Meet the Press NOW — October 9

Foreign. Welker in Washington, we begin with breaking news out of Florida, where Hurricane Milton has begun lashing the state. The National Weather Service is telling residents in the storm's path it is time to shelter in place as the powerful Category 3 storm is forecast to make landfall just hours from now. Forecasters now say the massive storm could come ashore as early as 10pm that's earlier than previously predicted, with landfall expected near Sarasota.

But already parts of Sarasota and Tampa Bay are seen flooding as the region braces for a catastrophic storm surge that forecasters say could reach or exceed 15ft. And Florida is also facing a tornado outbreak. At least 10 have already been spotted some hundreds of miles from Milton's core as far away as Miami. Right now, nearly all of Florida is under some form of tropical alert, with the heart of the state seen here in red.

Hurricane warning. This afternoon, President Biden, Vice President Harris warned of the dangers of this historic storm during a briefing with federal disaster officials. It's looking like the storm of the century between Helene and Nolan, two historic storms in two weeks. I want to thank everyone who has followed local guidance to evacuate ahead of landfall.

I know it's really tough. Leave behind your home, your belongings, everything you own. But I urge everyone in Hurricane Milton's path to follow all safety instructions as we head to the next 24 hours. It's a matter of literally a matter of life and death.

And many of you I know are tough and you've written out these hurricanes before. This one's going to be different. And so we ask you that by every measure understand it's going to be more dangerous, more deadly and more catastrophic. Now, we do expect to hear from President Biden again in the next hour on several preparations for the storm.

With more than a million Floridians under a mandatory evacuation order. Right now, FEMA Administrator Dan Criswell telling residents that getting to safety could be the difference between life and death. This is an extremely dangerous storm and we need all of the residents that are in the path of the storm to listen to their local officials. They will tell you if there's still time to evacuate or what you need to do.

If you are still where you're at. They will give you the right information about what you need to do to protect yourself, where you are at right now. Sometimes just traveling a few miles inland can mean the difference between life and death. And nobody has to lose their life as a result of this storm.

Let's get to our team covering the storm. Nowadays, Jesse Kersh has the very latest from Sarasota. Stephanie Goss is in Tampa and Bill Karens is with us with the latest track and the latest forecast, what we can expect. Jesse, let me start with you.

We can obviously see the conditions behind you. It is already looking incredibly intense. Tell us what you are seeing there. Yeah, Kristen, what we're seeing right now is the wind kicking up.

It was hitting us pretty hard earlier than it calmed down. The rain went away as well, and it was eerily quiet here. It's starting to pick up again. And when we talked about the evacuation orders and requests and the pleadings that we heard from officials for days now, the reality is we're coming up on the point where maybe if it is not already too late for people to get out, I think this is a prime example of it.

On a good day when it was just a typical rainstorm, this is the kind of weather which you'd be thinking, maybe you need to pull around on the side of the road. Promise if you pull on the side of the road, you're just going to get deeper into the storm. With Milton making its way towards us, and we're at this point looking like we're in the bullseye. In Sarasota, right behind me, you can see there's a tall building and then a shorter one over those buildings behind that shorter building that is Sarasota Bay.

So the water is that close. And I can tell you even just from a little bit of rain compared to what we're looking at over the next day or so, a couple hours worth of rain have the side streets around where I am partially flooded earlier. That is cleared out for the time being, but I can still see a storm rain below me that is battling the water. And again, this is really just the beginning.

So when you think about that, before we even get close to the storm surge coming in gives you an idea of the impact of the infrastructure, and that's not even talking about the threat to human life. Storm surge, when it gets that high, is it's almost impossible to think someone can survive over your head. It doesn't come in slowly. It doesn't rise at a leisurely pace.

It comes in fast and hard. And we've seen firsthand what it can do. It can bust indoors, it can toss refrigerators around and it will kill people. And that's why officials have been imploring people to get out while they still can.

That just brings us back to, you know, we're approaching a point where that may be too late soon. Kristen. And then if anyone's guessed what will happen, unfortunately. I just want to bring up one last point before I get back to you.

We're looking at a variable with this storm that we have not seen, at least in the other hurricanes I have covered. And it's not something I think we typically talk about in that is leftover debris. Because it has been less than two weeks, as President Biden just acknowledged, since Hurricane Halimi landfall, we've been out in this community and I can tell you yesterday, after the mayor told me that debris pickup has been completed because of the preparation for the storm, there were still piles of trash. We're talking mattresses, plywood, shattered glass, picture frames, envelopes.

People's lives are on their lawns and it has not been fully cleared away. And when the storm surge comes in, when the wind kicks up and we're expecting close to 100 mile per hour gusts here in Sarasota, all of that debris potentially becomes lethal projectiles. And so that is the big unknown, I think, in this storm. We're looking at the track, we're looking at the forecast.

We know that the dangers are there, but I don't know if we fully know at this point what the impact is going to be on that in the run up throughout the storm and the aftermath, because that will also be obstacles for first responders. Kristen Jesse Kersh, thank you so much for your reporting from Sarasota. Such an important point about that debris, all of the unknowns, all of the dangers that anyone who did not heed the evacuation orders would be facing. Please stay safe.

Jesse, we really appreciate your reporting. Stephanie Goss, let me turn to you now. Set the scene where you are. Not as much rain as we're seeing in Jesse's live shot, but obviously we can see the wind starting to whip up there.

Yeah, the rain's been coming in and out pretty heavily. We're starting to see that kind of flooding on side streets and bodies of water rising a little bit. You know, I want to pick up a little bit off of what Jesse was talking about. You know, all of that debris that he's talking about represents families who are no longer in their homes because of Hurricane Helene.

That is, all of those families already displaced, now they're being displaced again. Hardship on top of hardship. We had an incredible conversation today with a pediatrician, an emergency room pediatrician who has a family of four, all of her kids in the ages between 6 and 12. They live in St.

Petersburg. Their house got wiped out by Helene. They were in another house that was actually also had to be evacuated because of this storm. She is now in her hospital working her shift and all of her children are there with her because it's the safest place for them to be.

It's just hard to wrap your head around how difficult and concerning and just exhausting it must be for the people who have to deal with this. And there are of course those people who decided not to go anywhere and are staying quick. There aren't many of them. We haven't seen many of them.

We're being told that the shelters are for the most part full. But you continue to hear these stark and dire warnings from officials if you choose to stay in an evacuation zone and you deal with here in Tampa Bay the kinds of numbers that are potentially possible. 8 to 12 foot storm surge up to 12ft of 12 inches rather of rain on top of that that it's just not survival. And if the winds are too strong, no one's coming to get you.

Kristen. Stephanie, what an unbelievable story that you just relayed and it just does underscore the human suffering that is happening while the region braces for a second hurricane. Thank you so much. Stephanie Goss.

Please continue to stay safe where you are. Bill Karens, let me turn to you. Forecasters have apparently moved up the predicted landfall. Talk about the implications of that.

And this is shaping up to be an historic storm still. And we have big changes happening, Kristen, currently. So the first thing you asked about is moving up the timing. The effects are still gonna be the same.

Everyone's already hungry night. Everyone's already in their safe rooms and getting staying inside. So that's fine. The important thing is where is the landfall going to happen?

We've been pointing at Sarasota for about the last 12 to 18 hours. After that shift yesterday, was it Tampa going south? Now the storm has wobbled to the north in the last couple hours. That has significant impact for any interest around Tampa Bay because we're hoping that the worst of the surge would be out of Tampa Bay and south of you.

You know, not that we want in Sarasota or Venice or Englewood or for Myers, that liar. But at least we could avoid Tampa Bay, highly populated area. And that may not be happening now. So let me explain.

So this is the forecast line from 11 o' clock about 45 minutes. We're getting a new forecast center line. Notice how it kind of bends like this. That's not how it really happens.

They're giving us hourly position updates and right now the storm is about 10 to 15 miles north of where it should be. And that's why this line automatically kind of corrects itself. I think when we get that new forecast in the hurricane center, I think it's going north of Sarasota, somewhere in between Tampa and Sarasota. That may be the landfall which makes the storm surge much worse in Sarasota and possibly getting into portions of Tampa Bay.

Let me give you another example. All these little lines show us our potential computers where the storm is going to go. These lines are all about 10 to 15 miles south of where the storm actually is right now. And if we actually follow the lines that are closer to it, they do bring it up here, closer to Tampa or Tampa Bay.

So this is a huge change. And the reason it's such a big deal is because Tampa Bay is on the south side, north side of the storm. The wind blows out and then we see all the water exiting. If we take this eye and we project it right over Tampa, first of all, you have to go through the eye.

But then we also have a chance of we get the air and the wind blowing the water out and then as the eye approaches, it can rush in. And that's what happens right near the eye. Extremely dangerous. And that's potentially what could occur if we continue to watch this northerly drift here.

And this also definitely means, like from Sarasota here, you're now getting locked in to that 10 to 15 foot storm surge. Now, we wanted to hear, it's about 90 miles right now from Tampa Bay. Yes, we are down to a Category 3. But that storm surge is locked in.

It's too late. The storm is too strong, too long pushing too much water towards the coast. It doesn't matter how much the wind weakened out for the storm surge. Yes, it'll help with wind damage maybe a little less than what was expected.

But you know, the storm surge was going to cause 80% of the damage out of this. And now we're watching these bright red bands, they're starting to approach Sarasota, Clearwater beach here. OC These areas are now starting this hurricane gust, which means the power outages are going to start going out. So our thoughts, you know, so many people are watching this because they have their properties, they have their businesses, their livelihoods depend on where this makes landfall.

You know, a lot of people, they were feeling better about things and right now they are super nervous and pitch in your stomach moments as we wait and see where this landfall is going to be. By the way, that should be sometime probably around 10pm Maybe if it goes further north up around Pinellas county here, maybe closer to midn. But this is starting to get real and happen very quickly, and high tides coming in with it. This is, you know, pretty horrific for everyone there, those interests in that area.

Yeah. And you mapped it out so well, Bill. And of course, you know, you'll continue to keep us posted on the storm's path. Thank you so much for that.

We really appreciate it. Well, next, as the storm is heading towards Florida, some scientists have been heading towards the storm, flying directly into the hurricane to collect data. This is the view of the eye earlier today. And this was the view from the flight deck during that mission.

The turbulent ride enough to startle even seasoned hurricane hunters. Joining now is one of the crew members on that flight today, Lieutenant Commander Josh Krenberg with the national oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it.

Thank you. So we just saw that extraordinary video. Take us inside your flight. You flew through this storm today.

What did you learn? Commander? Yeah, I mean, it just solidified today, especially today and yesterday's mission were both significant. It was the craziest storm I've ever flown in, hands down.

And I watched this turn into a monster from a tropical storm, both in terms of its reach and in terms of its power. So it's difficult to watch now after seeing it from the inside as it bears down on my home. We're seeing more of this video. The way in which you all are bouncing around as you fly through the storm.

You say it's different than any other storm you've flown through. I mean, just in the strength. And what is the takeaway for folks who are on the ground, like yourself, who have homes there? Yeah, in terms of strength, definitely the turbulence and the wind shear that we felt.

The amount of lightning that I've seen inside the storm has been tenfold compared to most of the other storms that I've flown in. And I've been doing this now for five hurricane seasons. I've penetrated the eye of a hurricane over 150 times, and this was definitely the worst I've seen. So I think my message to anybody who's still in the area worth making landfall is the shelter in place.

And what does the data that you gathered tell you about the impact that Milton will have when it does make landfall? The data, research data, that we collect goes directly into the supercomputer forecast models and helps reduce the margin of error to forecast what actually happens, not just for this storm, but for every storm in the future. And I think that it's a testament to what the no hare can hunter bring to the table and the service they provide this country. I'm proud to be part of it.

What does the data specifically that you gathered on Milton tell you? How does it compare to other storms? Just from what I've seen, the perspective that I've seen is from the cockpit. So my view is kind of scopeblocked on what's going on with the aircraft.

The winds I've seen were the strongest I've ever seen at the altitude we fly inside the storm at. The turbulence was the most severe I've ever seen. So I think that's just a testament of what a monster this storm really turned into. And I know this is your job, but boy, we see you all up in the middle of this storm, this storm that so many people are fleeing, and in some ways you're flying right in the middle of it.

Do you ever get scared doing this on these past couple missions? I don't think my crew and I had much time to be scared. We had a job to do and we were doing it well. It's pretty extraordinary.

As you look to the future Commander, do you anticipate that storms of this strength like Milton will become the new normal, particularly given what we just saw with Helene? I have such a small view on what's been going on with hurricane seasons over time, like I said, I've been doing for five seasons. But it's such a small blip in the grand scheme of things. I really can't tell you what to expect in the future versus the past.

But I can tell you that this storm is real and your message loud and clear, that folks heed the warnings to evacuate. Lieutenant Commander Josh Ranenberg, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate your perspective. Thank you.

And joining me now is the mayor of Fort Myers Beach, Dan Allers, who himself has evacuated. Mayor, what an incredible circumstance that you yourself have evacuated. We're just hours away from the expected landfall of Milton. Set the scene.

What is your message to the communities there and is it really ready? Well, I think this is our fifth storm, you know, since Ian hit two years ago, so to say we're ready. I guess we're ready. We can be.

We're pretty battle tested. This will be the strongest one since Ian two weeks ago. We're still cleaning up from hurricane. So I guess where the dragon can be.

Our residents really heated. The warning got off the island. I left there about two and a half hours ago. For the last time and it was pretty much a ghost town.

The majority of people left, there are a few that decided to stay. All we can tell them now is to hold on and hope for the best. Mayor Given how rapidly changing the forecast is, you just heard from our Bill Karenson as we have this conversation. We're looking at the strength of the winds.

It's just unbelievable. They're blowing the palm trees around. What's your biggest concern right now? Is it the wind?

Is it the storm surge? Is it everything? Well, the wind is certainly a factor, but in this case it's going to be the surge. What we saw with the 15ft of storm surge, this is predicted 8 to 12.

What you're seeing there, the Margaritaville pool, you know, it was up to almost that Thatcherf that you see in the middle of the screen during Ian. So a lot of buildings you kind of see in the background there are gone from Ian. So the biggest concern is that this surge, if it's the 8 to 12, is gonna push inland on the island quite a ways and it'll affect the homes that were protected before Ian. But now all those structures are gone.

So we haven't had a chance to complete the beach renishment that we were working on. We had an emergency burn that we had in place, but the last three storms that pretty much knocked that down. So we're pretty wide open. We're at sea level with no protection in front of us.

So this surges is gonna do quite a bit of damage. You talked about the debris, Mayor, and we have been seeing images of it throughout the day, quite frankly, throughout this broadcast. How much of a concern does that bring to you as you brace for this monster storm to make landfall? And has enough debris been removed to make sure that for the few people who did stay, it won't become a more dangerous situation?

Yeah, I would say from Hurricane Lee, we were able to get about 90 to 95% of the debris off the island, including the sand. There is still a few streets that have some debris on it. We do have construction dumpsters that are all over the island that weren't able to get removed in time. And there's obviously a lot of construction equipment and equipment, but materials that are there from the rebuild that we're doing from the end.

So all that stuff is tied down as best it can be. But at this point, we're at the mercy of Mother Nature and God and we'll see what what happens. And we're certainly hoping that we get the lower end of that surge. But right now we're just a whole new pattern waiting to see.

Well, we hope so, too. And you are all in our thoughts there, everyone in Florida who's going to be impacted by this storm. Mayor Den Allers, thank you so much. We really appreciate your time.

Yeah, thank you for having me. Please stay safe. And we will continue to follow hurricane closely. And we've got more from the region as it races through the works coming up.

But first of 27 days until the election. Trump rallies in Muslim Pennsylvania as Harris blitzes the airwaves and battles questions about Ricky for Biden. Plus, federal officials arrest an Afghan national living in the US for allegedly plotting an election day terrorist attack. Stay with us.

You're watching me, the press now. Welcome back. Turning to a busy day on the campaign show. With less than a month until at this hour, former President Trump is holding a rally in battleground Pennsylvania.

He's continuing his attack on the federal hurricane response, calling the Helene response the worst rescue operation in history. Without any evidence. And for the second election cycle In a row, Mr. Trump is facing the fallout from a Bob Woodward book.

This time, Woodward reports Trump sent Russian leader Vladimir Putin scarcely available COVID test during the height of the pandemic. According to Bloomberg, the Kremlin has confirmed that reporting. The book also says that the former president and Putin have talked several times since he left the White House. Here's Mr.

Trump's reaction to that reporting. He said was that you've had a number of conversations with Putin. Is that true? I mean, imagine that could be.

No, false. Oh, really? So you haven't spoken to him since you left the White House? No, I have none.

Meanwhile, as we mentioned earlier, Vice President Harris attended a hurricane briefing virtually today and did some phone interviews before hitting the trail for Nevada. It comes in an immediate blitz with an appearance last night on the Late show with Stephen Colbert where she again was unable to give a direct answer about how her administration would be different from Joe Biden's. Listen, you are a member of administration under a Harris administration. What would the major changes be and what would say the same?

Sure. Well, I mean, I'm obviously not Joe Biden. And so that would be one change in terms of. But also I think it's important to say with, you know, 28 days ago, I'm not Donald Trump.

And so when we think about the significance of what this next generation of leadership looks like, were I to be like the president, it is about, frankly, I love the American people and I believe in our country. I want to turn now to our ABC News correspondence covering the campaigns. Monica Alba is covering Vice President Harris, and Dasha Burns is at the Trump rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Monica, let me turn to you.

Well, that's the second time that the vice president got that question this week. What does the campaign say about her strategy and answering it? Any plans to change strategy? Are they satisfied with that answer that has, by the way, gotten critiqued by Donald Trump?

Yeah. And it was notable also, Kristen, that she was asked this exact question earlier in the day. At the time, she said, well, there's nothing that really comes to mind because I was a part of those big decisions. And in that same interview a few moments later, she said, actually, I want to revise that and there is one thing I would do differently.

And she suggested that she would appoint a Republican to her Cabinet if elected, saying that pride wouldn't get in the way of something like that. So that was one kind of example that seemed to come a little bit later in the course of that interview. But then, yes, when she was posed with that exact same question again later in the day, she didn't really talk about that and instead reverted back to a line that she delivered during her debate against Donald Trump where she said, I'm not Joe Biden and I'm not Donald Trump. And it's something that her campaign is keenly aware of.

Strategically is an important moment where she feels she needs to define herself separately from President Biden while making sure to praise his leadership and still stay strategically aligned with what they view and what they tout as the Biden Harris administration accomplishments. But I think you can expect her in the days and weeks ahead in the limited time she has left to continue to make a point of where there may be some differences, where there could be some distance. And they're trying to do that by focusing on the future and what she would do as a leader if she's elected instead of looking at the past. But again, they know that this is kind of a fragile relationship relationship where she's still the sitting vice president and she wants to be sure to not put any kind of negative light on the current president, who was the one who got out of the way so that she could be the Democratic nominee.

But also in a moment when you're responding to the storm and this massive, massive crisis in the country, that's another reason that the campaign is arguing. She's of course not going to put that much distance between herself and President Biden at this moment, even if that's something that they know she may need to do in the later weeks, Kristen. It's such a fascinating point, Monica, because here we are, the country, Florida, bracing for this historic storm Milton to make landfall. And of course, the politics of how leaders handle a storm can impact the election.

Today, the vice president getting briefed on the storm, also calling into some news outlets. What has her message been today, Monica? Yeah, and they featured her pretty prominently in this briefing that was made available to the public. Everybody could watch it with the president.

She joined remotely because she was in New York. And now she's way to Las Vegas, Nevada for campaign events. And she's gonna be heading after that to Arizona, we understand, for more campaigning on Friday. So despite the president canceling and postponing his overseas travel so that he can be manning the response and the entirety of the federal government operation, in regards to Milton, the vice president is saying that she's doing that while also heading to the campaign trail.

And she at this point at least, hasn't moved those kinds of events. There's a question about whether that could shift. But she's trying to do both of these things because remember last week when Hurricane Helene was hitting, she did adjust her schedule somewhat and certain events got moved around. And they know that with so few days left, they have very, very precious real estate and time to get that message out to the battleground space.

So they want to be able to do both. But she also wants to be seen as somebody who is playing a key role in the response, as long as the response is, in the view of critics, going well. And that is something that after Helene, she criticized for by some people in terms of maybe she wasn't as involved as she could have been. And her team argued that, well, it was up to the president, but certainly she's a partner to the president and that she has been on some of these key calls, which I think we can expect to see.

And she has been the one trying to spread that message. Also about the misinformation, the disinformation, and calling out people like former President Trump for their messaging, calling him utterly irresponsible and others who have spread information when it came to Hurricane Helene, if that repeats with Hurricane Milton, I think we can see her and expect her to do the same. Monica Alba, thank you so much for your fantastic reporting as always. We really appreciate it.

Great to see you. We want to turn now to a really disturbing story ahead of the election. An Afghan national living in Oklahoma was charged this week with conspired to carry out a terrorist attack on election day on behalf of ISIS. That's according to newly unsealed court documents, the 27 year old defendant and a juvenile co conspirator were arrested after meeting with an undercover FBI agent while attempting to buy weapons.

According to the justice department, the 27 year old confirmed that he was intending to target large gatherings on election day. Joining that with Horizon DC News justice and intelligence correspondent Kendallenian. Ken, thanks for being here. So take us inside your reporting.

What are you learning about how authorities actually uncovered this plot? So the FBI has not spelled that out in the charging documents, but they made it clear that he left some clues, including contribution that he made to a charity that was essentially a front for ISIS and a lot of engagement with ISIS propaganda online. So that is a possibly way that the FBI got onto him and then once they were onto him, they dangled some confidential sources in front of him to set up this buy of rifles and other ammunition, other things that the FBI had controlled the plot the whole time. It's not even clear exactly what he was targeting.

But he did say after he was arrested he confessed he planned to carry out an attack on election day, wanted a lot of casualties and he planned for it to be a suicide attack. It's just absolutely chilling. And we know that the Trump campaign started pouncing on this Republicans saying, look, this is a sign of the weak immigration system that we have in place. What are you hearing about that?

Yeah, this is an interesting dimension here. The charging document said that he entered the country on a special immigrant visa, which is visa given to Afghans who work for U.S. forces. But we found out today that that's not accurate.

He actually came in under humanitarian parole and he entered the country just less than a month before the chaotic withdrawal of US Forces from Afghanistan was completed. So there's some belief that he may have gotten in here with very little vetting under a system where a lot of Afghans were coming into the country during a very chaotic period. There's a lot of questions still to be answered on this, but you're absolutely right. The Trump campaign is pointing the finger and saying wait a second here.

And frankly, the US Government is not really answering some fundamental questions at this hour. Well, I know you'll stay on top of all of this. Kim Delaney, thanks so much. Great to see you as always.

Joining me now with the very latest from the Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania is Dasha Burns. Dasha, thanks for being here. So tell us what your headlines are so far from the Trump rally there. Well, the president speaking behind me right now.

I will tell you that the more aggressive rhetoric is really ramping up with these 27 days left to go to Election Day. He's been bashing Harris, insulting her intelligence. The words stupid and dumb and competent have been used over and over again. Today he played a video, the clip of Harris on the View that you were talking about with Monica earlier, where she didn't have an answer for how she would have done things differently than President Biden.

He has also continued his misleading statements about FEMA and the hurricane response. She's just led the worst rescue operation in history in North Carolina, the worst. Now we have another big one coming in. But the worst, the one in North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia was pieces of Florida got hit.

I mean, it's incredible. Worst. The worst ever. They say they had no money.

You know, where they gave the money to illegal immigrants coming in, many of whom are killers. He also played a odd new video that was meant to contrast the military under Trump versus under this administration. It was a then and now video, but the clips of the then were from the movie Full Metal Jacket and the now clips were what seemed to be clips of military members in Dr. On Tik Tok.

He also dug into the issue of energy, which is of course critical to Pennsylvania, saying that he's going to save the fracking and energy industry here in the Keystone State. For context, though, I'll remind our viewers that right now, America is producing more oil than at any point in history. Burns, I know it's always tough to talk when there's a rally under way. Well done.

Thank you so much for the great information. Coming up next, President Biden holds talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the leading races for potential retaliatory attacks against Iran. We're live in Tel Aviv. Don't go anywhere.

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And so as we get the boys together to talk about their new number one album, Prize Fighter, and the evolution of that irresistible foot stomping sound, you can get our conversation for free wherever you download your podcasts. Welcome back. For the first time in almost two months, President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke by phone today as the Middle east remains on edge for potential escalation in the region. Vice President Harris also participated in the phone call, which the White House Sundays lasted about 30 minutes.

According to the White House, during the call, President Biden reaffirmed his commitment to Israel's security. But the official readout from the call made no specific mention of Israel's anticipated retaliatory response until the phone call today. U.S. officials tell NBC News that Israeli leaders had not briefed the US on the specific details of the retaliatory response against Iran, even as the Pentagon discussed the possibility of supporting any potential military action.

Joining me now is Aaron McLaughlin, who's live in Tel Aviv for so and what more do we know about this call between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu? Hey there, Kristen. Well, it did come up today during the White House briefing. We heard from the press secretary say that the call lasted around 30 minutes.

She said that it was, quote, direct and productive conversation, adding that the Israeli potential response to Iran's last week missile strike did come up during that call, but no further specifics. We know we heard from President Biden last week say that he did not want to negotiate with Israelis on this topic in public. He did say, though, that officials, U.S. officials were in constant contact with their Israeli counterparts about a potential response.

And he did publicly say that he opposed poses any potential strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and would counsel against Israel striking Iran's oil fields. But beyond that, at this point in terms of this response, it remains very much an open question. Details in terms of what was discussed is if you and far between and Aaron, what report do you have about the potential timing of retaliatory response, if in fact there is one? Yeah.

Well, remember in the wake of that massive missile strike, what Israeli officials are calling the largest missile strike ever in Israel's history. Israeli officials were promising a strong response. They're promising a swift response. It has been seven days and still it's unclear the timing of all this.

We know in terms of that next step, the cabinet would need to approve any potential strikes. As far as we know, no cabinet meeting has been scheduled as yet. Also, we're not in terms of that timing. The last time that Israel launched a retaliatory strike, it was about five days after the Iran missile strike.

That was back in April. But this time around, Israeli officials are promising a much stronger response. We did hear from the Israeli defense minister earlier today promising a surprise. He was briefing an intelligence unit saying, quote, just as we have been doing until now in the war on all other fronts, whoever attacks us will be hurt and will pay a price.

Our attack will be deadly, precise and above all, surprising. They will not understand what happened and how it happened. They will see the results. So an ominous warning there from Israeli defense minister today.

Oh, indeed it is. Aaron. What is the latest on the ground in Lebanon, the status of the fighting that happens? You know, by all accounts, the Israeli operation there appears to be expanding.

That was announced earlier in the week. The Israeli military previously concentrating their ground operations on the western portion of the border, now expanding those operations to the east, still considered by them to be limited operations in nature. But there's a State Department briefing where Matt Miller raised some concerns about the potential for Operation Creep, something that the US has long been worried about. He said, quote, he's cognizant of the long history of Israel starting with limited ground operations turning into more full scale ground operations turning into occupation.

And it's something that we are very clear we are opposed to US Officials also coming out strongly against, against the prime minister's address to the Lebanese people. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night issuing a warning to the Lebanese people to avoid a gazification, sort of a Lebanon. US Officials saying they're absolutely against that kind of language and that kind of threat. Really, Kristen, some strong language.

They're coming from the US as the world waits to see what Israel does next. Air McLaughlin, thank you. Please stay safe, my friend. I appreciate it.

Good to see you coming back for the break. If you stay here, you will die. That was the dire warning from one local emergency official whose community is in the path of Hurricane Milton. That official joins me next.

You're watching the press now. Welcome back. We are continuing to track Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall just a few hours from now along Florida's Gulf Coast. The Latest timing from forecasters is that landfall is expected between 9pm at midnight.

In addition to powerful winds, a catastrophic storm surge which we've been talking about, and more than a foot of rain, roughly 10 tornadoes have touched down across the state. Tornado watches are, in fact, from north of Tampa all the way to Key West. Join me now from Naples, Florida is NBC's Dana Griffin. Dana, thank you so much for joining us.

So you're in Naples, you're south of where we're currently expecting the storm to make a landfall in the coming hours. The power conditions where you are, obviously it's raining pretty hard. There it is, Kristen, and we've seen it come and go. Right now it's picking up.

We've experienced some of those wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour in Naples right now. You know, we're just watching and seeing how the storm develops over time. There were tornado warnings, as you mentioned earlier today. We happen to be on the beach in Naples when our phone started alerting us to, to take cover because of those warnings.

So we left, we came further inland, got inside garage. And so this is where we're now doing our live shots. Even surfers were at that beach still enjoying the water. You can see some of the video there.

Those waves crashing against that pier, which by the way, was damaged during the 2022 hurricane, Hurricane Ian, that, that pier is still being. It has not yet been repaired and may take another beating today. So the major concern here is storm surge, which could be between 5 to 8ft. So although we are out of the direct path of Milton, we are likely to still get some of those impacts.

And as you can see hours earlier, we're still, we are starting to fill them out. You know, Dana, obviously the evacuation orders have been incredibly strongly worded. Officials saying this is a matter of life and death. Yes.

Have people in that area heated the warnings? Have they largely evacuated, Dana? I would say for the most part, especially in Naples, they mostly evacuated the coastal residents and also a tiny chunk that is prone to storm surge. We've heard from people that live in those areas.

They say they are getting out. They were getting out days ago. And part of that is because of conditions like this. For people that are trying to leave now, it's gonna be very tricky because road conditions are dicey.

And also you've got tornadoes that are already touched down, at least 10 confirmed. So, you know, people are getting into those shelters. We called Calder County. They confirmed they've got eight or nine shelters open now, including a couple for pets and Also others for special needs, for people who need a caregiver, and maybe maybe power 24,7 because of special medical equipment.

They say that people are showing up, they are not at capacity, which means people probably left town or maybe they are waiting out the storm. But other people we spoke to that are not in the evacuation zone, they said that they were either higher up or they were heading inland. I was gonna say, I can see you holding on there. Dana Griffin, please stay safe.

You are obviously in one of the areas that is getting hit the hardest. We appreciate your great reporting. Joining me now is Chief Trick Bars of Treasure Island Fire Rescue as the Barrier island community braces for Hurricane Milton. Chief Bars, thank you so much for joining us.

We appreciate it. You're welcome. So let me just pick up with you on what I was just talking about with Dana. You obviously were among the officials warning people that if they stay on the barrier island, they may not survive.

Do people listen to your message? Do they get out of the island? We saw really good compliance across the Pinellas County Barrier Islands with the mandatory evacuation order. We just came back about an hour and a half ago doing our final pass through the streets on the PA and maybe a couple dozen folks stayed behind.

We warned them to get off and they were insistent on saying so. And your level of concern for the few people who did decide to stay? It's high. You know, we really fear for their safety.

We're starting to see those 50, 60 mile an hour wind gusts come through and we're so many hours away from landfall. So we just in the past 30 minutes made a few last minute rescues of folks who at the 11th hour changed their minds. Just as of five minutes ago in Treasure island, all police fire near massive cease operations. So if you're still on Barrier island, you need to find somewhere on the second floor and hunker down and, you know, try to stay away from windows.

Well, just to let folks know where you are, you are off of the island. You're at the command center, basically tracking the storm from there. Talk about the debris, Chief, because we have been obviously seeing the images of the debris from Hurricane Helene. How much does that concern you?

What are your biggest concerns about the remaining debris? Very much. We had just gotten into recovery mode and we're starting to pick that up when we had to switch back to response, preparing for response mode. So we've got piles of debris everywhere.

Those are going to be missile hazards. We had not even had a chance to get special engineers out to look at some of the More impacted buildings. So we may have buildings that are now going to be impacted by 100 plus mile an hour winds that were previously damaged by storm surge. So very concerning.

We're not sure what we're gonna come back to when we leave the safety of the EOC and push back to the island. Well, and if you could just put that into perspective for us, Chief, given your concerns, given the urgent warnings for everyone to evacuate, is this the biggest, most severe storm that you have ever experienced in your career? Oh, absolutely, yes, ma'. Am.

You know, we've had five or six glancing blows in my tenure here and various various degrees of damage, but Helene was, was the worst so far and I'm pretty sure that the node's gonna top that. So with the southerly tracks switching a little bit to the south, we may not see the storm surge we saw predicted at 10 to 15ft, but it's going to be a good storm surge. And we're really concerned about the high winds. And how has your communication been with the state and federal government?

Do you feel like you're getting the support you need? Of course. To prepare for what happens after the storm hits? Absolutely.

We've got great partnerships. We work through our county EOC to request resources and they push those up to the state division of Emergency Management. Director Guthrie has been very supportive getting us all the resources we need, both for Helene and prepare for Milton. And we had just gotten resources on the island when we had to shut all that down and begin preparing for responsibility again.

So I felt pretty comfortable with, with the support we're going to get. We've got air assets on standby. We're going to do aviation operations for search and rescue if needed. So we're ready to come back once the winds and water die down.

Chief, trip bars please know you are in all of our thoughts, everyone there. We are hoping that people have evacuated, have heeded your warnings and stay safe. We hope you stay safe. Thank you so much for joining us.

Really appreciate it. Thank you. Anytime. And a programming note, my colleague Tom Yamas will have special coverage of Hurricane Milton live from Florida.

That's at 7pm Eastern on top Story with Tom Yis right here on NBC News Now. We'll be right back with more Me the Press Now. Welcome back. It's not just 27 days to the presidential election.

There's also the high stakes battle for control of the House and Senate where Democrats find themselves playing some serious defense. They essentially need to run the table in battleground races to keep their razor thin majority One of those key races is an error for the seat being left open by retiring Senator Kirsten Sinema. Early voting in the crucial state began today and the two Senate candidates, Republican Carrie Lake and Democrat Ruben Diego, will face off tonight for their first and only debate before election night. And he sees Julie Circumstance spoke with both of the candidates ahead of tonight's big showdown and she joins me from Phoenix.

So, Julie, great job talking to the candidates. What were your key takeaways from your conversation with Kerry Lake? Kristen, how much time do we have? Because there was so much that stale for me in our interview that lasted about 18 minutes, you know, she began talking about the kind of vision she wants for Arizona, what kind of senator she would be.

She feels good going to her debate. She often brought up her internal polling, she told me was quote, the real deal, real scoop on the race that showed her actually leading Diego, her opponent, and even performing at the same level that Trump is performing in the state, which we know is just not accurate when it comes to all the public polling we've seen. There was a notable shift in her demeanor, Kristen, when I started pressing her on that, when I started asking her about her election denialism, whether she would vote to certify the election on January 6 if she was a senator, she called me honey. She asked for my name again, even though I have interviewed her before.

She abruptly then ended the interview right after this moment. Watch. Would you vote to codify the election no matter what happens? Can you imagine asking a soccer player or a football player, will you agree?

Right. It's our democratic process and your elections have been secured. Would you like me to answer the question? I would, but you just do an argument.

No, I'm not going to argue with you. I just want to clear answer for Arizona's once and for all. Because in 10 years of the issue here, if you were playing a soccer game, they said to the soccer team, before this election, will you agree with every single call the ref makes and agree with everything that happens in the state? Nobody would say yes.

We won't have a lawfully reduction. We get a soccer game. Will we get a law if we get a lawfully run election? Absolutely, absolutely.

Absolutely. There's nothing more I'd rather do for the loss if we have a loss run election. I gotta tell you, Chris Embassy, I spoke to a lot of voters who are going into this early voting site behind me, Maricopa county of swing county, some of them Trump voters said they are coming out on the first day of early voting because they believe there are problems in the election despite none of that being found in 2020 or 2022. Julie, what a remarkable exchange there with the Senate candidate.

Let me ask you, of course, you were able to interview Ruben Gallego as well. What was his message to you and what were your key takeaways from him heading into tonight's big debate? Well, this is somebody who is really trying to distance himself, Christian, from his progressive record as a House member. He was part of the National Progressive Caucus.

He called himself a proud progressive up until he really got into the meat of his campaign here against Carrie Lake. So he's trying to pull those voters in that she might be alienating. Take a listen to when I press on this. Well, I think number one, that's a very like D.C.

perspective. My focus is always delivering for Arizona and I've done it. And by personal man, I'm continue to do it. You don't think that you've moved to the center on your record?

No, I think we're focusing again on talking about where Arizona should go and highly things that we've done in the past to make sure people understand we're fighting for Arizona. He also stressed that he's running his race independently of Kamala Harris, who is neck and neck with Trump. We're trailing him in some cases. So just really interesting dynamics all around.

Christian, fantastic interviews. Great job. Joy Serkin, as always, thank you for joining us. And thank you for joining us on back tomorrow with more MEET THE press.

Now the news continues with Hallie Jackson right now. Hey, it's Kate Snow, NBC News anchor and host of the Drink. This month, Demi Lovato is my guest. The global superstar tells me that she is the happiest she's ever been right now.

But getting there, it wasn't something simple. Demi opens up about starting in Hollywood young and why she now thinks she may have started too soon. She talks about recovery, her new marriage and the deeply personal reason behind her new cookbook. The Drink is always about the journey to the top.

And this was an honest conversation about what that takes. Hope you'll listen and follow the Drink wherever you get your podcast.