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Hurricane Milton Intensifies Into Category 5 Storm, Headed For Florida; Israel Army Says Hits Over 120 Hezbollah Targets "Within An Hour"; CNN Speaks To Mothers In Israel And Gaza After A Year Of Anguish; Ex-President Rodrigo Duterte Runs Again For Davao Mayor; Powerful Cat 5 Storm Barreling Towards Florida's Gulf Coast; U.S.: Israel Must Turn Military Wins Into Enduring Gains; Supreme Court Begins; U.S. Emergency Agency Combats Trump's False Claims. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired October 08, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:21]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Paula Newton. Ahead this hour, Hurricane Milton strengthened to a category five storm at a dizzying pace, becoming the strongest storm in the world this year.
A day of mourning and intense fighting in the Middle East as Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire.
And Vice President Kamala Harris sits down for an interview with 60 Minutes, how she plans to pay for her economic plans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Paula Newton.
NEWTON: Some are calling it the storm of the century, but certainly the strongest storm the world has seen this year is headed right for Florida's Gulf coast. In just 12 hours, Hurricane Milton has exploded in size and strength, growing from a category one to a category five storm in near record time. Its top sustained winds right now about 270 kilometers per hour.
Now those wind speeds should thankfully weaken some, with Milton forecast to make landfall in Florida late Wednesday as a category three. But for a state still reeling from Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago, officials are warning Milton's impact could be catastrophic.
This is what the storm looks like now from space. Milton's unpredictability comes from its small pinhole eye, a hallmark sign that the storm can fluctuate in its intensity.
Now, Florida's highways have been jammed with traffic, so many people trying to head to the north or east to get out of harm's way. Officials are urging everyone in the storm's path to leave as soon as they can. And the mayor of Tampa did not mince words ominously warning, quote, if you choose to stay, you're going to die.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANE CASTOR, TAMPA, FLORIDA MAYOR: This is a storm of the century. Everybody in Tampa Bay has been warned over and over again, you need to evacuate. This is a life and death situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: CNN's Brian Todd has more on the urgent preparations being made as that hurricane approaches.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Pinellas Park, Florida, just across the bay from Tampa, residents use large pails to fill as many sandbags as they can. Hurricane Milton, which has already exploded into a category five storm, could hit the Tampa Bay area directly. It would be the first major hurricane to strike within 50 miles of Tampa in more than 100 years.
Some residents in at least six counties told to evacuate. In Hillsborough County, the evacuation order is mandatory in some places. That means authorities cannot force people from their homes. But --
CHIEF JASON DOUGHERTRY, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: If you remain there, you could die. My men and women could die trying to rescue you.
TODD (voice-over): What makes this especially dangerous in places like Tampa and Fort Myers is that those cities are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which has killed more than 230 people in six states with the death toll still rising. For those in the mandatory evacuation zones who decide to stay put, Florida officials have a dire warning.
ASHLEY MOODY, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: You probably need to write your name and permanent marker on your arm so that people know who you are when they get to you afterwards. And we are still seeing as we're uncovering folks on the beach who thought they could stay there, and the storm surge got them.
TODD (voice-over): With Milton forecast to make landfall late Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis warns the window for evacuation is closing fast.
RON DESANTIS, FLORIDA GOVERNOR: You have time to execute your plan, but you got to do it now. Time is going to start running out very soon.
TODD (voice-over): Helene made landfall as a category four hurricane that caused widespread damage, leaving tons of debris that still hasn't been cleared, debris that residents worry could still harm people if it starts flying around when Milton hits.
KARMEN FORRESTER, FORT MYERS BEACH RESIDENT: The debris on the beach and whatever's going on is a little cause for concern because there is not enough time and not enough manpower to take everything and put it where it needs to be off the island.
TODD (voice-over): The international airports in Tampa and Orlando closing ahead of the storm. Tolls are being suspended on major highways throughout western and central Florida to help those evacuating. Governor DeSantis says the assets that Florida lent to North Carolina for Hurricane Helene have had to be brought back to Florida.
But North Carolina is still dealing with the horrific aftermath of Helene. More than 100,000 customers are still without power there, and around Asheville, dozens of people are still missing. A week and a half after Helene tore through the area.
[01:05:02]
ROY COOPER, NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR: We're still working to reach communities. We still have search and rescue occurring as we speak.
TODD (voice-over): And even as Florida braces for Hurricane Milton, we're getting daunting numbers on the property damage from Hurricane Helene. According to the data analytics firm CoreLogic, Helene caused up to $47.5 billion in losses for property owners. Much of that flood damage to residents who don't have flood insurance. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Joining me now is Maitane Olabarrieta, a physical oceanographer and professor of Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida. And I thank you for joining us on what are obviously tense stays ahead in Florida.
We want to get to the science of all of this, but first, the situation on the ground this hour. You know, as someone who studies these kinds of storms, what is your advice to people in its path right now?
MAITANE OLABARRIETA, PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHER: Well, first of all, thank you for inviting me over for this interview. My advice to everybody is to take very seriously this storm. It's a very big storm and very intense storm. You need to basically like take into account the evacuation orders and evacuate as soon as possible because it's a life threatening storm.
NEWTON: In fact, you say that the storm surge could be unsurvivable. It could be that extreme?
OLABARRIETA: It can be. It can be. We still have an uncertainty both in the track and in the intensity of the storm. But we are looking predictions predicting storm surges of three to five to 4.5 meters, and that storm surge might not be survivable.
NEWTON: Now, what is it about this storm that makes it so historic? We see it intensifying so rapidly. Is there any doubt that climate change contributes to its strength and its potential for destruction here? OLABARRIETA: There are many factors affecting the intensity and the
path of these storms. But one of the main factors affecting the rapid intensification is the sea surface temperature. If the ocean is very warm, the probability of having rapid intensification becomes higher. And what contributes to warming the oceans? That's the global warming. So the climate change, it's actually affecting these probabilities and making these probabilities higher.
NEWTON: Yes. It is an incredible monster of a storm. The amount of rainfall, the sheer amount of water that we even just saw from Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago was extraordinary. And yet, Milton could be just as dangerous. Is the ocean temperature, what you just explained to us also affecting the amount of water associated with these storms?
OLABARRIETA: That's exactly -- that's correct. As the water temperature increases, the capacity of water to evaporate increases as well. And these tropical cyclones are able to capture more water and to carry more water with them when they make landfall. What happens is that all this water basically becomes rainfall, and with that increases the probability of flash flooding, compound floods, and inland flooding.
NEWTON: Does this storm scare you when you've seen the forecasts in the last day or so, just how rapidly it's intensified?
OLABARRIETA: Yes. Yes, I was scared and I was trying to advise all my friends about the potential danger, well, the danger of this storm.
NEWTON: Now, we don't have a lot of time left, but I want to ask you're a Florida resident and I know you're not in the eye of a storm or anything, but you're used to going through this. Given what you've seen this season, do you believe Floridians need to change kind of the way they live, the way they rebuild, given what we're seeing from these storms?
OLABARRIETA: Well, we expect this type of storms to become more frequent. So something has to change. We have to adapt. And also, I think we need to fight against climate change, at least try to make the rate of change a little bit slower somehow. But the adaptation part of it is very important because it's already happening and it's already affecting us.
NEWTON: And I'm sure many people are wondering today how to get through that adaptation. But right now, as you've said, just get out of the way of this storm. Professor Olabarrieta, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
OLABARRIETA Thank you very much.
NEWTON: Now to the Middle East, where Israel and Hezbollah are trading intense cross border strikes.
[01:10:00]
One blast lit up the night sky in Beirut late Monday. The Israeli air force reports it hit more than 120 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon within an hour. The IDF says the intensive strikes were aimed at degrading the Iran backed militant group's capabilities.
Meantime, Israel says Hezbollah fired approximately 190 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel. Video from Tel Aviv shows Israeli interceptors taking out some of those rockets. The IDF says others fell in open areas. And video from Israeli strikes on Gaza. It's especially disturbing.
Palestinian officials report at least ten people were killed in the Jabalya refugee camp. At least eleven more were killed in strikes elsewhere in northern and central Gaza. Now the fighting comes, of course, one after the one year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked the occasion with this stark warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In every meeting between me and my wife, with our fighters, with our wounded, with the bereaved families, we hear the same message again and again. The campaign must not be stopped prematurely as long as the enemy threatens our existence and the peace of our country we will continue fighting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: And with no end in sight Israel's war against Hamas and Gaza there's anguish on both sides of the border over what the fighting will mean for loved ones and hostages still being held one year after the October 7 attack. CNN's Jeremy Diamond speaks with two mothers with two very different stories about how their lives have forever been changed. But first, a warning, some images may be hard to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIMONA STEINBRECHER, MOTHER OF HOSTAGE IN GAZA: I want her back in life, not in a bag. I want her in life that I can hold her.
FATEN MERAISH, MOTHER OF CHILDREN KILLED IN GAZA: At night, I wish to hug my son Jude. I always hug his pillow all night. This is all I have to left of him.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Words alone cannot capture a mother's pain, but the anguish on their faces paints a devastating picture of the countless lives upended by Hamas October 7 attack and Israel's war in Gaza, one year later.
Faten Meraish is still grieving the loss of her two sons killed in an Israeli airstrike this summer. Simona Steinbrecher doesn't know her daughter's fate. She is being held hostage by Hamas. Stepping inside the home where she was abducted is like going back in time.
STEINBRECHER (ph): They broke the windows. They come from the window.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Shards of glass still crunch underfoot in a home upturned and uprooted from the peace it once provided. And in the bedroom, a mother recounts her daughter's abduction.
She was very afraid because you can hear from the voice that she said, they take me. She was really afraid.
DIAMOND: She was on the phone with you when she was being taken?
STEINBRECHER: Yes. And we don't know nothing about her. What happened with her. We don't know if she's alive. We don't know nothing.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Doron Steinbrecher's cry for help captured in one final voice note.
DORON STEINBRECHER, HAMAS HOSTAGE: They've caught me. They've caught me. They've caught me. They've caught --
DIAMOND (voice-over): She was one of 251 people taken hostage on October 7, 2023, after Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel's history, carried out at a music festival in people's homes and against those who fled into bomb shelters. In Kfar Aza, this small kibbutz on the Gaza border, Hamas kidnapped 19, including Simona's daughter, Doron.
DIAMOND: Did you ever imagine that you would be sitting here a year later?
STEINBRECHER: No.
DIAMOND: And she would still be in Gaza?
STEINBRECHER: No, never. But now we see that there's another days, another weeks, another month, and nothing.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The first sign of life came nearly four months later. Doron, gaunt and pale, appears in a Hamas hostage video.
STEINBRECHER: I was happy that I can say that she's alive. But then I can, I look at her, I can see the difference.
DIAMOND: What does the government tell you?
STEINBRECHER: They tell us the family that they make everything. They will come back. But they are still there, so something is wrong. Something is not working.
[01:15:05]
DIAMOND (voice-over): Those frustrations shifted into overdrive in August after Hamas executed six hostages. Families like Doron's now fearing the worst.
DIAMOND: You feel like the longer she is there, the less likely it is that she could come back alive.
STEINBRECHER: Yes. They don't have time. DIAMOND 9voice-over): For nearly ten months, Faten managed to keep her
family safe, fleeing from one place to another as Israel pummeled the Gaza Strip with bombs and missiles. A school, a relative's home, a tent.
MERAISH: We tried as much as possible to create an atmosphere in which there was no terror, no bombing. Wherever there were safe areas, I would take the children there.
DIAMOND (voice-over): But nowhere in Gaza is truly safe. CPR cannot bring her five year old son, Jude, back to life. But Faten (ph) cannot believe it. She had only just left the tent they were living in to buy Jude Indomie his favorite, instant noodles.
But as she cradles her youngest, her eldest son's body arrives at the morgue. Mohammed is dead, too, his mother and father in agony. Amid their unspeakable grief, there is also anger at Israel, at Hamas, and at a world she feels has abandoned them.
This is all that is left of the tent where Muhammad and Jude were staying when a missile struck just a few feet away, where their mother now asks what her children did to deserve this fate.
MERAISH: They are more precious to me than the light of my eyes. When I lost them, I lost a piece of my heart.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Jude would have turned six years old last month.
MERAISH: We used to celebrate his birthday every year with a cake, and invite the loved ones, because he is the youngest one in the family. But this time Jude was not with us. There was only a box of Indomie that I was handing to children his age.
DIAMOND (voice-over): More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military over the last year, and at least 11,000 are children like Jude and Mohammed, according to Oxfam, making it the deadliest conflict for children in a single year this century.
DIAMOND: How much is too much, sir? At what point is it time to end this war?
BENJAMIN: Well, we'll end the war when we achieved our war goals of making sure that Hamas can't repeat such atrocities. And I'm not going to change my policies, humanitarian policies, vaccination policies, combat policies to minimize civilian casualties.
DIAMOND (voice-over): But Israel any closer to achieving its war goals?
AMI AYALON, FORMER HEAD OF ISRAEL SECURITY AGENCY SHIN BET: Even if we shall kill all Hamas activists and all the political leaders, and we shall destroy all the military installations on the day after, two Palestinian children that lost their families will try to achieve, to get a knife and to kill Israelis, unless you will defeat the ideology. And the only way to defeat the ideology is to present a better ideology. DIAMOND: So, one year later, is Israel safer than it was?
AYALON: No way. Israel is not safer. Because if you look on the day of tomorrow, no one can tell you that we shall not face a regional war in which Hezbollah and Iran and the West Bank and Syria and the Houthis will not fight. It will be a regional war with a global impact. So nobody can tell you today that we are safer then on the 6 October.
DIAMOND (voice-over): But for two mothers at the heart of this painful conflict --
MERAISH: Who knows when it will end, or what else I might lose? Would I lose my sister, my brother, or some relatives, or someone dear to me? God knows. We don't know.
DIAMOND (voice-over): A plea for it all to end.
STEINBRECHER: There is no time for someone to finish wards or something like this. They don't have time.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Kfar Aza, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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[01:21:43]
NEWTON: So it's a longstanding tradition for the main us presidential nominees to appear on the TV news magazine program 60 Minutes during the October before an election. Donald Trump agreed to an interview, but backed out last week. His opponent, Kamala Harris, did not.
CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker, mentioned that she's called Trump racist, and yet many Americans, millions of them, in fact, support him. He asked how she can bridge that unseemly, unbridgeable gap. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I believe that the people of America want a leader, who's not trying to divide us and demean. I believe that the American people recognize that the true measure of the strength of a leader is not based on who you beat down. It's based on who you lift up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, the vice president was also pressed on immigration, with polls showing Trump is leading on the issue of border security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: It's a longstanding problem, and solutions are at hand. And from day one, literally, we have been offering solutions.
BILL WHITAKER, CBS CORRESPONDENT: What I was asking was it a mistake to kind of allow that flood to happen in the first place?
HARRIS: I think the policies that we have been proposing are about fixing a problem, not promoting a problem. OK.
WHITAKER: But the numbers did quadruple --
HARRIS: And the numbers today, because of what we have done, we have cut the flow of illegal immigration by half. We have cut the flow of fentanyl by half. But we need Congress to be able to act to actually fix the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: I want to go now to professor and democratic strategist Caroline Heldman. She is with us from Los Angeles. Good to see you again. We got the interview. Right. V.P. Harris has been criticized for weeks for not doing these kinds of interviews. And there you had an immigration answer. And it's emblematic of the kind of answers that voters say they want more of. I mean, what did you make of it?
CAROLINE HELDMAN, PROFESSOR, CRITICAL THEORY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE, OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: Well, I thought Kamala Harris did a fine job. Right. Nothing to write home about, but this is exactly what she wants. Right. With these big interviews, 60 Minutes reaches on average 8 million people. It's going to reach some folks who are maybe undecided, who are not watching the traditional news every day.
She's starting a media blitz now, as we know, she's going to very specific outlets to reach very specific audiences who are not watching the news every night. So, for example, Call Her Daddy podcast. She's doing The View. She's doing Howard Stern. She's doing 60 Minutes.
And her response is, boy, this was a tough interview. In fact, probably her toughest interview that she's going to be doing during her media blitz this week. He just held her feet to the fire and she tried to stick to her messaging, but he kept saying, yes, it's not what I'm asking you.
She was cool and calm, but also for the very first time, we see her kind of being strategic about her answers in this hard hitting interview.
NEWTON: Strategic, and yet, as you point out, many times you had to kind of bring her back to the topic at hand. And another one of those topics were -- was the economy. Right. And voter perceptions about her economic policies and how she'll pay for them. Listen to that one.
[01:25:10]
(BEGIN VIDE CLIP)
WHITAKER: You want to expand the child tax credit.
HARRIS: Yes, I do.
WHITAKER: You want to give tax breaks to first time home buyers. HARRIS: Yes.
WHITAKER: And people starting small businesses.
HARRIS: Correct.
WHITAKER: But it is estimated by the nonpartisan committee for responsible federal budget that your economic plan would add $3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. How are you going to pay for that?
HARRIS: Well, one of the things I'm going to make sure that the richest among us who can afford it pay their fair share in taxes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: I'm wondering if you're surprised she went there on the tax issue especially, and really tried to sidestep what he was asking her, as well as how are you going to get this done, depending on what happens in Congress.
HELDMAN: Well, I thought it was her weakest moment, the fact that he had to keep pushing her and say, well, actually, with all due respect, I'm asking you how you're going to pay for it. It's not taxing the wealthy is not going to make up for that $3.5 trillion deficit that is projected by this nonpartisan organization.
The interviewer pointed out that Donald Trump is at seven. And so, neither of these candidates is actually putting forth something that's realistic in terms of the debt and the deficit. But, yes, Kamala Harris, every single question he had, pretty much, he had to come back around and really push her on it because she was giving him talking points. And I think she was effective. Politicians do this.
I don't think she -- there were no missteps that there were also no kind of memeable moments coming out of this interview. And if I were her campaign team, that's what I would want to see.
NEWTON: And yet, has her campaign team been a bit tone deaf, do you think? Now, in terms of the media blitz this week, great, in terms of what voters want to see. Right. Remember, it's what voters want to see, not what the media wants to see. So do you think she's kind of inching her way towards this perhaps a bit late, but better late than never?
HELDMAN: Well, I think her campaign is definitely seeing the downsides of her not doing interviews, as many interviews as perhaps certainly Beltway journalists would like her to do. But she's now kind of diving in, but doing it in a very unusual way.
As I pointed out, she's trying to get very specific demographics. She's trying to get these swing voters who are not watching the news. So, for example, Call Her Daddy about half of the women who listen to that podcast are either independent or Republican women. And I know that the podcaster got a lot of flack for that. But Kamala Harris campaign has been so careful to not have these
missteps before people get to know her, and now they are introducing her to these basically softball interviews. 60 Minutes is the exception. Right. He held her feet to the fire, but I don't think Stephen Colbert is going to go after her in the same way. Certainly when she appears in The View and she's pitching to kind of Middle American women, they're not going to go after her.
So, maybe a smart strategy. Now that they know her, she's going to do a whole bunch of softball niche interviews.
NEWTON: Yes. And again, the name of the game is, as you said, to get these little moments that go viral in a good way. Obviously not a bad way. You know, we've been talking for weeks now, back and forth. Things have changed, and yet the race has not. This is so close.
Do you think at this point in time that it's actually the ground game who you get to vote from your side? Do you think the ground game is the whole ballgame?
HELDMAN: Oh, absolutely. It's who turns out on election day and that's both who is inspired to turn out on election day and then get out the vote efforts from the campaigns on the day of affiliated organizations. As you're pointing out, the needle is not moving.
What has happened is that the number of undecided has dropped to about half of what it was but It's still neck and neck, and it's within the margin of error in most of these key swing states. Pennsylvania being, of course, the biggest prize. That is the all paths to the White House pretty much go through Pennsylvania. That's the highest probability for both campaigns.
But as you point out, yeah, it's not moving the needle. There are fewer undecideds, but they're both breaking for candidates, for the two candidates almost equally.
NEWTON: Yes, this is going to be quite a sprint, and I don't think anyone would bet at this -- bet on this race at this moment. Caroline Heldman for us. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
HELDMAN: Good to see you.
NEWTON: Now, former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has registered to run for mayor in his southern home city. Now this, despite an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court into the brutal anti-drugs crackdown that he implemented while he was president.
The 79-year-old had served as the city's mayor for about two decades before becoming president in 2016. During a turbulent six years in office more than 6,000 people, mostly poor drug suspects were killed. Duterte has denied condoning extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.
[01:30:05]
Still to come for us, Florida faces one of the top ten strongest Atlantic hurricanes of all time. We'll have more on Hurricane Milton and the preparations right across the state.
Plus surprising comments from U.S. officials about Israel's war with Hezbollah and a potential ceasefire deal. Our military analyst weighs in, just ahead.
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NEWTON: And welcome back. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton.
Major preparations are underway in Florida as the state braces for the dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Milton, which is headed straight for the Gulf course -- Coast, pardon me.
Mass evacuations are happening in cities like Tampa with drivers facing hours' long delays on the highways as they flee to the north and to the east.
Tampa's Mayor delivered a dire warning for those in the evacuation areas, quote, "If you choose to stay, you are going to die." Even cities farther inland are preparing for potentially catastrophic damage and flooding. In Orlando, they're lowering the lake levels and clearing debris ahead of Milton's landfall forecast for Wednesday.
CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has more now on what to expect as Milton draws closer to the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We have the latest from the 11:00 advisory, 165 miles-per-hour. Earlier today, it was 180. So it's come down just a little bit, but still a very dangerous storm.
This has everything to do with the evolution of a major hurricane. It will fluctuate up and down, even throughout the night it may go up and may go down.
What won't change is the track. Still getting right into the western parts of Florida. The Hurricane Center says this may be the most catastrophic storm that the west coast of Florida has ever seen.
So it's there, it's still coming. The surge will be coming. The wind will be coming.
Notice this large area here of major hurricane winds. This is 110 or greater. And then hurricane winds all the way off the coast of Florida.
So all the way through the most populated areas of Florida, there will be so many power outages for so very long.
The other big problem is going to be storm surge. So 10 to 15 feet and this number could actually still rise depending on where you are. There could be places that could pick up 18 feet of surge.
[01:34:44] MYERS: With Storm Katrina, that was a Cat 5 and it went down to a Cat 3, still had 26 feet of surge in Bay St. Louis. It really is going to depend on where you are in landfall. And we still don't know where landfall is exactly going to be.
But this was Helene. Helene did devastation in parts of Tampa Bay area. And that was only a six-foot surge, a seven-foot surge. On up here into Cedar Key, a nine-foot surge. We're talking 10 to 15.
Now for the first time in 103 years, another major landfall will happen around Tampa Bay. But think about what Tampa looked like 103 years ago. How many millions less people were involved? Probably 95 percent less population at that point in time.
So we have a lot of people in the way. The track is still getting, I guess, focused here over that area. Nothing really to the south, nothing turning to the left right now. And still about 36 to 48 hours away from what we would call considerable landfall, when it would actually make landfall over the Florida peninsula.
If it makes it farther to the south, that will be quicker; farther to the north, that has farther to go. So that land fall could change, plus or minus a couple of hours.
But we could see some spots with ten inches of rainfall. Flooding rainfall from this is freshwater flooding, not even with the saltwater flooding that will be pushed in from all of that wind.
We started off with Alberto and now were at Milton, another Category 5 in the books. We hope that it does taper off to be that Category 3. That's always a question. We still don't know whether that's going to happen or not. That's the forecast. Forecasts can change.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Thanks to Chad there.
An alarming new report from the U.N.'s weather agency finds that global river flows fell to new lows last year amid record record- breaking heat. That's referring to the State of global Water Resources Report that was released Monday.
The head of the World Meteorological Organization warns water is the canary in the coal mine of climate change and that water insecurity will only get worse unless immediate action is taken.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CELESTE SAULO, SECRETARY GENERAL, WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION: 2023 was the driest Year for global rivers in 33 years.
Second, glaciers around the world lost most water in 50 years -- in the last 50 years. There, the water cycle is becoming more erratic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: The agency's director of hydrology expects more water scarcity this year in parts of the world which have seen new heat records.
The U.S. State Department says it still believes Israels ground operation in Lebanon will in fact be limited. But a spokesperson refused to say the same about Israeli airstrikes in Beirut. Officials tell CNN the U.S. is no longer pushing for an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire but is resigned to trying to shape and limit Israeli operations in Lebanon and against Iran.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan had this advice for Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The challenge going forward is to turn tactical wins in battle into a strategy that secures Israel's people and its future.
That takes real discipline. It takes courage. It takes foresight to match the conduct of war to a clear and sustainable set of objectives and to turn tactical advantage into enduring strategic gains.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Joining me now from Washington is retired U.S. Air Force colonel and CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton.
And really it is unspeakable the kinds of things that so many people in the Middle East have had to go through in the last year. The obvious question after such a torturous day of grief for people in Israel, its citizens took incoming from Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen.
Does that single fact to you tell you that we're looking at a much wider and longer war without a doubt in the year to come.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET)s, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think so, Paula. I think what you're looking at is lot of conflict coming up in the next few months and possibly extending into the entire year.
And that's the, you know, really sad reality for the Middle East too. But the Israelis of course are bent on trying to break out of basically what amounts to a containment operation that Iran and its proxies have mounted against it. And by the same token the proxies as well as Iran, are trying to keep that containment ring focused on Israel and allow it to reestablish itself.
That's really part of the problem. Both sides are very intransigent at this particular point in time. They are set to in their particular roles. And for each side, it's an existential issue.
[01:39:47]
NEWTON: And that's the key. What you said there, it's an existential fight as far as they're concerned.
I am wondering though, what do you make of Hamas' residual strength in particular, given an entire year of battle in Gaza.
LEIGHTON: Well, in many ways, it's remarkable. On the one hand, when you look at say, what the Israelis have been able to do, Paula, it's pretty clear that they've decimated the standard military stroke (ph) that Hamas has, they've killed off many of Hamas' leaders.
They have gone through the tunnel systems within Gaza. They've destroyed many of those. But what you're seeing with Hamas is a remarkable resiliency, but it's not a surprising resiliency.
These fighters have been training for this kind of war really for a very long time. And what they're doing is basically moving into the shadows and then from those shadows they'll move back out to go attack Israeli (ph) forces again, this is something where the conflict is basically perpetuating itself. And we see that every day.
NEWTON: we certainly see the toll on the civilian population as that goes on.
You know, much of what happens going forward in the region will depend on how Israel decides to strike back at Iran in the coming days or weeks.
I mean, what do you think they're contemplating? And do you think they are listening to U.S. advisers to perhaps tread carefully and with restraint.
LEIGHTON: Well, I think they are listening to them. Whether or not they'll follow their directions or they were advice is a very (INAUDIBLE) issue.
General Kurilla, the commander of CentCom, was just in Israel. And of course, there been conversations between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden. And the Israelis, of course, have a vested interest in maintaining not only their momentum operationally, but also in securing their borders as well as the longevity of the Israeli state. So they have that perspective.
Whereas from the U.S. perspective they were trying to contain the possibility of a wider Middle East conflict, and they want to make sure that something like that does not happen or if it does happen that it is somehow really contained within the borders of the Middle East.
And that's really the issue. Both sides -- both the U.S. and Israel have not necessarily opposing objectives, but differing objectives in this particular case.
NEWTON: You know, you have argued that what Israel is facing now is obviously historic in a sense that it is a multifront war that perhaps could go on for years. Do you think Israel is up to that at this point in time, meaning is it actually preparing for that kind of a conflict.
LEIGHTON: Well, when you listen to Israeli rhetoric, Paula, you -- you know, you definitely get (INAUDIBLE) this instead, they are psychologically preparing their population for something like this multi-front war.
They're talking about seven or in some cases, even an eight-front war depending on who you talk to.
But the key problem is this. That's well and good from a rhetorical standpoint but it's very hard for a nation to continually be fighting a war on multiple fronts.
The Israelis have done it in the past all the way back to 1948 when Israel gained its independence. But the problem that they have now is those particular wars when you talk of 1948 or 1967 or 1973, those are real fairly short duration and they were against comparable state actors.
In this particular case, you are dealing with one state actor, Iran, but you're also dealing with non-state actors such as Hamas and Hezbollah, but have a parent-state type apparatus associated with them and a paramilitary associated with them.
It's a very different entity and it's an entity that's very hard to fight because it's really ideologically-based more than anything else. And it's really hard to stamp out an ideology and that could very well tax the Israeli state and the Israeli military in the months and years to come.
NEWTON: Yes. And that is certainly what makes for what they call -- they coined "The Forever Wars". It's certainly something that Israel may be up against right now.
Col. Cedric Leighton for us, really appreciate it.
LEIGHTON: You bet, Paula.
NEWTON: Anguish over the October 7th attack is being felt in fact, in many countries.
Thailand's foreign minister says Hamas gunmen killed 41 Thai citizens in the attack and abducted 30 more. Six Thai nationals are thought to still be among the hostages in Gaza.
The father of one of those hostages says he prays that he will see his son again one day. But he also says the waiting and the lack of information is taking a toll.
[01:44:45]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM SRIAOUN, THAI HOSTAGE'S FATHER (through translator): If you ask how I feel, I feel so heavy. I've been to the hospital two or three times because of my son being taken. My blood pressure was high. And I had to be admitted to the hospital a few times.
I can't stop thinking about it since the incident in Israel until today. I still think about my son all the time. (END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: When Hamas attacked, many of the victims were working in Israel as farm laborers.
Thailand's prime minister says she's asked Iran's president to help get the hostages released.
The U.S. Supreme Court is back in action and they're striking down more abortion protections in the United States.
That's ahead.
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NEWTON: Georgia's Supreme Court has restored the state's six-week ban on abortions, at least for now. The decision comes a week after a Fulton County judge struck down the near-total ban saying it's unconstitutional and infringes on women's personal health care rights.
But the Supreme Court has blocked his ruling while it considers the state's appeal.
Governor Brian Kemp issued a statement in response to the judge's decision saying, quote, "Once again, the will of Georgians and their representatives has been overruled by the personal beliefs of one judge. Georgia will continue to be a place where we fight for the lives of the unborn."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is back to work. In the next few weeks, they'll hear several highly charged, contentious cases.
The justices have already started rejecting a Biden administration effort to enhance federal protections for abortion care.
Joan Biskupic has our details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Supreme Court was back on the bench on Monday for the first time since July 1st when it issued its opinion giving former President Donald Trump substantial immunity against prosecution.
The justices have seen their public approval ratings dropped because of that decision and others dating at least to 2022 when they reversed abortion rights in America.
Now with a new session, the justices will hear disputes in upcoming weeks and months over the death penalty, gun control and transgender rights.
On Monday, however, among its most eye-catching actions came in a Texas case that could have given the justices another abortion controversy. The justices left in place a lower court order that prevents the Biden administration from stripping federal funding from Texas hospitals that do not provide emergency care for abortions.
A federal law requires hospitals to offer treatment when necessary to stabilize the patient's emergency medical condition, including if that means an abortion in the case of pregnancy complications. Some states that ban abortion have objected to the law, saying the federal government should not be able to preempt their bans in emergency room situations or as in the Texas case, Texas argue that the administration was going too far in its interpretation of the 1986 emergency treatment law.
[01:49:53]
BISKUPIC: Last session in a case from Idaho, the court dismissed an Idaho challenge to the administration. The court said more lower court fact-finding and litigation was needed.
In the Texas case, though, the Biden administration said the justices should not hear the case because of some factual and legal issues. But the administration wanted the justices to throw out the lower court's order that had sided with Texas.
The justices declined to take the case, but they left that lower court appellate decision favoring Texas in place. So it's a win for Texas. The action though applies only to the Texas situation.
The Biden administration's emergency room guidance would still allow abortions for pregnant women facing complications. The conflict between state bans and the Biden administration will continue to play out without a resolution by the Supreme Court in this election year.
Joan Biskupic, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: In the wake of Hurricane Helene, the U.S. agency in charge of disaster relief is pushing back against a landslide of misinformation from Donald Trump.
We'll explain how just ahead.
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NEWTON: Former President Donald Trump and his allies are spreading false claims about the Biden administration's response to Hurricane Helene.
So now the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees disaster relief, has launched a rumor response page on its Web site.
Our Tom Foreman explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: (INAUDIBLE) spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars on housing for illegal migrants many of whom should not be in our country.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the turbulent wake of Hurricane Helene, the truth is being buried by a fresh storm of falsehoods from former President Donald Trump.
TRUMP: No helicopters, no rescue. It's just what's happened there is very bad. They're offering them $750 to people whose homes have been washed away.
FOREMAN: And one one-by-one, those lies are being exposed.
Was FEMA money meant for such disasters spent to house undocumented immigrants?
No.
Are helicopters and rescuers missing in action in the flood zone?
No.
And only a few hundred dollars for survivors who lost their homes?
FEMA itself address that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Theres a rumor out there that FEMA is only providing survivors with $750. This is not true.
FOREMAN: Trump's Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, weighed in too, noting that's $750 is just for immediate needs -- food, baby formula and emergency supplies.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: FEMA is also providing tens of thousands more dollars for folks to help them be able to deal with home repair, to be able to cover a deductible when and if they have insurance and also hotel cost.
FOREMAN: Amid fears, the false information might discourage storm victims from accessing real help, Republican and Democratic governors are praising the federal response with South Carolina GOP Governor Henry McMaster calling it --
GOV. HENRY MCMASTER (R-SC): It's been superb.
FOREMAN: -- superb. But Trump and his team are showing no inclination to accept that reality.
[01:54:48]
DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Why is he spreading misinformation in a crisis like that? And does that concern you about your fellow North Carolinians.
FOREMAN: With Trump and Harris locked in a close race in that stricken states, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, Lara Trump is toeing her father-in-law's line, saying that's what they're hearing from people.
LARA TRUMP, CO-CHAIR, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Why is it that right now, the citizens in western North Carolina are screaming for help and its having to come from local citizens.
FOREMAN: Certainly the recovery is difficult, and a lot of local citizens are helping out, but so are state and federal agencies in a big way, no matter what Donald Trump says.
Tom Foreman, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And finally for us, the Democratic vice-presidential hopeful is looking to turn some late-night laughs into, yes, election day votes.
Tim Walz appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Monday. The Minnesota governor has come under criticism for some past remarks that weren't entirely truthful.
And have a look at this. His interview with Kimmel brought out yet more examples.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We get to turn the page on that and I plan on waking up on November 6th with madam president. And that's then --
JIMMY KIMMEL, TV HOST: I just want to be -- I want to be clear. You won't be waking up together.
WALZ: No.
KIMMEL: Unless, you guys have gotten closer than we thought.
WALZ: I have a problem about not being specific with my lines. Thank you for that, specifically right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Apparently the candidate needs to try a little harder because during a "60 Minutes" interview that aired earlier on Monday, Walz has -- Kamala Harris told him to be a little more careful with his comments? Yes, he needs to practice this a little bit more.
I want to thank everyone for watching.
I'm Paula Newton. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend Rosemary Church. That after a break.
[01:56:44]
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