After Battering Florida, Hurricane Ian Heads for the Carolinas

Hurricane Ian, now a Category 1 hurricane, is heading for a second landfall in South Carolina after battering southwest and central Florida.

Hurricane Ian, now a Category 1 hurricane, is heading for a second landfall in South Carolina after battering southwest and central Florida.

President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in South Carolina to free up federal funds and allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief.
Forecasters are predicting a “life-threatening storm surge” and floods along the coast of South Carolina once Hurricane Ian makes landfall.
At least 21 people were killed by the storm in Florida, and the death toll is expected to climb considerably.
Search and rescue operations are underway in Charlotte and Lee Counties in southwest Florida, the two hardest-hit counties in the Sunshine State. More than 700 people have been rescued from the two counties that Gov. Ron DeSantis warned were left basically “off the grid” by the storm.
In southwest Florida, rebuilding will likely take months, a “massive undertaking, ranging from the cosmetic to the crucial.” Businesses across the region were badly damaged and the town of Fort Myers Beach is “quite simply, destroyed.”

CNN reported approximately 1.9 million people are still without power in Florida’s hardest-hit counties and Lee County (Fort Myers) is without water after a water main break at the county water utility.
The New York Times wrote “the scale of the wreckage was staggering,” even for residents who had survived previous hurricanes. Insurers estimated insured losses could reach up to $40 billion. Former Florida emergency management chief Jared Moskowitz told the Times, “Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island look like they will need to be 80 percent rebuilt.”
NBC News reported protesters have taken to the streets in Havana, Cuba to protest the continued lack of power after Ian battered the island earlier this week.

Fox News published before and after photos and video from Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, Florida, two southwest Florida localities battered by Hurricane Ian.
The Daily Wire covered Florida officials’ warning about a “deadly danger” that lurks after a hurricane has passed: Using a power generator indoors. After some recent hurricanes, the carbon monoxide poisoning death toll from using a generator indoors was roughly the same as the death toll from the hurricane itself.
Breitbart shared a video of a heroic TV reporter in Orlando who saved a nurse trapped in her car from Hurricane Ian floodwaters.

On Your Midterms Radar

Georgia and Nevada on their minds: Senate watchers sweat two swing states (POLITICO)

As AG, Cortez Masto left thousands of rape kits untested. Laxalt helped clear the backlog – and arrests followed. (Washington Free Beacon)

Kari Lake staffer once admitted to murder-for-hire plot against FBI informant: Report (Washington Examiner)

The Mark Kelly industrial complex: Defense contractor with lucrative Pentagon contracts rents plane to Arizona’s vulnerable Democrat (Breitbart)

On Your Politics Radar

Biden’s bizarre ‘Where’s Jackie?’ episode cause for alarm, Republicans say: ‘Diminished capacity’ (Fox News)

The Dam Breaks: White House press corps question Biden’s mental acuity after ‘Where’s Jackie’ incident (Commentary)

These nine House Republicans voted against a bill to require vetting for programs exploited by China (The Hill)

The Fed’s preferred inflation measure remains stubbornly high (New York Times)

Judge rules Trump lawyers don’t have to clarify Mar-a-Lago document claims (Washington Post)

On Your World Radar

Putin declares Ukrainian regions part of Russia, defies West (AP News)

UK PM Liz Truss’ path to regain market credibility (BBC News)

America’s throwaway spies: How the CIA failed Iranian informants in its secret war with Tehran (Reuters)

Return to Freespoke