it's great to be back in nevada where there are thousands of loyal, hard-working american patriots early voting is underway so get out and vote >> folks, as my coh used to say in college, its gae time this is the most important election of our lifetimes. >> president trump hoping to turn nevada red this election, and joe biden pushing hard with an ad blitz as both candidates wrap up the campaigning with just 15 days to go. the feared fall surge is in

full swing with dozens of states seeing big increases in coronavirus cases as the country braces for a possible third peak. we'll take you to an area known as cancer alley. thousands forced to flee their homes over the weekend as the colorado wildfires explode. huge game 7 in the national league as the 2020 world series is set "early today" starts right now good morning i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. two weeks away from election day. the candidates are battling hard the president is facing criticism for what he said about michigan's governor during an event on saturday. jennifer johnson reports >> reporter: lock her up, a familiar battle cry at a rally

this time his target is gretchen whitm whitmer. >> said she was threatened, right? she was threatened and she blamed me. >> reporter: for months the president has gone after whitmer for partially shutting down the state to stop covid-19 whitmer says the president is inciting violence. >> it is dangerous for me and my family and for others. >> reporter: the president's senior campaign advisor downplaying his rhetoric. >> he was having fun at a trump rally. >> reporter: the president calling for reopenings as covid is surging in a dozen states and seeing all-time highs. the president's health secretary questioning an indoor campaign rally. >> i wish everyone would have

worn face coverings. >> joe biden staying on record that the president is responsible for the pandemic. >> the president knew how dangerous this virus was all the way back in january and he hids it from the country. >> reporter: two candidates with a different view of the pandemic with the election two weeks away jennifer johnson, nbc news, washington president trump and former vice president biden face off thursday night in the second and final debate live coverage at 8:30 eastern, 5:30 pacific on nbc. twitter continues to crack down on the spread of covid-19 misinformation on its platform on sunday it removed a teet from dr. scott atlas. the tweet in question was posted sat by atlas and it read in part, masks work no a spokesman confirmed it removed

the tweets because it was in violation of the misleading information policy meanwhile in a "60 minutes" interview the nation's top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci said the president's covid-19 diagnosis was not a shocker. >> were you surprised president trump got sick >> absolutely not. i was worried he was going to get sick when i saw him in a completely precarious situation of crowded no separation between people and almost nobody wearing a mask when i saw that on tv, i said, oh, my goodness. >> dr. fauci's comments come after a 59-year-old man has been arrested after threatening the wichita mayor. the covid-19 surge

continues. over 30 states are seeing large jumps in cases this as medical experts say it's not just large gatherings but small ones that are fueling the surge. here's nbc's sam brock >> reporter: frances, good morning. concerning rising trends have causes many place tsz to pull back that's not the case in south florida where bars and restaurants are opening longer this as the u.s. is bracing for a likely fall surge. >> reporter: in south florida, a clash between bringing back the party and boosting business. after a court order temporarily struck down miami-dade's curfew. >> right now we are not enforcing the curfew because of the governor's executive order we are not fining people who are not wearing masks because of the governor's order and we are not able to enforce social

distancing because of the governor's order he has made it very difficult to protect people from the spread of the virus. >> some clubs showing clear signs of social distancing as the owners are trying to stay safe, financially afloat. >> we're not here to go against the county mayor we understand his precautions, we understand his worries. our worries is to feed our families. >> reporter: florida has reported 10,000 new cases since friday, crossing 4,000 infections in a day for the first time in august a small piece of the national picture. four states showing a 10% increase with around 30 states surging at 25% or more including new york where sheriff's deputies busted a 200 party in queens and the state stopped a 10,000 person wedding monday in brooklyn. >> there is no safe way to do that we know that

>> reporter: it's not just large gatherings but small get togethers that have feared the covid flames governments enacting new restrictions like denver where they're capping gatherings to 5 people and tough new mask enforcements in kentucky and new mexico the governor's office said the state is, quote, a covid-19 wildfire >> reporter: to get into the bigger picture, the united states right now averaging 55,000 new infections every single day on friday the number was and 70,000 the highest figure we have seen since the middle of july you'll recall dr. fauci said he wanted the u.s. to be 10,000 cases a day in october in order to manage this sam brock, nbc news. >> thank you. to baseball now. after a dramatic game 7, the los angeles dodgers are headed to the world series they traded the lead throughout the game, but the big play was

cody bell lenger's home run in the 7th inning there los angeles would not give up the lead there they were down 3-1 they win the game and series 4-3. this is la's fourth win. their opponent, the tampa bay rays tampa avoided blowing a three to nothing lead by winning in seven games. this is the franchise's second world series appearance. first pitch for the fall classic is tomorrow in arlington, texas. 49ers and rams kept up a hard-hitting day in the nfl. san francisco shook off the loss coming out of the gates with a touchdown run. jimmy g didn't take it finding george kittle extending the niners lead. the rams could not come back the niners beat the rams 24-16.

to tampa where aaron rodgers and the packers had a tough time the bucs reeled off four touchdowns in the second quarter. brady wins 38-10. indianapolis, the colds have some trouble with rookie joe burrow and the bengals early they were down by a lot. philip rivers to jack doyle would cap off the comeback indy wins 31-27. in pittsburgh, the steelers proved to be powerhouses in the afc north in this showdown with the browns big ben found the end stone but the steelers gave them scores. pittsburgh wins big 38-7. turn to nbc meteorologist janessa webb good morning >> frances and phillip, we have snow for the northern tier it will stick around all week long could see dicey conditions this morning for the early morning

commute. we have that good-bye from chicago to cincinnati. on the other side of the front is a heavy dose of rain. bismarck to fargo, up to 6 to 8 inches also going to watch that flooding threat across the mississippi tohi of sunshine foe afternoon. northeast, pretty calm conditions daytime highs will struggle in the upper 60s. temperatures are going to make a big-time comeback. we'll talk about that coming up. in today's quick hits, banksy is back with new street art. the artwork depicts a young girl using a bicycle and hula-hoop.

a slack line record has been made in new jersey he crossed at 240 feet high at 755 feet breaking the world record for the longest high line in a stadium. a skyline dining event on the buddha pest sky ferris wheel. tickets for that experience costs up to 154 bucks each sold out in days. incredible update on the search for a hiker who vanished two weeks ago. a new fire in colorado forcing people from their homes. details next my swiffer heavy duty sweeper and dusters. dusters extends to 6 feet to reach way up high... to grab, trap and lock away gross dust. nice! for dust on my floors, i switch to sweeper.

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has ever recorded and forced 3,000 people to evacuate the biggest wildfire is still threatening towns. the cameron peak fire is over 60% contained. a 90s tv hearthrob taken into custody after a domestic dispute. "home improvement" star is arrested for allegedly croaking his girlfriend they found him in his home in eugene, oregon he assaulted the victim and took her phone when she tried calling 911. he faces a charge of strangulation and two misdemeanor charges. a hiker missing for two weeks. she vanished from zion national park she took a shuttle into the park but didn't return when she was supposed to. after an intense search, she was

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ignition and liftoff >> another successful launch for spacex falcon 9 rocket blasted off from

kennedy space center carrying 60 star light satellite links they are building a network of up to 12,000 networks to provide high speed internet access around the globe. there is a part of louisiana called cancer alley. there is an all out fight to stop a new tract try anne thompson reports from louisiana as part of our series, inequality in america. >> reporter: sugar cane groves where black americans were slaved and now they find another form of bondage, industrial pollution. >> you are not going to poison me, my community, no. >> reporter: for eight generations sharon's family lives in saint james parish. she wants to stop a company interest building a plastics

complex. >> reporter: why do you think they're putting it here? >> we're black and pour and they can shove anything down our throat. >> reporter: african-americans are 75% more likely to live near toxic pollution than other americans and exposed to 38% more air pollution than whites president trump has not directly addressed this but joe biden has. >> black americans are three times more likely to die from asthma than others. >> reporter: an 85 mile corridor along the mississippi river where they face some of the higher cancer risks from air pollution. 13 people in janet's family had cancer sclug herself. >> different types of cancer

>> no, brother had prostate and the girls had breast >> reporter: this is the 2400 acre site. the sugar cane scheduled to be replaced by 10 plants and four support facilities that will double the toxic emissions including benzene, formaldehyde and ethylene oxide >> they deny that. they say maximum allowable toxic air pollutants are 10% they promise to use the latest technology to minimize emissions. >> reporter: do you think it's environmental racism >> i do. >> clyde cooper voted for the plant. they want formosa's 1200 jobs. >> i did not have the votes to

block them either way it was going to get approval i wanted to make sure i was going to have a voice at the table. >> reporter: despite the requests, no one would talk on camera the department f vieof environml equality rights and say new buy they say -- >> i would tell the fleet, if they don't see a problem putting it in my neighborhood, put it in their neighborhood. >> reporter: working to write a new chapter. anne thompson, nbc news, saint james paris, louisiana. a family hard at work changing the lives of so many kids. plus, outdoor concerts giving the new definition to box seats in the age of covid. d. fa, making easy work of tough messes. dawn takes care of tough grease,

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♪ ♪ concert goers are dancing in boxes in rio de janeiro. live music venue there has fans watching performances from socially distanced sections there were 150 boxes set up. up to 6 people allowed in each of them. brazil is locking restrictions. how about a little wood and a whole lot of hard work so many children here's nbc's kate snow >> reporter: family bonding for the couch family involves lots of power tools

for the past few weeks they've been on a mission. >> every day i get home from work, we make all the desks we can until the sun goes down and it's time for bed and then weekends we've been making desks nonstop. >> they're working so hard because these desks are needed so bad mitch couch knows how real that need is after his own kids started attending classes. >> when i'm finished doing school i was on my bed it was hard to concentrate because i wanted to fall asleep. >> reporter: a few hours and pieces of fly wood, hailie had her own desk. >> we need to separate the home life and the school desk. >> reporter: he posted a youtube tutorial on how he did it. >> everything started blowing up it was crazy parents in need started reaching out. now the couches are providing

desks for families. >> you have three families that need desks >> three foster kids. >> we have seven desks going out to foster kids in the kids world that's important. >> and shelters. >> it's going to mean a lot for the children to have their own work space and not having to share with other children. >> we appreciate what you guys are doing here. >> reporter: they've donated more than 60 so far. that tutorial mitch posted online, it's become a blueprint for others inspiring an army of desk makers from hawaii, ohio, massachusetts. volunteers are building dozens of desks for kids in need. for mitch, the biggest payoff is closer to home. >> nothing better than teaching your kids to use tools. >> reporter: and teaching kids the importance of using what you have. >> it's been fun to help kids who don't have a way to learn from home. >> they plan on keeping building

30 desks a week. talk about the life lessons you learn on those desks and building them as well. it's a buel put it gesture in this age of virtual learning, there as nothing more difficult than keeping the kids focused.

if you vote for biden, he will surrender your jobs to china, he will surrender your future to the virus. >> everybody knows who donald trump is so let's let them know who we are. we choose hope over fear we choose unity over division. science over fiction and, yes, we choose truth over lies >> 15 days until the election and the stakes are rising as record numbers of early voters are casting their ballots. we've got the latest. as