million. it topped the box office. >> an amazing story. nightly news is dx and more local news. see you then. good night. wo withth a crucial debate just days away the republican candidates for president are tough on each other. boom town, we'll take you to the american city where there are so many jobs, they can't find enough people to fill them. and homeward bound, with a little help from his friends, a wayward penguin gets a push in the right direction, after capturing earts of millions. spk spx the right direction. after capturing the hearts of captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening, when you hear the word "storm" and "new orleans" in the same sentence, it good evening, when you hear the word "storm" and "new orleans" in the same sentence, it's easy to think the worst. six yes after hurricane katrina did unthinkable damage to that city, tropical storm lee, a slow-moving system, has r been dumping rain for days, swelling rivers and bayous, prompting flood warnings in arvel raeas of louisiana and putting new orleans on high alert. tonight, there are reports of spinoff tornadoes in neighboring alabama and mississippi. but the good news, this is not a hurricane and the levees in new orleans appear to be holding firm. nbc's thanh truong is in in the crescent city tonight. good evening, thanh. >> reporter: kate, good evening to you. this is the fourth straight day with gusting winds and rain for the city of new orleans in a wide swathe of the state. this storm is a slow, massive rain-maker and is still not finished. tropical storm lee's most potent punch, persistent rain. from louisiana all the way to

the florida panhandle, lee is predicted to dump up to 20 inches of rain in some areas. >> it comes in fast. and there's nothing to hold it back. >> reporter: john czar didn't heed the mandatory evacuation order for his neighborhood in lafitte, louisiana. the low-lying shrimping town is seeing some of the heaviest flooding, after four days of drenching rain. >> whatever happens, happens. i mean, we can't do anything about it. >> reporter: further out, oil rigs in the gulf of mexico shut down and evacuated workers ahead of landfall, but lee's slow slog across the gulf states isn't packing much of a storm surge. new orleans is welcoming that news. >> this event is really not testing the levees, it isn't. there's not much of a surge concern here. >> reporter: the biggest concern now is the deluge. more than half of new orleans sits below sea level. the city's survival depends on an intricate system of pumps and levees.

this pump station is one of three quickly built after hurricane katrina. they'll help drain the same canals that flooded and eventually breached the levees back in 2005. >> unlike northeast united states, we cannot drain water by gravity. we're not going to flow downhill. in new orleans, we have to pump it up and over the levee system. >> reporter: the pumps so far are keeping new orleans relatively dry. that's enough reason to celebrate for a city that never needs an excuse to party. >> we love it. >> reporter: clinton and courtney woodard are here for their honeymoon. >> they always say it's good luck to have rain on your wedding day and it rained all day on our wedding day. it's still raining. so lots of luck. >> reporter: with no reported fatalities or widespread damage. lucky is how many are feeling tonight. and city leaders warn against getting too complacent. we're actually expecting even more rain for the next 24 hours. kate? >> thanh truong, thanks so much.

we turn now to the weather channel's jim cantore. jim, tropical storm lee doesn't seem to be in any hurry to go away. who needs to be on alert now? >> reporter: well a lot of the southeast, kate. this thing is just crawling along, making its way toward tennessee. and as it does, that means the chance for heavy rain, inland flooding will be with us across so many states. l ght's radar satellite.t you can see how many areas are affected. all the way through mississippi, tennessee, alabama, into georgia. some of this rais i going to be a good thing, but by the time we get to the end of the week, it may be flooding. look at the track, as i mentioned, just crawling along to north, transitioning into an extra-tropical cyclone. that really doesn't mean much, except it still has the chance oduce tons of rain. and then there's katia, a well-defined hurricane. you can see the eye of it here on the satellite picture, strengthening to 105 miles per hour today. that's going to continue to move off to the west, as will its waves and the rip current risk to the east coast of the united states. notice the track coming eerily

close to cape hatteras and the outer banks. we may still be dealing with lee coming the end of this week. and kate, it's not even the middle or the heart of the hurricane season yet. back to you. >> not good news there. jim cantore, thanks so much. meantime folks in the northeast are still dealing with the aftermath of last weekend's storm, irene. in already hard-hit vermont, there's a flash flood watch with forecasters expecting up to four inches of rain in that state. tens of thousands of homes and businesses still have no power along the east coast. 25,000 of them in connecticut alone. president obama took time to survey the damage from irene today in waterlogged northern new jersey. nbc's kristen welker joins us now from patterson, new jersey, a city that was facing hard time even before the water starting rising. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, kate. the passaic river raging behind me caused some of the worst flooding this community has seen in over a century. it has receded a bit since last week, but this community is

still hurting. a federal show of force. president obama walked the streets of wayne, new jersey, with governor chris christie, new jersey's senators and fema administrator, craig fugate, to view the damage left by hurricane irene. >> we'll be here to help. i know, it's very hard. >> reporter: his next stop, patterson, where he visited the newly created fema office and assessed the recovery efforts. he also delivered a message to those still struggling. >> i know there's been some talk about whether there's going to be a slowdown in getting funding here. as president of the united states, i want to make it very clear that we are going to meet our federal obligations. >> reporter: and while the president was met mostly by cheering crowds, amy allen, who caught a glimpse of the motorcade, said the visit hasn't done anything to get her power back on. >> this is day six without any electricity, any hot water. >> reporter: even before the

hurricane hit, patterson was struggling economically, with an unemployment rate above 16%. irene caused 1,500 people to be evacuated, and knocked out power to thousands in the area. destroying some homes and businesses completely. >> whether they were unemployed, underemployed, they had a tough time before this. so now this catastrophe leaves them with basically nothing. >> reporter: the president's challenge now is not only to help this community recover from irene, but also, much like the rest of the country, to put people back to work. his other task? to keep their confidence, mr. obama won new jersey in 2008, but his approval rating has been dwindling. now the stricken people of patterson just want to see something done. >> it will be a week tomorrow. basically, it's very hot. the water, i have a lot of mold. >> reporter: now power has been restored to most of the people

here, save a few, and the folks who do have power say they will be watching the president's jobs speech this thursday quite closely. kate? >> kristen welker in new jersey tonight, thank you. the president's jobs plan has taken a beating from republican candidates on the campaign trail, everything from leaks about what's in the plan to the timing of the speech itself, but after months of focusing their criticism almost exclusively on the president, the republicans who want his job are now turning their attention to each other. days before a crucial debate. our report tonight from nbc's mike viquiera. >> reporter: in new hampshire late today, a tea party protest. >> listen and boo politely. >> reporter: the target of their anger? not president obama, but a republican, mitt romney. who is holding an event of his own, just steps away. but is deemed too moderate by some conservatives. also this weekend, new front-runner, rick perry, took a swipe at romney, his closest rival. >> we don't need a nominee who is going to blur the differences between themselves and barack

obama. we're going to have a nominee who draws a clear contrast. >> reporter: that came after romney was critical of perry, a a man who has held elective office for 27 years. and who has now passed romney in many polls. >> career politicians got us into this mess and they simply don't know how to get us out. >> reporter: some believe romney, who has tried to stay above the fray, will now have to step up his attack. >> at some point you have to give it up and face the primary voters and run in a primary. especially if rick perry is doing better in all the polls and rolling right by you. >> reporter: with three debates in the next three weeks, the gop campaign now enters a critical phase, and gop hopefuls are trying to set themselves apart by firing at each other. a weekend rally in iowa, tea party heroin, sarah palin, issued a new warning to republicans. >> we sent a new class of leaders to d.c., but immediately, the permanent political class, they tried to

co-opt them, because the reality is, we are governed by a permanent political class, until we change that. >> reporter: with five months to go before the first primary votes are cast, the gop race is far from a done deal, but the coming month will be critical for the front-runners and those chasing them. mike viqueira, nbc news, washington. to the latest front in the battle for libya. tonight rebels are trying to gain control of one of the last places held by forces loyal to moammar gadhafi. this all comes amid new reports about america's relationship with the gadhafi regime in recent years. we get the latest now from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: we traveled south of tripoli on the road to one of gadhafi's last strongholds, the city of bani walid. rumors circled all week that the toppled dictator and his sons might be hiding out there. but at a rebel base where fighters take joy showing their contempt for gadhafi colonel al

habashi told us there was no cause for concern, there would be no fighting. "a deal has been negotiated," he says, "we're just waiting for the invitation to enter the city." the gadhafi family has left. but a short time later, further down the road to bani walid, a different story. despite the commanders' assurances that a deal has been struck, we've been stopped here just over 40 miles from the city. we're told it's too unsafe to go any further, and they keep adding to this roadblock. another commander claimed that gadhafi's son, saif, is in the city and he's armed 80 mercenaries. yet another says actually the number of armed loyalists is closer to 600. "we will enter bani walid with great force," he says. "we will attack from all sides." and late today, word that talks collapsed, and the fight seems likely. with rebel forces still battling gadhafi, questions are being raised about one of their top commanders, abdul hakim belhag.

human rights watch found and released documents suggesting that in 2004 the cia helped in the capture and return of belhag to libya. at the time he was wanted as a terror suspect. the rebel leader said he's renounced extremism and like the fighters at the dusty outpost, he's focused on two things, secure the country and find moammar gadhafi. stephanie gosk, nbc news, outside of bani walid. former imf chief, dominique strauss-kahn is back home in paris tonight, two weeks after prosecutors here in new york dropped attempted rape charges against him. strauss-kahn returned to a crush of reporters in france, where he faces another attempted rape investigation based on accusations by a french novelist. when "nightly news" continues on this sunday, with so many americans looking for work, we'll visit a place where there's so much work they can't find enough people to fill the jobs. and later, down the slide. with a push in the right direction. tonight, happy feet is headed home.

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. . . . . . . . . . . t back now with an almost unheard of occurrence these days, an american city experiencing an economic boom. we've heard so many stories about places like patterson, new jersey, struggling just to hang on. but in one city near the canadian border, there are jobs, jobs everywhere. and folks are coming from far and wide to fill them. we get the story from cnbc's brian shactman, in williston,

north dakota. >> reporter: these are boom times in north dakota. >> it's a zoo. it's crazy, what's going on out here. >> reporter: something that's happening almost nowhere else. so many jobs, there aren't enough people to fill them. help wanted signs are everywhere. >> whether it's walmart, there it's halli burton, any local trucking company, everybody is looking for help. >> reporter: employers are often paying double, even triple to get that help. how much are you going to make? >> $80,000 to $90,000 a year. >> reporter: what did you make last year? >> 30. >> reporter: it's all because there are billions of barrels of oil inside a rock formation here. 14,000 square miles in north dakota, montana and parts of canada. discovered decades ago, only recently has technology made it possible and profitable to drill here. >> it's the largest oil field

we've found in north america in the last 40 years. and if it's more than 15 billion barrels, it may be the largest oil field found in north america ever. >> reporter: getting it out of the ground has created something rare in america these days. >> this is a job-creating machine. >> reporter: the irony of it here is you can find a job, but you can't find a place to live. the people building these houses, where do they sleep? in these campers. williston, the center of the oil boom, is frantically trying to respond. in less than two years, this land will have hundreds of homes, thousands of apartments, a school and even a mall. and that's just one development. the ripple effect is enormous. thousands of trucks overwhelm these country roads. walmart sells out of items every day. the williston mcdonald's, one of the country's busiest, paying $15 an hour to attract workers. to take these jobs, people are coming from as far away as california, texas, and alaska.

where did you come in from? >> washington state, spokane. spokane's dying. >> reporter: it took terry ayers just one day to find his oil job. but before moving into company housing or finding a place of his own, terry was getting ready to sleep in the walmart parking lot. >> i got my bed in the truck. >> reporter: here in what may be the best place in the country to be looking for a job. brian shactman, cnbc, williston, north dakota. when we come back, ordinary objects, just as they were on that day almost ten years ago. now holding extraordinary meaning. i know what works differently than many other allergy medications. omnaris. omnaris, to the nose! did you know nasal symptoms like congestion can be caused by allergic inflammation? omnaris relieves your symptoms by fighting inflammation. side effects may include headache, nosebleed, and sore throat. i tossed those allergy symptoms out of my party. [ man ] omnaris. ask your doctor. battling nasal allergy symptoms? omnaris combats the cause.

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one week before the tenth one week before the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, fbi and homeland security officials are warning of al qaeda threats involving small airplanes. though officials caution there have been no specific or credible threats, the bulletin does say terrorists have considered renting private planes and loading them with explosives.

in washington, the smithsonian museum of american history is marking the september 11th anniversary with a unique exhibit. this week only, it's an intimate display of simple objects left behind on that day. nbc's amy robach spent some time with the curator. >> a passenger seat belt and a call button from flight 93, a new york firefighter's ash-covered jacket, a stairwell sign from the 102nd floor of the world trade center, items once part of people's daily lives, now hallmarks of that tragic day ten years ago. >> two planes have crashed into the towers. >> reporter: the smithsonian has collected more than 300 artifacts from the iconic, like this mangled fire truck door from squad 1 in brooklyn. >> they talked not just about the destruction that day, but also of the heroism and the sacrifice of the fire department. >> reporter: to those wrenching with intimacy. >> this purse belongs to

lorraine lee, and she did not survive the world trade center. >> these are her car keys and her business card, which clearly says she worked at the trade towers. and the metro card she might have used to get to work that day. curator peter leibold worked to collect what was left of flight 93, after its heroic crew and passengers successfully rested control from those hijackers. there's an emotional impact when you see these. especially this right here. >> this is a small piece of fuselage. every united plane over the rear exit door has a small flag, torn and ripped. but still intact. >> reporter: this flight attendant donated her flight manual, found among the wreck annual. >> flight attendants are extremely trained personnel. >> reporter: you can see her handwritten notes on this chilling page. >> this is the instructions on what to do in case of a bomb. >> reporter: battalion chief joseph pfeiffer was first to reach the world trade center. >> you see the back of his turnout coat. >> reporter: he donated his

bunker coat in memory of the 343 firefighters who died that day, including his brother, lieutenant kevin pfeiffer. his pry bar was found among the debris. >> it's the tool that my brother carried as he went into the burning buildings. >> reporter: the chief hopes these artifacts will serve as a legacy for the future. >> i think what i would like the next generation to do is to think about the stories, personal stories of bravery and courage, of really caring for the fellow human being. >> reporter: stories told by ordinary objects connecting us all to the extraordinary moments of september 11th. amy robach, nbc news, washington. and we'll be right back. es , and that's where bacteria can grow and thrive. these are the very bacteria that can cause bad breath. dentists do recommend that you soak your denture in polident.

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finally tonight, a storybook ending for a wayward emperor penguin, who captured hearts around the world. tonight, the little guy nicknamed happy feet, is on his way home after a few months of tlc. here's nbc's annabelle roberts. >> reporter: it all began in new zealand in june. the first emperor penguin seen there in more than 40 years.

happy feet, as they called him, was nearly 200 miles from home in an unfairly warm surroundings. scientists rescued him and found he needed a lot of help. they discovered his stomach was full of sand, probably mistaking it for snow, which he swallows back home could to keep him hydrated. once his digestive system had been cleaned, he was treated to a diet of delicacies at the wellington zoo. a web cam installed in his ice packed room meant his fans could follow his progress. his keepers squirting him with water. that must have felt good. his flapping flippers winning him a global following. in preparation for his eventule journey home, he was fitted with a tracker attached to his feathers with glue. yes, he has a website with a map that will show his progress. with over a quarter of a million followers and a twitter account, too. there's another famous happy feet. just like the animated character, the real penguin has survived an ordeal. today at last it was time for

him to take the plunge and head for home. he has thousands of miles to swim and lingered for farewells and a flap of his flippers before receiving a discreet shove down the slide and he was off with hardly a backward glance. this is the journey ahead of him. from the ocean south of new zealand to the cold waters of the antarctic feeding grounds. >> i'm going to telling your story, happy feet, long after you dead and gone. >> reporter: just as the true story of this happy feet has also touched the hearts of millions. annabelle roberts, nbc news, london. >> and with that tracking device we mentioned, happy feet, you can actually follow happy feet on his journey back home. we've linked to it on our website. nightly.msnbc.com. and that is "nbc nightly news" for this sunday night. i'm kate snow reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night.