Category Archives: Florida

Marco and Laura could hit US coast as hurricanes, forecasters say

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  • Louisiana in path of two tropical storms now in Gulf
  • Mississippi governor heralds ‘unprecedented times’

Tropical Storm Marco was swirling over the Gulf of Mexico early on Sunday, heading for a possible hit on the Louisiana coast as a hurricane, while Tropical Storm Laura knocked utilities out as it battered Hispaniola, following a track forecast to take it to the same part of the US coast – also as a hurricane.

Related: Could the US and Caribbean be heading for their worst hurricane season?

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Could the US and Caribbean be heading for their worst hurricane season?

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Experts say they are concerned as two potential hurricanes head north – and coronavirus is complicating matters

Two potential hurricanes are heading towards the northern Caribbean and mainland United States – with a third building in the Atlantic – in apparent confirmation of meteorologists’ predictions that the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season will become one of the worst on record.

Related: US faces threat of two Caribbean storms hitting simultaneously as hurricanes

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Florida’s coronavirus death toll hits 10,000

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Florida’s coronavirus death toll hit 10,000 on Wednesday as the state continues to struggle to get the ongoing pandemic under control.

Almost six months since Florida’s first case was identified, the state reported 174 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 10,067.

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Florida closes beaches as Hurricane Isaias barrels through Bahamas

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State readies evacuation centers with social-distancing measures as Bahamas and North Carolina order evacuations

Hurricane Isaias ripped shingles off roofs and blew over trees as it carved its way through the Bahamas early on Saturday and headed toward the Florida coast, where officials in Miami said they were closing beaches, marinas and parks.

Miami’s mayor, Carlos Giménez, said on Friday that 20 evacuation centers were on standby that could be set up with Covid-19 safety measures.

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Hurricane Isaias drenches Bahamas as Florida braces for storm

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Storm expected to produce 4-8in of rain in Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands and remain hurricane for few days

Forecasters declared a hurricane watch for parts of the Florida coastline on Friday, as Hurricane Isaias drenched areas of the Bahamas devastated by Dorian last year, on track for the US east coast.

Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 75mph and was expected to remain a hurricane for a few days, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami.

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Covid-19: Florida reports record one-day deaths as concerns grow for other states

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  • 191 people died in Florida in 24 hours and Texas cases rise
  • Pressure on Congress to pass another huge stimulus package

Florida reported another record one-day rise in coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, and cases in Texas passed the 400,000 mark, fueling fear that the United States is still not taking control of the outbreak and adding pressure on Congress to pass another massive economic aid package.

Related: Coronavirus live news: Italy extends state of emergency as WHO warns of 'one big wave'

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‘So happy I have this on bodycam’: Bemused US police catch kangaroo on the run – video

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Police officers captured an unlikely suspect bouncing through a Florida neighbourhood on Thursday morning. One officer is heard saying: 'I am so happy I have this on bodycam. Bob, in your how many years have you ever seen a kangaroo?' After receiving a call about a kangaroo running loose, Fort Lauderdale police officers managed to tie a lead around the two-year-old male and place him in a squad car. The marsupial was taken to a stable where the police department keeps its horses.

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Florida reports 15,000 new coronavirus cases, a record single-day total in the US

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Rise is the biggest in any state since start of the pandemic as its daily average death toll continues to also rise

Florida broke the national record Sunday for the largest single-day increase in positive coronavirus cases in any state since the beginning of the pandemic, adding more than 15,000 cases as its daily average death toll continued to also rise.

According to state Department of Health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases, and 45 deaths were recorded. California had the previous record of daily positive cases 11,694, set on Wednesday. New York had 11,571 on 15 April.

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Coronavirus report: India reports record spike as cases double in South Africa

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Indian cases pass 800,000; Johannesburg struggles to find vital equipment; Texas warns ‘worst is yet to come’

India reported a record spike in coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking the national total to more than 800,000 and pushing several states to bring back lockdowns, despite the punitive economic cost.

Now the world’s third-worst affected country by case load, it reported a spike of 27,114 cases on Saturday, although mortality rates have been lower than in other badly affected countries with confirmed death toll now 22,123.

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Disney World set to reopen at weekend despite coronavirus surge in Florida

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State recorded a record high of 120 Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday and is seeing one of the largest outbreaks in the US

Disney World is set to begin reopening in Florida this weekend despite surging numbers of new coronavirus cases in the state.

Two of the entertainment giant’s Orlando theme parks, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, will open their gates on Saturday to guests with pre-booked reservations, with Epcot and Hollywood Studios following suit on 15 July. The four parks, along with the numerous hotels of the Disney World resort, have been closed since mid-March.

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Trump deletes tweet of supporter shouting ‘white power’ after outrage

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Deputy press secretary claims Trump had not heard the racist language of video he tweeted that was posted for nearly four hours

Donald Trump has deleted a tweet he sent featuring video of a Trump supporter shouting, “White power! White power!” after an outpouring of grief and outrage at racist language flowing directly from the White House once again.

The tweet was deleted after it drew fierce criticism from across the political spectrum, including from Tim Scott of South Carolina, the sole African American Republican in the Senate.

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Coronavirus US: Florida again breaks one-day record for new cases – live

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The Mississippi state government has started a process that will see the Confederate battle emblem removed from the state’s flag.

Breaking: House passed it with the two-thirds majority it required. It got immediate release, meaning Senate could take it up as soon as they want.

The latest: https://t.co/Jgcddn3i34 #msleg https://t.co/rKwKGkMmWt

The legislature has been deadlocked for days as it considers a new state flag. The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it’s time to end it.
If they send me a bill this weekend, I will sign it. pic.twitter.com/bf3vyzuObt

The Winston-Salem Journal reports on a disturbing development in the Bubba Wallace story. Wallace, Nascar’s only black driver, led a successful campaign to rid the stock-car racing series of the Confederate flag. Last week, a noose was found in his team’s garage although a subsequent investigation found the rope had been there since last fall, and Wallace was not the subject of a hate crime. Here’s what the Associated Press has to say on the latest development:

A North Carolina racetrack has lost some partnerships after its owner advertised “Bubba Rope” for sale online days after Nascar said a noose had been found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace, the top series’ only Black driver.

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Half of US states see coronavirus surge as officials warn first wave far from over

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29 states reported a jump in cases, while Trump says increased testing is a problem: ‘It makes us look like we have more cases’

More than half of all US states have reported a rise in new coronavirus cases, with some breaking daily records. Amid fears of a second wave of Covid-19 infections and deaths, public health officials have warned that the first is far from over.

Related: ‘New York always comes back’: workers return as city enters phase two of reopening

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Florida’s Covid-19 surge shows the state’s reopening plan is not working

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As counties end the second week of Governor Ron DeSantis’ ‘safe, smart, step-by-step’ policy, the state marks a record high in daily cases

It has been seven weeks since Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis took a coronavirus “victory lap”, pressing ahead with a swift reopening program while berating the media for a “doom and gloom” approach he said bore little relation to reality.

“We haven’t seen an explosion of new cases,” DeSantis insisted during a 29 April news conference, a day on which the state’s Covid-19 tally increased by 347.

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SpaceX Dragon crew capsule docks at International Space Station

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  • A milestone for two Nasa astronauts in historic mission
  • First such rendezvous by US spacecraft since 2011

A mere 19 hours after blasting off from Florida, and with a short break for some Black Sabbath music in between, two Nasa astronauts docked the SpaceX Dragon crew capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday in another milestone moment for their historic mission.

Related: Trump wants America looking at the stars as he drags it through the gutter

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SpaceX successfully launches Nasa astronauts into orbit

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  • Donald Trump and Mike Pence witness launch in Florida
  • First attempt was cancelled minutes from blast-off

A rocketship named Dragon breathed new fire into America’s human spaceflight programme on Saturday, carrying two astronauts on a much-anticipated adventure.

Related: Trump wants America looking at the stars as he drags it through the gutter

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SpaceX-Nasa launch scrubbed due to poor weather

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The first crewed flight from US soil since 2011 was called off 16 minutes before lift off; the next opportunity is on Saturday

The United States’ long-anticipated return to human spaceflight will have to wait a few more days after poor weather forced mission managers to scrub Wednesday’s planned launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida.

The first crewed flight from US soil since 2011 was called off 16min 53sec before the scheduled 4.33pm lift-off time, with SpaceX and Nasa officials blaming “strength of electric fields in the atmosphere”, translating to lightning near the launchpad.

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US judge rules Florida felons can vote without paying legal fees

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Judge Robert Hinkle says current law is unconstitutional but his ruling is likely to face Republican challenge in key battleground state

A law in Florida requiring felons to pay legal fees as part of their sentences before regaining the vote is unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe, a federal judge has ruled.

Related: Democrats not confident 2020 US election will be fair, survey finds

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Florida scientist says she was fired for refusing to change Covid-19 data ‘to support reopen plan’

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Dr Rebekah Jones says she was fired from Department of Health by the governor after protesting order to censor information

The scientist in charge of Florida’s Covid-19 database was fired on the same day as the state opened up for business.

As sunbathers returned to beaches, and restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and hair salons in almost every county were permitted to open their doors on Monday, the Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration fired Dr Rebekah Jones from the Florida department of health.

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‘Give me gains or give me death’: Florida gym-goers protest lockdown with push-ups

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Demonstrators rallied outside a courthouse as some pointed out if push-ups can be done outdoors, they can be done anywhere

We all know about the right to bear arms, the right to free speech … but what about the right to do push-ups?

On Monday, a group of gym-goers assembled outside a courthouse in Clearwater, Florida, waving American flags while doing push-ups and squats on camera. The protesters held up placards saying “Give me gains or give me death” and “We will not comply”.

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