Breaking news, Hurricane Helene speeds toward the gulf of mexico. Right now, helene is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. So far, more than 545,000 households in florida are reportedly without power with thousands ordered to evacuate. Helene is huge. And is expect today affect nearly the entire state of florida with damaging winds and heavy rain. Still, what may bring the most danger are the Storm Surges. Earlier today, residents experienced flooding in places like Pine Island which is just outside of fort myers. But flooding will likely get much worse across the state as the night continues. A Storm Surge Warning is in place for almost the entirety of floridas West Coast this video is a simulation of what could happen if it rises to 10 feet. Hurricane helene could cause Storm Surges of up to 20 feet around double the amount shown in this simulation. And those officials are calling that level of Storm Surge potentially unsurvivable. The first bands of Wind And Rain lashed the Tampa Bay area. Giving us just a taste of the strength of The Storm. Five states, florida, georgia, north carolina, and South Carolina have all declared states of emergency. And more than 40 Million people are either under hurricane or tropical storm warnings. For more on all this, joining me now is nbc News Correspondent Kathy Park live from tallahassee, florida. I hope you are safe out there. What request you tell us about the latest on the ground . Reporter alex, good evening. Seems like we are getting a bit of a tease from Hurricane Helene right now. The weather has pulled back. We are getting some rain at this point. But we know things will really start to ramp up the next few hours. But here in tallahassee, especially, the big concern will be the wind damage. Because we are a bit further inland. Here in tallahassee, 55 is under Tree Canopy. Officials are really worried about toppled trees. Debris, toppled Power Lines and the extended Power Outages that will soon follow, earlier today, we had a chance to peek with some residents who decided to leave their homes behind and hunker in place at emergency shelter. Here is what they told me. Take a listen. This storm is different. I have a feeling. Its big. It just felt like this was different. Best thing to do. What im doing now is using wisdom. Wisdom tells me to get out of the home. The home may not be enough to take on this storm. I feel so much more comfortable being here. And i can tell you these Emergency Shelters filled up quickly throughout the day today. I was told if you are there, you are expected to stay there to ride out The Storm. This is a big college town, tallahassee officials have been prepares for days ahead of The Storm but obviously this is Mother Nature we are preparing for. We are told they are leaning on mutual aid from resources really from all across the country. So tomorrow will be extremely telling. But once again, if this comes in as a category 4, here in the tallahassee region, this will be the most catastrophic storm the region has seen ever. Nbc News Correspondent Kathy Park. Thanks for the updates and please take care of yourself down there. Im joined by Nbc News Meteorologist Bill karins. What can you tell us about The Storm . We are only about two hours from landfall. It will be devastating. Destructive, this will be a retired storm. This is historic. We have never seen a storm this powerful hit this region of the country before. Everything will be flattened. Hurricane center just updated. For now, up to 140 miles per hour. This is a solid category 4. It is still strengthening all the way up to landfall. It has been over extremely warm water. So, this eye, this is incredible. It is now filling in. The thunderstorms are wrapping around the center. We want to limit the number of people possible as this moves on shore. Now the center of The Storm only 60 miles from the coast. That means the northern Eye Wall is only about 40 miles from the coastment we expect landfall between 11 00 p. M. And about midnight. There is tallahassee. 200,000 people call that home. About 50,000 students. And then perry. These are the areas of greatest concern. The eye itself is about 40 miles wide. Tallahassee to perry, 45 miles wide. If we take that eye in the middle here, we can get tallahassee on the Backside And Perry on the front side. 140 Mileperhour Wind gusts possible even as far inland. You can get why it is such a serious situation. These are areas that werent evacuated. They will be in their bathrooms. They will be in the tub with pillows or blankets on top of them. As this Storm Rolls and races through in the next couple of hours, scary as it gets. Almost like being in the middle of a tornado when this blows through. We also if you have seen the pictures, we have Storm Surge increasing rapidly. Near record levels. I know these numbers dont mean a lot to you guys but we have never really seen higher than 50 in the tampa area. Thats how high the water has risen because of The Storm, six feet. East port, all through Tampa Bay here, water in places that people have never seen before. And this water is still going up. So again, that 10 to 20 feet will be an isolated remote areas, where we get that eye making landfall, and we watch the Buzz Saw Moving in. We have the rainfall with The Storm. A lot of Flash Flooding going on. We will have historic amounts of rain by the time we are done with this. It will cause tremendous amounts of damage. I cant say enough. I know the people probably still have power. The people still watching. Now is the time. Gather what you can to protect yourself and your family and put as many walls between yourself as you can with the outside. Bill karins, thank you for that update. Really appreciate it. With us now is Tallahassee Mayor john daley, mayor, thank you so much for being here tonight. I know this is a very intense and scary time for the people of tallahassee. Can you tell us a little bit about how you are feeling with preparatiOn And evacuation. I appreciate you having me on. We have been preparing in tallahassee the past week. If we take a direct hit from a category 4 hurricane, it will be the most powerful storm in the history of the city of tallahassee. And i think for the most part, everybody has taken it very seriously. They have done a very good job preparing. As for the city itself, we spent the week checking all aspects of the municipal government. And making sure that everything is up and running. As The Storm comes in. We have tripled our Work Force by calling in mutual aid agreements from across the united states. As far away as oklahoma driving in to help us. We are ready for The Storm. Mayor, can you talk a little bit about what your most immediate concerns are . Because it sounds like you have done all the preparation any town could possibly do for something like this. What is keeping you upright now particularly . Health, safety, welfare, now is the time to stay inside. A lot of people left. A lot of College Students left at the recommendation of the university. And the State College which was great. A lot of people have gone to the Emergency Shelters here in town. And everyone else is staying put inside. Now is the time to stay in. The greatest concern for me, we are not a coastal community so we dont have the Storm Surge, but our thoughts are with our neighbors down south. For us its the wind. We know this will be a significant Wind Event. And we are known for our natural beauty and our trees. But, trees and Power Lines and wind do not mix. We know that a hurricane this strong is going to bring significant damage. And we have been shooting straight with the residents so they understand that as well. As soon as The Storm is over, we will roll up our sleeves and get to work. Are you confident that Tallahassees Utility Grid can withstand this . Are you concerned about the medium term impacts . There is a reason we are the Number One Public Utility in the natiOn And we are proud of that. But we know a storm of this size will bring significant damage. I dont care where you are. If you are hit directly by a category 4 storm, you are going to have a lot of damage. And we have told our residents that recovery will be a marathon. Not a sprint. We have called in our friends to help us out. The city, the county, the School Board have been working seamlessly. But yes, to answer your question, we will have significant damage. No doubt about it. If a category 4 Hurricane Hits you head on, it will bring devastation. Tallahassee mayor john daley, thank you for spending a few minutes with us. Our thoughts are with you. Thanks for your time. Thank you. We turn now to a very different kind of storm. A political storm. That has been brewing for years right here in new York City. You guys are from turkey. Brooklyn loves turkey. Brooklyn is the istanbul of america. That was Eric Adams playing himself in a 2017 Turkish Film in which turkish Men Attempt to bribe the new York City mayor Eric Adams. Today, an indictment was unsealed. Alleging nose only was he accepting bribes from Turkish Nationals a year before that came out, but they were consistent and ongoing throughout his time as mayor. I should say that mayor adams denies all of it. He says the charges against him are entirely false and based on lies. And there is good reason for him to try and disassociate himself in this indictment. The charges are not just illegal, but the actions are embarrassingly brazen. Not only does it allege he accepted more than 100,000 worth of bribes in the form of Luxury Travel and hotel stays and food and entertainment, but the ways in which adams allegedly took the bribes were comically transparent. For example, in June Of 2021 while adams was actively campaigning to be the mayor of new York City, a turkish official and a Turkish National allegedly arranged for adams and his partner to travel to turkey, stay at the Four Seasons hotel, take a yacht tour, stay at a luxury beach resort, and have their own private car and driver. Here are the texts setting up that little excursion. Here is Adams Staffer. He was asking where else can they go in turkey. Go you have a recommendation . Four seasons. It is too expensive. Why does he care . Hes not going to pay. His Name Wont be on anything either. Adams staffer, super. He did allegedly pay for at least one thing though. He paid 1,000 for Business Class tickets on an international flight. Here are the texts showing how they allegedly landed on that 1,000 price. Im going to charge 50. The staffer, no. That wouldnt work. 50 . Quote a proper price. Turkish national. How much should i charge . Adam staffer, his every step is being watched right now. A thousand dollars or so. Let it be somewhat real. I should note that particular trip was canceled. It is just one of the many trips this indictment alleges he was given. He flew free or severely discounted Business Class flights on Turkish Airlines to turkey, india, sri lanka, ghana, and china. If you are familiar with the shape of the globe, you would know that stopping to turkey to get to most of those places does not exactly make sense. But because this alleged bride was specific to Turkish Airlines, as mayor adams put it in a text to his partner, you know the first stop is always istanbul. So that practically means to go to a place like nice in france, he would go from new York City to turkey and from turkey back to france. He once tried to see if Turkish Airlines could get hem from new York City to turkey to Easter Island in chile which would require crossing seven time zones to the east and nine time zones to the west. But hey. Business class seats i guess. The thing is all of the personal grift is really small potatoes compared to the political grift. Not only does this indictment allege he solicited and received illegal funds from Turkish Nationals but compounded his gains from those donations by disguising them as fake small Dollar Donations so they would coalify for new York Citys public Campaign Fund Matching program. A program that gave Adams Campaign more than 10 Million of taxpayer money. So that is what mayor Eric Adams allegedly got out of this scheme. Luxury vacations and millions of dollars. What did turkey get . The indictment says they got some Policy Items like mayor adams promising to never publicly acknowledge the armenian genocide. They were also more direct favors like for instance, back in 2021. Some of the Turkish Nationals that had allegedly bribed adams in the past were eager to open this building. The new 36 story turkish consulate in manhattan. They wanted it to be opened in time for the turkish president erdogans visit. But the new York City Fire Department had not inspected the building yet so it wasnt allowed to open and a Phone Call to an adam staffer, a turkish official said they have supported mayor adams and it was now his turn to support turkey. Adams allegedly responded i know. The indictment alleges he pressured the new York City Fire Department commissioner and it turns out the building had over 60 Fire Safety defects and could not legally be allowed to open. But mayor adams allegedly kept pushing and the building opened anyway. He denies all of this. He is refuseing to step down and says he will fight these charges but the calls for his resignation are growing. If he does ultimately resign or is removed from office, the person who would take over as Acting Mayor would be the new York City public Advocate Jomani williams. He joins me here live Coming Up next. P next. Uv for you. City Shopping Spree you. Weekend Getaway you. Outdoor Adventures you. Stylish. Powerful. Sophisticated. Because when youre in a mercedes, youd expect nothing less. Mercedesbenz suvs, featuring the Gle Plugin Hybrid and the all new glc plugin hybrid. Visit mbusa. Com for special offers on select suv models. Craig here pays too much for verizon wireless. So he sublet half his real Estate Office to a pet shop. Theres a smarter way to save. Comcast business mobile. You could save up to an incredible 70 on your wireless bill. So you dont have to compromise. Powering smarter savings. Powering possibilities. Switch to comcast Busines Internet and mobile and find out how to get the latest 5g Phone on us with a qualifying tradein. Dont wait call, click or visit an xfinity store today. As mayor of the city of New York, thank you very much. Resign, resign it wont happen protesters outside of the mansion calling on new York City mayor Eric Adams to resign. After he was indicted on five federal corruption charges, he says he is not going anywhere. But whether or not he stays in office may not be up to Eric Adams. The mayor can be removed by the governor under new York State law in charged with a crime or the new York City council could form an Inability Committee to impeach the mayor and take him out of office. Now, if adams does resign or is removed the person who would automatically become the mayor of americas largest city is jomani williams. Thanks for being here on a very, very big news night. Thank you for having me. And also, for helping me to introduce a whole host of people who what a public advocate is. This is the time to talk about public advocacy if there was ever a time. First of all, in the last hour, the governor of New York hazily leased a statement and i would love to get your thoughts on it. She says while i review my options and obligations as the governor of new York City i expect the mayor to take the next few days to review the statiOn And find an appropriate path to ensure the people of New York. That sounds like she would like to him to step down. This is a painful period for a lot of us. It is really painful. We want New Yorkers to understand that the government continues to work. As someone who has done a lot of work around making a better and more just legal system, innocent until proven guilty is a real thing. At the same time, these are really serious charges. The breadth is larger than i thought. The mayor has to think can i conduct business the way i need to and Restore Trust . And the window to show that is rapidly closing. It is a real question to answer. Have you talked to the governor at all . Not since this bill. Are you surprised . Right now, his posture has been one of defiance. He was, we played the sound this morning of s prs conference, exiting the stage literally to chants of resign, resign, resign. This doesnt feel like something that gets better the longer he stays defiant. What would you like to see from the mayor right now . So i think to what you just said, this seems to get worse by the day. And in some cases by the minute. I dont think you can put together a plan to show you can continue doing this but thats what you have to do. If there is a way to show i can keep keep doing my work, do that. And deflection is not a plan. Continue to deflect. It is not that plan. So if you have one, stay what it is. Because we really want to hear it. And New Yorkers deserve it. They do, i do wonder first of all, when you read the indictment, the evidence alleged in there i