SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)

"ATLANTA — Sixty-one people have been indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges following a long-running state investigation into protests against a planned police and firefighter training facility in the Atlanta area that critics call “Cop City.”

In the sweeping indictment released Tuesday, Republican Attorney General Chris Carr alleged the defendants are “militant anarchists” who supported a violent movement that prosecutors trace to the widespread 2020 racial justice protests.

"President Joe Biden traveled to Florida on Saturday to survey the destruction from Hurricane Idalia and comfort victims of the storm, but he did not meet with Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential presidential rival, who opted not to come."

"As industrial plants have overtaken historic Black communities and burdened neighborhoods with toxic air pollution, environmental advocates and residents of Louisiana’s chemical corridor have spent decades calling for change."

"Donna Kalil was creeping toward the end of the levee, heading out of the swampy wilderness and back to civilization, when she spotted it. There along the canal, nearly invisible amid the brush, was the elusive tan and brown pattern she’d been after all night. “Right there is one — python!” cried Kalil, 61, her voice rising above the honking frogs and chirping crickets of the Glades."

"Hurricane Idalia could become the costliest climate disaster to hit the US this year, analysts say, with massive implications for the insurance and risk management industries."

"Hurricane Idalia's arrival on Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday signaled activity in the Atlantic's hurricane alley might not be as quiet this year as meteorologists had once predicted."

"Hurricane Idalia strengthened to a dangerous Category 4 storm Wednesday morning as it steamed toward Florida’s Big Bend region and threatened to unleash life-threatening storm surges and rainfall."

"Tropical Storm Idalia was expected to strengthen into a major hurricane on Monday as it crawled toward Florida’s Gulf Coast as officials issued evacuation orders and urged residents to make preparations ahead of an expected Wednesday morning landfall."

"Unpredictable winds, continued extreme heat and ultra-dry conditions fueled wildfires Saturday in western Louisiana, with officials ordering more residents to evacuate late into the evening."

"Tropical Storm Idalia has formed in the Caribbean and could strengthen into a hurricane, bringing high winds and storm surges to Cuba and Florida later this week."