Click for the latest from The Hill{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment   The Big Story  Hurricane Milton threatens Florida: What to know Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm Monday as Floridians brace for yet another major storm to make landfall this week. It comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on Florida’s coastline.© AP Photo/Mike CarlsonThe center of the storm system is expected to make landfall midweek, likely early Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm system’s center is expected to come ashore in the Tampa Bay area, posing a risk to much of the western coastline and inland Florida. Forecasters say the storm could remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida. President Biden signed a disaster declaration Monday for Florida as the storm approaches its coast. Biden’s emergency declaration authorized the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to free up additional resources to assist with the response to the hurricane. The emergency declaration also means the federal government will provide additional funding to designated counties. Monday’s declaration cited more than three dozen counties likely to be impacted by the storm, including Broward, Hillsborough, Lee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Sarasota.  “While it is too soon to specify the exact magnitude and location of the greatest impacts, there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning Tuesday night or early Wednesday,” the National Hurricane Center said in a forecast discussion Sunday.   Read more from our colleagues Sarah Fortinsky, Brett Samuels and Tara Suter at TheHill.com.   Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:  Biden signs emergency declaration as Hurricane Milton approaches Florida President Biden signed a disaster declaration Monday for Florida as Hurricane Milton approaches its coast, the second major storm to hit the state in recent weeks.  Full Story   Sen. Rubio: Milton looks ‘almost identical’ to worst-case storm scenario for Florida Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) said Monday that Hurricane Milton looks “almost identical” to a worst-case storm scenario presented to him for the Sunshine State.  Full Story  Harris faces challenge with union voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania Vice President Harris’s lack of traction with unionized blue-collar workers has emerged as one of her biggest challenges to winning key states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, as polls show her significantly underperforming Joe Biden’s performance with union workers in 2020.  Full Story  In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: White House, Fox News’s Peter Doocy spar over Helene response White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Fox News reporter Peter Doocy sparred Monday over the Biden administration’s response to the damage and destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene. Full Story   What We're Reading  News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: Oil Moguls Emerge as Key Cash Source for Trump as Race Nears End (Bloomberg) How Texas Diminished a Once-Rigorous Air Pollution Monitoring Team (Inside Climate News) Exported Natural Gas Is Dirtier Than Coal, Says New Study (Mother Jones)  What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast jumps into the political ring   Alex Cooper’s ultra-popular podcast, “Call Her Daddy,” usually features Hollywood celebrities, social media influencers or even therapists to discuss all things friendship, romance and mental health for millions of listeners each week.   Read more Deloitte takes fire from Trump-Vance allies over leaked employee messages Deloitte has come under fire from close allies of former President Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) after one of its employees shared private conversations with Vance from 2020 in which the vice presidential candidate criticized Trump.  Read more  Opinions in The Hill  Op-ed related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill: Asheville small businesses: You will recover   You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!  Check out The Hill's Energy & Environment page for the latest coverage.Like this newsletter? Take a moment to view our other topical products here 📩 If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe. Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Energy and Environment newsletter Subscribe