©  Associated Press

More than a million Floridians have been left without power as Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm, according to poweroutage.us.

 

The site shows more than 10 counties with significant power outages, the worst of them in Lee County, where more than 450,000 residents are without power. 

 

The Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has the most customers without power at more than 1.2 million.

 

In a statement issued before the storm made landfall on Wednesday, FPL said that as conditions continue to “rapidly deteriorate” and “crews are unable to deploy” due to dangerous conditions, the company will work remotely, using smart grid technology, to restore power where possible. 

 

“In some areas, customers could experience more than one outage as severe weather bands continue to move through. Due to the destructive nature of this storm, dangerous conditions could last for several days and cause outage counts to fluctuate,” the statement said.

 

Read more here.

Welcome to The Hill's Evening Report, catching you up on news from the afternoon and looking at the big stories likely to impact tomorrow.

President Biden and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) have put politics aside and spoken about Hurricane Ian hitting Florida, a shift after Biden hadn’t spoken directly with his potential 2024 political rival in the lead-up to the storm.

Hurricane Ian is complicating Florida’s closely watched gubernatorial race, as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Democratic rival Charlie Crist are forced to navigate the potentially treacherous political terrain caused by the storm.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says the impact of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade will play differently in different states and won't have a widespread impact on the Senate majority this fall.

House Republican leadership is urging its members to oppose a stopgap funding bill that is necessary to avoid a shutdown in Washington.

After support for a President Biden reelection bid dipped earlier this year, more Democrats are now saying they’d back a 2024 run from the president, new polling shows. 

Fox Weather correspondent Robert Ray described the scene along Florida’s Gulf Coast as dire and dangerous when Hurricane Ian approached landfall.

The White House has responded to questions about why President Biden asked if a congressional lawmaker who was killed last month had been in the audience during an event earlier that day by saying the lawmaker was “top of mind” during the president’s remarks, refusing to say whether Biden misspoke or regretted the comments.

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the victims of the July 4 shooting in Highland Park, Ill., against a gun manufacturer for advertising that the plaintiffs argue encourages criminal behavior. 

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) says it's “possible” that he could launch a Senate campaign when his second term as governor ends in 2024. 

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has announced he’s starting a podcast, a political action committee and a project to fight for gun control.  

LGBTQ+ college students with access to mental health care through their school are far less likely to report a past-year suicide attempt than those without access to mental health supports, according to research from The Trevor Project, a leading LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention organization.

"While the prospect of ceding territory is undoubtedly unappealing, all wars end in either total victory or compromise, and if Ukraine does not believe it can defeat Russia at an acceptable price, then it must compromise," writes Seth Weinberger, politics professor at the University of Puget Sound.

You're all caught up! Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend this newsletter to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you tomorrow.