{beacon} 12:30 REPORT It’s Wednesday. The coverage of Hurricane Milton is so scary. Please, everyone, follow evacuation orders. Here’s what’s happening:Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday.See some of the preparations happening in Tampa — and footage of the storm from space. Harris has been on a media blitz this week, and some of it has been rocky.The president of France is trying to keep “Emily in Paris” in, well, Paris.  I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to [email protected]. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.   🌀 Hurricane Milton This is absolutely terrifying:©  AP Hurricane Milton is barreling toward the western coast of Florida and is expected to make landfall around 8 p.m. tonight. Storm surges could reach 8 to 15 feet depending on the tides.  Residents are fleeing: There has been heavy traffic heading out of the Tampa area as residents flee the coast. And for people who have not left, here are the recommended times to shelter in place.   You don’t want to be where Jim Cantore is: The famous meteorologist is in Tampa for the storm. He posted this morning that he and his team are “planning our next move.” Here are some useful resources as the storm unfolds:  🔎 The Weather Channel’s forecast 🔎 Live storm tracker 🔎 City-by-city projections 🔎 Evacuation zones by county 🔎 The National Hurricane Center’s maps and resources 🔎 FEMA’s Milton-specific disaster resources Useful meteorologists to follow on X:  Jim Cantore, the famous Weather Channel meteorologist: Follow Ginger Zee, chief meteorologist at ABC News: Follow Matt Devitt, WINK News’s chief meteorologist: Follow John Morales, hurricane specialist at NBC 6 South Florida: Follow Reed Timmer, storm chaser and meteorologist: Follow Matthew Cappucci, storm chaser for MyRadar Weather: Follow ➤  SIGHTS AND SOUNDS IN FLORIDA: The city of Tampa is trying to clear as much Helene debris as possible: This debris can become projectiles with Milton’s high winds. 📹 Some of the debris in Tampa You can see the storm from space: Here’s storm footage from the International Space Station. 📹 Watch   ^ NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick posted another photo this morning. “We flew over Hurricane Milton again today about an hour ago. It was not as symmetric as yesterday but it appeared larger today,” he said. 📸 The storm from the spacecraft’s window  This viral clip is so sad and scary: A long-tenured South Florida meteorologist, John Morales, choked up while giving a storm update. This clip has more than 15.2 million views. 📹 Watch the clip  ^ Morales explained to People Magazine why he got choked up. “It’s angst over the multiplication of extreme weather events and their severity,” Morales said.  There was a tornado this morning: 📸 Here’s a photo from the National Weather Service in Miami. And 📹 here’s a video and 📹 another video.   ✈️ The Orlando airport is nearly empty: It ceased operations this morning. 📹 Here’s a clip from the empty airport  The math of the storm: Fox 35 Orlando’s Noah Bergren described the “astronomical” data of this storm. “This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth's atmosphere over this ocean water can produce,” he posted. 🔬 Read his explainer  What’s it like at Disney World?: Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld are closing for the storm. The park’s hotels have no vacancies on its online reservation system, according to AP. They are often a safe spot for evacuated Floridians.   A lighter tidbit: Watch 📹 these penguins evacuate. And 📹 this sloth!  ➤  THE POLITICS OF THE STORM:Preparations and decisions made in the aftermath of natural disasters often become a political food fight. Hurricanes Helene and Milton have been no exception.  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) instigated some conspiracy theories, including posting that “yes they can control the weather.” It’s unclear who the “they” in question is, by the way. Fellow Republican Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez, (Fla.) slammed Greene, posting, “Humans cannot create or control hurricanes. Anyone who thinks they can, needs to have their head examined.”   Former President Trump claimed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) lacks on-the-ground personnel to aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell pushed back on those claims as being “completely false” and said she is concerned the claims could dissuade people from getting the assistance they need.   Vice President Harris also slammed Trump’s suggestion that FEMA has diverted funds away from hurricane relief as lacking empathy.🚌 On The Campaign Trail  Lots of nerves all around: Toward the end of the summer, Democrats were feeling good about their chances of keeping the White House. Well, The Hill’s Amie Parnes reports that Democrats’ nerves are now at an all-time high.  What sparked some of the nerves: Harris’s interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” was a bit rocky because of some of her policy explanations.  Plus: “There’s also concern on everything from the static poll numbers in the race to the vice president’s messaging and even her standing with men — not just white men but Black and Hispanic men, too.”  Where polling stands: Harris has a 3 percentage point lead nationally, according to The Hill and Decision Desk HQ’s polling average. Read more on how Democratic strategists think this race is going. And read more on Harris’s rocky media tour: ‘Harris’s media blitz gets off to uneven start’ ➤  IT’S ALL ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA:The New York Times’s Shane Goldmacher writes how Harris and Trump are pouring enormous resources into winning the battleground state of Pennsylvania.  Why?: “Part of Pennsylvania’s pivotal role is its sheer size: The state’s 19 electoral votes are the biggest prize of any battleground. Part of it is polling: The state has been virtually tied for months. And part of it is math: It is daunting for either Mr. Trump or, especially, Ms. Harris to reach the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win without it.” Read Goldmacher’s full reporting: ‘Inside the Battle for America’s Most Consequential Battleground State’  ➤  MORE NEWS FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL:Former President Trump is performing — err, I mean, is holding a campaign rally — at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Oct. 27. Vice President Harris confessed to radio host Howard Stern that she loves watching MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” In former first lady Melania Trump’s new book, she discussed a 2017 incident where she appeared to swat away her husband’s hand. She brushed it off as a “mere misunderstanding.”🐝 Internet Buzz  🧀 Celebrate: Today is National Moldy Cheese Day! 📺 I’m not used to seeing Melania Trump in this casual setting: Former first lady Melania Trump appeared on Fox News’s “The Five.” 📹 Watch the clip  🥖 Keep Emily in Paris!: French President Emmanuel Macron told Variety he is fighting to keep Netflix’s popular show “Emily in Paris” in France, despite a season moving to Rome.  🐕 What a crew!!: A few therapy dogs visited the Senate Press Gallery on Tuesday. 📸 Here’s a photo📆 On The Agenda  The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Washington. Vice President Harris is in New York City. (all times Eastern) Noon: Biden and Harris are receiving a briefing on Hurricane Milton, as well as Hurricane Helene recovery. 💻 Livestream 1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream2 p.m.: Harris leaves for Las Vegas. 2 p.m.: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), campaigns in Chandler, Ariz., with Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Jim McCain, the son of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). 💻 Livestream 2:15 p.m.: Biden holds a call with rabbis to commemorate the Jewish High Holidays. 3 p.m.: Former President Trump campaigns in Scranton, Pa. 💻 Livestream 3 p.m.: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio.) campaigns in Tucson, Ariz. 💻 Livestream 3:15 p.m.: Biden meets withSimon Harris, taoiseach of Ireland.3:30 p.m.: Walz campaigns in Phoenix. 💻 Livestream 5:30 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks on Hurricane Milton. 💻 Livestream 7 p.m.: Trump campaigns in Reading, Pa. 💻 Livestream👋 And Finally…  It’s been a tense week in the news, so let’s close this with something lighter. Find me a dog happier than this. I’ll wait. Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the 12:30 Report newsletter Subscribe