WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration officials pushed back Wednesday against a Democratic senator’s claim that nearly $10 million from the government’s disaster relief agency was transferred to immigration enforcement. Sen. Jeff Merkley’s claim, which came as a monster hurricane barreled toward the Carolinas, was quickly branded by Homeland Security as “a sorry attempt to push a false agenda.” – Advertisement – The Oregon senator said the administration took $9.8 million from the Federal Emergency Management…

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – Duke Energy projects as many as three million customers could lose power for an extended period of time because of Hurricane Florence. “That is our worst-case scenario,” said Howard Fowler, Duke Energy Storm Director. Fowler and Duke Energy North Carolina President David Fountain briefed reporters on the company’s planned response to the massive storm. “People can be without power for a very long time,” Fountain said. “Not just days, but weeks.”…

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — People who thought they were relatively safe from the onslaught of Hurricane Florence began boarding up and Georgia’s governor declared a state of emergency Wednesday as uncertainty over the path of the monster storm spread worry along the Southeastern coast. Closing in with terrifying winds of 125 mph (205 kph) and potentially catastrophic rain and storm surge, Florence is expected to blow ashore Saturday morning along the North Carolina-South Carolina line,…

Hurricane Florence’s heavy rains could cause an environmental disaster in North Carolina, where waste from hog manure pits, coal ash dumps and other industrial sites could wash into homes and threaten drinking water supplies. Computer models predict up to 3 feet of rain in the southeastern corner of the state, a fertile low-lying plain veined by brackish rivers with a propensity for escaping their banks. Longtime locals don’t have to strain their imaginations to foresee what…

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Navy is moving people and ships ahead of Hurricane Florence , and the Air Force and Army are flying advanced aircraft elsewhere as a safeguard. Some remaining Marines, meanwhile, are digging in their heels. Florence is headed for a region with some of the most well-known military bases in the country, including Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island in…

The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore is a legendary figure in hurricane reporting and he arrived in Wilmington Monday.

Gov. Roy Cooper is reminding North Carolinians that Hurricane Florence is a storm that shouldn’t be taken lightly. (Photo: CNN) RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN/AP) — Gov. Roy Cooper is reminding North Carolinians that Hurricane Florence is a storm that shouldn’t be taken lightly. “Every county and every person in North Carolina needs to stay alert and take this storm seriously,” Cooper said. – Advertisement – Despite newer forecasts showing the storm turning south, it has the…

Silver Dollar on Carolina Beach boardwalk boarded up, ready for Hurricane Florence (Source: WECT) CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WECT) – Businesses along the Carolina Beach boardwalk are boarded up as the town prepares for the wrath of Hurricane Florence. The town issued a mandatory evacuation Monday evening. That evacuation started Tuesday morning. All residents are ordered to be off the island by no later than 8 p.m. Wednesday. Dava Villapinano, owner of the Silver Dollar on…

Zello, ReadyNC and GasBuddy are among the recommended downloads before the storm arrives. WILMINGTON – Power outages and faulty internet are all but guaranteed as Hurricane Florence bears down on the region. But this isn’t 1954, when Hurricane Hazel beat and battered the area to a devastating degree and the only form of communication was a landline. Today, weather officials recommended residents use one of the most power tools in their arsenal for prepping for…