--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Michael Simon-Johnson. Today's Thursday, September 26th. Here's what we're covering.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: My fellow New Yorkers, it is now my belief that the federal government intends to charge me with crimes. If so, these charges will be entirely false based on lies. The Times has learned that New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted as part of a federal corruption investigation.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: As of early this morning, the indictment has not been made public, and it's unclear what exactly Adams is charged with. But investigators have been focused in part on whether he and his campaign conspired with the Turkish government to get illegal foreign donations.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: For months, leaks and rumors have been aimed at me in an attempt to undermine my credibility and paint me as guilty. Even before he was indicted, Adams released a defiant video statement, preemptively denying any allegations.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit. If I'm charged, I know I am innocent. This is the mayor of America's largest city, and he is the first mayor of modern New York to be indicted on criminal charges. It's an historic event.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Times reporter Dana Rubinstein is part of the team that broke the news of the indictment. So this is the culmination of an investigation that has looked into all sorts of things, including potentially illegal donations to his campaigns from foreign donors, as well as the possibility that he tried to influence the city to approve a new high-rise Turkish consulate in Manhattan, despite safety concerns.
--:-- Dana Rubinstein: It's also looked into the possibility that he received free airline upgrades on Turkish Airlines, and it's one of four investigations that are looking at him and the people in his orbit.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Federal prosecutors are expected to announce details of the indictment later today. It's not yet clear when Adams will surrender to authorities. In the meantime, a number of state senators, city council members, and other local politicians have already called for him to step down.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The indictment comes as the city government has been engulfed in a chaotic series of scandals and resignations that have stretched beyond the case involving Turkey. In just the past few weeks, the city's police commissioner and the mayor's legal advisor have both resigned, and two former fire chiefs have been arrested on bribery charges.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Unfortunately, we've got a lot of information to pass on to you with this update, and some of it is increasingly dire for the people in the path of this storm. Almost every county in Florida is now under a state of emergency as Hurricane Helene plows through the Gulf of Mexico.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The giant storm is currently a Category 1, but it's expected to strengthen and could reach Category 4 by the time it makes landfall this evening south of Tallahassee. Now, I've been here for 25 years. We don't normally forecast surge values this big, so this is pretty significant.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Officials at the National Hurricane Center are warning residents to prepare for up to 18 feet of storm surge, along with damaging winds. After Helene comes ashore, it's forecast to push north through Georgia and Alabama up to the Carolinas, bringing heavy rain to the entire region in the coming days.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: You can follow live coverage of the storm at nytimes.com or on the New York Times app.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The American economy is the most powerful force for innovation and wealth creation in human history. In Pittsburgh yesterday, Kamala Harris gave a major economic policy speech in an effort to win over voters who are worried about the economy, but who aren't sure about what a Harris administration would do to help.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: I believe an active partnership between government and the private sector is one of the most effective ways to fully unlock economic opportunity. The point of Vice President Harris's speech on Wednesday was less about giving us new details and new ideas about what she's for on economic policy and more about telling us what she's not, which is a socialist.
--:-- Jim Tankersley: While Harris did touch on some tangible proposals, like tax breaks for startups and a plan to incentivize contractors to build more housing, she was also playing a bit of defense. Polls show that Donald Trump's attacks on her economic beliefs, including calling her a socialist and a communist, have raised doubts in some voters' minds.
--:-- Jim Tankersley: Look, I'm a capitalist. I believe in free and fair markets. She went out of her way to say, "I'm a capitalist," which is something she said before, but took on extra importance in this speech when Harris went on to talk about, in very technical terms, all of the ways that she sees the government being this force of pragmatic experimentation to help business to invest more, to do good things in the economy.
--:-- Jim Tankersley: She needs to convince voters that she's a safe choice, that she can manage the economy well. And in particular, she needs to persuade voters who are skeptical of government, who are just not sure that it has all the answers to their economic problems, but want to see it used more effectively to bring down costs and make their lives better.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Meanwhile, many members of Congress have left Washington and are back home for the final weeks of their own campaigns. Last night, Congress passed its last bill before the election, a budget extension that keeps the government funded through mid-December, narrowly avoiding a shutdown that was just days away.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: This term, the GOP-led House, with its slim majority, struggled to get almost any significant legislation passed, and House Republicans didn't follow through on some campaign promises, like impeaching President Biden.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: So I was speaking to Republican members about what accomplishments they're going to point to in the coming weeks when they go home to their districts. And a lot of them don't really know what to say.
--:-- Annie Carney: I talked to Maria Salazar, a vulnerable Republican from Florida yesterday. And she told me to wait for her as she went into the chamber to vote and told me she would like to have a conversation with me about what should be a pretty easy question for a lawmaker.
--:-- Annie Carney: The question I asked her was what is your message to voters about what Republicans have achieved over the past two years. I mean, that's not a gotcha. And then she came out and hustled into her car and said, "I really have to go to a fundraiser. I don't have time to give this my full attention, but we will get back to you with a fulsome response."
--:-- Annie Carney: And she made her aid get my cell phone number and promised that they were really going to give me something. And no one ever got in touch.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Annie says the question to watch is whether voters in Florida and beyond care about how dysfunctional Congress has been recently, but that in a polarized moment in American politics, it's likely that many people will simply stick with their party.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: And finally, we may be living through the beginning of the end of the supersize me era. A survey out this year from the national restaurant association shows that 75 percent of Americans say they want smaller portions, and a number of restaurants are listening.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Subway recently introduced a snack-focused menu, including little three-dollar wraps. Some Burger Kings are now selling eight chicken nuggets instead of 10-piece orders. And a group of researchers at Georgetown University want to reduce portion sizes at major chains like Panda Express and Chick-fil-A.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Food prices are the main reason consumers and restaurants want to shrink portions. There's also the issue of food waste. As much as 40% of food served at restaurants never gets eaten.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Eating trends have also changed. Adults say they now eat about half their meals a day in the form of snacks, what experts have creatively labeled "snackification." And millions of Americans are now taking weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy that suppress their appetites.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, why one of the largest psychiatric hospital chains in the U.S. is holding patients against their will. That's next in the New York Times audio app or listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michael Simon-Johnson. We'll be back tomorrow.
