it's wednesday, october 9th, 2024. there is "cbs news mornings." the race to escape from hurricane milton. millions of floridians are boarding up, packing up, and getting out of dodge ahead of

what could be a once in a century storm. >> if you're under evacuation order, you should evacuate now, now, now. it's a matter of life and death. >> this one coming we're going to lose everything. gas stations running on empty, airports shutting down, time is running out as milton closes in. good morning. i'm michael george. millions of people are bracing for lethal storm surges, ferocious winds, and possible tornadoes as hurricane milton barrels toward florida's west coast. the storm, a monster category five with 160 mile-per-hour winds, is expected to double in size before making landfall as a category three. milton is so powerful even the government's hurricane hunters got bumped around as they rode into the heart of the storm. we have team coverage. nicole valdes is in florida with preparations. first off, let's start with weather producer david parkinson.

what's the latest? >> here's the crazy thing -- this storm should be weakening, it is not yet. this is a perfectly formed eye. this is a category-five mega hurricane, and it will weaken slightly before it makes landfall according to forecasts from the national hurricane center to a four potentially later this afternoon. look at all this rain ahead of it. so much of this storm is going to be front loaded and then crossing the state of florida down to a one and exiting out the other side. and we're all done by friday. but there's so much damage coming ahead of it. north of the storm, it is all about the freshwater flooding. this area north of tampa could see a foot to a foot and a half of rain. that continues all the way over to the st. augustine area. then we have to talk about the storm surge. this is the saltwater flooding. south of tampa, 10 to 15 feet, and realistically now down to fort myers, this is your major zone. no matter where the storm comes on, it's anywhere south that's

going to have the storm surge, so it's really this area from fort myers to sarasota that may be in the bull's-eye. in addition, 100 to 120 mile-per-hour winds on the west coast. 80 mile-per-hour winds up the i-4 corridor, then down to miami, 40 mile-per-hour gusts. further north, 60 to 80. this storm is a beast. it is going to be one where you have until 2:00 in the afternoon before you need to hunker down. if you have not evacuated and you are in that area, please do so. this is a storm that is going to change the geography of western florida forever in some places. >> scary looking stuff. thank you for the update. >> sure thing. more than a dozen counties in western florida are under mandatory evacuation orders this morning. and while many appear to be heeding the call, some are choosing to ride out the storm. cbs' nicole valdes with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. we're in downtown fort myers, one of the many areas across lee

county with those mandatory evacuation orders in place. we, of course, have seen so many people listen to that, we've seen the traffic. a lot of people recognizing just how serious this storm threat is and getting out of town. this area's been a ghost town for the last 24 hours or so, and we are anticipating that storm to start to move in throughout the day today. the question is who will see the worst storm summer. radio -- shortage storm shurj. here in downtown, just two weeks ago helene left this area under several inches of water. not to mention what hurricane ian did just two years ago. now milton has that really threat on high alert. sirens and police ride-throughs. urging residents on florida's west coast to evacuate with monster hurricane milton set to make landfall in a few hours. >> we were going to stay, but i don't want to take the chance. >> reporter: a steady stream of traffic moving inland has brought highways to a crawl,

while areas like treasure island already hit hard by hurricane helene almost two years ago looked like ghost town tuesday. tom potter and his family had barely begun the cleanup after helene, now they're bracing for milton. >> thinking that this storm could be the one that actually takes it all away, pretty scary. >> reporter: it's a race against time to clear the piles of debris left behind by helene with the governor ordering landfills to stay open overnight. fort myers businesses are boarded up, and sandbags piled on in preparation for the storm. still, some residents say they plan to stick it out. >> i'm in highrise downtown. so i feel pretty comfortable where i'm at. i got plenty of food and supplies. >> reporter: a traveler filmed this empty terminal before she departed tampa's international airport, now one of several in florida to suspend operations as milton approaches. now we know several areas here including fort myers beach and sanibel are under a curfew, as

well. really those officials trying to make sure that people get out of town long before we start to feel this which could happen any time now. >> nicole, thanks and stay safe out there. an afghan man living in oklahoma city has been arrested on charges of plotting an election day attack in the u.s. the suspect has been identified as nasir ahmad tawhedi. federal officials say he was motivated by isis and was attempting to stockpile firearms and had taken steps to liquidate his family's assets and relocate members overseas. the fbi said he worked with an unnamed co-conspirator, a juvenile relative and also a citizen of afghanistan. now to the race for the white house. former president trump and vice president kamala harris are back out on the campaign trail today, 27 days until election day. this comes on the heels of haris' major media blitz and a bombshell report about former president trump's alleged

contact with russian president vladimir putin. cbs' jarred hill now with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. russia is again a focal point in the presidential race. though in a new way this time. former president trump is stumping in pennsylvania today as vice president harris heads to nevada. after criticizing a report that trump gave putin covid test machines when they were in short supply here in the states. >> president kamala harris. [ cheers ] >> reporter: "the late show with stephen colbert" the latest stop on the president's media tour as she works to distinguish herself from former president donald trump and president joe biden. >> i'm obviously not joe biden. >> i noticed. >> that would be one thing. >> reporter: harris quickly pivoting and commenting on new reporting that in the early days of the pandemic then-president trump sent russian president vladimir putin covid-19 test machines, according to the new book "war" by bob woodward. >> he gives it to him for his

personal use. >> do you remember how rare it was to have? you remember people by the hundreds were dying every day. he thinks vladimir putin is his friend. what about the american people? they should be your first friend. [ applause ] >> reporter: woodward also claiming trump has spoken with putin at least seven times since leaving office. the trump campaign wrote in a statement, "none of these made-up stories are true." the former president doubling down on denying the claims. >> it's wrong. that's absolutely wrong. >> reporter: less than four weeks until election day, trump's running mate, senator j.d. vance, rallied in battleground michigan. >> the big difference is that donald trump has a record to be proud of, and kamala harris has a record to be ashamed of. >> reporter: today the tops of the tickets are back on the campaign trail, criss-crossing the country as early voting has already begun. the harris campaign has a cleanup of its own after tim walz last night said the electoral college needs to go. a harris spokesman said that is not a position the campaign holds, michael.

this comes after walz told "60 minutes" that vice president harris has told him he needs to be more careful when he speaks. back to you. >> jarred hill, thanks. israel is expanding its ground incursion in southern lebanon as hezbollah fires another barrage of rockets into israel. more than 100 rockets rained down around the port city of haifa which until yesterday hadn't been hit in nearly two decades. most were intercepted, but some buildings had significant damage. israeli forces took over a lebanese border village, hoisting israel's flag on the southern outskirts of the city. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says the presumed successor to hezbollah has been eliminated. the israeli army says it's working to confirm his fate. the israeli defense minister, yoav gallant, postponed his trip per netanyahu's order. he says he wants to talk to

president biden first about the planned retaliatory strike against iran. sources say that call is scheduled for today. hezbollah's leader says it's ready to open talks for a cease-fire with israel. this is the first time the group is not making a deal contingent on a cease-fire in gaza. back here in the u.s., talks between aerospace giant boeing and its striking machinists have broken down. some 33,000 employees went on strike almost a month ago over contract negotiations. a boeing spokesperson says the two-day federally mediated talks came to a halt yesterday because of the union's demands. it's estimated the strike is costing boeing $1 billion a month. coming up, new trouble for tiktok. why more than a dozen states are suing the popular social media platform. and all bets are off. las vegas says good-bye to an iconic hotel. n iconic hotel.

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♪ robitussin ♪ the iconic tropicana hotel in las vegas is about to go out with a bang. it will be imploded early this morning and include a fireworks and drone show. the tropicana, which opened its doors in april, 1957, was the most expensive hotel ever built on the las vegas strip at the time, costing $15 million. it's being demolished to make room for a new as' baseball stadium. a new development over classroom bibles in oklahoma, and the supreme court hears a major gun case. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." "the washington post" reports the supreme court seems likely to uphold ghost gun rules. the justices heard arguments yesterday in a challenge to a major gun regulation from the biden administration. it requires background checks, serial numbers, and sales records for the so-called ghost guns. those are often assembled at home from a kit or pieces made by 3d printers.

ghost guns are nearly untraceable, and being used in a growing number of crimes. a ruling is expected in the coming months. "the tulsa world" says oklahoma changed requirements for bibles being supplied by classrooms. it's part of a plan to purchase 55,000 bibles for public schools. the original purchase request from the state came under legal scrutiny because it appeared to be written to match just a handful of editions including a $60 bible endorsed by former president trump. it required the bible to include the pledge of allegiance, declaration of independence, constitution and bill of rights. now those things can be supplied separately. and "the new york times" reports on the first-ever national survey of transgender high school students. the cdc says about 3.3% of u.s. high schoolers identify as transgender, and another 2.2% are questioning their gender identity. the survey was carried out in

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well, say good-bye to hot meals on some jetblue flights, and tiktok facing new legal trouble. here's shanelle kaul with today's cbs "moneywatch." >> reporter: u.s. stocks rose tuesday as investors prepare for the next earnings season to kick off later this week. the dow gained 126 points, the nasdaq was up 259, and the s&p 500 gained 55 points. a legal challenge against tiktok. more than a dozen attorneys general are suing the social media company alleging it's misleading the public about its safety. the lawsuits allege the app is harming children's mental health, relying on addictive features that keep users glued to its platform. in a statement to cbs news, tiktok says it strongly disagrees with those claims and will continue to update and improve its product. no more hot meals for economy passengers on jetblue. the airline says customers flying on coach on a transatlantic flight will now be

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ian meighan. here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ justin timberlake abruptly canceling last night's show at the prudential center in huge? just hours before he was set to perform. the singer citing an undisclosed injury. timberlake, who is on his "forget tomorrow" world tour promising fans he'll make it up to them and give them the show they deserve at a later date. actor jenna fischer told fans she's beaten breast cancer. fischer, who played pam on "the office," announced she was diagnosed with stage-one breast cancer last year.

the 50-year-old said she had a lumpectomy to remove the cancer that did not spread. due to the aggressive nature of the cancer she had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation. ethel kennedy is in the hospital after her grandson said she suffered a stroke. the widow of the later widow -- late senator robert f. kennedy suffered the scare last thursday morning in her sleep according to joe kennedy iii. he added the 96-year-old is receiving treatment, adding she's comfortable, getting best care possible, and is surrounded by family. coming up on "cbs mornings," comedian taylor tomlinson joins us in the times square studio to to discuss season two of her late-night talk show "after midnight." late-night talk show "after midnight." you're leaving me? for a turbotax expert. sing it adam! ♪ turbotax'll beat your price ♪ ♪ this is a taaaax break-up! ♪ this fall, switch to a turbotax live expert and we'll beat the price you paid your pro last tax season.

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♪ cue the trumpets on this wednesday as we welcome you to "cbs mornings." i'm gayle king. >> i'm tony dokoupil. >> i'm nate burleson. >> we're all here so