Shownotes Transcript
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear.
Florida officials are opening four mega shelters ahead of Hurricane Milton. Now a powerful Category 5 storm with 165 mile per hour winds. Central Florida Public Media's Daniel Pryor says the state's preparing for what could be the most evacuations since Hurricane Irma. Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie says the four state-run shelters can house thousands of people. Two of those shelters that we have already opened,
Our Wiregrass Sports Complex in Wesley Chapel, Florida and the Seminole Tribe Event Center in Tampa, Florida. I want to thank both of those private sector entities for their support in helping us protect Floridians.
All tolls have been lifted in Central Florida, West Central Florida and Alligator Alley, and shoulder lanes are open in those areas to expedite evacuations. For NPR News, I'm Danielle Pryor in Orlando. Milton is expected to make landfall late tomorrow or early Thursday.
In addition to all the lives disrupted by the spate of hurricanes and weather events that have been affecting the U.S. this year, another casualty could be the government's ability to have the resources to respond to them all. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been stretched in terms of personnel. Now there are reports the Small Business Administration could run out of money to fund disaster loans in the wake of the devastation from Hurricane Helene and the damage anticipated out of Hurricane Milton, which has yet to make landfall.
Iran's foreign minister is warning Israel not to launch an attack on his country in retaliation for Tehran's ballistic missile strike last week. As NPR's Jackie Northam explains, from Tel Aviv, there's much speculation over whether Israel will respond and what would be the targets. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Ereji, in this video by AP News, warned Israel not to test his country's resolve by launching an attack.
saying Iran's response would be more powerful than last week's ballistic missile attack. That was in response to Israel's killing of top Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. Eruji said Tehran stands fully behind its so-called axis of resistance, which includes Hezbollah and Hamas, and that he would soon be traveling to Saudi Arabia and other regional countries to discuss Israel's offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.
There's intense debate here in Israel about the scale and target of a potential attack on Iran. Many experts believe it could be against its energy sector. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Tel Aviv. More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia say they're filing suit against online video sharing platform TikTok. Lawsuits contending the Chinese-owned companies harming the mental health of
kids and may be addictive. At the heart of the suits is the algorithm that powers the social media platform. The suit contends the platform's design features contribute to its addictive properties. Stocks rebounded somewhat today. The Dow up 126 points. The Nasdaq rose 259 points. This is NPR.
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