Criticism mounts as Ian death toll rises

Questions mount over Hurricane Ian response; Brazil elections go to a runoff.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

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Questions arise amid Hurricane Ian recovery

Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

• As of Monday afternoon, at least 100 people are reported to have died in Florida after Hurricane Ian brought widespread destruction to the state last week. [CNN / Nouran Salahieh and Dakin Andone]
• Many of those deaths occurred in Lee County in southwest Florida, including hard-hit Fort Myers, where local authorities faced criticism for not ordering mandatory evacuations recommended under the county’s emergency plan. [NPR / Joe Hernandez and Greg Allen]
• Although neighboring counties issued evacuation orders Monday, Lee County officials waited until a day later. The storm made landfall Wednesday there, devastating low-lying communities and leaving 54 dead. [NBC News / David K. Li and Kathryn Prociv]
• Officials including Gov. Ron DeSantis blamed the unpredictability of the storm, but the National Hurricane Center had warned Ian could bring “life-threatening” storm surges to the Fort Myers area. [Politico / Bruce Ritchie]
• At least 600,000 homes and businesses across Florida were still without power Monday. Officials aimed to restore electricity in places where power lines and infrastructure were still intact by the end of the week. [Associated Press / Bobby Caina Calvan and Mike Schneider]
• Meanwhile, 30 million people on the mid-Atlantic coast were under flood alerts Monday as a northeaster formed by Hurricane Ian barreled up the coast. [Washington Post / Ian Livingston]

Brazil’s closer-than-expected presidential election

• Brazil’s presidential election will head to a second round after far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and leftist former president Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva failed to earn 50 percent of the vote required for an outright victory. [Camilo Rocha, Kara Fox, Rodrigo Pedroso, and Caitlin Hu / CNN]
• In a race much closer than expected, Lula gained 48.4 percent of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 43.2 percent. Pre-election polls gave Lula a double-digit lead. [AP / Diane Jeantet and Mauricio Savarese]
• The two will face each other on October 30 in a race that will determine how Brazil responds to significant environmental and economic challenges. [New York Times / Jack Nicas]
• While experts suggest Bolsonaro does not have enough support to stage a coup, he could try to capitalize on violence to delegitimize the election results if he loses. [Vox / Ellen Ioanes]

Monday, Kim Kardashian agreed to pay $1.26 million after the Securities and Exchange Commission found she failed to disclose she was paid for an Instagram post advertising cryptocurrency. [Vox / Sara Morrison]

• US Soccer on Monday released a report that found verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct had become “systemic” in the national women’s league. [Axios / Erin Doherty]
• The Supreme Court on Monday began a new term, which will feature cases on environmental protections, affirmative action in higher education, and changes to election law. [The Hill / John Kruzel] 
• At least 125 people died following a soccer match in Indonesia Saturday after police fired tear gas to stop violence, triggering a stampede. [AP / Agoes Basoeki and Niniek Karmini]

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“Emergency management directors do not have a crystal ball. They made the best decision on the information they had at the time.”

[Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s emergency management director, on decisions made in Lee County / NBC News]

The Supreme Court is back and “even more consequential”

According to Vox’s Ian Millhiser (and no, he hasn’t forgotten they just overturned Roe).

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