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Tornado Alley shifts to the Southeast, storm shelters become more popular

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Tornado Alley shifts to the Southeast, storm shelters become more popular


More tornadoes in the Southeast put more population centers in the bullseye of what some researchers are calling a new Tornado Alley.

A study posted on the American Meteorological Society’s website found that tornadic activity in the Great Plains decreased by 25% in the last 35 years compared to the 35 years prior. In the same timeframe, tornadic activity jumped 12% in the Southeast. 

Parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky were among the states that have experienced more tornadoes, according to the study.

A report posted to the American Meteorological Society’s website found that tornadic activity in the Great Plains decreased by 25% in the last 35 years compared to the 35 years prior. In the same timeframe, tornadic activity jumped 12% in the Southeast.  (Fox News)

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TRUMP SENDS NATIONAL GUARD TO TORNADO-RAVAGED ARKANSAS AS 37 DEATHS REPORTED ACROSS MULTIPLE STATES

Mark Brasfield, Nashville Safe House Owner, said he’s sold thousands of storm shelters in his 33 years of selling them. He said he’d never seen intense demand in the Southeast until recently. Brasfield estimated his phone rings at least 20 times a day with people looking to buy storm shelters. 

“It’s like insurance. You don’t think you’re ever going to have to use it, but if you need it, you got it,” Brasfield said. 

Brasfield said his shelters are compliant with the standards set in place by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A quarter inch of steel, reinforced walls and a dozen six-inch bolts help make Brasfield’s shelters withstand the 200-mph winds of an EF-5 tornado. 

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A dozen six-inch bolts, a quarter inch of steel and reinforced walls help allow some storm shelters to withstand winds of 200 mph.   (Fox News)

“You get someone that moves here from a state that’s never had tornadoes. They are scared to death,” Brasfield said. 

SOUTH KOREA’S CENTURIES-OLD GOUNSA TEMPLE IS LEFT IN RUINS BY UNPRECEDENTED WILDFIRES

Lawrence Behrs moved from California to Tennessee 10 years ago. He said he and his wife traded earthquakes and wildfires for tornadoes. 

“We looked at maps and said, ‘okay, well, where could we move? Where would we be completely safe?’ And I just don’t think that exists anywhere,” Behrs said. 

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In December, Berhs finally decided to buy one of Brasfield’s family-sized storm shelters. He said it was installed in January, just in time for what he described as an already active tornado season in his area. 

“With the increase in the occurrence of tornadoes and seemingly moving, you know, eastward from Tornado Alley, we decided that it would be a good investment for peace of mind,” Berhs said. 

A 4’x8′ at-home tornado shelter is big enough to hold four adults.  (Fox News)

The National Weather Service in Nashville has already issued 14 tornado warnings this year in their jurisdiction. 

When his weather radio tells him that he and his wife are under a tornado warning, Berhs said they scramble to the storm shelter with a “go bag.” The shelter is bolted to his garage floor, steps away from his home. 

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“Heaven forbid that there’s a really serious tornado, but I have had visions of, you know, being in here, coming out of, you know, out of the shelter after a storm, and it’s the only thing standing, but hopefully that’ll never be a reality,” Berhs said.

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The United States gets an average of 1,425 tornadoes per year, according to numbers provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. Nearly half of those tornadoes hit from April to June.



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Delaware

State Police Issues Sex Offender Notifications – Delaware State Police – State of Delaware

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State Police Issues Sex Offender Notifications – Delaware State Police – State of Delaware


Date Posted: Saturday, June 20th, 2026

The Delaware State Police Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit (SOAR) is issuing the following public notifications of homeless and wanted sex offenders.

Wanted Sex Offenders

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SOAR is currently looking for the following wanted sex offenders after they either failed to register or re-register at their current address.  If anyone knows the location of these individuals, please call (302) 739-5882.  Information may also be provided by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) 847-3333.  The individuals shown represent only a portion of the current wanted sex offenders. Please see the Delaware Sex Offender Registry website for the complete list.

Click on the image to see the complete profile

 

Charles Fulton

 

Christopher Gartner Hunter

 

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Troy Sanders

 

Michael Viscount

Homeless Sex Offenders

The following individuals are not wanted for failing to register or re-register at their current address.  This is a homeless sex offender public notification.  If you have information that the listed individuals are occupying a residence, please call (302) 739-5882. Information may also be provided by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) 847-3333.  The individuals shown are those recently reported homeless and represent only a portion of the current homeless sex offenders. Please see the Delaware Sex Offender Registry website for the complete list.

Click on the image to see the complete profile

 

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Keith Baynard

 

Nikolai Ibach

 

Jose Rodriguez

 

Kameron Shepherd

 

William Smith Jr

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Florida

11 Most Charming Towns In Florida

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11 Most Charming Towns In Florida


Florida’s most distinctive small towns don’t run on beaches alone. St. Augustine traces its history back to 1565 and still preserves Spanish colonial architecture in the old town. Tarpon Springs grew up around Greek sponge diving and still serves octopus at restaurants along its docks. Havana up in the Panhandle was named for its Cuban cigar tobacco trade. The other eight Florida towns ahead each hold equally specific stories that the bigger cities don’t tell.

St. Augustine

Shops and inns line St. George Street, the heart of St. Augustine. Image credit: Sean Pavone via Shutterstock.com.

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine in 1565, making it the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the continental United States. The town anchors Florida’s history with Spanish colonial architecture stamped into the old town and the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument on the waterfront. Construction on the Castillo finished in 1695, and the seashell coquina walls famously absorbed cannonballs rather than shattering. St. George Street runs as a pedestrian-only spine through the historic district, with the Old City Gates at the north end and an arcade of cafes, shops and the Saint Photios National Shrine in between. The beaches stretch about 42 miles along the Atlantic side of St. Johns County.

Key West

Road to Key West, Florida
Road leading to Key West, Florida.

Key West sits at Mile Zero of US Route 1, about 90 miles from Cuba and 160 miles south of Miami. The historic district along Duval Street covers a one-mile walkable strip between the Gulf and Atlantic sides of the island. Ernest Hemingway lived here between 1931 and 1939 at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, where the descendants of his six-toed cats still roam the grounds. The Truman Little White House served as President Truman’s working vacation home during 175 days of his presidency. Each evening the Mallory Square sunset celebration brings street performers, food carts and crowds for the daily Gulf-side sunset.

Gainesville

Street view of Gainesville, Florida
Street view of Gainesville, Florida.

Gainesville isn’t a beach town. Home to the University of Florida, the city sits inland in north-central Florida about 90 minutes from the Atlantic coast. Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park covers more than 21,000 acres of savanna just south of town, where wild bison and Spanish horses roam free across the only place in Florida where you can see them in the wild. Ginnie Springs runs some of the clearest blue spring water in the state with snorkeling, diving and tubing on the Santa Fe River. About 20 miles north in Alachua, the Mill Creek Farm Retirement Home for Horses lets visitors bring carrots and meet rescued horses spending their final years on the farm.

Palm Beach

Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida
Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida.

Palm Beach occupies a narrow barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth Lagoon, just across the Royal Park Bridge from West Palm Beach. The island stretches about 16 miles and houses roughly 9,000 year-round residents, with a population that swells significantly during winter. Worth Avenue runs the high-end commercial district with Lilly Pulitzer’s flagship boutique, Tiffany, and a row of Mediterranean Revival arcades laid out in the 1920s. Henry Flagler’s 75-room Whitehall mansion, completed in 1902, now operates as the Flagler Museum and covers his role in opening Florida to tourism through the Florida East Coast Railway. The Breakers, Palm Beach’s century-old beachfront resort, remains one of the most photographed hotels in the state.

DeFuniak Springs

Aerial image of Lake DeFuniak Springs, Florida
Aerial image of Lake DeFuniak, Florida.

DeFuniak Springs in Walton County takes its name from Frederick DeFuniak, once president of the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad. The town’s defining feature is Lake DeFuniak, a roughly circular spring-fed lake that locals describe as one of only two perfectly round natural lakes in the world. A walking path circles the entire lake, with Victorian-era homes facing the water from a green park ring. Chautauqua Vineyards and Winery, named for the Chautauqua education movement that held annual meetings in town between 1885 and 1928, runs daily wine tastings on the property. The 1909 Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood still hosts community events.

Havana

Colorful artwork on display along the popular Calle Ocho in historic Little Havana
ALERT ALERT ALERT – Source image shows Calle Ocho in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, NOT Havana, Florida (the Panhandle town featured in this section). Please replace with a WorldAtlas-hosted image of Havana, Florida (Planters Exchange, downtown brick storefronts, or shade tobacco history).

Havana sits about 14 miles northwest of Tallahassee on the Florida-Georgia state line and takes its name from the Cuban cigar tobacco trade. The town was the center of a roughly 100-year shade tobacco boom that supplied wrapper leaves for premium cigars, with operations dominating local life until the industry collapsed in the late 1960s and the last small crop was harvested in 1977. The Shade Tobacco Museum operates today inside the Planters Exchange, a National Historic Landmark from 1926 that now houses antique shops alongside the museum exhibits. Antique dealers and art galleries have revived the historic brick downtown since the 1980s. The town runs as a day trip from Tallahassee with restaurants and shops occupying the converted tobacco warehouses.

Dunedin

Dockside on a sunny day in Dunedin
Dockside on a sunny day in Dunedin.

Dunedin sits about 25 miles west of Tampa on the Gulf Coast and was settled by Scottish immigrants in the late 1800s. The name is the Scottish Gaelic word for Edinburgh, and the town still hosts the Dunedin Highland Games each spring. The Toronto Blue Jays operate their spring training facility here. Honeymoon Island State Park sits at the end of the Dunedin Causeway with about four miles of white-sand beach, and a ferry from Honeymoon Island reaches Caladesi Island State Park, accessible only by boat and ranked the number one beach in America by Dr. Beach (Stephen Leatherman) in 2008. Downtown Dunedin runs a walkable Main Street with breweries, restaurants like Pisces Sushi and Global Bistro, and the Pinellas Trail running through.

Tarpon Springs

Tourist and locals shopping at the historic beach downtown
Tourists and locals shopping at the historic Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs. Image credit: Microfile.org via Shutterstock.com.

Tarpon Springs sits about 30 miles north of Tampa on the Gulf Coast and runs the highest per-capita Greek population in the United States. Greek sponge divers arrived from the island of Kalymnos starting in 1905, and the Sponge Docks along Dodecanese Boulevard still operate as the commercial center, mixing working sponge boats with Greek restaurants, bakeries and sponge shops. Costas Restaurant, Hellas, Mykonos and Dimitri’s on the Water all serve Greek cuisine and grilled octopus within a block of the docks. The town’s St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral hosts the country’s largest Greek Orthodox Epiphany celebration each January 6, with a cross-diving ceremony in Spring Bayou. Fred Howard Park covers 155 acres on a causeway with a Gulf-side beach at the end.

Fernandina Beach

Aerial view of the Fernandina Beach, Florida
Aerial view of Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Fernandina Beach sits at the northern tip of Amelia Island and is the northernmost city on Florida’s Atlantic coast. The 13-mile island earned the nickname “Isle of Eight Flags” because eight different national flags have flown over it since the 1500s, including Spanish, French, British, Confederate and American. The Centre Street historic downtown carries Victorian commercial buildings with restaurants, art galleries and the Florida House Inn, dating to 1857 as one of Florida’s oldest operating inns. Main Beach Park anchors the Atlantic side with a wide stretch of sand and pavilions. The town’s pirate history runs deep, including a brief 1817 takeover by Scottish-born adventurer Gregor MacGregor under a self-declared “Republic of Florida” flag.

Ponce Inlet

Aerial cityscape view of Ponce Inlet Florida and the Atlantic Ocean
Aerial cityscape view of Ponce Inlet, Florida and the Atlantic Ocean.

Ponce Inlet sits at the southern tip of a barrier island south of Daytona Beach. Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station, completed in 1887 and originally called the Mosquito Inlet Lighthouse, climbs 175 feet from base to top and 203 steps to the observation deck. The light is Florida’s tallest lighthouse and the second tallest in the United States. The Marine Science Center, run by Volusia County, rehabilitates injured sea turtles and birds and runs touch tanks and exhibits on local marine ecology. The beaches around Ponce Inlet are known for some of the strongest surf along the central Florida coast.

Anna Maria

Beautiful sunny day in Anna Maria Island, Florida
Beautiful sunny day on Anna Maria Island, Florida.

Anna Maria sits at the northern tip of Anna Maria Island, a seven-mile barrier island in Manatee County between Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay. The city itself counts about 1,000 year-round residents and shares the island with the larger Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach. Pine Avenue runs the historic commercial spine, with wooden buildings in pastel colors housing local restaurants and shops, and has been promoted as the “Greenest Little Main Street in America” because many of the buildings incorporate sustainable design features. The Anna Maria City Pier was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and rebuilt in 2020, and now extends back into the bay as a free fishing and walking pier. The Sandbar Restaurant and Pine Avenue’s smaller cafes anchor the local dining scene.

Beyond Florida’s Big Cities

Florida’s most distinctive small towns each hold layers that the bigger destinations skip past. St. Augustine carries Spanish colonial history older than anything else in the country. Tarpon Springs runs the Greek sponge industry as a living tradition. Fernandina Beach trades on pirates and eight national flags. The other eight towns above add their own equally specific histories. Pick one and stay long enough to find them.

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Georgia

Democrats block local property tax referendums as Georgia lawmakers clash over affordability  – The Current

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Democrats block local property tax referendums as Georgia lawmakers clash over affordability  – The Current


House Republicans are attempting to pass a wave of local property tax measures during an ongoing special session that would allow communities to vote on whether to raise their sales taxes to give homeowners a tax break. 

But Democrats have so far successfully blocked the effort, stymying GOP lawmakers from putting the question before voters this November. They argue the change represents a new tax that shifts the burden of paying for local services from homeowners to lower income Georgians – and they question the rush to put it before voters this year. 

An attempt to pass dozens of local property tax measures failed Saturday in both the House and Senate, but Republicans say they aren’t giving up. Lawmakers will be back Monday for a special session that has no set end date. 

“We still have a chance to get this right,” said Rep. Shaw Blackmon, a Bonaire Republican who has led the House GOP’s efforts to target local property taxes. 

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House Republican leaders have prioritized property tax relief this year, saying it is needed to curb rising property taxes and help people who are struggling to stay in their homes. They unsuccessfully pushed to eliminate local property taxes statewide earlier this year, instead settling for a last-minute compromise that Democrats say is unconstitutional because of how it was passed. 

The ongoing special session was originally called to redraw Georgia’s political maps – although those redistricting plans were abandoned – and to address a looming deadline for the state to stop using ballot QR codes to count votes. Gov. Brian Kemp later opened the door for lawmakers to tee up local property tax referendums.  House Majority Chuck Efstration and other House Republicans criticized Democrats for voting against local property tax measures Saturday. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder

Dozens of referendums are in the works for communities all across the state, from Fannin County in north Georgia to Lowndes County in south Georgia. 

“We missed an opportunity to help our neighbors today,” said Rep. Gerald Greene, a Cuthbert Republican who had sponsored several tax referendums for south Georgia communities. 

Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature, but since the measures involve homestead exemptions, they need two-thirds support to pass. That means Democratic votes are needed in both chambers. 

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“Today what we witnessed once again was Republicans cosplaying a care for affordability in this state,” said Rep. Tanya Miller, an Atlanta Democrat who chairs the minority caucus and is the party’s nominee for attorney general. 

“What they are trying to do is a bait and switch. What they propose today was nothing more than a tax increase on the people who are already hit the hardest,” she said, referring to the sales tax. 

Republicans criticized Democrats for denying communities a chance to decide for themselves whether to lean more on sales tax revenue to offset property taxes on homeowners. 

“This bill is very simple. It’s giving voters the chance to vote to lower their property taxes. Give voters that chance to do that,” said Rep. Scott Hilton, a Peachtree Corners Republican. 

“I believe the minority party deep down knows this would overwhelmingly pass if put on the ballot, but voters are being denied that chance right now, denied the chance to have a more affordable life, to be able to afford their home, to stay in their homes,” he added. 

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House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley, a Columbus Democrat, said GOP leaders are manufacturing a crisis by pursuing the tax measures during the special session instead of waiting until lawmakers return for their regular session in January.  

She framed the proposed local tax referendums as a GOP ploy to turn out conservative voters in November. 

“There is no reason for us to rush through this,” Hugley said. “The other thing is that you’re asking people to raise a sales tax on themselves so that homeowners can get a relief. You’re picking winners and losers, and that’s not what we should be doing here.”

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

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Type of Story: News

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.





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