Hurricane Milton: More than 3 million customers were without power in Florida this morning in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. Tornadoes spawned by the storm were responsible for at least four deaths. Although Milton came ashore as a Category 3 hurricane rather than the forecast Category 4 or 5 storm, it caused massive damage. It moved offshore this morning after crossing Florida and was in the Atlantic as a Category 1 hurricane. Numerous homes and business buildings were damaged and a construction crane crashed to the ground in St. Petersburg.
Biden: President Biden, while delivering a televised update on federal government plans to cope with Hurricane Milton, called out Donald Trump and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene by name for spreading lies about the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, and more. Trump’s lies have included that FEMA steals property, only gives out $750 to people needing government aid, and has not sent personnel to help in storm recovery. Greene has made the ridiculous claim that the government controls the weather and steers severe storms into Republican states.
Inflation: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.2% in September, the same increase as in August and July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the CPI increased 2.4%. The index for shelter rose 0.2% in September, and the index for food increased 0.4% Together, food and shelter contributed over 75% of the monthly increase. The cost of energy decreased 6.8% for the 12 months ending in September.
Social Security: Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5% in 2025, the Social Security Administration announced today. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $50 per month starting in January. Over the last decade the cost of living increase has averaged about 2.6%. For 2024, the cost of living increase was 3.2%. Nearly 68 million Social Security beneficiaries will see the 2.5% adjustment beginning in January 2025. Increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving SSI will begin on December 31 of this year.
Gaza: At least 28 people were reported killed in an Israeli air strike on a school in Central Gaza. Israel said it was targeting Hamas terrorists who were using the school as their headquarters. Palestinian sources said at least 50 people also were injured. They said that the school was being used as a shelter for Palestinian refugees. Some of the casualties were children. The Israeli military has called for the evacuation of three hospitals in Gaza in advance of a likely attack.
Nobel Prize: The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2024 has been awarded to the South Korean author Han Kang, for what the Nobel Prize Committee describes as “her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” Kang lives in Seoul, South Korea. She is the first South Korean to win the literature prize, which has a cash award of $1 million. She is the 18th woman to win the prize. There have been 117 Nobel Prizes in Literature awarded since 1901.
