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North Korea launches spy satellite into orbit, state media says
Tokyo — North Korea successfully launched a surveillance satellite into orbit late Tuesday night, according to its state media. The claim couldn’t immediately be confirmed independently.
It’s the third time this year that North Korea has attempted to put a surveillance satellite into orbit. Two previous attempts — in May and August — both failed.
The rocket launch carrying the satellite into space was detected by South Korea’s military.
“Our military detected a North Korean military reconnaissance satellite that was launched southward from the Dongchang-ri area in North Pyongan Province at 22:43 local time,” the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The U.S. condemned the launch. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement it was “a brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, raises tensions, and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region and beyond.”
Very little is known about the satellite itself — and, crucially, whether its camera will be good enough to deliver North Korea high-resolution pictures of U.S. and South Korean military installations and maneuvers.
Earlier in the day, North Korea had warned Japan the launch would take place before the end of the month, but it went ahead only hours later. Parts of the rocket discarded in flight were expected to have splashed into the sea around Japan and the Philippines.
Reuters/Issei Kato
The South Korean military had warned that it would take the “necessary measures” in the event of a launch, but did not specify what that would be. America and its allies in the region will now be monitoring for any signals the satellite sends from space — assuming it settles into a stable orbit — to determine how sophisticated it is.
Since 1998, North Korea has launched six satellites. Only two of them were placed in orbit and are still circling Earth, but most experts believe they are not transmitting information to ground stations.
South Korea plans to launch its own surveillance satellite for monitoring North Korea on Nov. 30 in California using Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket.
Alex Sundby contributed reporting.
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Hurricane Milton’s impact on South Florida: Squally conditions, tornadoes, flight cancellations
MIAMI – Windy conditions continued in South Florida Wednesday evening as Hurricane Milton, a powerful Category 3 storm, made landfall on Florida’s west coast.
Milton was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph as it made landfall in Siesta Key near Sarasota. The storm is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, destructive winds, flooding, and tornadoes as it moves across the state to the east coast.
South Florida experienced strong winds of 30 to 40 mph Wednesday, which are expected to continue through Thursday.
Milton’s impact on South Florida
Hurricane Milton spun at least two tornadoes in South Florida.
Earlier in the day, a tornado touched down along Alligator Alley in western Broward County near Collier County, though no damage was reported.
Another tornado touched down in the Wellington area of Palm Beach County, causing damage to some homes and bringing down trees.
All of South Florida had been under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. Wednesday. Several tornado warnings had also been issued for Broward County.
In recent days, South Florida has experienced a “one-two punch” of storms. A non-tropical low-pressure system brought heavy rain and flooding on Sunday and Monday, followed by Hurricane Milton’s approach on Wednesday, which was forecast to bring more rain and windy conditions through Thursday as the storm crosses the state.
The region remains under threat of flooding, with an expected rainfall of 4 to 7 inches or more.
Strong winds brought down a power line in Broward County near NE 28th Street in Wilton Manors.
Airports report delays and cancelations
Hurricane Milton continued to affect flights at South Florida airports on Wednesday.
Cancellations and delays were reported at Miami International Airport and at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International.
Nearly 2,000 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled by Wednesday night, according to the tracking service FlightAware. That includes over 380 flights canceled at Tampa International Airport.
When will conditions improve?
CBS News Miami
“By late Thursday, things will begin to wind down,” said CBS News Miami chief meteorologist Ivan Cabrera. “Conditions will improve into Friday, and we’re looking forward to a quiet and tranquil pattern setting up for the weekend and into next week.”
On Friday, there will be a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. It will be cloudy with a 20% chance of rain in the day and 20% at night, according to NWS.
North winds will be around 14 mph with gusts as high as 23 mph during the day, and north winds of 10 to 13 mph with gusts as high as 22 will be seen at night.
CBS News Miami
Highs are expected to be near 86 and lows around 75.
Dangerous storm surge forecast for Florida
Forecasters warned of dangerous storm surge.
“The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the south of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves,” the hurricane center said.
“Rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches, with localized totals up to 18 inches, are expected across central to northern portions of the Florida Peninsula through Thursday,” the hurricane center said.
“This rainfall brings the risk of considerable flash, urban and areal flooding, along with the potential for moderate to major river flooding.”
Milton will also produce rainfall totals 2 to 4 inches across the Florida Keys through Thursday.
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