At least 119 119 people killed by Helene, and that number is expected to rise.

The lead starts right now. From Florida to Virginia and points in between, tragedy worsening

in the United States by the hour as rescuers reach areas hard hit by a hurricane.

Just to see the destruction of our town, of our community that we love so much,

it is heartbreaking. We're standing by for an update from authorities

in Western North Carolina which seems to be among the area's hardest hit. Plus, Donald

Trump's weekend dystopian vision in a speech even he called quote dark

the Republican nominee takes campaign rhetoric to a new and horrifying place his

unprecedented comments this weekend on his Democratic opponent, on migrants,

and on what he wants to do to stop retail theft.

And one day before the vice presidential debate, CNN is learning one of the candidates is

nervous and worried about how tomorrow night might go down.

Welcome to the lead I'm Jake Tapper.

Apocalyptic scenes in the southern Appalachians.

Right now, Americans in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee

remain in desperate need of help.

The remnants of Hurricane Helene

unleashed unfathomable flooding and landslides,

rendering the beautiful mountain region,

unrecognizable in killing at least 47 people in North Carolina alone with a total of at least

119 storm-related deaths across the southeastern United States.

Now that death toll in North Carolina is sadly expected to rise because some small

...