Happy Friday! The Southeast is getting slammed by Hurricane Helene. Yikes, it's a scary storm. Stay safe, my friends. Here’s what we’re covering today:

• Harris is visiting the border.
• Plot twist: Trump met with Zelensky this morning.
• Hurricane Helene batters Florida.
• My social media feeds are all footage of Helene. Keep scrolling to see some of the most intense storm videos.
• McConnell is icing out Ted Cruz and Rick Scott from a major fundraising group.
  
  

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

©  GIPHY/GIPHY News

Vice President Harris is visiting the U.S.-Mexico border today and meeting with Border Patrol agents in Douglas, Ariz.

Any announcements: Yes, The Hill’s Alex Gangitano reports that Harris will call for more resources for Border Patrol — and will describe curbing the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. as a “top priority” for her potential administration.

ABC News noted this is Harris’s first trip to the border in more than three years.

💡 Why this matters: Republicans have been going after Harris over the influx of migrants. Border safety is a top issue for voters, and polling shows it favors Republicans. The problem: Harris calling for stricter border measures comes with an awkward balance. She *is* part of the current administration, so she must balance voters’ border concerns with her own role in the past four years. That makes today’s trip so important.

Former President Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Trump Tower this morning after reportedly rejecting a meeting request. 

For context: Zelensky has been in a spat with Republicans since he called Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) “too radical” during a recent New Yorker interview. His recent trip to Pennsylvania has also angered Republicans.

“Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called for Zelensky to fire his ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, for organizing the visit with Democrats to a Keystone State weapons factory, while Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, opened a formal investigation into the tour. Johnson refused to meet Zelensky during the Ukrainian leader’s visit this week.” (The Hill)

Keep in mind that Harris met with Zelensky yesterday in Washington, D.C.

Notable: During joint comments to the press gathered at Trump Tower, Trump remarked about having "a very good relationship" with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian leader then interjected: “I hope we have more good relations" — referring to the U.S.-Ukraine relationship.

“Oh, I see,” Trump responded. “But it takes two to tango, you know.

📸 A cool Doug Mills photo from the meeting

©  GIPHY/Election 2020

A major Senate fundraising group affiliated with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) has decided not to help two of McConnell’s biggest critics: Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rick Scott (Fla.).

💡 Why this matters: Democrats are targeting Florida and Texas, and some Republicans are questioning if McConnell is doing enough to protect incumbents. It’s notable because McConnell told The Hill in February that he doesn’t play favorites in an election year.

Read Bolton’s reporting: ‘Cruz and Scott, both McConnell critics, get cold shoulder amid tough races’

• ‘JD Vance, in 2020 messages, said Trump ‘thoroughly failed to deliver”’: The Washington Post
• ‘Harris Tiptoes Away From Electric Vehicle Stance as Trump Seizes an Opening in Michigan’: The Wall Street Journal
• ‘Kamala Harris’ Pennsylvania Problem’: “Joe Biden’s local ties and cultural roots kept him competitive in culturally conservative northeastern Pennsylvania. Harris’ prospects in the heavily Catholic, working-class region there are dicier.” Politico

Harris is narrowly leading Trump in six crucial battleground states, according to a new Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll.

Which states?: Nevada, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina. They’re tied in Georgia.

©  AP

Helene tore through Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, bringing a catastrophic storm surge with massive flooding. The storm is now headed north and is battering Georgia and the Carolinas.

🌀 Weather Channel forecast

🌀 Storm tracker of the expected path

🌀 Projections from the National Hurricane Center

🌀 ‘The 4 biggest hazards still to come from Hurricane Helene’: The Washington Post

This is terrifying: Look at 📹the water rising on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa. Plus, here’s 📹a bridge in Fort Myers.

Wonder what you can see from space or from a plane?: Here’s 📹 the hurricane viewed by an aircraft and 📹 by the International Space Station

^ Curious how this is done safely?: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration performs missions to gather information about the storm. 📹 Here’s a video from yesterday's storm trip — I would get SO motion sick.

Wow, the clouds: 📹Watch the clouds roll in in Naples — and 📸 in Crystal River.

Some early flooding: Some first-floor units in St. Petersburg 📹 were submerged by 7 p.m.

Dolphins: WFLA reporter Allyson Henning 📹 captured a video of dolphins in Sarasota.

I think there’s a pool in there: Here’s a 📹 video of the intense flooding on Longboat Key.

Apparently, this popular Disney ride had no line: “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance” had a five-minute wait. 📹 Video from the line

The wind tore off part of a home: 📹 Watch it fly away

This looks like a scene out of a movie: 📹 Watch the moment Perry lost power. And here’s a 📹 Weather Channel live shot of Helene knocking out the power.

©  AP

“This storm showed us how mega-storms are worsening. And how unprepared we are,” write Vox’s Lavanya Ramanathan and Umair Irfan. Read more

New York City Mayor Eric Adams surrendered to authorities this morning and pleaded not guilty after being indicted on five criminal charges in a federal corruption investigation.

He was supposed to be in court this morning: “Adams, 64, was set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker in Manhattan. But because his lawyer, Alex Spiro, is busy, the initial appearance and arraignment were postponed until Oct. 3 at noon.” (USA Today)

🔎 Read the indictment

Nadler wants him out: Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) called for Adams to resign this morning, arguing he is unable to “effectively” lead the city while he fights the charges. Keep in mind that for the most part, New York Democrats stopped short Thursday of calling on Adams to resign.

The editorial board of The New York Times also called for Adams to step aside.

The governor has the ability oust him from office: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) could potentially boot Adams from office, but The New York Times has an explainer of the conundrum she’s in.

‘5 things to know about the indictment’:

1. Prosecutors say Adams’s campaign illegally received $10M in public funds.
2. Adams urged FDNY to OK a new Turkish consulate, at Turkey’s request.
3. Turkish associates celebrated Adams’s election victory.
4. Adams told the FBI his phone was ‘locked’ and he forgot his password.
5. A staffer left a meeting with the FBI to use the bathroom — and deleted phone messaging software while there.

📸 Check out today’s cover of The New York Post

☕ Celebrate: Today is National Corned Beef Day! And Sunday is National Coffee Day!

💃 What an uncomfy interview: ABC’s “Good Morning America” interviewed fake German heiress Anna “Delvey” Sorokin after she was eliminated from “Dancing with the Stars.” 📹 Watch the clip

🌅 This was a cute segment: NBC’s Hoda Kotb announced yesterday that she is leaving the “Today” show. Well, this morning she described what her day was like after the announcement. “I went home and my daughter threw up in the car, and then we watched TV.” 📹 Watch the clip

The House and Senate are going, going, gone. President Biden is in Pennsylvania and then Delaware. Vice President Harris is in Arizona and California today. (all times Eastern)

• 2 p.m.: Former President Trump campaigns in Walker, Mich. 💻 Livestream
• 6 p.m.: Trump campaigns in Warren, Mich. 💻 Livestream
• 6:35 p.m.: Harris receives a briefing on the flow of fentanyl through the southern border.
• 7:45 p.m.: Harris holds a campaign event in Douglas, Ariz. 💻 Livestream
• 9:05 p.m.: Harris leaves for San Franciso. She arrives around midnight.
• Sunday: Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will be on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Let’s get this weekend off to a good (and early!) start. Meet Pesto, the chunky penguin!

Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.

View past issues of 12:30 Report here and check out other newsletters from The Hill here. See you next time!