Hurricane Helene’s path inland and Kamala Harris goes to Arizona border: Morning Rundown

Hurricane Helene moves through Georgia after making landfall in Florida. Kamala Harris visits the southern border in Arizona. And criticize blast a “Bridgerton”-inspired ball that was instead a chaotic mess.

Here’s what to know today.

Helene moves inland after making landfall as Category 4 hurricane in Florida

Hurricane Helene weakened overnight on its path through Georgia, hours after making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 storm. The storm churned ashore about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida, at about 11:10 p.m. and with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. By 1 a.m., the hurricane’s eye wall was moving into Georgia. At 2 a.m. the maximum sustained winds had dropped to 90 mph, making it a Category 1 storm.

Life-threatening storm surges, winds and rain remained threats, the National Hurricane Center said. As of early Friday, more than 3 million customers were without power in Florida and Georgia combined.

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A driver was killed after a sign fell onto their car in Tampa, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Two people died in Wheeler County, Georgia, when an apparent tornado overturned a mobile home, an official said.

Follow our live blog for the latest updates. 

Harris goes to the border

In her first trip to the southern border since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris will talk immigration — an issue that Republicans have repeatedly criticized her on. While in Douglas, Arizona, Harris will call for tougher security measures like fentanyl detection machines and more Border Patrol agents, while pressing the Chinese government to crack down on companies that make the precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.

Republicans have labeled Harris a “border czar” and questioned why she hasn’t made enough progress on securing the border in her four years as vice president. Harris has meanwhile attacked Trump over his efforts to kill a bipartisan border funding deal earlier this year. Her criticism of Trump, as well as recent ads touting her record of prosecuting transnational gangs and drug traffickers as California’s attorney general is a remarkable attempt at a rebrand with just weeks left before Election Day. Read the full story.

More 2024 election coverage:

• Harris’ team is considering keeping in place some Biden Cabinet officials if she wins the presidency and Democrats lose the Senate. Here’s why.
• Trump said he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today in New York.
• For young men who grew up in the Trump era, the 2024 election is about one big thing.
• A lone Nebraska state senator’s actions may have helped Harris secure her first electoral vote before a single ballot has been cast.

Alabama’s second nitrogen gas execution

An Alabama inmate was executed yesterday using nitrogen gas in what was the second instance in the state — and the country — of the controversial method’s use. Alan Eugene Miller’s planned execution by lethal injection was called off two years ago when prison officials struggled to access a vein for more than an hour. 

Miller, 59, was a former delivery driver who was convicted in 2000 for a workplace shooting spree. In a final statement, he said, “I didn’t do anything to be in here.” His death capped a particularly busy period of executions nationwide, with five occurring over the past seven days. Read the full story.

Politics in Brief

Adams indictment: New York City Mayor Eric Adams is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges that include bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national. A 57-page federal indictment alleges Adams received more than $100,000 worth of free plane tickets and luxury hotel stays from wealthy Turkish nationals and at least one government official in a nearly decadelong scheme.

Murder-for-hire plot: The Biden administration is offering up to $20 million for information on a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who is charged with plotting to kill Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton.

2020 election fallout: Smartmantic and Newsmax reached a settlement in the voting technology company’s election defamation lawsuit against the right-wing news outlet, avoiding a trial that had been scheduled to get underway Monday.

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Read All About It

• A Texas state legislator vows to ban the use of unclaimed bodies for research in response to an NBC News investigation that found a local medical program obtained and studied hundreds of human specimens without families’ permission.
• Anna “Delvey” Sorokin spoke out after her abrupt exit from “Dancing With the Stars” and accused the show of “exploiting me for attention.” 
• Southwest Airlines executives outlined a three-year vision to boost profits, including assigned seating, international partnerships and overnight flights. 
• Hoda Kotb, a beloved mainstay of NBC News’ “TODAY” for nearly two decades, announced that she will step down as co-anchor early next year.

Staff Pick: This ‘Bridgerton’-inspired ball was a chaotic mess

The Detroit Bridgerton Themed Ball, which is unaffiliated with the Netflix show, was supposed to transport attendees to the Regency era — promising live music, dancing, food and drink. Instead, event-goers were met with a single violinist, an exotic dancer and allegedly undercooked meals. Online, people likened it to other chaotic, failed events like The Willy Wonka Experience and Fyre Fest. We spoke to attendees of the ill-fated event, who are urging organizers to issue refunds. — Daysia Tolentino, culture & trends reporter

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Wayfair is bringing back October Way Day — and NBC Select has all the details. Plus, these reporters tested five pairs of Hoka walking shoes for three months (and thousands of steps). Here’s what they found.

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