佛罗里达一半地区停电 恢复供电可能要数周时间
美国佛罗里达州更多居民星期二将目睹飓风艾玛造成的破坏。与此同时，佛罗里达半数居民仍处于停电状态，很多地区的道路也被洪水或垃圾和残骸所覆盖。
佛罗里达群岛最北端的门罗郡准备允许居民返回，其它岛屿则因为主要公路遭到破坏仍无法通行。有关官员说，对连接岛屿的42座桥梁的检查已经基本完成，经过检查的桥梁大多通过了安全标准。
飓风艾玛星期天早上冲击佛罗里达群岛。美国海军派遣了三艘船只，参加搜救工作，包括搜寻留在房子的风暴受害者的遗骸。
佛罗里达州州长斯科特星期一飞过岛屿上空视察灾情后说：“我对佛罗里达群岛的居民深表同情。简直是一场浩劫。我希望所有人都能幸免于难。我们看到的景象让人触目惊心。”
斯科特州长说，艾玛后的重建工作任重道远。他告诉记者说，佛罗里达州2万3千名电力工人，还有数以千计来自外州的电工，正在设法恢复电力供应，但是一些居民要做好停电数周的准备。
飓风艾玛在佛罗里达州造成至少5人丧生，乔治亚州和南卡罗莱纳州也分别有2人丧生。飓风艾玛上星期席卷加勒比海岛屿时，共造成至少35人丧生。
Half of Florida is without power and officials say it could take weeks to restore service
More people in the U.S. state of Florida will get to see Tuesday the damage left by Hurricane Irma, while half of the state's population remains without power and roads in many areas are covered by flood waters or debris.
Monroe County was set to allow entry to people living in the uppermost part of the Florida Keys, while the rest of the island chain remains closed with damage to its main highway. Officials said inspections were complete on most of the 42 bridges that connect the many islands in the Keys, with those examined so far all deemed safe.
The Keys were the first part of Florida slammed by the powerful hurricane Sunday morning. The U.S. Navy has sent three ships to help with rescue and recovery efforts, which will include searches of damaged homes that may contain the remains of storm victims.
"My heart goes out to the people in the Keys," Florida Governor Rick Scott said Monday after flying over the islands. "There's devastation. ... I just hope everybody, you know, survived. It's horrible what we saw."
Scott said recovering from Irma will be a "long road" for the state. He told reporters 23,000 electrical utility workers from Florida and thousands more who came to help from other states were working to restore service, but that some people should be prepared to be without power for weeks.
Hurricane Irma has been blamed for at least five deaths in Florida, two in the state of Georgia and two in South Carolina. It killed at least 35 people as it tore through islands in the Caribbean last week.
澳大利亚选民开始收到同性婚姻的民调选票
澳大利亚星期二开始了为期一个月的自愿投票，最终可能会促成澳大利亚同性婚姻合法化。
多达1600万澳大利亚人将收到邮寄选票，要求他们就同性婚姻合法化问题表明支持还是反对，并在11月底前寄出选票。如果大多数人表示支持的话，澳大利亚议会就要在12月举行正式投票。
星期二公布的一份新民调显示，70%的受访者支持同性婚姻合法化。
澳大利亚总理特恩布尔表示，他将投出支持的一票。此前，澳大利亚议会否决了强制公民投票的计划后，特恩布尔决定进行自愿邮寄投票。
同性恋权益倡导者向澳大利亚最高法院提出，特恩布尔政府无权划拨9700万美元用于邮寄投票，结果被最高法院驳回。
同性恋权益倡导者还担心，投票会给澳大利亚的男女同性恋和跨性别者群体带来伤害。他们要求议员直接记名投票，表示支持还是反对。
Australian Voters Begin Receiving Ballots on Same-Sex Marriage Survey
Tuesday marks the start of a month-long voluntary vote that could eventually legalize same-sex marriage in Australia.
As many as 16 million Australians will receive a mail-in ballot asking them to vote either "yes" or "no" on the issue and mail it back by November. If a majority of ballots are marked "yes," Parliament will follow through with a formal vote in December.
A new opinion survey released Tuesday indicated 70 percent of those questioned said they support same-sex marriage.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who says he will mark "yes" on his ballot, launched the voluntary mail-in vote after lawmakers rejected a plan to hold a compulsory vote known as a plebiscite.
Gay rights advocates unsuccessfully challenged the plan in Australia's High Court, arguing that Turnbull's government does not have the authority to spend $97 million on the mail-in ballot.
Advocates also expressed fears the vote could expose Australia's gay, lesbian and transgender community to harm. They are demanding lawmakers hold a simple up-or-down vote.
