RINSE AND REPEAT: With the resources of the Federal Emergency Management Agency already stretched by Hurricane Helene and its catastrophic damage, Tropical Storm Milton has blown up from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane headed again toward the Florida gulf coast. With winds up to 180 mph, Milton is now the strongest storm in the Gulf of Mexico in nearly 20 years.

  As of now, Milton is headed for the Tampa area, which has not taken a direct hurricane hit in 100 years. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said, “If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas you’re gonna die.”

  Some streets are already lined with debris from Hurricane Helene that could become missiles under Milton.

  The storm is expected to hit the coast tomorrow and Thursday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “We have to assume it’s going to be a monster.” Highways in some low-lying areas were already choked with people leaving in advance of a 10-15 foot storm surge. People were caught for hours in traffic jams between fuel stops that are running out of gas.

  Forecasters say Milton is likely to weaken but grow larger as it moves northeast across the gulf. After dealing with various disasters across the country this summer, FEMA is reported to have less than 10 percent of its personnel left to deploy.

IT’S POLITICAL:  Appearing on a special edition of “60 Minutes” last night, Vice President Kamala Harris ducked and dodged a bit when confronted with Bill Whitaker’s questions about the Biden administration’s handling of immigration. Pressed on the record number of crossings at the southern border and the administration’s loosening of policy, Harris refused to answer and said, “We need Congress to be able to act to actually fix the problem.”

  She made a similar dodge when asked whether the administration has lost influence over Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu. Harris said, “The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles.”

  She repeated that she owns a Glock pistol and knows how to use it.

  Harris is alone in the “60 Minutes” spotlight. Donald Trump turned them down for an interview.

  Harris is on an offbeat media tour hunting new voters that started with Sunday’s episode of Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, a show which normally features celebrities talking about their sexual skills and oral sex technique. Harris is scheduled to appear on ABC’s “The View,” Howard Stern’s satellite radio program, and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on CBS. 

BY THE NUMBERS: Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump by three points in the latest NYTimes/Siena College poll, 49 to 46 percent. The poll says voters are now more likely to credit Harris with representing change and caring about people like them. 

  The Real Clear Politics average of polls has Harris leading Trump by 2.1 percent. Susquehanna and Morning Consult both have Harris up by 5 percent. Rasmussen has Trump up by 2.

  The RCP average of battleground states has Trump leading in four out of seven; Arizona, North Carolina, and Georgia. RCP says it’s a tie in Pennsylvania and Harris leads in Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

THE WAR ROOM: As Israelis commemorated the one-year anniversary of the October 7^th massacre yesterday, the country’s military kept up its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

  Israel said it had struck back at a site where Hamas had launched rockets. So far no amount of destruction and death has discouraged Hamas leaders. A military spokesman for Hamas’s said in an online statement that Hamas would continue in what he called “a long, painful and extremely costly war of attrition” for Israel.

  Israel also continues extensive strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon and has sent in more troops to support its ground incursion.

  Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in a spat with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said over the weekend that countries that want a cease-fire should stop supplying weapons to Israel.

  “As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilized countries should be standing firmly by Israel’s side,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “Yet President Macron and some other Western leaders are now calling for an arms embargo against Israel. Shame on them.”

THE SPIN RACK: Without giving a reason, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal by the Biden administration to allow emergency abortions in Texas. The administration had argued that federal law requires hospital emergency rooms that receive federal money to provide emergency care. — The notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was traded from a US prison in exchange for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from a Russian prison, is trying to broker a deal for the sale of weapons to Houthi militants in Yemen, The NY Times reports. — The Biden administration issued a rule that would require water utilities to replace lead pipes in their systems within 10 years, eliminating a major source of a neurotoxin that is particularly dangerous to infants and children. — The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments today about whether the Biden administration overstepped its power in regulating so-called ghost guns, untraceable firearms assembled from kits bought online. More ghost guns are showing up at crime scenes.

BELOW THE FOLD: Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted the following:

“Climate change is the new Covid. Ask your government if the weather is manipulated or controlled. Did you ever give permission to them to do it? Are you paying for it? Of course you are..”

  After some critical response, Greene doubled down with a follow-up saying, “Yes they can control the weather. Anyone who says they don’t, or makes fun of this, is lying to you. By the way, the people know it and hate all of you who try to cover it up.”

  She was having a brainstorm.

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