WASHINGTON (AP) — The facts emerging from Hurricane Helene’s destruction are heartrending: Businesses and homes destroyed, whole communities nearly wiped out, hundreds of lives lost, hundreds of people missing.

Donald Trump and others have spread claims suggesting officials are withholding assistance from Republican storm victims. And that's forcing public officials, including members of Mr. Trump's own party,

A tale straight from science fiction asserts that Washington used weather control technology to steer Helene toward Republican voters in order to tilt the presidential election. The claims, according to experts and local officials,

Communities in Florida are preparing to get hit head-on by a potential Category 3 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in the state – killing 20 people, leaving thousands without power and paving a trail of wreckage.

Tropical Storm Milton formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico Saturday morning, just hours after it became a tropical depression, , according to the National Hurricane Center.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris pledged ongoing federal support and praised the “heroes among us” as she visited North Carolina on Saturday in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, her second trip in four days to the disaster zone.