Idalia unleashes fury, catastrophic storm surge
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Idalia made landfall as one of the more powerful hurricanes in Florida's history. For a second time, Sen. Mitch McConnell froze and struggled to speak during a news conference. And many are still missing as the search for victims of the Maui wildfires nears an end.
👋 Hey there! Laura Davis here. It’s time for Wednesday’s news.
But first: It’s a whopper of a lawsuit. 🍔 Burger King will have to face a class action suit accusing the fast food giant of false advertising, alleging the size of their Whopper burger is a lot smaller IRL than in ads.
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Historic storm pounds Florida, Georgia
Leaving behind shredded buildings and hundreds of miles of flooding, Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning along Florida's Big Bend as one of the more powerful storms in state history. Radar imagery indicated the eye of Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach around 7:45 a.m. as a Category 3 hurricane, driving sustained winds of 125 mph. 🌀 Follow our live storm coverage.
Catastrophic storm surge, power outages: In the small town of Perry, near where the storm came ashore, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said some of the hardest-hit areas are laden with debris and severely damaged property. More than 450,000 homes and businesses were without power in Florida and Georgia on Wednesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
Warnings issued for Georgia, Carolinas: By Wednesday evening, Idalia had weakened to a tropical storm, centered about 115 miles west-southwest of Charleston with sustained winds of 70 mph. The storm is forecast to move over the Carolina coastline Wednesday night and into Thursday.
🤝 How to help: Donate, volunteer to assist those affected by Hurricane Idalia.
Mitch McConnell freezes, struggles to speak again
Once again raising concerns about the 81-year-old's health, Sen. Mitch McConnell froze before in the middle of a news conference Wednesday and was escorted away from the microphones. At an event in Kentucky, the Republican Senate minority leader was asked about running for reelection in 2026 and seemed to start to answer before freezing and going silent. It's the second time in less than two months the senator has frozen up in this way. An anonymous McConnell aide said the senator will be consulting a physician prior to his next event. 👉 Here's everything we know.
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Officials near end of search for Maui wildfire victims
More than three weeks after deadly wildfires ripped through Lahaina, Hawaii, officials in Maui say they're nearing the end of the search and recovery phase. The count of confirmed dead has stood at 115 for several days – making it the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century. Nobody knows how many people are still missing. Maui County officials said they have covered 100% of the devastated area in Lahaina, and the next step will be to remove hazardous materials from the burn areas so residents can safely return. 👉 The latest on recovery efforts.
The 150-year-old banyan tree in Lahaina is still standing, but will it survive?
Giuliani loses defamation lawsuit from 2 election workers
Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s campaign lawyer for the 2020 election, is liable for defaming two Georgia election workers by repeatedly accusing them of mishandling ballots, a U.S. district judge ruled Wednesday. A month ago, Giuliani conceded he didn’t want to dispute that he made false statements about election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss. Since then, Giuliani has said he conceded to get try and get his case dismissed, but the judge ruled that Giuliani’s stipulations “hold more holes than Swiss cheese.” 👉 Here's what we know.
A break from the news
✈️ Oh behave! Ways to make your flight more pleasant for everyone involved.
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🐋 A Maine man rescheduled an appointment and ended up with a whale of a surprise!
Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hello: laura@usatoday.com. This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Idalia, Mitch McConnell, Maui wildfires: Wednesday’s news
