my message is clear. disaster is at the doorstep, and it's coming in. >> a life-threatening storm surge is coming as florence being called a storm of a lifetime grows in size as the hours grow shorter for those still hoping to evacuate. last-minute hurricane preps continue at this hour as millions brace for impact. what about those who choose not to evacuate because of specific health or financial reasons? >> this morning the feds call it cigarette craze. re a and to another media titan being fired. the longtime executive producer of 60 nutes is forced out.

then aerosmith gets "the tonight show" treatment for one of the most iconic songs of all time. "early today" starts right now. >> and i'm frances rivera. for the first time in a decade, we have four named storms in the atlantic at the same time with one taking dead aim at the carolinas. hurricane florence. over 4 million people from virginia to the south carolina coast are currently under storm watch or warning. georgia is now forecasted to follow along the hurricane's path. >> although the storm has been downgraded to a category 2, it is still considered extremely dangerous. forecasters warn the hurricane could hover for days, drenching the coastline and punishing rain and leading to possible inland flooding. meteorologist bonnie schneider is tracking the storm. where exactly is it at this hour? >> right now, phillip and frances, it's bearing down. you can see outer bands getting very close to the carolina coastline. i want to point out the size. you mentioned that it's larger.

if we were to look the at the entire storm, it's almost 400 miles wide. so even though hurricane frances is now a category 2 storm, don't le let that intensity let your guard down. it will slow down by the time it approaches the coastline. we're expecting landfall sometime late tonight into early tomorrow. because it's such a slow moving storm, the landfall is important, but the duration and the issize of the storm is real what's going to contribute to the storm summary judgmedangero. look how long the storm persists, all the way till monday. inland flooding is also a possibility. looking at the storm surge, we're going through several high tide cycles today throughout tomorrow and that's going to be one of the reasons the duration. >> when you say 40 inches, that reminds me of last year, hurricane harvey. states up and down the east coast continue to brace for

disaster as monstrous hurricane florence relentlessly barrels toward the mainland. the fierce storm is expected to bury beaches under a life-threatening storm surge. so residents are boarding up and getting out. coastal city streets are virtually deserted as people flee to higher ground before it's toohose people flow inland emergency shelters are quickly filling up with some saying they are already at capacity. nbc's miguel almaguer gives us a look at the race to get out. >> reporter: bracing for impact. this is the race to beat florence as the hurricane surges toward shore. coastal cities across the carolinas, parts of virginia, and georgia in a state of emergency. >> my message is clear. disaster is at the doorstep, and it's coming in. >> reporter: from myrtle beach -- >> i feel kind of scared. >> reporter: -- to wilmington, many fear a direct hit. with nearly 4,000 already in

shelters kenny nettles isout. >> i've t kids in there and a wife. i just don't think we're going to take that chance. >> reporter: with gas stations on empty, store shelves bare, and government services shutting down, a final run on essential supplies. >> just batten down the hatches and get ready to ride it out. >> reporter: with nearly 2 million heeding evacuation orders, streams of cars are pouring inland while a flood of first responders are making their way towards danger. two nuclear power plants prepared to shutter if hurricane-force winds blast in. promising to deliver an unprecedented disaster, this is a look at the eye of the storm. >> a lot of the houses boarded up. >> reporter: carolina beach town manager mike kramer says 75% of his residents have evacuated. >> for those that refuse to leave, are they gambling with their life? >> guaranteed their gambling

anht on land. miguel almaguer, nbc news, carolina beach. >> florence may have been downgraded to a category 2 but the storm is still expected to deliver a devastating blow. the main concern is that life-threatening storm surge powered by those 110-mile-per-hour winds. the national weather service predicts a 13-foot wall of water could bury some beaches along the carolina coast before continuing further inland. nbc's terry sanders is tracking the hurricane and explains just how devastating that storm surge could be. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. i'm standing nine feet above sea level. the marker you see over here shows past storm surges. the worst, 1954. hazel at 17 feet. the question now, how bad will it get with florence? carolina beach is aen must be oe

>> reporter: among the last to get out, kate balmam and her island by 8:00 p.m. sister karen. their condo right on the beach. the atlantic is there. cape fear river is over there. when that storm surge comes in, what happens to this island in. >> the water levels. >> reporter: 50% of all deaths in a hurricane are drownings, often in that deadly powerful storm surge. >> we were going to stay, and then yesterday i said, yeah, no. it's just getting too dangerous. >> the storm surge? >> yeah. >> reporter: i've experienced it firsthand. this is what storm surge looks like. it's a fast-moving, fast-rising flash flood with the power of the atlantic ocean behind it. what causes that building wall of water known as storm surge? 100-plus mile an hour winds whipping across the surface of the water, piled higher and higher, the storm surge combined with high tide may cause the ocean to swell as high as 13 feet, overrunning beaches and potentially traveling miles

inland. >> storm surge comes in from the hurricane and a violent amount of water comes in, destroying homes and it can take lives easily. that's the key is not being there when the storm surge comes in. >> reporter: the national hurricane center measured a wave in the so understandably all eyes are on the storm surge associated with hurricane florence. phillip? >> kerry, thank you for that report. president trump is promising a swift response once florence makes landfall. he says the federal government is prepared for the hurricane and already has extensive resources in place. meanwhile critics have continued to hammer the president for claiming an a-plus response to last year's deadly hurricane maria in puerto rico. let's bring in nbc's tracie potts for more of the reaction from washington. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. president trump still responding to calling the government's response to maria a success, hearing it both here and from puerto rico. so now president trump is

defending the government's response to two storms last year and preparation for this storm. military has moved in. supplies are on standby. and president trump is telling people along the carolina coast to get out. >> it's coming in fairly fast, and it's going to be one of the biggest to ever hit the east coast. one of the biggest to ever hit our country. residents in the path of these devastating storms should comply with all evacuation orders and other emergency instructions. protection of life is the absolute highest priority. >> reporter: now, one of the things we're tracking here in washington, the money. confirmed $10 million was shifted from the federal emergency management agency's budget into immigration and customs enforcement. this morning on their website, fema says that's a rumor that the money was shifted, but it was for travel and training, not

for preparing for or t watching the prenapproaches. thank you. e at epidemic levels. nbc's rehema ellis has more. >> reporter: vaping now the it thing for teens. the fda calling it a dangerous epidemic. >> the disturbing trajectory of use we're seeing in youth and a resulting path to addiction must end. >> reporter: the agency sending out warning letters to retailers and giving an ultimatum to the makers of the popular juul and four other manufacturers. they have 60 days to show that they can keep their nicotine products out of the hands of underage users or face a possible ban on all flavored e-cigarettes, especially appealing to the estimated 2

million regular users in middle and high school. >> the most popular flavors usually are mango or the mint. >> reporter: emily lynskey did a high school project on vaping. >> they don't know it's a harmful chemical. it tastes like candy. >> reporter: e-cigarettes have lower toxic chemicals but higher concentrations of nicotine. researchers say teenager' developing brains are especially vulnerable to addiction. the makers said they would work with the fda, adding in a statement we want to be part of the solution in keeping e-cigarettes out of the hands of young people. the fda says they have two months to prove it. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. let's turn back to bonnie schneider with a look at florence heading our way. more crucial in the hours ahead. >> we want to break it down so you know exactly what to expect. starting this morning, the onset of tropical storm f per hour. this afternoon some of the outer bands will work their way

onshore, and unfortunately that's also going to bring about strong winds. as we look towards late tonight, that's when hurricane-force winds are expected. right now we're looking at a category 2 storm, but it's just so wide. almost 400 miles in diameter. a long duration as well. there's the storm surge we'll be watching. it will be i oklahoma, texas, louisiana. it's definitely heating up, and it humid thermnd biggest concern, not so much the the size of it really is the fact that it's a 2 although that' few days even. >> bonnie, thank you. a storm of a much different sort swept through washington, d.c. and eagle bank arena got hit the hard heest. the seattle storm went on the

road and trounced the mystics 98-82. the storm took care of business, completing the three-game sweep to win the finals. this is the storm's third championship in franchise history. still ahead, a chance to own one of robin williams prized possessions plus another major shake-up at cbs. when your blanket's freshness fades before the binge-watching begins... that's when you know, it's half-washed. next time, add downy fabric conditioner. downy conditions fibers with a long-lasting fresh scent. so your blanket will stay fresh through next week's finale. downy and it's done. with 2 x the almond oil new nivea essentially enriched brushing only reaches 25% of your mouth. listerine® cleans virtually 100%. helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath.

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morning, more shake-up at cbs. the company saying it has hired 60 minutes chief jeff fager just days after les moonves' resignation. cbs says fager violated a company policy with one reporter saying she was the target of threatening text messages from fager. nbc's stephanie gosk has the details. >> reporter: jeff fager was just the second head of 60 minutes in its 50 year history. he is out. in a statement the president of cbs news writes in part, this action today is not directly related to the allegations surfaced in press reports. he violated company policy. according to ronan farrow in the new yorker, six former employees said that fager touched colleagues in ways that made them feel uncomfortable. >> this is where everything starts. >> reporter: fager responded in a statement. the company's decision had nothing to do with the false allegations printed in the "new yorker." instead, they terminated my contract early because i sent a text message to one of our own cbs reporters demanding that she

be fair in covering the story. my language was harsh. reporter jericka duncan said he sent the text to her. >> fager in a text said to me, quote, if you repeat these false accusations without any of your own reporting to back them up, you will be held responsible for harming me. he went on to say, be careful. there are people who lost their jobs trying to harm me, and if you pass on these damaging claims without your own reporting to back them up, that will become a serious problem. >> reporter: fager said in his statement, one such note should not result in termination after 36 years. but it did. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. just ahead, a blueprint for success. who topped forbes list of the world's richest rappers? and spotify gets a tune-up. the streaming service's new plan to beef up your playlists. stay tuned. we'll be right back.

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and today's news by the numbers, spotify raised its song download limit in their new update. instead of listening to only 3,333 songs on three devices you can now listen to 10,000 tracks on up to five devices. after month-long tours and endorsement deals, forbes released their list of the highest paid rappers. dropping the mic this year is jay-z with over $76 million.

falling to second place is p. diddy with $64 million, followed by kendrick lamar with $58 million. drake at number four. ji cole and dr. dre are tied at number 5. finally in support of his i promise school in ohio, lebron james teamed up with channing tatum on ellen to raise money through hilarious dares. >> no. oh, my gosh. she just gave me the evil laugh. >> all right. [ laughter ] >> what is that? it'sikkiwi. >> it is. it's a kiwi! >> how did you know that? >> wow. >> impressive that he guessed that. >> you'd never know, huh? >> well worth it. each dare was worth $10,000. the two raised over $100,000 and

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hurricane florence, a category 2 storm now. 235 miles east-southeast of wilmington, north carolina. and the storm is expected to stay at that intensity as it approaches and makes landfall sometime late tonight into tomorrow. boy is it sticking around through the weekend. eventually dying down but it's the storm surge associated with this storm that's even more important than what we're looking at in terms of intensity. we're also watching a system in texas that will bring rain to the southern portions of that state. as we'll weigh in, do they stay, do they go, why they have me say. let's go. . m with quality ingredients like roasted hazelnuts and cocoa, nutella is sure to bring a smile to breakfast time.

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nbc's lester holt spoke with one family who say the risk of leaving outweigh the risks of staying. >> you've got a brick house. that gives you some comfort. >> yes. brick house. >> reporter: james and dawn allen wrestled with whether to stay or go before opting to ride out the hurricane with their two children. what was your point of conversation as to making the decision to stay or go? >> the main point of conversation really came down majorly to financial reasons. there are so many people who are offering free places to live but you have to have gas money to get there, food to get there.'ve car. >> yep. you're there. and then the food that once of people d in a crowded ck, while she's not contagious, if they are -- >> it can put me in a dire situation quickly. >> reporter: now committed to staying, the allens hope that history will prevail. the family has come out of other major storms here unscathed. you guys all ready for the big storm? >> not really that ready, but

i'm kind of nervous what's going to happen. >> reporter: the urgent warnings for folks to flee do not land on deaf ears in this house. they've stocked up with food and water for seven days, and they're confident they'll be okay. getting a lot of, how means to out or to go evacuate, you can't go. >> different way to right there. certainly the reality for so many too. >> tough decision. not as easy as many people think. >> thanks to less tore for that report. apple is aiming to take an even bigger bite out of the smartphone market. the tech titan pulled back the curtain on a trio of new iphones and a more health conscious watch at its annual september event. the lineup includes the company's largest iphone ever with an eye-popping price tag to match. the xs max comes with a 6.5 inch display, a better camera and more processing power. if you're worried about a phone that big fitting in your pocket, rest easy because it will be offset by the space you clear out of your wallet. prices start at $1,100.

its little brother, the xs, cost a cool grand. also a more budget friendly version. the xr retails at a mere $749. whatever you got in your pocket is not cool enough anymore. >> every year we see it happen. thanks for waking up with us. i'm pesiprivera. we lve with jimmy fallon, the roots, and aerosmith having some fun. ♪ ad lib live pictu d

good thursday morning to you. 4:30 right now as we take a live look on downtown san jose. it's thursday, friday eve. doesn't it feel good? >> it's your friday. of course it does. >> thank you for joining us. let's get a morning commute. already busy out there? >> we had one spot.

i thought it was construction. overall green. in hayward we have southbound approaching tennyson where we