95.1 The Bee

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced Tuesday that he is suspending his campaign for president after failing to qualify for the first Republican primary debate last week in Milwaukee. The 45-year-old Suarez is the first Republican to drop out of the 2024 race.

Suarez said: “Running for President of the United States has been one of the greatest honors of my life. This country has given so much to my family and me. The prospect of giving back at the highest levels of public service is a motivator if not a calling. Throughout this process, I have met so many freedom-loving Americans who care deeply about our nation, her people, and its future. It was a privilege to come so close to appearing on stage with the other candidates at last week’s first debate. While I have decided to suspend my campaign for President, my commitment to making this a better nation for every American remains.”

Suarez added: “The Left has taken Hispanics for granted for far too long, and it is no surprise that so many are finding a home in America’s conservative movement. Our party must continue doing more to include and attract this vibrant community that believes in our country’s foundational values: faith, family, hard work and freedom. Younger voters, Independents, urban voters and suburban women- all of whom I’ve carried in previous elections – among others, should find a comfortable home in the GOP and its policies.”

Ahead of the debate, Suarez announced that he had qualified for it by meeting the polling requirements and the donor threshold, claiming to have received donations from “nearly 50,000” (well above the party’s requirement of 40,000). However after his announcement, an RNC staffer familiar with the debate planning said Suarez had not been certified as a debate participant, which Suarez later conceded, saying he was behind on “one national poll or one state poll.”

The Cuban-American Suarez announced his candidacy in June, and made a pitch for his candidacy based on his track record as Miami mayor, a part-time position he’s held since 2017, when he was working as a lawyer in a Miami firm. Suarez, a real estate attorney, also served in the Miami City Commission from 2009-2017.

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Hurricane Idalia strengthened to a Category 1 with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph on Tuesday, and is expected to “rapidly intensify” to a potential Category 3 hurricane before it makes landfall in Florida on Wednesday.  According to the National Hurricane Center, Idalia threatens to bring high-risk storm surge along parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast, with hurricane warnings and watches in effect for parts of the Gulf Coast of Florida, with flooding is also likely in the region.

Models of Idalia published by the National Hurricane Center project it will make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend area, which is where the panhandle meets the peninsula, and which includes Tampa Bay. The storm is anticipated to arrive on Wednesday morning anywhere between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency covering 46 counties, and has activated the National Guard, with mandatory orders of evacuation in effect for some people in eight of those counties. DeSantis said: “This is going to be a major impact, and Floridians should expect that this storm will be a major Cat 3+ hurricane, so please prepare accordingly.  You still have time this morning to make your final preparations .. but you gotta do that now. You do not have to leave the state. You don’t have to drive hundreds of miles. You have to get to higher ground in a safe structure. You can ride the storm out there, then go back to your home.”

DeSantis’ office also said that tolls were suspended early Tuesday morning along Florida’s west coast, and schools across more than three dozen Florida counties have closed. His office also said the Florida National Guard was mobilizing 1,100 personnel to support areas of the state that are impacted, and 12 aircrafts and 2,400 high wheel vehicles were also being mobilized.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper also declared states of emergency ahead of Hurricane Idalia. Gov. Kemp said Tuesday in a statement: “We are taking every precaution ahead of Hurricane Idalia’s landfall tomorrow, and I am taking this additional executive action to ensure state assets are ready to respond.”

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A suspect is in custody after shots were fired near the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday, prompting the university to go on lockdown. One faculty member was killed in the shooting, while officials searched for an “armed and dangerous person.” The suspect was captured about an hour and a half after the shooting at Caudill Laboratories, and an all-clear was issued for the campus about two hours after that. Tuesday’s classes have been canceled.

UNC students were first alerted to an armed and dangerous person on or near campus shortly after 1 p.m;  and the university issued an alert to remain sheltered in place because a suspect was at large by 2:24 p.m. Campus police released a photo of an unnamed person of interest at 2:35 p.m. with the warning: “If you see this person, keep your distance, put your safety first and call 911.”

School officials said at a briefing Monday afternoon that no other injuries were reported. UNC Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz said in a letter to the university community: “I am devastated and saddened by today’s shooting in one of our campus buildings, a place where we conduct our important work of teaching, mentoring and research every day.  This shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted on our campus. We will work to rebuild that trust and safety.”

UNC Police Chief Brian James said the FBI has joined the investigation into the shooting: “We certainly want the opportunity to interview the suspect. To actually have the suspect in custody gives us an opportunity to figure out the why. And even the how, and also helps us to uncover a motive and … really just why this happened today.”  North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement that officials “are taking precautions to protect campus safety following today’s shooting. This is a tragic way to start a new semester and the state will provide any assistance necessary to support the UNC community.”

As of press time, the faculty member was not publicly identified, and officials did not name the suspect. University police have not determined the relationship between the victim and gunman or indicated any kind of possible motive.

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Two people were killed and at least four others were injured on Monday when an emergency response helicopter lost control, crashing into a Pompano Beach, Florida apartment building. The accident happened shortly before 9 a.m. EDT when a sheriff’s department Airbus fire and rescue helicopter went down just south of the Pompano Beach Airpark, home of the Goodyear Blimp.

There were three people aboard the Eurocopter EC135 helicopter, according to initial FAA reports. Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony told reporters that one person who was on the ground, as well as Capt. Terryson Jackson of the Sheriff’s Department, were killed in the crash. The sheriff said the two injured crew members were able to crawl out of the helicopter’s wreckage and did not appear to suffer life-threatening injuries. The two surviving members of the helicopter crew, as well as two civilians on the ground, were transported to North Broward Medical Center. Capt. Jackson, 49, was an experienced and valued member of sheriff’s department, Sheriff Tony said, adding: “He was one of my firefighters. We lost one of our captains today who was onboard serving his community, hoping that he would get a chance to do what he does best which is to land and extract somebody else. Unfortunately, in the crash he was trapped, could not get out, and we lost him.”

The rescue chopper was answering an emergency call from North Lauderdale when it developed “mechanical issues” and crashed, according to preliminary assessments. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, Veda Coleman-Wright, said during a news conference at the scene that the helicopter was en route to a scene in North Lauderdale to pick up a woman who had been involved in a crash, and that a fire broke out onboard and then other mechanical issues occurred.

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