The Spanish government has suffered a setback in its attempts to remove beleaguered soccer chief Luis Rubiales from his post over the unwanted kiss he gave to Spain star Jennifer Hermoso.

Spain’s Court of Arbitration in Sport (TAD) on Friday agreed to open a case against Rubiales but rejected the government’s argument that his offenses were “very serious,” preventing his immediate suspension and forcing ministers to ask the tribunal to do it instead.

Minister of Culture and Sport Miquel Iceta said at a press conference on Friday that he will submit a separate complaint to TAD and request for Rubiales to be removed from his post until the investigation is resolved.

This development comes as pressure continues to mount on Rubiales ever since he gave an unwanted kiss to Hermoso after Spain won the Women’s World Cup on August 20.

Rubiales was suspended by FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, from all football-related activities for 90 days on Saturday, though he could also eventually face suspension by the government’s High Council of Sport (CSD).

A government statement released on Tuesday said that Rubiales displayed “unacceptable behavior” at the World Cup final and called his actions “very serious” violations of the country’s Law of Sport, something which TAD has now rejected.

Rubiales on Friday expressed regret about his actions, but also lashed out against a “manufactured campaign” against him, insisting that he had been treated unfairly.

“Last August 20th I made some obvious mistakes, which I regret sincerely, from the heart. It is true that for such errors I have asked for forgiveness,” he said in a statement released on social media and widely reported by the Spanish press.

“I have learned that no matter how great the joy and deep the emotion, even when A WORLD CUP IS WON, sports leaders must be required to exhibit exemplary behavior, and mine wasn’t,” he said, adding he is apologizing to players, the federation, fans and anyone who may have been offended by his actions.

Rubiales has previously admitted that he made a mistake kissing Hermoso but said the act was consensual – a claim that Hermoso has squarely rejected.

In a statement last Friday, the soccer champion said that at no point did she consent to a kiss, writing on social media: “I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out of place act without any consent on my part.”

Hermoso also said the RFEF president’s explanation of the incident was “categorically” false, adding: “I want to reiterate as I did before that I did not like this incident.”

Pressure on Rubiales to step down from his position as RFEF president only intensified after he dramatically refused to do so during a speech at the federation’s Extraordinary General Assembly last Friday, vowing to “fight to the end.”

Earlier this week, all 19 of the Spanish federation’s regional presidents called for Rubiales to resign while also offering unanimous support for interim president Pedro Rocha, who stepped into the role following Rubiales’ suspension by FIFA.

Isis Woods had only known Michael Bradford for a few hours when she texted her mother, overcome with excitement.

“Mom, I met my husband,” she typed, phone in one hand and cocktail in another.

“Are you drunk?” Isis’ mother replied.

“Yes,” said Isis. “And I met my husband.”

It was the fall of 2018 and Isis, then 23, was on vacation in Puerto Rico, enjoying what she calls her “first adult trip.”

She was traveling with her best friend, who’d just graduated college. Isis, a student teacher, was almost finished with her studies too, and the two friends decided they deserved a moment to celebrate and explore somewhere new.

They settled on Puerto Rico as a vacation destination because it was easy to fly there from their home in Atlanta, Georgia – but also promised lots to see and do.

The pair arrived on the Caribbean archipelago ready to soak up sunshine at the beach, bar hop and eat good food. The trip got off to a rocky start when their Airbnb turned out to be nothing like the posting, but Isis’ friend saved the day, using her hotel points to book them a last minute stay at the swanky beachfront La Concha Renaissance San Juan Resort.

As Isis surveyed the sandy stretch of Condado Beach in front of the hotel, she felt herself relax into vacation mode.

After unpacking at La Concha, she called her sister to update her on the trip so far, telling her about the accommodation upgrade and filling her in on her first impressions of Puerto Rico.

Her sister mentioned a guy she knew from college was also in San Juan on vacation.

“Is there a festival or something going on there right now?” she asked Isis – it seemed like a coincidence that two people she knew were vacationing in the same place at the same time.

“No, I don’t think so,” said Isis. “I guess we’re just there at the same time.”

Later, getting ready for the evening, Isis started feeling a little nervous about going out in a new place with just her friend for company. She remembered her sister mentioning the guy she knew, and started wondering if maybe they could tag along with him and his friends, at least for the beginning of the evening.

Isis dropped her sister a message, asking if she could pass on the friend’s number “just so we can meet up, feel safe, go out with a group.”

“And so she, quote unquote, slid in his DMs,” recalls Isis. “I don’t know exactly what she said. But she keeps telling me that she’s going to print it on a shirt – just to prove that she’s the one that got us together.”

That college friend of Isis’ sister was, of course, Michael Bradford.

‘Like a movie’

When Michael got the message from Isis’ sister, his attitude was simply, “the more the merrier.” He was on his annual vacation with his best friend and some other close pals.

Michael and Isis’ sister were part of the same extended friend group at college, so he was intrigued to meet Isis. But as numbers were exchanged and plans discussed, nobody considered the idea that a romantic spark could be about to be lit.

Isis quickly glanced over Michael’s Instagram out of curiosity, but she was left less than impressed.

“I was like, ‘This guy looks like a douche – one of those guys who just want to wear short shorts and a tank top and get girls,’” she recalls.

But when Isis phoned Michael to confirm plans, her impression of him shifted.

“When we got on the phone, he seemed like a kind young man,” she says.

On the phone, there was also an “instant” ease between them, as Michael puts it.

“We were both just very, very comfortable with each other,” he says.

They arranged to meet at a San Juan restaurant and have dinner that evening.

The moment Isis walked into the restaurant and Michael saw her for the first time was, he says, “like a movie.” She was wearing a bright blue dress and stood out against her surroundings. He was immediately drawn to her.

“Oh man,” he thought.

Isis and her friend sat down and introductions were made. Isis liked Michael right away, but his friends were pretty quiet at first.

For the first part of the evening, Isis and her friend were surreptitiously texting back and forth across the table: “These people are weird.”

“Eventually they started to warm up,” says Isis. “But at that point, me and Michael were just really talking.”

Isis and Michael had ended up sitting next to one another and after a while, Isis had stopped paying attention to anyone else. She was just focused on Michael, and he only had eyes for her.

They bonded over a shared interest of trading, discovering they were both into tracking stocks and shares.

“I remember that was the first really interesting conversation that we had,” says Michael. “And then we started talking about entrepreneurship – and started talking about everything.”

Isis talked about how she loved teaching, but also wanted to inspire people in other ways, and maybe start her own business one day.

“What that told me was, ‘You’re adaptable, you’re accepting of change, you’re accepting of a growth mindset,’” says Michael.

Isis and Michael didn’t stop talking for the rest of the evening. Later that night, Isis fired off her starry-eyed text to her mother. She was swept off her feet, and Michael was equally as smitten.

The two hung out over the rest of their time in Puerto Rico, bringing their friendship groups together each day.

“We ended up going to the Bacardi factory, which is out there, and sightseeing and doing stuff together,” recalls Isis.

Their friends were keenly aware of their growing connection. As the group explored Puerto Rico, Michael’s friends kept offering to take photos of the pair.

“These are for the memories,” they said.

On the last day the group went out to breakfast together and Isis’ friend was direct about it:

“So, how does it feel to have met your husband and wife on a trip?,” she asked, eyebrow raised.

“We’re like, ‘Whoa, please. We’re just having a good time,’” recalls Isis.

Even though Isis was convinced Michael would be part of her future, she was also trying to manage her own expectations. She was heading back to Atlanta, while Michael was flying back to Washington D.C.. They’d have to try and stay in touch across several hundred miles.

As she climbed into her airport taxi, Michael promised to call her as soon as they were both home.

“I remember thinking, ‘Well, you don’t have to, let’s not set an expectation,’” she recalls. “That totally went out the window, in my head, by the time we started talking when we got back home.”

Coming together

Within a month Isis was calling Michael and asking, “Are you going to officially ask me to be your girlfriend?”

Michael wanted that commitment too. Their vacation meeting felt meant to be.

But Isis’ sister was, at first, less convinced.

“She was like, ‘I cannot believe that you would go to Puerto Rico and fall in love with my friend.’ And I was like, ‘Why are you so mad?’” recalls Isis.

“She said that she thought that I was a man eater, which she has no evidence of. But she thought that I was going to hurt him.”

Isis was frustrated by her sister’s reaction at the time, but today, she’s more magnanimous.

“Looking back – again, she’s my sister, so she knows all my relationship history. She knows that I cut people off easily. I didn’t trust men a lot, before Michael.”

Meanwhile Isis’ mother, once she’d confirmed the vacation text wasn’t just a drunken message, was delighted for her daughter.

“It was so funny, I expected my mom to be more worried and my sister to be the one that was over the moon,” says Isis. “My mom was the one over the moon.”

“Just keep going. She’ll come around,” She advised her daughter. And eventually, after a couple of months at loggerheads, the sisters sat down and had a proper conversation about Isis’ relationship.

Isis made clear she was serious about Michael, and her sister gave the relationship her blessing. From then on, she was nothing but supportive.

During all this, Isis and Michael were navigating a long distance relationship. They tried to meet once a month, but it wasn’t easy.

“We were both very much wanting to see each other more than we could,” says Isis.

The couple started talking about moving somewhere new together and settled on Dallas, Texas, where they moved in 2019. The two were excited for this step, but they decided to live separately at first – Isis and Michael wanted to test the waters of being in a new city together before they signed a joint lease.

In March 2020, they were supposed to embark on a return vacation to Puerto Rico. Instead, the pandemic hit, their flights were canceled and the two hunkered down together in Michael’s apartment.

Suddenly living together was a “learning experience” for them both, but overwhelmingly it was “a good thing,” as Michael puts it. As the pandemic receded, the couple were closer than ever.

A surprise engagement

Even before they met, both Isis and Michael knew they wanted to get married one day. And as their relationship developed over the next couple of years, they both knew it was the next step.

But all the same, when Michael proposed, it was the last thing Isis expected.

It was April 2022 and the couple were supposed to be heading to a brunch hosted by one of Michael’s childhood friends.

Isis had just returned from a work trip and wasn’t feeling great. She’d woken up tired, suffering from a migraine and looking to get out of the social commitment.

“I don’t want to go,” she told Michael.

“We can’t cancel,” he said, adamantly.

“You’re ignoring the fact that I have a headache,” said Isis, upset. “You’re choosing this party over my wellbeing.”

Michael, looking panicked, wouldn’t budge, simply saying he’d promised his friend they’d be there.

“And so I walk away. And in my head, I’m like, ‘I don’t know why this is so important to him, but if it’s so important, I’m going to shut up. I’m going to take my Tylenol, and I’m going to go,’” recalls Isis today.

When they arrived she was still none the wiser. She only started to question what was happening when they stepped out of the car to silence.

“This is a very quiet party,” Isis thought.

When the door opened, the house was crowded with the familiar faces of Isis’ loved ones.

“There was a second where I was shocked, and I’m like, ‘Oh, why is my sister here? Why is my mom here?’ And then I break down crying, because then I realized,” says Isis.

Michael had gathered all of Isis’ friends and family there to witness the moment he asked her to spend the rest of their lives together.

“It was a beautiful day,” Isis says.

Isis and Michael were married five months later in October, in Las Vegas. She took his name, becoming Isis Bradford.

The couple started with plans to keep the celebrations small, but in the end over 100 of their friends and family joined them to celebrate.

Their wedding reception was held at the Skyline Terrace Suite at the MGM Grand Hotel.

“It was nice, because we were all dancing with the Vegas skyline behind us,” says Isis.

The destination wedding felt appropriate for the couple who’d met on vacation. Plus, Isis and Michael liked the idea of inspiring other people to take a trip.

“I really enjoy the fact that people came in for us, but stayed for a family vacation, or they stayed for a friend’s get together,” says Isis.

“That was pretty cool,” agrees Michael.

For their honeymoon, Isis and Michael chose a cruise trip that started and ended in Puerto Rico, “where the beginning started for us,” as Michael puts it.

“It was just a little nostalgic,” he says.

Living life as a team

Walking around San Juan, hand-in-hand with Michael, Isis says she felt “very grateful” – especially for the fact that she found “someone doing something that I loved and that he loved.”

“Our common interest is traveling, we love traveling, we love experiencing other cultures,” agrees Michael. “And this is my forever travel buddy now.”

The couple are also united in their commitment to their careers. Today, Isis is an entrepreneur and digital marketing strategist with her own business, while Michael does financial planning and analysis for a technology company.

“Having a wife so creative and innovative generates thought-provoking conversations that allow me to add some color to my black and white view of financial planning,” says Michael.

“I second Michael,” says Isis. “I’m a dreamer and he makes my big ideas become doable.”

The couple believe in “making your own destiny,” both in work, relationships and life more broadly.

“I think that us getting married is kind of just manifesting those dreams and goals,” says Michael.

Isis says she always holds on to the idea, first and foremost, that she and Michael are “on the same team” in whatever they do.

Before they got married, the pair decided to go to premarital counseling, which they describe less as a “why” and more of  a “‘why not’ decision.

Their biggest takeaway from these sessions was that love is a “choice.”

“I choose to love you, you choose to love me,” says Michael. “And each day, we have to reup.”

“Choose each other again and again,” adds Isis.

“I think that just having that mindset was very important. Because that’s how we’re going to continue to grow and learn and love each other,” says Michael.

Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer, capping another blockbuster season for travel. But according to some industry experts, it’s not too early to start thinking about – and perhaps even booking – next year’s trip.

Tour operators, travel advisers and other tourism insiders say they’ve seen a noticeable shift in the booking window among leisure travelers in light of the unprecedented demand of past seasons. It’s yet another way the Covid-19 pandemic continues to reverberate in the industry and affect consumers’ spending behavior.

“And so that’s been pushed back now because of the supply issues and the huge demand. So inevitably, something has to give, and that means clients have to book at least six to 12 months in advance to get what they want at the right price.”

Like many operators specializing in Italy, Triantafillou says his company, which plans luxury trips and is part of Global Travel Collection UK, had its busiest season ever this summer. In early June, the company decided to stop taking any additional bookings for the remainder of the month.

As a result, clients have seen firsthand what happens if they wait too late to book, say, their favorite Tuscan villa.

“We are seeing client mindset shift, and they understand more and more that they must book in advance to guarantee the dates and experiences desired,” Triantafillou says.

‘Making up for lost time’

“We’re continuing to see the effects of pent-up travel demand and the concept of making up for lost time with family reunions abroad,” Cabutti says.

“Travelers however have also learned from the last two seasons, and realized that choosing to book last-minute or during peak holiday dates can lead to unexpected surprises from high flight costs, a lack of hotel availability, to longer queues at key attractions and busy crowds.”

Across the Atlantic, some US-based tourism businesses also have noticed a significant uptick in travelers booking way in advance.

Stephanie Bias, co-owner of Camp Aramoni, an upscale camping-style property on the site of a former historic brickyard in Tonica, Illinois, says many guests are booking between one and two years out – and sometimes even further for milestone events.

“I even had a bachelorette party reach out 2.5 years ahead of time, which shocked me,” says Bias, who also is communications director. “Those who wait until the last minute will find very few, if any, options. Weekends sell out quickly, and weekdays are being booked at a pace we’ve never seen before. The early bird truly does get the worm.”

‘Not the earliest bird’

Even as the booking window is stretching into a longer-term outlook, travelers trying to get a major jump-start on their vacation planning should keep in mind that not all advance bookings are created equal.

According to Scott Keyes, founder of travel site Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights), points- or miles-based bookings for flights are most important to make as far in advance as possible to get not only a good deal, but more importantly, simply the chance to book with points or miles.

This aspect of the airline booking system is dependent on what’s known as award availability: the inventory, or number of seats, that are bookable with miles or points on any given flight.

Each airline determines the award availability on its flights, and award availability varies between each cabin class (for example, airlines limit the number of first- or business-class seats).

“Many airlines make a handful of seats available – even coveted lie-flat business class seats – right when the 12-month booking window opens up,” Keyes says, adding that one of Going’s recent deals was roundtrip business-class fare from the United States to Madrid in June 2024 for as low as 54,000 points.

For flights not based on points, the formula gets a little trickier on how far exactly to book to get the best deal, depending on demand and destination. But Keyes generally advises travelers not to necessarily hit that purchase button as soon as an airline opens up a flight for booking.

“While it’s relatively common knowledge that last-minute fares are expensive, what’s far less known is that it’s also possible to book flights too early,” he says. “Airfare is available on most airlines up to 12 months out, but the cheapest fares are most likely to pop up during what we call a ‘Goldilocks Window’ – not too early, not too late, just right in the middle. In other words, the early bird gets the worm, but not the earliest bird.”

According to Keyes, that critical booking window for the best deals on peak summer international flights usually falls between four and 10 months out – which means if you already have your heart set on sipping Aperol spritzes in Santorini next June, it’s not a bad idea to start keeping an eye on flights in the preceding fall to snag the best price possible.

A simple way to tackle the task: Sign up for a flight monitoring alert, which is a free feature most major booking and flight tracking platforms offer. This is especially helpful in popular destinations where flights are especially expensive, including Europe and Asia. According to figures from Hopper’s recently released Q3 Consumer Travel Index, Asia fares remain a whopping 59% higher on average than pre-pandemic prices – about $525 more per ticket.

Sally French, a travel rewards expert and spokesperson with NerdWallet, notes that booking a flight or hotel room far in advance is a smart way to fulfill an introductory offer on a travel credit card. “Planning ahead gives you enough time to meet that card’s minimum spending requirement and actually receive the points or miles in your account,” French says.

Finally, keep in mind that if you do decide to book that flight way ahead of time and the price drops, you can still snag those savings. As Keyes notes, “With most airlines now allowing penalty-free changes and cancellations, you can rebook the same flight if the price drops after booking and get the difference back in travel credit.”

Other intangibles of planning early

In addition to helping ensure you’re able to book the destination, flight and accommodations you want, planning next year’s trip now also has some other hidden benefits, such as allowing a big cushion for organizing and obtaining necessary documents and medical requirements.

Perhaps most importantly if you’re headed out of the country: Make sure your passport is still valid, especially if you haven’t dusted it off since before the pandemic. As French explains, this is especially critical as the US State Department currently estimates that routine passport renewal processing will take from 10 to 13 weeks. And remember that while adult passports are valid for 10 years, that number drops to five for children younger than 18.

Planning a trip far in advance also means you’ll have plenty of wiggle room for other time-consuming preparations, such as getting necessary vaccinations, depending on your destination.

For travelers headed on safari in sub-Saharan Africa, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends being up-to-date on several key vaccinations, which involves the time-consuming task of wrangling health records and scheduling appointments. In addition, some vaccinations require multiple doses with a required minimum between visits.

From the hospitality industry perspective, advance booking can help hoteliers and other businesses adjust staffing, pricing and other factors to offer a better experience. While Cabutti of JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa acknowledges that “the early booking trend results in higher room rates,” it also enables businesses to better meet guests’ needs.

“We can better forecast our occupancy rates, allowing us to make informed decisions regarding staffing, inventory management and service offerings,” he said. “Additionally, the increase in advanced bookings during slower months has led us to extend our season well into late fall, welcoming more guests who look forward to enjoying Venice without the summer crowds.”

And as Keyes notes, travelers can also benefit from the feel-good intangible at play when a vacation many months down the road is already at the forefront of your thoughts.

“Researchers have found that you get more joy from trips booked further out,” he says. “That’s because people tend to derive more happiness from the anticipation of a trip rather than the trip itself. When you book far out, you give yourself something to look forward to for months.”

On Good Friday 2017, Wyatt Werneth got a call from his wife, who had gone grocery shopping with their daughter: The car’s broken down. Please rescue us.

Werneth hopped in his vehicle to assist, driving by Patrick Space Force Base near Cape Canaveral, Florida. From the A1A highway, Werneth said you can see the ocean.

What he saw next was a twist of fate that led to a much more urgent kind of rescue.

“When I came over the berm, I did not realize what I was getting into. There were multiple people in the water.”

And they were in trouble. Very serious trouble. Rip current kind of trouble.

The scene would send chills of dread down anyone’s spine — but at least Werneth was prepared. He is an experienced lifeguard instructor and had water rescue equipment with him.

But with at least five people struggling in a vicious Atlantic rip current, how would he possibly save them all?

The statistics are grim

Rip currents could be a major hazard along much of the US Atlantic coastline during this Labor Day weekend because of tropical storm systems hundreds of miles out churning up the sea. And with temperatures so high, the desire to take a dip in the water will be strong.

Be cautious, check local conditions and see below for more details about what to do if you’re caught in one.

Whether it’s from these potentially dangerous currents, seemingly placid lakes or swimming pools, the drowning statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are shocking.

In the CDC’s most recently updated numbers, an estimated 4,012 fatal unintentional drownings happen every year in the United States (including boating incidents). That is an average of 11 drowning deaths per day.

From 2016 to 2020, the states with the most drowning deaths per 100,000 people were the following:

1. Alaska
2. Hawaii
3. Louisiana
4. Florida
5. Montana (which replaces former No. 5 Mississippi)

Your odds of drowning are much, much higher than being attacked by a shark or an alligator.

World drowning statistics are even more shocking. There are an estimated 236,000 annual drowning deaths worldwide, according to the UN’s World Health Organization. That comes out to an average of 647 people per day.

And then there are the even more numerous nonfatal drownings. The CDC says people who survive a drowning incident have a range of outcomes: “From no injuries to very serious injuries or permanent disability.”

The tragedy is many of these deaths and injuries are preventable, experts say. What can you do to enjoy the water — be it ocean, river, lake or swimming pool — safely and not join the ranks of drowning deaths? Turns out, a lot.

Who is most at risk?

Knowing who is likely to drown is critical. At-risk groups need the most attention. In the United States, those include the following:

• The youngest people: Children 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates, the CDC says, mostly in swimming pools.

• Males: They account for nearly 80% of fatal drownings in the United States. More risk-taking behaviors and alcohol use are cited as reasons. Across the world, WHO reports males have twice the fatal drowning rate of females.

• Minority groups: Fatal drowning rates for American Indian or Alaska Native people 29 and younger are two times higher than for White people. For Black people, the rate is 1.5 times higher than for White people.

• People with seizure disorders: People with conditions such as epilepsy are at a higher risk for drowning, and that can happen in a bathtub.

Drowning prevention tips

The CDC emphasizes the importance of learning basic water safety skills, saying formal lessons can reduce the risk of drowning.

However, “children who have had swimming lessons still need close and constant supervision when in or around water,” the agency notes. Don’t get distracted by TV, books or the phone when watching children in the water.

If you’re drinking alcoholic beverages, stay out of the water and don’t go boating. Impaired judgment and slow reactions can lead to tragedy.

People in boats and weaker swimmers should wear life jackets, especially in open water.

And keep an eye on the weather. Exit if there’s a thunderstorm or heavy rains.

Know the water environments

Understand the waters you’re about to enter. Different bodies of water carry different types of dangers:

OCEAN RIP CURRENTS

Rip currents flow away from shore. They often form at breaks in sandbars and close to piers and rock groins.

Look for signs of a rip current before entering, says the United States Lifesaving Association. That can be “a narrow gap of darker, seemingly calmer water between areas of breaking waves and whitewater,” a difference in water color or “a line of foam, seaweed or debris moving seaward.”

Here’s what to do you’re caught in one:

• Stay calm. Rip currents don’t pull you underwater but do sweep you farther from shore.

• Don’t swim against the current. Try to escape by “swimming out of the current in a direction following the shoreline,” the USLA says. You may be able to escape by floating or treading water and ride the current out.

• If you’re in trouble, yell and wave for help.

If you’re not trained, don’t try to rescue people yourself. Seek a lifeguard, call 911 or throw a flotation device their way. Direct the person to swim parallel to the shoreline to escape.

OTHER OCEAN TIPS

The National Weather Service warns swimmers to watch out for “shorebreak” waves. They crash directly onto the sand and can batter and disorient swimmers. “When in doubt, don’t go out,” said Wyatt Werneth, who is also the public service spokesperson for the American Lifeguard Association.

Swim Guide and Swim Ireland advise people to swim in the hour before or the hour after low tide or high tide when waters are generally calmer. (But conditions can vary beach to beach).

RIVERS

Tubing and other activities are popular in rivers. But swift currents and obstacles below the surface or debris can be hazardous.

Werneth said research the river before you enter.

LAKES AND PONDS

The placid waters of lakes and ponds can lull waders and swimmers into a false sense of security. Sharp, sudden dropoffs and debris under the water can startle or entangle people, Werneth said, leading to panic and drowning. He said go in with a swim buddy.

Dive only in designated areas. The USLA says enter unknown waters feet first to avoid striking your head. Swimmers shouldn’t stray into areas where personal watercraft and boats are speeding by.

SWIMMING POOLS

The National Drowing Prevention Alliance has this advice for pool owners: “four-sided fencing with self-closing self-latching gates, door and window alarms, and safety covers can help make sure kids don’t get to the water unsupervised.”

And even if your children know how to swim, adults should still maintain a careful watch. Keep flotation devices on hand.

BOATING

The National Park Service’s “Operation Dry Water” reminds people that all vessels must carry personal flotation devices.

National lifeguard shortage

Werneth, who is also a spokesman for the American Lifeguard Association, warned of a critical lifeguard shortage at the beginning of summer.

He said the group’s message has always been “swim in front of a lifeguard.” But he said the reality of the shortage is prompting a new one: “Learn to swim, America.”

“We want people to self-lifeguard. Assign someone in your family to be a water watcher. Have that person learn CPR.”

And if someone can’t swim and still wants to wade, “put a life jacket on them. That’s going to make a difference.”

Werneth said that if you plan on going to a destination that features water activities, go online first to find out the lifeguard situation and adapt your plans as needed. Some pools, lakes and beaches might not even be open.

Operation Rescue

Back in 2017 at that Florida beach, Werneth’s task was daunting. But he had a cool head, decades of experience — and fortunately, a second experienced helper on hand that he later learned was from the Air Force.

“He was single-handedly pulling people out before I even got there. … That Air Force guy was kind of coming back with one. I saw that he had one that was kind of going unconscious, and I immediately jumped in the water, swam out, grabbed the unconscious person and got him out.”

Werneth guesses that they were about 50 yards out, and he recalls they ended up pulling five male teens out of the water. They weren’t even in swimming attire, Werneth said, leading him to think it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to enter the ocean.

Would the group have died without the rescue, which left him exhausted?

“I assure you they all would have. … These people were going in to help each other, and it caused a chain reaction. Do not go into the water to assist anyone without a flotation device,” he said.

“It was perfect timing that I showed up and happened to be there to help those guys.” All because the family car had broken down. But not everyone can rely on luck.

In the end, you need “water confidence,” gained by experience and respect for the water.

“The fear is what generates the panic which generates the drowning.”

Here’s a look at Boko Haram, a militant Islamic group working out of Nigeria, whose purpose is to institute Sharia, or Islamic law.

Facts

In the local Hausa dialect, Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden.”

The group also refers to itself as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, meaning “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad.”

Boko Haram militants mainly inhabit areas in the northern states of Nigeria, specifically Yobe, Kano, Bauchi, Borno and Kaduna.

Originally, Boko Haram was referred to locally as the Nigerian Taliban because of their religious similarities to the Taliban.

Boko Haram does not engage in Nigeria’s political system out of an adherence to a fundamentalist form of Islam, which forbids participation unless the system is based on Sharia, or Islamic law.

Timeline

2002 – The group, which may have existed since the late 1990s, organizes under the Muslim cleric Mohammed Yusuf. It is centered in Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern state of Borno.

December 2003 – The first known attack by Boko Haram includes roughly 200 militants, who attack multiple police stations in the state of Yobe, near the Niger border.

July 2009 – The Boko Haram uprising begins in Bauchi and spreads to the states of Borno, Kano and Yobe. The militant group kills scores of police officers. A joint military task force responds, leaving more than 700 Boko Haram members dead and its operational mosque destroyed. The uprising ends when police capture Yusuf. His deputy, Abubakar Shekau, reportedly dies in the uprising. Yusuf later dies in police custody. Police say he is shot during an attempted escape, but Boko Haram claims it is an extrajudicial execution.

July 2010 – Boko Haram releases a video statement in which Yusuf’s deputy who allegedly died the previous year, Shekau, claims to be the leader of the group.

September 7, 2010 – In the state of Bauchi, 50 Boko Haram militants attack a prison, killing five people and releasing more than 700 inmates.

May 29, 2011 – The day of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguration, Boko Haram detonates three IEDs near a military barracks in the city of Bauchi. At least 10 people die in the attack.

August 26, 2011 – Boko Haram attacks the United Nations compound in Abuja. A car bomb kills 23 people and injures more than 75 others.

November 4, 2011 – More than 100 people die in multiple attacks in Yobo, Damaturu and Borno states. Boko Haram militants utilize IEDs and vehicle-borne IEDs to target security forces and their offices, markets and 11 churches.

January 2012 – A newly formed splinter group, known as Ansaru, announces Abu Usmatul al-Ansari as its leader.

January 20, 2012 – More than 200 people are killed when Boko Haram launches coordinated attacks targeting police, military, a prison and other targets in the city of Kano in Kano State.

February 19, 2013 – Militants alleging to be Boko Haram kidnap a French family of seven in a national park in northern Cameroon; however, the affiliation with Boko Haram cannot be verified. The family is later released.

April 2013 – Jonathan states he has appointed a team to explore the possibility of amnesty for Islamist militants. Shekau responds in an audio statement: “Surprisingly the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you pardon.”

April 19, 2013 – Boko Haram battles with multinational security forces from Niger, Nigeria and Chad in the city of Baga in Borno State, leaving nearly 200 people dead, including many civilians. Shekau releases a video in May saying Boko Haram is not responsible for the civilian deaths.

June 4, 2013 – Jonathan approves the proscription of Boko Haram and splinter group Ansaru as terrorist organizations.

June 2013 – Boko Haram targets churches in various states on three Sundays in a row, leaving more than 50 people dead.

August 14, 2013 – The Ministry of Defence announces the death of Boko Haram’s second-in-command, Momodu Baba (known as Abu Saad).

August 19, 2013 – Nigeria’s chief army spokesperson claims Shekau may have died after an attack on June 30, but the claim is never verified.

September 17, 2013 – Boko Haram gunmen dress in military uniforms and stage a fake checkpoint near Benisheik in Borno, burning vehicles and executing travelers, leaving at least 143 people dead.

September 25, 2013 – A man claiming to be Shekau appears in a video and says that he is alive and well. However, his identity is not verified.

November 13, 2013 – The US State Department adds Boko Haram and Ansaru to its list of terrorist organizations.

April 14, 2014 – Boko Haram militants kidnap approximately 276 teenage girls from a boarding school in Chibok in Borno. Officials say some of the girls were able to escape. The kidnapping sparks global outrage and a #BringBackOurGirls campaign on social media.

May 5, 2014 – In a video statement, a man claiming to be Shekau says, “I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah…there is a market for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I will sell women. I sell women.”

May 13, 2014 – Hundreds of Boko Haram militants storm three villages in the state of Borno. Villagers resist, killing more than 200 Boko Haram fighters.

May 20, 2014 – Twin blasts in the city of Jos kill 118 people at a market. Nigerian authorities describe the blasts as “terrorist activities” but decline to speculate on who might be responsible.

May 21, 2014 – The White House announces that the United States has sent 80 troops to Chad to help search for the kidnapped schoolgirls.

May 22, 2014 – The UN Security Council adds Boko Haram to its sanctions list.

June 3-4, 2014 – Hundreds of people are killed in raids by Boko Haram militants in the state of Borno, with some sources putting the death toll at 400 to 500.

June 7-8, 2014 – Suspected Boko Haram militants kidnap at least 20 young women over a weekend in the northeastern Nigeria village of Garkin Fulani, eight kilometers from a town where more than 200 schoolgirls were taken nearly two months earlier.

June 18-22, 2014 – Boko Haram militants hold the village of Kummabza in Borno state hostage for four days. They abduct more than 60 females, including children, and kill 30 men in the raid.

July 7, 2014 – Sources say at least 57 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram last month from the Kummabza village have escaped from their captors and returned to their village. Boko Haram is still believed to be holding about 200 schoolgirls abducted April 14 from a boarding school in the town of Chibok.

July 17-20, 2014 – Boko Haram raids the Nigerian town of Damboa. By the time the raid ends, 66 residents have been killed and more than 15,000 have fled.

October 16, 2014 – The Nigerian government announces it has reached a ceasefire agreement with the Islamist terror group that includes the promised release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls.

November 1, 2014 – In a video, the group’s leader denies the Nigerian government’s claim of a ceasefire.

January 3, 2015 – A multi-day raid begins, where hundreds of Boko Haram gunmen seize the town of Baga and neighboring villages in northern Nigeria, as well as a multinational military base, leaving bodies scattered everywhere and as many as 2,000 people feared dead.

March 2, 2015 – Boko Haram releases a video showing the apparent beheadings of two men they suspected of being spies.

March 7, 2015 – In an audio message purportedly from Shekau, Boko Haram pledges allegiance to ISIS, the Islamic militant group which controls areas of Iraq and Syria. The affiliate is named “Wilayat Gharb Afriqiyya,” which means the Islamic State of West Africa.

March 12, 2015 – In an audio message purportedly from an ISIS spokesman, the group announces that the caliphate has expanded to western Africa and that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has accepted Boko Haram’s pledge of allegiance. On the same day, ISIS blows up the Iraqi army headquarters north of Ramadi, killing at least 40 Iraqi soldiers.

April 25-26, 2015 – The decomposed corpses of at least 400 men, women and children are found in shallow, mass graves and on the streets of Damasak in northeastern Nigeria. Due to a joint Nigerian-Chadian military operation, the town has recently been freed of Boko Haram, which seized the town in November.

April 28-April 30, 2015 – Nigerian troops rescue about 450 women and girls in the Sambisa Forest during a military operation centered around destroying Boko Haram camps and rescuing civilians. According to the military, none of those rescued have been identified as the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped last April.

July 1, 2015 – Boko Haram militants raid three villages in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, killing at least 145 people, according to witnesses.

September 3, 2015 – An estimated 30 people are dead and 145 injured after Boko Haram militants attack a crowded market in Kerawa, Cameroon, and an infirmary near a Cameroonian military camp, according to Cameroonian military spokesman Col. Didier Badjeck.

September 23, 2015 – Two hundred forty-one women and children are rescued and 43 Boko Haram militants are arrested after the Nigerian military raids camps run by the terrorist group in two villages.

February 2016 – Militants from Boko Haram attack two villages in northeast Nigeria, killing at least 30 people. In another attack, two female suicide bombers kill 58 people at a Nigerian refugee camp for villagers fleeing terrorism. A suspect in the attack on the camp tells officers that she and the two suicide bombers were dispatched by Boko Haram.

August 14, 2016 – Boko Haram releases a video of some of the girls kidnapped in April 2014 and demands the release of Boko Haram fighters in exchange for the girls.

October 13, 2016 – Boko Haram militants hand over 21 Chibok schoolgirls to authorities after a series of negotiations with the Nigerian government. It’s the first mass release of any of the more than 200 girls and women kidnapped from their school in April 2014.

November 5, 2016 – A Chibok schoolgirl carrying her 10-month-old son is found by the Nigerian army.

January 5, 2017 – The Nigerian army says another missing Chibok girl and her 6-month old baby have been located during an operation to arrest suspected Boko Haram terrorists.

January 17, 2017 – Scores of people are killed when a Nigerian fighter jet mistakenly bombs a camp for the internally displaced during an operation in Rann against Boko Haram militants, according to Nigerian officials and the Red Cross. The Nigerian government provides no official death toll, but humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders says “about 90” people died.

May 6, 2017 – Eighty-two Chibok schoolgirls are released after negotiations between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government.

February 19, 2018 – A faction of Boko Haram raids the Government Girls Science and Technical College in the northeast Nigerian town of Dapchi, kidnapping 110 students of the college.

February 19, 2018 – A Justice Ministry statement says that a Nigerian high court has convicted 205 Boko Haram suspects for their involvement with the insurgent group, and the suspects were sentenced to jail terms ranging from three to 60 years. The court also freed 526 suspects, including minors, for lack of evidence and ordered they be sent to their state governments for “proper rehabilitation.”

March 1, 2018 – Boko Haram militants attack a displacement camp in Rann, Borno State, killing at least three Nigerian aid workers and injuring three others. Three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) aid workers are abducted in the attack. On September 17, the ICRC says abducted aid worker Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa, 25, has been killed. Abducted midwife Hauwa Mohammed Liman is executed after a deadline for negotiations expires, the Nigerian government says on October 16.

March 21, 2018 – Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed says 104 of the girls abducted from their boarding school on February 19 have been released and returned to their hometown of Dapchi. Six of the Dapchi schoolgirls are still missing. Mohammed also later clarifies that two others who were kidnapped, “who are not students of the college – a primary school boy who came to the school to sell pure water and another primary school girl,” were released as well.

April 13, 2018 – UNICEF says Boko Haram has kidnapped more than 1,000 children in northeastern Nigeria since 2013.

May 7, 2018 – The Nigerian army says it has rescued more than 1,000 Boko Haram captives – mainly women and children, as well as some young men who had been forced to become Boko Haram fighters – in Borno state. The operation, which was conducted in conjunction with Cameroonian and Nigerian troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), rescued the hostages from Malamkari, Amchaka, Walasa and Gora villages of the Bama Local Government Area.

January 29, 2019 – The UN Refugee agency says escalating attacks by Boko Haram militants have forced 30,000 people out of Nigeria’s northeast into Cameroonian borders over the weekend. The United Nations says more than 250,000 people have already been displaced from northeast Nigeria, and surging militant attacks targeting civilians have forced thousands more to run for their lives each day.

April 14, 2019 – On the fifth anniversary of the kidnapping of girls from Chibok, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari reiterates his promise that “we will not rest until all the remaining girls are back and reunited with their families.”

May 10, 2019 – UNICEF says 894 children, including 106 girls, who were recruited by the anti-Boko Haram militia Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in northeast Nigeria, have been released. UNICEF says 1,727 children have been released since CJTF signed an action plan in 2017 to end child recruitment.

July 27, 2019 – A suspected attack by Boko Haram on a funeral gathering in northeastern Nigeria leaves at least 65 people dead. A local official says 21 people were initially killed during the burial ceremony, and an additional 44 people were killed when villagers ran after the assailants.

February 9, 2020 – At least 30 people, including a pregnant woman and a baby, die after suspected Boko Haram militants set fire on sleeping travelers in Borno state, Nigeria.

June 9, 2020 – At least 81 people are killed in an attack on a village by suspected Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria, the Borno state government said in a statement. Seven people, including the village head, children and women, are abducted.

April 26, 2021 – Boko Haram fighters have reportedly hoisted the Islamist group’s flag in a remote district in Niger State, Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, and seized the wives of fleeing residents, the state’s governor says in a widely circulated video. Niger State Governor Abubakar Bello discloses during a visit to an internally displaced persons camp in the state capital Minna, that over 3000 persons have been ousted from their communities by Boko Haram and other criminal gangs locally known as bandits.

June 6, 2021 – The Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) militant group says in an audio recording heard by Reuters that Boko Haram leader Shekau is dead. Shekau died around May 18 after detonating an explosive device when he was pursued by ISWAP fighters following a battle, a person purporting to be ISWAP leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi says on the audio recording. A Nigerian intelligence report shared by a government official and Boko Haram researchers have also said Shekau is dead.

Two-time Women’s World Cup winner Julie Ertz, one of the greats of US soccer, has announced her retirement from the sport.

Ertz, 31, was an integral member of the US teams which won the Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019. She represented the US National Women’s Team (USWNT) on 122 occasions, losing just five matches and scoring 20 goals during her 10-year international career.

She made her senior international debut in 2013 and went on to play in 17 World Cup matches, winning 13 of those.

Initially playing for the US as a center-back, she became one of the finest defensive midfielders of her generation and was one of the US’ standout performers as it successfully defended the World Cup in France four years ago.

Posting on social media, Ertz said: “With immense emotion and processing, I’ve decided it is time to hang up the boots.

“Representing this country on the National Team has been the greatest honor. To play for the USWNT means you chase greatness every day while you wear the crest. I hope that I was able to leave an impact that reflects that.”

The former Chicago Red Stars player is the only person to win the US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year and the US Soccer Female Player of the Year awards twice, according to US Soccer.

“I gave everything I had to the sport that I love. With that I can walk away with no regrets because while I gave soccer every ounce of myself, soccer gave me even more, and for that I’ll always be thankful,” Ertz said via US Soccer.

Following the birth of her son Madden in August 2022, Ertz returned to the sport, signing for National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) side Angel City in April and featuring for the US at this year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

After the US’ surprise defeat to Sweden in the round of 16 last month, Ertz had indicated that it would likely be her final international match.

“These past 6 months have been a dream come true,” she added on social media. “After pregnancy, I never knew if I had a chance to play the beautiful game again, let alone another World Cup. Angel City was a huge reason any of this was a possibility …

“The logistics of not living in an NWSL market is challenging, and I know the sacrifices it takes to be the best you can be. As I have gotten older and become a mom, it’s clear the sacrifices of time away from my family no longer seem doable with so many factors at play.

“… It truly is a blessing to walk away from this game knowing I’ve given everything I possibly had to being the best player I could be.”

World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz beat Lloyd Harris in the US Open second round to progress to round three at Flushing Meadows.

Alcaraz beat his opponent in straight sets, winning 6-3 6-1 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 28 minutes for essentially his first victory of the championship after his first-round opponent had retired injured.

The 20-year-old is considered by many to be the tournament frontrunner on the men’s side of the draw and though he made 29 unforced errors against Harris, the Spaniard was happy with his performance.

“I played a great match from the beginning of the match until the last ball,” he said after the match, per the ATP.

“If I have to pick out something I think I played a good second set without many mistakes and playing my game.”

However, as ever with elite competitors at this level, he believed there was room for improvement.

The third set was a much tighter affair, with Harris posing a greater threat.

But after the set went the distance, Alcaraz eventually won the tiebreak to wrap up the match.

“I did have a bad game in the third set when I got broken and I had to forget it,” Alcaraz said. “I stayed strong mentally and played a great return game to break back. It was very important for me to get another straight-sets win in the first rounds.”

Alcaraz will next face British player Dan Evans.

Evans came back from a set down to beat Botic van de Zandschulp 1-6 6-1 6-3 6-3. While the Briton will be the underdog against Alcaraz, his comeback win will give him some confidence of producing a shock.

American third seed Jessica Pegula cruised through to the third round of the US Open with a 6-3 6-1 victory against Romania’s Patricia Maria Țig on Thursday.

The match got off to a nervy start as the pair traded breaks early on before Pegula, the top-ranked American player at the tournament this year, pulled clear with two further breaks of Țig’s serve.

The second set was more straightforward for the 29-year-old as she took a commanding 4-0 lead. After an hour and 11 minutes of play, she wrapped up the victory when Țig played a forehand low into the net.

“It was awkward [in the first set], we haven’t played each other. I’m sure we were both nervous,” Pegula said during her on-court interview after the match.

“Playing at night, the conditions are different, it’s kind of cool tonight. It’s totally different than when I played here the other day. You just have to adjust and get used to it.”

Pegula has reached the quarterfinals at five of her last seven grand slam tournaments but is yet to progress beyond that stage.

In her bid to do so at this year’s US Open, she will next face Elina Svitolina on Saturday. The Ukrainian has enjoyed a sharp rise up the world rankings since returning to tennis earlier this year after the birth of her child, even reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in July.

Pegula won in three sets when the pair met at the Citi Open in Washington, DC, four weeks ago and holds a 3-1 advantage in their head-to-head history.

“Elina is so tough. I feel like every single match we play is always just a really good battle,” Pegula said about her next opponent.

“I feel like we kind of play into each other’s game where we make each other play better and we always just have really great matches. It’s great to see her back playing at such a high level so quickly.”

Idalia, now a post-tropical cyclone, is moving farther away from North Carolina’s coast after unleashing heavy rains and powerful winds across the Southeast this week and leaving parts of Florida’s west coast with “significant damage.”

It was the most powerful hurricane to slam its Big Bend region in more than a century. Next, Idalia will impact Bermuda this weekend, prompting a Tropical Storm Watch to be issued there, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In its wake, the storm left thousands of homes damaged in Florida – some with shredded walls and roofs, others with murky, waist-high floodwater that officials warn could be dangerous for days to come.

Several deaths have been reported, but the devastation was not as immense as it could have been after the Category 3 hurricane pummeled Florida before tearing through southern Georgia and South Carolina.

Some have credited improved forecasting for spurring residents to evacuate the right places well ahead of time.

The National Hurricane Center issued its first Idalia forecast Saturday – back when the storm was near Cozumel, Mexico – and projected a US landfall within 10 miles of where it actually struck five days later, near Keaton Beach, Florida.

By then, at least 28 Florida counties had issued evacuation orders.

“These forecasts were pretty doggone accurate, particularly compared to what happened with Hurricane Ian – where we went in a matter of 48 hours to potentially having a Big Bend impact, then all of a sudden migrating all the way down to southwest Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.

A low death toll was “probably something that most people would not have bet on four or five days ago, knowing how strong the storm was going to get,” DeSantis said. “So my hat’s off to the people on the ground there who did a good job.”

Still, dozens of people had to be rescued from perilous floodwaters brought on by the double whammy of torrential rain and walls of seawater crashing onto land.

At least 40 people were rescued overnight, the governor said Thursday, with more rescues expected.

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Here’s the latest on Idalia’s wrath and aftermath:

• Parts of the Southeast are still in danger: “Swells generated by Idalia will affect the southeastern U.S. coast during the next few days and will reach Bermuda on Friday,” the National Hurricane Center said Thursday. “These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”

• Thousands of homes damaged: Between 4,000 and 6,000 homes have been inundated in Florida’s Pasco County alone, county administrator Mike Carballa said.

• Federal disaster declaration: President Joe Biden has formally declared a major disaster in Florida. “The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Citrus, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Suwannee, and Taylor,” the White House said in a statement Thursday. Biden said he will visit Florida on Saturday.

• Flood rescues: Emergency crews saved about 150 residents from flooded neighborhoods in Pasco County, the fire-rescue chief said. Some parts of the county – just north of Tampa – saw water surges between 3 and 5 feet.

• Historic water levels: In South Carolina, Charleston Harbor’s water level spiked more than 9 feet, the National Weather Service said. In Florida, Cedar Key, East Bay Tampa, Clearwater Beach and St. Petersburg endured record storm surges.

• Thousands in the dark: About 91,000 Florida power customers still had no electricity Thursday night, according to poweroutage.us. But service has been restored to hundreds of thousands of others who lost power during the storm, the governor said.

• Boil water advisory: Some areas in DeSoto, Dixie, Leon, Levy, Marion and Taylor counties in Florida are under boil water notices issued by the state’s health department.

• Some school districts to reopen: At least 30 of 52 school districts that closed ahead of the storm have reopened Thursday, DeSantis said. Eight are scheduled to reopen Friday.

‘It was biblical stuff’

It’s still not clear how much destruction Idalia inflicted as it hurled 125-mph winds and record-breaking storm surge on Florida’s Big Bend area – the nook between the panhandle and peninsula.

“What I saw from the land is a significant amount of flooding damage,” Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a Thursday news briefing after touring the storm damage. Criswell and DeSantis toured several parts of the impacted areas, including the island city of Cedar Key and Steinhatchee, by ground.

“We were just in Horseshoe Beach, you have an old First Baptist Church there. It had four and a half feet of water, so the place is basically ruined,” the governor said. “You have people losing homes, losing businesses, really, really a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Many places that bore the brunt of Idalia’s wrath “don’t necessarily have the resources” to handle such a powerful hurricane, said US Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida, who used to lead the state’s Division of Emergency Management.

“There are some communities that may never look the same and others that will get rebuilt that will look slightly different,” he said.

“This is a life-changing event for some of these counties.”

Michael Bobbitt, a Cedar Key resident who rode out the storm to help his neighbors, said the scene was “almost apocalyptic.”

“When the wind was kicking in the middle of the night, and when the water was coming toward us from all three sides, it looked like a leviathan trying to reach out of the water to devour us whole. It was biblical stuff,” Bobbitt said Wednesday night.

Some traditional Florida villas “were just picked up and carried into the Gulf, so that was heartbreaking to see,” Bobbitt said.

“My neighbor’s house across from me was submerged to the roof line, but we had no injuries,” he said. “We’re here. We’ll rebuild. We’ll do what Cedar Key does. All in all, I feel incredibly blessed.”

He credited the federal, state and local government with a “remarkable response” to the disaster.

“We’ve got what we need. The resources are in place, and we’re already about the business of rebuilding this island,” Bobbitt said.

The death toll remains uncertain

Two men were killed in separate, weather-related crashes Wednesday morning as Idalia barreled across Florida, Sgt. Steve Gaskins of Florida Highway Patrol said.

But on Thursday, DeSantis said “so far, there’s been one confirmed fatality and that was a traffic fatality in Alachua County.”

But despite the devastation, many Floridians were grateful Idalia’s impact wasn’t more catastrophic.

“We got buzz-sawed along the side,” Pasco County Administrator Mike Carballa said. “Quite honestly, while the effects could have been worse, we definitely took it on the chin.”

It was a special day for Ronald Acuña Jr. as he made Major League Baseball (MLB) history just hours after getting married.

Acuña has enjoyed a spectacular MLB season so far and in the Atlanta Braves’ 8-7 Thursday night win against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 25-year-old became the first person ever to score 30 home runs and steal 60 bases in one season – with 29 games still to play.

Not only did Acuña hit this historic mark, but he did so in spectacular fashion.

The outfielder stepped up to the plate with the score tied at 1-1 in the second inning and, more importantly, the bases loaded.

Acuña crushed a home run to left field off Lance Lynn and slamming a historic grand slam – home run No. 30 for the year.

“I feel very happy, I feel very special,” Acuña said postgame through a translator, per ESPN. “I’m very thankful, I feel very privileged.”

The Venezuelan is one of the favorites to pick up the coveted National League MVP award come the end of the season and moments like this will help cement his chances.

After Acuña’s grand slam, the game eventually turned out to be a thriller between two of the frontrunners for the World Series as the Dodgers almost mounted an impressive comeback.

“That was some kind of game,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Lived up to the hype, I guess.”

Despite making history on the field, it is likely Acuña may remember the day more for off-field reasons.

The Braves star married his long-term girlfriend Maria Laborde just hours before he took on the Dodgers.

“We’re a family,” Acuña said to ESPN in Spanish. “Since we’ve known each other, we’ve wanted to be together. We have two kids. Family is meant to be together. That comes before anything else. I’m really happy that’s going to happen now.

“I didn’t mention anything to anybody,” Acuña added when speaking to reporters postgame. “It’s something that I’ve had planned out weeks ahead.”

“He got married and became the first player in history to have 30 homers and 60 stolen bases,” Acuña’s teammate, Michael Harris II, said on the star’s big day. “That’s a pretty wild day.”

With the Braves sitting atop the National League East with an MLB best 88-45 record, a historic feat and now a wedding, it seems there are plenty of reasons for Acuña to celebrate.