Hi there from CNN. I'm Jo Beck with the 5 things you need to know for Monday, September 30th.

The death toll from Hurricane Helene has reached 95 and officials fear that number may rise with many people still missing.

It's the devastation that's the best way I can put it. We've suffered impacts that we've never seen.

'That was a fire official in North Carolina where deaths have been reported, as well as in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. Hundreds of roads are still closed, especially in the Carolinas, hampering the delivery of much needed supplies. Among those picking up the pieces are residents in John's Pass, Florida, as described here by the co-owner of a local Marina.

It's hard to put into words. It's unimaginable what's happened to so many people in our area. So many folks have lost their car, lost their home, lost their boats. Some people have lost everything.

According to power outage dot U.S., more than 2 million businesses and households are still without power. The White House says President Joe Biden will visit those communities impacted by Halloween later this week.

Israel has killed a growing number of Hezbollah leaders and widened its attacks on Iran backed militant groups. Israeli airstrikes have landed within Beirut city limits for the first time since October 7th. With the attack coming days after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. A U.S. official says the White House is worried that Iran is planning an attack in retaliation to Nasrallah's killing. And the Biden administration is working with Israel on joint defenses. Nasrallah's assassination could be a crippling setback for Hezbollah and a major blow to Iran's control in the region. The recent escalation has killed civilians, destroyed homes and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon.

Former President Donald Trump repeated some of his personal insults against his opponent this weekend.

Crooked Joe Biden became mentally impaired, said Red Lion Kamala Harris. Honestly, I believe she was born that way.

Trump made comments like That's at a rally in Pennsylvania yesterday. But as CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports, some GOP allies want Trump to stop these kind of attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris.

Now, many Republicans would prefer the former president focus on the economy, focus on immigration. There is no question that the base of his party enjoys those types of attacks. The larger question is what does it do for persuadable voters in the middle?

For her part, Harris told a crowd in Las Vegas this weekend that she's still open to having another debate with Trump, which he has so far refused to do. Tomorrow, the running mates will go head to head as Ohio Senator J.D. Vance will face Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in this election's only vice presidential debates.

A reaction caused by a fire at a chemical plants in Georgia forced around 17,000 people to evacuate over the weekend. Rockdale County officials say the blaze broke out on the roof of BioLab yesterday morning and then water from a malfunctioned sprinkler head. Quotes came into contact with a water reactive chemical. The fire was eventually put out, but the plume from the chemical reaction could still be seen for miles. And officials say it's causing problems for people living nearby.

They are chemicals and how they react, you don't know. And so when this plume starts out, it could become, you know, very, very dangerous.

CNN has reached out to BioLab for comment.

A country music superstar has died. We'll tell you more next.

'Country music superstar and A-list Hollywood actor Kris Kristofferson has died at the age of 88. A family spokesperson said he died Sunday peacefully at his home in Maui, Hawaii. Kristofferson started writing hits in the late 60s, many of which were best known as performed by other people. He also starred opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1976 film A Star is Born.

That's all for now. I'll be back with more news at 9 a.m. Eastern.