Florida News That Impacts You – October 16th, 2023
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Two disturbances are active in the tropics. Post Tropical Cyclone Sean will soon dissipate in the mid-Atlantic. A second disturbance to the southeast of Sean is being given a 70% chance of development and is expected to impact the Lesser Antilles in the coming week. The coolest temperatures of the season have arrived with lows in 60’s this morning and in the 50’s tomorrow morning. Highs both days should be in the mid-70's. Record low temperatures are possible across the state over the next day.
- The first round of state-sponsored charter flights bringing Floridians back from Israel following the terror attacks and subsequent war arrived last night. Last week Governor DeSantis signed an executive action mandating Florida’s Emergency Management Division to coordinate with State Department efforts to bring Floridians seeking to evacuate Israel back to Florida. Two flights totaling 277 people arrived in Tampa and Orlando last night.
- Google’s YouTube has blocked and removed a video from Senator Marco Rubio following the Senator’s commentary that Hamas terrorists are “savages”. According to YouTube, the video was removed due to a violation of the platform’s “hate speech policy”. In responding to the decision Rubio said: Apparently YouTube/Google has decided that calling Hamas terrorists who burned babies and raped girls ‘savages’ is dehumanizing ‘hate speech. Hamas has been a Designated Terrorist Organization according to the federal government since 1997.
- Tampa-based Slide Insurance, which is one of the companies assuming Citizen’s policies, has announced they’ll be assuming 86,000 Farmers Insurance policies within the state following the insurers decision to not renew property insurance policies early this year. The assumed polices are set to renew in April.
- Gas prices continued to trend lower through the weekend. Statewide the average price for regular unleaded is $3.33 per gallon – 13 cents lower than a week ago. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.53 per gallon, which is the 10th highest price in the state and the best relative value of the year. Oil prices are about 5% higher over the past week following the Hamas terror attacks on Israel and the subsequent war.