Tallahassee within the next few hours. Now, right now, helene is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. So, for more than 545,000 households in florida, they are reportedly without power and thousands have been ordered to evacuate from their homes. As you can see from these satellite images, helene is huge and is expected to affect nearly the entire state of florida with damaging winds and heavy rain. So, what may bring the most danger are the storm surges. Earlier today, residents experienced flooding in places like pine island, which is just outside of fort myers. But, flooding will likely get much worse across the state as the night continues. A storm surge warning is in place for almost the entirety of florida's west coast. This video is a simulation of what could happen if the storm surge rises to approximately 10 feet. But, in some parts of florida, officials look worn that a hurricane helene could cause storm surges of up to 20 feet, around double the amount shown in this simulation. Those officials are calling that level of storm surge potentially unsurvivable. Earlier today, the first bands of winds and rain bashed the tampa bay area, giving us just a taste of the strength of the storm, a strength that is not expected to begin once it makes landfall. Five states, florida, georgia, south carolina and north carolina have all declared states of emergency, and more than 40 million people are either under hurricane or tropical storm warnings. For more on all of this, joining me now is nbc news correspondent, kathy park. She is live from tallahassee, florida. Kathy, i hope you are safe out there. What can you tell us about the latest on the ground? reporter: alex, good evening. So, it seems that we are getting a bit of a tease from hurricane helene right now, because the weather has kind of pulled back. We are just getting some rain at this point, but we do know that things will start to ramp up over the next few hours, but here in tallahassee, especially, the big concern will be the wind damage because we are a bit farther inland. So, storm surge not as much of a concern, but here in tallahassee, roughly 55% of the city is under tree canopy. So, when you factor in the 100 mileperhour winds that will be moving into this area pretty soon, officials are really worried about toppled trees, debris, toppled power lines, and of course, the extended power outages that will soon follow. Now, earlier today, we had a chance to speak with some residents who decided to leave their homes behind and hunker in place at emergency shelters. Here's what they told me. Take a listen. I just thought this storm was different. I just had a gut feeling. It was just different. It's big, in its size. The wind speed i just felt this was different and this was the best thing to do. Never been in a store that is a category 3 or 4. What we are doing now is using wisdom. Wisdom tells me to get out of the home. I live in a great home, but that home may not be enough to forgo and to take on these storms. I so feel much more comfortable being here. Reporter: and alex, i can tell you, these emergency shelters filled up pretty quickly throughout the day today, and i was told if you are there, you are expected to stay there to ride out the storm. Obviously, for safety reasons. We should also point out this is a big college town, so the local universities have shelters on campus, as well, open to students. Tallahassee officials have been preparing for days ahead of this storm, but obviously this is mother nature we are working with and even though you have prepared for days, it is still unclear what it could do. We are told they are leaning on mutual aid from resources really from all around the country. So, tomorrow will be extremely telling, but once again, if this comes in as a category 4 here in the tallahassee region, this will be the most catastrophic storm the region has seen, ever. Nbc news correspondent, kathy park. Kathy, thanks for joining me, thanks for the update. Please, take care of yourself down there. I'm joined now by nbc news meteorologist, bill karins. What can you tell us about the latest path of the storm? only about two hours from landfall and it will be devastating, destructive. This will be a retired storm. We have not seen a storm this powerful hit this region of the country before. So, the pictures we are getting in tomorrow once the storm is gone, everything is going to be flat wherever this eye goes. The hurricane center just updated, now it is it 140 miles per hour. This is a solid category 4. It is strengthening all the way up until landfall. It has been over extremely warm water. So, this eye look at all of these white things. Our computers can tell us where the lightning strikes are. I mean, this is incredible intensification in the last minute. Look at, there is hardly any, now it is filling in, these thunderstorms are wrapping around the center, the pressure is still dropping. This is a buzz saw. Wherever this moves, it is going to destroy houses, it is going to destroy all of the trees, everything will be laying down. So, we are praying we want this to affect the slimmest number of people possible as we move this onshore over the next couple hours. Now at the center of the storm, only 60 miles from the coast. That means this northern eye wall is only about 40 miles from the coast. We expect landfall between 11:00 p. M. And midnight. There is tallahassee, 200,000 people called out of home at about 50,000 students. And then, to dallas park and perry, right here. These are the areas of biggest concern. The eye itself is about 40 miles wide. Why is that important? because when we project that northward, tallahassee to perry is 45 miles wide. So, if we take that eye in the middle here, we could get tallahassee on the backside and perry on the front side, 140 mileperhour wind gusts possible even this far inland. You can get why it is such a serious situation, and these are areas that weren't evacuated, by the way. Some people did it on their own, but there are going to be people in tallahassee, parody, that will be in their safe rooms, they will be in their bathrooms, whether they have tubs, pillows, on top of them as this storm rolls and races through over the next couple of hours, scary as it gets. Almost like being in the middle of a tornado when this blows through. We also if you have seen the pictures we have storm surge that is increasing rapidly. We are getting your record levels in places like tampa, up toward cedar key, and i know these numbers don't mean a whole lot you guys, but we have never really seen higher than about 60 in the tampa area. Clearwater beach has water levels at about six feet above where they should be, so in other words if you are at the beach and your feet are barely in the water, that would be above a lot of people's heads. Six feet, that is how high the water has risen because of the storm, where it should be. Eastport, all through tampa bay here, there are these places that people have never seen before and this water is still going up. So again, that 10 feet to 20 feet, that will be in isolated, remote areas where we get that eye making landfall, then we just watch the buzz saw moving in. Of course, alex, we have problems with rainfall with this storm, too. A lot of flash flooding going on. We are going to have historic amounts of rain by the time we are done with this in the mountainous areas of upstate south carolina and north carolina, that is going to cause tremendous amount of damage and possibly take lives there, too. But, alex, i can't tell you enough, and of the people if they are watching, still, if you have power in tallahassee or that i10 corridor, now is the time, gather what you can to protect yourself and your family, and put as many walls between you and the outside as you can. Nbc news meteorologist, bill karins. Bill, appreciate that update. Appreciate it. With us now is tallahassee mayor, john daly. Maher, thank you for being here tonight. I know this is a very intense and scary time for the people of tallahassee. I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about how you are feeling in terms of preparations and evacuations in your neck of the woods? well, i appreciate you having me on. We have been preparing in tallahassee for the past week. Both with the city as an institution and the community. We have been stressing how important it is to be prepared for this storm. As mentioned, if we take a direct hit from a category 4 hurricane, it will be the most powerful storm in the history of the city of tallahassee. And i think for the most part, everybody is taking it seriously and have done a very good job preparing. As for the city itself, we have spent the whole week checking aspects of municipal government and services that we provide to make sure everything is up and running, top peak, as the storm comes in. We have tripled our workforce by calling in mutual aid agreements from all across the united states, from as far away as oklahoma, driving in to help us. They are all here, we had our assets spread out throughout the community with personnel and we are ready for the storm. Mayor, can you talk a little bit more about what your most immediate concerns are? because it sounds like you have done all the preparation, any town, any city could possibly do for something like this. What is keeping you up right now, particularly? sure, well, health, safety, and welfare, of course. Now is the time for everybody to stay inside. A lot of people left, quite honestly, a lot of college students left, at the recommendation of the universities and the state college, which was great. A lot of people have gone to the emergency shelters here in town, and everyone else is staying put in side, and that is great. But, now it is time to stay in. Greatest concern for me is, we are not a coastal community, so we won't have to storm surge although, our thoughts are with our neighbors down south. It is the wind. Wind, trees, and power lines. We know, obviously, that this is going to be a significant wind event and, you know, we are known for our natural beauty, and we are known for our trees. But, trees and power lines and wind do not mix. We know that a hurricane this stong is going to bring significant damage, no doubt about it. And we have been shooting straight with the residents, so that they understand that, as well. So, as soon as the storm is over, we will roll up our sleeves, we will go do our professional assessment, and we will go to work. Mayor daly, one more for you in terms of the damage are you confident that tallahassee's utility grid can withstand this? i am sure there are outages and the like, but are you at all concerned about the mediumterm impacts? well, there is a reason why we have the number one public utility in the nation. And we are very proud of that. Nonetheless, we know that a storm of this size is going to bring significant damage. I don't care where you are. If you are hit directly by a category 4 storm, you are going to have a lot of damage, and we have told our residents that recovery will be a marathon. It will not be a sprint. We have called in our friends from all across the country to help us out, and we truly appreciate it. The state of florida has been great, the federal government has been great, the city, the county, and the school board have been working seamlessly. But, yes, to answer your question, we will have significant damage, no doubt about it. If a category 4 hurricane hits you head on, it is going to bring devastation. Tallahassee mayor john daly, thank you for spending a few minutes with me in such an important moment. Our thoughts are with you, we are sending you our strength from up north. Thank you for your time. Thank you. We turn now to a very different kind of storm, a political storm that has been brewing for years. Right here, in new york city. You guys are from turkey? brick and loves turkey. Brooklyn is the istanbul of america. That was new york city mayor eric adams, playing himself in a 2017 turkish film in which turkish men attempt to bribe new york city mayor eric adams. Today, an indictment was unsealed in the southern district of new york, alleging that not only was mayor eric adams accepting bribes from turkish nationals at least a year before that film came out, but that those bribes were consistent and ongoing throughout his time as mayor. Now, i should say that mayor adams denies all of it. He says the charges against him are entirely false and based on lies. And there is good reason for him to try to disassociate himself from this enticement. The charges in it are not just illegal, but the actions are embarrassingly brazen. Not only does the indictment allege that adams accepted more than $100,000 worth of bribes in the form of luxury travel and hotel stays, and food, and entertainment, but the ways in which adams allegedly took those bribes were comically transparent. For example, in june of 2021, while adams was actively campaigning to be the mayor of new york city, a turkish official and a turkish national allegedly arranged for adams and his partner to travel to turkey, stay at the four seasons hotel, take a. Org, stay at a luxury beach resort, and have their own private car and driver. Here are the texts setting up that little excursion. Here is adams staffer. He is asking where else they can go in turkey, do you have a recommendation? turkish national, four seasons. Adams staffer, it's too expensive. Turkish national, why does he care? he's not going to pay. His name won't be on anything, either. Adams staffer, super. Super! adams did allegedly pay for at least one thing, though, he paid $1000 for business class ticket on an international flight that would have otherwise been $15,000. Here are the texts showing how they allegedly landed on that $1000 price. Turkish national, i am going to charge $50. Adams staffer, no. Turkish national, that would work, would it? adams staffer, no, dear. $50? what? create a poor offer price. Turkish national, how much should i charge? adams staffer, his every step is being lost right now, $1000 or so. Let it be somewhat real. Now, i should note that particular trip ended up being canceled. The indictment doesn't tell us why, but that trip is just one of the many trips this indictment alleges adams was gifted. The indictment alleges adams flew free or severely discounted business flights business class flights on turkish airlines to india, france, turkey, hungary, sri lanka, ghana, and china. Now, if you are familiar with the shape of the globe, you would know that stopping in turkey to get to most of those places does not exactly make sense. But, because this alleged drive was specific to turkish airlines as mayor adams put it in text to his partner, you know the first stop is always istanbul. Oh, that practically means to go to a place like nice in france, mayor adams would take flights from new york city to turkey and then from turkey back to france. He had legibly once even tried to see if turkish airlines could get him from new york city, to turkey, to easter island, in chile, which would require crossing seven time zones to the east and nine time zones to the west. But, hey, business class seats, i guess. The thing is, all of the personal graft alleged in this indictment is really just small potatoes compared to the allegedly political graft. Not only does this indictment allege that adams solicited and accepted illegal foreign donations for his mayoral campaign from turkish nationals, but it also alleges he compounded his gains from those donations by disguising them as fake small dollar donations so that they would qualify for new york city's public campaign fund matching program. A program that ultimately gave adams' campaign more than $10 million of taxpayer money. So, that is what mayor eric adams allegedly got out of this scheme. Luxury vacations and millions of dollars in campaign cash. But, what did turkey get in exchange? well, the indictment alleges that turkey got some policy items, like mayor adams promising to never publicly acknowledged the armenian genocide but there were also more direct, obvious favors. For instance, in 2021, some of the turkish nationals that allegedly bribed adams in the past were eager to open this building. The new, 36 story turkish consulate in manhattan. They wanted it open in time for turkish president 's visit to the general assembly that your, so he could stop by and check it out. But, the new york city fire department hadn't expected the building at that point, so it wasn't allowed to open, and in a phone call to an adams' staffer, a turkish official said that they had supported mayor adams, and that it was now his turn to support turkey. Adams allegedly responded, i know. The indictment alleges that adams then pressured the new york city fire department commissioner, and it turns out the building had over 60 fire safety defects and could not legally be allowed to open, but mayor adams allegedly kept pushing and the building opened anyway. Again, mayor adams denies all of this. He is refusing to step down and says he will fight these charges, but the calls for adams' resignation are growing. And if he does ultimately resign, or if he is removed from office, the person that would take over as acting mayor of the largest city in the country would be new york city public advocate giovanni williams. He joins me here live, coming up next. Up next. With febreze small spa. It's an outletfree air freshener that fights odors for 45 days. So even after every flush. . . You know your bathroom smells amazing. ♪ lalalalala ♪ philip: when your kid is hurting and there's nothing you can do about it, that's the worst feeling in the world. Kristen: i don't think anybody ever expects to hear that their child has cancer. It's always one of those things that happens to somebody else, but it's definitely feels like your soul is sucked out of your body when they tell you that it's your baby. And you would do anything to get them to the best place that they can be for their treatment. And i knew with everything in my soul that that was saint jude and that we had to get here. 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Announcer: let's cure childhood cancer together. Why choose a mobile network built for places you'll probably never be. . . . . . Instead of for where you are most of the time? xfinity mobile was designed for where you need it most. Xfinity internet customers, ask how to get a free 5g phone and a second unlimited line free for a year. Let's say you're deep in a show or a game or the game. On a train, at home, at work. Okay, maybe not at work. Point is at xfinity. We're constantly engineering new ways to get the entertainment you love to you faster and easier than ever. That's what i do. Is that love island? as the mayor of the city of new york, thank you very much. [ applause ] [ crowd chanting ] resign! resign! resign! it won't happen. Those were protesters outside of gracie mansion today, calling on new york city mayor eric adams to resign after he was indicted on five federal corruption charges. For now, mayor adams says he is not going anywhere, but whether or not eric adams stays in office may not be up to eric adams. Under new york state law, the mayor can be removed by the governor, if charged with a crime, or the city council could also form something called an inability committee, to essentially impeach the mayor and take him out of office. Now, if adams does resign or is removed, the person who would automatically become the mayor of america's largest city is new york city public advocate, jumaane williams, and he joins me now. Mr. Williams, thank you for being here on a very, very big news night. Thank you for having me, and also, hoping to introduce a whole host of people to what a public advocate is. Yes! this is the time to talk about public advocacy, if there ever was a time. First of all, in the last hour, the governor of new york, governor kathy hochul has released a statement and i would love to get your thoughts on it. It reads in part, while i review my options and obligations as the governor of new york, i expect the mayor to take the next few days to review the situation and find an appropriate path forward to ensure the people of new york city are being well served by their leaders. That sure sounds to me like she would like the mayor to decide to step down. First of all, this is a painful time for a lot of us in new york and a lot of folks who worked with a lot of these folks in the news right now. It is really painful. We want to make sure that the city and new yorkers understand we will ensure that government continues to work. As someone who has done a lot of work around making a better, more just criminal legal system, the innocent until proven guilty is a real thing, no matter who it is. At the same time, these are really serious charges. Even the breath is larger than i thought. I think the mayor has to really think within himself, can i conduct business the way i need to with this weight? and can i help restore trust? the window to show that is rapidly closing, but i think it is a real question that he has to answer. Have you talked to the governor at all? i have not spoken to the governor since this morning point have you spoken to the mayor? i have not spoken to the mayor since this broke. Are you surprised right now, his posture has been one of defiance. I mean, we played the sound this morning of his press conference and he is exiting the stage literally two chants of resign, resign, resign, resign. This doesn't feel like something that gets better the longer she stays defined. Would you like to see from the mayor right now? i think with what you just said, this seems to get worse by the day and in some cases, by the minute. I don't think that you can put together a plan to show that you can continue doing this, but that is what he has to do. So, if there is a way to show, i can continue doing my work, i can continue running the government, i can restore trust, you should just do that. Deflection is not a plan. Continuing to deflect and pretending it is not as serious as it is, and it is something that you might be able to just explain away is not that plan. So, if you have one, say what it is, because we really want to hear it and new yorkers deserve it. New yorkers do deserve it. I do wonder, first of all, when you read the indictment, the evidence alleged in there is extraordinary. This is barely concealed corruption. It is so transparent, it is a gross misuse of public funds to the tune of maybe $10 million. What was your reaction when you read it? it's pretty bad. There's no way around that! it's pretty bad. And i will say, even if people could say, they weren't surprised, or they are disappointed, for me, the breadth of it is what shocked me, and the length of time shocked me. And it was a pretty laid out case, in my opinion, but, again, the presumption of innocence is really important. Giving somebody the ability to defend themselves is really important. Now, that is different from saying, can you continue to function to make sure the city is running? can you help restore trust? what has been the reaction inside new york city governance? everybody is concerned. It is a chaotic moment. Were people surprised? i mean, i don't know, again, if people were surprised, or more just saddened that we are in this moment in time. This has been building for a very long time. I think the breadth of it was very shocking. I don't think many of us expected some of the things that we saw. So, people are just trying to figure out, how do we portray trust to the people of new york? that is what it is about. That is what the succession plan is about. Just having a plan in case an eventuality happens, then new yorkers can know that the traction will get picked up. The things that people really care about. And i don't know the mayor has done a good job of showing that he has a plan to do that in this moment in time. I do wonder, when you talk about, there is the easy way out i guess, to use the sort of mafia parlance where the mayor decides to leave and then there is the governor saying, you've got to go. There is what is called the inability committee, which would be a fivemember committee involving the new york city preparation council, the lawyer was no longer in office, that is an empty seat. The new york city comptroller, who is already running against eric adams for mayor. The city council spiegel speaker, the longestserving borough president and a deputy speaker of adams' choosing. Have we ever been here before? like, can you tell us about the inability committee and how that may come to pass? we are definitely in uncharted territories. That is 100% correct. The positions you just mentioned, two of them are not even in at this moment in time. We could have a whole story on why the general counsel is not in. That is a whole thing by itself. No, it is uncharted territories. That is why a lot of us, including myself, are asking the mayor to look within himself and really have some conversations about, what is best for new york city right now? what is best to restore trust? what is best to display that the city is going to continue to move forward? that is something he has to answer, but he has to answer it. If he is sitting back like me, and saying, i just don't see how you could put that out, what the plan is going to look like but, if there is one, let us know. And again, just continuing to deflect is not a plan. Just saying, brushing aside is not a plan. This is really, really tough stuff, painful stuff, but we are here. None of us want to be in this moment, but we really have to do what is best for new york city. Are you what is best for new york city? are you ready to step in if the mayor is out? i will tell you, what is best for new york city right now is we have tens of thousands of public sector workers that make sure everything keeps running. I want to hat tip to them because they are the ones that are making sure that trash is getting picked up, they are making sure that those calls are getting answered. But, you know, as you ride out on autopilot, you have to get a pilot in there, and the mayor just has to asked some tough questions to himself, and i hope he does that very shortly. New york city public advocate, advocating for the public and the public sector workers. Doing my best. It's great to see you. Thank you for your time. We will be watching what happens next. Jumaane williams, thank you for your time tonight. Thank you. Still ahead, federal agents showed up at the residence of mayor eric adams today, after prosecutors indicted the mayor on corruption charges why? i will ask the former u. S. Assistant attorney in the eastern district of new york about mayor adams' ongoing drama, coming up, next. Next. S. Discover the power of wegovy®. ♪ ♪ with wegovy®, i lost 35 pounds. And some lost over 46 pounds. ♪ ♪ and i'm keeping the weight off. Wegovy® helps you lose weight and keep it off. I'm reducing my risk. Wegovy® is the only fdaapproved weightmanagement medicine that's proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with known heart disease and with either obesity or overweight. Wegovy® shouldn't be used with semaglutide or glp1 medicines. Don't take wegovy® if you or your family had medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. 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Voya provides tools that help you make the right investment and benefit choices. So you can reach today's financial goals and look forward to a more confident future. Voya, well planned, well invested, well protected. This morning after federal prosecutors indicted new york city mayor eric adams on federal bribery charges for donations he allegedly excepted from turkish nationals, federal agents searched mayor adams' official residence, meaning there still could be more shoes to drop. We know in addition to adams' relationship with turkey, prosecutors have sought information about adams''s reactions with israel, carter, south korea, and uzbekistan. Joining me now is duncan levin, an assistant u. S. Attorney for the eastern district of new york, thank you for being here. I am always eager to get your thoughts on, you know, political, criminal indictment of current politicians. They keep us busy indicting more politicians by the week, so they sure do. First of all, the fact that the fbi is raiding the mayor's personal residence, the same day that they are issuing a criminal indictment well, the indictment was already at this point. So, what this knowledge strongly suggests or really means is that this is a continuing investigation and that this is the tip of the iceberg. We are going to see more charges coming. There are so many investigations. You mentioned the fact that not only turkey is involved, but there are these other countries, there is china, and uzbekistan, and south korea, and cutter. So, not only are these other countries involved, but we know about all these other investigations. We know the police chief who just resigned and his twin brother were running a hospitality business as a paper plate business to try to protect nightclubs. They got it, if they paid money to this business, they would stay out of trouble. The deputy mayor is under investigation for a business that he had with his brother, which involved lucrative security contracts. The new police commissioner had his home rated, as well. There is an investigation into possible bribery involving city hall contractors for minority and women owned business enterprises. The list goes on, and on, and on. The fact that they rated gracie mansion the mayor's personal residence today indicates that they have more investigations, that this is ongoing, because they had to go to a federal judge, and basically convince the federal judge, there is more evidence that we need. Well, they already have all the evidence they need for this turkey indictment because they brought it already, so there is more here and i think we will see a superseding indictment. While. What stands out to you in the indictment that we do have in terms of criminal, potentially criminal behavior? it is bungling. If it wasn't so serious, it would be comical. You have, for example, a city hall aid, an adams' staffer, meeting with the fbi voluntarily in her home, they are talking about all of this incriminating evidence and text and she excuses herself to go to the bathroom and deletes the encrypted messaging app in the bathroom during the interview and they know, because they know when it was deleted. You can't make it up! it is so bungling. And even just mayor adams, who was a former police officer, and should know better than to talking to the fbi without a lawyer present. We all know the story about when he has his phones taken away by the fbi well, he didn't have his personal cell phone on him that day, so the fbi went back the next day to get his personal cell phone, and he said, you know, the minute i heard about this investigation, i changed my iphone password from a four digit password to a six digit password to make it more secure, so that none of my staffers would get into it and inadvertently delete one of these very important texts. But, there is a little problem, i forgot my password, and you will not be able to access it, at all. Oh, no! again, comical if it wasn't so serious. But, these text messages between the adams' staffers and the turkish airlines where they are discussing how to price a business class ticket from new york city to instable, which basically goes for $15,000, the text from the turkish airline representative says, i will charge you $50. The textbook says, we have to make it look real and less sketchy, let's settle on $1000. There is just so much of this indictment that is telling a story that jurors are going to find fantastical about any defense he has. But, it is very strong. It tells a 10 year conspiracy that dates back to when eric adams was the brooklyn borough president, and is not only it is two buckets. It is not only these gifts that he got from turkey and favors that he got from turkey in return, but he was soliciting foreign donations and donations from corporations, both of which are not allowed to give to a campaign. And he was funneling them through straw donors who were new york residents, and as a result of that, taking advantage of this matching program that we have in new york and got $10 million in new york city matching funds from illegal donations that were not illegal to take in the first place, but certainly not eligible for this match. $10 million a potentially illegal public funds donation for the sitting mayor of new york city. It is going to be a wild next week when he is getting arraigned and has asked for a speedy trial. Duncan, it is always great to get your expertise on this, and all indictments of sitting politicians. Thanks for your time tonight, my friend. Thank you. Still to come this evening, eric adams has now found himself an unlikely ally in the 45th president of the united states. What donald trump had to say about mayor adams and what it all means for democrats in this year's election, with congresswoman camilla, that is next. Next. 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[music playing] i don't know the mayor well, but he has been fairly generous to me in his statements for a while. I will say this, i watched about a year ago, when he talked about how the illegal migrants are hurting our city and the federal government should pay us, and we shouldn't have to take them. And i said, you know what? he will be indicted within a year, and i was exactly right, because that is what we have. We have people that use the justice department and the fbi at levels that have never been seen before. So, i wish them luck. I wish them luck! good luck to you and your federal criminal trial, sir. That was donald trump today reacting to the indictment of new york city mayor eric adams and aligning himself with the guy who just got indicted on federal corruption charges. Trump is intending to spin adams' indictment that it somehow supports his theory that joe biden has weapon i the justice department against his political enemies. But, the truth is that this indictment is yet more evidence that merrick garland's justice department is pursuing justice for all, by bringing charges against highprofile democrats, including the son of the current president, a u. S. Senator, a democratic congressman in a swing district, and the democratic mayor of new york city. Joining me now is washington congresswoman camilla jayapal, chair of the progressive caucus in the house and member of the house judiciary committee. It is wonderful to see you. It is so good to be in person. It is a very big news day. Yes. Every day, but for today in particular. For people have been treated to this paranoid theory that joe biden has weapon i the justice department, i kind of wonder, given the number of democrats that merrick garland's justice department, southern district of new york have gone after, what your thoughts are about the working theory that trump has about joe biden? look, donald trump is just going to use whatever he can to make whatever arguments he wants to make for himself. They have nothing to do with truth or fax. And so, i think you just have to look at the fact that merrick garland has done what the justice department was supposed to do, which is separate from they are not controlled by president biden. They do not just do what president biden tells them to do, as donald trump did and would do again if he was president. And you see it with the indictments that are coming through. I mean, this is not great for democrats, in terms of having a big city mayor, democratic mayor, under, you know, this kind of lengthy what is going to be very lengthy, i think, challenges, troubles i'm trying to find the right word for you! well, a criminal indictment, right? with maybe more to come, too. More to come! and i think that is the challenge here. But, i think in terms of donald trump, he is going to try to use this, i think, for us as democrats, we have to remember that our congressional democrats, in particular those who are running for congressional seats who are incumbents in new york, these are some tough districts here that we need to win to take back the house, and the thing that gives me comfort is each of these candidates is very good. They are running their own races. And at the end of the day, i think voters will look at them. They won't look at the new york city mayor. As much as they might try to taint those people with the new york city mayor. So, i think, you know, that is what we are going to have to do. Those people are going to have to continue to run the race. Obviously, many of them have already called on eric adams to resign. That is certainly, you know, what i think you should do, because he can't run a major city when so many of the people around him are also involved in this. There is more to come. That is just i think that is clear. So, i am hopeful that it won't ultimately affect our ability to take back the house, which i still feel very good about. As much as it is a challenge for democrats, it is also an opportunity, given how the republican party has responded to criminal indictments of its stars, i guess we could say. You know, the republican party has been, you know, brush it under the rug, buy it, or even pledge for guilty. This feels like an opportunity for democrats to be the party, truly the party of law and order. I want to draw your attention, everybody who is watching, to chuck schumer. Senate majority leader. No one is above the law, including the mayor of new york city. The charges are serious, and the legal process should now play out speedily and fairly. That is what you want to hear from a party, right? that is what should be said over and over again, but look at the republican party, the cold party of donald trump, who, you know, is somebody who has actually reveled in his outrageousness, including saying what he did during the 2016 campaign, right? that he could grab a woman by her private parts on new york city street and he would be able to get away with it. That is what he revels in. And so, i do think it is an opportunity for us. At the same time, if you asked me, what i prefer that this wasn't happening you would say, indeed, i would not like to have to do with this. All kinds of reasons including that this is so serious for the city of new york. And the residents of new york. Mayor, but chooses instead to make his bed with the guy who is under federal criminal indictment. You notice what he said is always about does the person support donald trump? he said some nice things about me, therefore i'm fine. And he said controversial on things about migrants in the city and therefore that is the banner under which they march together. And i think the challenge here is that the whole argument right now that donald trump is pushing is a horrible one around migrants, around immigration. It is unfortunate that eric adams said some of those same things and i think new yorkers did not like it. I think that is not who new york is. New york is defined by the contributions of immigrants to the city of new york. This is the place. The statue of liberty. So you know this is difficult in many ways. Unusual and unlikely bedfellows in a federal criminal indictment. Congressman pramila jayapal, chair of the house progressive caucus, great to see you. Great to get your thoughts on this complicated time. I appreciate it. Coming up, a live report from florida where residents are bracing for the massive br hurricane helene, expected to make landfall in just a few hours. Stay with us. With us. We shall overcome. We shall overcome. The struggle for equal rights in the united states has been hard fought, but even today, we're still fighting for racial justice, for voting rights, and against hate and extremism. You can help us win the fight and envision a future where all americans can thrive. By joining the southern poverty law center today. Please call now or go online to helpfighthate. Org to become a friend of the center. All it takes is just $19 a month, only $0. 63 a day. We shall live in peace. We shall live in peace. For more than 50 years we've been defending the rights of people facing discrimination, racism and bigotry in the u. S, and we do it all at no cost to our clients. 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London made it super easy for me to open my small business, by cutting city fees. And she's reinventing downtown to make our city vibrant again. She's building 82,000 new homes and helping first time homebuyers, just like us. And london's hiring hundreds of police officers, and arresting drug dealers. San francisco has been through difficult times, but our hard work is paying off. Working together, we're building a better future for the city we all love. Ad paid for by reelect mayor london breed 2024. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics. Org. We are tracking hurricane helene, the massive category 4 storm set to make landfall along florida's big bend in the next hour or so. The eye wall is moving ashore. The storm is moving northeast with maximum sustained wind of 140 miles per hour as it barrels toward the state capital, tallahassee, where forecasters expected to make a direct hit, bringing damaging wind, lifethreatening storm surge and catastrophic flooding. Earlier today tallahassee residents made lastminute preparations, heeding a warning from the mayor that this could be the strongest hurricane in reported history ever to hit tallahassee. Joining me from tallahassee, florida is the miami bureau chief for the new york times. Patricia, thank you for being here. I hope you are safe wherever you are, given the projected path of the storm. I wonder if you can tell us what you are seeing and how you prepared or how you are seeing preparations underway. Thank you. We are seeing the wind pickup. It has been mostly rain until now. Tallahassee is 30 miles in from the coast and so here it is not really a storm surge event, rather a wind event. Only now are we starting to see, i think, the real tough part of the storm and it will come ashore in the next hour or so, is what we expect. Is your intention to just bunker down and write it out and if so can you talk about the preparations you have made to do that? yes, we are in a hotel near florida state university that is full of people, not just reporters actually, most of them are families who live in tallahassee but are concerned about the dense tree canopy and trees and branches potentially falling on the roof. So they came with their children, their dogs and decided to spend at least one night to make sure that even though they did not have to evacuate, they could be a place that was tall and away from the dangers of the trees. When you make the point about the trees and power lines, i wonder how the residents are preparing for what is essentially an extended period without power or infrastructure to help them. We tried to ask emergency management officials if they had a firm assessment of what the situation might look like, but it really depends on how close the eye wall becomes and the storm shifted a little bit east earlier. That doesn't mean there won't be extensive power outages, but we know from other colleagues in the field that there are a lot of linemen and trucks already parked overnight in hotels and parts of florida that are not getting directly hit by the storm, ready to move in to help clear the debris and turn the power back on. People here are ready. They know from other storms that they have to plan for some days, maybe a week or two without power. There are currently 600,000 people in the state without power and that is before the hurricane made landfall. You are in a hotel with families and children. I wonder if you can tell us what the emotional tenor of the space you are in is like right now. The words being used to describe what this hurricane can bring run from catastrophic to unsurvivable, depending on where in the state you are when it hits. How are people dealing with it right now? i think people were relieved to perhaps try to avoid the worst of the eye wall. They were glad to have some time to plan. You know in a hotel it is more of a communal experience, similar sometimes to shelters where people want to be around other people, rather than alone and that helps make it through the storm. But there is high adrenaline and anxiety running through everybody. I am sure most of us in this northern region of florida are not going to get a lot of sleep tonight. We hope you stay safe and we are thinking of you as the storm barrels to the state of florida. The new york times patricia mazzei, thank you for joining us. Thanks for giving us a glimpse of what it is like on the ground. That is our show for this evening. Breaking news coverage of hurricane helene's landfall in florida t