By Clare Foran, Sarah Ferris, Lauren Fox and Haley Talbot, CNN Washington (CNN) — Speaker Mike Johnson turned to Democrats on Wednesday to help pass a stopgap funding bill amid GOP defections, and the House voted to avert a government shutdown. The bill, which must now pass the Senate, will fund the government until December 20, setting up a chaotic, high-stakes fight over spending at the end of the year. The political landscape will be vastly altered by that time in the wake of the November elections, and Congress will be facing major deadlines not only on funding, but other key priorities as well. The outcome of the elections will determine how strong, or weak, a hand Johnson will have to play in spending talks. The Senate is expected to vote later Wednesday evening to pass the stopgap funding bill. Afterward, the measure would be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The House vote was 341 to 82 with 132 Republicans and 209 Democrats voting in favor and 82 Republicans voting against. While more Democrats than Republicans voted to pass the bill, Johnson did secure a majority of his conference in support of the stopgap. Throughout the funding fight, Johnson faced demands from his conference as well as GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who publicly called for a shutdown unless Republicans secured passage of a controversial bill targeting noncitizen voting, known as the SAVE Act. Ahead of the vote, Trump also made a last-minute private pitch to some House Republicans on a hardline funding strategy that differed dramatically from what Johnson ultimately pursued, according to two GOP sources familiar with the conversation. Johnson initially brought a funding bill that included the SAVE Act to the House floor, but it failed to pass last week, prompting the speaker to move on to “Plan B” – a funding bill without the voting provisions. Johnson had said that he believes Trump understands that House Republicans don’t have the votes to pass the SAVE Act. But ahead of the funding vote on Wednesday, Trump phoned several House Republicans, including two who voted against the initial proposal on the floor last week, reiterating his calls that voting measures must be added to the government funding proposal. Trump told one of the GOP lawmakers in a call Tuesday that if the initial plan – with the voting measure – came up again, he wants the lawmaker to vote yes, one of the GOP sources said. Several Republicans have made the case to Trump and his team that a shutdown would risk their ability to keep their House majority – as well as Trump’s ability to flip the White House, according to multiple GOP lawmakers and senior aides. Johnson’s balancing act For Johnson, the latest spending episode highlights the Louisiana Republican’s relentless struggle to balance keeping his right flank from all-out rebellion while also ensuring he can complete the basic functions of governing, a key concern for his more moderate, vulnerable members in swing districts, especially with just weeks to go until the election. “A shutdown is bad governance, and it’s bad politics,” Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, told CNN about Johnson’s call. “I think he’s doing right.” On Wednesday, Johnson needed significant Democratic support to make up for “no” votes within his own GOP conference. Relying on votes from Democrats has opened Johnson up once again to criticism from his right flank, though few Republicans expect the speaker will face any immediate political repercussions. GOP lawmakers say Johnson is expected to escape the fate of his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by Republicans roughly one year ago after working with Democrats to avert a shutdown. That’s in part because of Johnson’s existing relationships with his conference, which he has worked to maintain even as he pushes a bill unpopular with his conference. The day after Johnson’s leadership team unveiled the plan, the speaker personally attended a meeting of the House Freedom Caucus to discuss his lack of other options to keep the government open, according to a person familiar with the matter. Yet it’s unclear if Johnson was able to convince any of those ultraconservative Republicans – who typically oppose government funding bills – to change their positions. “It’s all the same thing over and over again,” said Rep. Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican and former Freedom Caucus chairman, who said he will oppose the funding bill. Still, he acknowledged that Johnson had no other choice with Democrats controlling the Senate: “Nobody loves it. But, you don’t have many options.” Johnson insisted on Monday that he is not concerned he could lose his gavel over the funding push. “We have to make tough decisions in leadership. This is the last available option to us,” Johnson said. “None of us like it, but we can’t shut the government down 39 days before an election. It’d be political malpractice.” While the government funding bill does not include the SAVE Act, it does include an additional $231 million for the US Secret Service to help the agency protect the 2024 presidential candidates. This comes after lawmakers have called for more resources in the wake of two apparent assassination attempts against Trump. Pushing the funding deadline into late December raises questions over what strategy lawmakers will pursue to prevent a holiday season shutdown. Many lawmakers, and conservatives in particular, oppose sweeping spending packages known as an omnibus, but Hill leaders could face pressure to either take that route or pass yet another short-term extension. At a members-only meeting on Tuesday morning, Johnson promised his colleagues that he would not allow his conference to accept that dreaded massive year-end spending bill. But even his close colleagues privately say there are no other real alternatives if the narrowly divided House GOP can’t agree on a spending plan among themselves. “In difficult times we (have) got to make difficult decisions. That is what is happening here,” Johnson argued. He vowed “we will fight” during the lame duck for GOP priorities. “We will not do a Christmas omnibus,” he said after the meeting. “No way, not gonna do it.” Johnson’s struggle over government funding is certain to play a major role in this fall’s GOP leadership race, which is expected to take place shortly after the November elections. As that internal contest nears, Johnson’s own leadership deputies are working to shore up their own relationships across the House GOP. Several Republicans highlighted the outreach from House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. In recent days, for instance, Emmer’s team gave personally engraved hockey sticks to several House Republicans that thanked them for their service to the chamber. At least two Republican lawmakers said they received them shortly after they voted against the GOP stopgap spending bill, according to two GOP sources familiar with the matter. “Hockey mementos are a long-standing tradition for Emmer, intended as a small token of appreciation for members of the House Republican team,” according to a third person familiar with the outreach. CNN’s Ted Barrett, Annie Grayer and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report. The-CNN-Wire & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Photo of Michael Delroy James provided by the Barbados Police Service. The Barbados Police Service has jointly charged 17-year-old Michael Delroy James, of Welchman Hall, St. Thomas and 23-year-old Kaleel Tremaine Shaquon Goodridge of #66 Hill Side Road, Gall Hill, Christ Church with a number of offences, which occurred at 1st Avenue, Lower Carlton, St. James on September 15. They have been charged with endangering the lives of five people and criminal damage to a house in the area. Both men are charged separately with the unlawful use of a firearm. James appeared in the Holetown Magistrates’ Court on Monday before Magistrate Wayne Clarke and was remanded to Dodds Prison to reappear in the same court on October 21. Photo of Kaleel Tremaine Shaquon Goodridge provided by the Barbados Police Service. Goodridge, who was also charged with the death of Dominic Yarde, was remanded and is scheduled to appear on the same date to answer to the mentioned charges.

By Mary Gilbert, Taylor Ward and Dalia Faheid, CNN (CNN) — Hurricane Helene is now forecast to reach catastrophic Category 4 strength by the time it makes landfall in Florida on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center says, with storm surge potentially climbing to 20 feet along some parts of the coast. Helene could be the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in over a year – and time is running out for those in its path to prepare. “Preparations to protect life and property from storm surge and damaging winds along the Florida Big Bend coast should be rushed to completion today,” the center warned. Helene rapidly intensified into a hurricane Wednesday and will continue strengthening as it crosses over the record-warm water of the Gulf of Mexico. Rapidly intensifying storms like Helene are becoming more frequent in a world warming due to fossil fuel pollution. Wind speeds in the storm are expected to reach at least 130 mph by Thursday afternoon, but the hurricane center noted “additional strengthening is possible” in the hours before landfall. The center of the hurricane – where the most dangerous winds are – is expected to make landfall around Apalachicola, Florida, on Thursday evening. But its fearsome eye is only part of the story. Hurricane Helene will grow into a massive, sprawling monster as it tracks north – one that won’t just slam Florida, but also much of the Southeast.Thousands of Florida residents have already been forced to evacuate and nearly the entire state is under alerts as the storm threatens to unleash flooding rainfall, damaging winds and life-threatening storm surge. The hurricane unleashed its fury on parts of Mexico’s Yucátan Peninsula and Cuba Wednesday. Flooding rainfall plunged cars underwater in parts of Mexico’s state of Quintana Roo while powerful ocean waves pounded the coastline. Helene’s strong winds also knocked out power to more than 50,000 people in western Cuba’s province of Pinar del Río. Areas in Helene’s future track could see worse. The hurricane will be the fourth to make landfall in the US this year and the fifth storm to slam storm-weary Florida since 2022. “If you’re a godly person, pray, because I don’t really need this,” Port Richey resident Rick Way told CNN affiliate WFTS of the potential flooding Helene could bring. “Neither do any of us.” But this storm will be different than Hurricane Idalia and other recent storms to strike the state. Helene is forecast to grow into one of the largest storms in the Gulf of Mexico over the last century, according to hurricane expert Michael Lowry. The hurricane’s wind field could be big enough to stretch from Washington, DC, to Indianapolis. That means more storm surge and more widespread impacts, even with the center of the storm well away from the coast. “This system will be unlike anything we have experienced to date,” said the sheriff’s office in Taylor County, Florida. The storm’s sprawl brought rain and tropical storm-force wind gusts to parts of the Florida Keys Wednesday afternoon and will spread north and east across the state from there, reaching the Tampa area by Wednesday night. Tropical rainfall and strong gusts could spread over a large portion of the Peninsula by Thursday morning. Hurricane-force wind gusts will follow closely behind for areas along the coast, including in the Tampa area by Thursday night. The storm’s size will also increase the risk of life-threatening storm surge as it nears landfall Thursday evening. Multiple feet of surge flooding are possible for nearly all of Florida’s Gulf Coast, a threat that has forced mandatory evacuations in at least 15 coastal Florida counties. The Big Bend area faces the most serious storm surge: up to 18 feet of it is possible. Up to 8 feet of surge could inundate Tampa, and threaten high water records in the area, while much of South Florida could get up to 5 feet. Water levels could soar to record heights in Tampa Bay and Clearwater on Thursday night, reaching 1 to 2 feet higher than the records Hurricane Idalia set last year. And the storm won’t stop at Florida’s coast. Helene is huge and threatens the entire Southeast Coastal areas typically bear the brunt of a hurricane, but that might not be the case with Helene. Tropical alerts span hundreds of miles from South Florida to Tennessee and southern South Carolina because of its size. The governor of South Carolina declared a state of emergency Wednesday, joining three other states – Florida, Georgia and North Carolina – in declaring statewide emergencies due to the storm. Hurricanes typically lose strength quickly once they move over land, where they lose the warm water that feeds them, but Helene will remain more intact well inland because it will be both strong at landfall and moving quickly. As a result, the storm is forecast to still be a hurricane in Georgia Friday morning, nearly 150 miles from where it makes landfall. That’s bad news for Tallahassee, Florida, just inland from where the storm is forecast to make landfall. City officials warned Helene “could be the worst storm in the history of the City of Tallahassee.” “If our community remains central in Helene’s path, as forecasted, we will see unprecedented damage like nothing we have ever experienced before as a community,” Tallahassee mayor John E. Dailey said Wednesday. The storm is currently forecast to pass just to the west of Tallahassee as a 125 mph Category 3 storm. If it does so, it’ll be the strongest storm on record to track within 30 miles of the city since the late 1800s. The storm’s damaging winds will spread outward hundreds of miles from its center and increase the risk of power outages and flooding, torrential rain well inland starting late Wednesday even before the hurricane’s center comes ashore. At a news conference Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told residents: “Be prepared. You still have time,” as he urged them to implement their emergency plans and make sure they have gas and non-perishable food and water. But he warned residents to “not evacuate hundreds of miles” away due to the size and speed of the storm. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has partnered with Uber to provide free rides to shelters for Floridians in counties with a declared state of emergency, he added. “Remember, you hide from wind, but you run from the water,” the governor said. By Thursday evening, tropical storm-force winds will spread over more of the Southeast and, along with soaking rainfall, could bring down trees and trigger widespread power outages. Atlanta could have wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph during the day Thursday that strengthen to 50 to 60 mph overnight. Helene’s winds could be “life-threatening” and possibly cause “extensive impacts across portions of central Georgia,” the National Weather Service in Atlanta warned Wednesday. “This could be an unprecedented event for north and central Georgia given the expected track and strength of Helene.” Helene could produce historic flooding in mountainous areas of the Southeast far removed from the coast. Flooding caused by rainfall has become the deadliest threat of tropical systems in the last decade. The storm will combine with heavy rain ahead of it Wednesday to raise concerns of “widespread impactful flooding” including “potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding,” the Weather Prediction Center warned Wednesday. A level 3 of 4 risk of flooding rainfall is in place Thursday for portions of Florida and Georgia – including Atlanta – Alabama and the Carolinas. A rare level 4 of 4 high risk encompasses a smaller area from northeastern Georgia to the far western Carolinas, where more than a foot of rain could fall through Friday. The potential for “major to catastrophic flooding” is becoming more likely where the heaviest rain falls, the National Weather Service in Greenville, South Carolina, warned Wednesday. Helene could also produce multiple tornadoes in the Southeast. A level 3 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms is in place for parts of southern Georgia and South Carolina Thursday, mainly due to the potential for tornadoes. But the threat isn’t limited to just that area – Helene could produce a tornado anywhere from Florida through much of the Carolinas Thursday. Flights canceled, closures mount More than 600 flights have been canceled for Thursday, according to FlightAware. A huge chunk of these were from flights out of Tampa International Airport, which announced it is suspending all commercial and cargo operations on Thursday. Flights out of Fort Myers, Clearwater, Sarasota and Tallahassee are all heavily impacted as well. Florida’s major theme parks announced closures for Thursday, including a full closure in Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, Universal Orlando’s Volcano Bay and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park. The-CNN-Wire & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.