heartbreaking. none of it explains what happened here. what is your focus now. you have a rental property, your source of income. that has been damaged. what is your advice for other people that are going through the same thing? how do you get through it? >> i believe that adahlia prepared us for helene. i feel major heartbreak for the people who haven't experienced this in a lifetime. they are going to be shocked, shell shocked, lost, it is going to be a whirlwind of emotions for them. we're hardened somewhat by the experience of three in 13 months. like i said earlier, there is no way to describe it. >> ainsley: we're out of time, so sorry. everyone say a prayer for them. god bless you. i hope you get fema money. >> bill: good morning, everyone. milton is a monster downgraded

an hour ago to a category 4 but a serious and deadly storm that will have the target of the west coast of florida in its sights sometime later tonight and early tomorrow morning. i'm bill hemmer in orlando. we do a split show today. >> dana: you are missed but glad you're there. this is "america's newsroom," i'm dana perino. you have covered many of these hurricanes, bill. i think that even you are saying wow, this one is big and monster by comparison even. >> bill: you know, i think it is storm 21. i'm back at a hotel where i was five years ago. florida will take a wallop here. they were predicting earlier today there will be a part of the west coast of florida that will have a storm surge of eight to ten feet. think about that now. those low lying barrier islands that have been so built up over the past 50 years. the population increase on the west coast of florida.

this is going to be a doozy. experts describe milton as a once in a century storm and folks in tampa are taking heed. >> very tough. we recently just got through helene in st. petersburg and we're very scared about what is going to happen with our home. >> i have been there eight or nine years and we just went through it two or three times. i'm getting too old to stay there. so we just bailed out. >> i just think this time we'll get hit. it is really scary. not scary right now. scary thinking about what we'll find when we go back. >> bill: we're in orlando. drive 100 miles to the west you hit the gulf of mexico. we'll feel hurricane force winds at this time tomorrow. britta will get it earlier and live in sarasota, florida on the coast. britta, what do you have? good morning. >> good morning, bill. there was a southward jog with

milton that changes the scenario for sarasota. it could be the landfall site. we're at the marina. the tough thing is this boat is not technically parked at the marina. it is on a little piece of land between the bay and marina and this is where the boat came from. this is the bay that takes you over to lido key, during hurricane helene, that boat was lifted from the bay all the way up to land. now we have a bigger, mormons -- more monitor store. the weaken helps us out with wind speed. energy does not disappear. all that energy is locked up in the water and even with the winds weakening that storm surge will be indicative of a category

5 hurricane because of the history of this hurricane. that energy is locked up and the power of the water will respond to that. everything in this bay will be pushing forward. during hurricane helene massive damage in the barrier island. downtown sarasota did not see the storm surge. we saw boats move here in the marina but didn't have surge downtown. that is going to change. unfortunately, everybody that used to call this barrier island home is now sheltering because helene destroyed their homes are up in the high rises in sarasota and they will be surrounded by the water. here in florida it is know your zone, know your home. the fortified built-up condos in downtown sarasota will be able to keep people safe from the wind and out of the water. the folks that are staying there are going to be stuck there without power. national weather service sharing

this morning they might be out of power for more than a week. >> bill: wow. so britta, the gulf of mexico is very different on the west coast of florida than the atlantic ocean on the east coast. that drops off several miles and a lot of storms hit that and curve to the north. the gulf of mexico is different. very shallow for a long period of time that means the storm surge will carry itself one on top of the other and that's really where the danger comes. when you think north of you in tampa, they have not had a direct hit in 103 years, britta. >> even if we have landfall here in sarasota, tampa bay doesn't get an easy hand. this will -- to your point, this is the strongest storm we have seen in over 100 years. no one has seen what it looks like to throw ten feet of storm surge into this part of the gulf coast. to your point, the coastal shelf, the feature you're

talking about for the gulf side of florida, you have a deep gulf of mexico and for hundreds of miles you have a coastal shelf. all that deep water piling on top of that shelf shoves into the coastline. one of the most vulnerable companies lines for storm surge. >> bill: thank you. we'll be with you throughout the day. >> dana: fox weather senior meteorologist january nice dean is tracking milton. >> that was a description of the storm surge. a ramp will pile this water inland to very vulnerable areas from tampa to fort myers. we're looking at a category 4 storm. 125 miles from the center of circulation. about 250 miles wide. as it weakens, it is going to expand its wind. is storm is going to get larger and the time has run out for the storm to really weaken and make an impact. we're expecting a very strong

hurricane, catastrophic landfall and probably damage all up and down the west coast of florida. here is the timeline and here is how wide the storm is going to get. affecting the whole west coast of florida. the east coast of florida and anywhere in between. the vulnerable area will be from tampa down to fort myers up to 15 feet. south of bradenton right now. tampa you're up to 12 feet. still a record for you. you set a record storm surge with helene two weeks ago and then now as we go further southward anna maria, long boat key, venice, inglewood upwards of 15 feet. that will destroy this area. that's why people have been urged to evacuate. the water will be on top of your homes. you cannot escape it. high tide we didn't talk about that. the storm surge will come in some cases on top of high tide.

you pile in the storm surge and waves, not survivable and why it is such a dire situation. i don't want you to focus on the -- that's just the winds and winds will impact the coast and inland heavy rain as well. upwards of a foot north of the center of circulation. it's the storm surge that is really going to cause the worst damage and the life-threatening water along these vulnerable coastlines. >> dana: i'm reminded of hurricane sandy, also hitting at high tide. >> a very good example. that wasn't technically a hurricane. it was a superstorm. 1,000 miles wide because it was weakening and interacting with the cold front. that's what this is doing. it will start to transition into a tropical storm. it just expands the wind field. it was the storm surge that caused so much destruction in sandy here in the northeast. >> dana: thank you. we'll see you again soon. bill, over to you.

>> bill: dana, want to bring in the hillsborough county sheriff. thank you for your time. the numbers are truly staggering when you think about the people on the move right now. your county alone, right around the tampa area, how many people have said we're not going the take our chances this time? >> i think a lot of our community. i saw the long lines at gas stations and grocery stores. we saw the interstates jammed and packed. even to the point where we opened the emergency lane to help get those who wanted the opportunity to evacuate the opportunity to get out. we saw everyone heeding the warning. i'm very happy. >> bill: sheriff, we'll hear from your governor in 20 minutes. what do you want your people to know right now? >> that as the conditions continue to deteriorate, we're approaching the 11th hour here. get to where you want to be and where you will be able to shelter and do so safely. there is still time to get out

if you're in evacuation zones. other than that you better be prepared that we'll lose power. we have flooding with all the rain coming. there is nowhere for water to go. this debris that i think will be weaponized and obstruct some search and rescue efforts afterwards. it's variable with the wobble of the storm. we'll see what i saw in 33 years of law enforcement a record storm surge and flooding two weeks ago. here is 12 feet instead of seven feet. we'll see catastrophic results. >> bill: when helene came through ten, 14 days ago, the bay of tampa literally is a bay, perfectly formed, right? it cuts into the state itself. if you give that wall of water that goes into the bay all those homes and businesses that are scattered for many dozens of miles are going to be affected by this. a friend of mine lives in the bay of tampa and a week ago he sent me pictures of his home. he was dozens and dozens of

miles away from when helene came in and scraped up the northern part of florida but his home was saturated with water. several feet, buried his basement, garage and home. i have to think, sheriff, that's a real concern right now about the amount of damage that this storm can bring on a massive scale. >> that's our biggest concern. the wind, yes, it will knock some power lines down and inconvenienced by not having electric. i'm worried about the flash flooding and the storm surge. two weeks ago, we lost more lives because of storm surge here in the tampa area than we did where the storm went and made landfall. this won't be any different. imagine taking a snowplow with 12 to 18 feet and just pushing it inland and this is what you are going to see. you will see the results of what storm surge can do.

it is more deadly than any component of any storm. >> bill: sheriff, if you go from your town in tampa and drive 120 miles south down the coast to fort myers, somewhere in that area someone is going to get smacked and it is going to leave life-changing damage for the people and the lives that they have built along the west coast of florida. sheriff, we'll stay in touch with you. good luck. thank you for coming on today. >> thank you. let's get back to new york and dana with more. >> dana: all right. listen to this here as we are waiting for ron desantis to come back to the podium. it will be at 9:30 and then fema will be at the top of the hour. so we'll take a break quick here and watch. >> bill: a lot to come. >> the president's letter is not misinformation, would you agree? >> the way you are asking me the

question is misinformation. it is there. >> dana: sweeping criticism under the rug the white house accusing critics of pedaling a false narrative on hurricane relief. first they got the helped of hezbollah. now an air strike takes out his replacement. condoleezza rice ahead on whether the biden-harris team has our ally's back. and hurricane milton is yet to make landfall. parts of the southeast still reeling from the destruction of helene. >> right now we live with my father-in-law because we don't have anywhere to go. there are no hotels, nothing like that. we don't know yet what's going to happen. we don't know yet. to make a better cotton crop ? we believe that the best products are made in america and come fresh from the family farm. and produced under the most sustainable

farming techniques. from our sheets to our blankets and quilts this is a product that can be passed on. it could be a family heirloom. go to red land cotton dot com and receive 20% off your order with code fox 20. i'd like to take a moment to address my fellow veterans, because i know so many of you have served our country honorably. one of the benefits that we as a country give you as a veteran is the eligibility for a va loan, for up to 100 percent of your home■s value. if you need cash for your family call newdayusa. with automatic authority from the va we can say yes when banks say no. give us a call. $70,000. $70,000. that's a lot of money. if you're a veteran homeowner, that's how much you can take out at newday. pay off your high rate credit cards and costly car loans, make home improvements,

and put extra cash in the bank with our lower rate newday 100 va cash out loan. with home values high, now's the time to turn the equity in your home into the cash you need. (♪) imagine checking your own heart with medical precision from anywhere. introducing kardiamobile 6l, the fda-cleared ekg that provides six-times more heart data than any smartwatch. and it detects three of the most common arrhythmias in just 30 seconds, including atrial fibrillation, bradycardia, and tachycardia. check your heart with the most advanced personal ekg outside the hospital. get one for just $99 during prime big deal days. don't wait, this offer won't last. what's considered normal for your cat is interesting. but if your cat isn't their quirky self lately, they may have pain from a common condition called osteoarthritis. now, there's solensia. solensia is a once-monthly injection to control your cat's oa pain.

veterinary professionals administering solensia who are pregnant, trying to conceive, or breast feeding should take extreme care to avoid self-injection. self-injection could cause allergic reactions like anaphylaxis. ask your vet about solensia and help get your cat back to their normal.

>> very dangerous, carley. people need to heed the warnings of their officials and what they should do based on the zone they are in. we've seen utter devastation in the past. >> bill: pam bondi has a lot of experience. born and raised in florida. this is sarasota, florida. if you have not been to this lovely, idyllic town on the west coast of florida, you are missing out. famed for the wringling brothers from many years ago, you have siesta key. if you were to look at sarasota, florida today on a google earth map you can see how many homes have been built in this area. there is a reason for that. they haven't taken a direct shot in a long time which means they've gotten lucky and lived a really good life. they have found absolute beauty in places like this. you get the pure sunset every

night that drops into the water and that's the reason why so many are attracted to it. but someone is going to get hit. if it is not tampa or sarasota, could be fort myers but we'll wait to see. it will not happen until at least, i would say, another 15 hours or so probably around midnight tonight. >> dana: thank you. we're seeing it over and over again as hurricane relief takes center stage the biden-harris administration brushing off criticism of its response as nothing short of misinformation, even pure fiction. >> people want to do disinformation, misinformation, which is dangerous. >> it is the height of irresponsibility and callousness. so lives are literally at stake right now. >> misleads people and puts people in circumstances where they panic. >> i will di veers the misinformation. >> a lot of misinformation.

i beg you to please not pay attention to it. >> we have a massive misinformation problem. this is something that actively harms the ability of responders to do their job. >> dana: joining us now is republican arkansas senator tom cotton. one of the issues fema said yes, they can do a $750 initial payment but more to come after that. it is not the only payment that they will get. is that the kind of misinformation that you are getting? in all of these interviews. i listened to alejandro mayorkas this morning on the abc podcast start here. he is not very specific what the misinformation is. >> no, dana. democrats accuse something as misinformation if it reflects poorly on democrats. the simple fact of the matter is that joe biden and kamala harris and the democratic governor of north carolina were overmatched by event and caught flat footed.

biden was vacationing. harris was in hollywood and they didn't act immediately when it was clear the hurricane hitting in northern georgia and western north carolina and eastern tennessee would need a different response. a military response with military helicopters brought in. hundreds of them within flying distance of these areas. it took more than a week to get those assets in place. they were still engaged in rescue operations, not recovery operations. by contrast, during the haiti earthquake, barack obama was able to get military assets within two days to haiti. barack obama got our military to a foreign country to help them much faster than joe biden and kamala harris was able to get it to our own people. they can talk about the bureaucratic mumbo jumbo they want. in a time of crisis it's leadership that has results. they failed to do it here. >> dana: the left is upset that the "wall street journal"

printed an op-ed from jd vance when there was immense outrage at the "new york times" because you wrote an op-ed during the george floyd riots and people left jobs over it. >> a white house that tried to shaft fema's priorities left north carolina suffering for days. when mayorkas said they might need more money. it's common. if you have a major natural disaster congress figures out how to replenish the funds, is that right? >> yeah. first off jd vance op-ed was excellent and commend it to your viewers, another example of democrats calling something misinformation because it reflects poorly on democrats. now, famous claim they need more money or secretary mayorkas's claim said he needs more money be lies the facts. they could have asked for more money last month. often it comes with requests to

move money between one pot or another pot but observe that joe biden and kamala harris always seem to find money for their priorities when using disaster money to bus and house illegal migrants, that's fine. when they need to find hundreds of billions of dollars to pay off student loans for gender studies majors they can find the money. they couldn't find the money to get the people of north carolina and tennessee and georgia the help they needed immediately. they were caught flat footed and they are still paying for it. now they are moving into recovery operations it is very important to point out that the democratic governor and secretary of state of north carolina need to explain how they will make sure how everyone affected in north carolina can cast their ballots over the next four weeks. they're voting now. we need to make sure all those citizens hurt by the storm have a right and ability to cast their ballots before or on november 5th. >> dana: thank you. we'll be in touch with you as the other storm is about to hit

florida. thank you. >> thanks. >> bill: dana, any minute now the florida governor, ron desantis will give us an update what he has been watching overnight and today and hurricane milton is out there and we'll get the latest coming up here. what he is hearing from the relief workers in the state and storm chasers here looking to meet milton to learn from it. to pass information to us so we can be better prepared for the next storm. we'll talk to one who is now on the west coast of florida in this state as we speak. stand by. >> right in the eye of category 4 hurricane helene. winds over 100 miles-per-hour. big winds in the eyewall. wow, look it her rip! what isn't better? this is better. this is better. that's better.

dupixent is an add on treatment for specific types of moderate to severe asthma. it works with your asthma medicine to help improve lung function. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's proven to help prevent asthma attacks. and doesn't that make things better? dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines including steroids without talking to your doctor. when you can get more out of your lungs, you can do more with less asthma. isn't that better? ask your doctor about dupixent, the most prescribed biologic in asthma. and now approved as an add-on treatment for adults with inadequately controlled copd with a specific marker of inflammation. they get it. they know how it works. and most importantly, it works for them. i don't have any anxiety about money anymore. i don't have to worry about a mortgage payment every month.

it allowed me to live in my home and not have to make payments. linda, dinah, joanne, very different people, but they do have a couple things in common... they love their home, and they know their stuff. they all talked about the counseling they got so they knew how a reverse mortgage worked. and how it could be a real financial solution for their retirement. if you're 62 or older and own your home, find out how you could access a potion of your home's equity to give you cash and when you need it in the future. a reverse mortgage could put more money in your pocket by eliminating your monthly mortgage payments. it could also pay off higher-interest credit cards , medical costs and give you extra cash to help your retirement lifestyle. a person like me needed to get a reverse mortgage it changed my life, it was the best thing i've ever done. really? yes, without a doubt. these folks know, finance of america can show you how

a reverse mortgage loan uses your built-up home equity to give you tax-free cash. they also know they can pay it back whenever it works for them. it's a good thing! call right now to receive your free, no-obligation info kit. the kit will show you how you could get the cash you need using a portion of your home's equity as a reverse mortgage loan from finance of america. call this number. so look, why don't you get the facts like these folks did, and see if a reverse mortgage could work for you. give finance of america a call today. call the country's number one reverse mortgage lender, and get your free info kit.

i take you, body in sickness and in health. (♪) for as long as we shall live. (♪) >> dana: you are looking at a place where many of you might

have been. the southern-most point of the united states in key west, florida. and right there is where most people go down and get their picture taken to mark that spot. hurricane milton is set to slam florida and this is just the beginning of it there in key west and you also have ron desantis, the governor of florida, you can see here they are setting up for an update from him and we expect that any minute now and bring it to you. wanted to show you something that i think will help you understand just how big the storm surge is going to be. janice dean said this is also going to hit at high tide. that's a big deal. to get yourself in the mindset, you know the wind will happen no matter what. it is the storm surge and the high tide that could be a big problem. i didn't know this but a stop sign is on average five feet. that's kind of hard to believe. then you could look up here at this traffic light, 17.5 feet. basketball hoop just ten feet.

the average car about 5.9. bill hemmer could see over that. i could not. then you have this. here is a home. when you are at five feet that's already in your living room. you get to ten, 15, 20 feet and your house is fully under. that's where all the warnings are coming and the governor will give us an update in a little bit, bill. >> bill: dana, so good to point that out. reminder, too, of not only when the storm surge comes in but on top of that you have waves. when the waves are on top of the water that's what pounds these homes and these buildings and causes enormous amounts of damage. great illustration, i liked seeing that. reid is a storm chaser. he covered helene just about two weeks ago and this is part of that. check it out. here is reid. >> big bad winds in the eyewall. wow, listen to it rip.

oh, did you hear that? it got zapped. wind direction. >> those are big waves, guys, here they come. whoa! >> bill: reed is in tampa for a reason. it may come there or gives you the opportunity to get on the move. what do you see right now? >> well, i'm here in the downtown tampa area. it is a ghost town here. you can see a lot of boarding up that's happening. people have taken it very seriously. gas shortages in tampa and orlando. you can't get gas anywhere right now across these areas. i've seen chickens migrating throughout the streets of downtown tampa this morning. it looks like it will trend a little south. that exact track is very important because wherever that comes ashore the dirty side of the system is where the storm surge comes in right where that

eyewall comes in at a perpendicular angle to the shoreline and a tsunami wall of water ten to 15 feet. north of that center you would have more off shore flow and counter surge. it would suck the water out and wrap around the south side of the system and come slamming on shore. it looks like that dirty side of the system could be from sarasota toward venice, probably toward the fort myers area, which is still hammered by hurricane ian, lot of we reverb re. a double digit storm surge including fort myers, sanibel and pine islands once again. >> bill: i was thinking 2005, right? you had new orleans, katrina, 2004 you had a number, charlie and jean crisscrossing the i-four corridor where we are in orlando. you were in helene that followed

a similar track and then went north. what did you learn from helene that might be different this time, reed? >> well, helene had that closed upper level low upstream and you had the interaction. it sucked it due north like a slingshot took it up to appa appalachia. this one has a much flatter trough, a subtle upper level system and more of an early track over the florida peninsula and out to sea. i remember 2004 and 2005 very well chasing those hurricanes in my mid 20s, the very active seasons. we had a ten year hurricane drought after that until 2017 and now it has been non-stop hurricane action from the

hurricane incubator, gulf of mexico now. 2004 and 2005 we had hurricane rita, the fourth strongest hurricane. almost similar to how milton is just below 900 mill bars. the fifth strongest hurricane and now it's down to a category 4. the wind field will expand and the storm surge takes a lot of time to subside. it will still come in as a category 4 to 5 storm surge on the dirty side of the system. similar in rita in 2005 that was a strong category 5 it came in like a sheared but had the devastating category 4 to 5 storm surge between texas and louisiana. >> bill: is your objective to get in the eye of the storm when it hits land? >> my objective is to get in the

eye. we have no sensors we'll deploy. my goal is to get a vertical sounding with new high resolution testers. our goal is scientific and to report as the conditions deteriorate across this area. the people that evacuated like to see what is happening in their home after they get out. we'll cover that and the storm surge and also deploy data inside the eye. >> bill: we can learn from you, thank you, reed. hard to imagine that the continental united states went ten years without a single hurricane making contact with land. really after you see helene in this one it is hard to imagine. reed, thank you. we'll be in contact for the next three days and beyond. reed, storm chaser in downtown tampa. >> dana: remote areas in north carolina are still cut off nearly two weeks after hurricane helene. volunteer groups are scrambling to get much-needed supplies to

people there and some are only reachable by air. that could be for quite a while yet. griff jenkins is live at a command center near asheville. helicopter teams are working around the clock to get those in the disaster zone what they need. good morning. >> good morning, dana. this is an incredible story of american spirit, determination, and 12 days later it continues behind me half a dozen helicopters are refueling and a quick look at the amount of supplies, fuel, water and other things they have here. it is savage operations, this group, she lives in the mountains and from the communities still cut off nearly two weeks. tell me what you are doing here and yesterday you recovered a body with your teams. >> yeah. it's amazing what we've been doing here to give you an example, the first day we only had two volunteers and we're all

the way up to 400 people coming in an out of here every day. skilled laborers that know how to do so many things in these mountains. that is something people don't think about. this isn't flat terrain, not like florida. there is so much you have to go through with switch backs and these people know exactly how to get a team together and get the resources where they need to go. >> you are taking in supplies and taking care of livestock and cattle and others that are stranded and people are still needing to get water. connectivity. you were able to recover the remains of a body in a hard-hit area that brings a closure to a family. >> yes, right here in this town actually. it was a family who reached out to us, let us know they were looking for a family member. we found remains and immediately got local law enforcement involved to cooperate with them

and give closure to the family. but this is after almost two weeks, griff. to give you an example there are so many other mountain communities are still are without power and water. they don't have ways to get out of their communities and they aren't getting any help. >> bill: you will take us into the communities today. as you can see i'm wearing a jacket. it is getting colder. as the temperature drops and this continues it will be more challenging. they are committed until they do all the work that needs to be done. dana. >> dana: thank you. we'll be following that trip and thank you to all of those volunteers. thank you so much, bill. >> bill: for folks watching us in florida, check this out. the latest software program on your iphone ios18 enables you to stay in touch with loved ones via satellite messaging on your iphone. when cell service goes out and

wifi will be cut out. it will be for millions of people in florida, you can access your loved ones by way of that satellite image by downloading that latest software app on your phone. check that out. a valuable tool. star link on behalf of elon musk helps people. another way this technology can help to get people through the storm and let people know they're okay. so important. back to orlando in a moment. the governor will be out any moment now. >> dana: any minute florida desantis will give an update on hurricane milton. doing so regularly and must-see tv. we'll bring it to you live as soon as it starts. t more energy in just two weeks! —uh. —here i'll take that. [cheering] ensure max protein, 30 grams protein, 1 gram sugar and a protein blend to feed muscles up to 7 hours. ♪

♪ with fastsigns, create factory grade visual solutions to perfect your process. ♪ fastsigns. make your statement™. take an ekg from anywhere, but with 6-times the data.

can your smartwatch do that? introducing kardiamobile 6l, the fda-cleared ekg that provides six-times more heart data than any smartwatch, and it detects three of the most common arrhythmias in just 30 seconds, including atrial fibrillation, bradycardia, and tachycardia. kardiamobile 6l is on sale now for just $99 during prime big deal days at kardia.com or amazon. (♪) with dexcom g7, managing your diabetes just got easier. so, what's your glucose number right now? good thing you don't need to fingerstick. how's all that food affect your glucose? oh, the answers on your phone. what if you're heading low at night? [phone beeps] wow, it can alert you?! and you can even track your goals. manage your diabetes with confidence with dexcom g7. the most accurate cgm. ♪ learn more at dexcom.com

>> are you worried about the water rising with the storm surge? >> it can happen, but i haven't seen after all threes, i know this is coming direct at us, we have to jump in ahead when we have to. it is fully gassed. >> bill: even the governor is saying you go ten or 20 miles east inland and get out of the way of that storm surge at a minimum that's what the governor is saying. ron desantis will brief in a matter of moments. he will give us the latest

information when he comes out in moments. wanted to share this with you. a daring decision to stay put as milton closes in on the gulf coast. footprint so wide you can see it from space on board the dragon capsule endeavor. the astronaut shared with video time lapse 24 hours ago of the monster storm before it hits landfall. you see the size of this thing moving across. it fills up the entire space of the gulf of mexico in that part of the area here. that was 24 hours ago. dana, it hasn't changed much in the past 24 hours. it is still -- even though it's downgraded to a cat 4 it is a large and dangerous storm. what reed said a moment ago some of the big storms cat 5s in the gulf of mexico, something like katrina, rita, wilma or helene brushing the west coast of florida. the central part of this state

from tampa to orlando to daytona, the i-four corridor that used to determine elections in the state of florida, pretty much that entire area will feel hurricane-force winds from the west coast to the east coast as we await in orlando. >> dana: 6 million people in florida under mandatory evacuation orders. some are deciding to stay put. rick owns the popular bar american social in tampa saying he is not leaving his home, business and community and he joins us now. i know this is probably a tough decision in a way but you have a business to protect and you have opted to stay. tell us why. >> that is correct. thank you, dana. i have elected to stay because my priority is protecting our home. this is my house, for my family, my business is down the road, and prioritizing the safety of both and staying within the

community. staying positive and knowing i'm in a safe spot and i just want to make sure that after everything will helene that i could be a first responder for both my home and business and community if need be. >> dana: i know that you have your wife and children, they went to ft. lauderdale to stay with your parents but you walk your dog off the bay every morning. did the dog stay or go? >> the dog stayed and my wife and three children are in fort lauderdale safe and sound with my parents. tally and i will ride it out and make sure everything goes well. we have a generator, well prepared. i anticipate being very safe for this storm. >> dana: tampa hasn't been a direct hit for 100 years. maybe the storm will hit a little south of where you are. but it is a vulnerable place. also built up in population.

one of the reasons your bar is so popular. for the people that decided to stay, are you heeding the warning of the mayor who said if you stay you could die? >> yeah, that's obviously a very grim thought. however, we're in a very elevated area. perhaps the highest elevation in all of south tampa. so storm surge is not a concern. i'm miami born and raised florida resident so i'm used to the storms. i know what to expect and know how to prepare and yeah, the community is resilient. floridians are resilliant. we want to make sure you are here and keep our property and businesses safe after helene. there is a lot of uncertainty and fear but i think with the storm moving south we feel very comfortable that we're making the right decision staying back protecting our property and businesses and we feel very comfortable with that. >> dana: how will you spend the

next 14 hours >> i will be starting to read and maybe take a cold plunge or two. i will try to stay mentally relaxed. it will be a long night. take a nap today knowing tonight could be loud and uncomfortable and want to make sure i'm prepared if i have to pivot on a moment's notice. >> dana: what's the specialty cocktail at american social? >> that would be the cucumber fizz. our best seller. if it was up to me whiskey with one rock is just fine. >> dana: cucumber fizz for bill hemmer and myself when we come to visit when this is all behind us. good luck tonight. >> we look forward to that. thank you. >> dana: bill. >> bill: that was just mapping it. it is on the list now. any minute florida governor ron desantis will give the update on hurricane milton. what we need to learn. national hurricane center gives its update about an hour from now and awaiting a update from

fema. we have it covered for you live in florida on milton. where will milton go and where will milton change lives? that's what we await.

here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine, like google, but it's r and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browsel but it blocks cookies and creepy ads that follow youa and other companies. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. veteran homeowners. if you need cash, the last thing you want to do is spend cash just to see if you qualify for a home loan. yet, some lenders charge you hundreds of dollars in upfront fees just to apply. they keep your money even if they turn you down. call newday. unlike other lenders, at newday there's no upfront appraisal fee,

no upfront termite inspection fee and no upfront water test fee. not $1 out of pocket. give us a call. when you're looking for answers, it's good to have help. because the right information, at the right time, may make all the difference. at humana, we know that's especially true when you're looking for a medicare supplement insurance plan. that's why we're offering "seven things every medicare supplement should have". it's your free, just for calling the number on your screen. and when you call, a knowledgeable, licensed agent-producer can answer any questions you have and help you choose the plan that's right for you. the call is free. and there's no obligation. you see, medicare covers only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. that's why so many people purchase medicare supplement insurance plans like those offered by humana. they're designed to help you save money and pay some of the costs

medicare doesn't. depending on the medicare supplement plan you select, you could have no deductibles or copayments for doctor visits, hospital stays, emergency care and more. you can keep the doctors you have now, ones you know and trust, with no referrals needed. plus, you can get medical care anywhere in the country, even when you're traveling! with humana, you get a competitive monthly premium, and personalized service, from a healthcare partner working to make healthcare simpler and easier for you. you can choose from a wide range of standardized plans. each one is designed to work seamlessly with medicare and help save you money! so how do you find the plan that's right for you. one that fits your needs and your budget? call humana now at the number on your screen for this free guide. it's just one of the ways that humana is making healthcare simpler. and when you call, a knowledgeable, licensed agent-producer can answer any questions you have and help you choose the plan that's right for you. the call is free. and there's no obligation. you know

medicare won't cover all your medical costs. so, call now and see why a medicare supplement plan from a company like humana just might be the answer. >> bill: ron desantis, the florida governor waiting on his update. fema will give an update as well. stand by, the latest information we have for folks here in florida and other parts north, all right? dana, that's it from orlando. >> dana: political news as well. former president trump is making the biden-harris hurricane response a key issue in the election. today he will campaign in biden's hometown of scranton, pennsylvania. bryan llenas is there and joins us live. hi, bryan. >> well, today is president trump's seventh visit to

pennsylvania in the last month. he will talk about the economy in a speech here in scranton before he heads to redding, pennsylvania. this as the former president continues to make the biden-harris administration's response to the hurricanes a political issue. trump posting on truth social quote the worst response to a storm or hurricane disaster in u.s. history. with another one coming our country cannot with stand four more years of these incompetent fools. the whole world is laughing at us. a toss-up here in pennsylvania. fox news polls show harris has a two-point advantage but on the economy voters say they trust trump more than harris by six points. trump's visit comes as the "wall street journal" reports democrats are growing worried about harris's standing among union class and working voters. >> i'll be honest with you. i'm a democrat but they have [bleep] us over for the last 40 years.

not all of them. for once we're standing up as a union, probably the only one right now saying what the [bleep] have you done for us? i am getting attacked from the left. >> 60% of the rank and file members say they were for trump. yet the union decided not to endorse for the first time in nearly 30 years. >> dana: thank you, that will be interesting today no doubt. both vice presidential nominees holding campaign events in arizona today. early voting is kicking off there. rich edson is live in scottsdale, arizona with more. hi, rich. >> good morning. the 2024 election has arrived here in arizona. it does in a couple of hours where early voting, in-person voting begins in the state. the first swing state to offer early in-person voting and open up the polls. both presidential candidates and campaigns are marking the occasion with a heavy president. jd vance, senator from ohio, minnesota governor tim walz landed in arizona last night.

both holding campaign rallies today in an hour and a half in tucson. before landing in arizona walz was at a fundraiser in california advocating getting rid of the electoral college. jill biden will campaign in arizona. trump will be here on sunday. a narrow race here. trump leads harris among voters 49, 47%. 1% supporting other candidates. 3% undecided. close here like many other states. >> dana: one to watch. rich edson, thank you for joining us. we are awaiting two major storm updates. florida governor ron desantis and fema are both supposed to speak shortly as hurricane milton charges closer to shore