a novel issue of law and a close call. >> elie honig, jennifer rodgers, certainly fascinating few days and months ahead. very interesting to see when and how all of these trials are going to fit together. i'm alex marquardt here in "the situation room" filling in for wolf blitzer. thank you so much for watching us this evening. "erin burnett outfront" starts "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com this is cnn breaking news. >> good evening. i'm erica hill in for erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, bracing for impact. parts of florida, which have never been hit by a major hurricane in the crosshairs tonight, as hurricane idalia now a category 2 storm, continues to pick up speed. 49 counties are under a state of

emergency at this hour. i want to show you some live images here. this is actually key west. conditions there quickly deteriorating. folks are dealing with those tropical storm winds and also a damaging storm surge. let's take a look now at fort myers beach that. area too is still recovering from hurricane ian, which hit last year. these record warm waters in the gulf and even in the southern atlantic have really helped to fuel the storm's intensity. it is projected to be a category 3 hurricane by the time it makes landfall. remember, a category 3 is winds of at least 120 miles per hour. and this current track here has the storm striking florida's vulnerable big bend area. the national weather service is warning that you really can't compare this storm to anything because, quote, no one has seen this. a particular concern is cedar key. it's now at the center of this storm's track, about a hundred people in that island area are still refusing to leave even though officials fear that the town itself could be completely

cut off from the mainland by a storm surge of some 8 to 12 feet. tampa bay also bracing as much as 4 to 6 feet of storm surge, anticipated there. and it isn't only florida. georgia and the carolinas also under a state of emergency amid fears that that could trigger flash floods and tornados. let's begin this hour with chad myers who's in the cnn weather center. as we look at this swiftly intensifying storm, what is the latest here? >> the hurricane hunter aircraft are flying through the storm right now, and they found an alarming number. 966 millibars, that's down significantly from the last time they flew through the storm, which means the storm is intensifying. the lower the pressure, the higher the wind speeds. sometimes it takes a while for the wind speeds to catch up. but when you start to lower the pressure, you intensify the storm, 100 miles per hour right now. i expect that number is going to keep rolling up all night long.

you can see the eye on the latest satellite picture. we can see it on the radar from tampa and also from key west. but 115 miles per hour offshore, still strengthening, because it has some more time in the water. and then landfall somewhere maybe around sunrise tomorrow. that's the good news. sunrise is, you know, what, another 12 hours away. so it doesn't have a lot of time still in the water to gain a lot of strength. not like we're looking at 35 more hours in the water where this thing could really get going. now, it is going because we have lightning now around the center. when that happens, we know that the storm is strengthening itself. there is the wind speed there. st. petersburg just had a wind gust of 35 miles per hour. here comes the storm. it's in the middle of the atlantic -- in the middle of the gulf of mexico. it won't move. move this on up, we're going to see the landfall right through there. as it continues up, we're going to see 6 inches of rainfall, significant flooding, flash

flooding rainfall flooding for the people that are trying to get out of the way, they have to watch to see which way they should go because you don't want to be in the middle of that when you're trying to get out of the saltwater flood. you don't want to be in a rainwater flood. >> you don't want the storm chasing you, in effect. when we look at these concerns, the concerns specifically about the storm surges, how bad could that potentially get in certain areas? >> it's the flat part of florida. and there's not a lot of population there. but what you see, it may take 3 miles to get to 15 feet high. there's no elevation rise there in the southwestern part of this big bend area. so, yes, 12 to maybe 15 feet of surge all of a sudden you see these numbers here, they are scary. there are only just a few towns in the way. this would be a bigger deal if we were pushing this surge into tampa bay. you're not seeing any surge right now because the storm is still to your southwest. but when that surge starts is when the storm is going to move

just to your west, and then farther to the north, and the winds are going to shift and move back into st. pete. so, the surge is a big deal. but i'm telling you right now that this is also going to be a wind event. the surge pushing water in two to three miles inland. but the wind is going to continue all the way into georgia as a hurricane. and we also will see wind gusts to 110, not that far from the i-10. that's going to bring down trees all over the roadways. transportation will be impossible tomorrow with all of those trees that the crews are going to have to get out of the way. >> and that is why staging ahead of time is so important for those tree trucks. chad, appreciate it. also want to check in now with bill weir who's in steinhatchee, florida, right at the center of where this storm is expected to make landfall. it looks like you're getting ready to go out. are you feeling conditions start to change yet? >> reporter: not yet. this is really the calm before the storm.

this is why people move to florida. it's heavenly right now. we're on the steinhatchee river. the coast is behind you as we go west that way. you can see a lot of the sailboats tied up here. we actually learned that somebody's going to ride out the storm in one of these sailboats. when you consider that this will be maybe 110-mile-an-hour winds in about eight hours, really questioning the wisdom of that decision. but there's always folks who decide to stay in these places, including captain mike baker, longtime resident of this place, native of the keys. you're from marathon originally. so you've been through a lot of hurricanes. >> started with hurricane donna back in the day. >> reporter: talk about the decision to stay when something like this seems so obviously -- >> it started with back with hurricane donna as a kid, my parents took us to the mainland. and we came back, and our home had been rummaged from other people, the looters, they took everything. not to mention the amount of time you're away from your home, you have no idea what it's going to look like or if you have a

home when you're there. all it would take for me to just go two hours from here and come back and trees or powerlines be across the road and i can't get here. that to me is more harmful than riding the storm. >> reporter: you feel you'll be safe tonight, in the morning? >> i got good high ground. i'm hoping so. we have a plan. we kind of have a safe room. got a pretty strong closet. >> reporter: as mike tyson once said, everybody has a good plan until you get punched in the face. >> or bit on the ear. >> well, i appreciate you. i've been on storms, irma, i was meeting with a bartender, it was like bring it on. and the next day it was gone. so i hope to break that streak with you, mike. >> it is what it is. >> reporter: but it just gives you a little glimpse into the psychology of longtime floridians. they're so used to these events, they think they can prepare

better than what the authorities are giving them credit for. but, for some, it's just now a matter of you've got to hope for the best. >> that is the concern every time that people won't heed the warning because they have rode it out before. we will see, and hopefully he does break your streak there, bill. i appreciate it. brian todd is in st. marks, florida. that's a little bit north of where bill is. now in the path of the storm. so there's been a little shift. now folk there's are really being told it looks beautiful where you are too, that's not going to last. >> reporter: that's right, erica. in the next few hours this is not going to be a safe place to be because this is so low to the water. about 6 feet of storm surge at least in the next few hours is going to come through here. we're very low to the water. this is supposed to kind of push this water up like a snowplow up through here and into this town of st. marks. a local official, an emergency management official just told me this entire town is expected to be flooded all the way down that

way as far as you can see because it is so low to the water. you've got three bodies of water converging here. this is the st. marks river. you've got app latchie bay has never seen a category 3 hurricane in recorded history. that's why folks are so worried about how it could affect this area. they just don't have a barometer with which to measure it. some people here have built-in protections. this house is up on about 15 to 20 feet of concrete stilts. but this house is the exception. most houses are like these over here, low-lying, vulnerable, not too well put together, some of them. and, again, that's why there are mandatory evacuations here. i just talked to an emergency management official from just north of here who covers the county. emergency evacuation orders are in place. sheriffs deputies have been going door to door knocking on doors through this town. of course you can not physically force people out of their homes. but they are strongly urging people to get out of their homes. this official told me they had a pretty good response in these

coastal areas like st. marks. but we did talk to several people here who are going to ride it out. floridians often are afraid that they might not be able to get back to their homes to measure damage. they just kind of have an attachment to their homes. as bill weir just discussed, they're longtime floridians. they think they can ride this out. but right now officials here advising people to get out, and time is quickly running out for them to do so. >> and they won't be able to go door to door for some time if this storm hits if there is an emergency. "outfront" now, the city manager for crystal river, florida, which is expected to see a major dangerous storm surge from this hurricane. sir, good to have you with us tonight. crystal river is under a mandatory evacuation order. you've heeded that. are you confident that many others in crystal river have done the same? >> hi, erica. thanks for having me this evening. i appreciate your time. we have done a great message with the eoc as well as through

local social media, alert messages. we've done everything we can possibly do to get these folks to heed the warning and they have. today i was out on the bay with the sheriff and his staff kind of cruising around to see how many boats were still in the water. people have removed their boats. i think they saw some stuff with ian. so they batoned down the hatches. people are actually really going strong. and we are in a flood zone so we have no choice but to move to higher ground. >> that sounds like a good report, what you and the sheriff saw when you were out there this afternoon in terms of people listening. in addition to human life, obviously, what is your next biggest concern? >> we want to make sure we're able to get the place back to normal as quickly as possible. after a major storm, there's anything from debris to this might have a lot of sediment coming from the area to come onto the streets. we've got everything set up with our contractors to do first push as soon as the roads are

clear -- or as soon as we get the all clear to go back out. they're staged all around the outskirts of the county so they can attack as soon as they get the all clear. >> you were the city administrator in mexico beach. that is where michael roared ashore in 2018. and i remember getting in there not long after the storm and to see what was left and how devastated that community was. i wonder how much that is in the back of your mind tonight. >> i got a chill just now when you were talking about it. i remember sitting there in the eoc and it was absolutely crickets. there are still over 600 slabs sitting around in mexico beach where they haven't had a chance to rebuild homes. it's just been an amazing part to be a part of that community to help them rebuild. i've been passing along a little bit of that knowledge throughout the eoc as well as the other city and county managers. >> that knowledge is welcome, although a lot of folks are hoping they won't need it. you mentioned the entire city

essentially being, you know, in danger of flooding, everybody is in this evacuation zone. how concerned are you about the storm surge and what could happen once it leaves? >> well, you can't hold the tide back. so it's going to pull it out just as fast as it came in. we expect anywhere from 6 to 12 feet of storm surge. i believe it's going to change it a little bit as it shifted. for example, city hall's front door steps is about elevation 4. so we're going to have water in here no matter what. we've done all our preparation with sandbags. we've had sandbags open since monday. we did our mandatory evacuation as of 1:00 on monday this week. so, we think we've done pretty well in getting people out of here and understanding the severity should they stay. >> appreciate you taking the time to join us tonight. we'll continue to check in with you. thank you. >> thank you, ma'am, have a good day. "outfront" next, we continue with our breaking news coverage. we're going to take you live to tampa where officials are

warning of a dangerous storm surge for that city. so is the city prepared? i'll ask the mayor. plus, we're going to take you into the storm's eye. a hurricane hunter flying through idalia will join me and tell us what he's seeing in the air. i need it cool at night.t. you trying to ice me out of the bed? baby, only on game nights. you know you are retired right? am i? ya! the queen slp number c2 smart bed is now only $999. plus free ho delivery when you add a base shop now only sleep number. (ell fashion moves fast. setting trends is our business. we need to scale with customer demand... ...in real time. (jen) so we partner with verizon to take our operations to the next level. (marquis) with a custom private 5g network. (ella) with verizon business, we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. (marquis) so our customers get what they want,

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breaking news. these are live pictures for you out of st. petersburg. boy, you wouldn't expect it to be that quiet at 7:00 on a tuesday night. thankfully it is. the tampa bay area bracing, of course, for what is being labeled a once-in-a-lifetime event from hurricane idalia. the storm, which is now a category 2, the storm's tropical force winds are just starting to hit the area. you can see the water's a little choppy there. peak storm conditions just a few hours away at this point including a record storm surge of up to 6 feet. the mayor offering this warning to residents. >> understand that mother nature wins every time. so if you have the opportunity to evacuate and you can, you should. >> we're going to talk to mayor jane castor in just a moment. first, i want to check in with carlos suarez. i know you've been speaking with residents. what are you hearing from them, do they plan to heed that warning, are they going to

evacuate? >> reporter: well, erica, the folks that we've talked to out here in tampa bay tell us they are not going to evacuate. they don't think this storm is going to be too much of a situation for them. and so they have decided that they are going to stay put. of course, the biggest concern going into tomorrow as this hurricane moves its way north just off the coast here is the flooding associated with these storm surge, we're in tampa bay where the bay behind me right now, the water is receding because high tide is not going to come back until about later tonight. but the concern going into tomorrow is that once this rain moves through, once we start seeing all of this water being pushed into the bay as this hurricane makes its way across this part of the state of florida, then of course we might start seeing some flooding in some of the low-lying parts of downtown tampa bay. there are two mandatory evacuation orders that are in effect at this hour. one of them is here in hillsborough, which is home to

the tampa bay area. the other one is out in pinellas county. that is home to clearwater and st. pete. we're told that there are some reports already of some flooding that has taken place out in the st. pete area. and so emergency officials going into tonight, they're still trying to get the word out that folks that live in a low-lying area really should still seek shelter inland. they've opened up a number of hurricane shelters across hillsborough and pinellas county. all told, those shelters could house up to 20,000 people. the folks that we have talked to in the last couple of hours have told us, look, the rain moved through this afternoon, we're about to get another line of storms that will move through later tonight. they just don't think it's going to be bad enough for them to leave. that is something that emergency officials do not want to hear, considering, of course, that this storm surge anywhere between 4 to 6 and 7 feet could very well still take place tomorrow. erica? >> carlos, appreciate it, stay safe there. "outfront" now, tampa mayor jane castor who's joining us.

madam mayor, thank you for taking the time to join us tonight. carlos is talking to residents who don't think they are going to evacuate. i know you said mother nature wins every time. folks, as you know very well, having been born and raised in tampa, have been told so many times over the years this is the big one, you need to get out. they were told that for charlie, they were told that for ian. it doesn't always materialize as the worst-case scenario. how do you get through to them tonight? >> well, that's a bit distressing to hear. i'd like to hope that the majority of the people that we have ordered to evacuate from the lowland have done so, and those that have decided to stay may be calling the police department later to come and get them out of the situation that they've put themselves into. but, really, we haven't told anyone that this is the storm of the century. but we are going to see hurricane-force gusts in the wind and possibly some tornados.

but really it's that surge looking into tomorrow. the reporter talked about the high tide. we have a another tidal stage to go through before we have high tide again tomorrow. it's a king tide based on the full moon, it's going to be very, very high. and then you put 4 to 6 feet of tidal surge on top of that, it comes in very quickly. we're going to see some flooding in our low-lying areas. >> and are you concerned about when that pulls back, not just the flooding, but then what happens as it recedes? talk to me about that potential damage, too. >> as it recedes, we don't think right now we are not seeing, you know, the receding as the tide comes in. so we don't think that we're going to have enough time for the water to get out before the second surge comes in. and that first band of showers that was talked about, that was very, very brief, about 3:00 this afternoon. so we expect to see heavier rain

and, again, to not have sustained hurricane winds, but gusts up to. so there will be some damage, some electrical outages we feel right now. but our concern is that our residents wake up tomorrow and it may be a bit gusty, the sun may be out. but that's when the real danger is going to occur when those waters are going to come in. so we don't want people to be out on the roadways and to get stuck in those areas. we want them to be informed and make decisions based on realtime information. >> yeah, and so the time to leave is now. the national hurricane center notes that if the storm changes by five or even 10 miles per hour, that shift alone could really have a dramatic impact on your city. what is that worst-case scenario that you're bracing for and how prepared are you? >> well, we are prepared. we are in florida. i spent 31 years with the tampa police department, and now i've been mayor a little less than five years. so i've dealt with a lot of

storms. but, as you know, it's been a hundred years since our city took a direct hit. but i really think that ian, we were in the crosshairs of hurricane ian. and when that made the turn into fort myers beach in the surrounding area, i think that really resonated with tampa residents that had never experienced that type of a storm. and, so, i'm just hoping that they heed those warnings. i think that our community will be safe. i just don't want anyone to be injured after the fact when we're dealing with the surge tomorrow. and that's when the majority of the injuries have occurred historically in our community. >> mayor jane castor, we know you're very busy at this hour. appreciate you joining us. thank you. >> thank you. i appreciate it. "outfront" next, we continue our coverage of this breaking news. we're actually going to speak with a hurricane hunter up in the air right now flying through the storm. so what did his team find? stay with us for that.

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we continue with our breaking news. hurricane idalia continuing to gain strength as it heads towards florida's coast. idalia is poised to be the first major hurricane to make landfall in what's known as the big bend region of the state. the projected storm surge could bring record water levels to many parts of the regions. "outfront" now, a hurricane hunter for the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. he's with us on the phone now. you just made your second pass here through the eye, seeing it intensify a little bit. can you describe for us what you're seeing as you go through this storm, what what that's like? >> absolutely. we just finished our second pass of the storm. we've been flying idalia every day since sunday.

so we've seen the characteristics change quite a bit. it's certainly getting more organized and stronger with each pass. >> is this a storm that you can compare to other storms based on what you're seeing and how quickly it is intensifying? >> each storm is kind of different. each path ends up being different. certainly we are expecting what we call rapid intensification. so we've been anticipating that based on some of the atmospheric conditions and the sea surface temperatures in the gulf. we think that we're kind of seeing that right now. >> is there anything that surprised you in these passes that you've been making over the last couple of days? >> watching it emerge north of cuba, just kind of getting a little more organized, it's picking up a little bit of speed compared to yesterday for our flight in particular. it's starting to pick up a

little bit of speed as it progresses to the north. so, that's kind of some of the interesting characteristics we've seen lately. we got a couple more passes this evening. and hopefully we can continue to help to track the intensity of the forecast. >> we're talking to people on the ground, whether they be residents, officials. and there is so much concern as we see with most storms for those who choose not to evacuate. what's your message to folks who may be in this storm's path who are maybe considering not following those warnings? >> all i can tell you is what we're observe right here in the sky and the middle of the hurricane here. certainly our message is to listen to the local officials, heed the preparation messages. it's definitely a violent storm what we're seeing up here. we want to make sure that they are as safe as can possibly be.

so please heed those warnings and take it seriously. we understand the wind, the rain and storm surge. >> you mentioned how violent that storm is. when does it hit the point where it's too violent for you to go through that storm to collect some of that information? >> we're pretty good about mitigating our risks out here. we flew through ian last year with a cat 5. the wind speed itself does not prohibit us from flying in it. we'll just try to be as safe as possible and mitigate the hazards. we understand what our job is and we're trying to help inform and protect life and property. and we hope everyone gets that message and can heed those warnings and get to a safe area if need be. >> it certainly is important. our chief meteorologist was saying how important that information is that he had just gotten from your last pass-through. thank you for what you're doing up there.

continue to stay safe you and your team. commander, thank you. >> thanks. so one of the towns in idalia's path is cedar key. it's home to fewer than a thousand people. i want to show you a map because you can see here on this map, we're talking about all these little islands essentially. and that tells you just by looking at that map, you can see just how vulnerable it is. a top official at the national hurricane center just a few moments ago offered this dire warning for the area. >> it is an island, and the water will completely encase it and cut it off. you might not be able to leave for days. you might not have clean water, electricity, be able to access your neighbors. if the worst of this storm surge projection materializes, virtually every home on that island could be flooded. >> "outfront" now, the manager of the cedar key bed and breakfast where she plans to ride out the storm. heather, i know you just heard there the assessment of just how

bad this could get when the hurricane makes landfall. the concerns specifically for cedar key. the mayor has begged people to go. you said i'm staying. why? >> we have some news crews that have stayed here at the bed and breakfast. we are one of the highest points on the island. we've got everything batoned down as far as outdoor furniture and anything that could become a projectile in the wind. we spent the last couple of days preparing for it, tucked everything away. but i think it's important that those guys on the news crews have a place to stay so that they can do their reporting. and we offered them the bed and breakfast. >> we all like the information and i know what it's like to cover a hurricane. but obviously we want everybody to be safe. what about in terms of preparations? you talk about batoning down the hatches there. but in terms of the possibility that you could be cut off for days there, freshwater, i know

you have pets with you as well. freshwater, electricity, food, how well stocked are you? >> right. very. i filled ten 5-gallon containers with drinking water. i have buckets. we filled all of the bathtubs so that of course we would be able to flush potties and that sort of thing. so, we prepared very well for it as far as food that could just be eaten quickly and that sort of thing. >> i understand you're originally from montana. you've been in florida for a little while. i know you've ridden out some other storms. you've been through hurricanes before. by all accounts, though, this could be the most intense one to hit. do you have any concerns at this hour? >> um, yeah, of course i do. i wouldn't be very smart if i didn't. it's just kind of being vigilant and watching.

there's also a couple other people and animals on the island that i care about deeply. so, i'm going to make sure that i'm around to be able to help out. the people that did stay based on their animals or the fact that they didn't want to leave their home. so, i'm here and i'm available to help them as much as i can for sure. >> and in terms of -- >> and that's one of the biggest things. >> and if you do get cut off, is 24 the road that connects you to the mainland? if that is cut off, has there been any talk about how long it could take to get aid out there to you or to get someone to bring you and the folks who are still there to safety? >> yeah. when they evacuate, they tell you that you are now cut off from emergency personnel, and they give you all of the whys, why you shouldn't be there. as far as a time line, they haven't really given us any. they're shutting off power and water tonight at 8:00.

and that's just as a precaution. and then they will turn that power back on when they can. storm surge, i guess, has went up. they expected it to be 9 to 10 feet. but now they're saying it could be upwards of 12 to 15 feet. so where we're at, we've got a second story. it's high and dry. the house itself has been here since 1880 and has never gotten wet. so, it's seen some serious storms. and just being vigilant at this point is the main part. >> well, heather, keep us posted. wishing you the best as you ride this out. and let us know how you and all the folks there who have stayed are doing, and the pets too. >> we appreciate you checking on us for sure. >> okay, heather, appreciate it. thanks. "outfront" next, as we continue our breaking news coverage, storm surges are

already being reported at this hour across florida. hurricane idalia gaining in speed, gaining in intensity. we're going to check in with a storm chaser. he'll give us a sense of what he is seeing tonight. plus, the other big story we're following. russian state tv airing video for the first time of american paul whelan in prison. his brother joins me "outfront." ♪ ♪ wake up, g gotta go! c'mon, c'mon. -gracie, c'mon. let's go! guys, c'mon! mom, c'mon! mia! [ engine revving ] ♪ ♪ my favorite color is... becae, it's like a family thing! [ enne revving ] ♪ ♪ made it! mom! leave running behind, behind. the new turbocharged volkswagen atlas. does life beautifully.

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breaking news. time is running out. florida governor ron desantis delivering that message to residents, urging them to evacuate ahead of hurricane idalia, and warning that florida hasn't seen a storm like this in well over a century. >> you really got to go now, now's the time. you really got to go back to the late 1800s to find a storm of this magnitude that will enter where this one looks like it's going to enter tomorrow. so, we don't really have historical analog in anybody's memory. so it's likely to cause a lot of damage. and that's just the reality. >> "outfront" now from crystal river florida, a storm tracker.

you've been out and about all over florida today. we have some video that you shot about an hour ago of where you are. very much it looks like, this is really the calm before the storm. but you say that you've already noticed the water is high, of course before this expected storm surge. what else has really stood out to you today? what are you noticing? >> um, i got to talk to a couple locals here that have been there their whole lives. the calm is definitely the calm before the storm. the anxiety is not there. he was telling me like he's seen with other storms. i had a sense of that even in tampa, where i'm from, that people might not be taking this storm as serious as i've seen in past years. and as the governor just said, we're looking at some historic surge here. behind me now, it is the most eeriest feeling to know that in six to eight hours we can see water maybe 10 feet above me.

and it's just weird. >> it is weird, it is eerie. i am struck by what you said. you're from tampa. we've talked to so many people. and i will say over the years, you know, covering these hurricanes. you hear from so many people who tell you just that. they're floridians, they've been through storms, they've been told it's going to be bad. but then they stay and it's not that bad. how much does that lack of anxiety concern you based on what you're seeing in terms of the intensity of this storm and the projections? >> yeah, i've heard stories from ian so many folks down there shared the same thing. they wish they would have took it serious. i think the storms have turned so many times over the years. people just get tired of evacuating until something like this comes. some of those surge -- 10 to 15 foot surge, that's the same surge they had at fort myers beach. power outages, they're talking millions of people because of the trees up here. it's totally different. palm trees can handle category 4 winds, but not to say this is a

4, it's supposed to be a 3. but we have oak trees everywhere. and millions of folks without power all the way up to the state line. and that's another thing that i've learned over the years is the inland effects, this storm is going to be strengthening when it hits landfall. so it's going to take time to weaken. they're projecting the hurricane almost up to georgia. and those are going to be a lot of people that will be, like, i didn't expect that. >> right. you talk about those power outages. the governor warning some people could be without power for weeks. one of the things that's always struck me is how important the staging is ahead of the storms, the staging of utility trucks, the staging of tree trucks frankly to get rid of all those trees. how much of that did you see as you were making your way around? >> the linemen are amazing. it's an army. they're lined up -- there are supposed to be 20,000 linemen lined up, debris company. they come in from all around the country. this is their job, this is their profession. so they're ready. unfortunately with florida, lately, we've had a lot of hurricane it's seems like.

we're at least prepared. but my fear is the storm surge. floridians, some of them are just -- they think they can withstand everything. seeing these surges in these small towns, a lot of us drove on our whole lives. this whole community here crystal river is beautiful. locals told me the downtown area is going to be underwater. so it's fascinating to me to think that in less than 12 hours we're going to see all of that underwater. it just baffles me. >> the city manager was with us at the top of the show saying basically the entire city needs to evacuate because it is so low-lying, because of the concern of the floods. based on what you're seeing and what you have tracked and seen over the years, how concerned are you personally about idalia? >> i think a lot of it has to do with this moon. the last couple days, we've seen tides all around our area in tampa way higher than normal, bayshore boulevard's flooding by

my house. this tide, it's one of the biggest moons of the year. so that's added on top of the surge. and then you add winds to that. so, if you look at the geography of where this area is at, it's like a bowl. and that water's just going to push up and it's going to have nowhere to go and it's going to funnel right into these areas. and all that water that we see in the gulf kind of reminiscent of katrina possibly, all that water pushes and has nowhere to go. so, yeah, it's going to be bad for a lot of folks. >> mike, really appreciate you joining us tonight. stay safe out there. >> thank you. "outfront" next, russian state tv just airing rare video of american paul whelan in a russian prison. this is the first time we've seen him in prison and the first time his brother has seen video of him in years. he's with us next. plus, a close ally of former president trump who was also indicted in fulton county has now entered a plea. ( ♪ ♪ )

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prison uniform. you see him at a sewing machine, eating in a cafeteria. "outfront" now is paul's brother, david whelan. david, as i understand it, these are the first images you've seen of your brother in more than three years. what was that like for you to see him, and how does he look to you? >> he looks pretty good. i was a little bit surprised. i hadn't learned that the video was going to be coming out. we knew that r.t. had attempted to interview him in may, but we hadn't seen anything that came out of it. i think if you listen to it, it sounds very conspiratorial, doom and gloom, but if you turn off the volume and look at paul, i think you get a sense of how resilient he has been, and also what a sense of his life in the prison. for our family, it was very valuable to see it. >> you mentioned this had been shot. the reporter who visited the penal colony tried to interview him. i want to play that brief exchange that they had. >> sir, you understand when i say that i can't do an interview, which means i can't answer any questions.

>> so state media had claimed that paul actually consented to an interview in a letter before the tv crew arrived and back tracked. you say his decision to not participate ultimately had consequences. what happened to him? >> that's right. the prison officials tried to coerce and badger him into doing the interview. so when he refused to do the interview on when the television crew came out, afterwards, they took his personal property, and they sort of just threw it around. they threw letters that he had saved that people had sent him, they threw those around and walked on them. they stole pieces of clothing that were in his possession. so they retaliated against him for that, and we had to fill out a complaint in order to have people to stopping the retaliation. >> so in terms of that complaint, do you feel that anything was dealt with? have you heard at all? >> i haven't. and we did see a photograph in russian media showing that the

prosecutor had gone out to the labor camp. in reality, there is nothing that we can do about it. and it seems to have stopped for now. yeah, i think we'll take the positives where we can get them. and really, the positive is seeing paul staring down the camera at the end of that segment and really showing that he is strong and he is continuing to fight. >> i know the video was discussed earlier today at the white house press briefing. officials have continued to call for your brother's release. have you or your family, has anyone heard from the white house, heard from u.s. officials since this video was released? >> no. i think that they were probably not aware that it was coming out any more than we were. you know, i'll take at face value what the press secretary said today, which is that they will continue to work for paul's release, and hopefully that will come sooner than later. >> and for folks watching tonight who may not be as familiar with your brother's story, what is your message to them about this fight? >> well, i would say that there

are americans now, and paul is just one of them who are being taken hostage around the world. and i hope that they will be supportive of the families of those hostages as well as take the time to write to their congressional representatives to other politicians to encourage them to find concessions to bring these people home and to find deterrents to stop the hostage-taking from recurring. >> david whelan, always appreciate your time. thank you again for joining us tonight. >> thanks. "outfront" next, one of donald trump's 18 co-defendants in the georgia election case entering a plea tonight. h, let t a reminder on my phone. on the top ofof the pile! oh. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty.y. liberty. ♪ wake up, achievers. you're making the most of every hour of your life. except the hours that you're sleeping. so why do we leave so much untapped potential on the table? this is a next level bed, for a next level you. my circadian rhythm is kicking yo circadian rhythms butt!

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i got to trademark that one. this season, eligible xfinity rewards members can get up to $100 off nfl sunday ticket from youtube. sign up for xfinity rewards now. finally tonight, new developments in former president trump's election subversion case in georgia. sidney powell, an attorney who was instrumental in trump's efforts to overturn the lelectin and one of the 18 co-defendants in this case pleading not guilty tonight. she is the third defendant to do so thus far. waiving a formal arraignment, meaning she won't appear in court next week. this comes as fani willis is doubling down on her push for a speedy trial, today asking a

judge to expedite the cases of all 19 defendants, all this as mark meadows continues his push to move his own case to federal court. a federal judge tonight asking meadows' attorneys and the d.a. to file additional legal arguments no later than thursday, which could set the stage then for ruling as early as friday. we will be sure to keep you posted on any of those developments. i'm erica hill in for erin burnett tonight. thank you for joining us. our coverage of this breaking news continues on "ac 360." tonight, a special "360" from the gulf coast. we are just getting a brand-new forecast and track for hurricane idalia. it has strengthened. officials are warning that in some low-lying areas, this storm will be unsurvivable. good evening. i'm john berman in steinhatchee in florida. this is right on the big bend, and that is right