Hurricane Ian heads for Carolinas after pounding Florida

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A revived Hurricane Ian is bearing down on South Carolina’s coast and the historic city of Charleston, with forecasters predicting a storm surge and floods. Earlier, the megastorm caused catastrophic damage in Florida, leaving people trapped in flooded homes and causing at least four deaths. With South Carolina’s coast under a hurricane warning, shopkeepers sandbagged storefronts in flood-prone areas and a steady stream of vehicles left Charleston for higher ground. In Florida, meanwhile, rescue crews piloted boats through inundated streets to save thousands from flooded homes and shattered buildings. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says at least 700 rescues were conducted in his state already, mostly by air.

After Ian, the effects in southwest Florida are everywhere

Hurricane Ian was over southwest Florida for just a few hours. It’ll take months to clean up all the damage. Maybe longer. And local officials some of the destruction can’t be cleaned up at all. From trees getting ripped out of the ground to signs being ripped apart, traffic lights crashing onto roadways and some buildings simply being destroyed, the impact was everywhere and almost nothing was spared. The only difference between one place and the next was the severity of the problems.

Russia to annex more of Ukraine on Friday at the Kremlin

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is planning to annex more of Ukraine on Friday. The move represents an escalation of the seven-month war that is expected to isolate the Kremlin further, draw more international punishment and bring extra support to Ukraine. An annexation ceremony is planned in the Kremlin. The annexation would come just days after voters supposedly approved Moscow-managed “referendums” that Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced as illegal, forced and rigged. In an apparent response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting Friday of his National Security and Defense Council.

S. Korea, US and Japan hold anti-N. Korean submarine drills

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea, U.S. and Japanese warships have launched their first anti-submarine drills in five years, after North Korea renewed ballistic missile tests this week. South Korea says Friday’s one-day trilateral training off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast is meant to cope with a North Korean push to advance its ability to fire missile from submarines. North Korea has been building bigger submarines including a nuclear-powered one and testing sophisticated missiles that can be fired from them in recent years. The North’s recent five missiles launches, the first such tests in a month, also came before and after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited South Korea.

Small protests appear in Havana over islandwide blackout

HAVANA (AP) — A few hundred Cubans have taken to the streets in Havana demanding the restoration of electricity, protesting more than two days after a blackout hit the entire island following the passage of Hurricane Ian. An Associated Press journalist saw a total of about 400 people gathered in at least two spots Thursday night shouting, “We want light, we want light!” It was the first public outpouring of anger after electricity problems spread from western Cuba. Ian hit Tuesday night and knocked out all of the island’s power grid, leaving its 11 million people in the dark. Authorities have not said what percentage of the population remains without electricity. But the Electric Union says only 10% of Havana’s 2 million people had power Thursday.

At a Florida trailer park, survivors speak of Ian’s wrath

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Ian’s fierce winds howled through a Gulf coast trailer park with such force that residents felt they would be lifted off the ground, even blown away. Now many homes in North Fort Myers, Florida, are crumpled and splintered. Hurricane Ian bent their metal roofs and splintered wooden structures. James Burdette is a carpenter who moved to Florida from Virginia a few years back. He said he literally watched his house disappear. Burdette sat back on a brown leather chair Thursday surveying debris around him. Now he and his wife don’t know what they will do, and have no plans where to go next.

Taliban say suicide bombing in Shiite area of Kabul kills 19

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Kabul police chief says 19 people were killed and 27 were wounded in a suicide bombing in a Shiite area of the Afghan capital. Khalid Zadran, the spokesman, says the explosion in the Dashti Barchi neighborhood of Kabul took place on Friday morning. The area is populated mostly by members of Afghanistan’s minority Shiite community. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The Islamic State group — the chief rival of the Taliban since their takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 — has in the past targeted the Hazara community.

Brazil’s decisive debate on eve of presidential election

SAO PAULO (AP) — Tens of millions of Brazilians were glued to their TVs late Thursday for the final presidential debate before Sunday’s elections. Far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro needed a strong performance to ensure a runoff against leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the front-runner in the polls. The debate was viewed by some as potentially determining whether da Silva might be able to win an outright victory without need for a runoff. For that, he would need to get more votes than all other candidates combined.

Stacey Abrams looks to win Black men in bid for Ga. governor

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams is trying to solidify support and boost turnout by Black men in her governor’s race against incumbent Republican Brian Kemp. Abrams has long sought to turn marginal or disaffected voters into solid Democrats. That’s a key task because she needs strong support from African Americans to have a chance in narrowly divided Georgia. But Black men vote at lower rates than Black women. Those who study the Black electorate say some men want more proof that candidates can directly help their lives. Abrams is trying to make that argument, saying her agenda will work for all.

Explainer: Tua Tagovailoa, fencing response and NFL protocol

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a second frightening injury in five days when he was carted off the field Thursday, and many want to know why he was playing at all. Tagovailoa and the team claimed the first scary injury Sunday, when he struggled to walk after a big hit, was actually a concern with his back. His swift return still prompted a joint review by the NFL and NFL Players Association. He was carried off on a stretcher Thursday and hospitalized with concussion symptoms after being slammed to the turf. He fell into what seemed to be a “fencing position” after the hit, a possible indication of a traumatic brain injury.

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