Florida
Hurricane Idalia downgraded to tropical storm after leaving trail of destruction across Florida
Hurricane Idalia crashed into Florida as a fearsome Category 3 storm Wednesday morning, ripping roofs off homes and leaving entire neighborhoods submerged before tearing into Georgia and sending residents scrambling for cover.
The historic storm’s assault began in Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region at 7:45 a.m., toppling power lines, unmooring boats and propelling debris as water levels vaulted 9 feet in just two hours.
“All hell broke loose,” said Belond Thomas of hard-hit Perry, Florida.
Thomas and his family relocated to an inland motel to ride out the storm — but didn’t venture quite far enough.
The building’s roof eventually tore off, showering the huddled clan with debris.
“It was frightening,” he said. “Things were just going so fast. Everything was spinning.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, at least 500,000 residents remained without power across Florida and Georgia while line crews raced across both states to repair the damage.
Officials said at least two people died in vehicle accidents during the storm’s north Florida rampage, with winds of up to 125 mph creating chaos on roadways.
A 59-year-old Gainesville man was killed after careening into a ditch and crashing into a tree line, highway patrol officials reported.
In Pasco County, a 40-year-old man drove his pickup truck “too fast for conditions” and lost control due to “inclement weather,” authorities said.
“Don’t put your life at risk by doing anything dumb at this point,” Gov. Ron DeSantis cautioned at a news conference Wednesday morning. “This thing’s powerful. If you’re inside, just hunker down until it gets past you.”
DeSantis said he had activated 5,500 National Guard troops and 30,000 utility workers ahead of Idalia’s potentially “catastrophic” landfall.
‘Trying to swallow us up’
Cedar Key Island resident Michael Bobbitt told the BBC Wednesday morning that Idalia — the largest hurricane to hit the area in more than a century — had engulfed much of his town’s commercial center.
“Our entire downtown is underwater,” he said. “Part of a whole hotel just broke apart and went into the Gulf. It’s like the Gulf is trying to swallow us up.”
The system also upended travel plans for thousands of fliers as airports closed in advance of the hurricane’s approach, leading to mass cancellations in Florida and Georgia.
Idalia weakened before whipping into Florida’s capital of Tallahassee but still managed to knock out power to thousands.
DeSantis said his wife, first lady Casey Desantis, called him as the storm raged to relay that a large oak tree split in half and crashed on the governor’s mansion during the deluge.
“Mason, Madison, Mamie and I were home at the time, but thankfully no one was injured,” she wrote on X along with a picture of the severed tree.
President Biden — who partially blamed the storm on worsening climate conditions — said he had spoken to DeSantis and pledged to provide “him with everything that he possibly needs.”
The governor said that there were reports of looting in Steinhatchie in Taylor County, warning would-be thieves that local gun owners would be quick to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said that search and rescue squads were responding to trapped residents in hard hit areas — but did not expect mass casualties.
“They are 100% OK,” he said. “We’re going to get to those folks just as fast as we can get our emergency access teams to them.”
Downgraded to tropical storm
After hitting Tallahassee, Idalia exited the Sunshine State and rolled into Georgia as a weakened Category 1 hurricane, blasting the southern portion of the state with high winds and rain.
The system eventually weakened into a 70 mph tropical storm by early Wednesday evening, according to an advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Officials warned that Idalia could still induce storm surges in Georgia and the Carolinas through Thursday.
With portions of the Sunshine State still struggling with the lethal impact of Hurricane Ian, Florida officials had worried that Idalia could plunge other areas into prolonged chaos.
But DeSantis said late Wednesday that the system’s impact could have been much worse.
‘The storm moved a little bit faster than some of the other ones moved,” he said. “Some of these things will just dump water when they go so slow. This one was a little bit faster. When you’re talking about the flooding it’s a little bit better when they’re slow.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned that unusually high ocean temperatures could induce a far more severe 2023 hurricane season than had originally been forecast.
Additional reporting by Isabel Keane
With Post Wires
Florida
Florida insurance carriers used altered hurricane damage reports, whistleblowers say
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Florida
Donald Trump’s chances of losing Florida, according to polls
Former President Donald Trump is the favorite to win Florida in November’s election, but the race in the Sunshine State could still be close, according to polling.
A recent survey of 600 registered voters by the Independent Center and The Bullfinch Group, conducted September 20 and 23, showed Trump had a 1-point lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Florida (48 percent to 47). The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The poll shows a tighter race than other Florida surveys. It was published prior to the Democratic National Committee announcing they consider Florida and its 30 Electoral College votes a “priority state that we know Democrats can win” in November. They will be investing more than $400,000 to boost Harris’ chances.
Florida was once the most vital swing state in the country, as seen when the entire 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore came down to just a few hundred votes in the state. Florida is considered to have shifted more Republican in recent years following Trump’s victories in the 2016 and 2020 elections. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also won a resounding reelection victory in 2022, beating Democrat Charlie Crist by 19 points.
Florida will be voting in November on whether to overturn the state’s six-week abortion ban. Democrats believe having the hot topic issue of abortion access on the ballot will help them in both presidential and statewide races.
Thomas Gift, an associate professor of political science and director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, previously said that while Harris “looks likely” to lose Florida, Trump may still need to work harder to appeal to voters in the state than he would like.
“The mere fact that Trump may have to campaign vigorously in Florida could divert resources from true swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan,” Gift told Newsweek.
“Even if Harris loses Florida, which certainly looks likely, this could cost Trump elsewhere if he’s forced to devote scarce time, resources, and energy into shoring up his lead in the Sunshine State.”
Newsweek has contacted the campaign teams for Trump and Harris for comment via email.
Other surveys beyond the Independent Center and The Bullfinch Group poll give Trump a more comfortable lead in Florida.
The former president’s current average lead over Harris in Florida is 4.1 points, according to the live tracker from 538. This is a greater margin of victory than the 3.3 points which Trump beat President Joe Biden by in 2020.
An Emerson College /The Hill poll of 815 likely voters, conducted between September 3-5, showed Trump beating Harris in Florida by 5 points (50 percent to 45). The results have a margin or error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Trump also leads Harris in Florida by 5 points (50 percent to 45) in a Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll of 1,602 likely voters conducted September 16-19.
The most recent Morning Consult survey of 2,948 likely voters, conducted September 9-18, gave Trump a 3-point lead over Harris in Florida (50 percent to 47).
Forecaster Race to the White House is giving Trump a 83 percent chance of victory in Florida in November’s election.
Florida
Florida doctor accused of fatally removing wrong organ from patient has license suspended
A Florida doctor who is accused of removing an Alabama man’s liver instead of the spleen, resulting in “immediate and catastrophic death,” had his medical license suspended.
In an emergency order filed Sept. 24, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo accused Thomas J. Shakvovksy of “repeated egregious surgical errors” and “egregious conduct of fabricating medical records” in the Aug. 21 death of 70-year-old William Bryan.
Shakvovksy was a practicing Osteopathic Physician at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital before the tragedy.
Bryan and his wife Beverly were visiting the Florida panhandle from their home in Muscle Shoals, Ala. when he began experiencing lower left abdominal pain.
The couple went to the hospital in Miramar Beach — which is between Pensacola and Panama City — where doctors were concerned about an abnormality of the spleen and they admitted him for further testing as Bryan declined “surgical intervention.”
Imaging revealed a suspected enlarged spleen and blood in the peritoneum with no active hemorrhage, according to the document.
Shaknovsky allegedly recommended that Bryan undergo a laparoscopic splenectomy on three consecutive days, with the patient refusing and wishing to go back to Alabama, but the doctor persisted, according to the order of emergency suspension viewed by The Post.
Bryan eventually relented to the doctor’s request who cited a decline in hemoglobin, but the order noted the decrease was only marginal over the three-day hospital stay.
Shaknovsky scheduled the “complicated procedure” for 4 p.m. on Aug. 21, with the operating room staff noting the surgery was being done by a “skeletal staff,” and the doctor couldn’t operate.
“Staff had concerns that Dr. Shaknovsky did not have the skill level to safely perform this procedure,” the surgeon general’s order noted.
The operation began but Shaknovsky quickly elected to convert to an open procedure citing poor visibility due to Bryan’s “distended colon and blood in the abdomen.”
It was revealed that Shaknovsky did not document the colon as part of his decision to change surgeries.
The doctor claims he started to dissect ligaments attached to the spleen, but was revealed to be the liver.
He then found and identified a vessel he intended to cut, claiming he could feel it pulsing under his finger, saying, “that’s scary.”
Shaknovsky used a surgical stapling device to fire a staple into the vessel resulting in a severe hemorrhage where Bryan went into cardiac arrest.
Staff began suctioning out blood and performing an emergency blood transfusion as a “code” was called and operating staff began CPR.
While staff worked to revive Bryan, Shaknovsky continued dissecting inside the abdomen, not asking for assistance where he removed a 4.6-pound liver.
“The staff looked at the readily identifiable liver on the table and were shocked when Dr. Shaknovsky told them it was the spleen. One staff member ‘felt sick to their stomach,’” a witness in the operating room said.
Bryan was pronounced dead as Shaknovsky said he died of a splenic artery aneurysm.
The doctor allegedly requested staff to label the liver as a “spleen” and send it to pathology.
The person who labeled the organ knew it wasn’t a spleen but followed instructions anyway, the order reported.
Shaknovsky left the operating room, only to return three times, with each visit the doctor stating Bryan died because of a splenic artery aneurysm
“The staff in the room felt that Dr. Shaknovsky was attempting to convince them that this is what occurred, even though they witnessed something different.”
Ladapo found Bryan’s death was not because of one mistake Shaknovsky made.
“Dr. Shaknovsky’s misidentification of the liver was not a momentary mistake,” the order found. “Despite converting to an open procedure to increase visibility, he dissected the liver, cutting the individual attachments to the abdomen.
“Each attachment that was severed was another opportunity for Dr. Shaknovsky to recognize that he was handling the completely wrong organ due to the anatomical differences between spleens and livers,”
“Despite having ample opportunity to realize his mistake and keep looking for the spleen, Dr. Shaknovsky failed to do so.”
Ladapo argued that any restriction of protecting the public must also include “complete restriction from performing general surgery.”
“Dr. Shaknovsky’s blatant disregard for the truth, falsification of an operative report, and attempt to convince OR staff to acquiesce to his version of events is a breach of the public trust. Dr. Shaknovsky’s dishonesty cannot be contained to only operative reports; it colors every aspect of the practice of osteopathic medicine.
The public must be able to trust that Dr. Shaknovsky’s description of patient care, whether that is in an emergency room, clinic, or primary care practice, is true. That trust is irrevocably broken. Therefore, there is no restriction that can adequately protect the public from an osteopathic physician who is willing to lie and pressure others to lie on their behalf,” the order stated.
The order also included a surgery from May 2023 where Shaknovsky removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of the left adrenal gland resulting in “long-term, permanent harm.”
Bryan’s death was ruled a homicide due to “liver removed during splenectomy,” Zarzaur Law P.A., the family’s lawyers said on Facebook.
“This news is devastating for the healthcare industry, as the operating room is meant to be a place of the highest level of patient care,” the law firm wrote.
Bryan’s family is expected to file a malpractice lawsuit at the appropriate time.
-
News1 week ago
Video: Who Are the Black Swing Voters?
-
Politics1 week ago
Dem lawmakers push bill to restore funding to UN agency with alleged ties to Hamas: 'So necessary'
-
News1 week ago
Four killed, dozens injured in Alabama shooting
-
News1 week ago
Money for cutting-edge climate technology could dry up in a second Trump term
-
News1 week ago
Election 2024 Polls: Florida
-
World1 week ago
Critics slam landmark EU competitiveness report as 'one-sided'
-
Politics1 week ago
Secret Service protection bill passes House unanimously after Trump assassination attempts
-
News1 week ago
Cards Against Humanity says in new lawsuit that SpaceX has destroyed some of its South Texas property