Tuesday morning news: August 6, 2024

Hurricane Debby » Many thousands of Floridians are without power, and many neighborhood streets are underwater after Hurricane Debby slammed the state’s Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast Monday.

Debby roared ashore as a Category-1 hurricane packing winds of 75 miles per hour and deadly storm surge.

The storm is now a major rain event. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents:

DESANTIS:  Don't go out into the storm. Uh, don't drive on the roads, particularly when they're flooded. When you have flood situations, that is the number one way where we will see fatalities.

John Cangialosi with the National Hurricane Center says this storm could be remembered for “catastrophic flooding.”

 CANGIALOSI: From very heavy rain throughout the week. So that's something we're really trying to message and get out again for portions of specifically northern Florida, southeastern Georgia, and then into South Carolina.

And Georgia Emergency Management Director Chris Stallings warned that Debby could be a generational storm, dropping as much as 20 inches of rain in the Savannah area.

STALLINGS: They're calling it a 500 to thousand year storm. And so with that, we're extremely concerned about flooding.

The eye of the storm will pass near Savannah, Georgia this evening before pushing to the north.

Bracing for Debby » South Carolina is also bracing for the storm. Gov. Henry McMaster is telling residents to be prepared to lose power and to stay out of harm’s way.

MCMASTER:  This is an animal that we don't think that we have seen before. So we must be very, very prepared, and that means not only those of us that have been involved in these services, but also the everyday citizen out there needs to be alert and be prepared.

He’s urging South Caroliians to stay tuned into official channels and to take all government alerts and warnings seriously.

Iran-Israel » The Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah says it launched a drone attack against Israel on Monday. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: The Lebanon-based Hezbollah says it struck in northern Israel, wounding two Israeli troops.

The violence came amid fears of an all-out regional war following the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran.

The attack did not appear to be the more intense retaliation that’s expected from Iran and its allied militias. Iran has vowed revenge for the killing of the leader of Hamas while in Tehran.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Iran attack imminent » Meanwhile, U.S. Defense officials say several U.S. personnel were injured in a suspected rocket attack at a military base in Iraq.

It comes amid a recent uptick in strikes on American forces and as tensions spike in the Middle East.

The officials said troops at al-Asad air base were still assessing the injuries and damage. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Stocks tank » All eyes are on Wall Street today as investors hope for something of a recovery after markets tanked worldwide yesterday.

SOUND: [NYSE closing bell]

At the closing bell Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 1,000 points.

Asian markets were hit even harder. Japan’s main index plummeted more than 12 percent suffering its worst day since 1987.

Friday’s disappointing jobs report as well as the Federal Reserve’s tightened interest rate policies are both cited as possible reasons for the slump.

Scott Glenn is a senior global markets specialist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute:

GLENN: I think we have a combination of a growth scare and a Fed (Federal Reserve) policy scare. So, in other words, we went from, you know, months and months of 'When's the Fed going to ease and how much are they going to ease' this year and next to one where growth is plunging and the Fed is behind the curve.

The selloff has sparked calls for the Fed to aggressively cut interest rates in order to stave off the possibility of an economic recession.

Bangladesh PM resigns » Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country following weeks of protests against her government.

The 76-year-old held power for 15 years and most recently won reelection in January though western leaders called the election unfair.

WAKER-UZ-ZAMAN (Bangla): Now we will form an interim government and continue our work to lead the country.

Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman says the military will form an interim government.

Students across the country have been protesting the government’s job quotas and crackdowns have left hundreds dead.

Zaman said the interim government will investigate the official response to the protests.

I’m Kent Covington.

Coming up: A historic prisoner exchange. Plus, Jews for Jesus in wartime.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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