Good morning.
The death toll from Hurricane Milton rose to at least 10 on Thursday as Florida continued to assess damage from the Category 3 storm, which caused widespread property damage across the state and knocked out power to more than 3.5 million homes and businesses.
Authorities said five people died at a St. Lucie County senior community that was hit by a tornado that formed in the outer Milton Ranges. The tornado struck Wednesday evening before the hurricane made landfall near Sarasota on Florida's west coast.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man found clinging to a refrigerator in the Gulf of Mexico after his boat became stranded overnight in Milton's choppy waters.
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How strong was the storm surge? Although authorities predicted before Milton's arrival that the powerful storm surge was not as bad as predicted, in some areas, such as parts of Sarasota County, storm surge heights of 2.4–3 meters (8–10 ft) were recorded.
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What is the role of global warming? Discussing specific weather events is always complicated. But burning fossil fuels has made storms as severe as Hurricane Helene, which occurred this month, 2.5 times more likely than in the pre-industrial era, say scientists from the group World Weather Attribution.
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What did Joe Biden say? The president lashed out at lies and disinformation when asked if he had spoken to Donald Trump, who falsely claimed that disaster relief funds had been diverted to migrants. “Former President Trump, get a life, man,” Biden said.
At least 22 people killed and 117 injured in Israeli attack on Beirut, health officials say, alongside new bombardment of Gaza
At least 22 people were killed and another 117 injured in Israeli attacks on central Beirut on Thursday evening, Lebanese health authorities said. A passerby told the Guardian that families fled the scene carrying mattresses and bags, bleeding from their ears from the force of the explosions.
Israeli media reported that the target was Wafiq Safa, one of Hezbollah's top political officials. About an hour after the airstrikes, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for residents of Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, warning that they would carry out airstrikes.
Moreover, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon concluded on Thursday that Israeli forces deliberately fired on their positions, injuring two peacekeepers – and bringing new accusations of violations of international law.
Meanwhile, in Gaza A 'catastrophic situation' The incident occurred at a hospital offering specialized care for children, hospital director Kamal Adwan said, as Israeli forces carried out new ground and air attacks in Gaza.
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Here is the impact of Israel's attack on Lebanon so far: The Ministry of Health said 2,169 people have died and 10,212 people have been injured over the last year of the conflict, not counting the victims of yesterday's bombings in Beirut.
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Here what is the impact of the Israeli attack on Gaza so far: Over 42,065 Health officials say many people have been killed and 97,886 injured since October 7, 2023, including at least 28 people killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced people in central Gaza on Thursday morning.
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Don't miss this: And a before and after visualization of how a year of Israeli bombing devastated the Gaza Strip. About 90% of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced, often multiple times.
Trump insults Detroit during speech… in Detroit
Donald Trump attacked Detroit on Thursday at the Detroit Economic Club in Michigan – a key swing state.
The former president, whose speeches are often rambling, spoke about China as a developing country and said: “Well, we are a developing country too, just look at Detroit. Detroit is a more developing area than most places in China.
Stepping away from his teleprompter, Trump later said, “Our whole country will be like Detroit if (Kamala Harris) becomes your president.”
Meanwhile, Barack Obama hit the campaign trail for Vice President Harris last night.
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What is Trump's tax and tariff policy? He proposed a blanket tariff of up to 20% on all imports and 60% or more on Chinese products, as well as tax cuts that would benefit corporations and billionaires. The plans were attacked as a solution to soaring inflation and a weaker, less competitive and less equal economy.
In other news…
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A pastel by Claude Monet from 1865, stolen from a Jewish couple by the Nazis during World War II and returned to the family's descendantsFBI officials said on Wednesday.
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More than 370 million women and girls alive today – almost one in eight – have experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18according to the first, global estimates compiled by Unicef.
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Ethel Kennedy, activist and widow of Senator Robert F Kennedy, died o 96. You can read her obituary here.
Statistics of the day: 2.4% In September, inflation was the lowest in three years
Inflation eased last month to its slowest pace in more than three years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 2.4% in September. That was slightly above economists' expectations of 2.3%.
Don't miss this: Han Kang's Nobel Prize win proves the importance of small press publishing
Thursday's news that the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to South Korean writer Han Kang is not only a triumph for Korean literature, writes Catherine Taylor, but also a reminder of the enormous reach and influence of small press publishing houses.
Climate control: Wildlife populations disappearing near 'points of no return', report warns
Global wildlife populations have declined by an average of 73% over 50 years, according to a report by WWF and the Zoological Society of London. But experts insisted that “nature can regenerate given the opportunity.”
One last thing: Opera including 18 people were you treated for severe nausea? Sale
Over the weekend, eighteen audience members of the State Opera in Stuttgart required treatment for severe nausea. They observed a work by Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger that included live piercings, unsimulated sex and real blood. Since then, seven upcoming shows have sold out.
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