Friday morning news: September 27, 2024

Hurricane Helene » Helene is ripping through Georgia this morning after slamming Florida’s Big Bend region along the Gulf Coast with winds well above 100 miles per hour. It strengthened into a monstrous category-4 hurricane just before landfall last night.

SOUND: [Hurricane Helene]

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp:

KEMP: With the potential for tornadoes and other things, people just need to be very, very, very weather aware and be prepared at home.

After Hurricane Helene hit north Florida and South Georgia, the storm has carried tropical storm force winds well inland threatening North Georgia and surrounding states with powerful winds.

And Andrew Hagen with the National Hurricane Center said more dangerous than the wind is all the rain.

HAGEN:  Northern Georgia, um, or the, the, um, mountains of Southern Appalachians and Western North Carolina and South Carolina, those areas have already been getting heavy rain from an existing frontal boundary in the area. And it's just going to produce really, uh, catastrophic flooding.

And service crews are working overtime right now in areas where the strongest winds have subsided trying to get the power back on across large swaths of the Southeast.

Helene aftermath, cleanup » Meantime, residents in regions that took a direct hit from Hurricane Helene are surveying the damage this morning. FEMA administrator Dianne Criswell said Thursday…

CRISWELL:  Some of the resources that we have already deployed include eight search and rescue teams across Florida and Georgia, as well as resources from the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense.

Those officials will be hoping that they do not find people who ignored evacuation orders … amid the rubble of buildings leveled by the powerful hurricane.

As for cleanup and recovery, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the federal government will provide whatever assistance the impacted states may need.

PIERRE:  This week, the President approved emergency disaster declaration requests from the Governors of Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSanitis issued an emergency declaration for nearly every county in the state.

U.S.-Ukraine » President Biden has announced the latest of weapons for Ukraine and the promise of billions more before he leaves office.

BIDEN:  Right now we have to strengthen Ukraine's position on the battlefield. And that's why today I'm proud to announce a new 2. 4 billion package of security assistance.

The new aid package will give Kyiv a massive boost in air defenses. It includes another Patriot missile defense battery and more munitions for the system.

But much of the aid is in long-range contracts for weapons that won’t be seen on the battlefield for some time.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude at the White House Thursday.

ZELENKSYY:  We must protect our people, Ukrainian families, Ukrainian children, and everyone from Putin civil and we are grateful to America for supporting Ukraine all along.

Zelenskyy met with Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other top officials.

Former President Donald Trump says he will meet with Zelenskyy today.

SOUND: [Israeli trucks]

Israel-Hezbollah » Israeli trucks were seen moving armored vehicles toward Israel's northern border with Lebanon where the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah is based. The move comes amid talk of a possible ground invasion of southern Lebanon to eliminate Hezbollah.

SOUND: [Iron Dome knocks out projectiles]

Thursday brought renewed rocket fire with Israel's Iron Dome defense system intercepting several rockets fired from Lebanon.

The U.S., France, and other nations are calling for an immediate 21-day cease-fire to calm the tension before it broadens into all-out war.

But Israeli government spokesman David Mencer countered…

MENCER: By hitting them in the way that really hurts, it's actually Israel, which is making the possibility for a political, diplomatic resolution much more realistic.

And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue to strike Hezbollah with full force and won't stop until Israeli residents evacuated from the border with Lebanon are able to return to their homes.

Trump PA assassination attempt hearing » On Capitol Hill …

KELLY: Good morning everyone. I now call the first hearing of the task force on the attempted assassination of Donald J Trump to order.

Members of that bipartisan House panel heard testimony from several witnesses about the July shooting at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania including local law enforcement officials.

Edward Lenz is commander for the Butler County Emergency Services Unit which was in charge of the local tactical units at the Trump rally.

LENZ:  We were certainly prepared for the missions that they had given us. There were additional things, obviously, that, uh, probably needed covered, but they never asked us to do that.

Republicans and Democrats on the panel were clear that fault lies with the Secret Service and not with local authorities.

Congresswoman Laurel Lee remarked after the hearing …

LEE:  Today really made clear that local law enforcement did not have the support, the plan, and the communication that they needed from Secret Service in order to do their jobs effectively.

A bullet pierced the ear of former President Trump and one member of the audience was killed at the July 13th event before a Secret Service sniper shot and killed the gunman.

Eric Adams » New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he is innocent of criminal charges just brought by federal prosecutors.

ADAMS:  And I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before making any judgments.

Adams says he’s being unfairly targeted and will not resign.

Federal authorities accuse the Democratic mayor of taking illegal campaign contributions and bribes from foreign nationals in exchange for favors, including from the government of Turkey.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams:

WILLIAMS:  These contributions were attempts by a Turkish government official and Turkish businessmen to buy influence with him.

The five-count indictment outlines a trail of alleged corruption that prosecutors say dates back to his days as a police captain and an elected official in Brooklyn.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with Katie McCoy. Plus, your listener feedback.

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