A local Florida reporter is being hailed a hero after he rescued a woman Thursday from rising flood waters in Orlando as she tried to drive through them.

WESH News’ Tony Atkins was reporting live at an intersection when an unidentified nurse who was trying to get to work called out for help. Atkins wasted no time and spring into action and was captured carrying the woman on his back through the waist-high water.

Dramatic video footage shows Atkins pulling the nurse out of her car and hoisting her over his back as he rescued the nurse.

The woman’s daughter, whose identity remains anonymous, posted online that her mom would have been fired had she not made it to work, Atkins posted to Twitter.

“Lord I can’t thank you enough! My mom … a nurse … essential worker trying to get to work or else she would be terminated … I have so many emotions right now but the main one is gratefulness.”

The daughter then sent Atkins a private message saying they are “so grateful” for Atkins.

“A true hero.”

Opponents of Arizona’s school choice program, which provides state funds to students to attend schools outside of the public school system, failed to collect enough signatures to place the issue on the general election ballot, according to a Friday statement by Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs.

Save Our Schools Arizona, an organization that advocates for public schools, was unable to collect the required 118,823 signatures needed to put the state’s new school-choice program on the 2024 ballot, according to Hobbs. The school-choice program was signed into law in July, offering students the opportunity to receive funding for private and charter schools.

“The Secretary of State’s office has reviewed the petitions our campaign turned in and has determined we fell short of the minimum signature threshold required to stop universal voucher expansion,” Save Our Schools said in a statement. “Though our estimated signature count was much higher, the discrepancy was influenced by several factors, including the incredibly high volume of returns of petitions in the final week, days and hours of the campaign.”

Despite turning in more than 140,000 signatures, the effort by Save Our Schools failed because there were not enough legal and completed signatures, Hobb’s statement said.

Arizona’s new school choice program is the widest in the nation, as 1.1 million students are now eligible for vouchers to attend any private and charter school of their choosing. Approximately 100,000 students being homeschooled or attending private institutions can apply to receive vouchers of $7,000 to put towards their education.

Due to the high volume of applicants for the school vouchers, the deadline to apply has been extended to Oct. 15, according to the Arizona Department of Education’s website.

“This is a monumental moment for all of Arizona’s students. Our kids will no longer be locked in under-performing schools. Today, we’re unlocking a whole new world of opportunity for them and their parents,” Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said in a July press release. “With this legislation, Arizona cements itself as the top state for school choice and as the first state in the nation to offer all families the option to choose the school setting that works best for them.”

The Arizona Department of Education and Save Our Schools did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a stern warning during a Friday press conference in Fort Myers to would-be looters in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

“I can tell you in the state of Florida, you never know what may be lurking behind somebody’s home,” the governor cautioned, according to Fox News.

“And I would not want to chance that if I were you — given that we’re a Second Amendment state.”

DeSantis warned against taking advantage of vulnerable people in areas hit hardest by Ian’s destruction. “We want to make sure we’re maintaining law and order,” he said. Local law enforcement remains involved in monitoring any and all looting and state assistance could be called on for help, DeSantis noted further. One sign reading, “You loot, we shoot” was spotted by the governor in Punta Gorda, Fox News reported.

The Category 4 storm left more than 2 million without power after making landfall Wednesday. Flooding hit Fort Myers, Florida particularly hard, where looters were arrested Friday on Fort Myers Beach, according to ABC 3. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office expressed a zero tolerance stance on looting, promising to arrest any involved in criminal activity, the outlet said.

“We are not going to look like Chicago or New York where we’re letting people out in 24 hours so they can go back and loot another home,” tweeted Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody in response to reports of looting. “That will not be tolerated here.”