost pressure and a water main ruptured.
Punta Gorda’s water system is empty and boil water notices are in effect, according to an update from the city overnight.
In Manatee County, residents were asked to limit flushing, showering, doing dishes and laundry due to power outages impacting the system.
In Cape Coral, authorities were getting reports of significant structural damage across the city, Ryan Lamb, the city’s fire chief and emergency management director, told CNN.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has requested President Joe Biden approve a major disaster declaration for all 67 counties in the state, his office said in a news release. DeSantis is also requesting Biden grant FEMA the authority to provide 100% federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures for the first 60 days from Ian’s landfall.
After walloping Cuba and making landfall in Florida, Hurricane Ian is expected to slowly move across the central portion of the state before exiting into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday afternoon, where it could strengthen again and affect another part of the US.
The governors of Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina have all declared states of emergency in preparation for the storm’s potential impact.
There is a danger of “life-threatening” storm surge on Thursday and Friday along the coasts of northeast Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane conditions are also possible in those areas.
The storm is expected to drop up to 20 inches of rain across central and northeast Florida, with some isolated areas receiving 30 inches, the hurricane center said.
Near the hurricane’s core, powerful wind gusts will continue to spread across central Florida and along the east-central coast overnight.
Six people were injured in a Wednesday shooting at an East Oakland, California, school campus, authorities told CNN.
All six victims had apparent gunshot wounds, Oakland Police Lt. Casey Johnson told reporters at the scene. Three of the victims were transported to Highland Hospital and were in critical condition, Chief Administrative Officer Mark Brown told CNN affiliate KGO. Hospital spokesperson Eleanor Ajala could not provide any details on those victims’ ages or injuries.
The other three victims were taken to Eden Medical Center, said a hospital spokesperson who also could not share the victims’ ages or conditions.
No suspect was in custody Wednesday afternoon, police spokesperson Paul Chambers told CNN. Officers were preparing to conduct a “methodical” search of the school looking for additional evidence, Chambers said. Authorities do not yet know if the shooting was a random incident or targeted among people who knew each other, Chambers said.
The Oakland Unified School District said in a Wednesday statement there was an incident at “the King Estate campus on Fontaine Street, which houses the co-located Rudsdale Continuation and Newcomer high schools, BayTech Charter School, and the headquarters of Sojourner Truth Independent Study.”
“The campus is near Oakland Academy of Knowledge (OAK), but it is important to note the incident was NOT at OAK, nor did it have anything to do with that elementary school,” the statement said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was also responding to the scene, the agency said Wednesday afternoon.
Amazon is temporarily pausing operations at some of its facilities as Hurricane Ian barrels towards Florida, the company confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.
“We’re closely monitoring the path of Hurricane Ian and making adjustments to our operations in order to keep our employees and those delivering for us safe,” Richard Rocha, an Amazon
(AMZN) spokesperson, told CNN in a statement.
“We’re in regular contact with our employees and delivery partners to ensure everyone is aware of any site closures or unsafe conditions and will continue to make adjustments as needed,” Rocha added.
CNBC previously reported that Amazon had closed warehouses near Tampa and Orlando. The outlet cited notices sent to employees that stated Amazon expects the facilities to remain closed until Friday.
Amazon declined to detail specific locations.
Employees who are scheduled to work will continue to be paid while sites are closed, according to Amazon. There are more than 8,000 full-time and part-time Amazon employees in the Tampa area.
Some other major businesses in the Florida area have also announced adjusted operations due to the hurricane’s approach. Disney World and Universal Resort theme parks in Orlando will be temporarily closed on Wednesday and Thursday. The storm has also been linked to a slew of flight cancellations at Florida airports.
Editor’s Note: Affected by the storm? Use CNN’s lite site for low bandwidth. You also can text or WhatsApp your Ian stories to CNN +1 332-261-0775.
CNN
—
Hurricane Ian is poised to make landfall in southwest Florida on Wednesday and is already bringing a catastrophic trifecta of high winds, heavy rain and historic storm surge to the state.
Ian is a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 155 mph,and its center was located about 35 miles west-southwestof Fort Myers as of 1 p.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm is moving at about 9 mph and is expected to make landfall, perhaps north of Fort Myers near the Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda areas, this afternoon, the center said.
Much of west-central Florida and places inland face disaster: “Historic” storm surge up to 18 feet is possible and could swallow coastal homes; rain could cause flooding across much of the state; and crushing winds could flatten homes and stop electricity service for days or weeks.
“This is a wind storm and a surge storm and a flood storm, all in one,” CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said. “And this is going to spread itself out across the entire state. Everybody is going to see something from this.”
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
NOAA/AP
A satellite image shows the eye of Hurricane Ian approaching the southwest coast of Florida on Wednesday, September 28.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS/Abaca/Reuters
Sailboats anchored in Roberts Bay are blown around in Venice, Florida, on Wednesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Crystal Vander Weit/TCPalm/USA Today Network
Melvin Phillips stands in the flooded basement of his mobile home in Stuart, Florida, on Wednesday.
water was receding from Tampa Bay due to a negative storm surge on Wednesday.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1125″/>
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images
A man walks where water was receding from Tampa Bay due to a negative storm surge on Wednesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/AP
Utility trucks are staged in a rural lot Wednesday in The Villages, a Florida retirement community.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Marco Bello/Reuters
Traffic lights are blown by strong gusts of wind in Fort Myers, Florida, on Wednesday.
Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1265″/>
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network
Damage is seen at the Kings Point condos in Delray Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Marco Bello/Reuters
A TV crew broadcasts from the beach in Fort Myers on Wednesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Highways in Tampa, Florida, are empty Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Ian making landfall. Several coastal counties in western Florida were under mandatory evacuations.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Wilfredo Lee/AP
An airplane is overturned in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Wednesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
Zuram Rodriguez surveys the damage around her home in Davie, Florida, early on Wednesday.
causing an islandwide blackout.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1953″/>
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Ramon Espinosa/AP
People play dominoes by flashlight during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, on Wednesday. Crews in Cuba have been working to restore power for millions after the storm battered the western region with high winds and dangerous storm surge, causing an islandwide blackout.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Chris O’Meara/AP
Workers board up windows on the University of Tampa campus on Tuesday, September 27.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images
People walk through a flooded street in Batabano, Cuba, on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Chris O’Meara/AP
Southwest Airlines passengers check in near a sign that shows canceled flights at the Tampa International Airport on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Ramon Espinosa/AP
Maria Llonch retrieves belongings from her home in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP
Traffic builds along Interstate 4 in Tampa on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters
A man carries his children through rain and debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters
People drive through debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Frederic and Mary Herodet board up their Gulf Bistro restaurant in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images
People stand outside a flooded warehouse in Batabano on Tuesday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
NASA’s Artemis I rocket rolls back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday. The launch of the rocket was postponed due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
NASA via AP
Hurricane Ian is seen from the International Space Station on Monday, September 26.
Hurricane Ian reaches Cuba on Monday.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1145″/>
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images
A Cuban family transports personal belongings to a safe place in the Fanguito neighborhood of Havana on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Local residents fill sandbags in Tampa on Monday to help protect their homes from flooding.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images
A family carries a dog to a safe place in Batabano on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
People wait in lines to fuel their vehicles at a Costco store in Orlando on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Mike Lang/USA Today Network
Ryan Copenhaver, manager of Siesta T’s in Sarasota, Florida, installs hurricane panels over the store’s windows on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Kevin Morales/AP
A woman takes photos while waves crash against a seawall in George Town, Grand Cayman, on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Imagaes
A man helps pull small boats out of Cuba’s Havana Bay on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images
Shelves are empty in a supermarket’s water aisle in Kissimmee, Florida, on Monday.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, Florida, references a map on Monday that indicates where storm surges would impact the county. During a news conference, she urged anyone living in those areas to evacuate.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
NOAA/NASA
This satellite image, taken Monday at 1 p.m. ET, shows Hurricane Ian near Cuba.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Andrew West/USA Today Network
Sarah Peterson fills sandbags in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Saturday, September 24.
Photos: Hurricane Ian barrels into Florida
Andrew West/USA Today Network
Besnik Bushati fills gas containers at a gas station in Naples, Florida, on Saturday. The station had only premium gas that morning.
Fort Myers Beach was already feeling the brunt of the storm’s powerful eyewall just after noon Wednesday. Frank Loni, an architect from California staying in the community, posted video from a building’s balcony of some of the flooding on the streets below.
“The storm surge is very significant. We’re seeing cars and boats float down the street. We’re seeing trees nearly bent in half,” Loni said. “There’s quite a bit of chaos on the streets.”
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for flood-prone areas on the coast, and the National Weather Service warned those who stayed behind to move to upper floors in case of rising water levels.
“This is a powerful storm that should be treated like you would treat” a tornado approaching your home, Gov. Ron DeSantis said around 8 a.m.
Images showed extensive flooding in coastal neighborhoods in Naples, where officials asked residents to shelter in place until further notice.
In some areas, such as Charlotte County, Florida, 911 response teams have stopped emergency service due to the high winds and dangerous conditions. Sarasota Mayor Eric Arroyo said on CNN’s “At This Hour” that police officers were being taken off the streets due to the wind speeds and hazardous conditions.
“It is too late to evacuate at this point,” Arroyo said.
About 480,000 Florida utility customers already were without power as of 2 p.m., according to PowerOutage.us.
Ian poses several major dangers:
• Storm surge: Some 12 to 18 feet of seawater pushed onto land is forecast Wednesday for the coastal Fort Myers area, from Englewood to Bonita Beach, forecasters said. Only slightly less is forecast for a stretch from Bonita Beach down tonear the Everglades (8 to 12 feet), and from near Bradenton to Englewood (6 to 10 feet), forecasters said.
Lower – but still life-threatening – surge is possible elsewhere, including north of Tampa and along Florida’s northeast coast near Jacksonville.
• Winds: Southwest Florida is facing “catastrophic wind damage.” Winds near the core of Hurricane Ian could exceed 150 mph, with gusts up to 190 mph, the hurricane center said. Multiple locations, including Sanibel Island, already have recorded wind gusts above 100 mph.
Ian is expected to retain hurricane strength for some time as it crosses the peninsula, with hurricane warnings issued for not only southwest Florida but also much of central Florida from coast to coast.
• Flooding rain: Because the storm is expected to slow down, 12 to 24 inches of rain could fall in central and northeastern Florida – including Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. That makes for a top-of-scale risk for flooding rainfall across this area.
Prior to nearing Florida, Hurricane Ian pummeled Cuba on Tuesday, leaving at least two dead and an islandwide blackout.
Since then, residents of Florida’s vulnerable Gulf Coast have been boarding up and leaving in droves on congested highways. More than 2.5 million people were advised to flee, including 1.75 million under mandatory evacuation orders – no small ask in a state with a large elderly population, some of whom have to be moved from long-term care centers.
Storm surge already was rising late Wednesday morning – more than 4.5 feet above normal highest tides was recorded before noon in Naples, already higher than the previous record there of 4.02 feet from Hurricane Irma in 2017.
After making landfall in southwest Florida, Ian’s center is expected to move over central Florida through Thursday morning. Heavy rain and flooding also is possible in southern Florida, Georgia and coastal South Carolina.
Ian is slowing as it approaches land, and that will cause the worst conditions to remain over some areas for eight or more hours.
“Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic flash, urban, and river flooding is expected” across central and southern Florida, the hurricane center said.
By late Thursday, Ian is due to emerge over the Atlantic Ocean, where it could strengthen again and affect another part of the US.
Parts of far southern Florida by early Wednesday morning had begun feeling the storm’s effects, with tropical storm-force winds and at least two possible tornadoes reported in Broward County, including at North Perry Airport, where planes and hangers were damaged. Major flooding was being reported in Key West due to storm surge, along with power outages.
Schools, supermarkets, theme parks, hospitals and airports had announced closures. The Navy moved its ships, and the Coast Guard has shut down ports. As winds pick up, gas stations may temporarily run out of fuel, DeSantis said.
In Tampa, police went door to door Tuesday in a mandatory evacuation zone, making sure residents were ready to flee. Earlier projections had Ian on track to slam Tampa Bay, and even as the hurricane’s path shifted south, mandatory evacuations and preparations continued, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.
Law enforcement officials around the state warned that people who stayed behind in evacuation areas cannot expect rescuers to respond to calls for help during the storm when winds are high.
“If you call for help, once we pull (officers) off the road … we’re not coming. … We’re not putting people in peril when (others) didn’t heed the mandatory evacuation order,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Wednesday.
Not everyone moved. Chelsye Napier, of Fort Myers, stayed home with her fiance and cats despite being in an evacuation zone, she told CNN Wednesday. They waited “because we don’t know anyone down here,” and ultimately decided to stay put, she said.
Ian’s winds could be catastrophic
Category 4: 130-156 mph
• Most of the area is uninhabitable for weeks or months.
• Power outages last weeks to months.
• Fallen trees and power poles isolate residential areas.
+ Well-built framed homes sustain severe damage.
Category 5: 157+ mph
+ A high percentage of framed homes are destroyed.
“If anything happens, we have everything that we need here. We’ve got food, we got water. We have everything that we need here,” she said. “So it’s all OK for right now. We’ll see, though, later on.”
Preparations across Florida have been underway for days as residents braced for Ian’s wrath. People lined up to pick up sandbags and flocked to stores to stock up on supplies like water and batteries.
And as the hurricane marched closer, the closures began.
Across Florida, 58 school districts have announced closures due to storm as campuses turned into shelters for evacuees. Disney World is set to close Wednesday and Thursday, as is Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex. And hundreds of Publix grocery stores shut their doors Tuesday evening, expected to remain closed through Thursday.
As millions were told evacuate, 176 shelters opened statewide and hotels and Airbnbs opened to people leaving evacuation zones, DeSantis said.
Local governments and state agencies also prepared those living in nursing homes and other senior care facilities to evacuate.
Florida has around 6 million residents over the age of 60, according to the state’s Department of Elder Affairs – nearly 30% of its total population. As of Tuesday, all adult day cares, senior community cafes and transportation services in evacuation zones are closed, according to the department.
Authorities also readied services to fan out and respond to calls for rescue and then, in the aftermath of the hurricane, for recovery and repair efforts.
Nearly 400 ambulances, buses and support vehicles were responding to areas where the hurricane was expected to make landfall, according to the governor’s office.
DeSantis activated 5,000 Florida National Guard members for Ian’s response operations, and 2,000 more guardsmen from Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina were being activated to assist.
Florida urban search and rescue teams also were prepping.
“We have five state teams that are activated with additional five FEMA teams that are in play,” Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said at a news conference Tuesday night. “We have over 600 resources to bear in addition to these out-of-town teams.”
shelter in place until further notice.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1042″/>
water was receding due to a negative storm surge.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1264″/>
water was receding from Tampa Bay on Wednesday.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1125″/>
Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1332″/>
causing an islandwide blackout.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1953″/>
Hurricane Ian reaches Cuba on Monday.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1145″/>
Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” height=”1265″/>
