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The Source with Kaitlan Collins

Hurricane Isaias Nears Landfall As Category 2; Trump Announces Deal With Putin To Import Russian Diesel; Trump Launches New Effort To Oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired October 09, 2026 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[21:00:00]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: You can also watch more videos and hear other families' stories on my podcast, All There Is, and my streaming show, All There Is Live. It's all on my grief community page at CNN.com/AllThereIs.

CNN's hurricane coverage continues throughout the night.

"THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: As we come on the air this Friday night, millions of people along the Gulf Coast are bracing for impact from Hurricane Isaias, with the storm expected to make landfall during this hour.

Right now, the storm remains a Category 2 with sustained winds of 110 miles an hour, and mandatory evacuation orders and curfews have been issued across parts of Florida and Alabama, where storm surge could overwhelm cities and towns and also hamper efforts by emergency responders to reach residents who chose to stay.

The National Weather Service tonight has already issued a flash flood emergency along the Florida coast, which includes Fort Walton Beach. Right now at this hour, over 300,000 Florida residents are without power already, while more than a 115,000 are without power in my home state of northern Alabama.

CNN teams are fanned out across the storm zone tonight and watching all of this.

And of course, we're starting with CNN's Rafael Romo, who's in Pensacola Beach, Florida.

Rafael, so far we're watching, of course, as the eyewall is now starting to move ashore. What are you seeing so far?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kaitlan, there's been a very interesting development in the last 30 minutes or so. 30 minutes ago, it was very difficult for me to remain standing here. Right now, we are in a little bit of a lull, which would indicate, based on prior experience, that the eye of the hurricane is approaching this area, and I don't have access to radar, but that appears to be the case. Also, I can tell you that because, I have noticed that the wind is changing direction. It was flowing from my right to my left before very powerfully. Now it's a confusion of wind blowing in different directions.

It's a little bit of an eerie scene here, Kaitlan because, we lost power, that this whole section of Pensacola lost power about an hour ago. And so, we hear debris flying by, but we cannot see it. And luckily, we have a building on my right that is acting as a barrier, and that's the reason why we feel somewhat safe being here.

But again, changing conditions right now, it appears the eye of the hurricane is approaching this area. The problem, of course, is going to be that once it gets here and passes, then we face the danger of storm surge coming in our direction because on my left is open ocean, and that's definitely a possibility based on what authorities have been telling us for the last three days or so.

Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes, Rafael, I mean, it's completely pitch-black behind you. Can you kind of just lay out for us where you are and what is around you in this hour?

ROMO: Yes, we are in one of the barrier islands here in Pensacola. On my right is the bay. On my left is open ocean. And so, what we have seen, number one, is that people really paid attention to recommendations by authorities, and they went home. We haven't seen a single car in several hours here.

And number two, for a while, it seemed like infrastructure was going to hold. We were seeing the street lights and building lights, and then all of a sudden, when the situation started deteriorating in the last hour, everything got black.

I see a couple of vehicles now. They appear to be power company vehicles. Those are the only two that I have seen in the last four or five hours, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes.

Rafael Romo. Good that everyone's staying home and staying safe. You stay safe as well with your crew. We're going to check back in with you throughout the hour, especially as the eye is passing over there.

Also in the storm's path tonight is CNN's Isabel Rosales. She's on the ground in Gulf Shores, Alabama, which is right there along the coast.

Isabel, how are the conditions looking over there?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kaitlan, thankfully for the past couple of hours, we've gotten a break from that heavy rainfall that was coming in sideways and literally slapping you right on the cheek. It was -- it was painful combined with that powerful wind gust for the last hour and a half, right until your show started. We've actually also been in a power outage situation. The lights cut off up until your show started, and suddenly all the lights are back on in the hotel, which I'm sure is a relief for the visitors staying here, the line men staying here. We've seen police and fire department officials staying here as well.

[21:05:00]

But the gust is really what we're feeling, spontaneous wind gusts that have reached 56 mile per hours, and according to our meteorologists at CNN, are only anticipated to get worse, 60, 70, up until 80, topping off at 80 miles per hour, up until this thing makes the landfall. And over where Rafael is at, triple-digit wind gusts are anticipated as well.

But right now, it's a little bit of a lull, which is a thankful sight. Nonetheless, the city telling people that the time of moving around, preparing, all of that, is gone, Kaitlan. This is the time to hunker down, weather down the storm. They've shut down both of the bridges here in Gulf Shores, so people don't come in and don't come out.

They've also shut off the natural gas. They're saying, that's a big concern to them because this is a pressurized gas main line, and anything that could knock into it, you have 250 pounds of pressure in there, they're not taking the risk with that. And the water might be cut off too to protect people and to protect the infrastructure as well.

But the bottom line here, from officials and the Mayor, I spoke with him just a few hours ago, is, Hey, take this seriously. Let's hunker down, respect the storm, and respect your lives. And we'll come out on the other side and enjoy the beautiful beaches that the Gulf has to offer here.

COLLINS: Yes.

Isabel Rosales, we'll check back in with you. Glad you're getting a little bit of a break from that -- from that rain from earlier.

Our meteorologist Melissa Nord is at CNN's Extreme Weather Center tracking all of this.

And Melissa, obviously, we're seeing what they're seeing on the ground directly. What are you seeing so far on the radar?

MELISSA NORD, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, and things were a lot more intense about an hour ago in Rafael's live shot, and that's because he was in that western side of the eyewall.

At this point, though, Pensacola is just to the west of where the eyewall is. Isaias will be making landfall over the next hour, and that landfall location likely very close to Destin or Miramar Beach, so right along the Emerald Coast, very beautiful stretch of coastline there.

But it's this area in red, the northern and western eyewall, where we're seeing the strongest wind gust. In fact, a wind gust that was a 116 miles per hour within that eyewall over the last hour.

And you can see here in the purple colors, these are extreme wind warnings, still in place, through the next hour, as that eyewall is moving onshore. The max winds with Isaias have come down again as it's interacting with land. They're now 105 miles per hour, higher gusts. It is still a strong Category 2 hurricane.

And also, as we see this intense rain coming down, this map is lit up with flash flood warnings, and in particular, in this white color, a flash flood emergency because some of these locations in the last six hours alone, have picked up in excess of six inches of rainfall. So, the drainage systems are becoming a little bit overwhelmed where the core of the storm is, but it's wide-reaching.

Tropical storm force winds extend over 200 miles outside the center of Isaias, and it's in that core where those winds are still at the strongest. Look at this: Santa Rosa Sound, 116 mile per hour wind gust. Gulf Breeze, Florida, 97 mile per hour wind gust. That's on the eastern side, southeast side of Pensacola, one of those barrier islands where Rafael was. Pensacola Bay, 96. The airport there, 92 mile per hour wind gust.

So, over the next hour, we have landfall. Those hurricane force gusts spread inland as well, Kaitlan, and we could see those tropical storm force gusts as far north as northern Alabama through tomorrow morning.

COLLINS: And so, it's going to make landfall this hour. I mean, what is that going to look like? What are you going to be watching for as it does make landfall while we're here on the air tonight?

NORD: Well, Kaitlan, we've seen wind shear starting to play an impact. So, this may not look as much like a hurricane, so to speak, after we get through the next three or four hours. But it's a really large storm in its wind field.

So in the next hour, it's those critical impacts along the coast with the winds and also the storm surge. But then, far inland, will be the wide-reaching impact of rain and wind. That can cause flight disruptions, travel delays, scattered power outages as far north as central Alabama and even parts of the metro Atlanta area could see some of those power outages.

You see on our forecast radar, there's the landfall over the next hour. All the feeder bands are moving inland, and we'll see that rain spreading northward overnight, along with those strong wind gusts. The core of what's left of Isaias, left over Birmingham, by first thing tomorrow morning.

Kaitlan.

COLLINS: All right. Melissa Nord, thank you so much for that update. We'll check back in with you.

I want to also bring in tonight, the Director of Mobile County, Alabama's Emergency Management Agency. That's Mike Evans.

And thank you, Mike, for joining us tonight.

Director, as you're looking at this, your number one message, as you're hearing, kind of where the storm is, what it's actually looking like now, as it's going to make landfall. What's your number one message to people in Alabama right now?

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MIKE EVANS, DIRECTOR, MOBILE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Yes, the number one message is, all about life safety. And so, we've been at -- we've been at it for a couple days, prepare, prepare. And today, we basically told everyone, around noon today, you needed to be in your safe location.

So, what does that look like? We have a lot of coastal residents. We have a lot of residents that live in those storm surge areas. And so, the message to them has been: go to a friend, family, or relative in one of the safer zones on higher ground within Mobile County. If you don't have anyone that you can go to, then we opened three shelters in three of our public high schools. We have people in those shelters now. We're taking care of them.

But the message is: be prepared for power outages. Right now, we're around, the last number I looked at within 30 minutes, about 35,000 residents without power. So, we were telling them, for two days, to have everything you need: batteries, flashlights, radio, food to sustain yourself. And so, we're at the point now. It was rougher a little earlier. It's calmed down at this point.

I think we still have some outer bands and some -- some of those outer band rain and some of those wind gusts. We've seen some 50 to 60 mile an hour consistent winds. So, it's not safe to get out, and we're telling people to stay in their safe place. And right now, even with the winds, public safety is kind of slowed down. It's not safe to put them out there.

So, the message is, you're in your safe place. Stay in your safe place. Don't be in a hurry to get out. This storm will get past us. And once it's out of here, then that's when you go see how things look. But right now, we need people to stay hunkered down--

COLLINS: Yes.

EVANS: --and not be interested in what's going on out in the community.

COLLINS: Yes, well, we always kind of see at some point in these storms, where the first responders, the emergency workers can't go out because it's just, it's not safe for them even at some point. And you're saying that you're pretty much at that point right now. Is that right?

EVANS: Absolutely. Now, if we can get communications from people that need help, and we can't send a responder at that moment, all that stuff is ready. As soon as we get a clear, We can put them out there, they're going to go check on personnel and try to help them. But we tell people, don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution.

And, unfortunately, coastal Alabama, we've had many of these--

COLLINS: Yes.

EVANS: --and I would say we have some seasoned citizens, but we always have some that tend to want to stay in those rough areas. We have the barrier island, Dauphin Island. We have people who stay on that. So, we're all about trying to take care of them. And just heed the warnings.

And don't compare storms. Many times, somebody will say, Well, this storm was a Cat 2, and everything was fine. And this is a Cat 2. But they're all different. They're all dangerous, and there's too many variables.

We just had a lot of rain down here in the last week, so the ground was already saturated. That means it don't take a lot of wind and it don't take more rain. It -- you know, we're seeing a lot of trees down, power lines down, and so people just don't need to be outside in that kind of dangerous environment.

COLLINS: Yes, that's a good point in terms of what this looks like. And I like -- I like the phrase, seasoned citizens.

Mobile obviously is Mobile Bay. Are you worried about storm surge, or what is that -- what are you hearing from the experts in terms of, of what you're anticipating there tonight?

EVANS: Yes. So, the kind of the range, we have a -- we have a National Weather Service office here in Mobile, about two miles from my emergency operations center. We started out early. The storm is moved easterly. But we started out, we were in the six to eight feet range, which causes a lot of problems.

As the storm has moved to the east, what they told us about two hours ago is more of a two to five foot range. It'll still cause problems, and that's the other thing. If you happen to be someone out riding around, and you shouldn't be out right now riding around, when you see water, you need to turn around and go the other way because just because you see water don't mean there's still part of a road there, and that's a whole another problem.

[21:15:00]

But you know, so we -- it has, like I say, the surge numbers went down, which is always a good thing. The old adage for us, run from the water, hide from the wind. So, the water is always the biggest concern. Deaths, you know, 85 percent or more of the deaths generally have to do with a water event, whether it's surge or it's inland flooding. And it's a much slower percentage of people having wind- related, so.

COLLINS: Yes.

EVANS: And quite frankly, when you hear about those, it's because somebody heard something and walked outside and there was a problem. So, I think we have everybody where they need to be, and we're going to keep doing everything we got to do to keep these folks safe.

COLLINS: Yes.

EVANS: And Kaitlan, I'll tell you this: there's a lot of people more concerned about tomorrow night than they are. They're worried about what's going to happen about two hours north of us, so.

COLLINS: I know. I've been hearing.

EVANS: I couldn't -- yes, I couldn't tell you--

COLLINS: I've been getting texts.

EVANS: Yes, exactly. They're calling me, Hey. I'm like, Hey, look, I'm not worried about that right now, I've got other concerns.

COLLINS: Yes.

EVANS: But yes, there's a lot of people that's really concerned about that.

COLLINS: Safety first, then we'll worry about kickoff tomorrow.

Director Mike Evans, you are--

EVANS: Absolutely.

COLLINS: Thank you so much for joining us. You're excellent, and I hope everyone heeds your advice and everyone stay safe in Mobile. Keep us posted on what you're hearing. Appreciate you taking a few minutes to join us tonight.

EVANS: Absolutely. Have a great night.

COLLINS: And we'll continue tracking this storm and what we're seeing playing out all along the Gulf Coast as it is expected to make landfall this hour.

We also just heard from President Trump commenting, in person for the first time, about his conversation that he had with Vladimir Putin today, and why he's now planning to buy diesel from Russia, which has infuriated Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, and also seems to go against that bill the President just signed.

Also, of course, we'll keep an eye on the hurricane as it's coming to making landfall closer and closer. It's going to happen this hour. We have updates on all of it, right after this.

[21:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We're following a lot of breaking news this hour, as water levels are rising and winds are picking up dramatically along the Gulf Coast, as the eyewall of Hurricane Isaias is moving ashore. The Category 2 storm is expected to make landfall this hour. We'll of course let you know when it does as we're watching the coast very closely with all of our reporters who are stationed there.

Also tonight in Washington, it hasn't even been a month since the President signed into law that new Russian sanctions package. Remember, the one that was named for his late friend Lindsey Graham? It was designed to punish any country that buys Russian oil. And apparently, that now includes the United States.

Yes, today on Truth Social, the President announced that he had just gotten off the phone with President Vladimir Putin, wherein, quote, "It was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter."

Almost immediately after the President posted that shocking post, the Treasury Department said they are going to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports.

Now the President is arguing this move is going to bring down diesel prices for Americans.

Ukraine's President sees it pretty differently. He said, Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious weakness.

Now, the President was asked about Zelenskyy basically calling his move weak, as he was leaving the White House today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Zelenskyy said you're weak because of it. He just criticized--

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Who said that?

REPORTER: Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President just said, you are weak because of the deal.

TRUMP: OK. Go ahead.

REPORTER: President Zelenskyy said the diesel deal is a weak move by a strong partner that will only prolong the war. Is this emboldened--

TRUMP: By a strong what?

REPORTER: By a strong partner that will only prolong--

TRUMP: Well, we are a strong partner.

REPORTER: Will this embolden--

TRUMP: No, we need oil for the world, and this is diesel, which is what we need. So we're very happy to get it. We're very happy to get it. Look, we need it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: If you were distracted, yes, that was Mike Tyson standing over the President's shoulder there on the South Lawn. He's with him in New York tonight.

Joining me now are my sources.

CNN Political and National Security Analyst, as well as New York Times White House and National Security Correspondent, David Sanger.

Former Obama campaign adviser, Ameshia Cross.

And former Republican Congressman, Charlie Dent.

David Sanger, I mean, the minute the President posted this today, I -- and you could almost sense the anger coming from Ukraine, as all these lawmakers are also there visiting Zelenskyy right now. What did you make of the President's decision today to say, Yes, America is going to buy Russian oil.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE & NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES, AUTHOR, "NEW COLD WARS": Kaitlan, if you simply listen to what the United States has said in the past few weeks, it's on both sides of the ledger.

It's saying through the signing of the act that you mentioned, named for Lindsey Graham, that we're going to continue and extend and deepen sanctions, although those sanctions are really up to the discretion of the President.

And then the President turned around and offered exactly the same argument that China and India and others have argued for why you would continue to buy the Russian oil, which is, we need it. And so, it seems as if the President is undercutting his own policy.

[21:25:00]

Now, President Zelenskyy was clearly angry. He has been asked by President Trump, on repeated occasions, very publicly, to stop bombing the refinery capability in Russia. He's refused to do that while the Russians are taking out electricity plants in Ukraine. And he said, We'll do this together or not at all. And clearly, the President believes that Zelenskyy should just do it unilaterally.

COLLINS: I mean, Charlie Dent, when you look at this, so is America going to sanction America now? I mean, this -- it literally goes against the bill that the President signed three weeks ago.

CHARLIE DENT, (R-PA) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Well, really, it's difficult to explain the inexplicable. I mean, it's just absolutely -- utterly shameful that our country has made a concession to the Russians without getting anything in return to benefit our friends and partners in Ukraine. I understand why Zelenskyy is mad. Of course, this lifting of sanctions and the purchase of Russian diesel is -- it's just -- it's a slap in the face to all of our partners and friends. This is a sign of weakness on the part of the United States. I think everybody understands that. It's humiliating in many ways. I cannot understand why a Republican president would do this.

It just adds that -- and he's appeasing Putin, as he always does, and it just seems that you know -- the question is why? Why does he do this? There's no -- there's no reason for it. He should have gotten an agreement at least on the -- get the Russians to stop bombing Ukrainian energy infrastructure or something, but he got nothing.

COLLINS: Ameshia, if it brings down diesel prices, is it worth it?

AMESHIA CROSS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, FORMER OBAMA CAMPAIGN ADVISER: In the long term, I would say no.

What we do know is that this is a -- this is a White House that is absolutely fine with the ongoing incursion that Russia has against Ukraine. This is a president who doesn't mind tariff prices that continue to overburden the American public, and this is a president who, rightfully, I think, put sanctions initially on Russia, and at this point has decided that he's not going to do it.

And there were other options. And last we checked, the Saudis were an option. He did not utilize them, even though his family is making billion dollars -- billions of dollars off of them. There were so many tactics he could have used if he just wanted this form of oil rather than going to Russia.

Because I think that it places a lot of our -- a lot of our allies in danger. It quite frankly eradicates, just a few months ago, the sanctions that we placed on Russia, and it also gives Putin upper hand because the man gives nothing without getting something in return. And what he wants in return is more territory across Ukraine. What he wants in return is also something else from President Trump that he's not being vocal about at this point.

I think that for the American public, this looks shady because it is shady. But also, Donald Trump at the last hour making this decision does not make America safer, and it darn sure does not make our partners in the West any safer.

COLLINS: David Sanger, do we even know if Russia can meet this? Do they even have this much oil that they could sell or give to the United States?

SANGER: It's a great question because the amounts that are described in this agreement are pretty small compared to overall demand in the United States, and certainly compared to overall global demand.

The Russians themselves have put a block on all exports until the end of October because, they've lost so much refining capability as the Ukrainians have taken it out. And even if they get all that back, this isn't going to make an appreciable difference, I suspect, on prices. So, it's about symbolism for the President that he's doing something about gas prices before the election. But the real question is: Is he doing more damage to the long-term relationship with Ukraine and to the sense of solidarity?

Remember, this isn't the only thing he's done, Kaitlan. He's invited President Putin to come to the United States in December for a summit meeting that'll be held at the President's golf club. And so, he's bringing them back in from the cold they have been in since the invasion in 2022.

CROSS: I don't think he ever fully exiled them, though.

At this point, again, if President Trump was really serious about lowering gas prices and setting America back on a track towards progress, he would never have entered the war in Iran to begin with. At this point, the only real solution he has is to end this war, and that is a path he does not want to go down.

COLLINS: Well, and Charlie, as all this is playing out, another thing the President was getting asked about today was the planned and announced by the Pentagon, not only firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter, but also this idea that they want to livestream it.

And this is something both President Trump was asked about and the Vice President, which I thought the difference in their answers was notable.

[21:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you, do you want the execution of the Fort Hood shooter to be livestreamed, and are you worried that the video would be used as propaganda to radicalize--

TRUMP: Well, they're making a determination about that, but he will be killed. He will be through firing squad. He killed 13, 14 people, badly wounded 20 some odd people, and he's totally nuts. So I really don't care how he goes, as long as he goes.

REPORTER: Did you personally authorize or approve the execution, the livestream execution of the Fort Hood--

TRUMP: Did I approve?

REPORTER: Did you approve--

TRUMP: Absolutely.

JD VANCE (R), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I've seen these announcements. I don't know that that's actually going to happen. Let's -- let's sort of see what -- I think it's going to happen in December when he's executed. But what I try to remind people is: Look, this is a guy who committed, in my view, the worst terrorist attack on American soil outside of 9/11. Look, if it's ultimately livestreamed, I'm not going to be watching it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Obviously, no one is shedding a tear for this guy, Charlie Dent. But the notion of livestreaming it, and I mean, even the Vice President sounded uncomfortable with that.

DENT: Well, he should because this is a barbaric spectacle, and it serves no strategic purpose. They'll -- it will end up martyring this individual who did commit a horrific act of terrorism against his fellow soldiers and deserves the death penalty.

But we're better than this. We don't do this. This is what -- this is what they -- this is what Al-Qaeda would do, and ISIS and authoritarian regimes. This is -- they have these public spectacles. Small leaders need to do this. It's really a -- it's a terrible -- it's a terrible mistake, and I can't understand why this is happening.

I'm sure they're going to -- there are going to be people in this country who are going to have execution parties, and I'm sure the President is going to be very interested in the ratings for this. But it really is beneath the dignity of this country to engage in something like this.

COLLINS: Charlie Dent. David Sanger. Ameshia. Great to have all of you here tonight. Thank you for joining us.

And up next, I did mention we're going to continue tracking the hurricane. Well, it's just made landfall. We have a storm chaser who's following all of the developments. We're going to check in right after a quick break.

[21:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We have breaking news right now as Hurricane Isaias has officially made landfall as a Category 2 storm near Destin, Florida. Hurricane-force winds of up to 105 miles per hour are being felt across several states that are under a state of emergency tonight, as those powerful bands of rain are battering the Gulf Coast, with a life-threatening storm surge that could reach up to nine feet in some areas. Nearly 400,000 homes across Florida and Alabama don't have power right now.

And we're tracking all of this very closely. I've got veteran storm chaser, Brandon Clement, who is in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, joining us now.

And thank you.

First off, I hope you're safe. I see that you're in your car. Tell us what you're seeing right now on the ground, Brandon.

BRANDON CLEMENT, STORM CHASER: Yes, I'm on the third floor of a parking garage. Very, very safe.

Seeing a lot of flash flooding in Fort Walton along the main highways, hearing scanner calls, there's some water in homes, trees on homes, a lot of power lines down. On the stream. As you can see right here on the left side, there's a hotel roof that's partially ripped off. Hearing some other roof damages around Destin Fort Walton area.

Right now, though, the wind has really just -- just started to calm. We're getting some of those mesovortex -- mesovortices that kind of spin up and around the inner eyewall that are still popping up. So, it'll be calm, and then you'll get some really strong gusts.

We've seen some gusts right in that 100, 100-plus mile range. Nothing too extreme. Been seeing -- definitely seeing some hurricane sustained winds. But I think water is about to become the big issue if it's not already, especially with the flash flooding and then the storm surge. You're just now starting to get onshore flow around the depths (ph) in the Fort Walton area. So, once you start seeing those winds push directly inland from the ocean, that's where that storm surge becomes a problem. Hearing some reports of depths (ph) and a surge starting, so.

We saw some bayside flooding earlier when the winds were going from the north, pushing in from the bay to the north side of the barrier islands, but it was a pretty minimal. It's hard to get a whole lot of bayside flooding here because the bay is not very large. But the big surge issue is just starting.

COLLINS: What do you think that surge could end up looking like? What are you going to be watching for?

CLEMENT: Well, fortunately, if this thing hit just a little bit farther to the west, you know, the Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Perdido Key area, they're much more prone to surge. Those areas were hit really hard with several hurricanes and overdevelopment. So, that area just has no protection.

Here, you've got dunes, established dunes that offer some protection. They did break down in Hurricane Opal in '95, and then again in Hurricane Ivan in some areas. Expecting some areas here, mainly where there's crosswalks or human walkways to the beach, those areas tend to go fast because they don't have the grasses to hold the sand together, as sand will wash down or blow around, and then the water will find it and erode away at it.

But mainly, I think the dune system is going to hold for the most part. You're just going to see some problem spots. I know right there at the -- the foot of the Fort Walton Destin Bridge, over by Crab Island area, Destin on that point, you're going to have some surge in that area where they're earlier today, and saw waves already laughing at the -- laughing at the land.

So, when you have that with offshore flow, when you have the onshore flow turn around that -- that wind push the water up, it's going to be a problem there.

COLLINS: Yes.

CLEMENT: But I don't know how extensive it's going to be. It's just really going to depend on certain spots.

COLLINS: Yes. I spent a lot of summers on Crab Island growing up. Obviously, hoping everybody stays safe there.

[21:40:00]

Brandon, you too on your third level of the parking garage. We'll check back in with you. Thank you for giving us that update tonight.

CLEMENT: Absolutely. Thank you.

COLLINS: And our meteorologist, Melissa Nord, is still in the CNN Extreme Weather Center.

And Melissa, now that it's made landfall, what are we looking at? What are we seeing so far?

NORD: Well, now that it's on land, it's cut off from that warmer water of the Gulf. So, we're going to see, of course, the max winds coming down. Landfall winds were 105 miles per hour, that makes it a Category 2.

But it's still between now and when it reaches kind of the Alabama border, the state line rather, we've still got these really intense winds on the northern eyewall. That's what we've seen so far, the gust in excess of 100 miles per hour in a few different recording sites.

But as Brandon was kind of alluding to, the storm surge is on that eastern side, just east of where landfall is, where it's going to be at its maximum. But the curvature of the coastline also has to play into effect there.

Santa Rosa Sound, wind gust of 116 miles per hour, and here's the storm surge at the moment. Now up to 5.6 feet, Panama City there, which is still about 30 miles east or so from the landfall.

We still have this extreme wind warning in place. As we go through the next 30 minutes, Kaitlan, I expect that we should see this expire. It's right in here though, from Crestview up across I-10, where the strongest winds are at the moment. But as it moves inland, we could see those hurricane-force gusts get as far north as kind of southern Alabama, about 100 miles from the coast.

COLLINS: Yes, we were just talking to the Mobile Emergency Director in terms of what they're waiting for, for that wind, that storm surge potentially.

Melissa Nord, in the Extreme Weather Center, thank you for that update. We'll check back in with you.

Rafael Romo is still over in Pensacola Beach, Florida.

Rafael, how's it looking right now so far on the ground? ROMO: Yes, Kaitlan, it's been really interesting to see the dynamics of the changes in wind direction in the last 30 minutes or so. I was telling you before, that there was a little bit of a lull when the eye of the hurricane was approaching our area.

We had -- earlier had very powerful winds coming from the east. Then the wind direction changed to the northeast, and now they're coming from the north. And we hear again that rumble of a hurricane passing by. But it is a little bit diminished now. It is not the same powerful winds that here behind me have left a lot of debris, a lot of branches, a lot of parts of tree falling down.

Just to give you an idea, Kaitlan, about how devastating this hurricane has already been. Here in Escambia County alone, a 120,000 customers without power at this hour. Across the Gulf region, we're talking about more than half a million people without power.

So, yes, now it's made landfall and it's expected to weaken fast, as Melissa told us before. But the damage is already done, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes, still a bunch of rain and wind.

Rafael Romo, stay safe out there, please. We'll check back in with you and your crew.

Also, we're following another development out of Washington. Because, the President just came up with another effort to try to get rid of that Fed governor that he's been trying to get rid of for over a year now. We have her attorney who's going to join us with whether or not she's going to show up at a White House hearing.

And we'll also continue with our breaking news coverage, as Hurricane Isaias is making landfall tonight.

[21:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Tonight, President Trump is renewing his bid to try to fire the Federal Reserve Governor, Lisa Cook, just three months after the Supreme Court ruled that he couldn't remove her without due process.

The White House has now formed a new committee to investigate whether or not she committed mortgage fraud. Now, the President has previously raised these unproven claims. He's long gone after Lisa Cook and also the former Fed chair Jay Powell because the Fed didn't lower interest rates to his liking.

But now this so-called Committee of Inquiry is being formed just weeks ahead of the Fed's next policy meeting, and the committee is set to hold a White House hearing on November 5th, and they want Cook to appear in person.

My source tonight is Lisa Cook's attorney, Abbe Lowell.

And thank you, Abbe, for being here. First off, what was your client's reaction to news of this committee, and does she intend to show up on November 5th at this hearing?

ABBE LOWELL, ATTORNEY FOR FEDERAL RESERVE GOVERNOR LISA COOK: I think we're not surprised that the President is going to try to find a way to do what he couldn't do 14 months ago.

Let me start just by framing for people to remember what's going on. The facts have not changed, Kaitlan, over the last 14 months since he tried the first time to fire her. Remember, there's no mortgage fraud here. And an inadvertent error on a mortgage form, five years before she was appointed to any office, weighed against her decades-long reputation of honesty, doesn't amount to what the Supreme Court suggested would be cause to remove a Federal Reserve Board governor.

Two more quickies. That allegation of mortgage fraud, based on what Director Pulte of the FHFA said, was the grounds 14 months ago that he alleged to fire her with. And yet now, knowing that that's not enough, they've come up with this idea of some expanding scope of what they call an inquiry of a hearing, when that was not the basis to begin with.

[21:50:00]

One more point about this hearing: How on earth can they assure us, and Governor Cook, that it will be fair and impartial and conform with what the Supreme Court said when, literally an hour after the Supreme Court ruled, the President already said that he was going to take actions against her, to make sure that she would not be making decisions, to use his words, concerning the welfare of the United States.

And one last point: one of the people they appointed to this so-called committee is economic adviser, Kevin Hassett. A year ago, this so- called impartial member of the committee made a statement that said that Governor Cook should leave the Fed, while she tried to protect her rights that she's been doing for the last year.

So, for me and for her, it seems like they're creating what looks like some kind of a real process to cover a decision that was already made. And nevertheless, we are engaged--

COLLINS: So, it sounds like--

LOWELL: Sorry, go ahead.

COLLINS: Is she going to show up?

LOWELL: Well, I said, what we have to assure ourselves is, they say this is a fair and impartial hearing. They're going to have to assure us of that, notwithstanding what the President said and what Mr. Hassett said, for us to know that this is what they are claiming it to be. And until they make that showing to us, then why is this something that anybody would participate in?

Now, we are engaging with them, in good faith, to see if they can assure us that, notwithstanding the President, notwithstanding Mr. Hassett, that somehow this is actually going to amount to what the Supreme Court said should occur.

COLLINS: So, what do you need from them to--

LOWELL: Having said that, I need to--

COLLINS: What do you need from them in order to be willing to have your client show up? What do they need to be able to promise you?

LOWELL: Well, promise -- promise is one word. What they need to do is explain why did they put Mr. Hassett on this committee.

As you saw in the memorandum that they issued, they say that the Justice Department is going to play some role. I don't know what role that would be and why.

They say they need four hours for this event, when this is about something that happened five years ago on a single piece of paper that was submitted to a bank.

This feels like it is dressing up what they know doesn't exist inside the package, as the -- as you will, the paper is all that matters. It's what's in the box. And let me again tell you what's in the box. An inadvertent error five years before she became a Federal Reserve Board governor.

What she needs to -- what they need to tell us is something more about how this is actually going to work to assure everybody, including you and those that are paying attention, that this is what they call a fair and impartial process, which is far from what they did.

One last point about that: in the memorandum that was issued by the President, I didn't see him deciding to put together a committee to look into his own having put on two different forms properties that were more than one being his primary, or that for Secretary Bessent and three or four other members of his Cabinet. He does this only for those who are his enemies or her standing in his way. In this case, to change the economic policy of the United States. So, that's where the matter stands now. But I am engaging with the White House to see if they are truly serious.

COLLINS: Who are you engaging with at the White House? Is it Bill Pulte? Or who is it?

LOWELL: Well, Bill Pulte would like to be in the White House, I think, but he quite wasn't the person who started this.

We've gotten letters from Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino, and today or yesterday from White House Counsel, Mr. Scharf, and that's with whom I am dealing with.

COLLINS: Abbe Lowell, please keep us updated on what your client decides and if she will show up for this hearing. Thank you for joining us. LOWELL: And you're welcome, and thanks for having me.

COLLINS: Up next. Hurricane Isaias has made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane. We have a storm chaser who's going to join us. And we're going to check in for the latest on the ground and where it's hitting right after this.

[21:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: And we're following the breaking news this hour as Hurricane Isaias has just made landfall near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 storm. It has sustained winds up to a 105 miles per hour.

Veteran storm chaser Jonathan Petramala is joining me now from Fort Walton Beach, which of course has been taking a lot of the wind and the rain here.

What are you seeing right now as it is making landfall finally?

JONATHAN PETRAMALA, STORM CHASER: (inaudible) in a car wash, that's how much rain was falling. Five inch per hour rainfall rates. Combine that with extreme winds gusting (inaudible) plus miles per hour, really made for a dangerous situation here on Fort Walton Beach.

We're making our way towards Destin at the moment. Destin is going to be starting to experience more of that onshore flow, the wind blowing onshore, and with that, some of the storm surge from Hurricane Isaias.

COLLINS: I know that you're a pro, and you guys do this all the time when you're covering these storms. But for people watching, I mean, what precautions do you take to stay safe, as you are going out there and going to different areas of the state?

PETRAMALA: One of the biggest things you have to worry about are trees. Now, fortunately, this is a barrier island, so there are not a lot of those big oak trees. You have to worry about power lines as well. We have to always make sure we're being cautious and aware of where those are, especially when we're in some very significant winds. We spent a lot of this hurricane in a parking garage, so that wasn't a concern really.

The biggest problem, though, and the one thing that I always worry about more than anything, and I tell people to take the biggest precautions: water. Water is responsible for 90 percent of deaths in tropical cyclones like hurricanes. And so, you always have to make sure you're aware of where you are, aware of your surroundings. Never leave yourself without an escape, and so that could be just making sure you avoid the trees or power lines in an area.

We had that with Hurricane Helene a few years ago on Cedar Key, making sure that we weren't going to get trapped as that surge was coming in because storm surge is so, so dangerous, and (inaudible).

COLLINS: Yes. [22:00:00]

Jonathan Petramala, as evidence of the storm that you are traveling through right now, having a little bit of tough time hearing you. But please stay safe with everyone you're traveling with, as you are watching out for those trees and those power lines.

We'll, of course, continue to track the latest with this storm.

My colleague, Abby Phillip, is going to pick up our coverage.

But stay here with CNN, as we continue to track the hurricane as it now makes landfall tonight.