. right now on america this morning. breaking news, tracking halloween. >> look at me. i got. everything's floating. it's bad. >> the monster storm slamming ashore in florida already setting records. catastrophic flooding and a storm surge described as unsurvivable. >> the rain has certainly picked up. you can see it just whipping

here across this parking lot and all that water has reached into the lobby. >> this morning, the scale of destruction and the biggest concern right now, hundreds of miles from where the storm made landfall. >> plus the rescuers putting their lives on the line to save others right now on a special edition of america this morning from abc news. >> this is america this morning. >> good friday morning, everyone. i'm andrew dymburt. >> happy friday to all of you. i'm rhiannon ally. halloween is officially the strongest hurricane on record to hit florida's big bend region. >> the category four storm slamming ashore overnight at least three deaths were quickly confirmed, including two people killed in georgia, where there's major concern about flooding. >> powerful new video overnight shows mobile homes washing away in steinhatchee, florida, not far from where the storm made landfall. >> severe flooding is reported all the way down florida's gulf coast. the water so high this man was kayaking inside his flooded house along tampa bay, paddling through his living room.

>> abc's reena roy begins our coverage in tampa. reena. good morning. >> reena. good morning to you. well, i can tell you that the flooding is widespread here in tampa. and rain is coming down yet again. overnight, we were woken up by an emergency alarm here at our hotel with water inside the building from storm surge. you can see it right here behind us as well. the pool area completely inundated. more than 1 million customers are without power across the state. overnight. a historic flooding event unfolding in florida. hurricane helene roaring ashore south of tallahassee near perry, florida, as a category four storm, packing 140 mile per hour winds. >> you have these 140 mile an hour winds hitting here in north florida. this is going to extend. i mean, you're going to have hurricane force winds that are going to extend across a couple counties to the east and west. >> the national weather service issuing a rare extreme wind

warning for the tallahassee area, calling hurricane helene an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation, warning people to take cover and to treat the conditions as if a tornado was approaching. abc's ike in tallahassee. >> helene finally making landfall in tallahassee, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. officials warning these conditions can down power lines and trees just like this one. >> hundreds of people in taylor county, florida, in the bull's eye of the storm, told emergency officials they did not evacuate. some areas along the gulf coast were bracing for up to 20ft of storm surge. the taylor county sheriff's office now asking residents who defied the mandatory evacuation order to write their name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg in a permanent marker so they can be identified. near tampa bay, this video showing the surge of floodwater in gulfport. hours before helene made landfall, this storm is raging. >> i have got flooding so bad

you can't even imagine. >> the lobby of the all seasons hotel near saint petersburg underwater. high winds and storm surge forced authorities to shut down multiple bridges near tampa, including the sunshine skyway bridge on nearby interstate four. a highway sign fell onto a vehicle, killing the driver. rescuers used boats on fort myers beach to help people stranded by flood water. now helene is setting its sights on georgia, with hurricane warnings reaching 150 miles inland. authorities in south georgia overnight reporting two people were killed in a possible tornado triggered by helene. and some people here in tampa are saying that this is the highest water level that they have ever seen. police in a nearby town reporting rescues in low lying neighborhoods. rhiannon andrew, be careful out there. >> arena. thank you for that. let's get more now from just west of tampa. >> i just spoke to ashley giovannetti. she works for the pinellas county government. can you talk to us about some of the

impacts of this historic storm surge we're hearing about on florida's gulf coast, especially as it relates to those barrier islands in pinellas county. >> so in pinellas county, we are seeing some areas that received over eight feet of storm surge residents with flood and storm surge in their homes that widespread flooding and thousands of residents before the storm made landfall were told to evacuate, especially in those coastal and beach communities. >> what is your message to those who maybe defied those orders? >> well, we hope that as many people got out of those evacuation zone, a as possible. what we ordered for evacuation zones, but those that didn't, we want to ask that they stay inside, that they stay safe. there are many things in that flood water. there are downed power lines, debris. and there's things lurking in the in the flood waters that are very dangerous. we want to ask people to stay inside. >> our thanks there to ashley for that update. let's get the latest forecast now. >> let's head to accuweather's jeff cornish with the latest jeff.

>> good morning rhiannon and andrew. we're still tracking a lot of impacts associated with helene. we've seen a tremendous storm surge in parts of florida's gulf coast, especially into the apalachee bay. but also we've been peppered by tornado threats at times with some rotating cells, landfalling waterspouts in some cases into parts of south carolina. the severe winds have been especially hitting areas near and east of the tallahassee area, primarily east of tallahassee along interstate ten, but we're still seeing some destructive wind potential of gusts of nearly 70 or 80mph into central georgia. a lot of the trees here have not been stressed for a long time to this magnitude north of i-10, so there's a lot of tree fall. again, over a million addresses without electricity. and you can see that we're going to be watching the heavy rain continue. the mountains of western north carolina are a big problem spot right now for flooding rain. this will come to a conclusion in some of those wet areas late on friday, but we're going to keep an eye out for some destructive and potentially catastrophic flash flooding. andrew and rhiannon,

back to you. >> thanks for keeping an eye on that for us, jeff. we will have much more coverage from florida coming up in just a few minutes. >> turning to other news, the israeli military says it intercepted a missile fired from yemen today. sirens sounded in central israel. more than a dozen people were injured in the chaos. israel also launched new airstrikes into lebanon, killing a senior hezbollah commander. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has rejected a cease fire plan. he speaks at the u.n. today. >> turning now to the presidential race. vice president harris will head to the southern border today, hoping to improve her poll numbers on immigration, while former president trump meets with ukraine's president today. abc's perry russom has details on both. perry. good morning brianna. >> good morning to you. as vice president kamala harris heads to the southern border, she's also speaking out against a trade deal with mexico and canada, a deal that former president trump helped negotiate. today, vice president kamala harris heading to arizona for her first trip to the southern border since becoming the presidential nominee. harris, under fire for

the surge in illegal immigration during the biden administration. harris is expected to outline a plan to crack down on fentanyl smuggling and human trafficking, while pushing for more border agents and resources. those are all parts of the bipartisan border security bill. former president trump urged republicans to block earlier this year. >> he wants to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. >> trump yesterday mocking harris's visit to the border. >> there's no body saying, oh gee, she's done a fabulous job. she's done the worst job, probably in the history of any border with foreign policy also looming large. >> harris meeting with ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky yesterday, making a thinly veiled jab at trump. >> there are some in my country who would instead force ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory. they are not proposals for peace. instead, they are proposals for surrender. >> trump, who is expected to meet with zelensky today, hitting back it's not a surrender. >> what my strategy is to save

lives. i want to save lives. millions of people are dead. >> trump facing a change of plans. this weekend. sources say the secret service told the campaign that agents do not have the manpower to secure an outdoor rally in wisconsin, recommending an indoor event instead. manpower stretched thin by events at the un in new york this week. federal officials today are also planning to announce criminal charges in connection with the alleged iranian hack of trump campaign emails, including documents used to vet his running mate. trump has suggested iran may have been behind the recent plots to assassinate him. former first lady melania trump, in a rare interview yesterday, weighing in on those assassination attempts. >> we hear the leaders from the opposition party and mainstream media branding him as a threat to democracy, calling him vile names. they only fueling a toxic atmosphere and giving power. all of these people that they want

to do harm to him. >> trump and harris also focusing on the economy. harris now suggesting she'd make changes to the us-mexico-canada trade deal that trump negotiated during his first term. harris, claiming the deal made it easier for car companies to outsource american jobs. trump not immediately responding to those claims. he's vowed to impose tariffs on companies that move american jobs to foreign countries. during a news conference yesterday. trump also accused harris of lying about working at mcdonald's when she was a student. harris has said that experience helps her better relate to everyday americans. andrew. >> all right, perry, thank you. coming up, potential criminal charges for contaminated deli meat. >> also ahead, what could be a major blow to the u.s. economy? the port strike looming next week. the impact it could have on consumer prices. >> and later, the legal battle over shohei ohtani

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good morning america. >> police in los angeles are searching for members of a flash mob targeting 7-eleven stores. they say groups of up to 40 teens are behind more than a dozen robberies, most of them taking place on friday nights. police are stepping up their patrols this weekend. >> federal investigators are now looking into the boar's head deli meat recall. a listeria outbreak traced to liverwurst is linked to at least ten deaths. the meat came from a plant in virginia, which the company has shut down. lawmakers are pushing for possible criminal charges. boarshead says changes are being made and safety is its top priority. >> a major concern for the u.s. economy. port workers are set to go on strike, and it could impact everything from grocery stores to car dealerships. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> this morning a strike is looming at ports along the east and gulf coast that could cost the american economy billions of

dollars per day and potentially lead to shortages for consumers. >> a strike of this magnitude would cripple the u.s. economy. >> dock workers represented by the international longshoremen's association are threatening to go on strike tuesday. the strike would affect 45,000 workers and close to 36 ports from texas to maine. analysts warn a walkout lasting more than a week could lead to major supply chain disruptions. anything imported could be delayed, including fresh produce, toys, alcohol and vehicles and parts. some experts are warning if you need your car repaired, get to the dealership now. >> if there's a prolonged strik, you could see shortages with fresh fruits and vegetables. obviously, the automotive parts sector will be impacted. the port workers union is demanding higher wages and a ban on automated cranes, gates and trucks. >> the u.s. maritime allowance, representing the port's claims the union isn't bargaining in

good faith. the maritime alliance has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the national labor relations board, in hopes of getting the union back to the bargaining table before tuesday's contract deadline. >> rhiannon, andrew, our thanks to andrea fujii there. coming up, the lawsuit over an expensive baseball. >> but first, will the mayor of new york face criminal charges be removed from office? >> and our coverage of hurricane helene continues massive flooding and wind damage in florida. abc's whit johnson reports from the gulf coast. reports from the gulf coast. coming up don't mind me. i'm just the flu. i'm quite harmless, really. and when people ask, “but aren't you linked to dangerous flu complications like pneumonia, heart attack, and hospitalizations?” i just say, “but i'm just the flu.” (sniffs.) it's him! who? i'm just the flu. demand more from your flu shot. sanofi higher-dose flu vaccines

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♪ entyvio, entyvio, entyvio ♪ three people are dead amid the devastation and widespread flooding caused by hurricane helene. the storm roared ashore near perry, florida, overnight. a flooded home was seen on fire in pinellas county. >> 140 mile per hour winds made it the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in florida's big bend region. there's widespread flooding all along florida's gulf coast. you can even see someone here swimming in flood waters. rescuers were bringing people to safety through the night. storm surge was expected to hit 20ft. >> a man and his dog were rescued by the coast guard 25 miles from shore as their boat sank. abc's whit johnson is riding out the storm down in tampa. >> so we're all awakened in the middle of the night by the alarm going off, telling everyone in the hotel to get out of the building. and when we went outside, this is what we found.

you can see the floodwaters have reached the hotel. this is the parking lot behind the hotel. you can see just how high the water is on the tire right there. vehicle after vehicle. and this goes all the way into the first floor. >> whit. thank you. at least 65 people were rescued in nearby pasco county overnight. more from florida just ahead. >> new york mayor eric adams is due in federal court today to be arraigned on corruption charges. he is accused of accepting more than $100,000 in undeclared gifts and illegal campaign contributions from turkey. he insists he's innocent and has refused to resign. the governor has the power to remove adams from office, but for now, she says she's hoping adams will assess his situation. >> we turn now to a legal battle over a famous baseball with a huge payday at stake this morning. a fan calling foul as the battle over a baseball turns into a major league lawsuit. >> ohtani sends one in the air the other way. >> back it goes. gone.

>> dodgers star shohei ohtani hit his 50th home run of the season last week, and during the same game, he stole his 50th base, the first mlb player ever to manage both feats in the same season. >> maybe the greatest job of all time, the greatest performance of all time by a single player in a major league baseball game. >> in the moments after that hit, frantic fans drove across their seats to score the souvenir ball, with chris polansky seemingly taking the prize. but now max matos, the teenager seen here in red, is claiming polansky forcibly ripped the ball out of his hand and that it legally belongs to him. >> he says he had the ball, he had possession in his left hand, according to the suit that was filed in dade county, and it was taken away from him. the issue is that the videos that are out there, including the stills, don't really show matos at any time with full possession of the ball. >> polansky is already set to

auction off the ball beginning today, and the starting bid $500,000. a judge ruled yesterday the auction can move ahead, but they can't finalize the sale until after matos gets the chance to make his case. a hearing on the case is set for october 10th. >> coming up, the most effective way to work out. >> plus, a brave five year old >> plus, a brave five year old who saved her mother's life you might wonder, john legend, how do you keep your voice sounding so... ...legendary? honey! and how do i keep my protection against covid-19 up to date? with a covid shot this season, designed for recent variants. you can get your covid-19 shot when getting your flu shot, if you're due for both, as recommended by the cdc. ♪the fresher, the better.♪ ask your healthcare provider about getting this season's covid-19 shot when getting your flu shot. >> i had 20 years of experience as an hr professional and i had reached a ceiling,

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revitalift triple power morning on good morning america >> time to check the pulse. we begin with good news for weekend warriors. >> we mean those people who do all of their exercise on weekends instead of during the week. a new study finds cramming your physical activity into just your weekend is just as effective in reducing health risks as spreading your workouts

through the week, researchers found. >> it's not how frequent, but how much exercise you do over time. next, an end of an era at southwest airlines. >> it will soon offer assigned seating for the very first time, offering a premium cabin, and it will begin charging extra for more legroom. the changes are being made because the airline has struggled to make a profit. >> bags will still fly free next. >> a five year old from illinois making a life saving call. >> zoey reddick took action when her mom had a seizure, calling 911 911. >> where's your emergency, i in my room and i was watching t, and my mom. just saying it. can you come? hurry. i already called my papa and my grandma. >> within minutes of that call, zoey's mom, jessica, woke up surrounded by paramedics. and now the police department has honored zoey for staying calm in a crisis. >> i took ten deep breaths took ten deep breaths, so i

calmed down. i was panicking, but i calmed down. >> heroes come in all shapes, sizes and forms. you have superwoman. superman? i have super zoey and mom is okay. >> next, a turkey causing trouble in wisconsin. >> one woman is so fed up she dressed up as a turkey trying to scare off the boisterous bird which is pecking at cars. which is pecking at cars. >> one police if you have chronic kidney disease, you can reduce the risk of kidney failure with farxiga. because there are places you'd like to be. farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract, or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. ♪ farxiga ♪ to me, harlem is home. but home is also your body. i asked myself, why doesn't pilates exist in harlem?

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vice president harris returning to the bay area for a fundraising event over the weekend. now at five, the preparations being made in san francisco by the secret service. this morning, i tripped. >> i was on the ground, the coyote starts circling me, i'm screaming and yelling for help. >> hey, coyote alert for pet owners in san francisco, three dogs have been killed in the past ten days. >> it's the end of an era, let's put it that way. >> i didn't know it was going to be sad. >> the team in oakland, that's where we celebrate. we love you. >> we love your a's. >> there is crying in baseball when it's the