First Thing: Storms in US north-east wreak havoc and leave two dead

Thousands of flights have been cancelled and more than 1m homes and businesses are without power. Plus, why are Americans obsessed with secret societies?

Good morning.

A wave of destructive strong storms moving through the north-east of the country has left two people dead, caused thousands of flight cancellations and left more than 1.1m homes and businesses without power.

What about the heatwaves? Triple-digit temperatures are persisting in the south of the US, from Arizona to Florida, with heat indexes as high as 115F as the heatwave affects more than 65 million Americans. Extreme heat advisories remain active in several cities including Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Orlando.

What did he say in response to interviewer Dasha Burns asking how he would know deadly force was being used against the right people? Same way a police officer would know," DeSantis said. Same way somebody operating in Iraq would know. You know, these people in Iraq at the time, they all looked the same. You didn't know who had a bomb strapped to them. So those guys have to make judgments."