ian. state and federal agencies are still in search and rescue mode now five days after the storm made land fall. we ll have the very latest on the hardest hit areas. also ahead, ukrainian forces respond to putin s illegitimate annexation of four territories in a significant way. as the army continues to build on weeks of momentum. plus, new developments connected to the fbi search of mar-a-lago. it appears there are more missing documents that the department of justice needs to track down. good morning. welcome to way too early. thanks for starting your day with us. we begin in florida. historic rescue and relief efforts are underway five days after hurricane ian battered the state and left massive devastation in its wake. first responders are scouring the hardest hit areas looking for survivors as the death toll continues to rise. according to an nbc news talley, that number now stands at 87. four of the fatalities were reported in north carolina where the storm struck
wall street journal editorial page talking about how even by donald trump standards this was dangerous, violent rhetoric. we ll have the latest on that in light of everything that s going on. cpac tweets out russian propaganda, and then backtracks claiming the post was not authorized. we ll tell you what the conservative group is saying now and a lot of news in the sports world but we re going to begin this morning in florida where historic rescue and relief efforts are underway, five days after hurricane ian battered the state and left massive devastation in its wake. the u.s. death toll is now at 87 people according to an nbc news tally. first responders are searching the hardest hit areas for survivors. florida governor ron desantis says more than 1,000 rescues have been made across the state since the storm hit. fema officials say this is the largest search and rescue effort they have ever launched in florida and that u.s. federal response is likely to be unprecedente
sam stein, thank you so much. there is the senate we ll keep an eye on as well as races tighten across the country. we want to thank all of you for getting up way too early with us on this monday morning. morning joe starts right now. good morning, and welcome to morning joe. it is monday, october 3rd. there is a lot happening this morning. the largest ever federal search and rescue operation is now underway in the wake of hurricane ian as the death toll from the storm nears 90 and is expected to climb. we ll have a live report. plus, more violent rhetoric from donald trump targeting mitch mcconnell making a racist slur against his wife with little to no push back from republicans. he s out and out in all caps. boy. attacked mcconnell and said he had a death wish, and then made another racist slur against mitch mcconnell s wife.
attacked president for being out of touch with reality and complexity of legislating. the president attacked mcconnell at one point didn t rule out trying to oust from leadership, but today they sang each other the praises repeatedly. my relationship with this gentleman is outstanding, has been outstanding. contrary to what some of you may have reported we are together totally on this agenda to move america forward. this man is going to get it done. okay? and i think he ll get it done long before anybody else and a great health care. we ve been friends and acquaintances a long time. talk frequently. we don t give awe readout every time we talk but frequently talk on the weekend about the issues before us. and mitch will tell you maybe with the exception of a few, a very small few, i have a fantastic relationship with the people in the senate and with the people in congress. i mean, with our house of