(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Debby is roaring across Florida as a Category 1 hurricane after making landfall Monday morning.
Here’s what to expect:
Flash flood warnings have been issued from Cedar Key, Florida, to Venice, Florida.
More than 10 inches of rain already fell in the Tampa area and more than 1 foot of rain was recorded just south of Sarasota.
On Monday, Debby will bring very heavy rain from Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida, up to Savannah, Georgia, where more than 20 inches of rain is possible.
The storm surge will be the highest — up to 10 feet — in Florida’s Big Bend area, from Keaton Beach to Cedar Key.
By Tuesday, Debby is expected to stall over the Southeast, bringing potentially historic rainfall to Georgia and South Carolina. Up to 30 inches of rain is possible through Thursday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a rare “high risk” warning for extreme flooding in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina over the next two days.
The rainfall from Debby may approach Georgia’s record of 27.85 inches from Tropical Storm Alberto in 1994.
Debby’s remnants could then move up to North Carolina and Virginia by Friday and this weekend.
(NEW YORK) — There is no reason to delay the sentencing in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case as the former president tries to move the case from state court into federal court, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said Tuesday in a letter to the judge overseeing the case.
Trump last week made his second request to push the case into federal court, after he was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Sentencing in the case is currently scheduled for Sept. 18. The former president has also asked the judge overseeing the case, Juan Merchan, to postpone the sentencing until after the November election.
The district attorney’s office declined to take a position on when Trump’s sentencing should occur, leaving it to the discretion of the judge.
However, in their letter Tuesday to Judge Merchan, prosecutors Matthew Colangelo and Christopher Conroy argued that both of Trump’s requests can be handled simultaneously.
“We note that the concerns defendant expresses about timing are a function of his own strategic and dilatory litigation tactics: This second notice of removal comes nearly ten months after defendant voluntarily abandoned his appeal from his first, unsuccessful effort to remove this case; three months after he was found guilty by a jury on thirty-four felony counts; and nearly two months after defendant asked this Court to consider his CPL § 330.30 motion for a new trial,” Tuesday’s letter said.
(SAN ANTONIO) — The main gate to U.S. Air Force Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland has reopened after an off-base shooting incident early Saturday.
Guards at the gate discharged their weapons in the incident, but there was no active threat to the base and no one from the base sustained any injuries, according to an official.
“The incident involved unidentified members in a sedan shooting at members of JBSA security forces team while performing duties at Chapman Annex Gate,” Air Base Wing Public Affairs said in a statement.
“We can confirm that it was an off-base incident at the JBSA-Chapman Training Annex main gate that prompted a response from our security forces. There was no active threat to the installation. We did not sustain any injuries. We’re working to confirm some other details,” an official told ABC News earlier Saturday.
The San Antonio Police Department is leading the investigation into what officials called an “aggravated assault.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Lawmakers in a suburban New York county approved a bill to ban masks in public spaces, saying concealing your identity is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to a year of jail time and a $1,000 fine.
Proponents of the Mask Transparency Act in Nassau County, Long Island, say the ban will combat crime during protests.
It was introduced in response to “antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks” in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, Legislator Howard Kopel said during a public meeting on the mandate this week.
The ruling does have exceptions, however, with individuals wearing face coverings for religious or health reasons being exempt.
“This legislature finds that masks and facial coverings that are not worn for health and safety concerns or for religious or celebratory purposes are often used as a predicate to harassing, menacing or criminal behavior,” according to the bill.
The bill gives local authorities the right to demand individuals remove their masks during a traffic stop or “when the officer has reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and/or intention to partake in criminal activity.”
Those opposing the bill say it threatens protesters from expressing their views anonymously and could lead to retaliation, as well as posing a health risk with COVID-19 on the rise across the country.
“Nassau County’s mask ban is a dangerous misuse of the law to score political points and target protestors,” Susan Gottehrer, regional director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.
“Making anonymous protest illegal chills political action and is ripe for selective enforcement, leading to doxxing, surveillance and retaliation against protesters,” Gottehrer said.
The Mask Transparency Act, approved this week, saw a split decision between local leaders with 12 Republicans supporting the legislation and seven Democrats opposing it.
The bill is headed to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s desk to sign into effect.
“Unless someone has a medical condition or a religious imperative, people should not be allowed to cover their face in a manner that hides their identity when in public,” Blakeman said Monday after the vote.
Positive cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in the U.S., with the CDC reporting over a 16% increase in cases between the end of July and the start of August.
Gottehrer warns that this mask ban could endanger the health and even lives of residents, saying, “face coverings are critical to protecting the health of an individual, their family, and their community.”
“Nassau County police officers are not health professionals or religious experts capable of deciding who needs a mask and who doesn’t,” Gottehrer added.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has also considered a mask ban on New York City Transit with support from NYC Mayor Eric Adams.
“On a subway, people should not be able to hide behind a mask to commit crimes,” Hochul said.