MEXICO CITY (AP) — Claudia Sheinbaum, the woman who won Mexico’s June 2 presidential vote, has finally been formally declared Mexico’s President-elect, the first woman to hold the office in Mexico.
At a ceremony Thursday, the former Mexico City mayor was handed the legal ruling declaring her the country’s next president. The ruling had been delayed by appeals before the federal electoral tribunal.
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Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, accompanied by husband Jesus Maria Tarriba, waves as she leaves a ceremony certifying her as the winner of the presidential election, at the Federal Electoral Tribunal in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexico City Mayor-elect Clara Brugada waves as she arrives to a ceremony to certify Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum as the winner of the presidential election, at the Federal Electoral Tribunal in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum poses for a photo after her certification as the winner of the presidential election during a ceremony at the Federal Electoral Tribunal in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, accompanied by husband Jesus Maria Tarriba, waves as she arrives to a ceremony to certify her as the winner of the presidential election at the Federal Electoral Tribunal, in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, accompanied by husband Jesus Maria Tarriba, holds the official document certifying her as the winner of the presidential election as she leaves the Federal Electoral Tribunal, in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Sheinbaum will be sworn in as president on Oct. 1, instead of the usual Dec. 1 swearing-in ceremony. The transition period was shortened after Mexican legislators judged that outgoing presidents stayed too long in office. Sheinbaum will serve a six-year term through 2030.
Sheinbaum has pledged to follow all the policies of her predecessor and political mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
She wasted no time in saying that López Obrador's “hugs, not bullets” policy of not confronting the country's powerful drug cartels was here to stay. The policy, which stresses hand-out programs to reduce the pool of cartel recruits, has proved ineffective at stemming the wave of drug violence.
“The war against drugs will not return," Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum won with almost 60% of the vote, about double the number of her nearest competitor, Xóchitl Gálvez.
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Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, accompanied by husband Jesus Maria Tarriba, waves as she leaves a ceremony certifying her as the winner of the presidential election, at the Federal Electoral Tribunal in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexico City Mayor-elect Clara Brugada waves as she arrives to a ceremony to certify Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum as the winner of the presidential election, at the Federal Electoral Tribunal in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum poses for a photo after her certification as the winner of the presidential election during a ceremony at the Federal Electoral Tribunal in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, accompanied by husband Jesus Maria Tarriba, waves as she arrives to a ceremony to certify her as the winner of the presidential election at the Federal Electoral Tribunal, in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, accompanied by husband Jesus Maria Tarriba, holds the official document certifying her as the winner of the presidential election as she leaves the Federal Electoral Tribunal, in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — When ankle-deep floodwaters from Hurricane Helene bubbled up through the floors of their home, Kat Robinson-Malone and her husband sent a late-night text message to their neighbors two doors down: “Hey, we're coming.”
The couple waded through the flooded street to the elevated front porch of Chris and Kara Sundar, whose home was built on higher ground, and handed over their 8-year-old daughter and a gas-powered generator.
The Sundars' lime-green house in southern Tampa also became a refuge for Brooke and Adam Carstensen, whose house next door to Robinson-Malone also flooded.
The three families met years earlier when their children became playmates, and the adults' friendships deepened during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. So when Helene and Hurricane Milton struck Florida within two weeks of each other, the neighbors closed ranks as one big extended family, cooking meals together, taking turns watching children and cleaning out their damaged homes.
And as Milton threatened a direct strike on Tampa last week, the Malones, the Sundars and the Carstensens decided to evacuate together. They drove more than 450 miles (725 kilometers) in a caravan to metro Atlanta — seven adults, six children, four dogs and teenage Max Carstensen's three pet rats.
“Everyone has, like, the chain saw or a tarp,” Robinson-Malone said Sunday. “But really the most important thing for us was the community we built. And that made all the difference for the hurricane rescue and the recovery. And now, hopefully, the restoration.”
Recovery efforts continued Sunday in storm-battered communities in central Florida, where President Joe Biden surveyed the devastation. Biden said he was thankful the damage from Milton was not as severe as officials had anticipated. But he said it was still a “cataclysmic” event for people caught in the path of the hurricane, which has been blamed for at least 11 deaths.
Nearly 800,000 homes and businesses in Florida remained without electricity Sunday, according to Poweroutage.us, down from more than 3 million after Milton made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm.
Fuel shortages also appeared to be easing as more gas stations opened, and lines at pumps in the Tampa area looked notably shorter. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced nine sites where people can get 10 gallons (38 liters) each for free.
While recovery efforts were gaining steam, a full rebound will take far longer.
DeSantis cautioned that debris removal could take up to a year, even as Florida shifts nearly 3,000 workers to the cleanup. He said Biden has approved 100% federal reimbursement for those efforts for 90 days.
“The (removal of) debris has to be 24/7 over this 90-day period,” DeSantis said while speaking next to a pile of furniture, lumber and other debris in Treasure Island, an island city near St. Petersburg that has been battered by both recent hurricanes. “That’s the way you get the job done.”
National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Close said rivers will keep rising for the next several days and result in flooding, mostly around Tampa Bay and northward. Those areas got the most rain, which came on top of a wet summer that included several hurricanes.
Meanwhile, residents unable to move back into their damaged homes were making other arrangements.
Robinson-Malone and her husband, Brian, bought a camper trailer that's parked in their driveway. They plan to live there while their gutted home is repaired and also improved to make it more resilient against hurricanes.
“These storms, they're just going to keep happening,” she said. “And we want to be prepared for it.”
The Carstensens plan to demolish what's left of their flooded, low-slung home, which was built in 1949, and replace it with a new house higher off the ground. For the time being they are staying with Brooke Carstensen's mother.
Chris Sundar said he's questioning his plan to remain in Tampa until his children have all graduated from high school a decade from now. His house remains the home base for the families' kids, ages 8 to 13. On the wall there is a list of chores for them all, from folding laundry to emptying wastebaskets. Brooke Carstensen, a teacher, has helped the children through an extended period without school.
The Sundars lost both their vehicles when Helene's storm surge flooded their garage, so they drove Robinson-Malone's car when they evacuated to Georgia. Arriving, exhausted after the 14-hour trek, Chris Sundar said to Robinson-Malone: “This is where community shines or it falls apart.”
“And that night we got together and we all hung out,” he said.
On Sunday back in Florida, they worked together to remove sticks and logs from a large oak limb that dangled over another neighbor's driveway. Brian Malone cut it up with a chain saw.
Tackling recovery as a group has made it seem far less overwhelming, Brooke Carstensen said. The families share tips and ideas on a group text thread. The Sundars threw an impromptu 13th birthday party for her son at their house between the storms. And she found solace and laughter from Brian Malone's advice about rebounding: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
It's why she wants to remain in Tampa, despite her concerns that Helene and Milton won't be the last storms.
“Why do we live here in a place that's trying to destroy us?” Brooke Carstensen said. “Well, it's all the people that we have here.”
A large spool of electrical wire sits among Hurricane Milton debris as linemen from Pike Corporation, of North Carolina, fix wires Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Valrico, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
A lineman from Pike Corporation, of North Carolina, works on electrical wires damaged by Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Valrico, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Hillsborough County employee Priscille Traugh helps load supplies into the cars of residents displaced by Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, at the Hillsborough Community College campus in Brandon, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Members of the Florida Air National Guard load supplies into the cars of residents displaced by Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, at the Hillsborough Community College campus in Brandon, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Members of the Florida Air National Guard load supplies into the cars of residents displaced by Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, at the Hillsborough Community College campus in Brandon, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
President Joe Biden speaks following a briefing by federal, state, and local officials in St. Pete Beach, Fla., during a tour of areas affected by Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Chris Sundar measures the depth of floodwaters from Hurricane Milton in his garage Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Brooke Carstensen sands near debris from Hurricanes Helene and Milton outside her home Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Brian Malone cuts down a tree, which fell during Hurricane Milton, outside a neighbor's home Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Neighbors help take down a tree felled by winds from Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Kat Robinson-Malone points to where flood waters from the effects of Hurricane Milton seeped through their floor's foundation Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
A property owner who preferred not to give his name peers into the remains of the second floor unit where he lived with his wife while renting out the other units, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Theresa Carrithers, property manager of Sea Oats Beach Club, puts up caution tape around the hotel's damaged infrastructure, following the passage of Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key in Englewood, Fla.,, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Charlotte County workers clear feet of sand from a road on southern Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A property owner is accompanied by friends as he walks along the beach on his way to survey damage to his three properties, following the passage of Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Property owners who preferred not to be named sit on the torn-up beach near their beachfront home and business, which was damaged in Hurricane Helene and then destroyed in Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Foundations and debris remain after buildings were swept from their foundations and destroyed during Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Empty lots and debris are seen after buildings were swept from their foundations and destroyed during Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A house that was swept from its foundation lies broken open following the passage of Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Bare foundations and debris are seen after buildings were swept away and destroyed in Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Sand covers a remaining stretch of the main road in southern Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., as Charlotte County crews work to clear it, following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A house swept off its foundation and split in half by Hurricane Milton is seen alongside stilted homes, which suffered damaged to their ground floor storage levels, but remained standing, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Charlotte County workers clear feet of sand from the main road on southern Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Buildings damaged in Hurricane Milton are seen, along with a water channel opened by the storm, top, cutting off access to much of Stump Pass Beach state park, on the southern end of Manasota Key in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Property owners who preferred not to be named assess damage to their home and business, which bears orange notices calling for demolition, after the passage of Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Three houses which shifted off their foundations, left, are seen from above following Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Birds visit a sandbar as the sun rises, on Manasota Key in Englewood, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Property owners speak together as they process the damage to their homes and community following Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
President Joe Biden speaks to reporters at MacDill Air Force Base, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Tampa, Fla., before departing to Philadelphia following a tour of areas in Florida affected by Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Waves lap on the beach in front of empty house foundations surrounded by debris, following the passage of Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A property owner who preferred not to give his name peers into the remains of the second floor unit where he lived with his wife while renting out the other units, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
With President Joe Biden aboard, Marine One surveys areas affected by Hurricane Milton in Florida, from Tampa to St. Petersburg, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Florida National Guardsmen control access to a heavily damaged area of Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A woman, right, walks past a home that was swept partially into the road during the passage of Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A child's swing still hangs on a tree, surrounded by debris from homes destroyed by Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
People survey damage to beachfront homes, many of which had their ground floor level washed out, following Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Damaged homes are seen on Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A boat is seen through a broken wall on the ground floor of a stilted home on Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A county vehicle drives past damaged homes on Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A seahorse statue lies embedded in feet of sand covering a road on Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A section of the island's main road not yet reached by county work crews remains covered in feet of sand following the passage of Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Scott Bennett, a contractor who specializes in storm recovery, uses a skid steer to remove sand around 5 feet deep from the patio of a beachfront condominium in Venice, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Ron and Jean Dyer, high school sweethearts who have been married for 60 years, joke together as they talk in the living room of their second-floor beachfront condominium, which lost its roof and a section of wall during Hurricane Milton, in Venice, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Catherine Praught stands inside her damaged home from Hurricane Milton in Cortez, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)
Mark Praught stands inside his storm-damaged home from Hurricane Milton in Cortez, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)
Jen Hilliard shovels sandy muck into a wheelbarrow outside a friend’s house after Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Bradenton Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)
Jen Hilliard dumps sandy muck from a wheelbarrow in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, outside a friend’s house in Bradenton Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)
Don Glass stands his at his home, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Bradenton Beach, Fla., which saw flooding from Hurricane Helene and wind damage from Hurricane Milton two weeks later. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)
Scott Bennett, a contractor who specializes in storm recovery, drives a skid steer, bottom, as he removes sand around 5 feet deep from the patio of a beachfront condominium in Venice, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. Bennett said he had just finished digging out the same condominium complex after Hurricane Helene, when Milton buried it in an even deeper layer of sand. Before Helene hit, the Venice native said, he'd "never seen sand like this. Wind rain, water, but never sand." (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A condominium owner who says her unit, at the back of the property, was luckily undamaged, walks beside an almost-buried fence as she surveys the beginning of work to remove feet worth of extra sand from the beach and beachfront properties, in Venice, Fla.,following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Scott Bennett, a contractor who specializes in storm recovery, drives a skid steer as he removes sand around 5 feet deep from the patio of a beachfront condominium in Venice, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, second from right, gestures as he holds a news conference after Hurricane Milton at a fuel depot Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Plant City, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Kevin Guthrie, Florida Division of Emergency Management, speaks during a news conference at a newly opened fuel depot Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Plant, Fla. Looking on are Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, left, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, right. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a news conference at a fuel depot in Plant City, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, accompanied by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, right. Gas station are slow to open after the effects of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
A Florida Highway Patrol officer watches as fuel depot workers distribute gas to residents Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Plant City, Fla. Gas stations are slow to reopen after the effects of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Fuel distribution workers fill cars at a depot, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Plant City, Fla. Gas stations are slow to reopen after the effects of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Motorists wait in long lines for fuel at a newly opened depot after Hurricane Milton Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Plant City, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
A child's swing still hangs on a tree, surrounded by debris from homes destroyed by Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
