Idalia set to make landfall soon as Category 4 hurricane

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Wednesday 08.30.23

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By Alexandra Meeks

Hurricane Idalia has intensified into a potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm.

Hurricane Idalia

Hurricane Idalia has intensified into an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm with powerful winds of 130 mph ahead of its expected landfall today on Florida's Gulf Coast. Category 4-strength winds are capable of catastrophic damage — destroying homes, causing prolonged utility outages and potentially rendering some areas uninhabitable for weeks. It could be the first major hurricane at Category 3 or stronger to hit the state's Big Bend region. "You really got to go now," Gov. Ron DeSantis said as he urged Floridians to heed evacuation warnings. After barreling into Florida, Idalia is on track to pass into Georgia and then the Carolinas.

Gas prices

The storm that's threatening to cause widespread flooding in Florida and up the East Coast may also cause a spike in gas prices nationwide. Idalia's impact could take gasoline refinery facilities offline and may limit some Gulf oil production and supplies, experts say. Plus, demand for gas is expected to surge as residents of the impacted areas evacuate. Many drivers in other parts of the country are also filling up their vehicles ahead of Labor Day weekend, pushing demand for gas even higher. The average national price is already at $3.82 a gallon but analysts say the extreme weather conditions and a jump in summer travel could mean gas prices remain elevated well into the fall.

Human smugglers

The FBI is investigating more than a dozen migrants from Uzbekistan and other countries allowed into the US after they sought asylum at the US-Mexico border earlier this year. US intelligence officials found that the migrants traveled with the help of a smuggler with ties to ISIS, according to multiple officials, raising alarm bells across the government. No specific ISIS plot has been identified, the FBI said, but officials are assessing all of the individuals as possible criminal threats. For some counterterrorism officials, it shows that the US is deeply vulnerable to the possibility that terrorists could sneak across the southern border by hiding amid the surge of migrants entering the country in search of asylum.

Job market

The number of available jobs in the US dropped below 9 million for the first time since March 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job openings decreased across most major industries, but picked up in areas such as information and transportation, warehousing and utilities. A smaller number of workers quit their jobs, businesses hired fewer employees and layoffs nudged higher as the US job market settles into a calmer, more balanced state. Layoffs are now 17% below what they were before the Covid-19 pandemic, data shows. Analysts say this means that the job market and the broader economy are edging toward a "soft landing," when inflation can be reined in without triggering mass layoffs and a recession.

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Medicare

The Biden administration unveiled the names of the first 10 drugs subject to Medicare price negotiations on Tuesday, including several popular blood thinners and diabetes medications. The drugs are Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica and Stelara, as well as Fiasp and certain other insulins made by Novo Nordisk, including NovoLog. Medicare enrollees paid a total of $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs last year and those who didn't receive additional financial assistance shelled out as much as $6,500 on average. "Big Pharma is charging Americans more than three times what they charge other countries simply because they could," President Joe Biden said Tuesday. "I think it's outrageous. That's why these negotiations matter." Once set, the negotiated prices take effect in 2026, though drug companies filed multiple lawsuits seeking to derail the effort.

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