hi, everyone. i'm kate snow. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. nbc news daily starts now. ♪♪ today thursday, september 22nd, 2022. tracking the storm, hurricane fiona is still a powerful category 4 system now turning toward bermuda. and all eyes are on the next big storm potentially takf legal blows in just one day. how the former president is firing back in his first tv interview since the mar-a-lago

search. wild card, california considers betting big on legal sports gambling. we'll take a look at what's at stake and the billion dollar industry behind it. and operation rebuild, the military looks to restore a florida air base devastated by hurricane michael. why national security concerns are outweighing possible threats from climate change. we begin this hour with breaking news, the historic threat from hurricane fiona, the category 4 hurricane now barrelling north carrying winds of up to 130 miles per hour. fiona is on track to bring its path of destruction to bermuda tonight before making its way to eastern canada on friday. take a look at this, we want to show you new video from the u.s. air force from inside the eye of the storm. now when fiona makes landfall in canada, it will be one of the strongest storms to ever hit that country. nbc news correspondent morgan radford -- morgan chesky has more from bermuda. >> reporter: the calm before the storm or what existed of it is

now officially over. we are on the coast of bermuda, feeling that wind starting to pick up, that surf get incredibly rough behind me and here in just a few hours we should be feeling those rains from the outer bands of hurricane fiona, currently a category 4 churning its way through the atlantic to make a potential blow or at least glancing island nation. right now officials urging everyone to stay off the roads by 10:00 p.m. tonight because this hurricane expected to do the most damage somewhere between midnight and 5:00 a.m. that's where it could flood low lying areas with drenching rains, and its powerful winds could be doing significant damage. if there is a silver lining here, it's that it is a glancing blow and the minister of national security tells me the building code here in bermuda has forced all buildings to be created to be constructed rather to withstand 110 mile an hour winds. that is above what is expected to be happening here tonight.

still though, a storm this powerful and with hours to go still allows for a potential shift in its path, and that's why everyone here is cautiously optimistic but well aware of the damage it could bring should it veer more towards bermuda. right now everyone is looking back to 2014. that's when hurricane fay and gonzalo struck this small island nation within one week of each other causing massive power outages and significant flooding. as it stands, the forecast not expected to be that severe. that said, no one really knows until fiona moves in. at the same time, more than a million people in puerto rico and the dominican republic are still without power today. fiona devastated both of those islands. >> and now they're dealing with a new threat, extreme heat. let's bring in nbc news correspondent ellison barber, she's live for us again in puerto rico. heat advisories in effect for

all of puerto rico today, i hear. triple digit heat. how is that going to impact what was already a difficult cleanup and recovery? >> reporter: yeah, i mean it's not just hot. it is unbearable, and for some people it's even dangerous. in bigger cities like san juan, they have power back on so people have ac in their homes. they likely have running water. but here in places like salinas, look around. these are power lines that are just down, and it's hard to see how or when they could be repaired because there's so much debris. there are crews here who have been working to clear out this area and try and get some of the power lines back up, but it's difficult, oftentimes to pass roads because there tends to be so much debris that is left behind. when it comes to the heat again, it is not only unbearable to work in which slows people down when they're trying to get things like the power up and running, but for particularly older and younger people, it is incredibly dangerous, and kate and aaron we have met people in neighborhoods who say they are

worried about being at home without running water as the temperature rises. back to you. >> ellison barber for us in puerto rico. thank you. >> let's bring in nbc news meteorologist bill karins now. set this up for us. what's happening? what can be expected the next 24 or 48 hours. >> fiona is accelerating towards the canadian maritimes. they only have about 36 hours to repair. people are making class, filling every contain we are fresh water. they're preparing for days or weeks without power in certain locations. it's going to brush by bermuda tonight, not going to be a huge event by bermuda standards and then we're going to watch the storage accelerating to the north. we have dangerous rip currents and large waves for the east coast beaches. you have to pay attention to all your authorities there if red flags are hoisted pretty much from the southeast to the northeast, and then saturday morning is when the storm will be making its impact. it should be the strongest storm ever to move over land areas in canada in our recorded history. as far as the caribbean goes, we're also going to be watching this area.

it opportunity look like it's going to develop anytime soon. as we go through possibly friday night to saturday, this is the development zone, south of puerto rico, south of haiti and all of our extended computer models take it towards the western caribbean. too early to tell if it's florida or the gulf coast, but it does look like a problem for us next week. a one-two legal punch for former president trump. the court writing, quote, trump has not even attempted to show that he has a need to information contained in the classified documents. trump is also fighting a sweeping financial fraud lawsuit from new york's attorney general. nbc news justice reporter ryan reilly is in washington for us, and nbc news correspondent ron allen is here in new york. ryan, i'll go to you first. the former president claims he declassified all of the documents. here's what he said on fox news last night.

ta take a listen. >> if you're the president of the united states, you can declassify just by saying it's declassified, even by thinking about it. >> the appeals court appeared to reject that argument. what else stands out from the ruling. >> there's that line they have in the office where michael scott declares everything, he declares bankruptcy out loud. what donald trump is claiming here is he can even think he classified that and that has some sort of merit. the appeals court wholesale rejected a lot of the claims from donald trump's lawyers here. the idea that these documents, which have classified markings on them were his personal property the court said is just sort of nonsense and tossed it out. now they can move forward with this investigation. the reason they had to do that, this is the center of a national security investigation. those documents were essential to the national security of the united states and moving that

investigation forward, kate. >> thank you, ron. we've had about 24 hours now to digest the new york attorney general's lawsuit yesterday. what are the next steps and bless you, what are the next steps in this legal fight, ron? >> there may be more negotiations because there has been talk of a settlement that didn't work out. meanwhile, the president, the former president is really taking the offensive arguing that this is a political witch hunt. he and letitia james have had a very contentious relationship going back to the time she was first running for office. trump points out she's now running for election again. he made the interesting claim that all of his financial documents had a disclaimer that said things like, quote, be careful. it may be iinaccurate. use your own appraisers to the banks and security companies. here's what he had to say about this on fox. >> she campaigned about it four years ago, and she just talked about trump, we're going to indict him. we're going to get him.

i met with them. they thought they wanted to settle. even if i paid a very small amount, you're sort of admitting guilt. >> he said he didn't want to admit guilt, those settlement talks may still be going on. he also said he paid everybody back. all the loans got paid. the attorney general says it was fraud to the tune of a quarter of a billion dollars. >> a lot to follow there. ron allen, ryan reilly, thank you. new developments in the mississippi welfare scandal involving football hall of famer brett farve. the former director of the state welfare agency pleading guilty in federal court today. nbc news justice and intelligence correspondent kim delaney is following that for us. walk us through what happened in court and why this plea is so significant. >> reporter: pretty straightforward plea hearing, aaron, the former welfare director john davis acknowledged that he was pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and theft. the real significance here is that he is cooperating with the federal investigation, and you

know, when the fbi investigates a complex white collar crime, they move the food chain and try to get people to flip on those who are higher. the only person higher than john davis is the former governor phil bryant who denies wrongdoing, has not been charged, and claims he did not know that this was welfare money, even as he was helping get some projects that brett favre desired. and the other question of course is brett favre. there's no evidence he is the target of a criminal investigation. he was interviewed by the fbi we understand. he claims also he at no time know this was federal welfare money. both far ever and the former governor are on text messages where they describe their efforts to get these state grants for projects that had nothing to do with welfare. in one case a volleyball facility that benefitted brett favre's daughters. real big questions here and an fbi investigation that appears to be picking up steam. >> given what you've laid out there, and we should note that brett favre is not charged with any crimes, how could today's guilty plea impact a potential

case against brett farve? >> it's not good for him. john davis was in meetings about funneling money to projects that brett favre wanted. the real question is whether the government can prove if it's true that brett favre somehow knew this was wrong, this was welfare money. he denies that. but like the big -- it came from mississippi's welfare agency, so my question as a reporter is where do these people think it was coming from? this was an agency designed to help poor people in the nation's poorest state. those are questions for them to answer, aaron. >> indeed, ken dilanian for us in d.c. today, thank you. target is hiring thousands of workers and an airline is trying to solve a staffing shortage. >> cnbc less lie picker joins us for today's money minute. >> let's start with amazon, its top executives will have to testify in a biden administration investigation of how customers sign up for and cancel prime membership. top amazon executives jeff bezos and andy jassy will have to do

that, the federal trade commission has rejected the company's complaint. it is harassing the two men. amazon responds it is disappointed but unsurprised the agency declined to rule against itself. and walmart is cutting back on holiday hiring this year but target is sticking with last year's numbers. it plans to, again, bring in 100,000 seasonal workers at 15 to $24 per hour. and one airline is responding to the industry's enormous pilot shortage with a new approach. regional carrier mesa plans to purchase dozens of small two-seat planes and then give trainee interest free loans to rent those planes at a discounted rate. the goal, make it easier and faster for prospective pilots to get the 1,500 hours of flight experience demanded by government regulations. kind of a creative solution there. lots of creative solutions as we face this labor shortage. >> get people in planes.

>> thank you, leslie. up next a tip helps texas police stop a threat to high school football games. school football games. inside the rush to prevent a my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... the tightness, stinging... the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. 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. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®... ask your doctor about tremfya® today. is dad posting a farewell to his favorite college freshman? nope, he's switching his choice cash back category to gas. the road to college can be emotional. but also... rewarding. [ding] with the bank of america customized cash rewards card, you just can't stop getting rewarded. pool floaties are like whooping cough.

amusement parks are like whooping cough. even ice cream is like whooping cough, it's not just for kids. whooping cough is highly contagious for people of any age. and it can cause violent uncontrollable coughing fits. sometimes followed by vomiting and exhaustion. ask your doctor or pharmacist about whooping cough vaccination because whooping cough isn't just for kids. here's liz, whose bladder leaks drop in uninvited. but instead of period pads, she brought poise ultra thin. so she can bounce on with clean, dry, fresh protection from poise. covid-19. some people get it, and some people can get it bad. and for those who do get it bad, it may be because they have a high-risk factor. such as heart disease, diabetes, being overweight, asthma, or smoking. even if symptoms feel mild, these factors can increase your risk of covid-19 turning severe.

so, if you're at high risk and test positive, don't wait. ask your healthcare provider right away if an authorized oral treatment is right for you. police in texas say an anonymous tip prevent what had could have been a catastrophic shooting at a high school football game. here's nbc's mara barrett.

>> reporter: a shooting threat thwarted. the community breathing a sigh of relief after the tarrant county sheriff's office says they acted on a tip from a credible source. they seized an automatic rifle fully loaded with illegal ammo preventing what could have been a deadly shooting at a high school football game. >> being a home coming game, there was a larger crowd than normal. we heard estimates of about 3,000 people. it could have been catastrophic. >> reporter: according to the county sheriff, the tipster told police that at least two suspects were headed to the school with a gun intend on causing harm. police say they were targeting a specific individual attending the game. additional officers were quickly dispatched to join the nearly 20 officers on the scene. >> i looked out my window, i was like what's going on, you know. i heard a lot of cops. >> reporter: officers say within 30 to 40 minutes of receiving the tip, they were able to find and stop the suspect's vehicle as it neared the entrance gate. deputies detained two suspects,

brandon gibson and isaac cooper charging both with unlawfully carrying a weapon. police recovered an ar pistol and a 60 round magazine. >> that ammo has been taken off the market because it is at a level of not necessarily armor piercing but in that same neighborhood where it will go through a lot of stuff. >> reporter: efforts to reach gibson and cooper were unsuccessful. no attorneys for the suspects are publicly listed. nbc station reporting police say one of the suspect was a student at everson high in 2020. gibson told authorities he had purchased the gun for protection, though officers say the motive is unclear. the school district thanking the police in a statement. we are grateful and very appreciative of the support, protection, and quick action taken by the police on friday night. >> everything worked perfectly. someone trusted law enforcement enough to relay the information. the public are our eyes and ears. they are the ones who are going to hear and see these things.

>> mara barrett, nbc news. another deadly earthquake rattles mexico and an ebola outbreak spreads across uganda. let's go around the world in 60 seconds. mexico where a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck early this morning jolting residents in nearby mexico city right out of their beds and into the streets. >> i heard the quake alarm, and i ran outside. it felt like a strong one, but i had enough time to leave. >> reporter: at least one person died in the earthquake, another had a heart attack. it's the second strong earthquake to strike mexico this week. uganda where authorities have confirmed at least seven cases of ebola and one death. doctors say a 24-year-old man had a high fever, diarrhea, and vomited blood before he passed. uganda is scrambling to contain the outbreak. doctors don't yet have a vaccine for this strain of the virus. and hon durr ras, a court sentenced former first lady rosa

bonilla to 14 years in prison. she spent half a million dollars meant for low income children on personal expenses while her husband was president. that's the world now. several royal events happening today, prince william and princess kate are thanking staff and volunteers who helped with the queen's funeral. it's their first in person public appearance. >> australia is holding a national day of mourning. political leaders are honoring the late monarch with a service in parliament. at the same time, thousands of australians have taken to the streets to protest british e. coli colonialism. we are live in el paso, texas, hearing from migrants about their journey to the u.s. and what's next for them. you're watching "nbc news daily."

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with a rude awaken for two families in the sboi south bay when a car plowed into an apartment complex this morning on center reed near san jose. the car ended up in one family's living room and witnesses say that the car lost a tire during the crash. and flew into another condo. a parked car was damaged and one neighbor is opening up. >> i was sleeping in my bedroom and then i heard the noise, boom, just like something hitting. i thought the car hit my house. >> witnesses also tell us four young people emerged from the crashed car and ran from the scene. police confirm officers arrested the driver and say he was under the influence. no serious injuries were reported. well making it in the bay just took another hit as the fed once gep raised lending rates. >> that combined with soaring inflation is a big double-whammy. but relief will come for some

california taxpayers. ginger breaks down what you need to know. >> i'm in san francisco. we now know when you could expect the inflation relief checks. circle october 7th on your calendars. that is the first day californians will receive the middle class tax refund. you need to have filed a 2020 tax return by october of last year and you cannot be someone's dependent and live in california por more than six months and meet the income requirements. if you make less than $150,000 and have at least one depentent, you will get the full $1,050. and if you make over $150,000, you don't qualify. it is the first day of fall but the sunshine isn't going anywhere. here is vianey. >> following several days of rain. we are finally going to be in the clear, expecting lots of sunshine but also warmer temperatures. we have high pressure building

over the region. this is going to warm us up into the 80s throughout the bay area. here is a closer look at your south bay daytime highs. san jose 82. morgan hill 84 and through gilroy talking about the mid-80s. for the east bay expect to see 70s in oakland and 85 and 87 in antioch and along the pennsylvania upper 70s and a little bit of a breeze, expect winds from the west at about 14 miles per hour with daytime highs in the 70s, up through the north bay we'll be hitting the mid-80s through the afternoon. >> thanks, vianey. and here are some other stories to know about and we begin with the santa clara county jury selection in the civil trial. sheriff smith leave the courthouse yesterday in san jose. a civil jury is sided if they granted concealed weapon permits to campaign donors in exchange for special favors. she's also accused of with holding information on an investigation into a county jail inmate. smith is serving her seventh

term as sheriff and not seeking re-election. today speeches on success and climate change are set for this afternoon. a local park was rocking last night. the red hot chili peppers took the stage for the conference dream fest concert. proceeds raised went to ucsf children's hospital. and take a live look at san jose. where tonight the mayor will deliver his final state of the city address, it is happening at 6:00 at the california theater. former first lady michelle obama is going on tour and making a stop in san francisco. it is part of a six-city tour this fall in support of her new book "the light we carry, over coming in uncertain times." she'll be at the san francisco masonic auditorium december 10th. a 100-year-old peninsula woman is trending. up in war torn germany, johanna carington was not allowed to have a dog. well she's making up for lost

time ever since. she just adopted another dog. a 11-year-old named guchi. he was recently rescued from a hoarding situation by muttville senior dog rescue. they play fetch, watch tv and guchi even gets back massages. carington hopes to do something fun with guchi to celebrate her 101st birthday coming up in december. climate change continues to impact the planet and community. you could take action more simple than you think. the advice from al gore is coming up at 4:30 on nbc bay area. and does it for this edition of the fast forward. i'll be back there 30 minutes with more news. hope to see you then. bye. bye. ctuld be in effe peaceful state. full plate. wait, are you my blind date? dancing crew. trip for two. nail the final interview. buy or lease? masterpiece.

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bottom of the hour, we're talking about a city on the front line of an american crisis. >> leaders in el paso, texas, are struggling to keep up with the surge of migrants crossing the border. the mayor is sending some migrants to new york city. jose diaz-balart joins us from el paso. great to see you. you had a chance to speak with some of the migrants about efforts to send them to other parts of the country. how are they feeling? >> reporter: good afternoon. i just also spoke with the mayor of who tells me that the city is spending about $300,000 a day in

trying to help the situation with the humanitarian crisis. he says that the federal government has reimbursed the city so far that kind of money. the migrants i spoke with yesterday, kate and aaron were migrants from venezuela, including alejandro, who is a 23-year-old man who took two months walking to get to the united states, and he says that if it's the governors, if it's the federal government, whoever or whatever organization that is willing to take them to other parts of this country so they can become part of this system, they're welcoming that. >> what do you think of governors that are sending migrants to other places? >> translator: i say if they send me to somewhere, there are fewer of us, maybe it's better for us because maybe people could help us more, and maybe

one can get a better job. one can generate more family, more money to bring our families. >> reporter: and the migrants that i spoke with, all of them had heard of new york city. it's a place they say they'd love to go because it's easy to get working papers, they say, and martha's vineyard, they say that's a place they understand presidents live. jose, you also had a chance to speak exclusively with homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas about some of these immigrants being sent to these other states. what's his take on what's going on? >> reporter: he blasted the decision of the governors of arizona, of texas, and florida to move people around with no coordination. he's part of what he had to say. >> when we work in coordination with one another we address the situation ably and effectively. when a governor acts

unilaterally and refuses to coordinate with other government officials, that is when problems arise, and that is when we deplore political stuntsmanship when we're dealing with the lives of vulnerable individuals. >> reporter: vulnerable individuals like the little girl who was 5 years old who just a month ago died right here on the river as she was crossing in, and this is new mexico. this is texas. that's mexico. they had gotten here. she died. an official told me yesterday that on the mexican side they were finding bodies of little children as recently as last week. so it is a crisis that continues very, very much so. aaron and kate. >> all right, jose diaz-balart. thank you. jose's exclusive interview airs tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. eastern on msnbc. we are less than seven weeks out from the november midterms,

and sometimes these races can have a greater impact than presidential elections. >> a national political edito n explains. >> reporter: presidential elections are a big deal, but i'm going to tell you why the congressional midterms, which so many americans choose to sit out can be an even bigger deal sometimes, and i only need one example. 1994, and the dominos that fell after president bill clinton, the democratic party lost 54 seats in the house and eight seats in the senate. the worst electoral sha lack sh shellacking, it moved an aggressive president back towards the middle. clinton's first two years in the senate were a golden era. they raised taxes, increased social spending and passed an assault weapons ban. then came the humble defeat in 1994.

clinton would go on to sign the defense of marriage act, which denied federal rights to married gay couple in 17 years. a cut in the capital gains tax the following year and the country's first balanced budgets in nearly three decades. but maybe more significantly, that 1994 midterm election launched the era of political tribalism, led by the top republican in the house, newt gingrich. >> gingrich created this idea among republicans that it was, in fact, possible, and the way to get there was to draw as many sharp, distinct, and dramatic contrasts with democrats as possible. and that meant a much more sort of confrontational siel of politics. >> reporter: nbc news national political correspondent steve kornacki wrote the red and the blue. it was the start of zero sum politicking. the only way to win is to make the other side lose. >> politics of contrast that gingrich really sort of pushed

really is kind of the way it is in the house now. >> reporter: gingrich and clinton had such a divisive relationship they shut the government down in 1995. voters didn't blame the president, they blamed republicans. democrats learned the politics of division can work for them too. >> noah joins us now. we know that 94 of the high turnout back then was due to a record number of republicans turning out to vote, right? how are things different this time around? >> the "meet the press" team pointed this out this morning, enthusiasm indicators are through the roof on democratic and republican side. there is very good reason to believe that a very small number of votes in just a few key races could have an oversized impact on the future of america this time around. >> so interesting. thank you. the fight to bring online ports betting to california is now one of the costliest ballot fights in u.s. history. cnbc's contessa brewer has a look at what's at stake.

>> reporter: in near continuous campaign ads in california. >> vote yes on 27. tax online sports betting. >> reporter: on november's ballot, two separate gambling propositions. proposition 26 would legalize sports betting on tribal lands in physical sports books, and at for privately owned racetracks. proposition 27 would allow commercial operators access to offer online and mobile sports betting, in partnership with tribes. >> proposition 27 is a massive expansion of gambling. it would turn every cell phone, every computer, every laptop, tablet, gaming console into a gambling device. >> a coalition is urging voters to vote yes on 26 but no on 27 saying it erodes tribal sovereignty and benefits only out of state for profit companies. >> historically the tribes in california have had a lot of political clout and they're continuing to flex their muscles hear. they're the stewards of gaming

and i think they really want to to be done on their terms. >> reporter: the sports betting operators including fanduel, draft kings and bet mgm have joined forces and argue without a legal, regulated option, gamblers turn to illegal offshore sites. >> 65% of the u.s. is sitting in a state that hasn't been legalized. we needed to keep legalizing so that the likelihood of the temptation goes down. >> reporter: california could see as much as half a billion dollars in annual tax revenue, and gambling operators are highlighting the funds for homeless services if prop 27 passes. >> 27 means getting people off the streets and into housing. >> reporter: california's governor insists it's not a homeless initiative. it's truly about whether california is ready to expand gambling. >> the voters will ultimately make that determination in the next few weeks, so eventually the answer is, yes, we will. the question is how do we do it, and whether it happens to us or

with us. >> reporter: a poll last week from the public policy institute of california found 54% of likely voters are opposed to the measure to allow the commercial operators to compete in california. if it fails, for now we should add, gaming experts say the industry will try again and be even more aggressive because california is too big a potential market to simply surrender. >> contessa brewer, thank you. there is mixed news on the housing front. sales of previously owned homes fell for the seventh straight month in august, according to the national association of realtors. the bad news, the decline is due to higher mortgage rates cutting into affordability. here's diana olick. >> reporter: at an open house in phoenix over the weekend. >> should we do an addition or buy? >> reporter: potential buyers were nervous. >> the interest rate thing is, you know a little tough. >> reporter: tough because not only to sharply higher mortgage rates make already pricey homes even pricier.

>> would this be a good house for hide and seek? >> reporter: for current owners looking to move up. >> we have an interest rate of 2.75%, and so the idea of get ago bigger house and more than doubling our current interest rates is not particularly appealing. >> reporter: that's the main reason home sales are slowing down so quickly. sellers are no longer in the driver's seat so buyers who had no bargaining power during the red hot housing market suddenly do. >> they are therefore asking for incentives so they can help buy their rate down, and they're asking the sellers for that incentive on top of their offer they're making. >> reporter: and prices are finally coming down. they normally fall just from june to august because families buy bigger, more expensive homes in the spring so they don't have to move during school. but this year, the drop was three times what it usually is. >> okay i have seen the prices come down a little bit, so that's nice, but it's frustrating, i'm sure for a lot

of people. >> reporter: for those who still can't afford it, and even for those who can. >> reporter: and this is something we could afford, but it makes tremendously poor business sense in this environment. >> rates actually fell very slightly after the fed meeting today as investors digested the economic outlook. but the trajectory is clearly higher and while prices may be coming down a little bit, there's still very tight supply of homes for sale is not going to allow them to fall that much. there's just too much demand out there due to basic demographics and a strong labor market. back to you. >> diana olick reporting. up next, the push to retro fit dams so they can help produce electricity. produce electricity. more i have type 2 diabetes.

i've pricked my finger. . .

too many times. and my a1c was still over 9. then i got the dexcom g6. i just glance at my phone and there's my glucose number. no fingersticks. none. my diabetes is no longer a mystery. ve 2 points to 7.2. that's a huge victory. i feel like i'm calling the shots, not my diabetes. ♪ go on and check my drip. ♪ ♪ take a bite. feelin fit. ♪ ♪ we're breaking the mold. ♪

♪ estado dorado. ♪ ♪ shining like gold. ♪ ♪ estado dorado. ♪ ♪ vive en el estado dorado live in the golden state ♪ turning might not seem as common as other renewable resources like wind and solar, but there's more precipitation than ever before in parts of the u.s. because of climate change, so why aren't we using water more to our advantage? here's nbc's mora barrett. >> hydropower it's a resource often overshadowed by solar and wind. >> you think about hydropower a couple of things come to mind. one is extreme drought and the other is plumbing. those unfortunately are happening in parts of the country driven most likely by climate change.

>> reporter: because of that scientists and engineers are adapting the way water turns into power. the midwest and the northeast coast are experiencing unprecedented levels of precipitation due to climate change. that's why investments in hydropowered dams are at an all tie high. more than 50 years ago this dam was built solely for flood control. now it's been retrofitted to produce electricity with the water, which in turn can power the entire surrounding county. there are 90,000 dams across the country, but less than 3% produce power. if a non-powered dam was redesigned, they could produce enough power for up to 12 million homes. >> we have the reservoir on the side over here, and right on the other side of that earth embankment we have an intake structure, and it allows water in a large diameter tube. they come underground here and into the plant and into where the runner is actually located that spins, and then we generate

electricity. >> reporter: the red rock project in iowa is one of the first of its kind. >> basically ideally if this is running as much as it can, it enables -- >> correct, yes. >> reporter: a lengthy and expensive process, project managers say the investment in what they call a lifetime asset is worth it. >> it's there 24 hours a day. it's not like wind when the wind doesn't blow, you don't generate. when the sun doesn't shine you don't generate. >> it's not carbon neutral. we're carbon free. >> reporter: in the west where several regions are suffering from mega drought, hydropower is possible and productive through close loop storage. >> almost a water battery. what you're doing is basically developing two stand alone pools at different elevations and the water is pump uphill when there's excess energy and goes downhill and produces energy at other times. >> reporter: a man made cycle of flowing water instead of a river flowing. >> you take that, capture it and use it during the evening peak

when everyone's home from work, the sun's setting. >> whether it's stored in the west or pumped through a dam it works with other renewables. >> you've got to develop projects that can produce renewable energy 24/7. hydropower can add to that and really provide that stability and flexibility that right now can't be provided by some of those other resources. >> as the energy industry focuses on alternative power, the military is working on better ways to stand up to climate change. the air force is rebuilding tyndall air force base on the florida panhandle after it was decimated by a category 5 hurricane four years ago. and the military says building stronger is key. >> a vital u.s. air force base flattened by hurricane michael in 2018. >> it has been kind of the heart of air dominance is how we term it in the air force. we lost about 484 facilities and over 800 homes just on base

alone. >> reporter: now tindal mission is to prevail creating a first of its kind military base that directly considers resiliency against climate change. >> you're paying particular attention in the rebuild to the impact of weather and climate? in general, right? >> yeah, absolutely, and we're building up our infrastructure in many ways to be resilient to future type storms. but we're also setting new standards. >> higher standards that ensure buildings can withstand a category 5 hurricane and are protected against more intense flooding. >> we're trying to be innovative. we're trying a lot of new projects. some of them will be successful and will carry over. >> defense coming from oyster