Morning Mix
Helene’s rains pummel isolated mountain towns with landslides, flooding
washingtonpost.com
Helene continued its destructive path, pushing dams to the brink, forcing residents to flee to higher ground and leaving some small towns entirely out of communication.
Tampa region emerges as epicenter of Florida’s death toll from Helene
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Most of the deaths thus far from Hurricane Helene were in the Tampa Bay area, where many residents did not heed evacuation orders on barrier islands.
They were drawn to ‘Old Florida.’ Now they live in the new hurricane alley.
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Residents drawn to life on the water in Florida’s Big Bend are confronting the reality of being square in the middle of the state’s new hurricane alley.
Helene death toll climbs with fatalities reported in 5 states
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The storm spiraled through multiple states after making landfall late Thursday in Florida. Damages were extensive across hundreds of miles.
Coast Guard rescues man and his dog stranded off Florida coast
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“We’re just glad that everything worked out,” said Coast Guard spokesman Eric Rodriguez. “This is why we do what we do.”
OceanGate CEO said he could ‘buy a congressman,’ ex-employee testifies
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The Coast Guard hearing on the Titan submersible’s implosion featured testimony painting Stockton Rush as an ego-driven exec who skirted regulations.
Federal employee health-care premiums to rise 13.5 percent on average
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The increase is nearly double last year’s 7.7. percent raise and driven by higher market costs this year, the Office of Personnel Management said.
Why Romney is resisting pressure to endorse Harris
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Romney has questioned the value of a Harris endorsement and expressed a desire to preserve his ability to rebuild the Republican Party in post-Trump world.
The scene in Florida as Hurricane Helene approaches its Gulf Coast
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The hurricane’s predicted storm surge could be devastating in the coastal areas of Florida’s Big Bend, where the peninsula meets the Panhandle.
Eric Adams rose to lead New York. Now a corruption scandal could end it all.
washingtonpost.com
The allegations mark a stunning blow for a politician who rose from humble roots in Brooklyn to become only the second Black man to serve as New York’s mayor.
Hurricane hurtles toward Florida with catastrophic storm surge forecast
washingtonpost.com
Long before its projected landfall, Hurricane Helene and its then-Category 3 wind and rain were already threatening millions of people in four states on Thursday.
Trump attorneys lay out case for tossing $478 million fraud verdict
washingtonpost.com
During oral arguments Thursday, New York appellate justices questioned the justification for such a large penalty in the civil fraud case against Donald Trump.
U.S. to reach 1,600 executions since death penalty was reinstated
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Alan Eugene Miller’s planned execution would be the fifth in the last week, drawing national scrutiny to convictions and execution processes.
UPS driver helps save woman’s life on his route, now visits her weekly
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“The doctors said if nobody had helped her, she would have died,” Kayla Cochran said about her grandmother, who was saved by UPS driver Raheem Cooper.