Florida fire marshal calls electric vehicles "ticking time bombs" as Hurricane Milton nears
CBSN
Storm surges from Hurricane Milton could turn electric vehicles and other products containing lithium-ion batteries into "ticking time bombs," Florida's fire marshal is warning.
Residents and first responders are being cautioned about "an alarming fire hazard with lithium-ion batteries, EVs, as well as hybrid and fuel cell vehicles in preparation of Hurricane Milton," according to a Monday statement from Florida fire marshal Jimmy Patronis, who also serves as the state's chief financial officer.
As of early Wednesday, Hurricane Milton was barreling across the Gulf of Mexico as what the National Hurricane Center is calling a "catastrophic" Category 5 storm, on track to make landfall along Florida's central west coast, including the Tampa area, late Wednesday or early Thursday.
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.