Tropical Storm Beryl hits Florida
Tropical Storm Beryl hits Florida
Associated Press
Tropical Storm Beryl moved across northeastern Florida early today, bringing drenching rains, driving winds and the threat of flooding to the southeastern U.S. coast, forecasters said.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported that the center of Beryl made landfall near Jacksonville Beach at around 12:10 a.m., with near-hurricane-strength winds of 70 mph. The weather system was expected to continue dumping rain over parts of Florida and Georgia today. It should weaken as it moves inland today and Tuesday, and as a frontal system comes down from the Great Lakes, Beryl will move out into the Atlantic Ocean.
“We’re seeing about the best that Beryl has right now as far as its winds are concerned, with winds about 70 mph,” forecaster Al Sandrik said in an audio briefing late Sunday. “The model shows significant weakening of the storm in 12 hours.”
In the meantime, tropical storm warnings remained in effect early today for coastal areas from Flagler Beach, Fla. to Edisto Beach, S.C. At 2 a.m., the storm was 5 miles east of Jacksonville, Fla. and winds had decreased to 65 mph. Tropical storm force winds were extending outward up to 115 miles.
Beryl was expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain to parts, with some areas getting as much as 12 inches. Forecasters said the storm surge and high tide could bring 2 to 4 feet of flooding in northeastern Florida and Georgia, and 1 to 2 feet in southern South Carolina.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott urged Florida residents in the affected areas to “stay alert and aware.”
“Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to bring heavy rain and winds, and it is vital to continue to monitor local news reports and listen to the advice of local emergency management officials,” Scott said.
Second brother gets death penalty
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Rodney Berget lives in a single cell on South Dakota’s death row, rarely leaving the tiny room where he awaits execution for bludgeoning a prison guard to death with a pipe during an attempted escape.
For Berget’s immediate family, his fate is somewhat familiar. He is the second member of the clan to be sentenced to death. His older brother was convicted in 1987 of killing a man for his car. Roger Berget spent 13 years on Oklahoma’s death row until his execution in 2000 at age 39.
The Bergets are not the first pair of siblings to be condemned. Record books reveal at least three cases of brothers who conspired to commit crimes and both got the death penalty. But these two stand out because their crimes were separated by more than 600 miles and 25 years.
“To have it in different states in different crimes is some sort of commentary on the family there,” said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, which tracks death penalty trends.
The siblings’ journey from the poverty of their South Dakota childhood to stormy, crime-ridden adult lives shows the far-reaching effects of a damaged upbringing — and the years of havoc wrought by two men who developed what the courts called a wanton disregard for human life. Rodney Berget is scheduled to die later this year.
Labor board member resigns
WASHINGTON (AP) — A member of the National Labor Relations Board accused of leaking inside information has resigned, the agency announced Sunday.
Terence Flynn had been under pressure to leave since March, when the board’s inspector general found that Flynn committed ethics violations by improperly revealing confidential details on the status of pending cases.
Flynn, a Republican, shared the information with two former board members, including a one-time labor adviser to presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s campaign. That adviser, Peter Schaumber, left the Romney campaign in December, around the time the investigation into Flynn began.
Flynn submitted a letter to President Barack Obama and to the board’s chairman, Mark Pearce, late Saturday saying he would resign effective July 24, but would recuse himself from all agency business until he departs.
While Flynn did not mention the allegations against him, he had previously denied any wrongdoing. Flynn’s personal lawyer had claimed any discussions about board proceedings were not illegal.
Flynn is one of five members of the board, which oversees union elections and enforces labor laws. It has been the focus of intense partisan wrangling, with Republicans and business groups complaining that it leans too heavily in favor of labor unions.
Obama bypassed the Senate to appoint Flynn and two Democratic nominees to the board in January. Republicans had filibustered the nominations for months. In two separate reports, the board’s inspector general said Flynn improperly leaked information about the status of cases, how other board members planned to vote, and the board’s internal strategy for handling litigation against it.
Bird plan for JFK faces criticism
NEW YORK (AP) — Critics are crying foul over a plan to control bird populations near New York City’s JFK Airport.
Under a proposal from the U.S. department of Agriculture, staffers would be authorized to kill a half-dozen bird species within a five-mile radius of the airport.
The intent is to reduce the number of bird strikes on planes. Environmentalists say that the measures need to be examined more carefully. They say the plan conflicts with a multimillion-dollar federal effort to restore nearby wetland habitats for migratory birds.
Birds that could be killed under the plan include Canada geese, mute swans, double-crested cormorants, blackbirds, crows, rock pigeons and European starlings.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has proposed legislation that would bypass the environmental impact review process for the plan.