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Hurricane Milton is heading toward Florida’s west coast and is expected to make landfall as early as Wednesday night. An estimated 6 million people in 11 Florida counties are currently under mandatory evacuation orders, and time is running out to prepare. “If you choose to stay here, you’re going to die,” said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.
Traffic on Interstate 4 from Tampa to Orlando came to a near standstill as thousands of evacuees clogged roads and grappled with fuel shortages.
How bad is Milton expected to be? Milton went from a tropical storm to the strongest possible Category 5 hurricane, with winds reaching 180 mph, in just one day. The National Hurricane Center said Milton could become “one of the most destructive hurricanes on record in central and central Florida.”
What kind of difficulties are evacuees facing? For some people, it is impossible to escape from home to avoid disaster. The Federal Reserve estimates that nearly 40% of Americans can’t cover a $400 emergency expense with cash, but a 2021 study found that the Texas Coastal Bend during Hurricane Harvey It was found that people evacuated from spent an average of about $1,200 on evacuation. If you had to stay in a hotel.
What have local officials done to facilitate evacuation efforts? Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has increased tolls on major highways and ordered breakdown lanes opened, but traffic remains at 150% of normal Some routes have been closed due to accidents. “Unfortunately, every time there’s a storm, there are traffic fatalities because people wait until the last minute to leave,” said Florida Secretary of Transportation Jared Perdue.
Bob Woodward’s book says Trump secretly gave Putin a coronavirus test machinePresident Trump speaks with President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017. Photo: Evan Vucci/APVeteran reporter Bob Woodward writes in his new book that Donald Trump secretly gave coronavirus testing machines to President Vladimir Putin when such resources were in short supply during the early stages of the pandemic. It was revealed that it was sent to Woodward said their relationship continued even after Trump left the administration, and they had seven private phone calls.
How did President Trump react to this allegation? “None of these fabricated stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly insane, deranged man…obviously upset,” President Trump’s communications director Stephen Chan said in a statement. Because President Trump has successfully sued him for releasing recordings he made without permission.” “
In other news…Measures being considered include blocking Google from paying for the search engine it pre-installs on smartphones. Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/APToday’s stats: Hurricane Helen’s rainfall increased by 10% due to climate crisisBuildings damaged by flooding from Hurricane Helen in Batcave, North Carolina. Photo: Tamamario/Getty ImagesLast month’s Hurricane Helen was caused by record-breaking heat in the Gulf of Mexico, but a new analysis finds that the heat is 200 to 500 times more likely to be caused by human-caused global warming. In addition to a 10% increase in precipitation, Helen’s winds are about 13 miles per hour stronger (11%) due to the climate emergency. Scientists now predict that major hurricanes like Helen are twice as likely to occur because of global warming.
Don’t miss this: How Israel and Gaza changed dating in America
Single people said they have become less likely to form relationships with people who hold opposing views about Gaza over the past year. Composite: Getty Images
The war in Gaza touched every aspect of American life, from college campuses to workplaces, from family dinners to conversations in synagogues and mosques, and drew out deep-seated loyalties and senses of identity. These differences of opinion place an undeniable strain on intimate relationships. Single people interviewed by the Guardian, both Jews and Muslims, said the war had deepened their ties to their religious and ethnic identities and brought them closer to their communities, while also making them more polarized and more isolated from others. He said he was less likely to form a relationship with someone. You can even have conversations with people who have opposing views about Gaza.
…or this: Afghan woman holds Taliban responsible for gender apartheid
Women wearing Afghan burqas walk through a market street in Kandahar on October 6, 2024. Photo: Sanaullah Seiam/AFP/Getty Images
Afghan women activists, many of whom live in exile, are calling on the United Nations to recognize the conditions the Taliban forced on women and girls in Afghanistan with the term “gender apartheid.” Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban has blocked girls from secondary education and barred them from nearly all forms of paid employment. They also blocked them from accessing the justice system and banned them from public parks. Under the Taliban, women must be fully covered at all times outside the home, and their voices cannot be heard in public.
Climate Check: Unprecedented disasters and strain on resources
Rescuers assist residents after conducting door-to-door health checks in coastal areas flooded by Hurricane Helen, Friday, September 27, 2024. Photo: AP
With hurricanes battering the Southeast and sweltering temperatures in the West, emergency personnel across the country are stretched thin. It’s not unusual for hurricanes and fires to start in early fall, but the climate crisis is increasing the chances of major disasters collapsing, and experts say hurricane double whammy like Helen and Milton could become more common. It warns that there is. These combined disasters are straining relief supplies and emergency response, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas telling reporters last week that Fema “doesn’t have the funds to get through the season.”
Finally: Read the wrinkles
An elephant handles a Christmas tree with its trunk attached in its enclosure at the Berlin Zoo on January 4, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. Photo: Clemens Bilan/EPA
Scientists have discovered a way to determine elephant handedness, or their preference for which side of their trunks they use, similar to how humans are right-handed or left-handed. A team of researchers from Humboldt University in Berlin has discovered that you can tell what an elephant’s preferences are by looking at its wrinkles. Left-handed trunkers (elephants that scoop things towards the left side of their bodies) have more wrinkles and longer whiskers on the left side. side of the trunk. “The effect of wrinkles is more subtle, but still important. This shows that wrinkle patterns are at least partially dependent on use,” said study co-author Dr. Michael Brecht. I am.
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