Storm Ian strengthens into hurricane as Florida and Cuba forecast to be in path
Tropical storm Ian has strengthened into a hurricane set to unleash significant winds, flash floods and mudslides in Florida, Cuba and Jamaica, weather experts have warned.
The weather system is about 90 miles (150km) southwest of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea, according to the latest advisory issued by the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) on Monday.
Authorities in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, about two hours southwest of capital Havana, are preparing to evacuate people before the storm is expected to hit the western part of the island en route to Florida.
A hurricane warning is in place in Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands, together with Pinar del Rio and other Cuban provinces including Isla de Juventud and Artemisa.
The NHC tweeted on Monday morning: “Life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds are expected in portions of western Cuba beginning late today, and Ian is forecast to be at major hurricane strength when it is near western Cuba.
“Efforts to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency amid mounting concerns over the impact of the hurricane, with residents urged to monitor the storm’s evolving path and prepare for heavy rainfall, high winds and rising tides, leading to widespread disruption including power outages.
Weather models predict the hurricane will travel in the direction of Florida’s west coast or Panhandle region – but forecasters are currently unsure where it will make landfall.
Governor DeSantis told a news conference on Sunday: “We’re going to keep monitoring the track of this storm.
“But it really is important to stress the degree of uncertainty that still exists,” he warned.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned the storm would have ‘broad impacts through the state’. Pic: Tallahassee Democrat / AP
“Even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts through the state.”
US President Joe Biden has also declared an emergency, as authorities begin co-ordinating disaster relief and providing assistance to protect lives and property.
Mr Biden also delayed a planned trip to Florida on Tuesday due to the storm.
Senior hurricane specialist at the NHC, John Cangialosi, urged people to begin gathering supplies – amid reports of a rush on water and generators.
Residents in Tampa, Florida, queue for two hours to fill sandbags on Sunday. Pic: Tampa Bay Times via AP
Empty shelves stripped of water at a supermarket in Tampa, Florida. Pic: Tampa Bay Times / AP
“It’s a hard thing to say stay tuned, but that’s the right message right now,” he said.
“But for those in Florida, it’s still time to prepare.
“I’m not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that, but it’s still time to get your supplies.”
The approaching storm also delayed another planned attempt on Tuesday to launch NASA’s Artemis moon mission from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Dr Reinhard Schiemann, associate professor at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading, warned of the impact climate change could have on tropical cyclones including Ian.
“Although the total number of tropical cyclones may not change much, or could even decrease, we expect to see increased peak wind speeds so that the fraction of category 4 and 5 cyclones – the worst and potentially most destructive – will increase.
“It is likely that the average rate of rainfall in tropical cyclones will also increase, because warmer air can hold more water and because at higher wind speeds the rate of moisture supply to a rainy area increases.
“We also expect that the most intense phase of tropical cyclones will tend to occur at higher latitudes than we have seen in the past.”
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Here’s how climate change could be at play.
In Canada, Storm Fiona washed away homes and knocked out electricity in two provinces after transforming from a post-tropical storm into a hurricane on Saturday.
Meanwhile in Italy at least 10 people died after “water-bomb” flash floods, likened to a tsunami, swept into Italy’s central region of Marche earlier this month.
Record-breaking rains in Pakistan triggering unprecedented floods affected 33 million and claimed the lives of hundreds of people including children, disaster officials said.
America’s vaccine-sceptic health secretary has announced $500m (£375.8m) worth of cuts to their development in the country.
The US health department is cancelling contracts and pulling funding for jabs to fight viruses like COVID-19 and the flu, it was announced on Tuesday.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, known as RFK Jr, said 22 projects developing mRNA vaccines will be halted. It is the latest in a series of decisions to reduce US vaccine programmes.
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The health secretary has fired the panel that makes vaccine recommendations, reduced recommendations for COVID-19 shots, and refused to endorse vaccines despite a worsening measles outbreak.
RFK Jr claims the US will now prioritise “safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don’t collapse when viruses mutate”.
Responding to the announcement of cuts, Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, said: “I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business.”
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Dr Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said RFK Jr’s move was short-sighted and that mRNA vaccines “certainly saved millions of lives”, including during the pandemic.
MRNA vaccines work by delivering a snippet of genetic code into the body that triggers an immune response, rather than introducing a real version of the virus.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, the “leading advantage of mRNA vaccines is that they can be designed and produced more quickly than traditional vaccines”.
Moderna, which was studying a combo mRNA shot that can tackle COVID and flu for the US health department, previously said it believed mRNA could speed up production of flu jabs compared with traditional vaccines.
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A COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. File pic: PA
Scientists are also exploring how mRNA could be used in cancer immunotherapies and in other illnesses.
At the White House earlier this year, billionaire tech entrepreneur Larry Ellison praised mRNA for its potential to treat cancer.
RFK Jr touts ‘effective’ alternative
The health department said the abandoned mRNA projects signal a “shift in vaccine development priorities.”
“Let me be absolutely clear, HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” Mr Kennedy said in a statement.
Later, he said work is underway on an alternative – a “universal vaccine” that mimics “natural immunity”.
“It could be effective – we believe it’s going to be effective – against not only coronaviruses, but also flu,” he said.
The US House Oversight Committee has issued subpoenas for depositions with former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton relating to the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
The Republican-controlled committee also subpoenaed the Justice Department for files relating to the paedophile financier, as well as eight former top law enforcement officials.
Donald Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein‘s crimes, claiming he ended their relationship a long time ago.
Mr Trump and Mr Epstein at a party together in 1992. Pic: NBC News
The US president has repeatedly tried to draw a line under the Justice Department’s decision not to release a full accounting of the investigation, but politicians from both major political parties, as well as many in Mr Trump’s political base, have refused to drop their interest in the Epstein files.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, and since then, conspiracy theories have swirled about what information investigators gathered on him and who else may have been involved in his crimes.
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee initiated the subpoenas for the Clintons last month, as well as demanding all communications between former president Joe Biden’s Democrat administration and the Justice Department about Epstein.
The committee previously issued a subpoena for an interview with Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who had been serving a prison sentence in Florida for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. She was recently transferred to another facility in Texas.
Mr Clinton was among those acquainted with Epstein before the criminal investigation against him in Florida became public two decades ago. He has never been accused of wrongdoing by any of the women who say Epstein abused them.
Mr Clinton previously said, through a spokesperson, that while he travelled on Epstein’s jet, he never visited his homes and had no knowledge of his crimes.
Read more:
All we know about Trump and Epstein’s ‘friendship’
The subpoenas give the Justice Department until 19 August to hand over the requested records.
The committee is also asking the former officials to appear for depositions throughout August, September and October, concluding with Hillary Clinton on 9 October and Bill Clinton on 14 October.
Although several former presidents, including Mr Trump, have been issued congressional subpoenas, none has ever appeared before members under compulsion.
Last month, Mr Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release information presented to the grand jury that indicted Maxwell for helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been in contact with Donald Trump about a pardon, a source close to the rapper’s legal team has told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.
A White House spokesperson said it “will not comment on the existence or nonexistence of any clemency request”.
On Tuesday, the rapper was denied bail ahead of his sentencing in October, when he could face up to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of prostitution-related offences.
The sentence will likely be much shorter than that, however.
In July, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution – but cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences.
During an interview with news channel Newsmax last Friday, Mr Trump said “they have talked to me about Sean” but did not announce any decision.
Read more:
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The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Combs reacts after the verdicts are read out in court. File pic: Reuters
The president seemed to cast doubt that he would grant a pardon, however.
“You know, I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great. And seemed like a nice guy, I didn’t know him well,” Trump said. “But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.”
“I don’t know,” Trump said. “It makes it more – I’m being honest, it makes it more difficult to do.”
Trump was then asked, “more likely a ‘no’ for Combs?”
Trump responded: “I would say so.”
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How the Diddy trial unfolded
Combs, who co-founded Bad Boy Records and launched the career of the late Notorious BIG, was for decades a huge figure in pop culture, as well as a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and business entrepreneur, who presided over an empire ranging from fashion to reality TV.
Now, as well as the criminal conviction, he is also facing several civil lawsuits.
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