Monday morning news: September 26, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Hurricane Ian » Florida is bracing for impact as Hurricane Ian barrels toward the Gulf of Mexico. Gov. Ron DeSantis:

DESANTIS: We have declared a state of emergency for all 67 counties, given the uncertainty of the path of the storm. We’ve done things like wave weight restrictions for commercial trucks.

That’s to help ensure supplies continue to pour into the state ahead of the storm.

Ian is forecast to strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane tomorrow. The eye could then pass over western Cuba or remain offshore.

Its next target is hard to predict exactly. John Cangialosi with the National Hurricane Center.

CANGIALOSI: We’re actually predicting a major hurricane, which is Category 3 or stronger. So we have pretty good confidence that this is going to be quite a big deal. What we don’t really know at this range is who’s going to see the greatest impact.

Computer models show possible landfall anywhere from the Florida-Alabama state line to just north of Ft. Myers in southwestern Florida as early as Wednesday night.

Fiona » Meantime in Canada, hundreds of thousands of people remained without power Sunday after Hurricane Fiona slammed the country’s Atlantic provinces Saturday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

TRUDEAU: People have seen their homes washed away. They’ve seen the winds rip schools’ roofs off. But as Canadians, as we always do in times of difficulty, we will be there for each other.

Officials said they found the body of a woman swept into the sea.

Police said she was inside her residence moments before a wave struck the home, tearing away a portion of the house.

Philippines typhoon » And in the Philippine Sea, the powerful Typhoon Noru slammed into the northeastern Philippines on Sunday.

The storm hit coastal towns and islands with winds of 120 miles per hour. That’s the equivalent of Category 3 hurricane.

Thousands of villagers had to evacuate from the typhoon’s path, as well as from mountainside villages prone to landslides and flash floods.

U.S. warning against nukes » The US government is warning Russia against using nuclear weapons. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC’s Meet the Press...

SULLIVAN: Russia understands very well what the United States would do in response to the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine because we have spelled it out for them. And I will leave it at that today.

Sullivan said the consequences for Russia would be “catastrophic,” adding the United States would respond decisively.

Vladimir Putin made another thinly veiled threat last week to use nuclear weapons in his war against Ukraine.

Russia referendums » Washington says Putin’s actions increasingly reflect desperation. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agrees.

ZELENSKYY (translator): He knows that he’s losing the war. In the battlefield, Ukraine has seized the initiative.

He blasted sham referendums in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

Authorities installed by Moscow have been going door to door collecting votes on whether to join Russia. But most global leaders say the vote is illegitimate.

Putin could attempt to use annexation as justification for deploying military conscripts to those parts of Ukraine.

Gas prices » Gas prices continue to dip. Fuel price analyst Trilby Lundberg says the per-gallon average has dropped 7 cents over the past two weeks.

LUNDBERG: So the new average is $3.78. This is a total drop of $1.32 per gallon during the 15 weeks its been dropping.

She says the Houston area has the cheapest gas of any major city, $2.96 per gallon on average. At the opposite end, San Francisco is at $5.69 per gallon.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Hurricane Ian » Florida is bracing for impact as Hurricane Ian barrels toward the Gulf of Mexico. Gov. Ron DeSantis:

DESANTIS: We have declared a state of emergency for all 67 counties, given the uncertainty of the path of the storm. We’ve done things like wave weight restrictions for commercial trucks.

That’s to help ensure supplies continue to pour into the state ahead of the storm.

Ian is forecast to strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane tomorrow. The eye could then pass over western Cuba or remain offshore.

Its next target is hard to predict exactly. John Cangialosi with the National Hurricane Center.

CANGIALOSI: We’re actually predicting a major hurricane, which is Category 3 or stronger. So we have pretty good confidence that this is going to be quite a big deal. What we don’t really know at this range is who’s going to see the greatest impact.

Computer models show possible landfall anywhere from the Florida-Alabama state line to just north of Ft. Myers in southwestern Florida as early as Wednesday night.

Fiona » Meantime in Canada, hundreds of thousands of people remained without power Sunday after Hurricane Fiona slammed the country’s Atlantic provinces Saturday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

TRUDEAU: People have seen their homes washed away. They’ve seen the winds rip schools’ roofs off. But as Canadians, as we always do in times of difficulty, we will be there for each other.

Officials said they found the body of a woman swept into the sea.

Police said she was inside her residence moments before a wave struck the home, tearing away a portion of the house.

Philippines typhoon » And in the Philippine Sea, the powerful Typhoon Noru slammed into the northeastern Philippines on Sunday.

The storm hit coastal towns and islands with winds of 120 miles per hour. That’s the equivalent of Category 3 hurricane.

Thousands of villagers had to evacuate from the typhoon’s path, as well as from mountainside villages prone to landslides and flash floods.

U.S. warning against nukes » The US government is warning Russia against using nuclear weapons. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC’s Meet the Press...

SULLIVAN: Russia understands very well what the United States would do in response to the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine because we have spelled it out for them. And I will leave it at that today.

Sullivan said the consequences for Russia would be “catastrophic,” adding the United States would respond decisively.

Vladimir Putin made another thinly veiled threat last week to use nuclear weapons in his war against Ukraine.

Russia referendums » Washington says Putin’s actions increasingly reflect desperation. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agrees.

ZELENSKYY (translator): He knows that he’s losing the war. In the battlefield, Ukraine has seized the initiative.

He blasted sham referendums in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

Authorities installed by Moscow have been going door to door collecting votes on whether to join Russia. But most global leaders say the vote is illegitimate.

Putin could attempt to use annexation as justification for deploying military conscripts to those parts of Ukraine.

Gas prices » Gas prices continue to dip. Fuel price analyst Trilby Lundberg says the per-gallon average has dropped 7 cents over the past two weeks.

LUNDBERG: So the new average is $3.78. This is a total drop of $1.32 per gallon during the 15 weeks its been dropping.

She says the Houston area has the cheapest gas of any major city, $2.96 per gallon on average. At the opposite end, San Francisco is at $5.69 per gallon.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

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