SATELLITE IMAGE of Hurricane Idalia moving across the Southeast (NWS).

Florida was battered by winds of up to 125 miles an hour today as Hurricane Idalia hammered the state, bringing flooding and knocking out electrical power.

The Associated Press is reporting that the fierce storm is tearing the roofs off of buildings, splitting trees and more. The eye of Idalia passed over the Big Bend region about 8:30 a.m., bringing havoc before it moved on to Georgia and South Carolina.

As it traveled across the Southeast, it lost some power, slowing to 90 miles an hour and then 65.

Some flooding followed in the coastal cities of Savanna and Charleston. By Thursday, the storm is expected to move northeast out to sea.

First into Capitol on Jan. 6 arrested

Brett Alan Rotella, 34, believed to be one of the first two people to enter the tunnel into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been arrested.

THE JAN. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol (Shutterstock).

According to United Press International, FBI agents arrested him on Tuesday, and he was charged with felony obstruction of law enforcement and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers.

The Justice Department claims that Rotella was caught both in surveillance camera and police body cameras.

He allegedly led rioters into the Capitol and battled police inside. Rotella is one of about 1,100 people arrested in connection with the attack on the Capitol, where Congress had assembled to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Weed may get reclassified

Although many states have legalized the possession or use of marijuana, it remains illegal under federal law.

MARIJUANA plant (Shutterstock).

That may change as the Department of Health and Human Services is reportedly considering reclassifying cannabis products as being less dangerous than cocaine or heroin.

USA Today reports that it is now a “Schedule One” substance for drugs without medical benefit and with a “high potential for abuse.”

What’s proposed is to change that to “Schedule Three” status for drugs with “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”

Angels rally to win; Dodgers blank D-backs

The Los Angeles Angels flipped the script on Wednesday and instead of getting a lead and losing it (and the game), they rallied from behind and defeated the Phillies in Philadelphia, 10-8.

In their last game of August, the Halos got a two-run home run by Brandon Drury in the top of the ninth inning to give the Angels the winning runs.

In the slugfest, Hunter Renfroe got the Angels off to an early 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the second, but the home team took an 8-7 lead into the ninth where the visitors rallied for three runs and the win.

With the victory, the Angels are 64-70 and avoided a sweep. They’ll travel to Oakland on Friday to open a series against the A’s.

The Los Angeles Dodgers slammed the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0 on Wednesday night, spurred in part by home runs by Freddie Freeman (his 25th of the season) and Jason Heyward (13th).

Ryan Pepiot (1-0) got the win, working five innings and giving up two hits and no runs. He struck out three batters and walked one.

The victory improved the Blue Crew’s record to 83-49. The Dodgers now leads the National League West by 14.5 games over the second place San Francisco Giants (69-64).

On Thursday they start a series at Dodger Stadium hosting the Atlanta Braves (87-45) , first place in the National League East and with the best record in Major League Baseball.

Weather: Slowly cooling days and nights

As August turns into September, the weather for our West Orange County area will turn cooler … for a while. The forecast for Thursday is for partly cloudy skies with a daytime high of 84 and an overnight low of 66. Friday will be similar but cooler with a high of 80 (68).

Saturday will be about the same at 80 (65) but Sunday will take us into the 70s with a high of 77 (62). There should be morning clouds with afternoon sun.