a presidential joyride took doctors and the media by surprise as president trump left walter reed in the beast to wave hello to well-wishers outside the hospital. >> yeah, doctors are optimistic about the president's condition and may discharge him as early as today this as new reports surface of more positive cases of coronavirus in his inner circle. covid and the nfl. game day delayed for some teams after high-profile players test positive. plus, tough new penalties the league may impose. election day is just 29 days away as the race for the white house continues, up next, the vp

debate is gearing up. and meet the teacher who delivered for students' minds as well as their stomachs it's monday, october 5th "early today" starts right now good morning we're so happy you're with us. i'm lindsey riser. >> and i'm phillip mena. president trump locked in the world's highest profile battle with coronavirus according to his medical team, the president could return to the white house as early as today. the president took a break from his aggressive treatment program yesterday and shrugged off public health guidelines to go and wave to supporters from an suv. the move sparked outrage among health experts and the secret service. one secret service agent told "the washington post," quote, he's not even pretending to care now. a former agent asked, where are the adults a white house spokesman defending the outing saying, quote, appropriate precautions were taken in the execution of this movement to protect the president and all those supporting it, adding that the trip was cleared by the medical team as safe to do before the outing, the president tweeted this video

>> so, it's been a very interesting journey. i learned a lot about covid. i learned it by really going to school this is the real school. this isn't the let's read the book school. and i get it and i understand it. >> now he's all caught up. here's is nbc's kelly o'donnell with the latest. >> reporter: the world's most-watched covid patriot made a surprised move, the masked president in the back seat driven by secret service to wave at supporters gathered outside the hospital a brief visit he previewed in a new video message. >> i'm about to make a little surprise visit. >> reporter: the president returned to his support suite hours after his doctors provided a dose of transparency the president's doctor acknowledged he had not revealed key information about danger signs in president trump's condition. >> the president has experienced two episodes of transient drops in his oxygen saturation. >> reporter: president trump's blood oxygen did fall to unsafe

levels and his fever was deemed high now being given a steroid typically used in serious cases. >> we did initiate dexamethazone therapy and he received his first dose of that yesterday and our plan is to continue that for the time being. >> reporter: mr. trump's lungs may show evidence of covid-related effects. >> we're tracking all of that. there are some expected findings, but none of any major clinical concern. >> reporter: despite ongoing treatment, doctors said the president may go home soon. >> our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow, to the white house, where he can continue his treatment course. >> reporter: the medical briefing comes as white house credibility itself is ailing while doctors had emphasized a rosier outlook, the chief of staff gave a more troubling account of the president friday. >> we were real concerned with that you know, he had a fever and a blood oxygen level had dropped rapidly. >> reporter: saturday dr. conley

repeatedly refused to say the president was given supplemental oxygen. >> thursday, no oxygen none at this moment, yeah, and yesterday with the team while we were all here, he was not on oxygen. >> reporter: but now a different story. >> i was concerned for rapid progression of the illness i recommended the president we try some supplemental oxygen. >> reporter: the president himself tries to project an image of recovery, releasing photos and video taken inside walter reed. >> it's been a very interesting journey. i learned a lot about covid. >> reporter: pressed about his failure to be more forthright, dr. conley admitted this. >> i was trying to reflect the -- the upbeat attitude that the team, the president, this course of illness has had, and in doing so, you know, came off we were trying to hide something, which wasn't necessarily true. >> reporter: the president's surprise drive- by is already getting criticism for the potential health implications, even security implications the secret service is not commenting on its operations

the white house says the president simply wanted to see his supporters many of them who have been camped out here all the days that the president has been in the hospital were excited to see him in what has been a raucous rally-style atmosphere outside a hospital where the president is a patient and so are many others phillip? >> i'm sure the other patients appreciate all that honking, too. kelly, thank you. parts of new york city are in danger of going back under lockdown under -- over a surge in kishd cases 500,000 people living in parts of far rockaway, southern brooklyn and central queens could be impacted. these areas targeting an increase in 3% positivity rate for three days in a row. nonessential business owners in these nine zip codes on your screen would have just days to prepare. mayor bill de blasio says it could happen as early as wednesday. >> if we contain this situation in the nine key zip codes and

the 11 on the watch list, we can stop this from spreading more deeply into new york city. >> 100 public schools and 200 non-public schools in these areas would also be forced to close. week four of the nfl season has also been altered by the pandemic today the league will hold a mandatory call for coaches, gms and owners to lay out tough penalties for violating safety protocols. our sam brock has the details. hey, sam good morning >> reporter: phillip, good morning. through three weeks, the nfl played its full slate of games without a hitch, but now the tennessee titans continue to have players and staff members testing positive for covid-19 and multiple high-profile teams in the nfl also have had positive tests meaning the league is now cracking down on noncompliance nfl players clashed on the gridiron sunday, but with a very different playing field, four teams missing because of covid-19 including the new england patriots and kansas city chiefs after pats quarterback cam newton, nicknamed superman, tested positive for coronavirus.

>> i guess it's inevitable, you know, anybody can get it, even superman can. >> reporter: newton posting a pic on instagram offering his appreciation for the well-wishes. the patriots so far reporting no additional cases with their marquee matchup moved to monday night for now. as the tennessee titans cases balloon to 18 players and staff. the nfl now investigating. >> requesting materials. they've taken a look at the bracelets that the players wear. basically gps tracking >> reporter: tracking that aids contact tracing, one of many steps the league has taken to keep teams safe. >> this nfl season, it's not about one of our teams versus the other. it's about all of us against this virus. >> reporter: the nfl will hold a call with head coaches and general managers to discuss enforcing the safety rules >> having 90% or even 95% compliance is not enough that's enough of an opening to get this virus to get in and establish with some individuals and then ultimately spread. >> reporter: at least five nfl head coaches have been fined $100,000 each for not wearing their masks on the sidelines

as the league buckles down on outbreaks, some teams still hosting games with fans. >> wear my mask, keep my social distancing i know their percentage of capacity's way down, so, you know, looking forward to it. >> reporter: a drastic possibility, a bubble like the nba or nhl created, but it could be more difficult with at least 50 players on an active roster, plus coaching and training staffs >> if it got worse, maybe that's something the nfl would look into no one has ruled it out, but it is not expected to be something that's coming right now. >> reporter: later today the nfl is expected to drop the hammer on head coaches and general managers, outlining the penalties for repeat offenders they include suspensions, fines, even loss of draft picks a very valuable commodity in the nfl. phillip, back to you. >> sam, thanks on the field, the eagles and 49ers capped off sunday's slate of games with a nail-biter the pride of asu, my alma mater, i should mention, made a name

early for himself with that catch, dodging flocks of eagles deviners a defenders. the 49ers respond. picked off the eagles win it 25-20. 43-year-old tom brady became the oldest quarterback ever to throw five touchdowns in a game. the buccaneers needed every last score, coming from behind to beat the chargers, 38-31. the browns took a massive 41-14 lead into the fourth quarter against the cowboys. dallas would fight back, though. they scored 24 points in the fourth but it just was not enough odell beckham jr. made sure of that on this monster run that would put the game out of reach. he had three scores on the day cleveland runs away with it 49-38. not much defense in las vegas, josh allen had the bills hot in the first quarter against the raiders, but vegas

would stay in the game derek carr would throw a pair of touchdowns, but the undefeated bills just too much to handle. buffalo moves to 4-0 they get the win, 30-23. and in cincinnati, number one overall pick joe burrow threw for 300 yards to the third straight game. he also got a lot of help from running back joe mixon who got that score there burrow gets his first professional win the jaguars try to rally in the fourth, but the bengals held on to win it 33-25. jimmy butler turned the heat up on the lakers in game three of the nba finals. the anymore forward had 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists in that pivotal game three. anthony davis had a big game for the lakers but got in foul trouble pretty early, so that meant jimmy butler took over the game late. a couple of clutch shots down the stretch helped seal the deal and the heat get the win, 115-104. miami, of course, looking to even the series in game four on tuesday. >> he was really, really clutch. keeping it on the hardwood here, the storm and the aces

battled it out in game two of the wnba finals. brianna stewart hot early and often, clutch for seattle, leading the team with 22 points. league legend sue bird had 16 points to go with 10 assists las vegas try to keep it close but could not weather the storm. seattle wins it. 104-91 they take it going for the sweep coming up on tuesday. >> janessa webb watching dicey weather developing janessa, good morning. >> good morning, you two good morning, everyone the tropics, they're heating up once again we still have a very long season to go, and we're seeing a warm pretty much of the gulf, but closer to the coast we're seeing temperatures, they're currently dropping and that's going to help these storms kind of fall apart. first, we do have tropical storm gamma. currently00 miles. and the rough weather is happening across the florida coast, but the center of the storm system continues to be in the southern gulf. the track currently going to do

kind of a loopedy loop and then head back into the guld humidit building and high pressure's going to allow a lot of sunshine for the plains all the way into the great lakes. then we have another tropical system that one's headed to the gulf as well we'll talk about that coming up. >> all right janessa, sounds good thank you. we've seen a lot of those drive-through celebrations during the pandemic. now there is a haunted house in new mexico that has been adapted into a haunted drive-through to scare people right from the safety of their cars the creators are calling it a mile of terror visitors can roll down their windows if they want to add to the experience, but everybody's still got to wear a mask. >> keep the windows rolled up on that one. >> you can also get the same

experience driving through the shadiest part of your neighborhood at night. still to come, coronavirus deals another major blow, this time to movie theatricals. and what president trump's positive dgnisiaos means for his campaign with just less than a month now until election day the lack of control over my business made me a little intense. but now i practice a different philosophy. quickbooks helps me get paid, manage cash flow, and run payroll. and now i'm back on top... with koala kai. hey! more mercy. save over 30 hours a month with intuit quickbooks. the easy way to a happier business. vicks vapopatch. easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. trusted soothing vapors, from vicks brushing only reaches 25% of your mouth. listerine® cleans virtually 100%. helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath.

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♪ ♪ tonight, lester holt will moderate a town hall discussion with democratic presidential nominee joe biden with a live socially distanced audience in miami. it starts at 8:00/7:00 center right here on nbc. the race for the white house upended with less than a month until election day as the president and some of his top aides and advisers battle coronavirus. president trump's campaign scrambling now to develop a new strategy while joe biden hits the road and the vp candidates are gearing up for their debate this week ali virtual ali vitaly has the latest. >> reporter: joe biden jumps ahead while president trump recovers at walter reed. new nbc polling showing biden nearly doubling his lead with a

14-point advantage over trump. our first look of what voters thought of that chaotic debate. >> don't ever use the word smart with me. >> reporter: that wild head-to-head bolstering views of biden's temperament, a 32-point advantage over trump and the president's support slipping significantly with men over 50. >> i want to give them better health care at a much better price. >> reporter: taken before the president's covid-19 diagnosis is a snapshot of a presidential race since thrown into deeper turmoil. trump now sidelined by the virus and unable to campaign with some of his top advisers also stricken. his team fanning out top surrogates, virtually and in person for joe biden the campaign calender barrels on with a change in tone. >> i'm in a little bit of a spot here because i don't want to be attacking the president and the first lady now >> reporter: but not his message. lambasting trump's handling of the pandemic. >> if that's not the president's responsibility, what the hell --

what the heck is his responsibility >> reporter: biden's campaign promising to release the reresults of all his covid tests from now on. >> translator: we've taken every precaution from the outset of this campaign to be incrediblyfe >> reporter: senator kamala harris and vice pres here for tw days preparing for the debate. >> reporter: sources telling nbc news both running mates have spent hours preparing, holding mock sessions and workshopping anticipated attacks. a once routine event now cast against a high-stakes backdrop >> ali vitaly, thanks for that report. when we return, our first look at the spooky adapt sedation of the roll calls "the witches". james bond fans will have plenty of time to kill before "no time to die" finally hits the screen ust microban 24 to keep killing bacteria for 24-hours.

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craig is pecks expected to hit theaters april 2nd, 2021, which was the release date planned for "fast and the furious f9," so the release date of "f9" has been pushed back to memorial day week. may close all 533 of its regal cinema events in the u.s. and acrossthe uk and ireland this week. the company tweeted, quote, we're considering the temporary closure of our uk and u.s. cinemas, but a final decision has not been reached the decision to possibly suspend operations comes as the postponement of several big hollywood films including "no time to die". when we come back, janessa's look ahead at weather. plus, california reaches an astonishing milestone with wildfires. stay with us frustrated that clothes

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we're bag with an inspiring story about just how big an impact a teacher can have. >> after the pandemic hit, one educator rallied the whole community to make sure her students and their families didn't go hungry here's nbc's kate snow >> reporter: when the pandemic hit and schools started closing in march, kindergarten teacher margaret norris thought first about her community. >> we knew right away that food would be a major, major source of stress and concern for our families, for the parents, for the guardians, as well as for the children >> reporter: with so many hard

hit by the covid crisis, she used her own money to create and deliver healthy meal kits for families of students from arcola elementary in montgomery county, maryland. >> do you want some grape juice? there you go >> thank you. >> you're welcome, sweetheart. be safe. >> the goal of this food is that the families can cook it together. >> reporter: norris was determined to continue, posting on social media, i was asked today how long i can keep this unofficial food pantry running i don't have the answer to that, so i'm putting the question to you. in the months since, donations poured in. >> there's always hope. >> thanks to you. >> we have great bags this week courtesy of an alumni teacher. >> things have come from so many people. >> reporter: a small army of volunteers joined her, including other teachers and even a local nonprofit. >> at this point, i keep a table on my driveway and people drop donations off. people share facebook posts, social media posts, raise money,

shop, it's a community effort. >> reporter: beyond school families now, they serve anyone in need. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> reporter: and after giving away more than 2,500 bags filled with fresh ingredients, the team vows they'll keep going. >> we might be apart, but arcola loves you. >> it's not a handout, but it's an extension of our love it's the way we hug our community. it's the way we come together. >> thumbs up for calender time >> reporter: right now even though she's mrs. norris teaching at a computer screen. >> ready >> reporter: she's connecting with her community more than ever >> i think it's important to remember food is more than just nutrition and energy food is culture. food is love food is communal >> mrs. norris and her team say they will continue as long as those donations keep coming. >> it's truly communal, you know a sense of community not just handing out the food, it's the ingredients and making a meal something about making a meal brings everybody together. >> thank you for watching "early today. i'm lindsey riser.

>> and i'm phillip mena. before we go, check this out. over the weekend, hungary held its first wife-carrying race, yep. where dozens of coupled braved an 853-foot hilly course, muddy splash zones, mudd

i also think we're going pay a little surprise to some of the great patriots that we have out on the street. so i'm not telling anybody but you, but i'm about to make a little surprise visit. >> president trump still battling coronavirus, abruptly leaves walter reed for a brief drive-by to wave to hundreds of supporters on the street, but criticism from hospital doctors and others is erupting this morning, more questions about who may have been exposed to the virus because of the president's travels, including his bodyguard and many others. new york city crac