An Alabama man vanished in 1995. Last week, Idalia cleanup crews found a body

Team clearing hurricane debris uncovered skeletal remains that police believe are of man who went missing on road trip to Florida

A decades-old car, a battered Sam’s Club membership card and human remains found in the water during a clean-up in Florida from Hurricane Idalia might have solved a cold case missing persons mystery, say authorities.

Crews clearing storm debris from the Steinhatchee River in Dixie county, close to where the 125mph cyclone struck the coast in August, made the grim discovery last week as they removed a damaged boat dock from a ramp.

Continue reading...

Flamingos spotted as far north as Ohio after being blown off course by Idalia

Sightings of birds, which appear to have come from Yucatán in Mexico, reported in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and the Carolinas

Flamingos have been spotted as far north in the US as Ohio and Pennsylvania in recent days, after they were blown off course by the powerful Hurricane Idalia that hit Florida late last month, experts say.

The distinctive birds have been reported in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, also in Texas and further north from their typical habitats, in Kentucky and even Ohio, Jerry Lorenz, the state director of Audubon Florida, told CNN. They were also seen in Franklin county in southern Pennsylvania on Thursday, NPR reported.

Continue reading...

DeSantis struggles to shake Hurricane Idalia’s dark clouds after snub to Biden

Florida governor aims to rescue flailing presidential campaign that has been further scarred by ‘petty and small’ snub of Biden’s visit

One reality of Florida politics is that a bad hurricane for the state traditionally blows good fortune for its governor. It was true for Rick Scott, elected a senator in November 2018, one month after guiding Florida through Category 5 Hurricane Michael; and again for Ron DeSantis, whose landslide re-election last year followed his much-praised handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

This year, however, DeSantis is struggling to shake the dark clouds of Hurricane Idalia, as his return to the national stage to try to rescue his flailing presidential campaign after an 11-day break has been further scarred by his “petty and small” snub of Joe Biden’s visit to Florida last weekend to survey the storm’s damage.

Continue reading...

Biden tours Florida hurricane damage: ‘nobody can deny impacts of climate crisis’

President arrives to survey damage left by Hurricane Idalia but governor Ron DeSantis has no plans to meet Biden

Joe Biden said that no one can deny the impacts of the climate crisis anymore after he visited Florida on Saturday and surveyed the damage left behind by Hurricane Idalia.

Speaking to reporters in front of fallen trees and debris, the US president pointed to this year’s extreme weather events and disasters, saying: “Nobody can deny the impact of climate crisis. There’s no real intelligence to deny the impacts of the climate crisis anymore.”

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Hurricane Idalia leaves trail of damage in Florida

Category 3 storm causes extensive flooding in south-east US, while heavy rain and winds also hit France and Italy

Hurricane Idalia struck northern Florida on Wednesday, bringing damaging winds and torrential rain. It made landfall near Keaton Beach on Florida’s Big Bend during the morning as a high-end category 3 hurricane, bringing sustained winds speeds near 125mph (200km/h) and a storm surge of 16ft along Florida’s north-west coastline.

Due to very warm sea surface temperatures, the storm strengthened rapidly over the Gulf of Mexico to category 4 status, before weakening to category 3 as it made landfall. It brought extensive flooding as it passed through and damaged power lines, leaving thousands without electricity.

Continue reading...

Hurricane Idalia brings intense flooding to Carolinas as Floridians count cost – live

More than 50,000 customers in Carolinas still without power despite category 3 tempest weakening to tropical storm

Joe Biden signed a major disaster declaration for Florida following Hurricane Idalia.

The declaration provides the state with federal resources to support clean up, rescue, and more in response to the tropical storm.

The White House shares the following: “This morning, President Biden called Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to convey that he has signed a Major Disaster Declaration and ordered all available federal resources to help with the continued response to Tropical Storm Idalia.

The President reiterated that the people of Florida have his full support as they recover from the storm

Continue reading...

Hurricane Idalia leaves trail of floods and wreckage in south-eastern US

Tropical storm moves into Atlantic but torrential rain and inland flooding still likely in North Carolina, officials warn

Recovery efforts were under way in four states on Thursday as the remains of Hurricane Idalia, still a tropical storm with 60mph winds, moved into the Atlantic off the coast of the Carolinas.

Crews were sifting through wreckage across North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, where the storm came ashore on Wednesday as a category 3 hurricane with gusts of 160mph and sent a surge of seawater up to 16ft high inland through vulnerable coastal areas.

Continue reading...

Hurricane Idalia: Georgia declares state of emergency as severe flooding and storm surges hit south-eastern US – live

The eye of Hurricane Idalia made landfall along the coast of the Florida Big Bend near Keaton Beach around 7.45am Eastern time, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds were near 125 mph.

Continue reading...

Hurricane Idalia batters south-eastern US causing storm surges and power outages

Idalia makes landfall on Florida’s Gulf coast with torrential rains and 125mph winds and heads up coast to Georgia and the Carolinas

Federal officials warned of “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding across the south-eastern US on Wednesday after Hurricane Idalia crashed ashore in Florida with 125mph winds, torrential rains and surging seawater. Later in the afternoon the storm made its way up the coast to Georgia and the Carolinas.

The powerful storm, which the National Hurricane Center (NHC) called “an unprecedented event”, made landfall shortly after daybreak with 160mph gusts near Keaton Beach on Florida’s Gulf coast.

Continue reading...

Judge rules against Rudy Giuliani in Georgia election workers’ defamation suit – as it happened

Trump’s former attorney ordered to pay attorneys’ fees of $89,172.50 for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss

Jury selection will begin on 5 September in the contempt of Congress trial of Peter Navarro, a former White House aide to Donald Trump.

Navarro was indicted last year after failing to comply with two subpoenas from the bipartisan congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack. He attempted to argue that executive privilege concerns prevented him from cooperating with the panel, but a federal judge ruled against that defense today.

Continue reading...