Florence Punishes Carolinas With Torrential Rain; Eight Dead

WILSON, N.C. (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Florence dumped “epic” amounts of rain on North and South Carolina as it trudged inland on Saturday, triggering dangerous flooding, knocking out power in nearly 900,000 homes and businesses, and causing at least eight deaths. Florence’s intensity has diminished since it roared ashore along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast on Friday as a hurricane.