hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from the united states and all over the world. you re watching cnn newsroom. i m kristie lu stout. it is now 2 am on the u.s. east coast. almost the entire state of florida is bracing for the impact of hurricane ian, a monster storm stretching 700 miles across and getting stronger. causing a nationwide blackout in cuba, ian is turning in the gulf of mexico as a category three hurricane with sustained winds just shy of a category four. and along with life-threatening storm surge, florida is facing catastrophic flooding and powerful winds. now, conditions will deteriorate throughout the night ahead of the expected landfall in the coming hours. more than two and a half million people are under some form of evacuation warning. state authorities say the time to leave is quickly running out. people in southwest florida, this is going to likely make landfall as a category 4 hurricane. there will be catastrophic flooding, and life-threat
putin s land grab. russian president vladimir putin announces the annexation of four regions of ukraine, escalating the conflict and growing widespread condemnation from around the world. american is fully prepared to defend every single inch of nato territory. ukraine responds by asking to join nato. so how real is the nuclear threat from russia? i ll talk to nato secretary-general stoltenberg. and the two parties are divided. inflation, crime, and open borders. while democrats take a different path, centering on abortion. a cold, heartless, violent approach to women s health. new numbers from the telemundo poll. how decisive will latinos be in deciding which part controls congress? joining me are julio vacara, susan page, symone ch sanders-townsend, former chief spokeswoman for kamala harris, and steven a., editor of the dispatch. n centers the longer running show in television history, thinks meet the press with chuck todd. good sunday morning. for many
still unaccounted for. making things more complicated, there are at least two islands completely cut off from the mainland. they re using boats to bring people back and forth. i talked with countless people. they tell me the reason they stayed is they simply underestimated the power of the storm. we learned that president biden will come to turin the devastation on wednesday. chuck? i fpeitedim c blayne, thank you joining me from naples is republican senator rick escort of florida. he s also a former governor. welcome back to meet the press. hi, chuck. it s a tough day, been a tough week for florida. sure has. let me start with this. in the first 72 hours, the people on the ground never feel like the recovering is coming fast enough. i understand that, but tell me d what you re seeing. you re in naples, you probably have looked at fort myers, how is the recovery going from your perspective? i have toured in collier county, naples, lee county, an aerial tour of all the areas,
out. people in southwest florida, this is going to likely make landfall as a category 4 hurricane. there will be catastrophic flooding, and life-threatening storm surge on the gulf coast region. and of course, the highest risk will be in that southwest florida region from naples up to sarasota. there is also potential for flash flooding and river flooding, with 10 to 20 inches across central and northeast florida. our meteorologist pedram javaheri is tracking the storm for us. he joins us now. pedram, hurricane ian is intensifying at an unprecedented rate. how strong is it? how is a tracking? you know, 120 miles per hour, this is a strong category three, christiane, are expecting it further strengthening. landfall possible as early as the next 12 hours. that track of the system has gradually shifted further and further towards the east, and the, south and based on the way
growing louder and more urgent as hurricane ian barrels down on florida. the category three storm has already slammed into cuba, leaving a path of destruction on the western side of the island. it has caused a nationwide blackout, with more than 11 million people left in the dark. ian is expected to make landfall in florida in the coming hours between sarasota and port charlotte as a category 3 three or four hurricane. and storm warnings have already been issued for the lower florida keys. a government forecaster earlier explain why the storm is so dangerous. if you are along and north that projected path, heavy rain and damaging winds, and if those soils are saturated, those winds are going to break down trees, break down power lines, and possibly block roads. so, think about, you need to be where you re going to be to ride this one out and basically stay there. and then if you are long and south of the track, storm surge at the coastline, significant