Daily Briefing: 'Our worst-case scenario'

Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY
·6 min read

As Hurricane Ian rockets toward Florida, the Tampa Bay area prepares for catastrophic storm surge threats. NASA tried to move an asteroid in space — and it worked. Members of the Oath Keepers will stand trial for a rare Civil War-era offense.

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It's Tuesday. Here's the news.

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Hurricane Ian aims at Florida

A strengthening Hurricane Ian’s rain and winds are lashing Cuba’s western tip as it roared on a path that could see it hit Florida’s west coast as a Category 4 hurricane. Officials in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province evacuated 50,000 people ahead of Ian’s expected landfall early Tuesday as a major hurricane. Hurricane Ian’s forecast path northward near the Florida coast threatens millions, especially a potentially deadly and devastating storm surge that could push into bays and streams, flooding homes and businesses miles inland. Read more

One thing to know: Ian poses a nightmare weather scenario officials have feared for years for Tampa Bay, one of the nation’s fastest-growing metropolitan areas.

  • "Our worst-case scenario": Storm surge is historically the deadliest aspect of a hurricane. Experts say the geological makeup of Tampa Bay makes it especially vulnerable to that rapid increase in water levels that push inland.

  • Where is Ian now? Ian's center is expected to pass Cuba before entering the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. Follow USA TODAY's hurricane tracker to keep up to date.

  • Cruises disrupted. Football postponed. Ian has gripped everyday life across Florida. The state  is working to load 360 trailers with more than 2 million meals and more than 1 million gallons of water to prepare for distribution.

A boarded up house with "Go Away Ian" painted on the boarded up windows, is seen ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Indian Shores, 25 miles West of Tampa, Florida on September 26, 2022.
A boarded up house with "Go Away Ian" painted on the boarded up windows, is seen ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Indian Shores, 25 miles West of Tampa, Florida on September 26, 2022.

The first-ever planetary defense test

After 10 months flying in space, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) – the world's first planetary defense technology demonstration – successfully impacted its asteroid target on Monday, the agency's first attempt to move an asteroid in space. As a part of NASA's overall planetary defense strategy, DART's impact with the asteroid Dimorphos demonstrates a viable mitigation technique for protecting the planet from an Earth-bound asteroid or comet, if one were discovered. Read more

NASA successfully crashes 'DART' into asteroid Dimorphos to test planetary defense
NASA successfully crashes 'DART' into asteroid Dimorphos to test planetary defense

More news to know now

🌤 What's the weather up to in your neck of the woods? Check your local forecast here.

Biden to spotlight Medicare and Social Security

President Joe Biden on Tuesday will speak on two hot button issues that could pack a political punch six weeks before the midterm elections. His remarks at the White House will be delivered days after Medicare and Social Security got little attention in House Republicans’ rollout of the agenda they promise to pursue if voters give them control in November. The “Commitment to America” House Republicans announced last week promises to “save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare” without specifying how. House Democrats have proposed a bill that would increase Social Security benefits in various, mostly temporary ways and apply the payroll tax for the first time on wages above $400,000. Read more

  •  "Food as medicine": White House pilot program would bring medically tailored meals under Medicare.

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting of the White House Competition Council in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022.
President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting of the White House Competition Council in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022.

Japan's former leader Abe honored at divisive state funeral

Japan’s hawkish former leader Shinzo Abe was honored by a rare state funeral that was full of militaristic presentation and praise of his nine-year premiership. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said the publicly financed ceremony was a deserved honor for Japan’s longest-serving modern political leader, but it has deeply split public opinion. The event was attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and other foreign and Japanese dignitaries. Kishida eulogized Abe as having a clear vision for economic growth and development and promoting the concept of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” as a counter to China’s rise. Read more

People gather outside the National Diet building to protest against the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on September 27, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan.
People gather outside the National Diet building to protest against the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on September 27, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan.

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Jury selection begins for Oath Keepers sedition case

Jury selection is expected to get underway Tuesday in one of the most significant cases to emerge from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates have been charged with seditious conspiracy. Prosecutors in the case will try to show that the Oath Keepers' plot to stop Joe Biden from becoming president started before all the votes in the 2020 race had even been counted. Seditious conspiracy can be difficult to prove and the last guilty verdict was nearly 30 years ago. Read more

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, said weeks before the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, that his group was “armed, prepared to go in if the president calls us up.”
Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, said weeks before the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, that his group was “armed, prepared to go in if the president calls us up.”

📷 Former student kills 17 at school in Russia 📷

A gunman opened fire in a school in central Russia on Monday, killing 17 people and wounding 24 others before shooting himself, authorities said. Russia’s Investigative Committee identified the gunman as 34-year-old Artyom Kazantsev, a graduate of the same school, School No. 88 in Izhevsk, and said he was wearing a black t-shirt bearing “Nazi symbols.” No details about his motives have been released. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the shooting as "a terrorist act." Read more

Click here to see more photos from the scene in Izhevsk, Russia.

A little less heavy

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge crosses the line to win the Berlin Marathon in Berlin, Germany. Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge has bettered his own world record in the Berlin Marathon on September 25, 2022.
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge crosses the line to win the Berlin Marathon in Berlin, Germany. Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge has bettered his own world record in the Berlin Marathon on September 25, 2022.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note, shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Ian, NASA, Oath Keepers, Shinzo Abe: Daily Briefing