Taylor Swift is back to watch Travis Kelce and the Chiefs with Eras Tour soon to resume

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Taylor Swift was back at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night to see her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs play the New Orleans Saints after the pop superstar had missed the team's previous two games on the road.

Swift is in the final days of a break from her record-setting Eras Tour, which resumes with the first of three shows Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The tour's North American leg continues in New Orleans and Indianapolis before heading to Toronto and Vancouver in November and December. The final show is scheduled for Dec. 8.

Swift also missed Kelce's annual Kelce Car Jam over the weekend, a charity car show that raises money for his 87 and Running foundation, which helps underserved youth in the areas around Kansas City and Cleveland. There was still plenty of star power with Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, joining Kelce's parents his brother, retired Eagles center Jason Kelce.

Swift began her high-profile romance with Kelce last season, when he invited the “Anti-Hero” singer to watch him in a September matchup with the Bears. Since then, the two have spent plenty of time together, often with cameras following every move.

Swift has stayed out of the spotlight the past couple of weeks, though. That after a particularly headline-grabbing week in which she endorsed Kamala Harris for president, took home seven trophies from the MTV Video Music Awards, and show up to see the Chiefs beat the visiting Cincinnati Bengals.

Swift has become close friends with the Mahomes family over the past year. That created some controversy when the 14-time Grammy winner said she supported Harris over Donald Trump in the November election; Trump has referenced the quarterback's wife after she had liked — and then unliked — an Instagram post by the Republican presidential nominee.

Patrick Mahomes has declined to endorse anyone in the election, instead urging people to register to vote.

“I don’t want my place and my platform to be used to endorse a candidate,” Mahomes said. “My place is to inform people to get registered to vote. It’s to inform people to do their own research and then make the best decision for them and their family.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Taylor Swift arrives before the start of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Taylor Swift arrives before the start of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Taylor Swift arrives in a cart with her dad, Scott Swift, left, before the start of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Taylor Swift stands as she watches from a suite next to her dad Scott Swift during the first half of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Taylor Swift arrives before the start of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Taylor Swift arrives before the start of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Taylor Swift arrives before the start of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Hurricane Milton is weakening slightly but remains a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg, engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago into projectiles.

Follow AP’s coverage of tropical weather at https://apnews.com/hub/hurricanes.

Here’s the latest:

Explosively intensifying Hurricane Milton is the latest freaky system to come out of what veteran hurricane scientists call the weirdest storm season of their lives.

Before this Atlantic hurricane season started, forecasters said everything lined up to be a monster busy year, and it began that way when Beryl was the earliest storm to reach Category 5 on record. Then, nothing. From Aug. 20 — the traditional start of peak hurricane season — to Sept. 23 it was record quiet, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.

Then five hurricanes popped up between Sept. 26 and Oct. 6, more than double the old record of two. On Sunday and Monday, there were three hurricanes in October at the same time — something that never happened before — Klotzbach said. In just 46.5 hours, Hurricane Milton went from just forming as a tropical storm with 40 mph winds to a top-of-the-charts Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds and then it got even stronger.

“I was looking as far back as the Atlantic records go and there’s not really any good analogs for this season, just how neurotic it’s been,” Klotzbach said. “You know, obviously the season ain’t over yet. We’ll see what pops up after Milton.”

▶ Read more about this unusual hurricane season.

“We will let you know — as soon as possible — about school reopening after Hurricane Milton has passed. Our facilities team will need time to safely conduct countywide assessments on all of our sites to ensure our traditional public schools and offices are safe to welcome back students, teachers, and staff members,” the district said in a Facebook post.

The county was also urging residents in evacuation zones to seek shelter. The county is setting up evacuation centers, but those should be viewed as “last resort,” county government said in a statement.

And Criswell pleaded with residents to listen to their local officials for guidance on what to do as the storm bears down.

“This is an extremely dangerous hurricane,” Criswell said Tuesday morning. “I need people to listen to their local officials to get out of harm’s way… People don’t need to move far. They just need to move inland.”

The hurricane remained offshore early Tuesday. Power lines, light poles and trees were knocked down near the coast, and some small thatched-roof structures were destroyed, according to Yucatan Gov. Joaquín Díaz, but he did not report any deaths or injuries.

While Floridians are no strangers to storms, Tampa hasn’t been in the direct path of a major hurricane in over a century.

In that lapse, the area has exploded in growth. Tens of thousands of Americans moved to the area during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many choosing to settle along barrier islands like Clearwater and St. Petersburg overlooking the normally placid, emerald Gulf waters. More than 51,000 people moved to the area between 2022 and 2023, making it the fifth-largest-growing U.S. metropolitan area, according to U.S. Census data.

Longer term residents, after having experienced numerous false alarms and near misses like Irma in 2017, may be similarly unprepared for a direct hit. A local legend has it that blessings from Native Americans who once called the region home and used to build mounds to keep out invaders have largely protected the area from major storms for centuries.

MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel said a hurricane in Tampa is the “black swan” worst-case scenario that experts have worried about for years.

Hurricanes are humanity’s reminder of the uncontrollable, chaotic power of Earth’s weather.

Milton’s powerful push toward Florida just days after Helene devastated large parts of the Southeast likely has some in the region wondering if they are being targeted. In some corners of the internet, Helene has already sparked conspiracy theories and disinformation suggesting the government somehow aimed the hurricane at Republican voters.

Besides discounting common sense, such theories disregard weather history that shows the hurricanes are hitting many of the same areas they have for centuries. They also presume an ability for humans to quickly reshape the weather far beyond relatively puny efforts such as cloud seeding.

“If meteorologists could stop hurricanes, we would stop hurricanes,” Kristen Corbosiero, a professor of atmospheric and environmental sciences at the University at Albany, said. “If we could control the weather, we would not want the kind of death and destruction that’s happened.”

▶ Read more about the power of hurricanes.

The entire Gulf Coast of Florida is especially vulnerable to storm surge.

Hurricane Helene came ashore some 150 miles (240 kilometers) away from Tampa in the Florida Panhandle and still managed to cause drowning deaths in the Tampa area due to surges of around 5 to 8 feet (1.5 to 2.5 meters) above normal tide levels.

Forecasters warned of a possible 8- to 12-foot storm surge (2.4 to 3.6 meters) in Tampa Bay. That’s the highest ever predicted for the location and nearly double the levels reached two weeks ago during Helene, hurricane center spokesperson Maria Torres said.

The storm could also bring widespread flooding. Five to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimeters) of rain was forecast for mainland Florida and the Keys, with as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) expected in some places.

“There is no fuel shortage. Fuel continues to arrive in the state of Florida” despite long lines at gas stations, DeSantis said at a Tuesday morning news briefing. He said officials are working with fuel companies to continue bringing in gasoline.

“You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away,” DeSantis said. “You can evacuate tens of miles; you do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles away. You do have options.”

DeSantis said the state has helped evacuate more than 200 health care facilities in Milton’s path and that 36 county-run shelters are open.

Owners try to secure their boat at the Davis Islands Yacht Clubs ahead a possible landfall by Hurricane Milton, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Jay McCoy puts up plywood in preparation for Hurricane Milton on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

A shrimping boat makes her way back to port as hurricane flags fly at the Davis Islands Yacht Club, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)