President Biden is approving a federal disaster declaration for Florida to help state and local recovery efforts after Hurricane Idalia slammed into North Florida’s Big Bend.
The disaster declaration will make federal money available for people affected by the storm in Citrus, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Suwannee and Taylor counties.
Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning in the Keaton Beach area of Taylor County before sweeping north into Georgia.
“Every American expects FEMA will show up in the middle of a disaster and I’m calling on Congress to make sure you’re able and have the funds to be able to continue to show up,” Biden said at a press conference at FEMA Thursday.
Biden is scheduled to come to Florida to survey the damage on Saturday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis visited the town of Perry earlier and requested a major disaster declaration for 25 counties.
He believes some aspects of recovery in the area could take months.
An Orange County Sheriff’s deputy has been placed on administrative leave after body camera video shows police arresting him on accusations of street racing.
As Deputy Brian Espinal pulled over, the other motorcyclist took off.
In the video, Espinal tells the officer he wasn’t racing.
“Oh I can see how that looks. You know, I can see how that looks and ir wasn’t like that,” Espinal said in the video.
Police tell him he ran at least one red light, was changing lanes illegally and hitting speeds just under 100 miles per hour.
Espinal said he just wanted to impress his girlfriend riding on the back.
“It looks bad on my part and I understand you know we were going on a date night and I just got the bike not too long ago. I wanted to impress her, and it’s really bad. I don’t speed at all,” the deputy said.
Espinal was placed in handcuffs and faces charges of reckless driving and street racing.
And Floridians along the Gulf Coast are getting a special visitor following Hurricane Idalia.
Photos circulating on social media show unusual flamingo sightings in Sanibel Island and as far north as the Panhandle.
A wildlife expert told the Fort Myers News-Press that the bright pink birds were likely carried in by the hurricane from Venezuela, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Despite being nearly synonymous with Florida, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said flamingos are actually rare to find in the wild in Florida, usually only in parts of Everglades National Park.
Random Florida Fact
The first knife to go to space was crafted by a family business in Orlando, which still operates today.
Randall Made Knives makes more than 8,000 handmade knives each year, and there is a six-year waiting list for new customers.
Next to the factory on South Orange Blossom Trail sits a new museum in the family’s renovated home, filled to the hilt with one of the largest collections of knives in the world.
That’s where you can see the famous Randall “Astro” knife carried by astronaut Gordon Cooper when he orbited the earth in 1963.
There’s also an exhibit proclaiming to hold the world’s largest switchblade.