Wednesday, August 30, 2023

8/30 WAKE-UP CALL Idalia Makes Landfall


Millions of residents were evacuated or hunkered down in homes and bunkers as Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 storm on Wednesday, and authorities warned a life-threatening storm surge was possible. Drawing strength from the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters, Idalia was forecast to unleash destructive winds and torrential downpours that will cause coastal flooding up to 16 feet deep.

The NHC said Idalia made landfall at 7:45 a.m. EDT at Keaton Beach, an ocean-front community of 13,000 people in Taylor County, about 75 miles southeast of Tallahassee, the state capital. It is located in Florida's Big Bend region, where the state's northern Gulf Coast panhandle curves into the western side of the Florida Peninsula.

As of 7 a.m. EDT  it weakened slightly, slipping into Category 3, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. Any storm reaching Category 3 or higher is considered a major hurricane. Most of Florida's 21 million residents, and many in the adjacent states of Georgia and South Carolina, were under hurricane warnings and other storm-related advisories. State emergency declarations were issued in all three.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that 49 counties are included in a state of emergency, with 30 counties issuing evacuation orders as fears grow that a life-threatening storm surge could inundate coastal communities. "Storm surge of this magnitude is not something we've ever seen in this part of Florida in any of our lifetimes," DeSantis said during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. "So, please, please take the appropriate precautions." The time to prepare is running out – quickly. Some of Idalia's strong outer bands have already impacted the western Florida coast, triggering Tornado Warnings.


Historic Hurricane Idalia intensified to a Category 2 storm Tuesday as it powered through the Gulf of Mexico, a treacherous tropical cyclone driving a potentially deadly storm surge toward the Big Bend area of Florida's west coast. The National Weather Service warned of a "life-threatening, dangerous situation," saying the storm could make landfall as a major hurricane. Idalia is forecast to be an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm, with winds potentially excessing 130 mph, on Wednesday.

"To put this system into the historical context, there are no major hurricanes in the historical dataset going back to 1851 that have tracked into Apalachee Bay. None," the advisory said. "Don't mess around with this." Idalia's headwinds topped 110 mph by late Tuesday, according to weather forecasters. The storm was centered about 125 miles west of Tampa by 11 p.m. ET. A hurricane warning was in place along hundreds of miles of Florida coastline as the storm headed toward an apparent landfall along Florida's Big Bend.





➤FORT MYERS HIT WITH MAJOR FLOODING: Flooding has hit Fort Myers Beach for the second time in a year as Hurricane Idalia barrels towards Florida. Shocking footage shows the town submerged as the monster storm moved closer to landfall, which is expected to hit in the early hours of Wednesday. Streets were flooded and completely devastated by Hurricane Ian less than a year ago, with Fort Myers Beach bearing the brunt of the Category-5 hurricane.


🔥TIGER ISLAND FIRE CALLED LARGEST WILDIFRE IN LOUISIANA HISTORY: One of the largest wildfires in Louisiana history is continuing to spread and threaten rural communities. The Tiger Island Fire, which started about five miles east of the Texas state line, doubled in size over the weekend, growing to more than 33,000 acres – accounting for more acres of burned land than the state usually has in an entire year. It was 50% contained on Tuesday. “This is not done. We expect a dry September. So we got to be prepared for this and all work together until the rain comes ... and then we can get back to life," said Mike Strain, the commissioner for Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry. The wildfire is one of several burning in the state right now. There have been about 600 wildfires across the state in August alone and more are expected. "Nobody alive in Louisiana has ever seen these conditions," Edwards said over the weekend.

The Tiger Island Fire was first reported on August 22 and spread rapidly, fed by abundant pine plantation forests. Residual trees felled by Hurricane Laura in 2020 lined the forests, providing additional fuel. Warm and dry weather returned Tuesday after the eastern edge of the fire received rain during the day Monday. Fuel remained critically dry and, combined with gusty winds, has the potential to produce extreme fire behavior, officials said.  

➤U-S TARGETS DRUG PRICES: The U.S. named 10 drugs that will be subject to Medicare’s first ever price negotiations.  It’s the government’s strongest effort to date to tackle high drug costs—if drugmakers can’t persuade courts to scrap the program’s new bargaining powers. The medicines include treatments for cancer, diabetes and heart disease that can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year or more. The reductions might not directly affect the price patients pay at the pharmacy counter. Medicare plans to use the savings to put a $2,000 annual cap on how much members have to pay out of pocket for drugs starting in 2025. Lower prices would take effect in 2026 and save Medicare an estimated $25 billion a year by 2031.

➤EMPLOYMENT COOLS: The demand for U.S. workers cooled in July, but remained elevated. Job openings declined by 338,000 to a seasonally adjusted 8.8 million in July from the prior month, the Labor Department reported. That was the lowest level since March 2021, but it was still well above pre-pandemic levels. The Fed has raised interest rates aggressively to fight inflation by slowing the economy—including hiring and wage growth, which can fuel price pressures. Home prices held steady in June, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. A broad rally pushed U.S. stock indexes higher.

➤DEMS RESISTANCE TO BIDEN HEATS-UP:  The race to succeed President Biden is heating up on the 2024 campaign trail. Some Democratic governors stumping for his 2024 re-election campaign are auditioning to become the party’s next leader. That signals they are unlikely to cede that role in 2028 to Vice President Kamala Harris. Allies say she is focused only on 2024, although some insist she will be a front-runner, if she were to make another try for the White House. Some Democrats privately say that should an unexpected health scare derail Biden’s re-election bid, many high-profile party members, including governors and congresspeople, would consider getting in the 2024 race alongside Harris.

➤TRUMP MUG SHOT BIG FUNDRAISER: Former President Donald Trump’s mug shot has been a boon for his 2024 campaign — helping him raise $9.4 million less than a week after he surrendered to authorities in the Georgia election interference case.  With the mug shot windfall, the Trump campaign has now raised more than $20 million in August, Fox News Digital reported on Tuesday. “Since the moment my mugshot was plastered all over the Internet in a vicious attempt to wrongfully turn me into a criminal, our movement has RAISED $9 MILLION from grassroots patriots like YOU,” Trump said in a statement released by the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee on Tuesday. “In fact, our campaign recorded its SINGLE GREATEST FUNDRAISING DAY EVER,” the 77-year-old said of his Georgia surrender bounty.

➤TENNESSEE MAYHEM: Tennessee lawmakers abruptly ended a special session initially touted to improve safety following a deadly elementary school shooting, after it descended into chaos when the GOP-dominant House refused to take up gun control measures. In a particularly heated moment, Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton, 52, and Democratic Rep. Justin Pearson, 28, appeared to have a physical interaction as they exited, where both accused each other of shoving while being adjourned (top right). The spectacle followed a press conference during which lawmakers rejected a series of measures meant to quell gun violence, authored in the wake of March's Covenant School shooting, which left three students and three staff dead.

🛫TURBULANCE CALLED 'SEVERE':  At least 11 passengers had to be hospitalized after a Delta flight from Italy to Atlanta was hit by major turbulence.  The flight, from Milan to the Georgia city, 'experienced severe turbulence' just before landing according to records on Flight Aware.   Delta said the plane had 151 passengers and 14 crew aboard and that the airline provided accommodations to passengers and crew who were not injured.

➤UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SHUTS DOWN SCHOOL'S INTERNET CONNECTIONS: The University of Michigan has been without full internet access for two days after staff shut the school’s connections down in response to a “significant [cyber]security concern” on the eve of the new school year. The internet shutdown affected campus IT systems used for research and fundraising, and could delay financial aid reimbursements, the university said Monday. Campus computers are generally cut off from the public internet, but students were finding workarounds via their cell phones. 

📲APPLE'S IPHONE 15 EVENT IS SET FOR SEPTEMBER 12TH: Apple announced on Tuesday they'll be holding a special event on Tuesday, September 12 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Like last year, the event will take place at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. Apple's September event is always an iPhone event, all models are expected to feature the Dynamic Island, an updated 5G chip from Qualcomm, and most notably, a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port. The ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max will see additional feature updates that will not be available for the standard ‌iPhone 15‌ models. A minor redesign is expected with slimmer bezels and slight changes to the curves of the corners, plus the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ models will have a titanium frame rather than a stainless steel frame.

⚾MLB GIANTS 6 REDS 1: San Francisco right-hander Alex Cobb carried a no-hit bid through eight against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night with the help of a scoring change and a sliding eighth-inning catch by Austin Slater upheld in a video review. Unfortunately for Cobb, he would ultimately surrender a two-out double to Spencer Steer in the top of the ninth, which cut the lead to 6-1. Cobb then struck out Cincinnati's Elly De La Cruz to end the game. Cobb came oh so close to the majors' fifth no-hitter this year, dazzling to shut down Cincinnati before Steer's double provided the Reds' only run.

Phillies Are Hot

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Yankees 4 Tigers 2
  • Phillies 12 Angels 7
  • Rays 11 Marlins 2
  • Orioles 9 White Sox 3
  • Nationals 5 Blue Jays 4
  • Astros 6 Red Sox 2
  • Rangers 2 Mets 1
  • Guardians 4 Twins 2
  • Cardinals 6 Padres 5
  • Cubs 1 Brewers 0
  • Pirates 6 Royals 3
  • Braves 3 Rockies 1
  • Athletics 3 Mariners 1
  • Giants 6 Reds 1
  • Dodgers 9 D-Backs 1

⚾ANGELS MAKE CUTS: One month after opting to keep two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Angels now appear to be waiving the white flag on their season. As reported by ESPN, the club placed starter Lucas Giolito, relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo López, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk on waivers, thereby allowing more competitive teams to pick up their heft contracts en route to the playoffs. LA opened the day 11.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League. 

⚾YANKEES CUTS DONADLSON, BADER: With Major League Baseball rosters about to expand, the New York Yankees decided to cut ties with two players as they continue through one of the worst seasons in franchise history. New York began by releasing third baseman Josh Donaldson in the afternoon after he only played in 33 games this season. Then later in the afternoon, they made the shocking choice to place center fielder Harrison Bader on waivers.

⚾MLB BALLPARK SHOOTING CALLED 'ACCIDENTIAL': The shooting which marred last weekend's Chicago White Sox game was the result of accidental discharge by one of the victims, according to reports. Two females were shot during the fourth inning of the White Sox's game against Oakland A's on Friday night, with one grazed in the stomach and the other taking a bullet to the leg. Yet according to ESPN Chicago host Peggy Kusinski, the gunshots came from the woman left with grazing after she accidentally fired the weapon inside Guaranteed Rate Field.

⚾MLBPA CALLS FOR PLAYER SAFETY AFTER RONALD ACUNA JR. INCIDENT: A shooting that likely happened inside of Guaranteed Rate Field, followed by a scary moment for Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. in Colorado. Both in a span of four days. A spokesperson for the Major League Baseball Players Association said Tuesday that the union takes player safety "very seriously" and that it reviews club and stadium protocol throughout every season "to mitigate the possibility of similar future incidents."

🎾VENUS OUT AT U-S OPEN: In what may turn out to be her final performance at the U.S. Open, Venus Williams was unceremoniously dispatched by Belgium's Greet Minnen, 6-1, 6-1 on Tuesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. For the 43-year-old, who famously won the tournament in 2000 and 2001, it was an ill-fitting farewell. It was a 74-minute demolition by the far more spritely Belgian who won 5/8 break point opportunities in comparison to Williams' 0/6 conversion rate.

🏈BILLS' HAMLIN MAKES THE CUT: Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made the cut on the NFL's version of judgement day. Nearly eight months after a near-death experience during a game at Cincinnati, Hamlin's fearless bid to resume his football career approached completion on Tuesday when he made the team after the Bills pared their roster to 53 players. Though general manager Brandon Beane has stressed changes could still be made to the roster before the Bills open their season at the New York Jets on September 11, what's undeniable is the courage Hamlin has shown in reaching this milestone of his comeback by reclaiming a backup role behind starters Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.



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