Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Cuba In The Dark As Ian Zeroes In On Florida
After pounding Cuba with sustained winds of 125 miles an hour, Hurricane Ian is on its way to the Florida and is at least a Category Three. Hurricane warnings are out for a long stretch of Florida's western coast – all the way up to Charleston, South Carolina and officials are warning of a very significant impact. Aside from tropical storm warnings farther inland, coastal areas have been warned to brace for a potential storm surge of 12-feet. In the meantime, multiple universities throughout the state of Florida have suspended classes due to the storm – and air travel in the area is all but shut down with thousands of flights cancelled. More than two-and-a-half million people are under evacuation orders – and it remains to be seen how many actually heeded the warning. As for Cuba, the country is without power after the passage. Much like Puerto Rico, its electrical grid collapsed and officials are working through the night to restore power to the island's 11-million people. Ian made landfall in western Cuba as a Category Three storm early yesterday with sustained winds of 125 miles-per-hour.
2 Biden To Reveal Plan To Reduce Obesity, End Hunger By 2030
The Biden administration is planning to end hunger in our country within the next decade. And today? The White House will host a national conference on nutritional health and food security. This is the administration's first White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health in more than 50 years, since the Nixon administration. Biden will use the conference to launch a national campaign to tackle high obesity rates and end hunger in the United States by 2030. “The consequences of food insecurity and diet-related diseases are significant, far-reaching, and disproportionately impact historically underserved communities,” Biden says in a statement outlining the new strategy. “Food insecurity and diet-related diseases are largely preventable, if we prioritize the health of the nation.”
3 Sham Referendum In Ukraine Expected To See Annexation Announcement Friday
Just because there was a vote, it doesn’t mean it was legitimate – and the White House says that’s exactly what’s happened in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin is cheering a 96% vote “in favor” of Russia annexing the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine in the East. The problem? The fact that those “pro-Russia” votes came after election officials and police literally went door to door in the occupied areas to collect votes. Local Ukrainian officials reported numerous incidents of voter coercion in the five days of voting, with photos and videos appearing on social media indicating a process that was neither free nor fair. While Putin is expected to take a victory lap and make a speech about the “results” in the coming days, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is suggesting he ought not to relax. “This farce in the occupied territory cannot even be called an imitation of referendums,” Zelenskiy said in a statement. “We will act to protect our people (in all occupied areas).”