US races to supply IV fluids to hospitals
(New York Times) – U.S. officials on Wednesday approved the airlifting of intravenous fluids from overseas manufacturing plants to ease shortages caused by Hurricane Helen. The shortage is forcing hospitals to postpone surgeries to provide for their most vulnerable patients.
The current shortage comes as flooding hits western North Carolina, damaging the Baxter plant and currently closing it for cleaning. The plant produces about 60 percent of the U.S. fluid supply used for home dialysis and intravenous fluids for people who rely on IV nutrition. These include premature babies in intensive care and patients who rely on tube feedings to survive.
Now that Hurricane Milton is hitting Florida, the situation could become even more dire. On Tuesday, employees at B. Brown, which makes a quarter of the nation’s intravenous fluids, loaded medical bags onto trucks at the company’s Daytona Beach factory and drove north overnight to their desired safer location. I drove.
The Baxter plant in Marion, North Carolina, and the B. Brown plant in Daytona Beach manufacture approximately 85% of the nation’s intravenous fluid supply. Shortage experts have long pointed to the risks of such overconcentration of critical supplies, citing the potential for exposure to disasters like the one now at hand. Supplies were tight even before the storm, reflecting a longstanding problem in which few companies were willing to produce critical but low-cost, low-margin medical products.
Voter groups seek extension of Florida’s voter registration deadline
(Reuters) – Voter groups have asked a federal judge to extend Florida’s voter registration deadline ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, citing disruption caused by hurricanes Helen and Milton.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Tallahassee, the League of Women Voters of Florida and the state NAACP chapter asked Gov. Ron DeSantis last week to extend the Oct. 7 deadline by 10 days, but the governor He announced that he had refused.
DeSantis’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
Harris’ campaign, organizations have raised $1 billion since she became a presidential candidate: Source
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and affiliated political committees have raised $1 billion since she became the Democratic nominee in July, people briefed on the matter said. told Reuters.
Since Harris replaced President Joe Biden on July 21, money has flowed into her campaign, affiliated political action committees and the Democratic Party at an unprecedented pace. Harris raised $25 million the day she was nominated, and $500 million in about a month.
Former President Donald Trump and the Republicans raised $130 million in August and had $295 million in cash at the end of the month, compared with $404 million for Harris and the Democrats.
Two planes were allowed to use the same runway after nearly colliding in Nashville, NTSB says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Air traffic controllers last month allowed an Alaska Airlines jet to take off on the same runway at Nashville International Airport in Tennessee that a Southwest Airlines plane was allowed to pass through, National Transportation said. The safety committee made the announcement Wednesday.
As a result of the September 12 incident, Alaska Airlines Flight 369, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, with 176 people on board, had to abort takeoff to avoid a collision. The pilot in Alaska immediately applied the brakes and the plane’s tire went flat.
According to the NTSB, ground controllers cleared the Southwest plane to clear Runway 13 shortly after 9:13 a.m., and another controller cleared the Alaska plane to depart 23 seconds later.
The Federal Aviation Administration referred questions to the NTSB, which is leading the investigation. The FAA is conducting a separate investigation into the incident, which occurred on Southwest Airlines Flight 2029, a Boeing 737-700 with 141 people on board, scheduled to depart for Jacksonville, Florida.
Turkish Airlines plane makes emergency landing after pilot dies
(NYT) – A Turkish Airlines flight from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency landing at New York’s Kennedy International Airport early Wednesday morning after the pilot died, the airline and federal aviation officials said.
The plane, an Airbus A350, took off at 7:02 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, according to Flight Aware data. The airline said the decision was made to land at JFK Airport after about eight hours of flight as pilot Ilchehin Pelivan lost consciousness during the flight and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. Flight 204 made a sharp right turn over Baffin Island in northern Canada and headed toward New York. It landed at 5:57 a.m. ET.
The airline said Pehriban, 59, died before landing, but did not specify the cause. The airline said it had undergone a routine health check and found no problems.
Hungary’s Orbán receives hostile reception in European Parliament
BRUSSELS (NYT) – A staunch defender of “illiberal democracy,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has long criticized the European Union and its officials.
On Wednesday, some members of the European Parliament fired back with a song. After Orbán finished speaking at a rally in Strasbourg, France, progressive lawmakers began singing “Bella Ciao,” a song from Italy’s World War II-era anti-fascist resistance movement.
Their song lasted less than a minute before it was stopped by European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola as conservative MPs politically aligned with him chanted slogans in support of him.
The European Union, which Hungary joined in 2004, is a country dominated by Mr. Orbán’s right-wing state on minority rights, immigration, the rule of law and other issues, including those that Brussels considers sympathetic to President Vladimir Putin. They have been in conflict for many years due to their ideological positions. Russia. Orbán is also one of the fiercest internal critics of the EU’s unyielding support for Ukraine and an ally of former President Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Orbán has often accused the EU of interfering in Hungary’s internal affairs and promoting liberal values at odds with the country’s traditional conservative values.
Honda recalls more than 1 million cars due to steering problem
(TNS) – Honda has recalled more than 1 million Acura and Honda vehicles produced between 2022 and 2025 due to a potential steering risk.
The automaker said the steering gearbox that controls the steering may have been manufactured incorrectly.
This creates excessive internal friction, which can make steering difficult and ultimately lead to a crash.
The automaker says gearbox defects can be identified by unusual noises or a “sticky” feeling when trying to turn the steering wheel while driving. The recall applies to 1,693,199 vehicles across 28 models.
President Trump rejects FOX News invitation to Harris debate
(Reuters) – Former Republican President Donald Trump on Wednesday spent hours on Fox News inviting the two presidential candidates to a second debate that could take place on Oct. 24 or Oct. 27. He later said he would not hold a debate with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris held their first debate on September 10th, but Mr. Trump has said there will be no new debates before the November 5th election. He rejected a previous invitation from CNN to the Oct. 23 debate, which Harris accepted.
