Associated Press, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Associated PressSeptember 11, 2017

Holding photos and reading names of loved ones lost 16 years ago, 9/11 victims’ relatives marked the anniversary of the attacks at ground zero on Monday with a solemn and personal ceremony. Every Sept. 11 since the date of the deadliest terror attack on American soil, Rob Fazio has come to the place where his […]

Associated PressSeptember 11, 2017

Though damage from Hurricane Irma is extensive, property insurers are breathing a sigh of relief with the storm nowhere near as catastrophic as many had feared. Shares in insurance companies that had been hammered in the days leading up to the storm are surging Monday, the first day of trading since the hurricane was downgraded […]

Associated PressSeptember 11, 2017

Before crashing into Florida, Hurricane Irma set all sorts of records for brute strength as it flattened Caribbean islands and swamped the Florida Keys. Irma’s assault – so soon after Harvey’s deluge of Houston – marked the first time the U.S. was hit by two Category 4 storms in the same year. Irma hit the […]

Associated PressSeptember 10, 2017

Lauren Durham had a poofy white dress and plans for an intimate beach wedding on the second weekend of September. Instead, she got married in fatigues, with no makeup, in a vast hangar filled with rescue vehicles and paramedics just hours before she would rush into a hurricane to try to save her fellow Floridians. […]

Associated PressSeptember 10, 2017

President Donald Trump says the U.S. may have gotten a “little bit lucky” after Hurricane Irma veered from its original course and headed west along Florida’s coast. He says Irma may not have been quite as destructive as a result, but that things will play out over the next several hours. Trump addressed reporters Sunday […]

Associated PressSeptember 10, 2017

In a 2017 hurricane season that has already seen two monster storms, Harvey and Irma, manufactured homes are turning out to be just a small fraction of the federal government’s plan to deal with displaced people, with only 1,700 trailers available. Where exactly the Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to send those trailers, Texas or […]

Associated PressSeptember 10, 2017

As Irma marches up Florida’s Gulf Coast toward Tampa Bay, residents fear what the storm will do to an area that hasn’t taken a direct hit from a major hurricane since 1921. From punishing winds to catastrophic storm surge, the area is bracing for devastation. Vulnerable structures range from the towering Sunshine Skyway Bridge to […]

Associated PressSeptember 10, 2017

Hurricane Irma has made landfall on Marco Island, Florida, as a Category 3 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Irma’s powerful eye roared ashore at Marco Island just south of Naples with 115-mph (185-kph) winds, for a second U.S. landfall at 3:35 p.m. Sunday. Category 3 storms have winds from 111 to 129 […]

Associated PressSeptember 10, 2017

Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso says a second tower crane has collapsed into a building under construction in the city’s downtown area. Alfonso told The Associated Press that the crane collapsed in a large development with multiple towers being built by Grand Paraiso. Another crane collapsed earlier Sunday onto a high-rise building that’s under construction […]

Associated PressSeptember 10, 2017

Dozens of personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency worked to secure some of the nation’s most contaminated toxic waste sites as Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida. The agency said its employees evacuated personnel, secured equipment and safeguarded hazardous materials in anticipation of storm surges and heavy rains. The Associated Press surveyed six of the 54 Superfund […]

Associated Press

U.S. commemorates 9/11; thousands expected at ground zero

Irma’s worst-case scenario not happening and insurance sector soars

Irma lost some oomph over Cuba before its assault on Florida

Guard couple ditch white wedding for fatigues as Irma nears

Donald Trump: U.S. a ‘little bit lucky’ Irma veered from original course

FEMA sees trailers only as last resort after Harvey, Irma

Irma brings fears of surge, sewers and toxins to Tampa area

Irma makes landfall — again — this time on Marco Island

Second tower crane in Miami collapses because of Irma

Toxic sites throughout Florida likely in path of Irma