Florida
‘What he needs to do’: President Biden sees Helene devastation in Florida first-hand
President Joe Biden tours Helene-damaged areas of Florida
President Joe Biden was in Florida Thursday to observe the damage left behind by Hurricane Helene.
KEATON BEACH — President Joe Biden stopped in north Florida for a whirlwind visit to meet with local leaders and residents reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene last week.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and John Louk, director of Taylor County Emergency Management, showed the president a FEMA map in a briefing on the side of the road in front of toppled trees and remnants of destroyed homes.
They detailed Helene’s catastrophic wind speed in Florida and explained how the storm cut a path of destruction into the Nature Coast, up to North Florida and whipped through South Georgia.
Preliminary damage estimates are a little over $50 million on the Taylor County coastline alone, said Andrew Morgan, the public information officer for the county’s emergency management agency.
About 250 to 300 homes on the county’s coast were lost or are uninhabitable, he said.
Florida continues to recover in the aftermath of the Category 4 storm, which left at least 19 dead, including at least 12 in Pinellas County — hundreds of miles away from where the storm made landfall. In the Southeast, the death toll surpassed 200 as the need for power and water in North Carolina grew more urgent for hundreds of thousands of residents.
On Thursday morning, the president arrived at Tallahassee International Airport in Air Force One and then departed on Marine One to tour ground zero of Helene’s landfall.
Bill Collins, a resident of Keaton Beach, was on his neighbor’s porch when the motorcade arrived and said he was glad to see the president make a stop in Taylor County.
“That’s what he needs to do. He’s supposed to go through and at least see with his own eyes,” Collins said.
He hopes Biden frees up more federal aid for states hit by Helene, especially North Carolina and Tennessee.
“We aren’t the only ones,” he told the USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida. “We’re all in this together.”
In a post on X, Sen. Scott said he would be filing an appropriations bill to fund FEMA, the USDA and the SBA for Helene recovery efforts.
“During my meeting with President Biden, I stressed that the federal government’s response to hurricanes over the last two years has left too many Floridians, especially our farmers, hurting and with unmet needs – and this must be fixed NOW,” Scott wrote.
He also criticized the federal government’s response to hurricanes Ian, Idalia and Debby.
“I’ll be fighting like hell to deliver disaster aid to our state, and ensure seamless debris removal guidance for our local communities, and I urged the federal officials there today to put Floridians and all Americans first by doing the same,” he said.
In the briefing with the president, Louk said that while some of the homes are still standing, they are advising residents to inspect their homes for structural damage.
Biden, who donned a baseball cap and aviator sunglasses, spent time speaking with Taylor County’s first responders, including Sheriff Wayne Padgett.
“He was very nice, he shook all of our hands,” Morgan said.
Biden even sang “Happy Birthday” to one of the first responders.
“He was very supportive of what we have going on,” Morgan added.
The entire visit to Taylor County took no longer than two hours.
Biden then returned to the Perry airport and boarded Marine One to head to Valdosta, Georgia.
Gov. Ron DeSantis did not accompany the president on this visit. He also skipped out when Biden came to Florida after last year’s Hurricane Idalia, though he did meet with him after Hurricane Ian in 2022.
“No, it’s just we had this planned,” DeSantis said, when asked whether there was any reason he didn’t accompany Biden Thursday. DeSantis spoke from Ana Maria Island in Manatee County, more than 200 miles away from where Biden visited.
He held a press conference to announce three executive orders related to recovering from Helene: waiving local governments’ rental date requirements; allowing supervisors of elections affected by Helene to set up alternative polling places; and streamlining ports and supply chain operations to mitigate the effects of the port strike and get needed supplies into the state to aid recovery efforts.
Ahead of Thursday’s tour of devastation in Florida and Georgia, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefed reporters in the air on the way to Tallahassee airport. She trumpeted how the Biden administration will cover 100 percent of the costs associated “with things like debris removal, first responders, search and rescue, shelters, and mass feeding operations.”
“Still, we know there is more work to be done,” she said. “And we will be here, doing that work, for as long as it takes.”
Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.
TAMPA, Fla – New SNAP restrictions will start Monday in Florida.
What we know:
These changes will ban the purchase of many sugary sodas, energy drinks, candy and ultra-processed, shelf-stable prepared desserts.
Hunger Free America, an advocacy group, is against these restrictions.
Joel Berg, the CEO, said some regulation is a good thing, but he wants to see it support access to healthy foods as a choice.
“We do support mandates to mandate that healthier food is available in stores that do accept SNAP,” Berg said. “So, it makes a lot more sense to make it easier to get healthier food.”
Berg said these restrictions are unnecessary in achieving a healthier America.
“We should make America healthier again by making healthy food more affordable, convenient and physically available,” Berg said. “We shouldn’t micromanage the eating patterns of adults to try to achieve that goal.”
The other side:
This is part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “Under the MAHA initiative, we are taking bold, historic steps to reverse the chronic disease epidemic that has taken root in this country for far too long.”
What they’re saying:
Berg said that these changes, on top of cuts to the program nationwide, will increase hunger.
“It’s not that low-income Americans don’t want healthier food; it’s that they can’t afford healthier food,” Berg said.
This coincides with the announcement that there will be cuts to WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which supplies food to mothers and young children.
“President Trump’s budget just announced that he’s proposing taking away fruits and vegetables from the WIC program for pregnant women and children under five,” Berg said. “So, they’re taking away healthier food.”
The WIC cuts would take away $1.4 billion in fruit and vegetable benefits from 5.4 million people.
Big picture view:
The SNAP changes come as part of the MAHA movement and include more than 20 other states that will implement changes over the next two years.
The Source: Information in this story comes from WIC, SNAP and interviews done by Fox 13’s Danielle Zulkosky.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The engines are revving for one final day of high-stakes bidding and family fun at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach auction reaches its grand finale today with an action-packed “Super Saturday” lineup, promising to close out the weekend with a full slate of collector car sales, live entertainment, and fan attractions.
“Super Saturday,” presented by Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, officially kicks off at 8 a.m. when gates, food courts, and the exhibitor marketplace open to the public.
What to expect
- 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: The Fantasy Bid presented by Dodge begins early, running in tandem with the automobilia auction in the arena.
- 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Thrill-seekers can catch Dodge thrill rides on the Barrett-Jackson Performance Track.
- 10:00 a.m.: New amenities open to the public, including the Stella Artois, Staging Lanes, and Food Court patios, which offer shaded seating and auction views.
- 10:45 a.m.: The national anthem will be performed in the auction arena, signaling the start of the main collector car auction at 11 a.m.
- Afternoon Entertainment: DJ sets run from noon to 5 p.m. across the various patios, and a detailing clinic by Adam’s Polishes is scheduled for 2 p.m. near the South Showcase.
For those unable to attend, the whole event will be livestreamed throughout the day on the Barrett-Jackson website and the HISTORY channel from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Today’s finale comes on the heels of a high-energy Friday that saw significant sales and notable celebrity interest.
Star power was evident throughout the day, particularly with vehicles tied to the Busch family. A 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible owned by Samantha Busch and a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Custom Coupe were among the day’s heavy hitters, each fetching $159,500. Kyle Busch’s 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Custom Coupe also drew a strong bid, selling for $143,000.
Other Friday highlights included:
- 1968 Ford Mustang Eleanor Replica: $137,500
- 2004 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Mamba Edition: $132,000
- 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Custom SUV: $126,500
- 1957 Ford Thunderbird Custom Convertible: $121,000
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With a festival-style atmosphere and high-profile sales driving momentum, organizers expect a busy crowd for the final push at the auction block today.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A quiet Monday turned into a frantic race against time when a deputy stepped in to save a choking 1-year-old’s life.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a call about a 1-year-old baby choking. Upon arrival, the responding deputy performed life-saving procedures to help the child breathe again.
See also: Two arrested after 6-year-old arrives at Florida school with bruises, deputies say
Body camera video shows a deputy holding the baby, flipping it over on its stomach, and beginning to pat the baby’s back.
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When the baby begins to cry, the deputy is heard saying, “he’s good.”
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