In the news today: Hurricane Milton slams Florida; Kamala Harris works to define her potential presidency; and why young Americans aren’t using condoms regularly. Also, how scientists recreated the head of the biggest bug to ever crawl on the Earth. |
Chris Nation climbs a tree and gestures while hanging out with coworkers outside the hotel where they are riding out Hurricane Milton, Oct. 9, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) |
Hurricane Milton slams Florida, causing deaths and flooding |
Hurricane Milton churned across Florida after plowing into the state as a Category 3 storm with winds over 100 mph, but spared Tampa a direct hit. It tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall Wednesday night in Siesta Key, about 70 miles south of Tampa. The situation in the Tampa Bay area was still a major emergency as St. Petersburg recorded over 16 inches of rain, prompting flash flooding. Read more.
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The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 3.2 million homes and businesses without electricity, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.
By early this morning, the hurricane was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 85 mph and was leaving the state near Cape Canaveral. Before Milton even made landfall, tornadoes were touching down across the state. The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed and some residents killed. “We have lost some life,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told WPBF News, though he wouldn’t say how many people were killed.
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Storm surge remained a concern in many parts of Florida and tropical storm warnings were in place for much of the east-central coast. Officials in hard-hit Pinellas and Sarasota counties urged people to stay off the roads, warning of downed power lines, trees in roadways and blocked bridges. In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge could toss it around and compound any damage.
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Harris faces urgency to more forcefully signal a break from Biden |
Vice President Kamala Harris’ struggle to present herself both as a candidate of change while demonstrating loyalty to the politician she serves under was made clear this week. When pressed on ABC’s “The View” to identify a decision made by President Joe Biden that she would have taken another way, she demurred. “There is not a thing that comes to mind,” she said. Read more.
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Harris has so far largely relied on her age and biography to signal a break from the 82-year-old Biden and her 78-year-old Republican opponent, Donald Trump. Now, in a tight race, she is being forced to reassess how she talks about her boss and how she might strike out on her own should she win.
Aides say Harris is deeply loyal to Biden and resistant to publicly doing anything that could be construed as criticizing his presidency, though his favorability ratings remain underwater. Harris’ team has tried to keep Biden at a distance on the campaign trail, yet she has been pulled into appearing by his side to address emergencies.
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In private, some allies question what she should break with Biden on. Harris was a central partner to Biden throughout, and they worry a break now could be viewed as preelection opportunism. Her presence at the top of the ticket resolves what had been the biggest Democratic vulnerability in November — Biden’s age.
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Condoms aren’t a fact of life for young Americans. They’re an afterthought |
Fewer young people are having sex, but the teens and young adults who are sexually active aren’t using condoms as regularly, if at all. Is this the end of condoms? Not exactly. But it does have some public health experts thinking about how to help younger generations have safe sex. Read more.
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The downward trend in condom usage is due to a few things: medical advancements like long-term birth control options and drugs that prevent sexually transmitted infections; a fading fear of contracting HIV; and widely varying degrees of sex education in high schools.
There are no federal standards for sex education, leaving it up to states to decide what is taught. Not every state mandates sex education. Some states emphasize abstinence. Less than half of states require information on contraception. In some states, like Mississippi, condom demonstrations are banned. In others, like Oregon, students observe condom demonstrations as early as middle school.
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Member of "Castellers de Vilafranca" form a "Castell" in Tarragona, Spain, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) |
Human towers rise skyward as Catalonia celebrates its culture
The tradition of building human towers, or “castells” in Catalan, dates to the 18th century. For many Catalans, they symbolize the pride they feel for their land, language and history. |
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Siddharth
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