Hurricane Milton made landfall over the central west coast of Florida on Wednesday evening, bringing with it powerful winds, torrential rain, and storm surge to a state that endured another strong hurricane less than two weeks ago. The National Hurricane Center announced that doppler radar data indicated the storm’s eye made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key in Sarasota County — located between Tampa Bay and Fort Myers — at 8:30 p.m. ET. 830pm EDT Oct 9th: Doppler radar data indicates that the eye of #Hurricane #Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County on the west coast of Florida. Max sustained winds at landfall are estimated at 120 mph. Landfall TCU: https://t.co/YUc7mT6LuJ pic.twitter.com/fEODy4AvHJ — National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 10, 2024 The hurricane‘s outer bands already wreaked havoc across Florida earlier in the day with tornadoes, flooding, and power outages. Residents in Florida and nearby states can expect the effects of the storm to last overnight and into Thursday. Violent tornado sent to me by my friend Jason Dolliver shot in Fort pierce near the St. Lucie County Fairgrounds. Video shot by Kayla Pollack. An absolutely horrible day for tornadoes. pic.twitter.com/COp8lZfJw6 — Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) October 9, 2024 Evacuation orders had been issued to millions of people across several Florida counties, and shelters were opened in areas bracing for the brunt of the hurricane. Storm surge up to 12 or 13 feet in some coastal areas could be particularly deadly. Storm surge spills onto the bridge to Sanibel Island in Fort Myers, Florida, as Hurricane Milton starts to make landfall. pic.twitter.com/Y9OSvzjXKr — AccuWeather (@accuweather) October 9, 2024 After landfall, Hurricane Milton is expected to quickly move across the Florida Peninsula on Thursday and head out over the Atlantic Ocean away from the United States, giving room for any rescue and relief efforts to get underway. Florida got slammed by Milton less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm. Crews were still picking up debris from Helene on Wednesday, prompting warnings about detritus flying around when Milton hit. Milton made landfall as a “major” hurricane, but it was higher up the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale at Category 5 at times earlier in the week as it swept across the Gulf of Mexico and grazed Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Inside Hurricane Milton, @saildrone reported wave height of 28.12 feet and wind gusts as strong as 75.95 mph while 40 nautical miles from the center of the storm. This research represents a collaborative endeavor to better understand the role of the ocean in hurricanes. pic.twitter.com/gmaUopPEWj — NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab (@NOAA_AOML) October 9, 2024 Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency, suspended tolls to assist with evacuations, communicated with the public about what they should do to be ready for the storm, and made other preparations. As Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Sarasota county, now is the time to shelter in place. First responders are staged and ready to go, as soon as weather conditions allow. Search and rescue efforts will be well underway to save lives before dawn, and they will continue for as… — Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 10, 2024 President Joe Biden, who approved an emergency declaration to unlock federal assistance for hurricane response efforts in Florida, has been in communication with DeSantis and said he told the governor he was “doing a great job.” Stunning images of Hurricane Milton have been shared online over the past few days, including from NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, who is on the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endeavor docked to the International Space Station. Timelapse flying by Hurricane Milton today about 2 hours ago. Storm looks bigger but less symmetric than yesterday. 1/2000 sec, f8, 14mm, ISO 500, 0.5 sec interval, 30fps pic.twitter.com/XUjQEJPOGg — Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) October 9, 2024 The Waffle House Index, which is used to signal an imminent disaster, helped keep residents alert. In a post to social media, the restaurant chain said it was closing locations around Tampa, Fort Myers, Orlando, Ocala, and Daytona.

'Would not rule out including utility companies'

'That's a suspicion of mine'

At a time when numerous battleground states have been tied in the presidential race, an election watchdog group notes that already this year, 29 elections have ended in a tie–including one for Congress.  The Public Interest Legal Foundation updated its Tied Elections Database in part to demonstrate the potential effect of even one illegal vote.  Another 18 contests so far in 2024 were decided by a single vote. These elections are in primaries or in some cases local elections don’t coincide with the federal and state election day. “If people ever think their votes don’t matter, I hope they remember these tied elections,” J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, said in a public statement. “Every single vote matters. Just one vote could determine who wins power. Everyone eligible should register and vote this November.” In all, including previous years’ elections, the database has 635 tied elections and 173 elections decided by a single vote.  While a statewide tie in any state is extremely unlikely, several recent battleground polls have come out tied between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.  An Insider Advantage poll showed Georgia was tied. A CNN poll found North Carolina was tied. An Emerson poll found Pennsylvania was tied. Another Emerson poll found a Nevada tie. Rasmussen Reports polls found a tie between the candidates in Wisconsin and Michigan.   Notwithstanding the incredibly improbability of a statewide tie ever occurring in any contest–much less a presidential race–a highly unusual tie in a congressional primary within the most populous state in America did occur earlier this year.  The legal foundation’s update report made no reference to the presidential race, but notes several examples of tied or close races this year.  The tally was 30,249 votes to 30,249 votes in a House Democratic primary in California’s 16th Congressional District, a tie for second place between candidates Evan Low and Joe Simitian. Even though they finished behind Sam Liccardo–who won about 38,000, it appeared all three Democratic candidates would advance to the November general election under the state’s jungle primary system. But after a recount, Low won a second place finish by five votes.  The Public Interest Legal Foundation further references that in Missouri, a Cottleville Township Committee race was decided by a single vote. Missouri had the largest number of ties or one-vote elections so far in 2024 at eight combined, according to the report.   In Michigan, a Wise Township supervisor race ended in a tie and was broken by a lawsuit. The state of Michigan had five tied election outcomes this year. Texas, New York, Colorado, and Oklahoma each had three ties in 2024. In Tennessee, a tie in a Scott County school board race was broken by a provisional ballot. In Oklahoma, a Republican primary for Carter County sheriff tied and was decided when one of the two names was drawn from a bucket.   The report says 28 states require ties be broken by a game of chance and 13 require a special runoff. The states of Montana, Tennessee, and West Virginia allow an executive officer to decide the winner, while the states of Nevada and New Hampshire allow a legislative body to decide.  New Jersey is the only state lacking any mechanism for a tiebreaker, according to the legal foundation. The post Counts, Recounts and ‘Bucket Draws’: 29 Tied Elections in 2024 So Far appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Texas Secretary of State to Election Officials: Accept Noncitizen Driver's License as Valid ID to Vote

Minneapolis police said they arrested six children — three males ages 11, 12, and 13 years old, and three females ages 12 and 14 years old — Tuesday after three armed robberies and a pair of crashes on Interstate 94, KMSP-TV reported.The station said police responded around 11:30 a.m. to an armed robbery in the 5100 block of 41st Avenue South and a second armed robbery in the 3400 block of Bloomington Avenue.Police spotted one of the vehicles and tried to pull over the driver who instead fled, which led to a police pursuit that ended in a crash westbound on I-94.Police said shots were fired at the victim from one of the involved vehicles in the second armed robbery, KMSP reported, adding that no one was hit by gunfire. A third armed robbery took place around 1:30 p.m. near 24th Street and Pleasant Avenue, the station said.Due to the three robberies' similarities, police said they activated their "crime pattern response protocol," KMSP reported. Law enforcement from multiple agencies — including Minneapolis, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, and the Minnesota State Patrol — "began flooding the area" to search for the vehicles involved in the robberies, the station said.Numerous 911 calls came in about vehicles driving recklessly in Minneapolis, KMSP said. Police spotted one of the vehicles and tried to pull over the driver who instead fled, which led to a police pursuit that ended in a crash westbound on I-94 near Cedar Avenue, the station said.KMSP, citing the release, said the vehicle's occupants fled on foot — but police "quickly apprehended" four individuals.A second vehicle — which police said was stolen — was nearby and also crashed, police told the station. With that, two occupants from that vehicle fled on foot and were caught, KMSP said.The station said three other vehicles were involved in the crashes, but none of the occupants in those vehicles were injured.KMSP said six juveniles — three males ages 11, 12, and 13 years old, and three females ages 12 and 14 years old — were arrested after the crashes. They were taken to hospitals for evaluations concerning non-life-threatening injuries, the station said.Police told KMSP the suspects were to be booked into the Juvenile Detention Center.The arrested 12-year-old male had "multiple prior contacts" with Minneapolis police while the others had "no or limited prior contact" with police and were to be "referred to juvenile diversion programs," the station said, citing the release.KMSP said police were still investigating each child's involvement in the three robberies and if they were involved in any other criminal activity."The fact that I see this activity continuing with children so young — despite all our efforts — is incredibly frustrating and highlights the urgent need for action," Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said, according to the station. "I am grateful for the immediate response of law enforcement in finding and arresting these juveniles before they could cause more harm to members than of our community or themselves."Check out this surveillance video showing one suspect cross the interstate — nearly getting hit — before getting arrested.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

California police say a resident used his shotgun to shoot a homeless man who had broken into his home on Tuesday at about 10:30 a.m. El Cerrito police said in a press release that officers were called to the home on Elm Street over reports of a shooting. 'This the quietest neighborhood I ever lived in!'When they arrived, they found a 56-year-old transient man with a gunshot wound. He was airlifted to a trauma center for medical treatment. Police determined the shooter was a resident at the home and detained him for questioning. After an investigation, police said the man believed the home intruder was armed and feared for his life when he shot at him two times. Investigators determined the intruder was not armed with a gun but instead was holding a flashlight. Police intend to ask the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office to file a burglary charge against the suspect. A nearby high school was placed on lockdown after the shooting, but that was lifted after the scene was secured. Police said the homeless man was from Contra Costa County, and KTVU said he had an extensive history of burglary and robbery convictions. Investigators are trying to determine whether the resident owned the gun legally. "This never happened in my neighborhood," said resident Nikkio Hunt to KTVU. "This the quietest neighborhood I ever lived in!" El Cerrito is a suburb of Oakland on San Francisco Bay with about 26k residents. The average home in El Cerrito currently sells for about $1.144 million, according to Zillow. Scenes from the neighborhood can be viewed on the news video report from KTVU on YouTube. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Black Lesbian Is Afraid Donald Trump Is Going to Have Her Exterminated

Go Woke, Go BROKE: Judge Rules Defamation Suit by Family of Boy Deadspin Smeared As Racist Can Move Ahead

Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice says Donald Trump’s phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin appear to be illegal. "This would seem to be a violation of the Logan Act," Rice wrote Tuesday on the social platform X.