Biden says he will visit North Carolina after devastating storm destroys entire communities across several states
As the south-east US continues recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene’s devastation, the storm’s death toll keeps climbing, with more than 120 killed across several states.
Joe Biden will visit North Carolina, where the western part of the state has been devastated by flooding, on Wednesday.
Continue reading...It will be ‘complicated recovery’ in five states, says disaster relief agency, with hurricane killing at least 91 people so far
The head of the US disaster relief agency has called Hurricane Helene, which has killed nearly 100 people, a “true multi-state event” that caused “significant infrastructure damage” and had been made worse because of global heating.
The storm killed at least 91 people, according to state and local officials in South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Officials feared more bodies would be discovered.
Continue reading...DoJ unseals indictment against William Braddock III, alleging he made threats against Anna Paulina Luna in 2021
The justice department has charged a Florida man for threatening to “call up my Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” to kill his political opponent, the Republican congressional representative Anna Paulina Luna, in 2021.
The department unsealed an indictment against 41-year-old William Robert Braddock III of St Petersburg, Florida on Thursday, alleging that on 8 June 2021 he made multiple threats to hurt and kill Luna – identified as Victim 1 in the indictment – in a phone call with another individual, Victim 2.
Continue reading...Florida voters report law enforcement personnel visits that appear to be part of drive to block passage of Amendment 4
Ron DeSantis is making a concerted effort to maintain draconian limits on abortion access in Florida that have led to accusations the rightwing Republican governor is conducting a “state-sponsored intimidation campaign” against abortion rights and trampling on civil liberties in the state.
A near total ban on abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy took effect in Florida in May after the state supreme court ruled that the right to an abortion was no longer covered by the privacy clause in the Florida constitution.
Continue reading...Flooding and landslides strike southern Appalachians after hurricane pummeled region and wreaked havoc
At least 64 people have been confirmed dead and almost 3.5 million were without power on Saturday, after strong winds and torrential rain from Hurricane Helene wreaked unprecedented havoc across large swathes of the south-eastern United States.
Historic flooding continued over parts of the southern Appalachians on Saturday, as first responders worked to reach stranded communities in trying conditions while local authorities began to assess the scale of the damage and displacement.
Continue reading...Next month, New College of Florida will welcome activist and writer Steve Sailer, a ‘proponent of scientific racism’
New College of Florida (NCF) will host the extremist writer Steve Sailer, who has been described as a “white supremacist” and a “proponent of scientific racism”, at a college-branded public event next month.
New College has made headlines since January 2023, when the rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, vowed to transform it from a university known for liberal values into a conservative institution, and installed a new board of trustees including the rightwing culture warrior Christopher Rufo. That board in turn appointed DeSantis’s “close ally” Richard Corcoran as the new college president, in which role he makes a $699,000 salary.
Continue reading...Residents in several states suffer power outages and heavy flooding as officials warn of ‘very dangerous environment’
Helene has reportedly killed at least 40 people across four states and inflicted about 4m power outages and dangerous flooding across the south-eastern US after crashing ashore in north-western Florida late on Thursday as a potent category 4 hurricane.
The storm – which registered maximum sustained winds of 140mph – weakened to a tropical storm and then to a depression as it moved across Georgia as well as the Carolinas on Friday afternoon, when residents whose communities experienced Helene’s peak effects more directly were only just beginning to fathom the recovery process ahead.
Continue reading...Surge could rise to as much as 20ft in some spots after huge storm strengthened as it careened across Gulf of Mexico
Hurricane Helene made landfall along the Florida coast on Thursday night as a powerful and potentially disastrous category 4 storm, bringing chaos to a wide swathe of the Gulf coast and threatening high winds, storm surges and drenching rainfall.
Helene was located about 70km east-southeast of Tallahassee, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 225 kph, the Miami-based UA National Hurricane Center said late on Thursday.
Continue reading...Forecasters warn that storm, one of the most powerful to hit the US this year, could create a ‘nightmare’
Hurricane Helene strengthened to a catastrophic category 4 storm as it barreled toward Florida’s Gulf coast, making it one of the most powerful storms to hit the US this year.
The storm is expected to make landfall on Thursday night. Forecasters warn the enormous storm could create a “nightmare” scenario, with a potentially life-threatening storm surge that could reach 15-20ft (4.6-6.1 meters) in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Panhandle region.
Continue reading...Ryan Routh, 58, accused of plotting to kill Republican presidential nominee in West Palm Beach last week
A man accused of lurking outside Donald Trump’s south Florida golf course on 15 September with a gun – and allegedly writing about his desire to kill him – was charged on Tuesday with attempting to kill the Republican presidential candidate.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was indicted on five counts in south Florida federal court: attempted assassination of a major political candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He was first charged with federal firearms crimes after his arrest.
Continue reading...Storm developing over Caribbean could become category 4 hurricane by Thursday as evacuations ordered in Florida
Joe Biden declared a state of emergency for Florida on Tuesday afternoon as the state braced for the prospect of Tropical Storm Helene swelling into a powerful hurricane heading for the state’s Gulf coast.
The US president ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local responses. The action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate hardship and suffering, the White House said.
Continue reading...Suspect also maintained a list of dates and venues where Trump was to appear, justice department says
The man accused in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump at a golf course in Florida left behind a note saying that he intended to kill the former president and maintained in his car a handwritten list of dates and venues where the Republican White House nominee was to appear, the justice department said on Monday.
The new allegations were included in a detention memo filed ahead of a hearing on Monday at which the justice department was expected to argue that 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh should remain locked up while the case is pending.
Continue reading...Nate Hochman recorded several videos for America 2100, a thinktank linked to the Republican Florida senator
The rightwing activist Nate Hochman, who was fired last year by the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, for employing neo-Nazi imagery in a campaign video, is now the face of a Marco Rubio-linked thinktank’s efforts to spread anti-immigrant panic from Ohio to Pennsylvania.
Videos featuring Hochman recorded in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, have been boosted on X by a range of rightwing figures including the platform’s owner, the tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Continue reading...Former president praises Secret Service as cellphone records show alleged gunman camped out near golf course for about 12 hours
Donald Trump has given his first detailed account of what he experienced on Sunday during what the FBI has said “appears to be an attempted assassination of the former president”, as authorities revealed new details about the incident at his West Palm Beach golf club.
Trump said he was playing golf with friends, including businessman Steve Witkoff, when he heard gunshots.
Continue reading...The party has been quick to condemn political violence – and is focusing its criticism on Trump’s unpopular policies
In comments to Fox News Digital on Monday, Donald Trump blamed Democrats for the repeated attempts on his life. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country and they are the ones that are destroying the country – both from the inside and out,” he said.
Also on Monday, the former president released a list of quotes that the campaign described as incendiary. At the top of that list was a quote from Kamala Harris saying: “Trump is a threat to our democracy and fundamental freedoms.”
Continue reading...Baseless theories about suspect Ryan Wesley Routh and his alleged ties to US military spread online after his arrest
After a man who appears to be obsessive about the war in Ukraine was arrested for allegedly attempting to assassinate Donald Trump on Sunday, rumors and conspiracy theories have spread online attempting to tie Democrats to the two assassination attempts on the former president this election.
Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect charged with gun-related crimes on Monday, previously conducted media interviews about his efforts to recruit volunteer fighters, particularly from Afghanistan, to help Ukraine in its war against Russia. Routh also apparently self-published an e-book on Ukraine in which he said that Iran was “free to assassinate Trump as well as me”, according to media reports.
Continue reading...President and predecessor share ‘cordial conversation’, White House says; acting director Ronald Rowe defends Secret Service actions
A law enforcement source has told CNN that they “expect a federal court in South Florida will require ‘a mental health assessment’ of Ryan Wesley Routh before any possible criminal proceedings”.
Several prominent foreign leaders have commented on what appears to have been an assassination attempt on Donald Trump yesterday.
Continue reading...Ryan Wesley Routh charged with gun-related offenses after apparent assassination attempt against former president
The suspect in the second apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump in as many months was charged in federal court on Monday morning with two gun-related crimes, as urgent investigations began into how he was able to get so close to the former US president.
As the US continued to react in shock to the latest apparent attempt on Trump’s life, the Republican presidential nominee added to the already tense atmosphere around the US election campaign by making highly inflammatory remarks, explicitly blaming Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for inciting the attack and calling them “the enemy within”.
Continue reading...Another apparent Trump assassination attempt happened – as we brace for what has been dubbed ‘a tinderbox election’
It has happened again. Another serene and sunny weekend. Another lone suspect wielding a rifle. Another apparent bid to assassinate Donald Trump. And a nation hurtling into uncharted territory 50 days from a presidential election.
On Sunday, Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a man with a rifle near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in Florida while the Republican candidate was playing. The suspect fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement.
Continue reading...A suspect is in custody after the incident, which occurred at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach county sheriff’s office is hosting its press conference.
According to authorities, a witness said: “I saw the guy running out in the bushes.”
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