Carlos Yulo: World-class gymnast, Olympic champion;
Floridians brace for Hurricane Debby's landfall;
U.S. citizens, foreigners urged to leave Lebanon
Floridians brace for Hurricane Debby's landfall;
U.S. citizens, foreigners urged to leave Lebanon
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00:00Riddle me this, people in the world of amateur sports, what could possibly surpass or surmount
00:10the magnitude and prestige of winning an Olympic gold medal?
00:15Simple, winning another one or maybe even more.
00:18Good afternoon, I am William Theo and this is PTV News Now.
00:22And today's big news is one that has lingered since over the weekend and has given the entire
00:28nation something to smile and talk about for a long time.
00:33Carlos Yulo, by virtue of his first place finish in the men's vault barely 24 hours
00:38ago, has become the most honestly bemeddled male gymnast in the Paris Games thus far and
00:45has catapulted the country to the 21st place in the medal standing, which is sure to even
00:51improve with guaranteed bronze medals from female boxers Aira Villegas and Nesty Petesho
00:57and a strong finish from formidable track star EJ Obiena in the finals of the men's
01:03pole vault.
01:04Yulo's triumphant performance in the men's vault, which drew a high score of 1,500-433,
01:13the highest mark among all competitors, and his earlier victory in the floor exercises
01:18where he cracked the 15-point mark for sticking the landing in his third pass and dismount
01:24underscores the years of hard work, sacrifice and relentless training Yulo put in just for
01:30the edge of a hundredth of a point to spell the difference between gold and silver.
01:37Meanwhile, the Sunshine State is bracing and prepping itself for yet another calamitous
01:43landfall of one tropical cyclone gaining strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of
01:49Mexico.
01:50Hurricane Debbie, a Category 5 hurricane, is approaching the Big Bend coast of Florida
01:55packed with gale-force winds and record-setting rainfall that will surely bring catastrophic
02:01flooding and life-threatening storm surge.
02:04The storm is expected to make landfall north of Tampa early Monday or just about now Philippine
02:10time.
02:11A tornado watch has been issued in Florida and neighboring Georgia where Debbie is expected
02:16to dump torrential rains that could lead to unexpected high and rising flood waters.
02:22Debbie is the fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Alberto,
02:28Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris.
02:34In other news, Lebanon is turning out to be an undesirable place for foreigners as the
02:39United States preps to beef up its forces in the Mediterranean amidst Iran's threats
02:45to exact revenge against Israel for killing a Hamas political leader in Tehran during
02:50the inauguration of its newly minted prime minister.
02:53VOA's Arash Arabasady has more.
02:59U.S. warships and fighter jets are on their way to the Middle East to deter an all-out
03:04war and, in quote, defense of Israel.
03:07The Pentagon is moving significant assets to the region to prepare for what may be another
03:12need to defend Israel from an attack.
03:16While simultaneously we are working very hard to de-escalate this situation diplomatically
03:20because we do not believe that a regional war is in anyone's interest in the current
03:24moment and that is something we've been trying to avoid since October 7th.
03:28The show of military might comes amid rapidly soaring tensions in the region following the
03:33assassination of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week and a rocket
03:40strike on Israel's Golan Heights area that killed a dozen children on a soccer field
03:45days before.
03:46Israel blamed the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah for the attack and struck what it
03:51said were Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
03:53A Hezbollah commander was killed.
03:55Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran.
03:59Hezbollah's ongoing aggression and brutal attacks are dragging the people of Lebanon
04:06and the entire Middle East into a wider escalation.
04:12While we prefer to resolve hostilities without a wider war, the IDF is fully prepared for
04:21any scenario.
04:23But in Beirut, on footage carried by the Hezbollah-controlled Al-Manar TV, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
04:30denied the group's involvement.
04:34We categorically deny our responsibility of this incident and we have the courage to take
04:39responsibility if we bomb the place, even by mistake.
04:42Despite the finger-pointing, there are real-world consequences for people living in the region.
04:48Israel's Iron Dome air defense system triggered over the weekend to intercept attacks from
04:53across the border in Lebanon.
04:55And with military reinforcements on the way, the State Department issued a do-not-travel
05:00advisory for Lebanon, encouraging U.S. citizens to depart.
05:05Arash Arabesati, VOA News.
05:11And that is a wrap for this afternoon.
05:13Join me again later tonight for yet another set of breaking news stories.
05:17William Theo urging you to stay connected by catching the news right here.
05:21Thank you for watching TTV News Now.