temperatures in the upper 70s. we'll continue to monitor for that high fire danger. back to you. >> that will do it for us. the "today" coming up next. good morning shattering records nearly 60 million ballots already cast with the election still eight days away. some waiting hours in line over the weekend. >> if you don't vote, you don't have any right to complain. >> the candidates gearing up for the final push >> this election is a choice between a trump recovery and a biden depression >> the character of the country, in my view, is literally on the ballot >> where the race stands heading into the homestretch just ahead. dangerous wave new coronavirus cases exploding across the u.s 43 states seeing an increase,

and the white house itself once again the center of an outbreak, five of the vice president's aides testing positive the president's chief of staff defending the administration's response >> we're not going to control we are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation. >> we'll have the very latest. decision day. judge amy coney barrett poised to become the next supreme court justice after a weekend of debate. >> the senate is doing the right thing. >> don't forget what's happening here because it's a travesty, a travesty. >> the final senate vote set for tonight. storm alert. at least 30 million people in the path of nasty winter weather that has already dumped snow and ice on the rockies and along the gulf coast millions more preparing for yet another possible hurricane. al's tracking all of it. those stories plus sunday night special. in the nfl, the arizona cardinals rally for a wild win

in overtime. >> can he make this one? it is good! >> and in the world series, the dodgers hang on -- >> the dodgers win game five. >> -- to move one win away from their first championship in more than three decades today, monday october 26th, 2020. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today," with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and hi, everybody. good morning. welcome to "today." it is monday morning. it is good to have you along with us. >> good to see you too. let's get right to the countdown to the election. it is eight short days away, voters are already having their voices heard in record numbers. >> that's right. roughly 60 million ballots have already been cast nationwide. either by mail or in person. that far exceeds the total for all early voting in the last presidential election. >> and with just more than a

week to go, the candidates are hitting the campaign trail hard. president trump set to make multiple stops in pennsylvania today, part of his plan to visit five states over the next three days. >> joe biden is off the trail today, but planning his own blitz starting in georgia tomorrow. we got two reports for you starting with nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker, hi, kristen, good morning. >> hi, savannah and hoda, good morning to both of you. as president trump and vice president biden head into the homestretch of the 2020 race, the white house is grappling with more cases of coronavirus this time it is the vice president's inner circle that has been impacted. but with only eight days left, mike pence is still on the trail, part of the intensifying push to election day. this morning, concerns of another coronavirus outbreak at the white house after five of vice president mike pence's associates including his chief of staff test positive for covid-19. >> i think he's doing well. so hopefully prognosis will be

really good. >> reporter: the vice president campaigning in north carolina, a move defended by white house officials who called him an essential worker. >> we're talking about people essential workers going out and campaigning. >> reporter: that move coming after white house chief of staff mark meadows made these controversial comments about fighting the coronavirus. >> we're not going to control the pandemic. we are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics, and other mitigation. >> reporter: biden pouncing, writing, this wasn't a slip by meadows, it was a candid acknowledgement of what president trump's strategy has clearly been from the beginning of this crisis, to wave the white flag of defeat and hope that by ignoring it, the virus would simply go away. it comes as both candidates crisscrossed key battleground states over the weekend and delivered their closing arguments on "60 minutes". >> why do you want this job? why you to want to be president again? >> because we have done a great job and it is not finished yet.

and when i finish, this country will be in a position like it hasn't been maybe ever. >> reporter: president trump abruptly ending his interview early, after it grew testy. >> i think we have enough of an interview here, hope. okay. that's enough. let's go. let's go. >> i've got a lot of questions i didn't ask. >> reporter: biden making headlines overnight after appearing to confuse his opponent's name. >> four more years of george -- george -- we find ourselves in a position where if trump gets elected, we're going to be -- we're going to be in a different world. >> reporter: it comes as the former vice president was pressed to respond to the president's claims that biden is not mentally fit to serve. >> he's talking about dementia? all i can say to the american people is watch me, see what i've done, see what i'm going to do. >> reporter: for his part, biden will campaign in georgia tomorrow. that's a state that democrats haven't won since 1992. it underscores democrat strategy to try to make inroads into

traditionally republican strongholds. president trump has stops in key battleground states all week long and will crisscross pennsylvania today. savannah? >> kristen welker leading us off from the white house, thank you. now to the other major part of the election story, voter turnout. early voting is shattering records across the country, especially in battleground states. nbc's kerry sanders joins us from one of them. he's right there in florida. hey, kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. long lines again this morning here in florida. 40% of registered voters have already cast their ballots. nationwide if this trend continues, more people will have voted early than will cast their ballots on election day. even with three to four hour waits in some early voting lines in new york, this morning many say we already have a winner.

the voters. nationwide, 59 million voters have already cast ballots. that's a record. >> people have really enthused about this and i think they know their vote is their voice and they want their voice to be heard. >> reporter: beyond the hundreds of thousands of new yorkers voting early over the weekend, long lines also in ohio, california, iowa. >> and doesn't matter who you vote for, get out and vote, it makes a difference. >> reporter: 41 states with early voting now under way, and if you look at closely, a lot of those waiting in lines are young. this year one in ten eligible voters is between the ages of 18 and 23. gen z flexing their muscle. in some battleground states, more than five times as many young voters already casting ballots. george floyd's death is fueling some of that intense civic engagement, so are school shootings like the 2018 parkland massacre that left 17 dead, and awoke this generation's political power. >> we will change the world. >> this is really a huge moment

for our generation. >> this is the first time we're going to be able to have our voices heard in this generation on the presidential election. >> reporter: but early voting isn't without some mishaps. in boston, authorities are investigating a fire set it a downtown ballot box sunday. and in battleground florida, election officials say many of the mail-in ballots rejected are likely from first time voters who forgot to sign their envelopes. and then there are the thousand plus ballots in lee county, spit out by the computers. >> they bubbled in the write in and wrote in donald trump. >> reporter: under florida law now those so-called overvotes must be inspected and counted by hand. early voting in some states like here in florida ends on sunday election day is now eight days away. hoda. >> kerry sanders for us there in florida, kerry, thank you. in the final days of the race, we encourage you to check out nbc news.com/2020 for the very latest updates on both campaigns. meantime, craig is here with the latest on the coronavirus. good morning, craig.

>> hey, savannah, hoda, good morning to both of you. the surge in u.s. cases is climbing even higher this morning. and it is being led by a record spike in the midwest. the virus now spreading for the first time through parts of rural america. nbc's gabe gutierrez joins us from one of the hot spots, sioux falls, south dakota. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the dakotas now lead the nation in covid cases per capita. as you see, colder temperatures have arrived. public health officials now worry that will cause more people to gather indoors where the virus spreads more easily. this morning, the covid crisis after shattering its single day record of new infections is now in its third wave nationally. and it is ravaging many smaller communities for the first time. >> i think there is an increasingly high level of fatigue, gabe, especially in the rural parts of the country, because we were told back in may and june how bad it was going to be. and it never came.

now it's here. >> reporter: in south dakota, the mayor of sioux falls is pleading with residents to wear masks, but the governor says it should be a choice. tweeting if folks want to wear a mask, they're free to do so. those who don't want to wear a mask shouldn't be shamed into it. still, covid cases in 43 states and d.c. are up at least 10% in the last two weeks, including record numbers in illinois, which has topped 9500 deaths. >> excuse me, please. >> reporter: it weighs heavily on the state's health director. >> these are mothers and fathers and grandparents, co-workers, it is overwhelming. >> reporter: more heart break at the university of dayton in ohio, where freshman michael lang died from complications of covid-19. >> our kid is in a better place. and, you know, he'll be looking down on us. but he's 18. he was way too young. way too young. >> reporter: here in south dakota, they have seen a

thousand new covid cases for the second time in three days. and hospitals like this one are preparing for flu season. and the potential for staffing shortages. savannah? >> gabe, thank you very much. let's bring in dr. ashish jha, the dean of brown university school of public health. dr. jha, good morning to you. i'm sure you are looking at these numbers with alarm. what is concerning you most about the surge that we're seeing right now? >> good morning, savannah, thank you for having me on. what concerns me most is how widespread this is, that this is affecting every part of the country from the northeast to the south to the upper midwest. there really is no part of the nation that is spared from this outbreak at this moment. and that makes it a true national emergency in a way that you could argue we haven't seen before >> how do you explain this latest surge is it a function of cooler

weather? can you point to any one factor? >> yeah, i think cooler weather certainly is a factor, but to me the biggest issue here probably is this pandemic fatigue i think people are getting tired of the restrictions, and also we're seeing a lot of letdown in the policies, opening up some bars and restaurants in states all of that i think is contributing to what is going on across the nation. >> cases are up, that's the bad news, the good news is that since the pandemic began, doctors have gotten a lot better at treating covid. do you anticipate better outcomes than we had in the springtime >> i do, or i certainly hope that is going to be the case i do think that the average person infected today is less likely to die. but we're still seeing a thousand americans dying every single day so while that is improvement from what would have been -- had we not gotten better, still a lot of people are getting very, very sick and a lot of people

dying from this disease. >> are you concerned about healthcare systems in various places around the country not being prepared for the wave that is coming? >> well, you know, i really was confident that we were going to do better this time. already yesterday we saw in utah a declaration that they may not be able to care for everybody, and are going to start triaging based on age i did not think we were ever going to get to a point where we were going to deny people care in the icu based on age or how sick they are. if that is starting to happen already and we have many, many weeks of this surge to go, i am starting to get concerned that we may get into trouble. >> all right, dr. jha, as always, good to talk to you, even though it is hard to hear sometimes. thank you very much. we really appreciate it. >> thank you for having me on. we move now to capitol hill, the supreme court showdown today. the senate is expected to confirm judge amy coney barrett as the newest supreme court justice in a vote along party lines. this after rare weekend sessions

filled with debate over the nominee. nbc's capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt has the latest. >> reporter: today, judge amy coney barrett expected to become justice barrett, the last step in a process that has been incredibly fast. the final vote expected one month after president trump said he was going to nominate her this morning, amy coney barrett is just one senate vote away from becoming a supreme court justice after the senate voted over the weekend to advance her nomination. >> the motion is agreed to. >> reporter: republicans racing to confirm her to the bench before election day, when they could lose the white house and the senate >> a lot of what we have done over the last four years would be undone sooner or later by the next election. won't be able to do much about this for a long time to come. >> reporter: tonight's final vote, all but assured, with every republican except susan collins of maine united behind

president trump's pick even alaska senator lisa murkowski reversed plans to oppose barrett but with election day just eight days away, and millions of votes already cast, democrats arguing whoever wins the election should fill justice ruth bader ginsburg's seat. >> it is a travesty, a travesty. >> reporter: confirming barrett before election day means she'll rule on any challenges to the results, refusing to say during her hearing whether she would recuse herself. >> i can't offer an opinion on recusal without short circuiting that entire process. >> reporter: democrats acknowledge they can't do anything to stop barrett now >> beyond that, beyond public pressure, beyond the impact on republican senators who are facing re-election there is little else we can do at this point. >> reporter: in the efforts that they did make to stop barrett, democrats zeroed in on the affordable care act because she's likely now going to be in a position to hear arguments in a case that could strike down

that law if she is confirmed, as expected, with only republican votes, it will be the most partisan confirmation of a supreme court justice in american history hoda >> all right, kasie hunt for us on the hill, thank you it is 7:16 that time of the morning to say good morning to al, see what's shaking with the weather. >> we got two big stories to talk about first off, we got another possible hurricane developing, this one zeta, tropical storm, southeast of cozumel, mexico, that is going to affect us around wednesday in the meantime, right now, 21 million people under winter weather advisories, watches or warnings as you can see, we already snow developing from kansas city back to pueblo, down to silver city and we are going to be looking at bone chilling cold. these are air temperatures right now, 10 in billings, 8 in denver, windchill of minus 2, kansas city at 30. high temperatures today are going to be anywhere from 37 degrees below normal for pierre. we have a powerful storm

developing with an icy mix, sleet, rain and snow for the plains today we're looking at snowfall amounts anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snow, some spots could see 18 inches of snow. plus, there is significant icing with this. we're talking anywhere from half an inch to three-quarters of an inch of ice from oklahoma city down to san angelo, texas, bringing down power lines and making for treacherous driving and heavy rain from san angelo all the way to little rock some places picking up 4 to 5 inches of rain, causing some localized flooding we're going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds i don't believe in accepting help. but i'll make an exception. here's the deal russell, there's no special rate. these prices are for everyone. with the oak and the eagle as witness, consider us square.

i made that from memory, i know your face that well. when you want the real deal... like a good neighbor, state farm is there. good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. as we take a look at our high temperatures for today, it's still going to be breezy and reaching up to the mid-70s for the south bay, much of the peninsula and the inland east bay some upper 70s for this afternoon. our high fire danger does continue through tomorrow, but we will see the wind advisory expiring at 11:00 this morning and some of those winds gradually start to calm down as we go into the rest of today into early tomorrow. greek alphabet here. so zeta is not the last greek letter. >> who would have thought that >> hoda, you're our resident -- >> do the greek alphabet. >> alpha, beta -- >> there we go >> al, thank you.

>> it's been educational. coming up, a surprise and historic moment in the catholic church the pope appointing first african-american cardinal. what he's saying to us about that honor plus, states of emergency. new lockdowns and mounting frustrations new covid outbreaks across europe keir simmons has the latest report from europe but first, i didn't choose this job because it was easy. but i can't say i expected this. to fight these fires, we need funding - plain and simple. for this crisis, and for the next one. prop 15 closes tax loopholes so rich corporations pay their fair share of taxes. so firefighters like me, have what we need to do the job, and to do it right. the big corporations want to keep their tax loopholes. it's what they do.

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give me the rings. i just need the rings. don't walk away. you selfish, little... it's his cat. life's more fun with a dog. ♪ ♪ and doglife is more fun with milk-bone. ♪ ♪ a very good morning to you am it is 7:26. i'm laura garcia. people in the north bay may have felt some shaking less than an hour ago. a 3.6 earthquake hit. no damage reported. a look at our other top stories. >> reporter: i'm bob redell in dublin. you can see behind me the high winds we've been experiencing took down a lot of trees. this outside the santa clarita jail in dublin. that is why firefighters are taking it so seriously. case in point at around 12:45 a brush fire burned about three to four acres in castro valley along eastbound 580. alameda county fire responded

with 11 minutes. that's how aggressive they were in putting out the fire and keeping it from turning into something much bigger and more dangerous. let's check in with meteorologist kari hall and see how long the winds and these conditions will stick around. >> we've seen some pretty high wind gusts. in fact, we've seen some gusts topping 89 miles per hour in parts of the north bay, but most of us right now feeling wind speeds in the north bay up to about 20 to possibly up to 30 miles per hour over the next couple of hours. in the south bay, east bay things are starting to calm down. it's breezy in san mateo. so we'll continue to monitor that as we see our temperatures will be going from the 50s right now to the mid-70s for an afternoon high. san francisco will reach 73 degrees. 80 in santa rosa and san jose a high of 76 degrees. the fire danger does continue through early tomorrow morning. we'll be watching that with temperatures staying in the 70s. laura?

all right, thank you very much. we'll be back with another local news update in half an hour. we hope to see you then.

>> i lost her. shekids, she's i'm kristen welker. lawyer. she decided when 45 she would a lawyer. she it was entertaining.

when the election is over? practice of shutting off "popstart". its electrical grid california's largest utilits shut off electricity to hundreds of thousands of residents last o night, forecasters are fires. anticipating some of the firesd strongest winds of the year, which could fuel even more milr wildfires.es in california soar thi pacific gas & electric made a practice of shutting off its electrical grid to prevent its equipment from sparking new elv the wrong place at the wrong time over the weekend. look fires. at this drone video. first you see thousands of fires have scorche more than 4 million acres in salmon, california so far this year. jd swimmers near sydney, australia, found themselves at water, taking a m the wrong place at the wrong or. what they didn't realize, they weren't alone. two time over the weekend. sharks la look at this drone video. first you see a huge school of salmon, just offshore, dozens of beachgoers were also in the the entir water, taking a morning swim.e . what they didn't realize, they weren't alone.eakfast. than two sharks lurking, a few feet l away. the swimmers made it back the entire time. to the beach unharmed. sunday nig some having breakfast.as one of those nights you had to keep the thankfully nobody was hurt, all the swimmers made it back to th. a l beach unharmed. ot of folks flid sunday night was one of forth between the world ser those nights you had to keep th and sunday night football. let's start w remote control in arm's reach.i.

forth between the world series the seahawks, the cardinals in a and sunday night football. wild overtime wild overtime thriller.thriller. simmons. >> pass is >> and here's the thing. interch simmons. >> and here's the thing. that was russell that was russell wilson's third intercepti interception of the night.on of. giving the cardinals another shot to w giving the cardinals another in. here it is, a few moments here it is, a few moments later. zane gonzalez, a 48-yard field goal right through the uprights, sneaks through there, wins it 37-34, handing seattle its first loss of the season. let's do baseball, the dodgers one win away goal right through the uprights, 37-34, handing seattle its first dodgers one win away from a rays 4-2 last night in game five move out of the vatican this >> pope francis named 13 new cardinals yesterday, including

since 2016. american since 2016, first african-american cardinal ever. it is who he is that makes wilton gregory a historic choice. pope francis naming him the first african-american cardinal, in a surprise announcement from his balcony overlooking worshippers at the vatican. >> with faith in our lord jesus christ -- >> reporter: this morning, gregory is one of 13 men the pope will elevate to cardinal next month. washington's catholic leaders saying in a statement, with a very grateful and humble heart i thank pope francis for this appointment, which will allow me

to work more closely with him in caring for christ's church. the 72-year-old seen by many as sharing the pope's more progressive views. >> there is a partnership between humanity and divinity. >> reporter: in june, gregory criticizing president trump's visit to a catholic shrine. amid black lives matter protests in the nation's capital. >> it should never have been used as a place for a political statement. >> reporter: throughout his career, gregory's been a mr. fix it for the church, charged with reviving dioceses wounded by priest sexual abuse. first in bellville, illinois. >> we cannot, we cannot put kids at risk. >> reporter: then as president of the u.s. conference of catholic bishops, in the aftermath of the 2002 scandal centered in boston, giving me a preview of the zero tolerance policy for abuse by priests. >> we have to treat criminal behavior as a crime. >> reporter: gregory became the

archbishop of atlanta. then last year he replaced donald wuerl in washington. >> i want to be a welcoming shepherd. >> this morning a prince of the church who finally looks like they do. >> it is important for people to see the elevation of african-american man to the cardinalship because it speaks to the universality of the church. >> anne, you've known gregory for a long time. what more do you know about his upbringing? >> reporter: well, what is really interesting, hoda, is that he was not born or raised a catholic. in fact, it wasn't until his mom put him in catholic grade school in chicago that he learned about the catholic church and within six weeks of being there, he says he decided he wanted to become a priest even before converting. his mom and grandmother were reportedly supportive, but fai.

reserved about his decision and hoda? >> remarkable story. anne, thank you. >> a little chill there. that's his father was silent until on his death bed archbishop gregory baptized him on his death bed. hoda. >> remarkable story. anne, thank you. >> a little chill there. that's really cool >> when we come back on a monday morning, the second wave of coronavirus sweeping through europe and worse in some countries than it was in the spring what can that teach us about what's to come here perhaps this winter keir simmons will have that story for us $35 a month. that'll save you money. so uh, mark? on medicare.gov now. open enrollment ends dec 7th. comparing plans... ...really pays. paid for by the u.s. department of health & human services. paid for by the u.s[ sneeze ]nt skip to cold relief fast with alka seltzer plus severe powerfast fizz. dissolves quickly.

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we are back. 7:39 with "in depth today. we talked about the spike in the coronavirus in the u.s. but it is happening across europe. >> indeed it is. it is forcing a growing number of countries having to impose tough restrictions. keir simmons is in london for us good morning >> reporter: hey, craig, good morning to you it is so heart breaking and i guess depressingly inevitable that here in europe hard working families and the poorest are suffering the most from this second wave. here in the uk, there is controversy because the government is refusing to give free meals to children whose parents are suffering the most and across europe, in places the frustration is turning to anger. unrest on italian streets as an

explosion in new coronavirus cases hits the country hard the first time in naples fire and fury have more restrictions. we've got families, this man shouts at the riot police. why this war, says another, on his knees. in rome, a small protest by italy's far right turned violent. then the city streets silenced, by a 9:00 p.m. curfew. in paris, the area around the eiffel tower empty this shows athens before and after people were told to be home the coronavirus bringing the curtain down across europe, for a second time. anger in germany too, now seeing the most cases since the pandemic began, an infectious disease institute targeted by arsonists, and a similar picture imposed where the president

tested positive, he's okay so far, but polish covid cases are soaring and tensions rising. more clashes with police, a country relatively unscathed in the spring, winter is a different story. europe's covid surge has seen france recording a record 50,000 infections in 24 hours it and spain have now had over 1 million cases. the spanish imposing a state of emergency, belgium seeing a 75% increase in infections in one week the worst in europe alongside the czech republic belgium's businesses that barely survived the first wave facing desperation, while the world health organization warning that in the northern hemisphere winter, which will fuel coronavirus, is only just beginning. >> the next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous track. >> so, keir, they did pretty

well over the summer in getting their cases down how did they return to this point and what can we learn perhaps here in this country from it? >> reporter: yeah, craig, i mean, it seems surreal honestly that, you know, i took my family on a summer vacation to greece and now i'm telling my dad to be careful again. i guess the lesson from here, if people haven't already learned it is that you cannot declare victory, that in the end politicians across europe are being criticized for not using that lull to prepare better, but the ultimately it is not the politicians that are in charge that are running this, if you like, it is the virus that is in charge, craig. >> yeah. indeed it is keir simmons in london, thank you. >> all right. 7:43. let's get another check of the weather. zeta, it is 210 miles southeast of cozumel, 70-mile-per-hour winds, moving northwest at 9 miles per hour. it will strengthen into a hurricane later today, cut across the yucatan peninsula and moves into the southern gulf rain will start approaching the

gulf coast and getting in there late tuesday evening and then wednesday the rain, the wind, the coastal flooding hits, we look for this to make landfall sometime wednesday night as a category 1 storm, bringing heavy rain, wind and storm surge. look at the rainfall amounts, we're talking generally anywhere from 6 to 8 inches of rain, but there could be even more and this makes its way up into the mid-atlantic, so rain will spread by friday from zeta into the mid-atlantic including washington, d.c. rest of the country, snow and ice. in the midplains, record cold. back into the northern plains, santa ana winds will be kicking up making for a real fire danger we'll talk about that coming up good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. as we go around the bay today we're going to see temperatures mostly reaching into the 70s. it's still very windy and the fire danger continues through at

least tomorrow morning as we're looking at highs that will reach 77 in napa today as well as that fire danger once again. now as we go through the forecast over the next several days expect it to reach mostly into the upper 70s, but we'll watch out for another gust of high winds by the end of the week. weather. savannah >> al, thank you so much. coming up next, ever wonder what happened to those so-called murder hornets >> no. >> we'll go inside the first ever discovered nest in the u.s. and how a scientist tracked it down right after this in providing significantly clearer skin. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. uncover clearer skin that can last.

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...your medication has changed, we want to help. 7:48 on this monday morning with an update on one of the many scary headlines in 2020, murder hornets. >> did you forget about them? >> love them. >> they became a worry and internet sensation in may. well, now the first nest in the u.s. has been found. nbc's gadi schwartz joins us with the latest. good morning. this is very 2020. >> reporter: very 2020. good morning, savannah. the good news is they have taken that one nest out, the bad news is we really don't know how many more nests there are to go. scientists are scrambling to try to find every last murder hornet in the country and trying to wipe them out and the way they're doing is very 2020. looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, bee keeper suits and home us in head lamps in the hunt for murder hornets and a major breakthrough for

researchers who found where some of the elusive hornets have been hiding after decapitating and decimating bee populations. the hornets known to humans for their painful and sometimes deadly sting -- >> searing pain! >> these are the most deadly. their venom is very strong. some people in southeast asia can die from these stings. >> reporter: with protective gear, saran wrap and a vacuum, they dismantled a nest in a tree. >> wasn't underground like they are normally in asia. they're exhibiting different behavior. >> reporter: the hideout discovered after scientists tagged some hornets in the area with tiny transmitters and tracked them back to their nests. >> this is a tray of bees and honey. >> reporter: hornets that kept most bee keepers on edge. >> we're making sure that all of our hives are healthy and not being threatened by this. it is pretty serious now knowing that a giant hive was found.

>> reporter: experts say finding and killing this invasive species is essential to protecting the health of our food supply, since bees pollinate about 80% of our crops. >> so much of our food system relies on little bees that we don't give them all that much credit for. >> reporter: now, a quick and very important note from experts, one of the things they have seen since murder hornets started popping up in headlines is people rushing to grab those wasp eradicator sprays and going to town on local bee and hornet populations, which is also extremely damaging to our ecosystem. their best advice, leave it to the professionals, even if they look like they're straight out of "et". >> don't be a hero. >> they attach those little devices, little microchips, using dental floss. >> really? >> they did. there is a picture of it. dental floss. >> the hornets have 35% fewer cavities. >> this is serious, al. >> murder hornets, man! >> thank you. coming up, imagine making a reservation not to eat at a

restaurant, but a reservation to shop. vicky nguyen shows us creative ways that retailers are trying to get you to show up in person this holiday season. and a little later on "popstart" how folks are reacting to adele's debut as a host of "saturday night live." first, your local news and some weather. when i learned that my joint pain could mean permanent joint damage, i asked about enbrel. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop permanent joint damage. plus enbrel helps skin get clearer in psoriatic arthritis. ask your doctor about enbrel, so you can get back to your true self. -play ball! enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common. or if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores,

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recharge your nights to take on your days with new vicks immunity zzzs. it's so hon, out here!u guys. are we on yet? oh... i thought we were doing a zoom thing. no. a very good morning to you. it's 7:56. i'm laura garcia. here is a look at what's happening now. >> reporter: i'm sharon katsuda in sonoma county where the power shutoffs are in effect right now. the biggest concern throughout the bay area are the winds

sweeping through here over the next 24 hours. here in sonoma county they kicked up about 7:00 p.m. four school districts are closing because of dangerous weather, the kenwood and montgomery school districts. no in-person or virtual classes. the monte rio school district is closing all schools but students are asked to do their own learning at home. so let's get a check of the forecast. kari? yeah, we've had some of those wind gusts reaching as high as 89 miles per hour in our upper elevations. we've been watching some of the wind gusts from late last night continue into early this morning. looking at mt. diablo, 56-mile-per-hour gusts, and we've had everything in between. so as we go into the next several days we'll continue to monitor the winds, the high fire danger will subside by tomorrow and then going into the middle of the week we're looking at

temperatures in the upper 70s and then we'll see another possibly high wind event by the end of the week, laura. all right. thank you very much. thank you for joining us as well. we'll be back with another update in half an hour. i didn't choose this job because it was easy. but i can't say i expected this. to fight these fires, we need funding - plain and simple.

for this crisis, and for the next one. prop 15 closes tax loopholes so rich corporations pay their fair share of taxes. so firefighters like me, have what we need to do the job, and to do it right. the big corporations want to keep their tax loopholes. it's what they do. well, i do what i do. if you'ld like to help, join me and vote yes on prop 15. businesses today are looking to tomorrsetting the course.ating. but new ways of working demand a new type of network. one that's more than just fast. you need flexibility- to work from anywhere and manage from everywhere. advanced technology. with serious security. and reliable coverage, nationwide. forward-thinking enterprises deserve forward-thinking solutions. and that's what we deliver. so bounce forward, with comcast business.

uber and lyft are like every big guy i've ever brought down. prop 22 doesn't "help" their drivers-- it denies them benefits. 22 doesn't help women. it actually weakens sexual harassment laws, which are meant to protect them. uber and lyft aren't even required to investigate sexual harassment claims. i agree with the la times: no on 22. uber and lyft want all the power. so, show them the real power is you. vote no on prop 22.

coming up, homestretch with just eight days to go until the election, president trump and joe biden hit the campaign trail in key battleground states. >> what a place, we had such luck here four years ago. >> it is game time it is game day >> while early voters turn out in record-breaking numbers we're live with the very latest. plus, talking shop as coronavirus cases surge across the country, how retailers are working to keep you safe in stores as the holiday shopping season gets under way. and live from new york, "saturday night live" tackles politics -- >> i'm kristen welker.

>> -- and "the bachelor" ♪ hello >> as the world says hello to adele, "today," monday, october 26th, 2020 >> we're the jacksons from detroit. happy birthday, sharon >> starting out today with the "today" show. >> from st. augustine, florida -- >> we're getting ready to celebrate august's first halloween. >> halloween is on it is happening. welcome back to "today." it is monday morning we're so glad to have you with us we asked, and boy did you answer the call, wear your halloween costume on the plaza. >> craig, you're busy, you had an important job over the weekend, you hosted the national blue hope bash >> i did i did it virtually, of course. it is this annual event for the colorectal cancer alliance and

we had a lot of special guests including vanessa williams, who performed for us and it is a fund-raiser for the most part. and this weekend, $1.3 million for patients, for survivors, for caregivers, and block grants hopefully for a cure >> that's awesome. >> well done thank you. let's get to the news here at 8:00, a new coronavirus outbreak has surfaced at the white house. just as the president and joe biden launched the final eight-day push to thtion. nbc white house correspondent kristen welker has the three things to watch in politics today. hi, kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hi, savannah, good morning to you. the first big thing we're watching with eight days as you say until election day, the white house is grappling with another outbreak of covid-19 here. five of vice president mike pence's associates including his chief of staff have tested positive for the virus. the vice president himself, the chair of the white house coronavirus task force, campaigned in north carolina over the weekend, a move defended by white house officials who call him an essential worker.

now, it comes as both the president and former vice president joe biden ramp up their campaigning, the president will crisscross battleground pennsylvania today. biden heads to georgia tomorrow. that is a state democrats haven't won since 1992. the second thing we're watching early voting is breaking records with 59 million ballots already cast. experts say the reason, young voters are turning out in force. and finally, republicans are racing to confirm judge amy coney barrett to the supreme court before election day with the white house and senate up for grabs. tonight's final vote all but assured with every republican except susan collins of maine united behind president trump's pick. an administration official tells nbc news this morning top officials here are discussing plans for a possible swearing in ceremony at the white house tonight or maybe tomorrow.

savannah? >> kristen, thank you very much. meantime, the record surge in coronavirus cases in the u.s. still has not peaked. and for first time rural areas in the midwest are being hit really hard. nbc's gabe gutierrez joins us from sioux falls, south dakota. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. the dakotas lead the nation in covid cases per capita and public health officials here worry the colder temperatures might cause people -- more people to gather indoors where the virus spreads more easily. cases are up in 43 states, plus d.c. and at least 10% and hit especially hard is the midwest. we toured a covid unit in wisconsin on friday, where healthcare workers are seeing a rise in cases and are also preparing for the upcoming flu season. many rural communities are dealing with outbreaks for first time. now, here in south dakota, they had more than a thousand covid cases for the second time in three days. the mayor here is urging people, pleading with people to wear masks, but the governor says that it should be a choice. and that people should not be shamed into doing so. hoda? >> all right, thank you. meanwhile, the city of

ocala, florida, is in mourning after the shocking death of its police chief sunday. officials say chief greg graham was flying a small plane that crashed near a local air field. there was no one else on board. federal investigators will be on the scene today. a statement from the ocala police department said of chief graham, quote, his heart beat for his community, for his department, and especially for his family. some big news from the business world this morning, one of the country's largest restaurant companies may be adding another heavy hitter to its lineup. inspire brands, which owns arby's, buffalo wild wings and sonic, is said to be in preliminary talks to buy dunkin' brands, along with the coffee and doughnut shops, they own baskin robbins ice cream. dunkin' currently has about 13,000 franchises. we got our news covered r you ready? >> monday boost? >> ready for a boost? this is a good one. a mom got a wonderful surprise when one of her grown-up

children showed up from out of town on her birthday. watch what happened when her other three kids also surprised her one at a time. >> surprise! >> oh, get out of here! get out of here! >> hi! >> not again! oh, my gosh. what? >> happy birthday. >> aw. >> anybody want a beer? >> oh, my god. no way. oh, my god the best birthday ever >> what is better than having an empty nest and suddenly full again. how about that one at a time, that was brilliant. amazing.

>> is alex coming? >> up next on a monday morning, are you ready to do a little holiday shopping in stores vicky is about to show us what some major retailers are now announcing to get you through the door, while also keeping you safe first, these messages. try my favorite, turkey. order on the app. anything for my fans, man. thanks. i appreciate it. hey, hey. you, you got to take that. good food that's good for you? well good for you! now, only in the subway® app get a free footlong when you buy two. because it's footlong season™! when you buy two. skip to cold relief fast. alka-seltzer plus power max gels. with 25% more concentrated power. oh, what a relief it is! so fast!

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prevented. you can get vaccinated. where? at your pharmacy, your doctor's - hold on! don't want to go through that! 50 years or older? get vaccinated for shingles. now. 8:10 with the new normal and more of our look ahead to holiday shopping. >> yeah, when it comes to shopping in store this year, it is expected to drop up to 25% because of the pandemic. but retailers do have other plans to safely draw you in and get you shopping early >> nbc's investigative and consumer correspondent vicky

nguyen is here to show us everything we need to know obviously fewer folks going into the stores because of the pandemic but folks who do go, what kind of incentives are retailers offering >> retailers want to make it as simple and as safe as possible to get you in stores this year and they're focusing on four as of customer service. anyplace, anytime, anywhere, anyway the focus is get in, be safe, and let's make sure you're getting the deals. >> what about any price? >> they're rolling out the black friday deals much, much sooner throughout the whole month of november you'll see black friday deals. and they're going to be extended hours, which is good to help with social distancing bopus. >> buy online, pick up in store. we learned it on friday. >> you're going to hear so much more about this, hoda. you're going to hear a lot about bopus, that's the key this year. also for amazon prime members, whole foods is offering a bopus option for groceries. if you don't care about delivery, but want to limit your time in stores, that's an option target allowing you to show your

phone through the car window, get your car order, and they'll put it in your car. >> what about shopping reservations i never heard of this before. >> this is big target made this announcement. you go up to the store and there is a big long line and got to get in line and it is a pain target is trying to eliminate that pain point for shoppers by letting you go to target.com/line, see if your local target has a line if it does, you save a spot virtually, then you get an alert on your phone, it is time for you to drive in and that's your reservation time >> if i want to go into a store, and do in person shopping, is there, like, a good plan for that >> it is super important plan is the key word, hoda plan ahead, more than ever this year have a strategy, this is not the year to dillydally and browse. you need shop with a purpose and a focus. you want to limit your time inside here is another thing. picking a store that has multiple options, maybe it sells clothes and toys and electronics, that's going to

give an edge to some of the big box retailers, the walmarts, the costcos of the world let's not forget about small businesses as well they need holiday spending dollars. most places have downtowns or you can go to the toy store across the street, go to the bookstore, check out the jewelry store, we should all absolutely be doing that and we can do it safely, just keep our masks on when we're inside and watch our distance when shopping. >> these brick and mortar stores seem to be rolling out the red carpet a lot of the online retailers, they're putting up some of the biggest deals i've ever seen online is that where most folks are going to be doing their holiday shopping as a result. >> it is going to be huge. 25 to 35% increases predicted this year according to deloitte. so consumers are spending more, spending more online, and they really care about price. the ease of shopping, the speed of shipping and customer reviews, that's important to them the mantra for everyone this year is going to be shop early, ship early, shop early, ship early. that's the key

especially when you're looking at shipageddon. >> they're talking about up to 700 million packages that could be delayed this year according to salesforce.com. don't allow shipping delays to be the grinch that steals christmas. >> if you want to make sure you get a good price, should you wait around for black friday and cyber monday and all the usual big moments? >> fortunately, no, you don't have to wait this year some sales are kicking off now we saw prime day a couple of weeks ago, that was big. and i think everyone this year retailers included want to keep people safe and avoid those long lines and crowds so start setting those alerts, checking for deals right now shop early there are multiple sales happening throughout the month of november. it is not just super saturday, black friday, cyber monday you can get those deals early and that's what we all really should be doing. and u.p.s., by the way, the carriers, major carriers, are trying to help with the shipping, they're hiring u.p.s. has 100,000 positions open now fedex, 70,000. they're also going to be delivering on the weekends

we, as shoppers, we got to do our part by shopping early and shipping early. >> so good vicky is so good thank you. >> thank you >> thank you, vicky nguyen. >> bopis. >> do you what bopis stands for? >> buy online pick up in store. >> well done. >> love it >> roker >> anyway, got skills. we are -- we had the latest in from the national hurricane center, on zeta, 175 miles southeast of cozumel 70-mile-per-hour winds, moving northwest at 9 and it is going to make landfall sometime late wednesday. and by friday morning, it is in the mid-atlantic it is going to bring a lot of rain throughout much of the mid-atlantic to the gulf coast what we're watching right now out west, 33 million people under red flag warnings. san francisco to 11:00 a.m and los angeles until tuesday at 6:00 p.m and look at the fire weather outlook, especially from santa barbara to north of san diego. wind gusts in the mountains of up to 80 miles per hour.

yet you move to the west, and look at how cold it is chicago today, 41 degrees for a high, that's 16 degrees below normal denver, you're at 14 that's 46 degrees below average by the time we move into tuesday, dallas is only at 46. kansas city at 36. detroit, 9 degrees cooler at 48 degrees. then as we get into the latter part of the week, temperatures do start to moderate but still a little on the chilly side with temperatures in the upper 40s and 50s from denver, san antonio, atlanta will warm up into the mid-70s. cleveland by friday, you're at 48 degrees that's what's goin >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. let's take a look at our high temperatures for today. it's still going to be breezy. and we're looking at highs that will reach mostly into the 70s across the bay area. a few low 80s in parts of the north bay. as we go through the forecast, the high fire danger continues through tomorrow morning. still some gusty winds throughout today and then as we

go through the forecast, it looks like for our inland valleys, the rest of the week is going to be fairly comfortable reaching into the mid-70s over the next several days. weather. hoda >> all right, al, thank you. it is time to turn our attention to "popstart," sheinelle is filling in for carson today >> happy monday to all of you. first up, "saturday night live," we remember how perfectly kate mackinnon played savannah after nbc's town hall. this weekend, one of our other beloved nbc news colleagues found herself front and center of "snl's" cold open sketch. >> good evening. i'm kristen welker it is the honor of a lifetime to moderate the second and praise jesus final presidential debate. >> come on don't fall for that, america and i hate to curse in front of a woman, but that's a bunch of malarkey >> and we have our first malarkey, if you're playing biden bingo at home, take a

shot >> of course, that's maya rudolph hitting it out of the park as kristen welker at the presidential debate. in the sketch, there seemed to be some confusion on exactly who she was. >> mr. president -- >> thank you, padma. >> mr. president. >> thank you, mindy, i love your project. thank you, hoda. can i just say you're really doing a great job. >> of course, padma responded on twitter, alongside welker, mindy kaling and hoda. >> thank you, hoda >> we did get a laugh. my mom was in this weekend -- >> you didn't see it coming? >> someone sent it to me my sister was like, did you see? we were cracking up. kristen did a great, great job >> maya rudolph. >> kristen is not really a shot girl she didn't take a shot >> you don't really know her >> uh-oh >> now we know. >> after the debate, she did >> tell me about it. well deserved.

the big part of this weekend, pop icon adele made her hosting debut while her took the stage as musical guest adele couldn't help but belt out a few of her own classics in this "bachelor" sketch. >> you may know me for being the singer adele i'm here because i had a lot of heart break in my life at 19, an famously at 21 and more famously at 25. ♪ ♪ you sound like a movie >> what does that mean ♪ you sound like a song >> thank you. ♪ reminds me of when we were young ♪ >> we met today. ♪ hello it's me ♪ i was wondering if after all these years you thanked me ♪ >> adele, no, okay it has not -- >> she's funny and, of course, she can sing >> so good

next up, alec and hilaria baldwin, they share five young children ranging from 7 years old to 7 weeks old, and as any parent will tell you, coordinating the perfect family photo can be anything but easy. she proved with this picture she shared to instagram yesterday, you can see all five kids struggling to stand still or stay awake baldwin captioned the post, i think we got our holiday card. that sums up seven months of quarantining with your family. at moment it feels stressful, but that's a keeper pic. that's a good one. next up, kelly clarkson, we look forward to her performances where she sings amazing covers of her songs, and today's cover of harry sal's "watermelon sugar" has us feeling summer all over again. listen to this.

♪ watermelon sugar high watermelon sugar high ♪ ♪ i just want to taste it i jus want to taste it ♪ ♪ watermelon sugar high >> she needs a whole channel of her karaoke songs. >> every song she does, she nails it the moment you've been waiting for. we have been all waiting for the latest on our "today" candy bracketween. started with 16 candies. after two intense head to head knockout rounds, thanks to your votes on today.com, the final four, the big reveal, new york peppermint patties, there you go they take on the reese's cups. snickers destroyed oh, yeah >> the final four? >> that's a joke >> yes >> abomination >> here's the thing. we had almost 28,000 -- >> al is coming in about the peppermint pattys? >> yes, yes! >> you're trying to tip the scale. >> yes, the peppermint patty,

baby strong >> it is a glorified breath mint, okay >> taste the sensation >> oh, yeah. >> if you're 60 years old and don't want to eat real candy, maybe. >> some of us have lives, so we're okay >> roker voted 42 times, but we had almost -- >> a lot of hate for the peppermint patty >> the closest competition between 100 grand and butter finger >> and what is your favorite, melvin >> whatchamacallit. >> trendy. >> the butterfinger ended with the narrow win, four points ahead of the 100 grand. >> four points >> really quickly, who do you have going all the way >> snickers. >> reese's >> the cups? >> i can't take you seriously right now. i can't. >> off the rails.

>> we are. >> which one do you have >> reese's all the way. >> i voted for payday. >> don't make me feel bad about it either. i love a payday. >> i picked three musketeers >> what? >> just so you know -- >> that was my bottom of the barrel >> you open the -- >> all that nougat. >> it is barely a taste. has almost nothing. >> i agree. >> as a kid, with your finger get all the yummy stuff out. for everybody at home, if you would like to get in on this, vote for the next round, go to today.com/food. >> little dumb things become a thing, so fun. 28,000 voters on the candy let's see what happens tomorrow. happy monday. >> go, snickers. >> sheinelle, thank you. well done. just ahead -- >> he's still there. still there.

the stars from the newest take on roald dahl, they're with us live from "the witches." a remarkable story of the opera singer and the former inmate who joined forces to create some really beautiful music together we'll have that for you. first, your local news and -- look at that creepy guy -- and some weather. >> are you six feet away, al

good morning. it's 8:26. i'm kris sanchez. the overnight howling winds in some cases did more than just wake people up. firefighters near dublin quickly moved to knock down this wind-driven grass fire that sparked up just before 1:00 this morning. burned about four acres near the eden canyon exit along interstate 580. winds also toppled trees including this one that luckily landed between two houses in concord. meteorologist kari hall is tracking the winds leaving a lot of folks without power right now. >> yeah. we are still seeing some pretty high wind gusts in parts of the bay area as we take a look at

where we are right now. in parts of santa rosa heading up toward fairfield. still winds about 25 to 30 miles per hour. but the highest wind we measured on mt. st. helena late last night. this morning we're still monitoring for the potential of those high winds through about 11:00. and the fire danger continues through tomorrow morning. we're looking at highs that will reach into the mid-70s for the inland areas. a calmer midweek with highs also in the mid-70s. comfortable weather once we make it past these high winds, kris. thank you, kari. more local news coming up in just a half hour. have a great morning.

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october 26th, 2020 we look at those folks up and at them early, quite the extravaganza this week virtual friends dressed in their halloween best as we count down to our big costume reveal. we'll pick one member of the crowd, one member there, to join us on friday get a good look. we'll put them back up in a second halloween is sweeping the nation >> it is it is. also a fantastic story, we know you're going to love it, about a famous opera star, and a former

maximum security prison inmate, brought together by a love of music and it took them all the way to the met, the metropolitan opera together >> looking forward to that one it is a mini "devil wears prada" reunion, anne hathaway and stanley tucci with us, they're in a new movie "the witches" based on a roald dahl classic. an open and honest conversation between sheinelle and four other moms working on -- they talk about how the pandemic has impacted and shaped their lives. all right, and we're so excited for this, tomorrow on "today," jimmy fallon will be with us, right here in the studio >> what? >> did i read that right he'll be the first guest we had back since all of this happened. >> right. >> can you think of another guest? >> no. he's the first. >> the first guest. >> it is our first guest.

>> exciting. >> a good one. let's get a check of the weather. >> i'm very excited. let's show you what we have looking at the week ahead. we have snow and ice in the central plains with rain making its way through the midplains. record chilly weather out in the west and a fire risk there as well as we get to the midpart of the country, and the midweek, we're looking at tropical rains from zeta making their way in snow in the rockies. mile highs out west. sunshine from the great lakes to the northeast. thursday, we may see some snow for first time in new england. watching that. and interior sections of the northeast. coastal showers in the pacific northwest. >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. as we go around the bay, we're going to see mostly 70s today and still some gusty winds at least through the morning with san francisco reaching 73 degrees. 77 today in napa. and concord reaching 78 degrees. and as we go through the forecast, our high fire danger

continues through tomorrow morning. our winds gradually will calm down, and then we're looking at a fairly quiet midweek with highs in the 70s extending into the weekend. and that is your latest weather. hoda >> all right, al, thank you. coming up next, the unlikely friendship between a former convict and a grammy winner thanks to their love of opera. and wait until you see where it has tan them. ke need to find the closest official ballot drop box near you? just visit vote.ca.gov

to find your nearest location. then drop off your ballot. your vote will be secure and counted. there are other ways to vote too. just return your vote-by-mail ballot at your voting location or mail it back. or you can vote safely in-person during early voting or on election day. vote the way you're most comfortable - but vote by 8pm on november 3rd.

we are back. 8:35, with a question, what do a notorious maximum security prison and one of the world's most prestigious opera houses in common >> an unlikely friendship between an opera star and a formerly incarcerated man. nbc's cynthia mcfadden joins us to explain we have been looking forward to this one all morning >> oh, thanks. good morning to you guys well, when joyce didonato, one

of the greatest opera singers of our time, was asked by the metropolitan -- not museum, by the metropolitan opera to curate and sing a concert that would be seen around the world, she went to an unlikely source, a man that she had met behind bars, a composer their story shows you the power of music ♪ >> reporter: joyce didonato knew she wanted music that would speak to our times there would be mozart and handel of course, but she felt something was missing, a fresh new composer her choice, unexpected, a man she met years before behind bars at sing sing, one of the world's most notorious maximum security prisons. his name, kenyatta emmanuel. >> the odds of us coming together in that space, in that

cocktail, that's unique. this is a piece called blind >> reporter: as fate would have it, we were there four years ago when they met. part of a music program organized by carnegie hall ♪ afraid of being wrong >> reporter: bringing artists and inmates together inside the prison walls to study classical music. ♪ sing sing, by reputation, is a very intimidating place. >> it is cold. the lighting is harsh. the locks are impenetrable >> reporter: they discovered they were both children of kansas, growing up just six miles apart, but worlds away >> picturesque, middle class, i went to the local catholic school, a block up the road. >> i certainly as a child didn't think of us as poor. we were, you know, the same as the folks who were around us i dreamed big as children dream,

which literally without limits >> i would not have said that i dreamed big. mine was do what you're told, be what you're expected to be, toe the line. >> if you told your family that you would be recognized as one of the greatest opera singers of her generation, what would they have said to you >> well, that's sweet. that's sweet ♪ >> reporter: she did just that performing around the world, dazzling audiences and winning a few grammys along the way. kenyata's life took a much different turn. >> i made a choice, a horrible choice. >> reporter: a robbery that ended in a fatal shooting of a cab driver. >> i can't undo it i can't restore to his family what i've taken away for such a long time it was difficult for me to wrestle with the fact that i had taken someone's life >> we haven't talked about this.

kenyatta, i never asked you what you did. i really didn't know i met you as a composer. >> reporter: what was your first impression of kenyatta >> this guy is the leader of the group and, my god, is he charismatic. >> in my mind, she was about 7 1/2 feet tall, you know, and i felt, my goodness, she's so much smaller than i thought >> reporter: smaller in stature, but when she sang -- ♪ it rocked his world. >> that did not feel as though you had gotten a new thing, but that a new thing had been awakened within you. >> reporter: he started writing music for her. >> there was no, this is really nice for an amateur or for someone who is in a prison program. ♪ put your heart on the table >> reporter: their first duet

written by him part of a concert put on for inmates >> are you ready >> reporter: three years after that concert, kenyatta was released he had served 25 years then this past summer came that unexpected call. it was joyce, asking him to write music for the met concert. >> i felt really compelled to address our situation of what is happening with race. i'm a white middle class midwestern singer. i wanted to be sure that everything that came out of my mouth, that i dared to present, had purpose behind it. >> reporter: she came across the langston hughes poem "i dream a world". >> it just resonated with me so strongly and i said i want to set this to music. and the next thought was kenyatta ♪ i dream a world where black o white ♪ >> reporter: in a matter of

days, he put the words to music. >> there is something very powerful about knowing that this comes from the musician, composer, who developed his craft inside the walls of sing sing the living example of the power of music in somebody's life. >> reporter: well, there is so much to be inspired by this story. if you want to see the recital that the metropolitan opera has up on line, you have one week left to do it. all the details are online at today.com. >> something tells me they're going to get a lot of clicks right about now. what a beautiful story thank you. >> beautiful >> thank you coming up next, something very fitting on this week of halloween. we have got the stars of "the witches," anne hathaway and stanley tucci telling us about bringing that beloved book back to life.

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we are back. two of the stars from the new film "the witches" stanley tucci and anne hathaway is with us. >> it is the story written by roald dahl that explores an undercover society of witches trying to rid the world of children here is a sneak peek >> hello there the grand orleans hotel welcomes you -- >> so tell me something mr. stringy? >> stringer. >> hotel man. >> manager. >> i know you love kitties but what do you think of mice? >> there will never be any mice -- >> if there were -- >> i would call the exterminator. >> exactly you see? he would call the exterminator

>> anne hathaway, and stanley tucci, okay, that was the 30-second clip and we're cracking up here did you all have a blast doing that >> yeah. >> oh, yeah. >> anne you seemed like you were having the time of your life i couldn't wait to see the next scene to get the outfit, the accent, the claws, the whole thing. did you just have -- was it as fun as it looked >> oh, yeah. yeah it was fun finding it because, you know, it was a collaboration. and everybody pitched in and that first day, that scene was first thing that we shot, first time we kind of all got to see her come together, it was really fun. >> stanley, were you fighting back a laugh it looked like you were biting down trying not to crack up in that >> there were a few times, yes

i must admit, it was -- it was a real -- it was just one of those projects that it all came together in the right way and it was so much fun to do. it was fun to work with annie again. it had been a long time. >> we want to talk about that. let me ask you one more about the movie. you know, i love roald dahl and we all -- "charlie and the chocolate factory," "james and the giant peach," "the witches" has a little darkness to it. this is not like the goodie goodie animated kids' movie, and did you feel like that, stanley, i felt like it had a little edge >> a little edge, yes, it has quite an edge. >> i didn't want to scare the children, stanley. >> yeah. it is very dark. it is. and but it is -- of course, you can see that is disturbing but, you know, the -- it is incredibly funny, it is incredibly charming. and there is a sweetness like there is in all of roald dahl's stuff too. >> anne, back to you for a second there was a picture that struck

me that we pulled. it is like it just shows that big kind of evil smile that your character has and for some reason i got to thinking about did your young kids -- i know they're real little, but did they ever see you in this crazy makeup >> lord no no, no, no, no this movie until they are 30 and maybe not even then. no, no, no actually when it was -- when i talk about it being a collaboration, that's one of the things that i mean when bob showed me what he was going to do to my face, i realized that i was going to have to make her really funny, otherwise i was going to traumatize kids way too much that is just a scary looking smile. >> somehow you did pull off that combination. so you kind of alluded to it, this is the first time you guys have worked together since "the devil wears prada. what was the reunion like, like the slow motion running scene, hugging each other

that's what i'm imagining in my mind. >> i threw myself into her arms and -- >> and i was waiting i was waiting. >> yeah, it was -- it was just so nice. i had seen annie over the years, you know, periodically, but it was also nice to spend some time together and especially on a really fun set sometimes sets aren't always fun. >> anne, i know in "the devil wears prada" it was stanley cracking you up. you got to be the funny. do you like being in that role were you trying to get him to break character? >> no, i wasn't, which is why it was such a thrill when he did. on "devil wears prada," i cannot tell you how quick and witty meryl was, emily was, stanley in particular, the scene where i don't know how many times stanley came up with an alt to like all we need is some crisco

and fishing line and we'll get you in that dress, no problem. the fact i got to return the favor a few times was wonderful. >> like everyone, your life is a little different right now anne, how is pandemic life been for you? are you home a lot with the little ones? >> yeah, yeah. no complaints about that that's been -- that's been great. you know, once we -- i think like everybody the first few weeks were so unsettling, and then i feel very, very privileged and fortunate we were able to find our stride and once we found the laughter, just kind of in our household, everything got a bit easier but, you know, it's -- my heart goes out to everybody who's having a much tougher time than we are. >> yeah. and stanley, how has it been -- how has it been for you? are you working on a job right now at this point? >> yeah, i'm in madrid and i've been here for a month. i live in london now and i -- so but i've not been

able to go home. normally i would go home, even for a weekend. but i haven't been able to see the kids for a month and i have two more weeks to go because of the quarantine rules in england. >> it is going to be a sweet reunion when you get home. >> yeah. looking forward to it. >> we appreciate you guys both anne and stanley, thank you again. the movie "the witches" streaming on hbo max right now. next, more to get us into the halloween spirit, our costumed my "today" plaza, my "today" plazaween. let's get it going

i can't believe it. what? that our new house is haunted by casper the friendly ghost? hey jill! hey kurt! movies? i'll get snacks! no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on our car insurance with geico. i got snacks! ohhh, i got popcorn, i got caramel corn, i got kettle corn. am i chewing too loud? believe it! geico could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. but i can't say i expected this. because it was easy. to fight these fires, we need funding - plain and simple.

for this crisis, and for the next one. prop 15 closes tax loopholes so rich corporations pay their fair share of taxes. so firefighters like me, have what we need to do the job, and to do it right. the big corporations want to keep their tax loopholes. it's what they do. well, i do what i do. if you'ld like to help, join me and vote yes on prop 15. we have we have been looking forward to this. it is day one of my "today" plazaween. check out our special big board today. all dressed up for the occasion. >> before we introduce everybody, here's how it works every morning this week we're going to feature groups in

costume and then invite you to vote on your favorite on today.com. >> the person or group with the most votes will be invited back for our big halloween show on friday, that's when we will reveal our costume. >> i love it now let's meet our first groups. we're going to start with elena, vivian and alexandria, they are -- good morning. they are the sanderson sisters from "hocus-pocus,". they're from wall, new jersey. you are 7 years old and why did you choose "hocus pocus" why do you love this >> because we feel like sisters. we decided to be the sanderson sisters. >> i love it how long have you girls been friends? >> six years >> since they were babies. they're 7 now. >> wow >> i love it you look absolutely beautiful. moms you look cute too the next family, the alaska family

we know these characters we got the "wizard of oz" in the house, delia is 12, she's dorothy. we have joaquin as the scarecrow, he's 4. dad, rafael, the cowardly lion and mom, maria, the tin woman in missouri city, texas you look fantastic >> we love halloween we do a family costume every year we enjoy it. >> you guys are a 10 plus! we're going to bring up another great family the tribolays. check it out we got kius, a firefighter, he's got a homemade fire truck there. mom christie is there too. she's dressed as the fire. that's cute. dad is a dalmatian so, christie, you started working on your son's costume how long ago >> back in august. >> is he obsessed? with fire trucks he is obsessed >> he is he loves fire trucks and garbage

trucks i didn't want to dress up like the garbage, so -- >> you picked right one. you picked the right one guys, thank you. and now to the carjasic family, rock 'n' roll legends are here mom, tiana is tina turner, dad, p.j. is willie nelson, william, 13, is lenny kravitz, go, lenny. athena, what a great stevie nicks, you guys in orlando mom, how did you guys pick these costumes >> well, we're a whole bunch of personalities and we all love different music. it is really to pick a bunch of rock stars that we love. >> we want to give an extra shoutout to you, tiana, front line on the pandemic all year as an infectious disease nurse. and we want to give you a thank you. we love your "today" rocks balloons you all brought your a-plus

game >> all right plazaween off to a great start go to today.com, that's where you vote on your favorite costumes today.com. if your family wants to join in on the fun, still some time. you can sign up as well. today.com/plazaween. >> great >> so creative >> all right just ahead, third and fourth hours, still coming up, third hour, some sweet treats on the menu on the holiday edition of make ahead monday. we have creative diy costumes for kids and for adults first, your local news good morning. i'm crise sanchez. we're in a microclimate weather alert and strong winds overnight rolled through the bay area creating high fire danger. that continues today. in some cases we did see some trees coming down, and a lot of folks stocked up on materials to be without power. we had tens of thousands of people around the bay area in a

pspp, public safety, public power. meteorologist kari hall says red flag conditions should start to taper off later this morning and pg&e expects to start restoring power tonight into tomorrow morning. happening now, crews fanned out across the bay area. bob redell in the east bay. sharon katsuda in the north bay. both of them checking on conditions there. midday news at 11:00.

live fro live in studio 1 a in rockefeller plaza, this is the third hour of today. >> and good morning, everybody. welcome to the third hour of today. it's monday, october 26th. hope you all had a good weekend. i'm al along with chanel, craig. dylan is off right now but we've got a lot going on this monday morning, including with the holiday shopping season could look like for travelers. our vicky nguyen is back on how to safely see your family and friends this holiday season from planes to trains, automobiles,