Florida

Florida charges suspect in Trump assassination bid for crash after arrest

Florida authorities announced Wednesday that they're pursuing a criminal case against a man accused of trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump for a car crash that occurred after law enforcement stopped traffic to catch him. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said she obtained an arrest warrant for Ryan Wesley Routh, who already is being held on federal charges in the assassination attempt. Moody said she is pursuing a charge of attempted felony murder for a crash that seriously injured a 6-year-old girl after officials shut down traffic on Interstate 95 as they tried to apprehend the suspect. The multivehicle crash happened about 30 minutes after Routh's arrest on I-95, according to the state's investigation, but Moody said it was a result of his actions. The girl, who was travelling with her family, had serious injuries, Moody said. When you couple those terrible injuries, together with his other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic ...

Trump mulls replacing Pete Hegseth with Ron DeSantis for Pentagon, says WSJ

DeSantis, who lost his bid for the Republican presidential nomination to Trump, was on an earlier list of potential defense secretary candidates but Trump decided to go with Hegseth, the Journal

Had an excellent conversation with Trump, says Trudeau after Florida meet

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday he had an excellent conversation with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club after the president-elect's threat to impose significant tariffs on two of America's leading trade partners raised alarms in Ottawa and Mexico City. It was unclear, as Trudeau headed back to Canada from Florida, whether the conversation had alleviated Trump's concerns. A person familiar with the details of the leaders' hastily arranged meeting Friday night said it was a positive wide-ranging dinner that lasted three hours. The official, who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said topics included trade, border security, fentanyl, defence, Ukraine, NATO, China, the Mideast and pipelines, as well as the the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Canada next year. The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don't stop what h

Former US Telecom staffer gets 15-yr jail for leaking crucial info to China

Ping Li, 59, from Florida, admitted to acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government under a plea agreement

DeSantis using state money, power to fight abortion rights' measure

After a month of updating Floridians on hurricanes, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is now focusing his official office on fighting an abortion rights amendment, holding a campaign-like rally at state expense two weeks before the election. DeSantis' event Monday, which was capped with a prayer from the archbishop of Miami and the lieutenant governor asking people to not vote like atheists, came after the Department of Health's top lawyer resigned over a letter he said the governor's office forced him to send to television stations in an effort to stop a pro-Amendment 4 ad. When you're dealing with constitutional amendments your default should always be no, DeSantis said at the event attended by doctors who opposed the abortion amendment. You can always alter normal policies and legislation. Once it's in the constitution, that's forever. You really have zero chance of ever changing. it. Just before the event, former Department of Health top lawyer John Wilson signed an affidavit stating

Florida hospitals brace for impact as hurricane Milton approaches hurricane

Hospitals and other health care facilities on Florida's Gulf Coast still reeling from Hurricane Helene are now revving up for Hurricane Milton. The system, which is shaping up to be one of the most powerful to hit the region in years, is projected to make landfall a bit south of the Tampa area late Wednesday. Long-term care facilities in counties where mandatory evacuations have been issued are taking their patients elsewhere, while hospitals are largely on guard, preparing to stay open through the storm. According to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' website, 10 hospitals have reported evacuations as of Tuesday afternoon. Three hundred health care facilities have evacuated as of this morning, the most many of the staff working there could remember, said Florida Agency for Health Care Administration deputy secretary Kim Smoak. That count included 63 nursing homes and 169 assisted living facilities. Steve McCoy, chief of the Florida Department of Health's Bureau of Emergency Medical ...

Nasa to launch Europa Clipper mission today, here's all you need to know

The Nasa's latest mission aims to investigate Europa's surface to explore the potential for life beneath the icy crust of Jupiter's moon

Florida's resilience grows post-hurricanes, embracing future storms

No sooner had residents of the Bahia Vista Gulf condominium complex dug out and from Hurricane Helene than they were faced with the same daunting cleanup from new damage inflicted by Hurricane Milton. The beachfront units had been gutted, treated and dried out after Hurricane Helene and mounds of sand that had blown in from the beach had been removed. Then, less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton barreled in and undid all the progress. They've got to start the whole process over, cleaning, sanitizing, bringing in drying equipment, getting them all dried and prepped for renovations, lamented Bill O'Connell, a board member at the complex in Venice, about an hour's drive south of Tampa. The second hurricane brought all the sand back on our property. Some longtime Floridians have grown accustomed to the annual cycle of storms that can shatter and upend lives in a state known mostly for its balmy weather, sunshine and beaches. It's the price you pay to live in paradise, O'Connell sa

Hurricane Milton destroys homes, weakens as it moves across central Florida

Eye of the storm made landfall in Siesta Key, a barrier island town of some 5,400 off Sarasota about 60 miles (100 km) south of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, home to more than 3 million people

After hurricanes now solar storms may cause disruption in US power grids

A severe solar storm is headed to Earth that could stress power grids even more as the US deals with major back-to-back hurricanes, space weather forecasters said on Wednesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch for Thursday into Friday after an outburst from the sun was detected earlier this week. Such a storm could temporarily disrupt power and radio signals. NOAA has notified operators of power plants and orbiting spacecraft to take precautions. It also alerted the Federal Emergency Management Agency about possible power disruptions, as the organization copes with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene and gears up for Hurricane Milton barrelling across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida. Forecasters do not expect the latest solar storm to surpass the one that slammed Earth in May, the strongest in more than two decades. But they won't know for sure until it's just 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away, where

Polluted waste from Florida's fertiliser industry in path of Milton's fury

As Hurricane Milton pummelled Florida's west coast with powerful winds and flooding rain, environmentalists worry it could scatter the polluted leftovers of the state's phosphate fertilizer mining industry and other hazardous waste across the peninsula and into vulnerable waterways. More than 1 billion tons of slightly radioactive phosphogypsum waste is stored in stacks that resemble enormous ponds at risk for leaks during major storms. Florida has 25 such stacks, most concentrated around enormous phosphate mines and fertiliser processing plants in the central part of the state, and environmentalists say nearly all of them are in Milton's projected path. Placing vulnerable sites so close on major waterways that are at risk of damage from storms is a recipe for disaster, said Ragan Whitlock, a staff attorney at the environmental group Centre for Biological Diversity. These are ticking time bombs. Phosphogypsum, a solid waste byproduct from processing phosphate ore to make chemical ..

Hurricane Milton makes landfall along Florida's coast as Category 3 storm

Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday along Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm, bringing powerful winds, deadly storm surge and potential flooding to much of the state. Milton drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters, twice reaching Category 5 status. The cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (205 kph) as it roared ashore near Siesta Key in Sarasota County, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre said. The storm was bringing deadly storm surge to much of Florida's Gulf Coast, including densely populated areas such as Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers. Heavy rains were also likely to cause flooding inland along rivers and lakes as Milton traverses the Florida peninsula as a hurricane, eventually to emerge in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. Milton slammed into a Florida region still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which caused heavy damage to beach communities with storm surge and killed a dozen people in seaside Pinellas County ...

Biden condemns un-American lies on federal response as hurricane nears

President Joe Biden on Wednesday blasted his predecessor for spreading an onslaught of lies about how the federal government is handling the damage from Hurricane Helene as another hurricane, Milton, was on the verge of making landfall in Florida. Quite frankly, these lies are un-American, Biden said from the White House. Former President Trump has led this onslaught of lies. Biden said that Donald Trump and his allies have misrepresented the response and resources of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The president singled out Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R- Georgia, who claimed the federal government could control the weather. Asked why he believed his Republican opponents were not talking accurately about the government's response, Biden said, I don't know. I simply don't know. ... I use a phrase more than I did in my whole career, un-American. It's un-American. It's not who in the hell we are. The president talked about the potential damage from Hurricane Milton and ...

Florida battered by rain and tornadoes as Hurricane Milton approaches

Hurricane Milton hurled rain, tornadoes and tropical storm-force winds at the US coast on Wednesday as time began to run out for residents to evacuate from the potentially catastrophic path the storm was carving toward Florida. The National Hurricane Centre stressed that it was not certain where Milton's centre would come ashore Wednesday night because the storm's path might wobble, but the entire Tampa Bay region and points south were at grave risk. Tropical storm-force winds began lashing the coast Wednesday afternoon. Earlier, officials issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival. This is it, folks, said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, which sits on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay. Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now. By late afternoon, some officials said the time had passed for such efforts. Unless you really have a good reaso

Hurricane Milton updates: Worst storm to hit Florida

Time to evacuate running out as Hurricane Milton closes in on Florida

Hurricane Milton churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay after millions were ordered to evacuate and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving. The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century. The National Hurricane Centre predicted Milton, a monstrous Category 5 hurricane during much of its approach, would likely weaken but remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall late Wednesday. Milton was centred late Tuesday about 650 kilometers southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 260 kmh, the National Hurricane Centre reported. Forecasters predicted the storm will retain hurricane strength as it crosses central Florida on Thursday on a path east toward the Atlantic Ocean. The hurricane's precise track remained uncertain

Category 5 hurricane Milton threatens an already battered Florida

The densely populated west coast of Florida, still reeling from the devastating Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago

Hurricane Milton growing stronger as it blows toward Florida's Tampa Bay

Hurricane Milton quickly intensified on Sunday and is on track to become a major hurricane with the Tampa Bay area in its sights, putting Florida on edge and triggering evacuation orders along a coast still reeling in Helene's aftermath. While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall on Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said. That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian Mountains and a death toll that rose on Sunday to at least 130 people. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Sunday that while it remains to be seen just where Milton will strike, it is clear that Florida is going to be hit hard -- "I do not think there is any scenario where we do not have major impacts at this point." Hurricane Milton was centred about 815 miles (1,310 kilometres)

Tropical storm Milton forms in Gulf of Mexico, could intensify near Florida

Tropical Storm Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico. It is located 220 miles (355 kilometers) north-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said Saturday that it could intensify into a hurricane headed to Florida next week. A storm system brewing in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to reach tropical storm status later Saturday, with forecasters warning it could intensify into a hurricane headed to Florida next week. Tropical Depression 14 was about 210 miles (340 kilometers) north-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said in a 10 a.m. EST advisory. Though no coastal watches or warnings were in effect, the hurricane centre said the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys, Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the system's progress. The storm is forecast to strengthen and bring the risk of life-threatening impacts to portions of Florida's West Coast next week, with hurricane and storm

Hurricane Helene hits Florida, raising fears of widespread damage, deaths

Officials pleaded with residents in the path of the storm to heed mandatory evacuation orders or face life-threatening conditions