The second deadliest u. S. Wildfire in a century incinerates paradise. This hour, the governor will deliver a new update, and well bring it to you live. Plus, yet another not guilty plea from donald trump in one federal case, as the Special Counsel is asking for an aggressive trial date in the other. Trump also not happy with the date they are seeking. What are friends for, by the way . A new expose on judge Clarence Thomas has unveiled an up roar, an entire 737 just for him . Im kaitlan collins, and this is the source. Tonight, were waiting to get a new update from the governor of hawaii and the mayor of maui. A news conference, we should note, is set for this hour. As fires continue to devastate the island. The death toll has now climbed to 53 people. And officials are warning that that number could only get even higher. President biden issued a Disaster Declaration to unlock federal resources and address the catastrophe while on the road today. Our prayers are with the people of haw
with devastating winds, storm surge and flooding. our correspondents are in the heart of some parts of florida right now. we re tracking ian in the weather center as we bring you live special coverage of this hurricane disaster. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer and you re in the situation room. this is cnn breaking news. this hour ian s brutal assault is still very much underway. hurricane force winds. brian todd is on the scene for us in naples, florida. brian, we re just beginning to understand the scope of the damage from ian. reporter: absolutely, wolf. people in this town just beginning to come to grips with this devastation. we are on a gulf shore boulevard here in naples, within 150 feet of the beach. a 12 foot storm surge pushed the water up underneath these apartments. now people are tossing their biggest positions on to the street like this. debris hazards are all over the place. and this comes as rescue
it is just shy of that now. we won t get ahead of the news on this. we are expecting an official storm update at any moment. i m harris faulkner and you are in the faulkner focus. hurricane ian is now carrying sustained kinds of 155 miles per hour. if they gain to 157 it s a category 5. the biggest threats facing floridians are massive storm surge, raging winds, inland flooding, tornadoes, experts already using words like catastrophic to describe hurricane ian s potential. 21/2 million people are under evacuation orders. for those people in the storm s path directly, that swath that i just told you to the south, cape coral and to the north sarasota. it s too late to evacuate if you re still there according to the governor. governor desantis also saying it is time just to hunker down for you. he spoke last hour. this amount of storm surge. it will have very ferocious winds and it will be life threatening. people are taking a risk with their health, safety and lives by bein
could be called catastrophic conditions there. we ve never seen storm surge like the kind that is predicted in this area of florida. they re expecting surges up to 15 feet, the height in the past was four feet. so they re trying to shut it all down right now. that s what you re looking at on the right-hand side. airports closing, schools closing, waterways. ever battening down the hatches ahead of what is termed a 100-year storm. so most people by far have not witnessed anything like this who are living in florida right now, this is the stunning space image for you the space station. gives you a sense of how mammoth this area that is affected is, that is ready to lit florida. max gordon is live in st. petersburg on the ground in one of those areas that is expected to see some of this devastation. i can see just a little wind picking up there now as you get ready for this. hi, max. hey, good afternoon. mandatory evacuations are in place in pinellas county. folks in evaluatio
bret: hi, sandra. the pentagon now taking action in response to the gop lawmakers. their concerns. we ll have that for you ahead. also new at 2:00, we ll be watching florida where the storm that tore communities apart will bring bitter political rivals together. ron desantis putting politics aside, meeting with president biden. we believe both saying their focus is on helping families devastated by hurricane ian. sandra: and we ll see them coming together as they survey the damage there. we ll bring that meeting to you live as it happens and we begin with this fox news alert. americans in for a rude awakening at the pump, and energy analyst says president biden s only choice is to stop it is one he says is clear, and he s not going to make it. those warnings coming after major oil producing nations decided to slash 2 million barrels a day. bret: the move coming months after president biden asked the saudis for help to increase production. the white house now calling out