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The National Hurricane Center is not mincing words:...LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE, CATASTROPHIC WINDS AND FLOODING EXPECTED IN THE FLORIDA PENINSULA...Key Messages: 1. Life-threatening storm surge is increasingly likely along the Florida west coast where a storm surge warning is in effect, with the highest risk from Naples to the Sarasota region. Residents in these areas should listen to advice given by local officials and follow any evacuation orders for your area.2. Hurricane-force winds are expected in the hurricane warning area in southwest and west-central Florida beginning Wednesday morning with tropical storm conditions expected overnight. &nbsp;Devastating wind damage is expected near the core of Ian. Residents should rush all preparations to completion.3. Heavy rainfall will affect most of the Florida Peninsula for the next several days, spreading to the rest of the Southeast U.S. by Thursday and Friday, likely causing flash, urban, and small stream flooding. Considerable flooding is expected with widespread, prolonged moderate to major river flooding expected across central Florida.&nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://emfservices.azureedge.net/news/38180.png" alt="Predicted storm-force wind arrival times"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: NOAA/NHC] Predicted storm-force wind arrival times</figcaption></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://emfservices.azureedge.net/news/38182.png" alt="Predicted hurricane path"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: NOAA/NHC] Predicted hurricane path</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;

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Devastating wind damage is expected near the core of Ian. Residents should rush all preparations to completion.

Hurricane Ian Called 'Life-Threatening' - Sarasota & Port Charlotte Appear To Be Storm's Target At This Point 

NEW YORK (AP) — A number of scientists have wondered if aluminum, a vaccine additive that has been used for decades, had a role in allergies and asthma in children.A new federally funded study has found a possible link, but experts say the research has important shortcomings and is not a reason to change current vaccine recommendations. The study doesn’t claim aluminum causes the breathing condition, and officials say more work is needed to try to confirm any connection, which hadn't been seen in earlier research.Even if a link were ever found, the life-saving benefits of the vaccines are still likely to outweigh the asthma risk, said Dr. Matthew Daley, the study’s lead author. But it’s possible that if the results are confirmed, it could prompt new work to redesign vaccines, he added.<blockquote>The study, <a href="https://els-jbs-prod-cdn.jbs.elsevierhealth.com/pb/assets/raw/Health%20Advance/journals/acap/Aluminium_Exposure_Article-1664288052690.pdf">released Tuesday</a>, suggests that young children who were vaccinated with most or all of the recommended aluminum-containing vaccines had at least a 36% higher risk of being diagnosed with persistent asthma than kids who got fewer vaccines.Aluminum has been used in some vaccines since the 1930s, as an ingredient — called an adjuvant — that provokes stronger immune protection.</blockquote>Dr. Paul Offit, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, worried that the flawed study will needlessly scare some families away from proven vaccines.“Making an extraordinary claim requires extraordinary evidence,” Offit said. This study does not offer that kind of evidence, he said.He and other outside experts noted that Daley and his colleagues were unable to account for the effects of some potentially important ways children are exposed to aluminum — such as in the air or through their diet.They also noted the findings include hard-to-explain inconsistencies, like why, in one subset of thousands of fully vaccinated kids, more aluminum exposure didn’t seem to result in a higher asthma risk.CDC officials, in a statement, said it appears that aluminum-containing vaccines “do not account for the overall trends that we see.”By age 2, children should be vaccinated against 15 diseases, according to U.S. recommendations. Aluminum adjuvants are in vaccines for seven of them.Aluminum adjuvants have long been considered safe and effective. Still, scientists noted a period of increased rates in allergies and asthma among U.S. children during a 30-year period starting in about 1980, and some wondered if there was a connection. (Those rates leveled off starting about a decade ago and have declined somewhat in recent years, for reasons not fully understood.)Several previous studies didn’t find a link between aluminum-containing childhood vaccines and allergies and asthma. But other research has linked aluminum in industrial workplaces to asthma. And mice injected with aluminum suffer an immune system reaction that causes the kind of airway inflammation seen in childhood asthma.“Based on what I consider limited animal data, there is a theoretical risk that the aluminum in vaccines could influence allergy risk,” said Daley, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.In 2013, the Institute of Medicine — now known as the National Academy of Medicine — called for more federal research into the safety of childhood vaccines, including their use of aluminum.The new study is part of the government response to that call, Daley said. It was funded by the CDC, and included current and former CDC staffers among its authors. It was published by the medical journal Academic Pediatrics.The researchers focused on about 327,000 U.S. children born from 2008 to 2014, looking at whether they got vaccines containing aluminum before age 2 and whether they developed persistent asthma between ages 2 and 5.Asthma, a condition that can cause spasms in the lungs, usually results from an allergic reaction. About 4% of U.S. children under 5 have persistent asthma.The researchers took steps to try to account for different factors that might influence the results, including race and ethnicity, whether kids were born premature or whether children had food allergies or certain other conditions.But there were many other factors they were unable to address. For example, aluminum can routinely be found in breastmilk, infant formula and food, but the researchers were unable to get data on how much aluminum the kids got from eating. They also had no information on aluminum exposures from the air and environment where the children lived.The researchers split the study group into two. One was about 14,000 kids who developed eczema, a skin condition that is seen as an early indicator for the development of asthma or other allergic diseases. They wanted to see if kids with eczema were more or less sensitive to aluminum in vaccines, compared with children who did not have early eczema. The other 312,000 or so kids in the study did not have early eczema.Both groups got roughly the same amount of vaccine-related aluminum. The researchers found that for each milligram of aluminum received through vaccines, the risk of persistent asthma rose 26% in the eczema kids and 19% in kids who did not have eczema.Overall, kids who got 3 milligrams or more of vaccine-related aluminum had at least a 36% higher risk of developing persistent asthma than kids who got less than 3, Daley said.Offit said the study's limitations meant that the work has “added nothing to our understanding of vaccines and asthma."But other experts said the researchers drew from a respected set of patient data and worked carefully with the best information that was available.“This is public health at its best. They are making every effort to find any possible signal that may be a concern,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. “It’s our job to exhaustively examine that to see if that’s true."He acknowledged anti-vaccine activists will likely jump to conclusions that the evidence doesn't support. But if CDC had the information and didn’t publish it, the agency might be seen as misleading the public, further eroding trust, he said.Dr. Sarah Long, professor of pediatrics at the Drexel University College of Medicine, echoed that.“I believe in complete transparency,” she said. “If you've asked a question and here spent our (taxpayer) money to (investigate) that question, I think the results should be aired in all of its warts and glory."___The Associated Press Health &amp; Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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An infant receives a routine vaccination in Fayetteville, Ga.

A new federally funded study has found a possible link, but experts say the research has important shortcomings

Study Tries To Determine If Child Vaccines And Asthma Are Linked

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — It took Vsevolod four days to drive from Moscow to Russia's southern border with Georgia. He had to abandon his car at one point and continue on foot.On Tuesday, he finally finished his 1,800-kilometer (1,100-mile) journey and crossed the frontier to escape being called up to fight in Russia's war in Ukraine.“At 26, I do not want to be carried home in a zinc-lined (coffin) or stain (my) hands with somebody’s blood because of the war of one person that wants to build an empire,” he told The Associated Press, asking that his last name not be used because he feared retaliation from Russia.He was one of over 194,000 Russian nationals who have fled to neighboring Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland — most often by car, bicycle or on foot — in the week since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists.The mass exodus of men — alone or with their families or friends — began Sept. 21, shortly after Putin’s address to the nation, and continued all this week. Early on, they snapped up airline tickets, which spiked in price on the few airlines still flying out of Russia. But the rest had to gas up their cars and join the long lines snaking on roads toward the borders.<figure class="image"><img src="https://emfservices.azureedge.net/news/38172.jpg" alt="Miles of vehicles queuing for crossing the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgia border"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies via AP] Miles of vehicles queuing for crossing the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgia border</figcaption></figure>According to the online service Yandex Maps, the traffic jam leading to Verkhny Lars, a border crossing into Georgia from Russia’s North Ossetia region, stretched for about 15 kilometers (over 9 miles) on Tuesday. Social media showed hundreds of pedestrians lining up at the checkpoint after Russian border guards relaxed regulations and allowed people to cross on foot.Similarly long queues were reported at some crossings into Kazakhstan.The Interior Ministry of Georgia said over 53,000 Russians have entered the country since last week, while Interior Ministry officials in Kazakhstan said 98,000 crossed into that nation. The Finnish Border Guard agency said over 43,000 arrived in the same period. Media reports also said another 3,000 Russians entered Mongolia, which also shares a border with the country.Russian authorities sought to stem the flow, barring some men from leaving and citing mobilization laws. The practice did not seem widespread, but rumors persisted that Moscow may soon shut the borders to all men of fighting age.Police in North Ossetia said a makeshift enlistment office will be set up at the Verkhny Lars crossing, and local officials confirmed to the state news agency Tass that Russian men are being served call-up summonses at crossings into Georgia.Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that only about 300,000 men with prior combat or other military service would be mustered, but reports have emerged from various Russian regions that recruiters were rounding up men outside that description. That fueled fears of a much broader call-up, sending droves of men of all ages and backgrounds to airports and borders.“There's a risk that they will announce a full mobilization,” according to a resident of St. Petersburg who made it to Kazakhstan on Tuesday. The man, who refused to give his name because he feared for his safety, told AP he spent three days driving from his home to Uralsk in northwestern Kazakhstan near the border.He said Putin’s mobilization remarks differed from what his decree said, leaving room for a broader interpretation, adding: “People worry that sooner or later, a full mobilization will be announced, and no one will be able to cross the borders.”Kazakhstan and Georgia, both part of the former Soviet Union and both offering visa-free entry by Russian nationals, seemed to be the most popular destinations for those traveling by land to flee the call-up. Finland and Norway require visas.Georgia, whose support for Ukraine is visible by the yellow and blue flags adorning buildings as well as graffiti against Putin and Russia, has been somewhat apprehensive about the influx of Russians, especially after the country fought a brief war with Moscow in 2008.Opposition politicians have demanded the government take drastic actions against the arriving Russians, from introducing visas to banning them completely. No such action has been taken yet.Kazakhstan seems more welcoming. Since the beginning of the war, the Central Asian nation of 19 million has taken a course increasingly independent from its ally, Moscow, especially on the war in Ukraine.In announcing the number of Russians crossing the border, Kazakhstan Interior Minister Marat Akhmetzhanov said authorities won't send home those avoiding the call-up unless they are on an international wanted list for criminal charges.President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev even ordered his government to help the Russians entering his country “because of the current hopeless situation.”"We must take care of them and ensure their safety. It is a political and a humanitarian issue. I tasked the government to take the necessary measures,” he said, adding that Kazakhstan will hold talks with Russia on the issue.<figure class="image"><img src="https://emfservices.azureedge.net/news/38164.jpg" alt="Russians wait and lineup to get Kazakhstan"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP] Russians wait and lineup to get Kazakhstan's INN in a public service center in Almaty, Kazakhstan</figcaption></figure>In Uralsk, volunteers helped those entering the city of 236,000. Some of them told AP that they were serving free hot meals and helping the arrivals to find accommodations, which were quickly filling up. Those who can't find apartments or hotel rooms could spend the night in gyms, one volunteer said.Dilara Mukhambetova, director of the Cinema Park theater, even said arriving Russians could sleep in her facility after she drove around the city and saw a lot of people who looked lost.“We freed up one auditorium, organized tea, and volunteers brought hot meals,” Mukhambetova was quoted by local media as saying. “We filled four auditoriums, (accommodating) about 200 people in total.”—-Associated Press journalist Sophiko Megrelidze in Tbilisi, Georgia, contributed.

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People walk next to their cars queuing to cross the border into Kazakhstan 

Rumors persist that Moscow may soon shut the borders to all men of fighting age.

Nearly 200,000 Have Escaped Military Draft Call-Up By Fleeing Russia, As Ukraine Attack Falters

WASHINGTON (AP) — An increasing number of fake prescription pills that contain potentially deadly fentanyl are helping drive overdose death rates to record levels in the U.S., including some now manufactured in rainbow colors designed to look like candy, federal officials said Tuesday.Drug Enforcement Administration agents are working to crack down on violent drug cartels in Mexico believed to be trafficking the drugs into the U.S., Attorney General Merrick Garland said. Between May and September, the DEA and local police around the country seized more than 10 million fentanyl pills and hundreds of pounds of powder, he said.Vastly powerful synthetic drugs like fentanyl are behind record overdose deaths in the U.S. Law enforcement officials nationwide have been struggling to combat the surge of drugs in urban and rural communities. The global coronavirus pandemic has overshadowed the American opioid epidemic, but when overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 during the 12-month period ending in April 2021, it rocketed back into the public consciousness.“I read too many reports on too many cases, including too many young people who ended up dying after taking just one pill laced with fentanyl, often disguised as something else,” Garland said.First reported in February, the rainbow pills have been seized in 21 states now, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said. While fentanyl is still more commonly disguised as oxycodone or another prescription drug, the rainbow pills are on the increase.“We believe it is being marketed and aimed at young people,” Milgram said.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also sounded the alarm this weekend about the rise of the drug in New York City and Long Island as he pushed for new funding to fight its spread.Two Mexican drug cartels are responsible for the majority of fentanyl in the U.S., federal authorities said. The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel buy precursor chemicals from China, then traffic them into the U.S., where they are sometimes sold on social media platforms.Over the last four months, authorities have investigated nearly 400 cases, 51 of them linked to overdoses and 35 tied directly to the two cartels. In addition to being pressed into fake pills, fentanyl powder is also moved into other drugs like cocaine and heroin, Milgram said.“Our top operational priority has been and will continue to be to defeat these two cartels,” she said.Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be 50 times more potent than heroin, and even a tiny amount can be lethal. Fake prescription pills are especially dangerous because it's difficult to tell how strong they are.About two-thirds of overdose deaths in the U.S. have been linked to fentanyl or other powerful, illicitly made synthetic opioids.Jonathan Caulkins, a professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, said containing synthetics with law enforcement is a challenge because the drug can be made in labs anywhere rather than grown in fields like cocaine or heroin — and because it is so potent and is trafficked in smaller amounts.“How the heck is law enforcement supposed to find a few metric tons in an economy that trades megatons of raw materials?” Caulkins asked.Caulkins said the best ways to deal with the fentanyl crisis is to put money toward treatment and increasing the availability of naloxone, a drug that reverses overdoses — but added that using arrests to reduce the supply may be worth trying.___Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland, left, listens as Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram, right, speaks during in a press event to announce the results of an enforcement surge to reduce the fentanyl supply across the United States, at DEA headquarters, Arlington, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.

“We believe it is being marketed and aimed at young people"

Alarms Raised Over Fake Prescription Pills Laced With Deadly Fentanyl

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Denmark said Tuesday it believed “deliberate actions” by unknown perpetrators were behind big leaks — which seismologists said followed powerful explosions — in two natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage amid the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Although filled with gas, neither pipeline is currently supplying it to Europe.“It is the authorities’ clear assessment that these are deliberate actions -– not accidents,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.But she added that “there is no information indicating who could be behind it.” Frederiksen also rejected the suggestion that the incident was an attack on Denmark, saying the leaks occurred in international waters.The incident overshadowed the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continent’s energy independence from Moscow.The first explosion was recorded early Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, said Bjorn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network. A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway and Finland also registered the explosions.“There’s no doubt, this is not an earthquake,” Lund said.On Wednesday, Danish defense minister Morten Bødskov will travel to Brussels to discuss the leaks with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said nearby Sweden, Germany and Poland have been kept informed, and “we will inform and reach out to Russia in this case.”He said Denmark’s foreign intelligence service didn’t see any increased military threat against Denmark after the three leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.They created a foamy white area on the water's surface, images released by Denmark's military show. Danish Energy Minister Dan Jørgensen said that “we cannot say how long the leak will go" on for as the gas has not been turned off. There was no indication when the gas would be turned off.The German operator of the pipelines, Nord Stream AG, said it’s preparing a survey to assess the damage in cooperation with local authorities.“Currently, it is not possible to estimate a timeframe for restoring the gas transport infrastructure,” a company statement said. “The causes of the incident will be clarified as a result of the investigation.”In Sweden, acting Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said “it is probably a case of sabotage,” but not an attack on Sweden.Andersson added that neighboring oil-rich Norway “has informed us about increased drone activity in the North Sea and the measures they have taken in connection with it.”Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that Sweden “(is) not ruling out any scenarios and we will not speculate about motive or actor.”The escaped natural gas is made up almost entirely of methane — the second biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. David Hastings, a retired chemical oceanographer in Gainesville, Florida, said much of the gas would rise through the sea and enter the atmosphere. “There is no question that the largest environmental impact of this is to the climate, because methane is a really potent greenhouse gas,” he said.According to United Nations data, methane is 82.5 times worse for the climate than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame, because it so effectively absorbs the heat of the sun.Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the events “an act of sabotage." During a ceremony in northwestern Poland, Morawiecki, Denmark's Frederiksen and Polish President Andrzej Duda symbolically opened the valve of a yellow pipe belonging to the Baltic Pipe, a new system sending Norwegian gas across Denmark to Poland."The era of Russian domination in the gas sphere is coming to an end," Morawiecki declared. “An era that was marked by blackmail, threats and extortion.”No official presented evidence of what caused the leaks, but with distrust of Russia running high, some feared Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure out of spite or to warn that pipelines are vulnerable to attack. The leaks raised the stakes on whether energy infrastructure was being targeted and led to a small bump in natural gas prices.“We can clearly see that this is an act of sabotage, an act that probably means a next step of escalation in the situation that we are dealing with in Ukraine,” Morawiecki said.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that American officials have not confirmed sabotage or an attack.Anders Puck Nielsen, a researcher with the Center for Maritime Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College, said the timing of the leaks was “conspicuous” given the ceremony for the Baltic Pipe. He said perhaps someone sought “to send a signal that something could happen to the Norwegian gas.”The extent of the damage means the Nord Stream pipelines are unlikely to be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if there was political will to bring them online, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. Russia has halted flows on the 1,224-kilometer (760-mile) Nord Stream 1 pipeline during the war, while Germany prevented them from ever starting in the parallel Nord Stream 2.“Depending on the scale of the damage, the leaks could even mean a permanent closure of both lines,” analysts Henning Gloystein and Jason Bush wrote.Puck Nielsen said of possible sabotage that “technically speaking, this is not difficult. It just requires a boat. It requires some divers that know how to handle explosive devices.”“But I think if we look at who would actually benefit from disturbances, more chaos on the gas market in Europe, I think there’s basically only one actor right now that actually benefits from more uncertainty, and that is Russia," he said.Asked if the leaks may have been caused by sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “no version could be excluded.”“This is an unprecedented situation that requires an urgent investigation. We are extremely worried by this news,” he said in a conference call with reporters.Danish and Swedish maritime authorities issued navigation warnings, and established a prohibited area for vessels. Ships may lose buoyancy, and there may also be a risk of ignition above the water and in the air.The Nord Stream pipelines have been at the center of an energy clash between Europe and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February. Plunging Russian gas supplies have caused prices to soar, pressuring governments to help ease the pain of sky-high energy bills for households and businesses as winter nears. The crisis also has raised fears of rationing and recession.The Baltic Pipe is a prominent element in the European Union's search for energy security and is to start bringing Norwegian gas through Denmark and along the Baltic Sea to Poland on Oct. 1.Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert with the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, speculated that the leaks could have been caused by Russian sabotage or anti-Russian sabotage.One possibility is Russia signaling it “is breaking forever with Western Europe and Germany” as Poland inaugurates its pipeline with Norway, he said.“In any case, this is a stark reminder of the exposure to risk of Europe’s gas infrastructure,” Tagliapietra said.___Olsen reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Keyton from Stockholm. Associated Press writers Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Adam Schreck in Kyiv, Ukraine, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed.

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A large disturbance in the sea can be observed off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 following a series of unusual leaks on two natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany have triggered concerns about possible sabotage.

“It is the authorities’ clear assessment that these are deliberate actions -– not accidents”

Denmark Suspects Sabotage In Nord Stream Pipeline Explosion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon will deliver the first two advanced NASAMS anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine in the next two months, providing Kyiv with a weapon that it has pressed for since earlier this year.Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told Pentagon reporters on Tuesday that six more of the Norwegian-developed weapons will be delivered in the future, as much as a year or two from now. Recent reports that some of the U.S.-provided NASAMS were already in Ukraine were not correct.The NASAMS will provide medium- to long-range defense against Russian missile attacks. Their impending delivery comes as Russia tries to rebound from recent combat losses and politically solidify gains by holding referendums in four occupied regions in the south and east.The Kremlin-orchestrated referendums, which have been dismissed as illegitimate by the U.S. and its Western allies, are expected to be used as a pretext for Moscow to annex those regions.Ryder said the U.S. has seen no major shifts in Russian forces aimed at bolstering or protecting the four areas, even as Moscow mobilizes more than a quarter million reservists to fight in Ukraine. He said the U.S. continues to see Russian troops trying to conduct offensive operations, but that Ukrainian forces are “successfully holding on.”Ryder also said that despite the ongoing threats from Russian leaders to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory — including the newly claimed areas — the U.S. has seen nothing that “would cause us to adjust our own nuclear posture at this time.”On funding, Ryder said that nearly $2.3 billion allocated to provide weapons and equipment to Ukraine will expire at the end of the fiscal year on Friday. That money is authorized by Congress to pay for equipment taken off Pentagon shelves and sent quickly to Ukraine.“I would highlight that it’s not the end of the fiscal year yet,” Ryder said. “So there’s still time potentially to employ that authorization.” He also noted that Congress is moving to approve additional funding for the next fiscal year, which also could be used.In other comments, Ryder said the U.S. now does confirm that Russia is using Iranian drones both for combat attacks and intelligence-gathering, and that reports that some have been shot down by Ukraine are “credible.” He declined to provide numbers.

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Pentagon spokesman U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon

Recent reports that some of the U.S.-provided NASAMS were already in Ukraine were not correct.

Pentagon Signs Off On Advanced Anti-Air Weapon Systems Delivery For Ukraine

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A landslide triggered by record rainfall significantly damaged three homes, prompted the evacuation of about a dozen residents and caused power outages in downtown Juneau, Alaska’s capital city.Crews delayed cleaning debris on Gastineau Avenue Tuesday while geological teams assessed when people could safely work in the area, city spokesperson Meredith Thatcher said.The local power company was expected to restore service downtown once debris has been removed.Damage from the Monday evening landslide was confined to the one residential street above the downtown business district in the southeast Alaska mountain community of about 32,000 residents. There were no reported injuries, city officials said.Evan Hartung was eating dinner in his home when he heard a rumbling sound over the TV, he told the Juneau Empire. He just managed to escape the house before the evergreen tree came swooshing down onto the stairs along the outside of his home, damaging them. It then knocked his pickup on its side before coming to rest, partially on top of the vehicle.“My truck is squished,” he said.Sarah Wallace and her partner live next door to Hartung. They also heard the noise and looked out their window to see Hartung “running outside without any shoes,” she told the Empire. That prompted them to also quickly exit their home.About a dozen people — either those whose homes were damaged or others who decided to self-evacuate — stayed at a shelter that was set up by the American Red Cross at a downtown fire station, Thatcher told The Associated Press.Residents in Juneau, located in the Tongass National Forest, the nation’s largest, are accustomed to a persistent light rain falling, but not deluges like they experienced Monday.“We are a rain forest, so we’re supposed to get rain,,” said National Weather Service forecaster Kimberly Vaughan in Juneau. “These were record rainfall amounts and some of them broke the previous records by nearly 2 inches.”Lena Point, located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of downtown Juneau, recorded 3.04 inches (7.72 centimeters) of rain, the highest daily amount in about 30 years of record keeping there. The previous record for precipitation in a 24-hour period was 1.14 inches (2.90 centimeters) in 2017.Other daily rainfall records were recorded at the Juneau weather forecast office, with 2.59 inches (6.58 centimeters) beating the previous record of 1.12 inches (2.84 centimeters) in 2009, and 2.22 inches (5.64 centimeters) at the airport, surpassing the record of 2.02 inches (5.13 centimeters) set in 1936.The rains also caused the Mendenhall River to rise in Juneau, prompting some flooding advisories.In Skagway, about 100 miles (160.93 kilometers) north of Juneau, there’s a flood warning in effect for the Taiya River. The river was at 16.85 feet (5.14 meters) early Tuesday, just above flooding stage but was expected to drop throughout the day.Persistent rain has caused some flooding and led officials to close a campground. There also have been ongoing landslides since one closed the cruise ship dock last summer.A large slide over the weekend dropped several thousand cubic yards of debris adjacent to that dock, city manager Brad Ryan said.However, there’s been no reports of homes damaged or people injured.“I think we’re feeling like we’ve weathered it pretty good,” he said.Landslides are common in Alaska. Last May, a slide brought down dozens of full-grown evergreen trees and debris, temporarily closing a road in the coastal community of Seward.In 2020, two people were killed in the southeast Alaska community of Haines when a slide as wide as two football fields slammed into a neighborhood. The only route through Denali National Park and Preserve is closed and expected to remain so through 2024 after the Pretty Rocks landslide covered 100 yards (91 meters) of the road. Officials are proposing construction of a 400-foot (121.9-meter) bridge spanning the landslide area.

landslide-in-alaska-prompts-evacuations

A tree lies across Gastineau Avenue after falling between two homes and crushing at least one vehicle in Juneau, Alaska, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022.

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Stepping Stones: The Path To Red Rocks '22

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