Biden says Hurricane Ian "could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida's history"
CBSN
President Biden addressed Federal Emergency Management Agency employees, Florida and the nation after receiving a briefing from FEMA officials Thursday, as Ian, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm but is expected to become a hurricane again, continues to thrash Florida.
"This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida's history," a somber president said at FEMA headquarters. "The numbers are still unclear, but we're hearing early reports of what could be substantial loss of life." Sheriff Carmine Marceno, of Lee County, which was struck hard by Ian, said Thursday he believed the death toll would be "in the hundreds." However, Gov. Ron DeSantis later said that number had not been confirmed.
"My message to the people of Florida and to the country is, it's at times like this America comes together," the president added. "We're gonna pull together as one team, as one America."
President Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families.
It's Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is suiting up for his annual voyage from the North Pole to households around the world. In keeping with decades of tradition, the North American Aerospace Command, or NORAD, will once again track Santa's journey to deliver gifts to children before Christmas 2024, using an official map that's updated consistently to show where he is right now.
An anti-money laundering law called the Corporate Transparency Act, or CTA, appears to have been given new life after an appeals court on Monday determined its rules can be enforced as the case proceeds. The law requires small business owners to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, by Jan. 1, or potentially pay fines of up to $10,000.