Biden surveys Hurricane Milton damage as he visits hard-hit communities in Florida

More than 517,000 people remained without electricity in Florida as of late Sunday evening, according to utilities tracker Poweroutage.us.

They join the more than 17,000 people in North Carolina still cut off from the grid in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

President Joe Biden anounced $612m funding for investments in the electric grid, including $94m for storm-battered Florida, during a visit Sunday to the Sunshine State to survey the damage from Hurricane Milton.

“Moments like this we come together to take care of each other – not as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans,” Biden said during remarks in St. Pete Beach.

“Americans who need help, Americans who would help you if you were in a similar situation. We are one United States. One United States.”

The Florida investments include $47m to Gainesville Regional Utilities and $47m to Switched Source to partner with Florida Power and Light.

Such projects will form a part of the state’s long-term recovery from Hurricanes Milton and Helene, which raged over the state over a period of less than two weeks between late September and this Wednesday, when Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm.

Read more in our full story.

A woman who says she’s the daughter of Joseph Malinowski, 54 — a Tampa, Florida man who went viral and was dubbed “Lieutenant Dan” for his decision to ride out the approaching hurricanes Helene and Milton on his boat — is worried that his sudden fame and donations from wellwishers will put her father at risk.

Ashley Ann Malinowski voiced her concern in a series of TikToks on Friday.

“Lieutenant Dan was doing just fine without all that money,” she told viewers in one video.

“Y’all TikTok f***ing famous people, y’all blowing him up and he’s gonna be dead before he can f***ing enjoy that boat and stuff. Because look at him, after y’all got a hold of him and now he’s high as f*** on all these videos.”

More details in our full story.

Hurricane Milton didn’t just impact Florida’s human residents. It also caused massive disruptions for the state’s famous wildlife.

Species like long-winged sooty terns and firgatebirds were blown hundreds of miles outside of their usual range, into states like Indiana and Kentucky.

Hurricane Helene, meanwhile, interrupted the migration of over 100 million birds, The Washington Post reports.

Hurricane Milton didn’t just impact Florida’s human residents. It also caused massive disruptions for the state’s famous wildlife.

Species like long-winged sooty terns and firgatebirds were blown hundreds of miles outside of their usual range, into states like Indiana and Kentucky.

Hurricane Helene, meanwhile, interrupted the migration of over 100 million birds, The Washington Post reports.

In a bizarre twist, Florida residents have taken to eBay to begin auctioning off pieces of Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium whose roof was ripped off during Hurricane Milton.

Pieces of the roof and outfield turf are selling for prices between $150 and a whopping $1000, USA Today reports.

More details on what happened to the stadium in our full story.

President Joe Biden anounced $612m funding for investments in the electric grid, including $94m for storm-battered Florida, during a visit Sunday to the Sunshine State to survey the damage from Hurricane Milton.

“Moments like this we come together to take care of each other – not as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans,” Biden said during remarks in St. Pete Beach. Such projects will form a part of the state’s long-term recovery from Hurricanes Milton and Helene, which raged over the state over a period of less than two weeks between late September and this Wednesday, when Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm.

At least 23 people in Florida are dead as a result of Milton.

The fallen include a woman crushed by a tree in her bedroom in Ormond Beach, an 89-year-old who had a cardiac emergency as paramedics were unable to answer calls, and an Orange County man electrocuted while cleaning post-storm detritus, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

More details in our full story.

At least 23 people have died as a result of Hurricane Milton, according to reporting from the Tampa Bay Times.

The dead include an older woman crushed by a tree in Ormond Beach, an 89-year-old who suffered a cardiac emergency as parademics stopped responding to calls, and an Orange County man electrocuted whil cleaning up post-storm debris.

The state has also rescued more than 1,000 people stranded in homes and other buildings, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said yesterday.