USA

On Sunday, President Joe Biden visited areas affected by Hurricane Milton in Florida and announced a half-billion dollars in new funding to improve electric grid resilience. But even as relief and recovery efforts continue, officials warn that misinformation is spreading rapidly as Election Day draws near. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details, with reporting from Patrick Bresnan in North Carolina. …

Washington — The United States will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery and troops to Israel, the Pentagon said Sunday, even as Iran warned Washington to keep American military forces out of Israel.  Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized the deployment of the THAAD battery at the direction of President Joe Biden.  Ryder said …

Washington — President Joe Biden on Sunday is surveying the devastation inflicted on Florida’s Gulf Coast by Hurricane Milton as he urges Congress to approve additional emergency disaster funding. Vice President Kamala Harris will spend a second day in North Carolina, hard-hit by Hurricane Helene, to attend a Black church and hold a campaign rally. Biden’s visit to the St. Petersburg area offers him another chance …

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VENICE, Fla — No sooner had residents of the Bahia Vista Gulf condominium complex dug out and from Hurricane Helene than they were faced with the same daunting cleanup from new damage inflicted by Hurricane Milton. The beachfront units had been gutted, treated and dried out after Hurricane Helene and mounds of sand that had blown in from the beach had been removed. Then, less than …

PHOENIX — On just one sweltering day during the hottest June on record in Phoenix, a 38-year-old man collapsed under a freeway bridge and a 41-year-old woman was found slumped outside a business. Both had used methamphetamine before dying from an increasingly dangerous mix of soaring temperatures and stimulants. Meth is showing up more often as a factor in the deaths of people who died from …

BAKERSVILLE, North Carolina — Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene downed power lines and washed out roads all over North Carolina’s mountains, the constant din of a gas-powered generator is getting to be too much for Bobby Renfro. It’s difficult to hear the nurses, neighbors and volunteers flowing through the community resource hub he has set up in a former church for his neighbors in Tipton …

CORTEZ, Florida — Floridians recovering from Hurricane Milton, many of whom were journeying home after fleeing hundreds of miles to escape the storm, spent much of Saturday searching for gas as a fuel shortage gripped the state. In St. Petersburg, scores of people lined up at a station that had no gas, hoping it would arrive soon. Among them was Daniel Thornton and his 9-year-old daughter …

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washington — The Federal Aviation Administration approved a license Saturday for the launch of SpaceX’s Starship 5 on Sunday after earlier saying it did not expect to make a decision until late November. Reuters first reported this week the faster than expected timetable after the FAA in September had suggested a much longer review.  SpaceX is targeting Sunday for the launch and said a 30-minute launch …

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london — The National Football League’s aggressive international growth plan could include holding a Super Bowl outside the United States for the first time, Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Saturday.  Goodell has shot down the idea in the past, but he told a fan forum in London that it’s a possibility.  “We’ve always traditionally tried to play a Super Bowl in an NFL city — that …

The American Psychiatric Association says that as elections approach, stress levels go up, regardless of political affiliation. The constant stream of news, stressful arguments and concerns about the country’s future all put pressure on mental well-being. Some psychologists call it election stress disorder. Maxim Adams has the story. Videographer: Andre Sergunin …

WASHINGTON — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is in “excellent health” and “possesses the physical and mental resiliency” required to serve as president, her doctor said in a letter released Saturday that summarizes her medical history and status. Dr. Joshua Simmons, a U.S. Army colonel and physician to the vice president, wrote that Harris, 59, maintains a healthy, active lifestyle and that her most recent physical, …

chicago — With a neon-green net in hand, Annette Prince briskly walks a downtown Chicago plaza at dawn, looking left and right as she goes. It’s not long before she spots a tiny yellow bird sitting on the concrete. It doesn’t fly away, and she quickly nets the bird, gently places it inside a paper bag and labels the bag with the date, time and place. …

new orleans, louisiana — Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole heritage takes center stage this weekend when the Festivals Acadiens et Creoles marks a half-century of honoring and celebrating the culture through music, arts, food and community.  What started as a one day concert in 1974 to entertain 150 French-speaking journalists gathered in Lafayette — considered the heart of Cajun country — has grown into a three-day event …

LITHIA, Florida — Florida residents slogged through flooded streets, gathered up scattered debris and assessed damage to their homes on Friday after Hurricane Milton smashed through coastal communities and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes. At least 10 people were dead, and rescuers were still saving people from swollen rivers, but many expressed relief that Milton wasn’t worse. The hurricane spared densely populated Tampa a direct …

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WHITE HOUSE — During a briefing Friday on recovery efforts after Hurricane Milton at the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden again warned about the spread of “disgusting” and “dangerous” misinformation and disinformation about the federal government’s response to recent storms. Responding to a reporter’s question, Biden said that misleading information hurts people who need the most help. “Widowers, people in hospitals, people who are by …

WASHINGTON — A pair of unwelcome and destructive guests named Helene and Milton have stormed their way into this year’s U.S. presidential election. The back-to-back hurricanes have jumbled the schedules of Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, both of whom devoted part of their recent days to tackling questions about the storm recovery effort. The two hurricanes are forcing basic questions about who as president …

From pop superstar Taylor Swift to former wrestler Hulk Hogan, celebrity endorsements have been a feature of this year’s U.S. presidential race. But whether they will have any kind of impact on the election is difficult to predict. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. …

VIENTIANE, LAOS — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Friday warned China against military provocations toward Taiwan, following Beijing’s strong reaction to an annual speech by the leader of the self-ruled democracy. “I can tell you that with regard to the so-called Ten Ten speech, which is a regular exercise, China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken told …

VIENTIANE, Laos — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Southeast Asian leaders Friday that the U.S. is concerned about China’s “increasingly dangerous and unlawful” activities in the disputed South China Sea during an annual summit meeting and pledged the U.S. will continue to uphold freedom of navigation in the vital sea trade route. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ meeting with Blinken followed a …

WINTER PARK, Florida — Many Jews worldwide will mark Yom Kippur in fasting and prayer at their synagogues this weekend. But for the faithful in Florida, destructive Hurricane Milton has disrupted plans for observing the Day of Atonement — the holiest day of the year in the Jewish faith — that begins Friday evening and caps off the High Holy Days that began with Rosh Hashana …