News Wrap: Parts of Florida may be without power for weeks after Hurricane Idalia

In our news wrap Friday, a power company in Florida said it could take two weeks to repair electrical grids in rural areas damaged by Hurricane Idalia, The White House is asking Congress for another $4 billion in disaster aid, more members of the Proud Boys were sentenced for their actions on Jan. 6 and Japan held nationwide earthquake drills marking 100 years since its deadliest quake ever.

Read the Full Transcript

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

  • John Yang:

    Florida's Big Bend region faced another long day of cleaning up from Hurricane Idalia.

    One utility said today it could take two weeks to repair badly damaged electrical grids in rural areas. The storm also wiped out scores of homes in coastal towns. And officials said area farmers are facing a catastrophe.

  • Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL):

    We are going to sustain tremendous agricultural losses. And when you think about the impact that that has on our communities, the jobs that it provides, the local economic impacts, it will be felt very, very strong and deep.

  • John Yang:

    Estimates of insured losses alone range as high as $9 billion.

    And Idalia may not be finished yet. It's back over the Atlantic, and forecaster say it could again become a tropical storm as it heads toward Bermuda.

    The White House is asking Congress for an another $4 billion in supplemental disaster aid. That would bring the total request to $16 billion in the wake of hurricane, the Maui wildfires, and other events. The request is expected to meet resistance from Republicans, who say the federal government spends too much.

    Two more former members of the far right Proud Boys were sentenced today for their January 6 crimes. Ethan Nordean got 18 years in federal prison for seditious conspiracy. That ties the longest sentences given out. Dominic Pezzola was given 10 years for leading the attack to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results.

    As he left the court, he shouted: "Trump won."

    In the Russian-Ukraine war, Moscow says its forces intercepted a new wave of drones attacking deep inside Western Russia today. Officials report one of the drones targeted Kurchatov, home of a nuclear power plant. There was no word of damage to the plant. Today, officials in Kyiv warned of more to come, as pro-Ukrainian partisans step up cross-border operations.

    Mykhailo Podolyak, Adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (through translator): Concerning attacks on the Russian Federation, there is a growing number by unidentified drones launched from within Russia. These will increase. This is the stage of the war when hostilities are gradually being transferred to territories inside Russia.

  • John Yang:

    Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that, on Monday, President Vladimir Putin will discuss Black Sea grain shipments with the president of Turkey. In July, Russia pulled out of a deal that allowed safe passage for vessels carrying Ukrainian grain.

    Japan held nationwide earthquake drills today, marking 100 years since its deadliest quake ever. The drills simulated a major tremor striking Central Tokyo. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Cabinet wore matching uniforms as they walked to his office for an emergency response meeting. Officials said that the Great Kanto quake of 1923 showed the potential for catastrophe. It triggered an inferno and killed more than 140,000 people.

    Back in this country, the Biden administration proposed what would be the first federal rules for staffing at nursing homes. Care facilities would be required to have a registered nurse on site around the clock. The proposed rules also call for staffing equivalent to three hours, per resident, per day.

    The administration says the new rules would make residents safer. The industry says they would cost billions of dollars and make existing problems worse.

    And, on Wall Street, stocks surged after the jobs report, then gave most of It back. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 115 points to close at 34837. Nasdaq fell three points. And the S&P 500 added eight.

    Still to come on the "NewsHour": Ukrainian forces make slow, but substantial gains in the country's southeast; the longstanding problems plaguing the Atlanta jail where former President Trump and his co-conspirators were booked; and David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the weeks political headlines.

Listen to this Segment