>> thursday, september 13th, this is "fox and friends first," happening right now a fox news alert, the calm before the storm, hurricane florence downgraded to category 2 but the threat is still very real with more than 10 million people now in the crosshairs. >> pforzheim cancer survivor, 4 times in remission. he is going to bring me through the hurricane. >> we are tracking this monster storm's a brand-new path just hours ahead of landfall. leaking like mad. fox news exclusive's caving new text messages between fbi lovers

peter stzrok and lisa page revealing the highest level of corruption yet. >> as an immigrant refugee i certainly find this deeply offensive. >> a big tech bias, brand-new video, google bosses trashing our president just days after he won the election. "fox and friends first" starts right now. and good morning to you. a busy one, you are watching "fox and friends first" on thursday morning. thank you for starting the day with us. let's get our top story, bracing for the worst, millions of people evacuating the coast and hunkering down in the path of hurricane florence. the carolinas are about to take a direct hit feeling the fury of 110 mile-per-hour windss, potentially catastrophic rain, a

normally busy tourist spots along the coast have turned to ghost towns. we have live coverage with griff jenkins, todd pyro, everyone live from where the hurricane will make landfall but janice dean, the storm was downgraded overnight but what about the danger? >> ignore the fact that this is number 2. 110 mile-per-hour sustained winds, 1 mile shy of a major hurricane and we could still see that but results will be the same they were yesterday including storm surge of over a foot and we could see 30 to 40 inches of rainfall. the bottom line is 76% of deaths in hurricanes occur because of surge and flooding, not because of wind. i once to make that clear. having said that water

temperatures are very warm. we still could see a strengthening storm as it approaches the coastline so don't be fooled by the 2. oil most don't want to grade these storms because the danger in some cases is going to be historic and the evacuations are still valid. >> storm surge message the same as it was yesterday. >> epic storm surge, 9 to 13 feet in some cases, we could surpass that. the wind field, tropical storm force windss 400 miles across. also to make mention hurricane sandy when it made landfall across the northeast was at 80 mph so that was a category one. that gives you an idea that we could still see sustained damage from a strong category 2. here is the latest track, we get a new track at 5:00 with brand-new coordinates but we

think landfall will be tomorrow evening. it could still have the coastline and make its way inland but we are talking about the threat for rainfall well into the weekend and into monday across the tennessee river valley so surge upwards of a foot and in some cases 20 to 40 inches of rainfall. that will set records along the coast so i know the downgrade will make headlines but the threats are the same they have always been. >> pay attention. a lot of people already were saying they were not going to evacuate, so this will definitely make people think they don't have to. >> the flooding and surge is what kills people. >> hurricane florence a very strong category 2 storm, life-threatening storm surge expected to devastate the coast. despite the downgrade.

griff jenkins is in atlantic beach where they expect 110 mile-per-hour winds. what are you seeing, the wind has picked up. >> good morning, janice couldn't have said more important words, the threat is over. it is a gale force winds. it caused the city to be conditioned in and out, closed down. the storm surge and flooding is the greatest risk. if you look at it from space she has not lost her moisture and storm surges predicted at 9 to 15 feet. for those who haven't been through a hurricane, it is a threshold for life-threatening. it is where cars and large objects begin to move and they are critically life-threatening

and serious, we talked to adam snyder, his biggest concern is the surge and flooding. >> biggest thing was never the winds but the flooding afterwards like hurricane floyd. we have to worry about not just this weekend but the next two years after the storm passes. that is the critical part. >> morehead city which is just across from atlantic beach, four rivers their flow down into the low-lying area. extreme flooding into newburgh, jacksonville, areas that flooded terribly during matthew two years ago are at high risk. he will not have anyone coming for you. if you get into trouble it is too late to call but we met presidents who say they will ride it out. >> we are ready, we are hunkered

down and ready to take this down. the fire department, the police department, ems, we will help them. we have done it many times, we prepared everything and we are going to ride it out. >> reporter: 76% of fatalities are caused by surge and flooding, only 8% by winds, the beach here closes in a few hours at 7:00 :00 am so we are hunkered down in getting ready. >> on the other side of the bridge to cover it for us. >> we are going to stay on atlantic beach as surf conditions deteriorate. we do not want to get trapped and we will egress to morehead city where we will ride it out as the storm approaches. >> good for our viewers to know you are doing that. take care of yourself. today officials in south carolina making their final push to try to get everyone out from that of the deadly storm.

>> we are going to knock on your door and ask you to leave so i just want to encourage everyone to go ahead and leave now, you have time to prepare. >> todd pyro live in myrtle beach talking to people refusing to evacuate. >> good morning, those doorknobs will begin at 8:00 this morning but police cannot force you to evacuate. as for conditions right now a little bit of a breeze but one of those cool ocean breezes that is nice and calm. all that will change in the next 24 hours. a tale of 2 cities, you see over here nobody. a light on but nobody home, take a look behind me, we have some cars, these individuals refusing to leave. a number of people despite the warnings are defiant right now.

>> why are you staying? >> my whole family is staying. my mom and dad are close by. my mom can't travel, she is still so i'm going to stay right here. >> yesterday was another day to prepare for florence from the myrtle beach sky wheel, gondolas being moved, most are taking the storm seriously despite the drop to a category 2 and that is because of the sheer size of florence, look at this shot from the international space station, the size of a hurricane bigger than the area of north and south carolina combined, rain and storm surge, especially if the slow-moving storm stalls the mayor of north myrtle beach pleading with people in her town to get out. >> my biggest concern is people are not listening to the governor's mandatory evacuation.

35% of our people are still here on the coast, in our city and it is time for them to move, be safe, take your family and move, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. >> the mayor adding that if the winds go about 40 miles an hour first responders will not be allowed to go out and get you. if something happens you are on your own. >> the longer you wait the further you have to go to hunker down and stand people are already out to atlanta. thank you so much, appreciate it, stay safe. and deadly shooting spree overnight as a man kills 5 people including his wife in just 10 minutes. the shooting started in a bakersfield, california trucking business but spilling outside into a nearby home. >> obviously these are not

random shootings. there is a connection between all these players. >> after the shooting the gunmen stole a car with a woman and child inside. they escaped. when deputies confronted the shooter he shot and killed himself, not clear what struck this. new questions about potential leaking operation and of the russia probe. text messages just reveal new ones between fbi lovers peter ohr -- stzrok and lisa page suggesting they may have been leaking to the press:text from 2016 the anti-trump former fbi official writes this. think our sisters have become leaking like mad, scorned and worried and political, kicking into overdrive. former fbi spokesman tells fox news that could be the reference sisters to another intelligence agency. stzrok and page served on the russia investigation, page

resigned from her post, stzrok was fired from the fbi. the fury of florence getting closer and closer to the coast. how does it compare to storms like hugo, hazel and katrina. meteorologist joe pastoredi with how florence is different and let tara content linger on social media for more than an hour. face a fine, one country doing that. should america? sharing your opinions.

>> hurricane florence set to make a rather direct hit on the carolinas but both states no stranger to hurricane, the category 2 storm, how does it compare to other major hurricanes? joining the is meteorologist joe pastoredi. appreciate it. >> my pleasure. wish i was on under better

conditions but someday when there is nice, sunny, high-pressure. >> hopefully that won't be far away following the storm. i'm from the carolinas, lived in south carolina, grew up in north carolina. i'm no stranger to these hurricanes. talk about how this one compares off the coast to some others, specifically people think a lot about hugo. i was in north carolina when you go ahead, power outages for a long time after that was a big issue with that storm. >> you go with a fast-moving. in some ways this is like hugo. hugo was a category 2 storm 18 hours before landfall. it hit coming in perpendicular to the coast which is a crucial factor because instead of just paralleling because like matthew did and drawing in drier air this is coming in off of the atlantic and they tend to tighten up or intensify the last 12 to 18 hours and i suspect if you look at the photograph this is re-intensifying.

i want to say something, when ike hit, ike was a category 2 and what happened was the barometric pressure of the storm is very important to tell you how strong the storm is also and a lot of times they are looking at one minute and 10 second wind speed near the center. what happens with the storm like this is the wind at the center may not be as strong but is spread out more so it is a bigger storm so the total power and energy of the storm is not diminished much since yesterday and i fury will intensify this afternoon into tonight as it comes over the very warm waters of the gulf stream it approaches the coast from the southeast. you see the way the coast is shaped like that. because the storm is coming in at that angle it tends to tighten up. the part of the storm that is overland doesn't want to push

over land so you see the pressure gradient close in and tighten the storm up so don't be surprised if this thing intensifies again coming to the coast and then starts weakening as it goes on shore. the path is across cape fear, that we hug the coast to charleston on or off sure to charleston before it makes its final turn west and inland during the day sunday. >> where do you think it will impact specifically in terms of when it comes on land? >> interesting question because it is so big everybody from cape lookout to georgetown and 50 miles inland will get devastated one way or the other. the difference is you went through hugo and you know it moves very quickly. this is going to be a 1 to 2 day siege in places like wilmington,

myrtle beach, just not going to come and go. >> would you compare it more to katrina? >> know because katrina moved quite quickly also. it may be more like harvey as far as the extent of rain for the causes of that are different but harvey stalled and hung around on the texas coastal bend. this is a storm, folks, that because of the slow movement and very unusual movement southwest word, sort of we haven't seen a storm like this in this particular area. look at the hurricane tracks, you see tracks of storms moving like this over the atlantic and stalling 300 miles away but no one cares about those. this is a shift westward of what nature can do except it is long the coast line. there will be unprecedented events when you combine the wind and rain in southeast north

carolina, northeast south carolina and the storm comes back to the mountains and all the flooding that will occur. very slow movement. the reason it is slow as it is trapped under a high-pressure system. that happens every once in a while. diana in 1984, that went offshore and came in over one area but was not as big and powerful storm. >> we appreciate it, a lot to get in because people want to know what is to come and we appreciate your expertise. we have covered a lot of them. the time is 20 minutes after the top of the hour. first she said the vice president was mentally when our joy they are taking a fresh shot at our president with this. >> if he loves another 20 years, if he lives another 20 years. >> social media quick to slam the view host, carly shimkus is here with the reaction.

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simple. easy. awesome. stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and two-hour appointment windows. click, call or visit a store today. >> first joy behar called mike pence mentally over believing in god, now she is saying she hoped donald trump dies. >> if he lives another 20 years, got for bid. if he lives another 20 years he would be 105, we have got for the next -- i don't wish the president ill, i just want him out. i would never say, i didn't mean that. >> carly shimkus is here with the swift back lash rolling in online. >> haven't talked about the view in a while but joy they are taking heat for her latest on-air slip-up, talking about

the president's response to hurricane maria went out popped her comment about the president's lifespan. she quickly backtracked and apologized but conservatives all fired up about this on social media. maven calling her embarrassing. ricky says when is she going to be held accountable. another twitter user linda is talking about the secret service. i thought it was interesting how thoroughly she apologized for what she said. we talk about political division of lack of civility, she was going down that road and checked herself and said wait a minute i don't want to do this and am i wrong to say a little refreshing? >> i don't know. or she knew what the back lash would be. either cemented or i don't know. let's talk about waffle house activating a storm center. >> anyone actually with waffle house and a lot of folks out there know that it is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, fema

using their response to natural disasters as an unofficial indicator how serious they are. waffle house recently sent out a tweet saying the waffle house storm center is activated and monitoring florence, plan ahead and be safe. waffle house has a response unit that delivers generators and things like that to stay open but sometimes they get so serious and they have to close down. michael says waffle house does not mess around. the safe, waffle house and scott writes 90% chance of delicious. >> not a bad place to be if you got to hunker down. >> i would be happy staying in their kitchen. >> the time is 26 after the top of the hour. 10 million people prepare for potential disaster at their doorstep. the largest marine corps base

standing ready. we are live on the ground in north carolina. brand-new bombshell text messages between lisa page and peter stzrok show the media leaking was just getting started. republican strategist ashley hayek says this shows how desperate the swamp was working against the president. she joined us next. and at expedia, we don't think you should be rushed into booking one. that's why we created expedia's add-on advantage. now after booking your flight, you unlock discounts on select hotels right until the day you leave. ♪ add-on advantage. discounted hotel rates when you add on to your trip. only when you book with expedia.

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has been a really smart decision for our business. i love the custom ink design lab because it's really easy to use. they have customer service that you can reach anytime. t-shirts help us immediately get a sense of who we are as a group. from the moment clients walk in, they're able to feel like part of the family. - [spokesman] custom ink has hundreds of products for your business and free shipping. upload your logo or start your design today at customink.com. >> half past the top of the hour hurricane florence downgraded but still a very dangerous category 2 storm, right now it is barreling towards the east coast expected to bring life-threatening storm surges, millions are on the move while others are hunkering down. in reitzel beach, north carolina the us coast guard just outlined its response plan. good morning. >> good morning.

the most serious or heavy rain band is just offshore so we are still managing to stay dry but the winds are definitely picking up out here on the beach. the us coast guard has stationed helicopters and boats to respond as quickly as possible after hurricane florence passes. they are urging swimmers and boaters to stay out of the water during the storm. hurricane conditions will limit what the coast guard can do for people stranded at sea. >> find yourself in a bad place, we will be able to respond, i am proud of that. >> camp lejeune set up shelters with the department of defense, the marine base doing toiletries and 3 days of food.

officials warn the accommodations may be hot and crowded. those are sturdy structures. this marine base weathered many hurricanes over the years, and in north carolina, south carolina and virginia at of hurricane florence. >> we are going to be search and rescue, our number one task is search and rescue and recovery. >> here on wrightsville beach most people, residents and visitors have evacuated the islands, it is like a ghost town. we have electricity but we anticipate we will lose that is the winds pick up. heather: we appreciate it. they are for some dissipate russian bomber jets flying near

alaska, the second such incident this month. the military says the nuclear capable jets never entered us or canadian territory. the exact location of the incident is unclear. russia recently launched its biggest military exercise since 1981. the 5 new mexico compound suspects will remain behind bars, a federal judge denying them bail ruling the muslim extremists are a, quote, danger to the community, facing charges for transporting firearms diminishing from georgia to new mexico in 2017 is accused of training starving children to carry out school shootings on the same site where dead toddler was found. primary day in the new york gubernatorial race between governor andrew cuomo and socialist actress cynthia nixon taking center stage but nixon is

not the only democratic socialist hoping to win big. julia salazar, a far left feminist is running for state senate, she's challenging a term incumbent martin dylan. we will continue to follow that. new text messages between lisa page and peter stzrok revealing the media leaking was just getting started in the run-up to the russia probe, the media leaks strategy was to stop leaks but congressman jim jordan not buying that. >> the argument mister stzrok is making doesn't pass the smell test, he said we will stop trump, the same people who said trump should lose 100 million ,000,0020 so their bias was clear. >> joining me to weigh in republican strategist ashley hayek. thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. what do you think?

were they trying to stop the leaks? >> that is disingenuous at best. the evidence is glaring and clear they were working against donald trump and once he got elected they were trying to undermine the president and create chaos and invalidate the election. jillian: let's look at the new text messages that were just released, this one from 2016 where stzrok says our sisters have begun leaking like mad, scorned and worried and political, kicking into overdrive. there has been discussion that the sisters referenced another intelligence agency, possibly the doj, though not yet confirmed. admittedly saying political. >> they were not two road agents with the next grind, they were working in collaboration and i would not be surprised if there were other organizations

involved. they are collaborating to undermine the election of the president of the united states. heather: the timing of these texts coming into play. it didn't have to do with certain articles and certain leaks that came out whether it let's the washington post or the new york times, this text message on april 10, 2017, i had literally just gone to find this phone to talk to you about media leak strategy with doj and april 22nd stzrok to page, well done. what else could that mean? >> why did he needs to get his phone? if he's being true to make sure there were no leaks, i want to know where democrats are in this hearing and where they are

calling for transparency, where there is smoke there is fire, they have been calling out the russia investigation and it looks like the leadership of the fbi should be held accountable. >> you bring the juxtaposition and what they have to say in this letter to rod rosenstein, representative mark meadows raising, quote, grave concerns and the systematic culture of media leaking. either side of the aisle whether you are a democrat or republican how should this concern the more should it? >> this is the swamp, this is why donald trump got elected, because of this culture of leaking, distrust of the government, nothing more than unelected bureaucrats telling them how to think. >> we appreciate it on this busy news day. the time is 20 minutes until the top of the hour and a fox news

alert am a potential toxic disaster, six nuclear plants and hurricane florence's crosshairs. we are live with what is being done to protect them. >> people are pretty upset and sad. >> google exposed for political bias, the leaked video the you have to see.

the 20 we are back with a fox news alert, several nuclear power plants in the path of hurricane florence, experts warn the buildings may not be prepared for this monster storm as plants brace for impact. >> reporter: the national service is calling this the storm of a lifetime for this

area. and the projected path of hurricane florence our nuclear power plants. florence is expected to plant over brunswick, north carolina. the brunswick plant's reactors are the same as those in fukushima, japan which exploded in 2011 after an earthquake and soon army. federal regulators required us plants to upgrade facilities to better handle natural disasters. the storm is expected to bring 20 to 30 inches of rain to coastal north carolina, even 40 inches in isolated areas. that could bring catastrophic flooding. our press call with the office of response and recovery tracking conditions and not concerned yet saying they have backup generators and energy shutting down two of their plants before storm winds arrive and it may take days or weeks to get power back to all customers depending how bad the storm

damages. and overseeing nuclear energy in the us, bringing additional inspectors to the carolinas ahead of the storm and they have a response center in atlanta to monitor the storm and oversee all the damage. >> power was out for weeks after you go. definitely a concern. donald trump signing an executive order to sanction countries that interfere with us elections. the white house declared election meddling a national emergency. the order is intended to beef up security and prevent future attacks on us election systems. we are eight weeks away from the midterms. senate democrats taking stalling tactics to a whole new level despite an extensive confirmation hearing, 1200 written questions to brett kavanaugh to answer. judicial, chair chuck grassley

says more than any other supreme court nominee ever. california senator dianne feinstein submitted 241 questions. can you imagine? former first lady michelle obama announcing a book for at stadiums across the us. >> i'm finished with my book, my memoir called the coming. it is coming out on november 13th and i can't wait to share it with the world. heather: obama will promote her book in ten cities taking off it united center, ticket prices have not been released. the time is 15 minutes until the top of the hour. of fox news alert, eyes in the sky, the critical hurricane recovery. the drone warrior himself joins us with drones, how drones are the key to saving lives when disaster strikes.

and air rage. what you have never seen before. what caused this guy to go berserk at the airport. a live look at atlantic beach, north carolina just hours from hurricane florence making landfall. the wind beginning to pick up.

video shows google executives reacting to donald trump's election win. breitbart leaking the clip from 2016. >> i find this offensive and many of you do too. >> a ton of bricks dropped on my

chest and we need a hug. >> can i move to canada? >> anything positive from this election? >> that is the tough one right now. heather: google's spokesperson saying nothing was said at that meeting or any other meeting to suggest any political bias ever influences the way we build or operate our products. donald trump's 20/20 campaign manager once congress to investigate google over that video. a social media company has one hour to take down terrorist propaganda or face fines according to a new bill as legislation putting pressure on twitter and facebook to act fast when a post is flagged. the failure to take down content within 60 minutes of being reported by authorities could cost the company's billions in fines. so should we do this in america?

they should be removing them immediately because it is the right thing to do not because they want to avoid a fine. ron writes those going to define what is terrorist communication censorship is contrary to our first amendment, i don't trust anyone to define my speech or anyone else's. it should have been done from the very start. hours until hurricane florence makes landfall, final preparations for impact underway but new drone technology typically used after natural disasters is ready to help in the relief efforts. how does it work? here with some insight? intelligence analyst and author of drone warrior, thank you for joining us. we appreciate it, nice to see you? i want to begin here, the flying cow, how has it been used?

>> the flying cow is a program created by at&t after hurricane efforts, it is a roving cell phone tower that can provide services in disaster areas when cell phone coverage has been destroyed. it is one of many technologies that have been built ever since drone technology hit the mainstream. in this hurricane effort that is taking place, drones will play a more vital role than they ever have before. there have been a lot of lessons learned in the events of hurricane harvey and hurricane irma where they realize this is an evolution in those cases in drone use so even fema has taken lessons learned and created a plan where the fully integrated drone technology into disaster recovery efforts which means a more stirring and after

hurricane relief efforts, including these organizations and telecommunication organizations that use things like drone technology to restore these services. drones play a more vital role in before. heather: this is the aftermath of i believe hurricane harvey in houston. how do you think drones are being used now prior to the storm about to hit the coastline? >> fema created this internal drone response team, the drone equipment in these areas, they are providing situational awareness and real-time observation of the hurricane. we have organizations like the national oceanic and atmospheric administration who have the suicide drones which they drop

into the eye of the storm which provide vital data like the speed of the hurricane, all this information is designed to create a common operating picture so first responders can better respond to these efforts. it is definitely important to integrate this technology and we are seeing it in this effort. heather: life-saving technology after the storm as well. we were talking up to lauren blanchard about the possibility of power outages. knowing where major areas of concern are would help. >> that is important. something about these hurricanes, it has the ability to be a public health disaster. i deploy with a team of medical officials to hurricane harvey and a fleet of drones and one thing i was surprised to learn was how quickly bacteria and disease forms in these waters after the hurricane hits. a lot of doctors were afraid to go in the water because they didn't want to get hit with disease so now they have drones

that take water samples and make sure these areas are toxic so first responders can help out. we will see more of that. we were talking nuclear power plants so drones will be used to inspect those buildings and make sure there isn't further damage. heather: thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. the time is 6 minutes until the top of the hour. an online retailer under fire for this, $168 sweatshirt that says being fat is not beautiful, it is an excuse. how they are defending it up next. ♪ - my family and i did a fundraiser walk

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heather: live look at atlantic beach, north carolina, people battening down the hatches, evacuating we hope, as hurricane florence bears down on the south carolina and north carolina coast, 10 million people being asked to evacuate. florence a category 2 as it nears the east coast but still a grave grave threat. do not think you are out of the woods just yet. we will forecast, janice dean will bring you the latest on where the storm is located and more so stay tuned. time for the good, the bad and the ugly.

a volunteer who helped sick babies, donated $1 million to a hospital. 81-year-old lewis giving the money to the usa children's and women's hospital which treats 900 newborns every year. now the bad, passenger completely loses it when his flight gets delay. the man pulling down his pants and screaming at agents at the airport. >> the plane is not on the side. heather: he is under arrest, he's not making the plane at all. finally the ugly. online retailer facing major back lash for $168 million sweatshirt and being fat is not beautiful, it is an excuse. it is part of an anti-bullying campaign.

does this shine light on fat shaming? that wraps up this hour of "fox and friends first" as hurricane florence makes landfall, complete coverage for you. "fox and friends first" will have an early start tomorrow morning beginning at 3 am eastern and we hope you will join us. "fox and friends first" continues right now, goodbye. >> we dodged bullets before and this one is rolling right at us. >> go to your car and leave town. you can always come back but you will be alive. jillian: thursday, september 13th, this is a fox news alert, hurricane florence careening towards the east coast. could make landfall in a matter of hours. rob: the dangers that lie ahead as a shifting course puts 10 million people in the crosshairs of that storm. proof of an alleged plan to sink donald trump.