opportunity propoliticize everything, including a hurricane. >> how much is the climate crisis to blame for any of this? >> a lot. one word you mentioned, intensification, warm water is steroids to a hurricane. >> it's been the least active start to the hurricane in years. >> todd: hurricane ian moves closer to the coastline. the hurricane is packing 120 mile per hour winds and is expected to continue gaining power until it plows into florida this afternoon. >> carley: two tornados in -- western cuba yesterday, completely knocking out power to the entire country in

devastating some of the most important tobacco farms used to produce iconic cigars. you are watching "fox and friends first," i'm carley shimkus >> todd: i'm todd piro, our reporters are live this morning. janice dean is in the fox weather center in new york city. >> carley: we begin in st. pete's beach, on track to be one of the first places hit today. lauren, what are you seeing on the ground right now? >> still dry at this moment and looking ago, later today that will not be the case. this morning ian is expected to strengthen to a category four hurricane, before moving to a hurricane three in cape coral. storm surge could reach 10 to 15 feet. tornados reported last

night near miami, thousands are without power. that number is expected to go into the millions, 30,000 personnel are standing by to get the lights back on once the worst of the storm passes. ian devastated cuba as category three, knocking out power to the entire island. 2.5 million people have been told to evacuate from florida, more than 170 shelters have been opened. the tampa area, which was prepping for what could be a worst case scenario from the storm surge could still reach four to six feet. >> the projected track of the hurricane has shifted further south. this is not the time to let down our guard. a powerful hurricane will approach the west coast of florida later tomorrow and thursday. >> this storm is expected to become a major flooding event,

especially with storm surge along the coast line. from tampa to st. pete beach to orlando, looking at 18 to 24 inches of rainfall. todd and carley. >> todd: lauren, thank you. nicole is in nearby tampa with the latest there. nicole. >> good morning. as lauren mentioned, the threat of storm surge reduced, flooding remains a top concern for the tampa bay area as officials prepare to see the impact of hurricane ian over several hours. those evacuations extend across 12 counties across the sunshine state. if they haven't left, officials still want you to as soon as possible. hurricane ian now is just approaching florida's gulf coast and she mentioned, we've seen

pretty devastating impacts of the storm, tornados in broward county, close to miami making damage there and the palmetto expressway is already flooded as rain continues to pour and this storm continues to make landfall. these are concerns we'll be see increase as next several hours continue and the run rises in florida. it's about that time officials have asked people if they haven't left already, they hope they would have done so yesterday before we began to see the effects of hurricane ian. now it is only a matter of time before things get worse. >> carley: nicole, thank you so much. bring in senior meteorologist janice dean tracking the tornado from inside the studio. florida preparing for rain and

storm surge, which sounds unsurvivable. >> janice: it depends where you live and how low-lying your house is, can you withstand six to 10, even 15 storm surge? time is running out for tou make decisions. if you're going to hunker down, you need to know what to do when the water will rise, will happen in low-lying areas. this time yesterday we were talking about a tampa landfall and now the storm is forecast to move inland south of there for the fort myers area, that is low lying, as well. you don't have time to make a lot of decisions and need to know what to do when the waters rise, it is going to happen. the keys, hurricane-force winds. this is close to the west coast of florida, it will impact much

of the west coast, even though we're expecting landfall this afternoon, anywhere between sarasota and fort myers and again this is a vulnerable low-lying area. very concerned about this region, we saw the tornados reported yesterday, the tornado watch continues today. that is ongoing, we'll not be talking about ef-5 tornado, but weaker tornados can do structural damage. tornado threat ongoing for were of the state and that will continue into tomorrow and through the weekend as the storm moves toward southeast and midatlantic. warnings now, hurricane warning, meaning we'll see hurricane conditions from naples to tampa and orlando. disneyland shut down for the next couple days, look at the real estate, hurricane force winds. for a matter of hours, the storm will slow down, meaning heavy

wind, strong storm surge along the coast and potential for up to two feet of rain depends where you live. the latest track, expecting landfall this afternoon, that timeline has moved up. it will move across and get out possibly into the atlantic. looking at tropical storm that will affect georgia, to carolinas and midatlantic. storm size, this is what we're expecting. around 12 noon, the core of the strongest winds move to the fort myers and naples area, sarasotas, still hurricane force gusts here and we could see potential for a storm surge, which is deadliest part of a hurricane for some vulnerable areas including fort myers, punta gorda, and central florida, including orlando and out into the atlantic and impacting georgia toward the carolinas.

peak storm surge up to 12 feet, again, we don't have a lot of time, but if you can get out of the vulnerable areas, you are best to do so now. expecting landfall this afternoon. areas vulnerable to storm surge, that is the concern because the storm has shifted south from yesterday. storm surge warnings up and down the west coast and a storm surge warning for parts of north florida, as well as the storm is expected to move toward the atlantic side and then talking about high tide. storm surge on top of high tide, that could be astronomical for some of the areas, you have to know where high tide is. talking about fort myers and 12-foot storm surge on top of high tide, that could be 15 to 16 feet. we'll have to watch that very carefully issue not a good situation for this region, when you are timing landfall and the high tide. flood alerts, talking about over a foot of rain in some areas, some isolated amounts of 'to 24

feet and the peak storm surge, the most vulnerable area where we will see wind and rain and bulldozing water toward the coast. even talking about a weakening storm system, we are dealing with the same type of storm surge, which could be deadly. that is the latest. the hurricane center is updating information every hour, we are expecting landfall this afternoon. again, you can't let your guard down, even in tampa, those people have tried to heed the warnings and seek higher ground, i think that is a really good idea, but time is running out for vulnerable coastlines. >> carley: and governor desantis placed the state under a state of emergency, which could sound cautious, but the map looks like all parts of florida could be affected by this.

>> janice: every storm forecast in 20 years, there is always uncertainty and we show that cone of uncertainty. don't look at the center of circulation, that will change. even yesterday, one forecast model did show this region and i said, this would be better case scenario for tampa, but now we're dealing with this region, which is vulnerable. he did the right thing, the whole state of florida should be under state of emergency, it is a big storm and will impact the whole state. >> carley: thank you so much, our income guest lives in the fort myers area. you live in cape coral, florida, which could bare the brunt of the storm. you decided to stay behind, you are not evacuating. there is a reason, tell us why. >> not everybody has -- thanks for having me, good morning. not everybody here can evacuate, a lot of first responders are

responsible for the community on the -- local hospital and my work friends are there right now day and night taking care of the patients and ready to go in as soon as the storm is over. >> carley: so you're a nurse? >> yes, been a nurse here for 17 years, so this is not my first hurricane and probably won't be my last. >> todd: for your friends that are not nurses, not working or not first responders, are they leaving or are they riding this out? >> yeah, they were smart enough to leave, i think that people need to listen to the authorities. my sons have both left the area, my grandsons went to the east coast to higher ground, that was a good move. >> carley: how are things outside right now? >> i think if you haven't been in a storm like this before, it is a lot louder than you can

even imagine and you get the warnings on your phone. didn't get a lot of sleep last night, it is windy and wet and the water is rising. >> todd: what did you do to prepare your house? >> a lot of preparation is quite exhausting. here in florida, if you are used to this type of thing, we put shutters on the windows that make it quite dark. i have behind me hurricane shutters that we put out and we prepare as much as we can. supplies and flashlights and batteries and all the things we can do. >> carley: speaking of preparation, floater governor ron desantis has been getting the message out and says this is a once in a lifetime storm. take a listen to the things he's been saying to the press over the past few days, take a listen to this. >> the problem with this storm, it will generate massive amount

of water and surge. 10 feet of storm surge will put your life in jeopardy, when people's lives are in jeopardy like this, work together, regardless of party line. biden administration approved our request for prelandfall declaration and did that quickly, we're thankful for that. >> carley: that was him on hannity last night. talking about the 10-foot storm surge, he is you can taking about your area, how does that make you feel? >> well, i think that if you're prepared and you have done the best that you can to be ready for this, i think there is a lot of uncertainty, but i'm sure that we're going to work this out and i really want to thank the governor for his support and for his leadership. i think he's done excellent job of informing people without making them panic.

really has a lot of great advice and i'm with him 100%. >> todd: bob, do you think your hospital and other hospitals in the area are prepared to deal with the sheer amount of water that will be in this region? we're talking storm surge, sheer amount of rain in a low-lying area like this part of florida, are hospitals prepared? >> i think our hospital is extremely prepared, we prepare all year long. we have a team that goes in when the storm is about to come and then we have a team that i'm on this year, where we go in after the hurricane and then we relieve those that have been there day and night for the last few days and i think we're extremely prepared. you have to be really sensible driving on the roads. i make it a point to have a lifted jeep so that i can make it to work when the storm is

over, because water will be quite deep here. >> carley: it certainly will. just good reminder, some people have to stay behind because of what they do for a living and bob, you are one of them. we thank you for being a nurse, taking care of folks who get in tough situations, thank you for hopping on with us this morning. best of luck. >> thank you for having me, i'm a huge fan. >> carley: thank you so much. a lot of news this, mo, including this. a 14-year-old boy is dead and several other teens are hurt after they were ambushed by a gunman at their high school football scrimmage, an absolutely unthinkable act of violence in a city plagued by crime and a state where voters say this is one of their biggest midterm issues, we're live with the latest. >> todd: and following hurricane ian all morning, talking to officials across the state to bring latest information before that monster storm makes

landfall. keep it here on "fox and friends first."

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you need comcast business. technology solutions that put you ahead get started with fast speeds and advanced security together for $69.99 a month for 12 months. plus find out how to get up to a $650 prepaid card with a qualifying bundle. is dead and four others hurt in an ambush shooting as they walked off a field after a

football scrimmage. >> todd: insane, griff jenkins joins us live with more. >> griff: the players were walking off the field from a scrimmage at rocksville, leaving 14-year-old player dead and four others ranging from 14 to 17 wounded, transported to the hospital and listed in stable condition. the gunman fled on foot. the deadly shooting comes after they reached their 400th homicide of the year. a congressman had this to say. >> this had resulted in lack of law enforcement, disrespect of the law and failure to hold people accountable. this is what is leading to this type of crime and violence in our city. >> this as crime takes center

stage in the contested senate race with dr. oz blaming john fetterman for a soft stance on crime. john fetterman pushing back, wash. >> i'm sick of oz talking about john fetterman. john gave a second chance to those who deserve it. >> griff: john fetterman tweeting a statement, saying my heart hurts, we are devastated for the victims, the families now experiencing horrific pain. oz has not commented on the shooting. police say no arrests have been made and no suspects identified yesterday. >> carley: 400 homicides in a single year in philadelphia. thank you. turning to this, president biden $400 student loan bail out fan

facing a lawsuit. pacific filing in indiana arguing it is illegal for the executive branch to create a $500 billion program by press release and without statutory authority or basic notice and comment procedure for new regulation. the president's plan would wipe $10,000 in student debt from millions of lenders. the tax funding will leave some borrowers worse off than before. >> todd: janet yellen coulding leaving, depending on outcome of the midterm, the senate need to confirm the party nomination if she chooses to leave, that decision could be one of the gop party's first if the party of balance is flipped in of in. crime and the economy two of the big evaluate issues motivating

americans to vote in the midterm. ari fleischer says the polls do not tell the whole story. >> ari: people want to know what the shape of november is looking like, it doesn't matter what happens in the cities and more rural districts where republicans are going to win 80-twenty, it matters in battleground districts that is where it is at stake, only polling we should be looking at is the battleground district in the state and senate. >> carley: hurricane ian is barrelling toward florida as a category three, it is expected to get stronger before it makes landfall. if you're one of the millions of americans in its path, we'll tell you everything you need to know. >> turning to the border crisis, construction is underway in new york city, one mom concerned they are too close to where her mom goes to play and she joins us next.

>> carley: back with your headlines starting with this. west virginia senator manchin abandoning his energy plan to avoid a government shutdown. the bill would temporarily fund the government in exchange for his vote. critics on both sides of the aisle claim joe manchin's plan would ush approximate the u.s. to green energy faster and would jeopardize energy independence and texas police busting a human trafficking attempt when six 'll legal imgrantss tried to board a private plane, one a felon wanted in wisconsin for sexually assaulting a child. three others are facing charges for allegedly organizing the flight. texas officials are still searching for the suspect still

at large. todd. >> todd: thank you, mayor eric adams starting construction of a tent city to house the thousands of migrantss who have made their way to new york. ch christy, residents don't want this, why do you think eric adams is doing this? >> he's trying to run for president, he thinks he's a humanitarian and he is falling short. it is scary to see the tentss going up. >> todd: the tent city is five miles away from you? >> i do not feel safe, i go to the park there, this tent is being erected quarter mile from the play park where there is a

bfrn of children. >> todd: describe what this will mean for your daughter and her abilities to play in her own neighborhood. >> we will not be able to do that, i will feel like a prisoner in my home. >> todd: new york city has problems already, we've been detailing for the last five years, crime, homelessness, the list goes on andow, how frustrating is that? >> very stfrustrating, united states as bronx, want to had people as they come into this country the proper way and unfortunately, they are taking advantage of this process and we're absorbing this problem. >> todd: you mentioned in your first answer you think mayor adams is running for president of the united states, do you think he's committed to reducing crime in new york city, something he ran on?

>> absolutely not. he's doing nothing for the city, unfortunately, and it is kind of scary, scary the crime rates have been up, unemployment, especially in the bronx is twice the national level, doing nothing for us, our community. >> in light of what you are about to go through with the tent city close to you, can you imagine what the people of texas and arizona have had to deal with, with not just thousands or hundreds of thousands, but millions of migrants flooding cities and towns along the border, can you imagine what those folks are going through? >> i can't imagine, i'm sure the crime rate is just as high. >> todd: this problem doesn't have to happen, do you think mayor adams should sit down with president biden and say, we got to stop this? >> i think mayor adams needs to

talk to local officials, clearly they are raising the red flags, foxborough says this is not the correct location for a tent city and asking to increase police patrol in the three precincts in the neighborhood and this is acknowledgement there is element of danger. >> todd: you have a daughter have you to worry about, you said she will probably not go out and play, what will you do with her to make sure she has a good childhood experience despite what is about to happen? >> we already have a homeless shelter, they are doing housing for homeless ex-cons, this project is already together. i can't walk in my neighborhood, right on my streetsblog u.s.a.,

my saving grace was taking my child to the park to walk around and clearly i'll not be able to do that, as well. >> todd: in the united states of america, new york city, you should be able to walk around and feel safe. thank you, hopefully something changes, unfortunately, i don't think it will, thank you for your time. fox news alert, seeing damage and flooding as the state of florida braces for hurricane ian, fox news is on the ground with updates. team rubicon will respond to the disaster zone. >> carley: get updates on your phone with the fox weather app in the apple app store and on google play.

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>> carley: hurricane ian is hours away from slamming into western florida. tropical storm force winds rocking the sunshine state. shelters have opened there, as six to 12-feet of dangerous storm surge is expected to become the deadliest force

behind this hurricane. >> todd: live on the ground in tampa. nicole. >> evacuation orders span over 12 counties in the sunshine state. the track for hurricane ian is looking more south, it is leaving tampa bay not so worried about the storm surge we've been talking about for the last several days. it does not mean it is time to let your guard down or try to return home if you have evacuated because fresh water flooding is a major concern as hurricane ian is expected to slow down as it reaches florida's gulf coast and we could see more than 24 hours of consistent rain throughout the state. i want to show you where hurricane ian is and we've seen it done damage in broward county. tornados spawning there yesterday and flipped planes over.

the palmetto expressway seeing significant flooding as much of florida braces for what could come next with hurricane ian. there is talk about power outages. we are looking at 30,000 customers in the dark, some outages preplanned to try to save the infrastructure from potential floods that we could see, unfortunately get worse with the next several hours. guys. >> carley: nicole valdez, thank you upon. bring in senior meteorologist janice dean, who is tracking the storm. i am reading florida suspended tolls, they want to make its as easy as possible for people to get inland or out of the state entirely. >> janice: right, especially on the coast, we have storm surge warning up and down the coast of florida, meaning cata of stroic life-threatening storm surge will move inland within the next

12 to 24 hours and slow movement will lead to threat along the coast and hurricane-force winds for hours and we have 10 inches of rainfall already in southwest and keys, wind gusts in excess of 80 miles per hour just off the coast. the center of circulation is about 90 miles off the coast of florida, this will be a prolonged event, even if you are not impacted by the core of strong winds, we will see heavy rain and well -- hurricane warning for the coastline and toward the central coast of florida and even the atlantic side where we expect the storm to move out. tornado watch, tornados were report yesterday and will see that today. counter clock wise wind provide

rotation for weak tornados. hurricane ian watches and warnings, warnings from naples to sarasota and the tampa area toward orlando, thatten moos we'll feel hurricane-force winds for duration of time and tropical storm force winds toward the southeast. the track, wednesday afternoon, we are expecting an impact and moving across the state. this is thursday, so period of 24 hours of hurricane-force winds, heavy rainfall, storm surge along the coast. that is the biggest impact is the slow move approximatement and storm totals over a foot and some areas could receive 18 to 24 inches in isolated areas. there is the track. we expect the center to come on shore this afternoon and spend 24 hours across the state of florida before it moves to the

atlantic, so the slow movement will mean prolonged effect and potentially deadly one, as well. >> carley: veteran-led humanitarian group rubicon on the ground in florida. >> todd: jacob niles deployed about 30 people to the street, jacob, what are your teams doing right now to prepare? >> we are prestaging two route clearance teams in southern florida and northern florida to wait out the storm and provide route clearance, opening up roads for emergency services and escape routes for people who may have waited too think lo. >> carley: people are talking about the fact after the storm hits, there will be a lot of power outages and i'm sure that is a challenge that could make what you do more difficult in the days to come? >> very much so.

our goal is to keep our teams as safe as possible and keep them moving, though. >> todd: oftentimes, three variables in every hurricane you need to focus on, rain, wind and storm surge, feel like all three will be major elements of what the people of florida need to deal with and specifically the storm surge, we're heating feet heights of like 10 feet, 12 feet, that kills people, quite frankly. what is your plan, what is team rubicon's plan to deal with that massive storm surge and get your resources in and around the area to help people who need it? >> our goal is just to make sure that we have two teams approaching from the north and the south, stay out of the storm surge area and work our way in as the storm passes through to make sure we can keep the roads open. >> carley: if someone is in trouble, is there a way for them to reach out to team rub?

how does that work? >> go to teamrubiconusa.org, but your local emergency contacts are your best bet. we have teams to direct the calls. >> todd: team rubicon is amazing, you have been through it before and will go through it again. based upon what you know about this storm so far, what is your sense about the biggest need when all is said and done? >> it is getting people back into their homes in a safe manner as fast as possible and that storm surge, like you said earlier, will be a big factor. >> carley: yeah, and florida has been preparing for this, this is not the state's first rodeo, 160 truck loads of water and mre's generators and debris equipment and power restoration personnel is on standby and 360 trailers

with over two million meals and one million gallons of water in preparation for distribution, i'm sure hearing stuff like that is music to your ears, how do you feel about how florida has been responding and do you see unmet need that could be fulfilled in the hours to come? >> like you said, it is not florida's first rodeo and we'll be working closely with florida's agencies in operation centers to identify unmet needs. >> todd: jacob, next busy 24, 48, 72 hours, please stay safe and thank you for what you are doing on behalf of the people of florida. we appreciate it. washington state sheriff says politicians have lost control of the homeless camp they set up in his city and he's here to tell us how dangerous the situation is. >> carley: that's right. hurricane ian 100 miles off the coast of florida, we'll be

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>> carley: back with headlineups, starting with this. u.s. officials investigating apparent sabotage of the nord stream 2 gas peep pipeline under the baltic sea to germany. blinken updating this situation on tuesday. >> there are initial reports indicating that this may be the result of an attack or sabotage, these are initial reports and we haven't confirmed that yet. if confirmed, that is in no one's interest. >> brooke: european officials

are pointing to possible foul play with russia sparked by the war on ukraine. a mother assaulted by a homeless man pointing the finger at new york city mayor eric adams, the mayor said we would have more cops in the subway and the cops would be patrolling because that is where the worst of the crimes we are having, especially places like howard beach station, there was nobody. her eye is swollen shut, the suspect has a disturbing criminal record, including beats handwriting grandmother to death when he was 14 years old. carley. >> carley: absolutely sickening, turning to this, sheriff of spokane, washington says the homeless population is spiralling out of control and he says officials refuse to address it. >> entire sector of our city and the city of spokane, has lost

their voice. no one cares, no one is fighting. they are getting trampled. >> carley: that sheriff joins me now. sheriff, good morning. you are dealing with one of the biggest homeless shelters in the state in ispokane, washington. how big is it? how is it affecting people that live there? >> claiming it is up to 600 to 650's, when i talk to firefighters it is 100 to 200, it is devastating that entire neighborhood. entire families are live nothing fear because of drugs, alcohol issue the theft, will violence and inside the camp, you have people being branded, beaten in the head with hammers, rapes issue this is prime example of the failed policies of the radical left. >> carley: is the camp going to

be clear and who let it get this bad in the first place? >> you know, the responsibility for this, it all started with protest. this is protest that continues to be a protest. they moved from city hall and downtown spokane, out to the area they are now. they took over a sector of land owned by washington state department of transportation and the department of transportation didn't clean it up and allow today to grow and commerce secretary lisa brown, wants to throw $25 million at the problem and that will simply line the activist's pockets and it will not help the neighborhood. >> carley: $25 million, that is taxpayer money? >> very much so. again, people need to take a hard look what is going on, who

they are elected, people they are electing are setting policies and it has real consequences. i talked to a young family i met at an event that lives in that neighborhood and they want out, but can't get out. home prices are too high, mortgage rates are too high, they are stuck there, they can't walk the neighborhood or allow their children to play in the yard anymore. how would you like to have that next to you? >> carley: yeah, i think that is a great point. if you want to move, your home price depreciates and business is being impacted, can you tell me about that? >> i spoke to the owner of a grocery store, theft is off the park, they have people shooting up drugs in the restrooms, they

have product walking out the door, they have assaults and this is definition of compassion from the left. they develop the place to allow people to shoot up and ultimately die. the raw sewage that they are putting out into the streets and into the camp, i mean, i can't imagine a worse death to die of drug overdose in human waste. >> carley: an area like this affects nobody in a positive way, the people living there and the people surrounding. you say no one is standing up for hard-working taxpayers and that reminds me of the crime crisis, rights of criminals are elevated over the rights of victims. i don't know if you have insight why this is so pervasive, it is

impacting the country 234 a big way. >> the left has aadopted a marxing philosophy, the victim has no rights and it is killing this nation. we need to get back to law and order and that only happens if you elect the right people to represent you. >> carley: sheriff, thank you for joining us. next hour of "fox and friends first" starts right now. accused residence >> carley: we begin with new york weather authority, mike woods, hurricane ian intensifying to a category four storm, 2-1/2 million floridians are being told to leave their county now.