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A 12-story oceanfront apartment block in Florida partially collapsed early Thursday, killing at least one person and sparking a major emergency response with dozens of rescuers combing the rubble for survivors.
Video footage posted online showed a large portion of the building in the town of Surfside -- just north of Miami Beach -- reduced to rubble, with the apartments' interiors exposed.
It was unclear how many people lived in the building or who had been inside at the time.
At least one person has been confirmed dead, Surfside mayor Charles Burkett told NBC's Today show.
"My police chief has told me that we transported two people to the hospital this morning at least, and one has died. We treated ten people on the site," Burkett said.
Footage of firefighters pulling one boy from the rubble alive was aired by NBC 6 South Florida.
Santo Mejil, a local resident, said his wife was an overnight caretaker who was in the complex when it collapsed.
"She said she heard a big explosion. It felt like an earthquake," he told the Miami Herald newspaper, tearing up as his wife called again to say she was being evacuated from the complex.
The cause of the collapse was still unknown, Miami-Dade mayor Daniella Levine Cava told the Herald.
"We are so grateful to @MiamiDadeFire, @MiamiBeachFire and all the first responders on the scene – may they stay safe while working to save lives."
Miami Beach Police Department said its officers were "assisting the Town of Surfside at a partial building collapse."
"Multiple police and fire agencies from across Miami-Dade are assisting," the force added.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said: "Over 80 MDFR units... are on scene with assistance from municipal fire departments."
Local media said dogs were helping in the search for survivors, and that records showed the building was built in 1981 and had more than 130 units inside.
© 2021 AFP
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'Absolute insanity!' MSNBC's Morning Joe rips Republicans for trying to take elections away from voters
June 24, 2021
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough reacted to the news that nearly half of Republicans say it would have been appropriate for state legislatures to overturn Donald Trump's election loss.
A recent poll found 46 percent of Republicans would support a substantial departure from democratic norms to keep their party in power, which GOP-led state legislatures are trying to codify into law, and the "Morning Joe" host was stunned.
"It's absolute insanity that we're talking about it in the greatest country in the world," Scarborough said. "But there are actually people who are talking about that, and want to depart from 240 years of American exceptionalism. It's crazy."
Trump's election lies undermined Republican trust in democracy, despite all evidence showing last year's vote was the most secure in history.
"I voted in Florida this past year," Scarborough said. "It was, without a doubt, the most efficient election I've ever seen in my life. I'm a politician -- it's like once a politician, always a politician -- [on] Election Day, I nervously go and go from one precinct to another, and I just love to see it, I love to see how many people are there, how long the lines are -- ghost towns everywhere, because everybody had already voted. You could literally go up and every precinct I went to, you could go up and just vote, and I sat there going, 'My gosh, this is extraordinary how efficient Florida is, we knew who the winner was, even though the networks didn't call it. We knew the winners by 8:00, 9:00 at night, and yet the legislature and governor feels a need we must reform our election system."
"That's like Steve Jobs, a year after the iPhone, 'I must reform the iPhone,'" he added. "No, it worked well. But it shows you the madness of this."
06 24 2021 06 59 31 www.youtube.com
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Matt Gaetz torched after he ramps up attacks on Gen. Milley: 'Only war you fought is against age of consent'
June 24, 2021
Scandal-plagued Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) doubled down on his decision to attack Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley after Milley schooled him for claiming that the military had become "woke."
Gaetz, who is being investigated by federal authorities for potential child sex trafficking charges and could reportedly be indicted as soon as next month, launched a Twitter attack on Milley after video of the general schooling Gaetz on critical race theory went viral.
"With Generals like this it's no wonder we've fought considerably more wars than we've won," Gaetz wrote.
Gaetz, the son of a former Florida state senator, has never served in the United States military.
Given this, many of his followers slammed him for attacking the service of a man who has spent the last four decades in the American military.
Check out some replies below.
@mattgaetz buddy the only war you fought is against age of consent— kilgore trout, dna harvester (@kilgore trout, dna harvester) 1624479732.0
@mattgaetz When did you serve, Congressman? Underage girls aren’t allowed in the barracks, FYI.— Rachel Vindman (@Rachel Vindman) 1624488218.0
@mattgaetz The guy who’s spent years getting his daddy to make his DUIs disappear and paying child sex traffickers… https://t.co/A4NDalpykS— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1624489865.0
@mattgaetz Why didn’t you say that when General Milley was in the room? Actually, we know why.— Mark R. Yzaguirre (@Mark R. Yzaguirre) 1624480220.0
@mattgaetz With congressmen like you it’s no wonder underage females must stay vigilant for predators— Exploding Space Moocow Singh, MD 🌊 (@Exploding Space Moocow Singh, MD 🌊) 1624476281.0
@mattgaetz Says the only congressman to vote against child sex trafficking laws.— Cousin Greg's Benign Fungus (@Cousin Greg's Benign Fungus) 1624480336.0
@mattgaetz Dude embarrassed you lol, which is kinda hard to do at this point seeing as how you’re being investigated for fucking teenagers— Mankrik’s Wife (@Mankrik’s Wife) 1624476244.0
@mattgaetz “we’ve fought”???!??! Sorry, didn’t realize that committing sexual assault on minors and then paying th… https://t.co/8Eo92PAHxn— Mandolyn Hicks 🏖 (@Mandolyn Hicks 🏖) 1624479761.0
@mattgaetz Matt, this is the closest you’ll ever get to a green beret. https://t.co/UgIJ76wMsv— Political Southpaw (@Political Southpaw) 1624497975.0
@mattgaetz ‘We’….? Awaiting Mr Gaetz list of achievements. Remember - self publicity, conspiracy theories and gas… https://t.co/nLOgg9RlIC— JezzyD (@JezzyD) 1624483668.0
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