Florida
Hurricane Helene Moving Over Georgia Toward Tennessee Valley—Here’s What To Know
Topline
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 storm late Thursday, knocking out power in over two million homes and businesses and causing at least six deaths in Florida and Georgia before barreling toward North Carolina and the Tennessee Valley Friday.
A boat washed ashore as storm surge from Hurricane Helene affects Gulfport, Florida Sept. 26, 2024.
Key Facts
The center of Helene, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm since making landfall, was located about 30 miles northeast of Athens, Georgia, as of 7 a.m. EDT Friday, the National Hurricane Center said, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph.
Helene is expected to bring “damaging gusty winds and life-threatening flooding” to the Southeast and southern Appalachian mountains, with total rain accumulation up to 20 inches in isolated areas.
Tornadoes are possible Friday through parts of eastern Georgia, the Carolinas and southern Virginia, and tropical storm conditions are expected to persist along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts.
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in Asheville and McDowell counties in North Carolina as rivers and reservoirs are expected to swell from heavy rainfall, and multiple schools in Kentucky and Indiana will be closed Friday as winds and heavy rain pelt the region.
A storm surge warning remains in effect for parts of Florida, including Tampa Bay, and from Indian Pass to Apalachicola in the Panhandle.
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Key Background
Hurricane Helene first made landfall at around 11:10 p.m. EDT near the city of Perry in Florida’s Big Bend area. The storm moved through Florida and Georgia so far, leaving at least six people dead, ABC News reported. At lease one person has died in Florida, one in North Carolina and four in Georgia. Millions are without power. A flash flood emergency has been issued in Atlanta, where social media video shows dramatic rescues.
What Is Storm Surge?
Storm surge is the “abnormal rise of water generated by a storm” that exceeds the normal tide, according to the National Weather Service. Surges are caused by strong onshore winds from a tropical storm or hurricane, and storm surge from tropical cyclones is the leading cause of fatalities from hurricanes, the National Hurricane Center said.
Is Helene Impacting Airlines?
The Tampa International Airport closed to the public at 2 a.m. EDT Thursday in anticipation of Hurricane Helene and “plans to resume services when it is safe to do so Friday.”
Tangent
Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and comes weeks after Francine made landfall as a Category 2 in Louisiana on Sept. 11. Forecasters this year predicted the busiest storm season (from June 1 to Nov. 30) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has ever forecasted—up to 25 named storms and 13 hurricanes—but the season hasn’t been as active as predicted so far.
Further Reading
Florida
16-year-old from Florida charged with sexually assaulting, killing stepsister on Carnival Cruise ship
MIAMI – A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in Florida in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival Cruise ship, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
The teen, identified by the government as T.H., was initially charged as a juvenile on Feb. 2, but the case was sealed until U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ordered that he would be prosecuted as an adult, the department said.
An email and voicemail seeking comment from T.H.’s lawyer about the indictment were not immediately returned.
Anna Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother.
The cause of Kepner’s Nov. 6 death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, some 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Orlando. At her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors instead of the traditional black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul.”
Teens prosecuted in federal court are extremely rare. T.H. was seen at the Miami courthouse on Feb. 6, wearing a ball cap and a hoodie pulled tightly around his face. But his status at that time was not fully known because his age barred public disclosures by his lawyer, the government or the court.
Experts believe the case is in federal court, and not a state court where teens are commonly prosecuted, because Kepner died in international waters.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Fishback is among 42 candidates running to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis.
VERO BEACH — Over 100 people, mostly young men, packed a conference room the evening of April 11 at the Ocean Breeze Inn on Ocean Drive to hear James Fishback speak.
The 31-year-old who has never held political office is one of 42 candidates running to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis, who cannot seek reelection because of term limits.
As soon as he took the podium, the Republican gubernatorial hopeful took jabs at the leading Republican candidate, Byron Donalds, who has the support of President Donald Trump.
He rattled off nicknames for Donalds, who is Black, including “By’rone Donalds” and “AIPAC Shakur” — a play on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and rapper Tupac Shakur.
Many in the mostly White crowd responded in laughter.
“If you want a data center in Vero Beach, Byron Donalds is your guy. If you want to stand up for cattle ranchers and citrus growers, I’d like to think I’m your man,” he said.
Emerson College polling shows Fishback is trailing with 5% support among Florida Republicans. He is getting national attention from young conservatives and far-right groups, including his January appearance on conservative political activist and commentator Tucker Carlson’s podcast. Carlson endorsed him.
Candidate qualifying in Florida begins June 8. The primary election is Aug. 18.
Florida’s affordability crisis
Audience members most frequently asked Fishback about the state’s affordability crisis, given Florida’s rising cost of living and some of the lowest wages in the country.
Fishback said his primary strategy would be to ban private equity firms from buying single-family homes.
If elected governor, he said he would not prioritize growth over quality of life, harkening back to the 1980s, when Florida was less developed.
“I will never worship GDP (gross domestic product),” he said. “But as a Christian, I will worship G-O-D.”
Education, abortion and guns
As for teachers, Fishback proposed an increase in pay but wanted to limit classroom discussions of race and gender identity.
Fishback said abortion laws in Florida were too lax, and he pledged to provide paid maternity leave for every woman in Florida as a way to reduce the procedure.
On firearms, he said he would lower the minimum purchasing age from 21 to 18.
“The tragedy of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, and the killing of 17 souls by a sick, depraved man should have never been used as a pretext to disarm millions of 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds.”
The crowd erupted in its loudest applause of the evening.
Fishback’s thoughts on Israel
When an audience member asked about his thoughts on Israel, some members of the audience chuckled.
He said he does not “hate Israel or any country in the world.”
“Right now, our cup is not full, and we should not be in the business of filling up the cup for anyone else,” he said.
Who is James Fishback?
Fishback was born in Davie, a town in western Broward County.
His mother immigrated from Colombia, and his father owned a landscaping business and later became a bus driver. Fishback attended Georgetown University to study international economics, but dropped out sophomore year.
Before entering politics, Fishback worked at the hedge fund Greenlight Capital from 2021 to 2023. He said he had been the “head of macro,” but the firm said the highest role he obtained was a research analyst.
After Greenlight disputed Fishback’s title and accused him of sharing confidential portfolio information, the hedge fund sought to fire Fishback for low productivity, but he abruptly resigned, court records show.
He founded an investment management firm called Azoria Partners in 2023, which ran into legal trouble last year when a judge ordered him to turn over company stock and a list of luxury purchases.
Fishback also claimed to be an advisor for the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but its officials denied he had any role, Katie Miller, a spokesperson for DOGE head Elon Musk told ABC News.
Most recently, a viral video shows Fishback telling a Black man he “should be lynched” during an argument at the University of North Florida.
Jack Lemnus is a TCPalm enterprise reporter. Contact him at jack.lemnus@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1345, or follow him on X @JackLemnus.
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