Tag Archives: Forida

Tornadoes tear a path of destruction through Florida

US WEATHER HURRICANE MILTON

Important Takeaways:

  • Hurricane Milton tore a coast-to-coast path of destruction across the state of Florida, whipping up a spate of deadly tornadoes that left at least four people dead and millions without power Thursday.
  • Sustained hurricane-force winds smashed inland through communities still reeling from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, before roaring off Florida’s east coast into the Atlantic.
  • Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the storm triggered deadly tornadoes and left more than three million people were without power.
  • In a statement on its website, St. Lucie County on the east coast confirmed “four fatalities as a result of these tornadoes.”
  • Wind uprooted large trees and ripped apart the roof at the Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field baseball stadium in St. Petersburg, and sent a construction crane falling onto a downtown building nearby.
  • As the eye of the storm exited the peninsula, communities were still contending with strong winds, heavy rainfall, and the risk of flash floods.
  • By Thursday morning, Milton weakened to a Category 1 storm but was still registering powerful winds of up to 85 mph (140 kph) , according to the National Hurricane Center.

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Biden says nearly 14% of his 1,500 agency appointees identify as LGBTQ

By Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nearly 14% of U.S. President Joe Biden’s 1,500 federal agency appointees identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, he said on Tuesday in a proclamation marking the start of Pride Month celebrating the LGBTQ community.

A Democrat, Biden urged Congress to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination by passing the Equality Act. Donald Trump, his Republican predecessor, did not officially recognize Pride Month during his four years in office.

“For all of our progress, there are many States in which LGBTQ+ individuals still lack protections for fundamental rights and dignity in hospitals, schools, public accommodations, and other spaces,” Biden said.

“We will not rest until full equality for LGBTQ+ Americans is finally achieved and codified into law.”

Biden cited what he called a tragic spike in violence against transgender people, especially transgender women of color and LGBTQ youth who face bullying and harassment in academic settings and run the risk of self-harm and death by suicide.

Biden recognized the service of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the Cabinet, and Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine, the first openly transgender person confirmed by the Senate.

Activists describe the Biden administration as the most pro-LGBTQ in U.S. history.

On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to protect LGBTQ people under all federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex. Biden also reversed a ban on transgender people openly enlisting and serving in the military.

The Biden White House also reversed an order issued by Trump’s then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on flying the Pride flag and some U.S. embassies, including in India and Australia, are highlighting their support for LGBTQ people.

In Florida on Tuesday, Governor Ron DeSantis, who is closely aligned with Trump, signed into law banning transgender women and girls from participating in school sports, part of a campaign in state houses nationwide this year that equal rights activists assail as discriminatory.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Howard Goller)