OCTOBER
The Big Story
In the span of just two weeks, two historic hurricanes pummel the American southeast, leaving communities devastated, property worth billions destroyed, and hundreds of people dead.
HURRICANE HELENE hit Florida on September 26 as a Category 4 storm. With wind speeds nearly 140 miles per hour, it became the deadliest Atlantic hurricane in seven years and the most fatal since Hurricane Katrina, leaving 234 confirmed dead and more than two dozen more missing.
While the storm moved quickly after hitting land, it stalled over Tennessee. The ensuing rainfall destroyed many small and rural communities, especially in the Carolinas. FEMA rushed in with aide and ELON MUSK deployed Starlink satellites to facilitate the relief effort.
Less than two weeks later, HURRICANE MILTON arrived, passing over Florida before heading west over the Gulf of Mexico. Cleanup crews from Helene scrambled to remove the debris left scattered by Helene before it could be turned into potentially lethal projectiles tossed around by high wind speeds. Milton also brought fatal tornado outbreaks.
At least 32 Floridians were killed in the storm. Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg lost sections of its roof after winds sent a nearby construction crane into it, leaving MLB team the Tampa Rays without a home stadium. Amid her global “Eras Tour,” TAYLOR SWIFT donated $5 MILLION to relief efforts.
Worth Remembering:
COLDPLAY holds a very unceremonious world premiere of their new album, “Moon Music,” at a dive bar in Moon, Wisconsin.
“Inside Out 2” clocks 30.5 MILLION views worldwide in its first five days on Disney+, marking the top-streaming premiere for 2024.
NICHOLAS SPARKS’ chicken salad recipe goes viral for his inclusion of Splenda.
RASCAL FLATTS announces their 25th Anniversary “Life Is A Highway Tour.”
PINK FLOYD sells their music catalog to Sony Music for $400 million.
PRINCE HARRY tours Lesotho -- solo.
Disney announces a threequel to “The Princess Diaries” is in the works, with actress ANNE HATHAWAY set to return as Mia Thermopolis.
KIM KARDASHIAN pens an emotional essay about why she believes ERIK and LYLE MENENDEZ should be freed.
TAYLOR SWIFT becomes the world’s richest female musician with a net worth of $1.6 billion, buoyed by massive ticket sales of her “Eras Tour.”
Producers scrap a “Who’s The Boss?” revival, despite original stars ALYSSA MILANO, TONY DANZA, and JUDITH LIGHT all signing on.
Rumors of trouble for YE and BIANCA CENSORI start swirling.
HUGH JACKMAN announces a 12-concert run at Radio City Music Hall.
A judge sets SEAN COMBS’ trial date for May 5, 2025.
PRINCESS KATE attends her first official public engagement since completing chemotherapy and later attends son PRINCE LOUIS’ soccer game.
JOE EXOTIC gets scabies behind bars.
T.I. announces he is no longer going to be performing or making music.
Rock guitarist JAKE E. LEE gets shot in Las Vegas.
50 CENT announces his first-ever Vegas residency, “50 Cent: In Da Club.”
FAT JOE credits Ozempic for helping him lose over 200 pounds.
PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE buy a vacation home in Portugal.
JAY CUTLER is arrested for DUI and gun possession outside of Nashville, Tennessee.
Former Abercombie & Fitch CEO MIKE JEFFRIES is arrested as part of a sex trafficking investigation.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN receives treatment for Leukemia while behind bars.
TOM HOLLAND confirms “Spider-man 4” is happening.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon announces that ERIK and LYLE MENENDEZ will be resentenced for the murder of their parents.
Actor ARMIE HAMMER launches “The Armie HammerTime Podcast.”
A judge sentences actor JAY JOHNSTON to one year and one day in jail for his role in the chaos at the Capitol on January 6.
RIP: Liam Payne (31); Kipyegon Bett (26); Dikembe Mutombo (58); Frank Fritz (60); Christopher Ciccone (63); Paul Di’Anno (66); Michael Newman (68); Ken Page (70); Ron Hale (78); Teri Garr (79); Pete Rose (83); John Amos (84); Phil Lesh (84); Billy Shaw (85); Ed Wheeler (88); Cissy Houston (91); Ethel Kennedy (96); Elizabeth Francis (115)
HITCHED: Lana Condor & Anthony De La Torre; Emily Osment & Jack Anthony; Jason Duggar & Maddie Grace;
BABY NEWS: Logan Paul & Nina Agdal, Esme (girl); Colton Underwood & Jordan C. Brown, Bishop (boy); Bubba Wallace & Amanda Carter, Becks (boy); Brantley Gilbert & Amanda Cochran Gilbert, (boy); Luke Grimes & Bianca Rodrigues, (boy)
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