news in what could be a once in a lifetime weather event for parts of florida and the united states. right now, hurricane hurricane idalia is barrelling toward florida's gulf coast and is expected to make land fall as a category 3 storm or stronger overnight. the storm is rapidly intensifying as it travels through a warmer than normal gulf of mexico. the majority of florida's counties are now under a state of emergency. schools are closed, aurpts have been shuttered and hospitals are moving patients that they can move to safer locations. cities around the eye of the hurricane are predicted to possibly see more than 12 feet of storm surge with winds more than 100 miles per hour. we are just getting in some new video. this is out of key west, where residents are already starting to feel the storm's effects. moments ago, this dire warning from the mayor of cedar key, near where the storm is expected to make landfall. the mayor estimating around 100 people remain in his town. he's urging them, pleading with them to leave. >> we're here to beg our citizens to heed this warning. this storm is worse than we have ever seen. we haven't seen a storm this bad ever. >> our teams are positioned all along florida's gulf coast as the storm approaches. let's start with an update on the hurricane from meteorologist chad myers in the cnn weather center. how strong is idalia? what's the latest track? >> right now, it's 90 miles per hour. we'll get a new update at 5:00. the hurricane center just took off now a hurricane hunter, i'm not sure it's going to make it there, but it will be close. we're still watching it on at slight. now we can see it on radar. you can see it from the key west radar and the tampa bay radar. but what we're seeing on the shore itself on land are spinning thunderstorms. even had a tornado warning near marco island not that long ago. gusts of 35 miles per hour as all of these bands con come on by, the wind will begin to pick up one band after another. there's your 90 mile-per-hour-storm. it's still in this very water. we are going to see surge. the surge is going to be 12 to 15 feet in places. there's no much many people or land there. that's great news. but the people that are there need to leave right now. cedar key, those placess are going to be mostly under water. here's what it looks like and what the radar is going to look like. this thing is only going to be in the water another 20 hours. then it makes landfall. that's the good news. we don't want this thing in the water another 36 hours where it could get stronger and stronger and stronger. >> and chad, there's going to be a super moon tonight. that could actually make the storm surge even worse. explain. >> right now, today and tonight, the moon is 18,000 miles closer than normal. because the moon's orbit is in a circle. it's a bigging. so because it's closer, you get a 5% higher pull because it's 5% closer than normal. so that is going to raise any of these storm surges that would have been 14 feet would make it 15 feet. you'll see these tides worldwide higher than normal. but it affects, obviously, this storm because, as you push the water on shore, if the tide is higher, you have to add that surge to the tide and that's what we're going to see tonight. the models are in pretty good agreement. don't think it moves left to right. we'll see at 5:00 what kind of changes they make. >> chad myers, thank you so much. let's bring in john berman and bill we're along the coast in florida's big bend area. that's where the panhandle meets the west coast of florida, that bend area. that's where i-dalia is expecte to make landfall. john, all of the coastal areas around you are currently under mandatory evacuation orders. does it look as though people are following those evacuation orders? >> reporter: we were just talking about that. we have seen a lot of people leaving. a lot of people driving in the other direction that we were coming in on, towing their boat. this is a fishing community here behind us. seasonal fishing community. only about 500 people live here year round. i see more cars driving out that way. we saw boats headed in that way. it seems as if many people are heeding the warnings. >> we stopped at a couple stores and they had emtdtied all the inventory out, moving it to whatever passes as high ground. we were lucky enough to get a room 58 feet above sea level. that's lofty. that's alpine in this world part of the world. that should be enough to keep us out of even a 12-foot storm surge. >> the point that bill is making, you drive in here and it's flat. it's flat for miles and miles and miles. so the concern is if there's this storm surge, and the river rises 15 feet, it could send water very far inland. just for a point of reference, hermine, they had a storm surge of six feet. people were saying they were walking around the marina parking lots in water to their waist. 10 to 15 storm surge, it would be over our heads. >> so much of this is historic construction, prefab mobile homes, so really the infrastructure of this area is most at risk. you have to hope those die-hards who never leave are minimal this time. >> how used to these strong hailstorms are residents of this region of florida? >> reporter: these are storm hardened folks here. in addition to the one john was talking about a few years back, back in the '90s they had the storm of the century. so you get folk who is have the mentality that if it's not a category 4 or 5, it's not going to get my attention. although those rarely make landfall here it's a local's apathy about these things. but we live in a different world now. every 1 degree fahrenheit of heating in the gulf of mexico means a storm could be 10% stronger. right now it's over 2 degrees above normal. 88 or 89 degree sea surface temperatures, which is just steroids. like sovieter ra steroids for these storms. and we'll see what that means later tonight. >> we'll come back to you. thank you so much. let's head down the coast now to gloria in clearwater, which is outside tampa, florida. while that area is not predicted to take a direct hit from the eye of the storm, officials are still warning about the potential for deadly flooding and storm surge. >> reporter: that's exactly right. we are that does not mean we are out of the danger zone. we are about 45 minutes to the west of tampa bay. and it's pretty desolate here. the beach behind me is empty, and that's how officials want it. this is a mandatory evacvags zone. and the reason for that is because the danger here is the storm surge. what bill was just talking about, as that hurricane moves towards the coast, over the very warm waters of the gulf of mexico, the concern is that the storm will continue to gather more and more strength and storm surge will affect these low-lying areas, where we are right now. we have been watching all morning as some of the wars of this hotel were lining up these sapd bags. as you can see, they are lined up all across the sidewalk here. but this area is expected to get at least 4 to 7 feet of water once that storm surge comes in, if it does come in tonight into tomorrow morning. so these sandbags are here, but when we're talking about 4 to 7 feet of water, it might not do a whole lot. there are a lot of hotels in this area. this is an area where a lot of tourism takes place, but the place is pretty empty. in fact, the hotel where we are staying, guests were told to evacuate by 11:00 this morning. even as we were coming into town late last night, you could see that it was pretty desolate. a the lot of the stores, the restaurants had shut down. so it does look like people are heeding the warnings. that's a good thing because it does look like it's going to be dangerous here tonight. >> gloria, thank you so much. let's bring in a senior scientist at noaa. tom, what are you most worried about as idalia nears landfall? >> well, i would be most concerned about the storm surge scenario. again, the national hurricane center has put out some very good information on this, which residents really need to heed. >> it seems this is a con influence of horrible events. you have the supermoon, this might be bringing tides to higher heights. the affect of global warming, climate change on the gulf of mexico has made that hotter, which has made the storm stronger. are there any other x factors we should be keep ing ab eye on tht could affect the strength of the track? >> those are the ones that you mentioned that i would be concerned about. i know you mentioned climate change and the role that long-term warming is playing. we do find that in our climate models that you have hurricanes going over warmer sea surface temperatures. they are strengthened by warmer sea surface temperatures. for 2 degree celsius, we find about 3% increase in maximum wind speeds in the atlantic basin. between 1 and 10% is centered around that. >> you published a paper earlier this year about how climate change will affect hurricane season. based on your research, are you anticipating that we're going to see more hurricanes every year stronger hurricanes every year? what's the forecast? >> most confident projection we can make is with the sea level rise, that will lead to greater storm inundation levels. we also are quite confident global warming will have higher rainfall rates, 7% higher for 1 every degree celsius of warming. in terms of the numbers of storms that are going to affect the u.s., that's very much an open question. there's no long-term trend, and the models are divide d on whether they are going to be fewer storms in the atlantic basin. there's some indication from models of the storms that are out there in the atlantic basis, the greater fraction of them will make landfall in the u.s. under a global warming scenario. but that's something we don't have as much confidence in as the sea level rise and the greater maximum rainfall rates and greater average maximum wind speeds. >> how does climate change affect the impacts of the hurricane, such as the storm surge or the flooding? >> through the sea level rise, if the hurricane is riding in on a higher sea level, that will lead to these higher inundation levels. even if the storm is not changed. so in some sense, sea level is a damage multiplier. so it is making for coastal regions more susceptible to the effects of storm surge. >> tom, thank you so much for your expertise. appreciate it. new video shows hurricane idalia hitting parts of south florida. this is more than 300 mile was from where idalia is expected to make landfall. we're going to go live to areas that could get a direct hit, next. ♪ please don't go ♪ ♪ please don't go.. ♪ ♪ p please don't go ♪ ♪ please don't go ♪ ♪ don't goooooo! ♪ (♪) ♪ don't go away ♪ (♪) ♪ please don't go ♪ [musiclaying] subject 1: cancer is a long journey. it's overwhelming, but you just have to put your mind to it and fight. subject 2: it doesn't feel good because you can't play outside with other children. subject 3: as a parent, it is your job to protect your family. but here is something that i cannot do. i cannot fix this. i don't know if my daughter is going to be able to walk. i don't know if she's going to make it till tomorrow. [music playing] interviewer: you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food so they can focus on helping their child live. subject 4: childhood cancer, there's no escaping it. but st. jude is doing the work, continually researching towards cures, giving more than just my child a chance at life. interviewer: please, call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope for only $19 a month. subject 5: those donations really matter because we're not going to give up. and when you see other people not giving up on your child, it makes all the difference in the world. interviewer: when you call or go online with your credit or debit card right now, we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt. you can wear to show your support to help st. jude save the lives of these children. subject 6: st. jude is hope. even today after losing a child, it's still about the hope of tomorrow, because. childhood cancer has to end. interviewer: please, call or go online right now. [music playing] wayfair has deals so big that you might get a big head. because with savings so real... you can get your dream sofa for half the price. wayfair. it's always a big deal. ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪ was also the first time you heard of a town named dinosaur, colorado. we just got an order from dinosaur, colorado. start an easy to build, powerful website for free with a partner that always puts you first. start for free at godaddy.com we're back with our breaking news coverage of hurricane idalia. just minutes we'll get an update on the storm as it's rapidly intensifying and headed towards florida. the national weather service office in tallahassee posted this warning today. hurricane idalia will likely be an unprecedented event for many locations in the florida big bend. looking back through recorded history, no major hurricanes have ever moved through the bay. you try to compare this storm to others, don't. no one has seen this, unquote. the post goes on to warn, quote, this is your last day to get prepared. conditions rapidly deteriorate tonight. brian todd is standing by in st. marks, florida, that's south of tallahassee. you're at the top of the so-called big bend. that's where the panhandle meets the peninsula, the west coast of the peninsula. are people in the low-lying areas there, are they following the evacuation orders? >> reporter: as always, some follow those orders, and some do not. we just spoke to officials at the sheriffs and emergency management agency. they have said this town is under a mandatory evacuation. they have sent deputies door to door, asking people to leave the town. but as you know, you have been through several hurricanes in this region before, a mandatory evacuation means they cannot physically pull you out of the house and take you from your town. if you want to stay, that's your choice, but it means they will come to your door or contact you in another way to strongly urge you to leave and not ride it out. we talked to several people in this town who are still going to stay. we're going to talk to you about what they could be in for in a second. but why is this such a dangerous spot? look at how low we are to the river here. this is the st. marks river. one resident told us the river here is a little higher now than it normally is. we're a few hours yet from the storl. this river converges with the river downstream and thens it's the appalachian bay. this whole area never seen a category 3 hurricane in recorded history. now taking you through this area here and where the water could push up. six feet of storm surge is expected. that means according to my colleague in the weather center, the wind is going to look like a snowplow pushing this water up here. residents fully expect this whole area here to be flooded. look at how people build in their preparations. this house here, 15 to 20 feet aboveground on concrete stilts, but not every house here is like that. residents here fully expect this whole area to be flooded tomorrow. when i asked one deputy official about what he would tell people who are planning to stay here, he said he had one word as a response. don't. they need people to get out of here. >> brian todd in st. marks. thank you so much. let's go back down the coast a little bit to levy county. joining us is with the sheriffs office. thank you for joining us. you're in the northwest part of the florida peninsula. a mandatory evacuation order has been ordered in the coastal areas of the county. it's supposed to be completed by this hour, 4:00 p.m. eastern. the see dart key mayor says about 100 people are not complying. tell us what you're hearing and seeing. >> for the most part, we're seeing a lot of our citizens moving out of the way of this. we do have, like our other counties, hardened residents who aren't taking heed. don't stay. if there's any message i can send, don't stay. this is going to be an epic flood for our region. >> have things gone as smoothly as they could today? >> unfortunately, this is not our first time to prep for a storm. as far as our operations and ramping up and the safety of our community, we are ready. as ready as we can be. we don't want to have to go back in later on down the road after the storm passes and have to take people out that didn't heed the warnings. we'd like them to be gone. >> so the evacuation orders says residents and visitors need to be off the island before the storm surge arrives because the brilks throughout the area are going to become impassable. the national hurricane center says cedar key could be pcut of by storm surge. how quick ly do you anticipate you'll be able to get to the island once the storm passes? >> once the storm passes, that's when we're going to see the major water inundation come in. prior to that, we'll have to weather the storm winds of 120 miles per hour. that's not something we have seen in this area for a very, very long time. hurricane hersmine in 2016 pushd six feet of water on top of us. we're looking at double that. our buildings are going to be under water. trying to get to the residents is going to be a huge challenge. >> governor desantis met with emergency management officials. what did he have to say? >> evacuate. get out. get away from the water. run from the water and hide from the wind. we can't urge our residents enough. this is not the time to try to test mother nature. mother nature will win. get out and save yourself. take ownership for yourself and your own safety. >> lieutenant, thank you so much for what you do. thank you for talking to us. please keep safe. >> thank you. coming up, why the path of idalia could create such a dangerous storm surge. plus the white house secretary of state will be here. we're going to talk about the federal response to idalia and the administration's new effort to lower medicare drug prices. we'll take a quick break and be right back. we hold... our low mileage is paying off. you think we should... hold... hoooold!!! hohooold! now!!!! i'm on it. i'i'm, on it. already sold to carvana. go to cacarvana and track your car's value today. yoyour shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. yoindeed you do.. indeednstant match instantly delivers quality candidates matchingour job description. visit indeed.com/hire hi, we've both got a big birthday coming up. so we have a lot of questions about medicare plans. we've got a lot of answers! how can i help? well for starters, do you include hearing benefits? how about a plan with dental, vision and hearing benefits? i sure like the sound of that! then how does a zero dollar monthly plan premium sound? ooooooooh! if you're new to medicare, call 1-888-65-aetna. we'll walk you through all your coverage and benefit options to help find the right plan for you. (josh allen) is this your plan to watch the game today? (hero fan) i have to watch my neighbors' nfl sunday ticket. (josh allen) it's not your best plan. but you know what is? myplan from verizon. (vo) football season is here. get nfl sunday ticket from youtubetv on us. a $449 value. plus, get a free samsung galaxy z flip5. only on verizon. i may be known for my legendary football career, but truth is, i love a bunch of sports. the only trouble is knowing where to find them. that's why i got xfinity. so, i can easily find and watch whatever sport i'm into all in one place without missing a thing. even if it's football, australian football, or football football. in a word—it's fitz-credible. i got to trademark that one. this season, eligible xfinity rewards members can get up to $100 off nfl sunday ticket from youtube. sign up for xfinity rewards now. we're back with a view of hurricane idalia from space. this image captured by the international space station around 11:this morning. the next update is at the top of the hour. we'll find how much the warm waters are fueling this system and whether the hurricane is getting stronger. we anticipate it is. meteorologist chad myers is back in the cnn weather center for us. chad, the storm surge could really be the main issue here. >> yes, absolutely. the florida big bend area is going to act like a catcher's mitt to catch all of the water that's now being blown along the shore of the west coast of florida. think about trying to cool off a cup of coffee, and as you blow on the coffee, you see the ripples and they all blow away and on to the other side of the cup. all of the ripples now are blowing up alongside the coast of florida. in the big bend area, land is going to get in the way. and it's not going to let the water go any further. so we are going to see the surge here. it's not a tidal wave. it comes in about 6 inches at a time. one wave just a little taller than the next wave, a little taller than the next wave, so it takes some time. it doesn't give enough time to get out of the way once you're there, but it's still a slower process than people think of this big tidal wave coming their way. it's not going to happen like this. we are going to see the surge along with the landfall of the eye. and on the right side of the eye, on the left side of the eye, there will be an inverse surge. the wind will push the water away from land. you'll be able to see the beach for probably hundreds and thousands of people here. and then here along the coast, that's where the rainfall is going to be. so if you're going to evacuate the surge, where do you want to be? not here where you're going to see flash flooding because of the fresh water rainfall. you have to be careful where you're going here. >> chad myers, thank you so much. just moments ago in the oval office, president biden said he'd worried about the storm surge from hurricane idalia as it approaches florida. the president says he's spoke with ron desantis and other officials along the state's gulf coast to pledge full support from the white house. the white house secretary is with us now to talk about that and other issues. what does that support look like? how is the federal government prepared to respond once the storm makes landfall? >> as you know, as the president mentioned, he spoke to governor desantis yesterday. and as well, he approved an emergency preparedness declaration right away, which helps the federal government move quickly to do stuff before it hits on land and after also to prepare for the aftermath. what the fema administrator and the federal government has been able to do, they deployed 600 federal employees who are prepositioned to help. there are about nine search and rescue teams out there predeployed. what we are tell ing people is o make sure that they go to ready.gov to get information they need. and also to make sure that you're charging your technology equipment, make sure that you're getting food, be prepared for what's about to happen. this is an all of government approach that this president is doing. this is what we have seen in this type of weather. and so we are there. the president is going to be there for them tomorrow until we are needed on the ground. >> so fema, the federal emergency management agency has $3.5 billion in disaster relief for this hurricane and for the maui wildfires and for any future extreme weather events to come. we just heard from the fema director today. she's worried about running out of funding, understand police. she called on congress to approve the request for another $12 billion in disaster funds. so emergency relief efforts are not impacted. we should note that request for relief is paired with requests for more aid for ukraine, which is more controversial to many in congress. it might be a sticking point for them. why not separate the fema dollars from ukraine dollars so you don't have that problem for those who need this fema money as soon as possible? >> so the administrator came into the briefing room and laid that out for americans watching. she said she will have more to say. in regards to the supplemental funding that the president has asked for, i don't want to get into hypotheticals. the president put forward what he thinks is important that we need. if you look at ukraine, the president has been clear. we're going to help the brave people of ukraine as they are fighting for their freedom, fighting for their democracy. and we are going to be there. our allies and partners are going to be there for as long as it takes because it's that critical. and obviously, making sure that we have everything we need for folks not just in florida, folks in maui, any type of extreme weather. hurricanes that we see so we are prepared. but both of those things are incredibly important. i'm not going to get into hypotheticals or what it locks like if congress comes back and wants to split the two. these are incredibly important not just for the president, for the american people. we have to keep our commitments on both sides of these things. >> the biden administration has been negotiating prescription drug prices in medicare, something that previous presidents have promised to do, but president biden did deliver on. today the white house revealed the names of the first ten drugs subject to negotiations to bring the prices down. we'll put the names on the screen. two pr blood thinners, one is for blood cancer, two for auto um mun sdrds, and some of these can't treat more than one thing. how soon will medicare recipients feel the impact of these negotiations, and how much do you think they should expect to see? >> so a couple things. this is so important. this critical provision that's kming ocoming out. >> we're talking about it now. >> thank you for giving thus opportunity because we're talking about 9 million medicare beneficiaries who are really going to feel the relief of these ten drugs as far as costs. we're talking about $160 billion of savings that taxpayers are going to have when we look at what the health care benefits are coming you of the inflation reduction act. this is huge. you look at the ten drugs. in 2022, they cost americans who take these ten drugs $3.2 billion. that's $6,000 out of pocket for just one drug. sos that tremendous thing. 33 years, it took 33 years to make this happen. what the president has been able to do is beat big pharma. because now medicare is allowed to negotiate. it's going to take some time. americans are going to see the effect of this in 2026, taz relates to these ten drugs. but the inflation reduction act has already been working. 15 million americans are seeing $800 per year in savings in health care. you think about the insulin. $35 for seen your citizens when it's capped at $35 for senior citizens. and that is incredibly important as well. so we're seeing the effects of inflation reduction act that only democrats voted for a year ago. >> so you said the president said not so fast. because several companies and industry groups have filed multiple lawsuits claiming that these fwoerkss are unconstitutional. some of the bigger names are pharma, johnson & johnson, astrazeneca, is the white house concerned at all about this pushback? >> we're not concerned. there's nothing in the constitution that says that medicare cannot negotiate with pharmaceutical companies. we believe we have strong standing ground legally and we believe we're going to fight this and we're going to win this and leave that to the department of justice to move this process along. i do want to say one quick thing. today there was this gentleman named steven who introduced the president. he's a senior citizen, medicare beneficiary. he has a rare blood cabser and also has type 2 diabetes. he pays $16,000 a month for his medication. nobody should have to live this way. he does not want to retire because he doesn't know how he would be able to afford this. one of the medications that we announced today is on that list. it's going to save him money. this is what we're talking about. this is what the president has been very steadfast about, lowering costs, especially health care costs for americans. >> i have two more questions. will you tstick around and come back? >> absolutely. >> we'll be right back. >> woman: why did we choose safelite? were loading our suv when... crack! safelite came right to us, and we could see exactly when they'd arrive with a replacement we could trust. that's service the way we want it. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ from pep in their step to shine in their coats, when people switch their dog's food to the farmer's dog, the effects can seem like magic. but there's no magic involved. (dog bark) it's just smarter, healthier pet food. it's amazing what real food can do. right now get a free footlong at subway. like the subway series menu. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. for freeee. that's what i'm talking about. order in the subway app today. sglrchlgts we're back with the white house press secretary. thank you for sticking around. a new associated press poll finds most americans believe that president biden is too old to be president. the poll looked at 80-year-old president biden versus 77-year-old donald trump. 7% of adults say biden is too old. 51% of adults say trump is too old. if it you look at the breakdown by party, republicans generally don't think of trump's age as an issue, but both democrats and republicans agree biden is too old. so here's the question. is the white house worried that questions about president biden's stamina could ultimately impact whether or not voters will be able to support him for a second term? >> i'm going to be careful about 2024. i can't speak to that directly. >> you can talk about the perception of the public with the president's stamina and his age. >> i'm happy to talk about that. i get asked that question a lot. here's the thing. what this president brings to the administration is wisdom and experience. and that is just true. as senator, as vice president, and now as president. we just talked about we had a -- i appreciate the conversation we had on medicare. the first ten prescription drugs that we just introduced because of the inflation reduction act, that's the thing that the president is able to do is deliver. really move forward historic pieces of legislation, change the lives of americans for generations to come. and that is what we focus on. the president's record and what he's been able to do. people have come after the president about his age. they did if in 2019. they did it in 2020 leading into the general election. and guess what, he beats them every time. because he has his finger on the pulse of what it is the american people need. he talks about issues that really matter to the american people. and he is delivering. is there more work to be done, there's always more work to be done, but we're happy to take that on. not going to talk about 2024, but what i can speak to is what the president has been able to deliver day after day for the american people. >> you're part of the 23% of adults who is not concerned about the president's ability to be president because of his age and stamina. i got it. but 77% of adults are worried. that includes democrats, who are presumably will vote for him. what did you make of it the other day when nikki haley said that president biden is something along the lines of degrading before our eyes, and that ultimately, kamala harris will be president in a second term. >> again, i'm not going to respond directly to nikki haley. i'm not going to do that. can't do that. got to be mindful and careful here. what i can speak to is look at his record. look what he has been able to do. we literally just talked about these ten drugs and being able to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies, which is something that no other politician has been able to do. 33 years they have been trying to do it. this president made it happen. this is a president, again, you asked me about ukraine. you asked me about the supplemental funding. he has done something internationally around the world, which is bring our allies and our partners together, especially what we saw after the last administration. this is a president that knows how to get the work done, who is focused on the american people, that's what i will speak to. i will speak to his record and his record stands alone. it is something that americans should be proud of, something we all are proud of on all of the historic amount of legislation. >> but i'm talking about his age and stamina, and you're talking about record. i understand why you'd rather talk about the record, but i'm talking about what americans see when they turn on the tv and see joe biden has been in politics since before you were born. and that he's aged, as we all do. >> let's talk about this. back when we were marking the one year anniversary of the war in ukraine. what did the president do? he went to kyiv. and he was there with the alarms blaring in the back, and people were so impressed he was able to be there and look strong and represent the american people in kyiv in a war zone country. and that's what you saw. >> i'm not saying he's not able to walk. >> but you're talking about his strength, talking about how he's looking now. >> the average male only lives to be 77. >> people were impressed he was able to be there and present the american people. the president says this all the time. watch him. and he. >> they are watching him. that's what i'm say ing. 77% are concerned. >> i have had conversations with some of contractor colleagues in the press corp. how it is hard for us to keep up with this president. who is constantly working every day to get things done and making sure that we are delivering for the american people. i think that's what matters. i get what you're asking me. but the record matters too. what he's been able to do, no other president has been able to do if you look at that. >> you mentioned ukraine, so let me bring in another topic having to do with russia. russia released rare video of former marine paul whelan. you can see whelan wearing a russian prison uniform. the video includes shots using a sewing machine, eating in a cafeteria and reporting to a reporter asking questions. let's roll that. >> you understand i can't do an interview. i can't answer any questions. >> so he's been in that russian prison since 2018 accused of espionage. is the u.s. any closer to securing his release and bringing him home? >> we are working very hard to bring them home to their families, paul and evan. i wish i had some ground breaking announcement to make to you today, i do not. what i can say is that u.s. officials have been in touch with paul for the past several months. i will repeat what his brother said today, how looking at that footage, he looks unbowed. he has been courageous, paul has been. he has been incredibly impressive over the past several months, and it will never deter us from say whag we say at all times. which is it is unacceptable what russia has done. we will continue to say he needs to be released immediately. >> thank you. >> hopefully you'll have me back. a look at the bridge in florida. you can see the winds bouncing the camera along the gulf coast. two major airports in florida are now closed. this ripple effect could have a nationwide impact as airlines reroute flights ahead of a big holiday travel weekend. plus a new not guilty plea into efforts to overturn the 2020 election in georgia. we'll be right back. ( ♪ ♪ ) experience t the sanctuary of handsfree highway driving with lincoln bluecruise. it's the final days of the lincoln summer invitation event. right now, get 3.9% apr and $1000 trade assist cash on a new 2023 lincoln. are you still struggling with your bra? it's time for you to try knix. makers of the world's comfst wireless bras. for revolutionary support without underwires, find your new favori bra today at knix.com the all-new tempur-pedic breeze makes sleep feel cool. so, no more sweating all night... ...or blasting the air conditioning. because the tempur-breeze feels up to 10° cooler, all night long. for a limited time, save up to $700 on select tempur-pedic adjustable mattress sets. my brain. so i choose new neuriva ultra. unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving. to help keep me sharp. try new neuriva ultra. think bigger. - [narrator] every day, our lives are filled with choices, both simple and life-changing. what's not a choice? addiction to opioids like fentanyl. but even with opioid use disorder, you still have a choice. by choosing treatment, you choose family, your career and your life on your terms. choose change, california, and find medically proven treatment options at choosechangeca.org. we have some live pictures for you from key west now, which is starting to feel some of the outer bands of hurricane idalia. a new update on the storm is just minute away, and we'll see if the hurricane has been strengthening and is more dangerous than even before in our law and justice lead. the many legal problems facing former president donald trump and his allies. let's bring in cnn's jessica snyder monitoring developments in georgia are state court is preparing arraignments in the election interference case against trump and his 18 codefendants accused of trying to steal georgia, essentially, and its electoral votes. according a new court filing attorney sydney powell who even donald trump is said to have thought was a nut i think was his term for it, she's entered a not guilty plea and said she'd waive her arraignment in fulton county. and another codefendant in the georgia case ray smith also pleaded not guilty. so of the 19, that's two. how many others are expected to enter pleas and waive the arraignments? >> yeah, i think this is something we're going to see in the next few days as we lead up to that scheduled arraignment date of september 26th which is next wednesday. we've seen sydney powell and ray smith and also another, she was that publicalist for kanye west and she was involved allegedly in harassing an election worker. they can waive their appearances, plead not guilty. that means they don't have to physically come to the courtroom. that's what we're expecting from the former president, mark meadows, others, for them to waive this. we're not expecting actually a lot of activity at the courthouse in the courtroom on september 6th. >> why would anyone not waive it? >> good question. they've already had to go to the courthouse for bond hearing and get processed, so you're right. they probably won't want to show up again they can do it easily. >> coming up next the brand new forecast for hurricanene idalia just coming in. stay with us. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire from pep in their step to shine in their coats, when people switch their dog's food to the farmer's dog, the effects can seem like magic. but there's no magic involved. (dog bark) it's just smarter, healthier pet food. it's amazing what real food can do. (josh allen) is this your plan to watch the game today? (hero fan) i have to watch my neighbors' nfl sunday ticket. (josh allen) it's not your best plan. but you know what is? myplan from verizon. (vo) football season is here. get nfl sunday ticket from youtubetv on us. a $449 value. plus, get a free samsung galaxy z flip5. only on verizon. salonpas lidocaine flex. a super thin, flexible patch with maximum otc strength lidocaine that contours to the body to relieve pain right where it hurts. and did we mention, it really, really sticks? salonpas, it's good medicine. [bell dings] are you good? no, i think i'm late on my car insurance. good thing the general gives you a break when you need it. yeah, with flexible payment options to keep you covered. just tag us in. ouaaaahhhh! [bell dings] for a great low rate, go with the general. nice footwork. man, you're lucky, watching live sports never used to be this easy. now you can stream all your games like it's nothing. yes! [ cheers ] yeah! woho! running up and down that field looks tough. it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. and welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we do indeed start this hour with some breaking news. the hurricane barrelling towards the gulf coast of florida. moments ago the hurricane update shows it's even stronger than before. it's a category 2 storm. idalia has been rapidly gathering strength fuel by the extremely warm-water in the gulf of mexico. i idahlia is expected to become a category 3 storm if not even stronger when it makes landfall in florida. these are live pictures out of ce cedar key. it is worried ceda