Main Street Independent

Hurricane Isaias targets U.S. Gulf coast as states of emergency expand

Illustration accompanying article: Hurricane Isaias targets U.S. Gulf coast as states of emergency expand
  • Hurricane Isaias intensified into a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday night, becoming the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, and is forecast to make landfall on the northern Gulf coast late Friday or early Saturday.
  • The National Weather Service warned of a "life-threatening storm surge" along the northern Gulf coast from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Steinhatchee, Florida, while hurricane warnings span from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay/Gulf county line in Florida.
  • Alabama Governor Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency in 40 counties set to run through October 14, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared emergencies for 25 counties.
  • Officials in Okaloosa County, Florida, declared a local state of emergency and ordered some coastal residents to evacuate; Panama City declared a local state of emergency.
  • The Federal Aviation Administration warned that Isaias may "lead to Gulf route closures" as the storm is forecast to bring heavy rainfall, flash flooding and isolated tornadoes from the central Gulf coast through the southeast.
 2026-10-08 · 5 MIN READ

New York Fed study ties 2.9-point inflation rise to Trump tariffs

Illustration accompanying article: New York Fed study ties 2.9-point inflation rise to Trump tariffs
  • A New York Federal Reserve study found that President Donald Trump's tariffs raised consumer prices by about 2.9 percentage points through February, based on a sample of 67 consumer-goods categories.
  • The New York Fed researchers estimated that without tariffs imposed in the past two years, prices in the sampled categories would have been about 1% lower.
  • About a third of the tariff-driven inflationary effects appeared in goods made in the United States — not just imports — the study found.
  • Study authors Mary Amiti, Sebastian Heise and David Weinstein wrote that the full effect of a tariff takes about a year to appear in consumer prices.
  • The study was released weeks before the November 3 midterm elections and after the U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 February 20 ruling that many of the tariffs were unlawful.
 2026-10-08 · 3 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: Greene-Placentia alleges rape in Sun City while repairing campaign signs