The Headlines - Helene Roars on After Lashing Florida, and the Charges Facing Eric Adams

Episode Date: September 27, 2024

Plus, Batman joins the Hollywood Walk of Fame.   Tune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. On Today’s Episode:Helene Roars Into Georgia After Lashing Florida’s Gulf Coast, by Patricia Mazzei, Judson Jones and Orlando MayorquínCheap Flights and Deleted Texts: 10 Takeaways From the Adams Indictment, by Dana Rubinstein and William K. RashbaumNetanyahu, Delayed by Israel’s New Assault on Hezbollah, Faces Broad Censure From Gathered Leaders, by Isabel KershnerU.S. Intelligence Stresses Risks in Allowing Long-Range Strikes by Ukraine, by Adam Entous and Julian E. BarnesF.D.A. Approves the First New Schizophrenia Drug in Decades, by Ellen Barry and Christina JewettHoly Hollywood! Batman Is the First Superhero With a Walk of Fame Star, by George Gene Gustines

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Michael Simon Johnson. Today's Friday, September 27th. Here's what we're covering. Overnight, Hurricane Helene smashed into Florida's Gulf Coast, making landfall as a Category 4 storm, with wind speeds of 140 miles per hour. We're going to be waking up to a state where, very likely, there's been additional loss of life, and certainly there's going to be loss of property.

Governor Ron DeSantis said there had been at least one death so far in the state, and that residents should be prepared for serious damage from the hurricane, which was the most powerful to ever strike that part of Florida. The vast storm weakened as it came ashore, but it's causing havoc across the wider region. In the Tampa area, water levels surged to two feet above record highs. Millions of people are without power, and the storm is still on the move. It's caused at least three other deaths across the South. Authorities are predicting that for the western part of the Carolinas, it could be one of the most significant weather events in the modern era,

with catastrophic flooding and significant landslides. Eric Adams, the Democratic mayor of New York, has been ordered to appear in federal court today for his arraignment. He's been charged with bribery, fraud, and soliciting foreign campaign donations. Public office is a privilege. We allege that Mayor Adams abused that privilege and broke the law. Laws that are designed to ensure that officials like him serve the people, not the highest bidder. At a press conference yesterday, prosecutors unveiled details of the indictment.

They say that for years, Adams accepted free or heavily discounted airline tickets and plush hotel accommodations from Turkey, in total worth over $100,000. He also allegedly accepted illegal campaign contributions from Turkish businessmen. In exchange, prosecutors say Adams granted political favors to Turkish officials in New York, the most notable pressuring the fire department to ignore safety concerns and rush through a certification of the Turkish consulate's new high-rise building in midtown Manhattan. These are bright red lines, and we allege that the mayor crossed them again and again for years. That is the only reason we are here today. My day-to-day will not change. I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do.

Adams held his own press conference yesterday, surrounded by allies and religious leaders. He vowed to stay in office, even as he and his supporters were almost drowned out by protesters. Resign! Resign! Resign! Resign! Resign! For more on the investigation into Adams, listen to today's episode of The Daily with Times City Hall Bureau Chief Emma Fitzsimmons. At the same time that New York City's own government has been thrown into turmoil, the city is hosting leaders from around the world for the United Nations General Assembly. Today, all eyes will be on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to give a speech to the Assembly this morning.

As Netanyahu arrived in New York yesterday, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest Israel's ongoing war in Gaza and its recent surge of attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. A year ago, when Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly, he gave a very rousing, ambitious speech where he spoke about a pathway to solving the Israeli-Arab conflict. And now, a year later, peace has not for a long time looked further away.

Times correspondent Isabel Kirchner has covered Israel for more than 30 years. Many Israelis have expressed surprise that he would leave the country at this stage, given the precarious security situation. But for Netanyahu, these speeches on the world stage at the United Nations are traditionally extremely important. He often comes equipped with theatrical props like maps and photographs to add to the drama. He sees these as historic occasions where he can try to make Israel's case to the world, while at the same time keeping a very close eye on his domestic audience at home. We'll have to wait and see whether in the speech today he does double down on the need to continue with full force fighting both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, or whether he might open the door or leave open a door to more diplomacy and a different path forward.

Meanwhile, we have to keep pressure on Russia to stop the war and to make truly lasting and just peace. Ukraine's president is on a whirlwind diplomatic tour of the U.S., trying to secure more American support as his troops struggle to hold ground against Russia. Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at the U.N. and met with President Biden, Vice President Harris, and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Later today, he's also set to meet with Donald Trump. While the White House did offer several billion dollars in new military aid, Biden's still holding out on Zelensky's biggest ask, getting the green light to use long-range American missiles to hit army bases and stockpiles of ammunition deep inside Russia. The Times has now learned about an intelligence assessment that could explain

why Biden hasn't given permission. U.S. intelligence agencies think that if Ukraine used those weapons for long-range strikes, Russia would retaliate with greater force against the U.S. and its allies. That could include stepping up the sabotage and arson attacks it's been covertly conducting in Europe, or even carrying out lethal attacks on U.S. military bases. That assessment also says that those risks might not be worth the reward, laying out how Ukraine's limited arsenal of the long-range weapons likely wouldn't be enough to change the course of the war.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new schizophrenia drug, the first new antipsychotic treatment of its kind in decades. Until now, antipsychotic drugs have worked by blocking a dopamine receptor, which has led to side effects like sluggishness, a lack of motivation, and potentially dangerous weight gain. The new drug, known as CoBenfi, is designed to block that dopamine receptor indirectly instead, cutting down on the most debilitating side effects. There have only been three short-term controlled studies of the drug's efficacy so far. A study of longer-term outcomes for patients is expected to be released later this year.

And finally... Let me tell you a little bit about our honoree. Batman is one of the world's most iconic characters, standing for justice, strength, and fearlessness. 85 years after he was first created, Batman, the comic book, television, and film icon, is finally getting a Hollywood star. And now we're so proud that he is the first superhero to land right here to receive a permanent star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On Thursday, the caped crusader beat out a long list of spandex-wearing competition, including Superman, Spider-Man, and Captain America, to be the first superhero with a place on the iconic sidewalk. Batman, clad in the somber costume which has struck terror to the heart of many a swaggering denizen of the underworld. Batman has been an enduring figure in pop culture and has been adapted again and again to reflect the times. He started off as a shadowy, swashbuckling detective

before being reimagined as a campier character in the 1960s. You'll never get away with this, Riddler. Would you like to make a little wager? I never gamble. In the late 80s, Tim Burton imagined his version of Batman that arguably came to define superhero movies for the next three decades. I'm not going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor.

I want you to tell all your friends about me. What are you? I'm Batman. And the 2007 hit, The Dark Knight, proved that superhero movies and superheroes could be taken seriously. And tonight you're going to break your one rule. I'm considering it. Batman now joins the ranks of some of the real people who've brought him to life.

One of his creators, Bob Kane, has a Hollywood star. So does Adam West, who played him on TV, as well as Burt Ward, who played Batman's trusty sidekick Robin. No word on whether Robin himself will be getting a star. Those are the headlines. This show is made by Robert Jemison, Jessica Metzger, Jan Stewart, and me, Michael Simon Johnson, with help from Isabella Anderson and Jake Lucas.

Original theme by Dan Powell. Special thanks to Larissa Anderson, Zoe Murphy, and Paula Schumann. The Headlines will be back on Monday with Tracy Mumford.