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Hurricane Milton regains Category 5 intensity as Florida residents prepare for life-threatening impacts

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Hurricane Milton regains Category 5 intensity as Florida residents prepare for life-threatening impacts


This story is now archived. We are updating the latest on Hurricane Milton at this link

TAMPA – Forecasters say Hurricane Milton has the potential to become one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida, which includes the Tampa area, as millions of residents are in the final hours of preparation.

“It’s worth emphasizing that this is a very serious situation,” the National Hurricane Center warned on Tuesday. “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.”

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TRACKING HURRICANE MILTON: PATH, SPAGHETTI MODELS, FORECAST, FLORIDA HURRICANE IMPACTS, LIVE RADAR AND MORE

On Monday, Hurricane Milton underwent rapid intensification and strengthened from a Category 1 hurricane to a near-record-breaking Category 5 hurricane with winds of 180 mph and a minimum central pressure of 897 millibars. Milton has since weakened to a Category 4 hurricane as the storm skirts the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and is expected to remain an “extremely dangerous hurricane” through landfall along Florida’s west coast.

The NHC said the central pressure within Hurricane Milton fell to the second-lowest pressure on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the lowest pressure in the Atlantic Basin since 2005.

In terms of maximum sustained winds, Milton has also become the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Basin since Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and tied for the fourth-strongest storm since recordkeeping began. Hurricane Allen holds the top spot with maximum sustained winds that reached 190 mph in 1980.

WEST-CENTRAL FLORIDA FACES GREATEST HURRICANE THREAT IN MORE THAN 100 YEARS

Florida residents flee, recovery resources staged

Hurricane Milton is likely to bring life-threatening impacts to Florida, including a deadly storm surge, destructive hurricane-force winds and flooding rain that has millions of residents finalizing their emergency plans, while countless others are packing up and fleeing the coast and other low-lying areas as state and local officials plead with people to listen to officials and leave if evacuations are ordered.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency over the weekend for 51 of the state’s 67 counties, and on Monday, President Joe Biden approved the state’s pre-landfall emergency declaration request, which now authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures.

KNOW YOUR ZONE: FLORIDA EVACUATION MAP SHOWS WHO WILL HAVE TO LEAVE BEFORE A HURRICANE STRIKES

Local officials began to issue voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders for residents up and down Florida’s Gulf Coast, and traffic has been building on roads and highways since then.

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“Of course, we suspended the tolls along evacuation routes and the Florida Department of Transportation has opened roadway shoulders as necessary to facilitate evacuations and ease congestion on both I-4 and I-75,” DeSantis said.

On Tuesday, the first evacuations were ordered on Florida’s east coast in St. John’s County, including St. Augustine Beach. Volusia County also issued evacuation orders for Evacuation Zone A, which includes parts of Daytona Beach, New Smyrna and Ormond Beach.  

Both counties will experience a storm surge from the backside of Milton as it barrels across the state. 

Shelters have started opening for the thousands of Florida residents who have been told to evacuate for safety, and the state has partnered with Uber to provide residents with free rides to and from shelters for those trying to escape Milton’s eventual wrath.

To the north, Atlanta Motor Speedway said it was opening its campgrounds free of charge to evacuated Florida residents.

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The National Weather Service office in Tampa is warning of catastrophic damage and some homes may be uninhabitable “for weeks or months.”

“Structural damage to sturdy buildings, some with complete roof and wall failures,” the NWS warned. “Complete destruction of mobile homes. Damage greatly accentuated by large airborne projectiles.”

Schools and universities across the region have been closed, and resources have been staged to assist in recovery efforts once the storm passes and it’s safe to do so.

Travel is also expected to be significantly impacted by Hurricane Milton, with airports across the region announcing they will cease operations as Milton approaches.

“We have been dispatching fuel over the past 24 hours as gas stations have run out,” DeSantis said on Tuesday. “So, we currently have 268,000 gallons of diesel, 110,000 gallons of gasoline. Those numbers are less than what they were 24 hours ago because we’ve put a lot in.”

DeSantis said an additional 1.2 million gallons of diesel and gas was headed to Florida, and stressed there was no fuel shortage.

Tampa International Airport (TPA) suspended operations on Tuesday morning, while Orlando International Airport (MCO), Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) in Sanford,  Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers, and Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB) in Melbourne will close to commercial flights starting on Wednesday.

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All theme parks in Central Florida, including Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando, will close on Wednesday ahead of Milton’s forecast landfall.

What alerts are in effect because of Hurricane Milton?

The first tropical alerts were issued for the U.S. on Monday when Hurricane, Tropical Storm and Storm Surge Watches were issued for Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Those alerts have since expanded and upgraded to warnings as the dangerous situation continues to unfold and Milton gets closer to the Sunshine State.

Hurricane Warnings stretch across the Florida Peninsula from Cedar Key, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers on the state’s west coast to Orlando in Central Florida and Daytona Beach and Melbourne on the state’s east coast.

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Tropical Storm Warnings have also been expanded to cover all of South Florida, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and the Florida Keys.

Farther north, Tropical Storm Warnings were also issued for Jacksonville, Perry, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, and Port St. Joe.

MILTON’S LIKELY RECORD-BREAKING STORM SURGE IN TAMPA BAY COULD SURPASS ANYTHING SEEN IN OVER A CENTURY

Storm Surge Warnings were issued for Florida’s west coast on Monday, and there is the potential for a record storm surge in places like Tampa Bay. The Storm Surge Warnings were expanded to Florida’s east coast on Tuesday, and those stretch from north of the Treasure Coast into Southeast Georgia and include the St. Johns River in Northeast Florida.

“If you are in the Storm Surge Warning area, this is an extremely life-threatening situation, and you should evacuate today if ordered by local officials,” the NHC warned. “There will likely not be enough time to wait and leave on Wednesday.”

HOURS LEFT UNTIL MILTON’S LANDFALL AS FLORIDIANS RACE TO EVACUATE AHEAD OF STORM

A storm surge of up to 15 feet is possible for Tampa Bay, as well as from the Anclote River to Englewood, Florida.

A storm surge of 6-10 feet is possible from Englewood to Bonita Beach, as well as for Charlotte Harbor. 

The current storm surge forecast for Tampa Bay is up to 15 feet if the peak surge coincides with high tide. This is notably higher than during Helene, when Tampa Bay saw 7-8 feet of storm surge.

What’s the latest with Hurricane Milton?

Current info on Hurricane Milton.
(FOX Weather)

 

Hurricane Milton is located about 500 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, and has maximum sustained winds of 165 mph, making it a strong Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

The NHC says Hurricane Milton’s wind field is expected to grow as the storm approaches the Sunshine State.

“The official forecast shows the hurricane and tropical-storm-force winds roughly doubling in size by the time it makes landfall,” the NHC said. “Therefore, damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge, and heavy rainfall will extend well outside the forecast cone.”

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What is the forecast for Hurricane Milton?

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Milton is moving off to the east-northeast, and a turn to the northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected on Tuesday and continue through Thursday.

On that forecast track, the NHC says the center of Hurricane Milton will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico and approach the west-central coast of Florida through Wednesday.

The center is likely to make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida on Wednesday night, and then move east-northeastward across central Florida through Thursday.

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Miami, FL

Miami Heat slip behind Boston Celtics in Giannis Antetokounmpo race

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Miami Heat slip behind Boston Celtics in Giannis Antetokounmpo race


The Miami Heat woke up Monday no longer in control of the chase they had led for weeks. With the 2026 NBA Draft set for Tuesday and the Milwaukee Bucks closing in on a resolution to the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga, Miami suddenly finds itself in a two-team race it is no longer favored to win.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that Antetokounmpo is expected to be moved before the draft, with the Heat and Boston Celtics emerging as the two finalists. The Bucks have narrowed their talks to those clubs, sources told Charania, and are weighing two dramatically different packages for the former two-time MVP.

For a fan base that spent the better part of a month believing Miami was the team to beat, the shift landed hard. The Heat are still in it. They are simply no longer the favorite.

A two-team race with a Tuesday deadline

Milwaukee set the timeline itself. Bucks ownership signaled in May that it wanted Antetokounmpo’s future settled by the start of the draft, and Charania reported Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up” that a trade is expected to land in line with that cutoff.

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Charania framed the two bids as opposites. One is built around an established star, the other around youth and draft capital, and he described the negotiations bluntly.

“These conversations have been a blood bath,” Charania said.

He also stressed that whatever happens, it will not balloon into a multi-team construction the way other blockbusters have. Whether the deal closes Monday or Tuesday, Charania said, it is expected to be a one-to-one trade between Milwaukee and one of the two finalists, with no third team folded in. That detail matters for Miami, because it removes one of the lifelines the Heat had been counting on.

Boston changed the math with Jaylen Brown

For most of the buildup, Miami held the perceived edge because the Celtics were reluctant to part with Jaylen Brown. That changed over the weekend. The Stein Line’s Marc Stein reported Monday that Boston emerged “with a real shot” to win the race built around a Brown-centric offer, with Milwaukee willing to consider a swap even without a third team to absorb his contract.

That is the development that flipped the race. Brown is a five-time All-Star and a former NBA Finals MVP coming off the best statistical season of his career, having averaged a career-high 28.7 points per game as Boston’s centerpiece. He is also a bona fide star Milwaukee can plug in immediately, which speaks directly to ownership’s stated preference to get a recognizable face back rather than a stack of prospects.

The money works, too. A Brown-for-Antetokounmpo framework lines up cleanly under the salary cap, and from Milwaukee’s vantage point, flipping one star for another carries better optics than entering a full teardown empty-handed.

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Prediction markets moved with the news. Per Kalshi data, Miami’s implied odds slid from the low 60s into the mid-30s on Monday while Boston vaulted toward roughly 70 percent. Those figures shift by the hour and should be read as a temperature check rather than a forecast, but the direction of the swing is the story.

What Miami is putting on the table

Tyler Herro Miami Heat

The Heat’s pitch leans on volume and flexibility rather than star power. Reported frameworks have centered on Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic, with Kasparas Jakucionis and multiple future first-round picks also in the mix, and Miami holds the No. 13 overall pick in Tuesday’s draft.

It is a thoughtful offer for a rebuilding team. It is also, by definition, not a star, and that is the gap Boston is now exploiting.

There is a limit to how far Miami is willing to go. Bam Adebayo is the only player truly untouchable in the Heat’s discussions, and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported that the front office does not want to strip the roster and its draft capital down to the studs to get a deal done. That restraint is understandable given the franchise’s history of swinging big and missing, most painfully on Damian Lillard three years ago, but it also means Miami may be unwilling to match a price Boston now appears ready to meet.

The case for the Heat to lose this race

There is a real argument, voiced by some of the league’s most prominent analysts, that Miami should be careful what it wishes for. Zach Lowe and Bill Simmons both cautioned against the Heat gutting their young core for an aging star, with Lowe warning that the long-term cost could hollow out the roster.

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“The concerns I think are very real for Miami,” Lowe said.

The basketball context behind that caution is hard to ignore. Antetokounmpo is 31 and coming off the most injury-plagued season of his career, appearing in just 36 games amid groin, calf and knee issues while the Bucks finished 32-50 and missed the playoffs, snapping a run of nine straight postseason appearances.

He still produced when available, averaging 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game, but his looming free agency in 2027 is depressing his trade value across the league. For a Heat team that went 43-39 and has been hunting a co-star for Adebayo since dealing Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors, the math of trading a future for a 31-year-old’s prime window is genuinely fraught.

What happens next

The next 24 hours should decide it. Milwaukee has telegraphed the draft as its internal deadline, and the expectation is a resolution before Tuesday night, though multiple insiders have noted the saga could still spill into free agency if the Bucks decide their leverage is better served by waiting.

For Miami, the stakes are stark. Landing Antetokounmpo would end years of frustrated superstar pursuits and reset the franchise’s ceiling overnight. Losing him to Boston, again on the doorstep of a deal, would sting in a way Heat fans know all too well. Either outcome arrives soon, and for the first time in this chase, the Heat are watching it unfold without holding the best hand.



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Dallas, TX

1 Dallas Cowboys Training Camp Battle That Could Make Or Break 2026 Season

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1 Dallas Cowboys Training Camp Battle That Could Make Or Break 2026 Season


If the Dallas Cowboys want to get over the hump and back into the playoffs in 2026, they’ve got to see a massive improvement in the defense.

Owner Jerry Jones was brutally honest with just how much the Cowboys were held back by their defense in 2025, and the numbers very clearly spell that out.

How does a Cowboys team that ranked top 10 in passing, rushing and points on offense still miss the playoffs?

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Well, Dallas also ranked 30th in total yards allowed, 32nd in passing yards, 23rd against the run and 32nd in points against, that’s how. That putrid showing rightly cost Matt Eberflus his job, which set the stage for Dallas to hire Christian Parker.

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It also set the stage for a total overhaul of the defense, with Dallas making many additions to that side of the ball, including at corner, where the Cowboys were bad on the boundary and in slot last season.

Fow now, we’re more focused on the boundary competition, as the Cowboys appear set to roll with Caleb Downs in the slot.

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Cowboys’ CB competition is crucial for 2026

The Cowboys won’t have much hope for a playoff appearance if the cornerback play doesn’t improve. Of the 10 teams that landed in the bottom 10 in passing yards allowed last season, only two of them made the postseason.

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Of course, the pass-rush played a part in that, and while Dallas has made multiple additions to that group this offseason, there really aren’t any guarantees with Rashan Gary, Malachi Lawrence or Donovan Ezeiruaku.

If that trio fails to improve a pass-rush that was tied for the seventh-fewest sacks in the NFL in 2025, the cornerbacks become even more crucial.

DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel did not play well in 2025, and while the former appears safe for now when it comes to a starting job on the outside, his leash could be short if he struggles again.

Revel, on the other hand, isn’t locked into a starting job on the boundary and is competing with Durant and Caelen Carson. It’s also worth keeping an eye on who finishes in second in that battle because that player could replace Bland if he struggles or gets hurt again.

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There is hope Revel can bounce back now that he’s another year removed from the torn ACL he suffered in his final year in college and can enjoy a full offseason, but we’ll have to see it first before we can believe it.

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“It’s very beneficial,” Revel said of having a normal offseason. “Just because I can clean up a lot of things, a lot of errors I didn’t see last year, or I did see last year, that I could clean up this year.”

“My knee is 100%, so now it’s time to focus on situational ball and I’ve got to see what I need to fix or get better at,” Revel added.

When training camp kicks off next month, we’re going to be locked into watching the battle at cornerback because it could very well make or break Dallas’ entire 2026 campaign.

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Atlanta, GA

Free Wi-Fi hits Atlanta: Where you can connect

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Free Wi-Fi hits Atlanta: Where you can connect


The city of Atlanta partnered with Georgia Power and Comcast to test high-speed digital infrastructure for the new “Atlanta Free” public Wi-Fi pilot network at Centennial Olympic Park and City Hall on June 22, 2026. (FOX 5 Atlanta)

A new tech initiative is bringing free public Wi-Fi to several high-traffic areas across Atlanta, including Centennial Olympic Park. 

The city launched the one-year pilot program to boost digital equity and connect residents. 

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Atlanta public Wi-Fi

What we know:

Atlanta officials partnered with Georgia Power and Comcast on a $263,000 agreement to fund the new wireless network. The connection is already active under the name “Atlanta Free” at Centennial Olympic Park, City Hall, and the Atlanta University Center. 

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The city of Atlanta partnered with Georgia Power and Comcast to test high-speed digital infrastructure for the new “Atlanta Free” public Wi-Fi pilot network at Centennial Olympic Park and City Hall on June 22, 2026. (FOX 5 Atlanta)

What they’re saying:

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Mayor Andre Dickens spoke at the park to highlight the project alongside corporate representatives and city leaders. 

Dickens emphasized that the technology is designed for long-term community equity rather than just a temporary perk for World Cup visitors. “Free public Wi-Fi is active here at Centennial Olympic Park, at City Hall, and at the Atlanta University Center,” Dickens said. “This is just the first phase of a city-wide effort. The goal is to create a network that will eventually help connect folks all the way from the airport to MARTA to the belt line.” To log on, users simply select the network on their device and accept the terms and conditions. 

The city of Atlanta partnered with Georgia Power and Comcast to test high-speed digital infrastructure for the new “Atlanta Free” public Wi-Fi pilot network at Centennial Olympic Park and City Hall on June 22, 2026. (FOX 5 Atlanta)

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Expanding city tech

What we don’t know:

Officials have not yet confirmed the exact timeline for expanding the network to future locations beyond the initial testing sites. The city has shared a goal to eventually bring the setup to the BeltLine and local fire stations, but specific next phases depend on the results of the one-year pilot. 

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The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens

DowntownTechnologySouthern CompanyNewsAndre Dickens



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