SCOTUS WATCH — The Supreme Court returned to the bench today, with the most notable action coming as the justices declined to take up a Biden administration appeal and upheld a decision “barring emergency abortions that violate the law in Texas, which has one of the country’s strictest abortion bans,” AP’s Lindsay Whitehurst reports.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Milton rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane Monday on a path toward Florida population centers including Tampa and Orlando, threatening a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.

Hurricane Milton exploded in strength Monday to become a potentially catastrophic Category 5 storm bound for Florida, threatening the US state with a second ferocious storm in as many weeks. Milton, which is also forecast to graze Mexico'