NTD News Today

More than 1 million Florida residents have been ordered to evacuate as of Tuesday, with Hurricane Milton on track to make landfall on the state's Gulf Coast between Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. President Joe Biden has postponed his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola to oversee preparations for, and the response to, Hurricane Milton.

The District of Columbia and 13 states filed separate lawsuits against the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, accusing the app of harming and failing to protect young people. The states are accusing TikTok of using intentionally addictive software designed to keep children watching as long and as often as possible, and of misrepresenting its content moderation effectiveness.

Mohamed Bahi, a former aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with witness tampering and destroying evidence. In recent weeks, more than half a dozen of the mayor’s top aides have resigned, including Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety, and Winnie Greco, the director of Asian affairs.

Hurricane Milton intensified into a Category 5 storm on Monday. Hurricane and storm surge watches and evacuation orders were issued for parts of Florida as Milton is on course to make landfall somewhere between Tampa and Naples on Wednesday night.

President Joe Biden will mark the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel with an event at the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will also commemorate the anniversary at separate events.

Top cases are due before the Supreme Court as it begins a new 9-month term. The justices will decide on cases involving gun rights, online adult content, nuclear waste storage, the death penalty, disputes involving Nvidia and Facebook, and more.

The number of U.S. jobs grew much more than expected last month. Hiring accelerated by 254,000 jobs and the unemployment rate declined 0.1 percent from August. The figures come from a closely watched report released on Friday by the Labor Department.

Former President Donald Trump won’t be in Butler, Pennsylvania alone on Saturday, as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says he will be there to lend a helping hand. Musk replied on Thursday to a post by Trump on X saying he was returning to Butler this Saturday, with Musk posting that would be there in support. Trump's rally will be held at the same site where Trump was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt on July 13.

A majority of European Union member states agreed on Friday to impose tariffs of up to 45 percent on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles. However, the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, said it would continue to negotiate with Beijing to find an alternative solution.

Israel’s military urged residents in more than 20 towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately on Thursday, as it continues its ground operation. Israel is continuing its attacks aimed at further weakening the Hezbollah terrorist group. Three explosions were heard in the south of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, and several large plumes of smoke were visible after Israeli strikes overnight. The south of the city is a Hezbollah stronghold, and Iran also has a strong influence there.

Former President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Michigan at Saginaw Valley State University on Thursday. On Friday, the Trump campaign will kick off a bus tour through Georgia. Meanwhile, former congresswoman Liz Cheney will join Vice President Kamala Harris in Wisconsin on Thursday. The vocal Trump critic says the former president poses a threat to the U.S. Constitution. Cheney’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, has also endorsed Harris.

President Joe Biden is heading to Florida and Georgia to survey storm damage caused by Hurricane Helene. Biden will make stops in Tallahassee and Perry, where he will also take an aerial tour of the devastation. Helene has caused at least 190 fatalities since it made landfall in Florida a week ago, with more than half of the deaths occurring in North Carolina. Hundreds remain missing, and officials are facing challenges in identifying some of the victims.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to tour areas devastated by Hurricane Helene. Biden will visit both North and South Carolina, starting out in Greenville for an aerial survey of storm damage, then to Raleigh for a briefing, and he will later take a tour of Asheville. Harris will visit Georgia. Former President Donald Trump visited the state on Monday. Federal efforts are focused on restoring power, clearing debris, and repairing communication networks in impacted states.

Iran's supreme leader made his first appearance on Wednesday since Iran’s attack on Israel. He did not directly talk about the strikes, but blamed Israel for the fighting in the Middle East. He also criticized the United States and some European countries. Meanwhile, Israel said it is continuing its ground operation in southern Lebanon. Israel's foreign ministry banned U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country. Guterres issued a brief statement on Tuesday referencing the latest escalation in the Middle East but he didn't call out Iran for the attack. Israel said anyone who can't unequivocally condemn Iran's attack doesn't deserve to set foot on Israeli soil.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was back in court on Wednesday, this time for a status conference, after his federal indictment last week. District Judge Dale Ho is set to oversee his criminal trial on corruption charges. Adams pleaded not guilty to the federal charges last week.

The Israeli military said Iran launched missiles into Israel on Tuesday. It said sirens sounded all across central Israel and that all Israeli civilians are in bomb shelters. The attack came after the White House earlier warned in a statement that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel. The statement said the U.S. is supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against the attack and added that a direct attack against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran.

The death toll from Hurricane Helene continues to rise. At least 137 people have been killed. In western North Carolina entire communities are under feet of water. Hundreds of people are yet to make contact with loved ones as cellphone towers are still down across the region. Power is still out for more than 1.5 million homes and businesses - from Florida to West Virginia. President Biden said he will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday.

JD Vance and Tim Walz will take the stage tonight, in the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 election. Tonight's 90-minute debate will take place at 9 p.m. Eastern Time in New York City. Watch the debate at 9 p.m. on CBS or simulcast on NTD News. Afterwards, NTD’s Steve Lance and Tiffany Meier will be providing a balanced analysis with special guests and a recap of the night’s biggest moments.

The man charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, after allegedly positioning himself with a rifle outside one of the former president's Florida golf courses pleaded not guilty on Monday to five federal charges. Ryan Routh, 58, entered the plea to charges that include attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate during a hearing in federal court. He has already been ordered to remain in jail to await a trial.

Rescue operations are underway after Hurricane Helene battered the Southeast. At least 110 are dead across the nation and officials are warning the death toll may rise. Many more are reported as missing. President Joe Biden will visit some affect communities later this week. Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have expressed condolences to those affected by Helene. Forecasters say a new tropical depression has formed in the Atlantic ocean, it’s still too early to know but it could become a hurricane by Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video in English today where he addressed the people of Iran. Netanyahu says he wanted to do so directly, without filters or middlemen. "There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach. There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country," Netanyahu said. He said the Iranian government was bringing Iranians "closer to the abyss." Iran and Israel would be at peace when Iran is "finally free" which he said would "come a lot sooner than people think.” Meanwhile, the Hezbollah terrorist group has a new acting leader. This comes after an Israeli airstrike killed long-time chief Hassan Nasrallah. Acting leader Naim Kassem says if Israel decides to launch a ground offensive, the group's fighters are ready.

Former President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would work with both Ukraine and Russia to end their war. He made the remarks as he stood next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at their meeting in New York City. Speaking to reporters at Trump Tower, Zelenskyy said he wanted to discuss his "victory plan" for Ukraine with Trump during their first meeting since 2019. He said he was meeting with both Trump and his Democratic rival in the Nov. 5 election, Vice President Kamala Harris, because Ukraine needs strong U.S. support in its continuing war with Russia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Friday morning amid growing concerns about the escalating conflicts in the Middle East. Netanyahu blamed Iran for the rising tensions and said Israel is winning.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams surrendered to federal authorities before a scheduled arraignment on Friday morning. He faces federal charges of accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish nationals.

Watch the livestream of the Task Force's hearing, "The Ongoing Investigation of the Butler, Pennsylvania Security Failure: The Secret Service’s Reliance on State and Local Law Enforcement." The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Witnesses include:

Mr. Edward Lenz: Sergeant, Adams Township Police Department, Commander, Butler County Emergency Services Unit

Mr. Drew Blasko: Patrolman, Butler Township Police Department

Mr. John D. Herold: Lieutenant, Pennsylvania State Police

Mr. Patrick Sullivan: Former United States Secret Service Agent

Dr. Ariel Goldschmidt: Medical Examiner, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

The goal of the Task Force is to understand what went wrong on the day of the attempted assassination, to ensure accountability, and to prevent such an agency failure from ever happening again. To date, the Task Force has held multiple meetings with law enforcement officials, conducted a number of transcribed interviews, and reviewed thousands of documents.

A bipartisan Senate committee has revealed its report on the first Trump assassination attempt. It details lapses in preparation and communication the day former President Donald Trump was shot at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. According to the report, Secret Service agents could not agree on who was ultimately responsible for decision-making in the run-up to that day. Secret Service agents and local law enforcement failed to set up visual barriers that might have blocked the shooter's view of the podium where Trump was shot. Trump's campaign said the former president was also briefed on Tuesday by U.S. intelligence officials on alleged Iranian threats to assassinate him.

Tropical storm Helene officially became a category 1 hurricane on Wednesday morning as it churned through the eastern Gulf of Mexico toward the Florida coastline. More than 40 million people in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama are under hurricane and tropical storm warnings. Evacuations are being ordered along Florida's Gulf Coast.

House Republican leadership is expected to bring a stopgap funding bill to the floor on Wednesday that would extend the deadline for a government shutdown to Dec. 20. The bill has won the approval of both the White House and Senate Democratic leadership, making it likely to pass quickly.