I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit. If im charged, i know im innocent. That was new York City mayor Eric Adams taking a defiant tone in the wake of a federal indictment. Well break down the timeline of events leading up to this moment, what the sealed indictment reportedly includes, and what could come next for the firstterm mayor. Plus, Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump each at the Campaign Trail in key Battleground States offering competing visions for the economy. And just hours from now, ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with President Biden at the White House as zelenskyy seeks aid in ukraines fight against russia. Well go over what to expect. Good Morning And Welcome to Way Too Early on this thursday, september 26th. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us, and we have a jampacked show, and well begin with the breaking news out of new York City. Mayor Eric Adams is expected to face charges by federal prosecutors out of the Southern District Of New York as early as today. Thats according to two sources familiar with the inmatter. The indictment was sealed as of last noegt, but cnbc is reporting that the indictment accuses adams of criminal conduct related to donations of his 2021 mayoral campaign. The source telling cnbc the indictment mentions up to 20 Million in donations that adams campaign received as a result of a matching Funds Program that the Citys Campaign Finance program offers candidates for small dollar donations made by new York City residents. The source also says the indictment alleges adams traveled to turkey to receive illegal contributions. Adams would be the first new York City mayor to be criminally charged while still in office. Now, its important to note the specific charges were not immediately clear, and spokespeople for both the fbi and the u. S. Attorney for the Southern District Of New York declined to comment late Last Night. Meanwhile, mayor adams released a statement in response denying any wrongdoing while vowing to stay in office. He then released a video addressing his fellow new yorkers. It is now my belief that the federal government intends to charge me with crimes. If so, these charges will be entirely false, based on lies, but they would not be surprising. I always knew that if i stood my ground for All Of You, that i would be a target and a target i became. Enough. I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit. If im charged, i know im innocent. I will request immediately trials so new yorkers can hear the truth. As of now adams still intends to run for reelection next year. The Adams Administration was already reeling from a sear as of high level resignations from at least four federal probes. Earlier this Week Mayor adams tried to downplay several of those key staff departures including the police commissioner, city halls top attorney, and the citys health commissioner. The Schools Chancellor has also announced hes stepping away. And yesterday before the indictment was announced new york democratic Congressman Alexandria Ocasiocortez called on adams to resign, citing what she called a flood of ongoing resignations and investigations. Joining us here on set to talk about it, State Attorney for palm beach county, florida, dave aronberg. Dave, great to see you this morning. So this had been rumored for a while. There had always been whispers about adams even before he was elected to office, and weve seen for about a year now word of these investigations. Talk to us about the series of what we know, a lot of we dont know, but talk to us about the seriousness of these potential charges. They are serious, john. If they involve the Campaign Contributions from turkey that violate the law receiving foreign Campaign Contributionings and violate the law on bribery because according to reports there was a Consulate Building a High Rise that the turkish government wanted completed, but the Fire Department put the kibosh on it because it wasnt up to code. Well, after the election they got their certificate of occupancy, at least a temporary one. So the question is was that because they apparently donated all this money to the future mayor, and then he took action . That could be the bribery count. So well see later today, i think, how serious this is. But, you know, if the feds have been looking at your phone and your ipad for over a year that its going to go down. Yeah, certainly his entire Inner Circle also seems to be under investigation as phones and ipads seized from many top officials. Walk us through the Time Line here. Lets say the indictment is indeed unsealed later today, what happens next to adams in terms of when he has to surrender . How quickly this might go to trial . And adams said he wants it to happen fast. And do we think he can survive this politically . No, politically. People were already calling for his resignation before this. And as far as the Time Line, well, i think the federal government will work out with adams lawyers a surrender. Youre not going to see a perp walk, and then youll have initial appearance where hell hear the charges and get a bond to be out pretrial. Hes not going to be kept pretrial in jail and the Big Question for me is does he resign or does the Governor Step in and remove him . And what does president ial candidate Kamala Harris say about it . Donald trump says the Department Of Justice is weaponized. Of course this puts the lie to that because this is a prominent democratic official. For a time adams and President Biden were aligned but adams turned critical of the biden policy from the White House and the two ive been told last Night Havent spoken for over two years. The White House had kisanced themselves from adamsven before these investigations. Lastly and briefly this is part one. There could be other charges coming. We dont know the fate of other probes. If it does remain this, is there a chance he could beat . Unlikely. 97 of these cases are guilty verdicts for the feds. They get their person. And unless youre mark cuban, for example, its a hard road to fight the feds. The best thing for Eric Adams to keep trying to rail against the feds as a political prosecution, but its getting harder to say that when its the same Department Of Justice also prosecuting Hunter Biden and congressman quaer, a democrat and its the same Justice Department that Let Matt Gates Go under charges even though he was being investigated by bill barr. I think he loses on that, and i think he ultimately loses in court because you have all these associates of him who are perhaps cooperating. At the very least their electronic devices were seized. There are strong rumors one of the challengers might be the former governor of new york, andrew cuomo. Well have more on this story throughout the morning. We switch gears now to the president ial race, and Vice President Kamala Harris is giving more details about her economic policy proposals. In a speech she delivered in pittsburgh yesterday, the democratic nominee called her agenda pragmatic and promised to build up the Middle Class by investing more in manufacturing and eliminating College Degree requirements for federal jobs. Harris also criticized Donald Trumps proposals saying hes simply a candidate for the wealthy. As president i will be grounded in my fundamental values of fairness, dignity, and opportunity. And i promise you i will be pragmatic in my approach. I will engage in what Franklin Roosevelt called bold, persistent, experimentation. Because i believe we shouldnt be constrained by ideology and instead should seek practical solutions to problems. I intend to chart a new way forward and grow americas Middle Class. Donald trump intends to take america backward to the failed policies of the past. He has no intention to grow our Middle Class. Hes only interested in making life better for himself and people like himself, the wealthiest of americans. You see, for Donald Trump our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them, not those who wire them, not those who mop the floors. So while harris was in pennsylvania, trump was in North Carolina Yesterday to give his in Campaign Speech about the economy at a Pipe Manufacturing Plant near charlotte, trump spoke for over an hour. And as you might expect, he often veered off course. At one Point Trump went on a lengthy tangent about his personal experiences buying furniture, which prompted even Fox News to cut away from his speech. Lets Take A Look. North carolina was once the Beating Heart of american manufacturing. I know it very well. I was here many times to buy furniture for buildings. Id come and id look, and there was nobody like the craftsmen of North Carolina. It was filled with companies like this one and known everywhere for its incredible craftsmanship and skill. I know from personal experience, though, that i was a big buyer. I bought a lot of things here, that there was no place for furniture in particular like North Carolina you were the Furniture Capital of the world, but now so much of that business has been stolen from you and its made in china and other places. And by the way, its not as good. The quality is nowhere near you made furniture, you bought a Chair It was good for 30 years. You buy some of these chairs they sell you now, they break after about two months. The people are laying on the floor suing you. Then on top of it all, our government on top of it all you get sued because you fell out of a chair at a hotel. You made the best product and best furniture. After the twin betrayals of nafta, which i ended, and Chinas Entry into the wto, world trade, North Carolina lost over 300,000 Manufacturing Jobs quickly and including 60 of its Manufacturing Jobs until i came along were going to continue to to watch tis. We carried this economic speech in its entirety for almost an hour and a half yesterday. Were told his speech will echo very much what was said yaerd. Still ahead here the president of ukraine will meet with President Biden today but former President Trump wont. Well Take A Look why the campaign is now standing down on that possible visit. Plus growing tensions in the middle east. The united states and other allies are calling for a ceasefire between israel and hezbollah. Those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. Check on sports and Weatherhe Wn we come right back heres to getting better with age. Heres to beating these two every thursday. Help Fuel Today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. So, heres to now. Now available Boost Max some of the mornings other top headlines. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with President Biden at the white House Today where zelenskyy is expected to present his Victory Plan for the war in ukraine. During a speech at the united Nations Yesterday Zelenskyy warned Tat Russia appears to be preparing to attack on ukraines nuclear power plants, which he said could pipe out almost 80 of the Countrys Power ahead of what could be a bitter winter as well as lead to a nuclear disaster. During todays Meeting Biden is also expected to formally announce a 375 Million Aid Package for ukraine, the largest since the summer, and the 66th Aid Package the united states has provided the country since august of 2021. Its not quite clear whats in this Victory Plan, something that appears to be ukraine asking u. S. Permission to use american made missiles deep inside russia. At least to this point the biden administration has been hesitant to give that green light. Meanwhile, a meeting between former President Trump and zelenskyy will not be happening today. The two leaders had been expected to meet at trump tower. When asked why the meeting was canceled, a source familiar with the matter pointed to Zelenskyys Interview with The New Yorker earlier this week. In that interview the ukrainian president called trumps running mate, senator j. D. Vance, quote, too radical. At his Rally Yesterday Trump continued to slam zelenskyy. Look at the war in ukraine and i think its something we have to have a quick discussion about because the president of ukraine is here and hes making aspirations. There wouldnt have had to be a settlement, and i spoke to putin about it a lot. I got along very well with putin. I spoke to him a lot. I watched this poor Guy Yesterday at the united nations. He didnt know what he was saying. They just dont know what to do. Theyre locked into a situation. Its sad, they just dont know what to do because ukraine is gone. Its not ukraine anymore. You can never replace those cities and towns, and you can never replace the dead people, so many dead people. Any deal, even the worst deal would have been better than what we have right now. If they made a bad deal, it would have been much better. They would have given up a little bit, and everybody would be living, and every building would be built. Next up here well turn to sports and bring you some highlights from major League Baseball as teams make their Final Push to the playoffs. Plus, well get a check on the Weather Forecast as Hurricane Helene adds an extra day to the mlb regular season. That Storm Bearing down on the Gulf Coast. Well be right back. Bearing doe Gulf Coast well be right back. Help Fuel Today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. So, heres to now. Now available Boost Max with powerful, easytouse tools, Power E Trade makes complex trading easier. React to fastmoving markets with dynamic charting and a Futures Ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you wont miss an opportunity. E trade from Morgan Stanley heres to getting better with age. Heres to beating these two every thursday. Help Fuel Today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. So, heres to now. Now available Boost Max heres the pitch to ohtani, ground ball, Base Hit Center field. Hes given the dodgers the lead again. Ohtani putting them out at bat. Shohei ohtani before stealing his 56th base of the season there in the sixth inning. L. A. Beat the San Diego Padres 43. The dodgers can clench the Nl West Title for the 11th time in 12 seasons with a victory in tonights series finale. And with the Brewers Loss to the pirates, the dodgers have secured a top two seed and a first round buy in inplayoffs should they indeed win the division. To philadelphia now. After claiming the first Nl East Title in 13 years monday night, the phillies, well theyve clenched their own first round buy with Last Nights 96 win over the chicago cubs. Philadelphia secureathize Buy And Home Field Advantage in the nlds. Philadelphia can clench Home Field Advantage throughout the Nl Championship Series by finishing the season tied ahead of l. A. So the national wild Card Race that seemed headed for the final day of the regular season, well, it might require now an extra day as the final two games in a crucial series between the new York Mets and the Atlanta Braves have already been postponed because of Heavy Rain ahead of Hurricane Helene. The regular season was set to end sunday but the mets are scheduled to return monday for a doubleheader that could determine who goes to the playoffs. Meanwhile, in phoenix Diamondbacks Ace struck out 11 help arizona halt a three Run Skid can with an 82 over the san francisco giants. Arizona now tied with the mets for the second nl Wild Card spot, and they have a onegame lead over the braves. To the american league. The Baltimore Orioles remain hot in the bronx beating the yankees 97 Last Night with the help of this misplay by Outfielder Jason doming ez. The rookie losing track of it, overrunning the Fly Ball that falls in the lefthand corner. The orioles again prevented the yankees from clenching the Al East as they move within four games of the Division League but only four to play, yankees still likely to snag that. Meanwhile the tigers, royals, twins, and mariners all won yesterday, so that leaves the al Wild Card standings unchanged. Orioles already in, two up on seattle. And we want to mention week four of the nfl regular season kicks off tonight with the new York Giants hosting the dallas cowboys. Angie lassman is here with the forecast and that major hurricane. Its a major one, jonathan, and folks should start to finish their plans for evictions across this region because you can see the plentiful alerts we have stretching from those Hurricane Warnings from the Gulf Coast up into portions of of georgia. Now, weve got a category one hurricane. The latest update we see a little bit of a Pressure Drop and winds come up to 91 miles per hour. Still category one, but its got time to spend over the gulf of Mexico And Category 3, a major hurricane less than 12 hours and six hours of landfall, its still going to be intensifying. Well be looking at a really concerning situation here as we get into the late evening hours tonight. Were not done after that. Well still be dealing with likely a category one as it passes atlanta, so impacts to folks there and Itll Kind of meander around and weaken in parts of the tennessee valley. The Storm Surge one of the most concerning parts, 10 to 20 feet ar