Two teachers in Spring, Texas, have been accused of giving their pre-school students stickers that are believed to be discreet sleeping aids.

After Donald Trump's first term as president of the United States, former first lady Melania Trump said that because of "cancel culture,” her and Donald’s son, Barron, was flat out denied a bank account.

Hurricane Milton made landfall over the central west coast of Florida on Wednesday evening, bringing with it powerful winds, torrential rain, and storm surge to a state that endured another strong hurricane less than two weeks ago. The National Hurricane Center announced that doppler radar data indicated the storm’s eye made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key in Sarasota County — located between Tampa Bay and Fort Myers — at 8:30 p.m. ET. 830pm EDT Oct 9th: Doppler radar data indicates that the eye of #Hurricane #Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County on the west coast of Florida. Max sustained winds at landfall are estimated at 120 mph. Landfall TCU: https://t.co/YUc7mT6LuJ pic.twitter.com/fEODy4AvHJ — National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 10, 2024 The hurricane‘s outer bands already wreaked havoc across Florida earlier in the day with tornadoes, flooding, and power outages. Residents in Florida and nearby states can expect the effects of the storm to last overnight and into Thursday. Violent tornado sent to me by my friend Jason Dolliver shot in Fort pierce near the St. Lucie County Fairgrounds. Video shot by Kayla Pollack. An absolutely horrible day for tornadoes. pic.twitter.com/COp8lZfJw6 — Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) October 9, 2024 Evacuation orders had been issued to millions of people across several Florida counties, and shelters were opened in areas bracing for the brunt of the hurricane. Storm surge up to 12 or 13 feet in some coastal areas could be particularly deadly. Storm surge spills onto the bridge to Sanibel Island in Fort Myers, Florida, as Hurricane Milton starts to make landfall. pic.twitter.com/Y9OSvzjXKr — AccuWeather (@accuweather) October 9, 2024 After landfall, Hurricane Milton is expected to quickly move across the Florida Peninsula on Thursday and head out over the Atlantic Ocean away from the United States, giving room for any rescue and relief efforts to get underway. Florida got slammed by Milton less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm. Crews were still picking up debris from Helene on Wednesday, prompting warnings about detritus flying around when Milton hit. Milton made landfall as a “major” hurricane, but it was higher up the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale at Category 5 at times earlier in the week as it swept across the Gulf of Mexico and grazed Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Inside Hurricane Milton, @saildrone reported wave height of 28.12 feet and wind gusts as strong as 75.95 mph while 40 nautical miles from the center of the storm. This research represents a collaborative endeavor to better understand the role of the ocean in hurricanes. pic.twitter.com/gmaUopPEWj — NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab (@NOAA_AOML) October 9, 2024 Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency, suspended tolls to assist with evacuations, communicated with the public about what they should do to be ready for the storm, and made other preparations. As Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Sarasota county, now is the time to shelter in place. First responders are staged and ready to go, as soon as weather conditions allow. Search and rescue efforts will be well underway to save lives before dawn, and they will continue for as… — Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 10, 2024 President Joe Biden, who approved an emergency declaration to unlock federal assistance for hurricane response efforts in Florida, has been in communication with DeSantis and said he told the governor he was “doing a great job.” Stunning images of Hurricane Milton have been shared online over the past few days, including from NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, who is on the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endeavor docked to the International Space Station. Timelapse flying by Hurricane Milton today about 2 hours ago. Storm looks bigger but less symmetric than yesterday. 1/2000 sec, f8, 14mm, ISO 500, 0.5 sec interval, 30fps pic.twitter.com/XUjQEJPOGg — Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) October 9, 2024 The Waffle House Index, which is used to signal an imminent disaster, helped keep residents alert. In a post to social media, the restaurant chain said it was closing locations around Tampa, Fort Myers, Orlando, Ocala, and Daytona.

'Would not rule out including utility companies'

'That's a suspicion of mine'

At a time when numerous battleground states have been tied in the presidential race, an election watchdog group notes that already this year, 29 elections have ended in a tie–including one for Congress.  The Public Interest Legal Foundation updated its Tied Elections Database in part to demonstrate the potential effect of even one illegal vote.  Another 18 contests so far in 2024 were decided by a single vote. These elections are in primaries or in some cases local elections don’t coincide with the federal and state election day. “If people ever think their votes don’t matter, I hope they remember these tied elections,” J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, said in a public statement. “Every single vote matters. Just one vote could determine who wins power. Everyone eligible should register and vote this November.” In all, including previous years’ elections, the database has 635 tied elections and 173 elections decided by a single vote.  While a statewide tie in any state is extremely unlikely, several recent battleground polls have come out tied between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.  An Insider Advantage poll showed Georgia was tied. A CNN poll found North Carolina was tied. An Emerson poll found Pennsylvania was tied. Another Emerson poll found a Nevada tie. Rasmussen Reports polls found a tie between the candidates in Wisconsin and Michigan.   Notwithstanding the incredibly improbability of a statewide tie ever occurring in any contest–much less a presidential race–a highly unusual tie in a congressional primary within the most populous state in America did occur earlier this year.  The legal foundation’s update report made no reference to the presidential race, but notes several examples of tied or close races this year.  The tally was 30,249 votes to 30,249 votes in a House Democratic primary in California’s 16th Congressional District, a tie for second place between candidates Evan Low and Joe Simitian. Even though they finished behind Sam Liccardo–who won about 38,000, it appeared all three Democratic candidates would advance to the November general election under the state’s jungle primary system. But after a recount, Low won a second place finish by five votes.  The Public Interest Legal Foundation further references that in Missouri, a Cottleville Township Committee race was decided by a single vote. Missouri had the largest number of ties or one-vote elections so far in 2024 at eight combined, according to the report.   In Michigan, a Wise Township supervisor race ended in a tie and was broken by a lawsuit. The state of Michigan had five tied election outcomes this year. Texas, New York, Colorado, and Oklahoma each had three ties in 2024. In Tennessee, a tie in a Scott County school board race was broken by a provisional ballot. In Oklahoma, a Republican primary for Carter County sheriff tied and was decided when one of the two names was drawn from a bucket.   The report says 28 states require ties be broken by a game of chance and 13 require a special runoff. The states of Montana, Tennessee, and West Virginia allow an executive officer to decide the winner, while the states of Nevada and New Hampshire allow a legislative body to decide.  New Jersey is the only state lacking any mechanism for a tiebreaker, according to the legal foundation. The post Counts, Recounts and ‘Bucket Draws’: 29 Tied Elections in 2024 So Far appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Texas Secretary of State to Election Officials: Accept Noncitizen Driver's License as Valid ID to Vote