Biden heads to Florida to survey response to Hurricane Idalia's damage
CBSN
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden are in Florida Saturday to survey the damage wrought by Hurricane Idalia and the state, local and federal response to it.
The president and first lady are taking an aerial tour of storm-affected areas, before traveling to Live Oak, Florida. In Live Oak, they will receive a briefing on response and recovery efforts, and meet with first responders, federal personnel and local officials. The president will tour damage on the ground in Live Oak.
The president said he will meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during his visit, but DeSantis' spokesperson, Jeremy Redfern, said the governor's office doesn't have plans for the two to meet. DeSantis on Friday voiced concerns with the president's "security apparatus" being disruptive to recovery efforts and power restoration in the hardest-hit areas that are difficult to access.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were honored at a state dinner in Paris at the Presidential Elysee Palace on Saturday, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and first lady Brigitte Macron marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day two days prior and the strength of the countries' long alliance.
President Joe Biden said France was America's "first friend" at its founding and is one of its closest allies more than two centuries later as he was honored with a state visit Saturday by French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at showing off their partnership on global security issues and easing past trade tensions.
The Consumer Federal Protection Bureau last week launched an inquiry into what the agency is calling "junk fees in mortgage closing costs." These additional fees, involving home appraisal, title insurance and other services, have spiked in recent years and can add thousands of dollars to the final cost of buying a home.
Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic "Earthrise" photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90.