Sunday 11 October 2026 · Edition of the day

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The Skeptic's Daily

The day's biggest stories, taken apart. For each one: what is actually established, what is only asserted, the questions worth asking — and a plausibility score for the central claim, given everything currently known.

Stories
1
Average plausibility
94%
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It rates how well the core claim is evidenced — not how important the story is, nor whether it is good or bad news.
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01ScienceNorth America

Isaias leaves deaths and widespread power cuts across southern US

Multiple outlets report four deaths, though the supplied updates use different casualty counts and outage measures.

Isaias made landfall in Florida and moved through Alabama, causing widespread power cuts and damage before weakening to a post-tropical cyclone. BBC, Al Jazeera and DW report four deaths, while NPR reports at least two. Al Jazeera reports more than 650,000 people without power in Florida; other items describe hundreds of thousands of households or unspecified customers across Florida and Alabama.

What holds up

  • ✓Multiple outlets report landfall in Florida, effects in Alabama and extensive electricity outages.
  • ✓BBC and DW both report that the storm weakened to a post-tropical cyclone.
  • ✓Four deaths are reported by BBC, Al Jazeera and DW.

What doesn't yet

  • ?NPR gives a lower minimum death toll of two; the summaries do not establish whether this reflects an earlier update or different attribution.
  • ?Outage figures refer to different geographical areas and units, including people and households, so they cannot be directly compared.

Ask before you share

  • →What is the latest time-stamped, officially attributed death toll?
  • →Do outage estimates count people, households or electricity accounts?
  • →Which areas remain affected after the storm’s weakening?

Sources & original reporting

  1. [1]BBC News · Published 10 Oct 2026 · bbc.co.uk
  2. [2]BBC News · Published 10 Oct 2026 · bbc.co.uk
  3. [3]Al Jazeera · Published 11 Oct 2026 · aljazeera.com
  4. [4]NPR · Published 10 Oct 2026 · npr.org
  5. [5]DW · Published 10 Oct 2026 · dw.com