i came to bayview hunter's point, where there was only one pediatrician to serve more than 10,000 children. daniel lurie said, i'm going to help. we opened a clinic for our most vulnerable children. i have worked shoulder to shoulder with him as we have brought solutions where people thought the problem was unsolvable. daniel doesn't take excuses. he holds himself accountable. and i know that he can do it for the city of san francisco. today, the path of destruction for hurricane francine, power knocked out to hundreds of thousands in the south. the new images, towns underwater after francine roared ashored in louisiana as a category 2

hurricane. heavy rain, powerful winds knocking down trees onto homes, the dramatic rescues. and tonight francine's remnants on the move. millions under flood alerts. our team in the storm zone. also tonight a state of emergency declared as raging wildfires spread in southern california. dozens of homes destroyed, the race to escape the flames. an alaska airlines plane slams the brakes on during takeoff avoiding a potential collision with a southwest airplane cleared to land on the same runway. the faa investigation. the race for the white house. donald trump now saying there won't be another debate, as he and kamala harris hit the campaign trail for the first time since tuesday's showdown. both candidates and key battlegrounds they hope to flip. the awe-inspiring images from space. the first ever private space

walk. and the life saving scene playing out on live tv, as hurricane francine hit. the hero e.r. nurse who came to the rescue speaking out to us. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening and welcome. 24 hours after hurricane francine roared ashore in louisiana as a category 2 storm, they are still trying to get all the lights back on. places like baton rouge and new orleans taking strong hits. winds gusting to nearly 80 miles an hour, bringing down trees and power lines. by mid-afternoon today, 285,000 homes and businesses across louisiana were still without power. but it was the rain, torrents of rain, that triggered widespread flooding, worse than residents tell us they expected. 5 to 7 inches recorded in new orleans. some pockets seeing up to 8 inches of rain. the rapid flooding leaving many

people trapped, forcing some urgent rescues. the remnants of the storm moving inland now but still dangerous, as kathy park reports. >> reporter: tonight towns across southern louisiana are picking up the pieces after a damaging blow from hurricane francine. overnight the powerful system slammed into louisiana's gulf coast with damaging winds and drenching rain. power knocked out to thousands. the town of homa taking the brunt of the category 2 storm. >> a lot of wind-driven rain, a lot of high winds, which ultimately resulted in about seven different rescues during the height of the storm. >> reporter: francine weakened to a tropical depression this morning. >> we, as of right now, have no reports of any storm-related fatalities, and we want to keep it that way. >> mother nature is unpredictable. >> reporter: dan stevens says his store survived ida in 2021. and while francine was a weaker storm, they took a bigger hit. what was your reaction when you came out here? >> wow.

you would think a small storm like that would not do this. >> reporter: this tree crashed into a power line behind david mound's home. >> i heard this cracking and popped and i suspected it was one of the trees. >> reporter: and next door, albert shore says the storm nearly took his life. >> we was prepared for it but we was not prepared for this. >> we heard a loud boom. all the ceiling just had fell down. >> reporter: francine packing a powerful punch and now on the move again. >> kathy joining us now from hard-hit homa, louisiana. kathy, as we mentioned at the top of the broadcast, the threat from this storm isn't over. >> reporter: lester, that's right. what's left of francine is now on the move headed north toward the tennessee valley. so, flooding as well as tornados are a possibility. meanwhile, here in louisiana, as you can see, there's still a big cleanup ahead, and thousands are still without power tonight. lester? >> kathy park, thank you. we'll turn now from the storm to the raging wildfires in the west.

california expanding its state of emergency, as dangerous heat fuels three massive infernos. dozens of homes destroyed. our dana griffin is in the fire zone tonight. >> reporter: high fire danger across the west. >> we hope the winds don't shift, and, you know, we're still worried. >> reporter: five million people under red flag warnings, as low humidity and gusty winds threaten to spread existing fires. >> there's still a potential for more people to be disrupted, and heaven forbid, anybody to be injured or killed. >> reporter: firefighters pushing back flames in four southern california counties. governor gavin newsom extending the emergency declaration after touring the fire zone. after those fires exploded overnight tuesday, harrowing tales of survival. as the bridge fire chewed

through wrightwood, california -- >> the whole south side of mountain high was fully engulfed and had tried multiple times to call 911, couldn't get through to them. >> reporter: so, chris durant drove to the fire department. >> i showed them pictures of where it was and everything. and they immediately said, okay, we're going to get right on it. >> reporter: the smoke leaving air unhealthy to breathe, a weekend music festival now canceled. and today investigators had suspected arsonist, justin halstenberg with nine charges, accusing him of starting the line fire. >> i can assure the public we're going to go hard on this case. >> reporter: he has not entered a plea. if convicted, the d.a. says he could go away for life. his family declined to comment. >> dana joins us from riverside county where the airport fire, as it's known, spread from a neighboring county. dana, i understand this blaze was sparked by accident. >> reporter: that's right, lester. you can see the devastation. these homes can go up within minutes. it was actually an orange county public works crew that used heavy equipment sparking this fire. they are now reviewing their policies. lester?

>> all right, dana, thank you. just in tonight a close call on the runway in nashville. an alaska airlines plane blowing out its tires when it slammed on the brakes to avoid a collision with a southwest plane. and it comes as we hear for the first time from the hero fedex pilots who avoided another near miss last year. here's erin mclaughlin. >> reporter: today at the nashville airport, an alaska airlines flight aborted and plane tires blown out, after a southwest flight was cleared to cross from the same runway, according to the faa. >> cancel takeoff. >> reporter: alaska airlines say the pilots immediately applied the brakes, the stop so abrupt the plane tires deflated due to heat buildup from the rapid stop. no one was injured and the passengers deplaned. the ntsb and faa are investigating. >> the whole tale is off. >> reporter: the news days after a slow speed collision after

atlanta's hartsfield-jackson airport, when a delta airbus bound for tokyo hit a much smaller regional jet, knocking off its tail. >> you could hear the metal scraping against the outside of the plane, and it was shaking really badly. >> southwest, abort. fedex is on the go. >> reporter: there have been a number of close calls on runways across the country, including this near miss in austin last year, a southwest airlines flight cleared for takeoff and a fedex cleared to land from the same foggy runway. >> there's no visibility so you can't see the other airplanes. >> reporter: today for the first time, the fedex pilots spoke out. >> never did i imagine the plane was going to be right there. i thought at worst case he would be at the end of the runway about to liftoff. >> reporter: tonight there is relief but also concern after news of another close call. erin mclaughlin, nbc news.

we'll turn now to the race for the white house. former president trump today saying he will not agree to another debate with vice president harris, as both candidates hit the campaign trail for the first time since tuesday's faceoff. gabe gutierrez is in north carolina tonight. >> reporter: tonight, duelling rallies in critical battleground states on opposite sides of the country. vice president harris in north carolina. >> while donald trump is trying to pull our nation backward, we are fighting for the future. >> reporter: former president trump in arizona. >> kamala harris showed up spewing empty rhetoric. >> reporter: he says tuesday's fiery debate with harris will be their last. >> because we've done two debates and because they were successful, there will be no third debate. >> reporter: but harris wants another. >> we owe it to the voters to have another debate. >> reporter: her campaign says it's entering an aggressive new phase in trying to flip north carolina, which democrats haven't won since 2008. >> donald trump intends to end the affordable care act. he has no plan to replace it.

he said -- he said, concepts of a plan. >> reporter: harris' team now ramping up its push for younger voters. today we met this group from wake forest university. they say enthusiasm is surging since president biden dropped out. >> having someone who looks like you, who has the same values as you, on the ticket is encouraging and exciting. >> what do you make of her shift to the center on some positions? >> i think she's doing what politicians do, which is try to represent every person in america. >> reporter: while former president going after harris' record on the economy. >> i'm angry about rampant inflation destroying the middle class. and the american people are also very angry about that. >> reporter: trump supporters say he delivered at this week's debate. >> i think trump won because he hit all the marks. he touched on all the points that i think americans are looking to hear about. >> she didn't tell us what her agenda was or what she was going to do for us.

she just talked. >> and gabe joining us now from that harris rally in greensboro. and gabe, the vice president will be getting some heavy weight help on the fundraising side. >> reporter: yes, lester. three sources familiar with the matter tell nbc news that hillary clinton and barack obama will hold fund-raisers next week for vice president harris. meanwhile a judge today dropped two counts against former president trump in his georgia election interference case. he still faces eight more in that case. lester? >> all right. gabe gutierrez, thank you. there is growing fallout from something former president trump said during the debate pushing a baseless claim about haitian immigrants in ohio. today in the city at the center of it all, a rash of bomb threats. our yamiche alcindor is there. yamiche, good evening.

>> reporter: good evening. that's right. today here in springfield, bomb threats led authorities to evacuate city hall and a number of other buildings, including an elementary school. officials say they are working with the fbi to investigate. it's not clear who made the threats or whether they were connected to the baseless claims about haitian immigrants abusing pets. white house press secretary carine jean-pierre called the comments very bizarre and very hateful smear. meanwhile, some residents were so concerned with the tension that they kept their children home from school. lester? >> yamiche alcindor tonight. thank you. there is another controversial claim often heard from the right that undocumented immigrants are voting in america's elections. but is there any evidence to back it up? julia ainslie with our "vote watch" report. >> reporter: on the debate stage -- >> a lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, they're trying to get them to vote. >> reporter: -- and at campaign stops across the country -- >> they're not citizens. they're not allowed to do it. it's illegal as hell. >> reporter: -- former president trump frequently repeats false claims about migrants voting. >> they can't speak a word of english for the most part, but they're signing them up.

>> reporter: that's not true. it's illegal for non-u.s. citizens to vote for president or in any federal election. and there have been few recorded incidents of non-citizens trying to vote illegally. there's also no evidence of anyone trying to get undocumented migrants to vote, according to experts. those 17 cities and towns allow people who are not citizens to vote locally, including in d.c., where non-citizens, even those here illegally, can vote in local elections. >> here at this voter registration fair in d.c., any d.c. resident can register to vote, even if they're not an american citizen. but when they get to the polls, they'll be given a different ballot, like this one, that only lists local candidates for positions like the school board and city council. >> i do not have a driving license or a social security. >> we changed the law to make sure that all local residents are able to have a vote and have a say in their government and in the decisions they make. >> reporter: charles allen is on the d.c. city council. >> could you be registered in another country and vote here? >> reporter: you would have to

be a resident here and claim residency here for more than 30 days. so, we've seen hypotheticals where people throw things like that out and they just don't happen. >> reporter: the state of texas says it found almost 2,000 non-citizens who have previously voted, but it's unclear if they've been charged. and liberal advocacy groups question the claims. still, the laws allowing non-citizens to vote locally have sparked backlash across the country and fueled trump's claim of widespread migrant voting, which have been echoed by elon musk and conservative media hosts, and inspired a bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. >> if you see the form, you just check a box. so, non-citizens are on voter rolls. >> reporter: the right to vote now under an even sharper spotlight as the election looms. julia ainsley, nbc news, washington. in just 60 seconds, the history-making moment high above the earth. the all-civilian crew on the first ever private space walk. the incredible images are next. . and show off clearer skin and less itch with dupixent,

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hundreds of miles above earth, as the crew of the "polaris dawn" opened their spaceship to the blackness of space to perform the first ever space walk by private astronauts. tom costello with the awe-inspiring images. >> now opening dragon resilience into space. >> reporter: it happened somewhere over australia and new zealand. >> i have a feeling the crowd is about to go wild. >> reporter: for the first time ever, a commercial astronaut, jared isaacman, opened the hatch to his spacex ship, then stepped into the blackness of space. >> back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. but from here, earth sure looks like a perfect world. >> reporter: this was the riskiest part of a five day mission, orbiting five times higher than the space station. and without an air lock, all "polaris dawn" astronauts had to

suit up before opening the ship to the vacuum of space. though today's space walk really more of a space stretch. >> these are the checks that jared is performing. >> reporter: as isaacman and sarah gillis tested their brand-new space suits that astronauts might one day wear on the moon. already they've climbed 870 miles above the earth, the furthest humans have travelled since the apollo missions and the first time women have travelled so far, conducting research and testing new technologies, and posting, hello earth, on x, using new laser light communications. nasa chief bill nelson said today represents a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry. senator and retired astronaut mark kelly. >> this expands the ability for commercial operations, and we're moving to commercialize more of especially low earth orbit. >> reporter: and just maybe the final frontier.

tom costello, nbc news, washington. >> glad they could hang on. up next, olympic gymnast jordan chiles breaking her silence, when her bronze medal was taken away on a technicality. s also a work thin. i just need someone to cover my shift. [ cellphone buzzes ] -yup, so is mine. alan says your business vehicle is now covered with progressive. protected 24/7 -- just like your home and auto. oh, that's great! so dinner time is just phone time now? sorry... you know i heard that ground turkey is the healthiest poultry. you know what, never mind. just be on your phones. always dry scoop before you run. listen to me, the hot dog diet got me shredded. it's time we listen to science. one a day is formulated with key nutrients to support whole body health. one a day. science that matters. dawn is flipping the way america does dishes. dawn platinum ez-squeeze it's an upside-down bottle with no cap. just grab, squeeze and platinum's upgraded formula.

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ask your doctor or pharmacist about the pfizer vaccine for pneumococcal pneumonia. it w it was one of the biggest controversies out of the paris olympic games. now team usa gymnast jordan chiles is opening up about her heartbreak after her bronze medal was stripped away. we get more from stephanie gosk. >> at the vmas -- >> you know what?

>> reporter: rapper flavor flav showing his support for gymnast jordan chiles. >> -- i got you something that they can't take away from you. >> reporter: but for chiles, the emotional roller coaster of winning and then being stripped of an olympic bronze medal is not over. >> the biggest thing that was taken from me was -- that it was the recognition of who i was. >> reporter: the two-time olympian opening up on camera for the first time at the forbes power women's summit about the controversy and backlash online, including racist comments. >> to me, everything that has gone on is not about the medal. it's about, you know, that my skin color -- i felt like everything, like, has been stripped. >> reporter: in paris, chiles finished fifth in the floor exercise final at first. >> there has been an inquiry put in. >> reporter: her coach challenged the score.

>> a change in numbers. >> reporter: with the revision, a shock to chiles, moved up to third and won bronze. but days later, that celebration turned into frustration. the court of arbitration for sport ruled team usa's challenge was made four seconds too late, stripping chiles of the medal and giving the bronze to romanian ana barbosa. chiles calling it devastating. >> i followed the rules. my coach followed the rules. >> reporter: the u.s. olympic committee says it is pursuing an appeal. chiles says she is determined to stay positive. >> i'm going to shine bright because the star is never going to get dimmed. and i'm always just going to keep walking forward. >> what a roller coaster, stephanie. this isn't over, right? there's an appeal process. where does that stand? >> it's not over. but usa gymnastics won't say whether they have actually filed the appeal. if an appeal is filed, it could take months to resolve, which would mean jordan chiles would be stuck in this limbo for a long time. and you can tell from those comments it has not been easy for her. >> it's good to hear from her.

stephanie, thanks so much. coming up, the good news tonight about the e.r. nurse who saved a man on live tv as hurricane francine raged. he speaks out to us next. i needed more from my antidepressant. vraylar helped give it a lift. adding vraylar to an antidepressant is clinically proven to help relieve overall depression symptoms better than an antidepressant alone. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles, or confusion, as these may be life-threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, weight gain, and high cholesterol may occur. movement dysfunction and restlessness are common side effects. stomach and sleep issues, dizziness, increased appetite, and fatigue are also common. side effects may not appear for several weeks. i didn't have to change my treatment.

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that i'm doing something about it like millions of others. preservision. finally, there's good news tonight. a hero e.r. nurse speaking to us after saving a man's life on live tv at the height of hurricane francine. here's jesse kirsch. >> reporter: with hurricane francine hammering new orleans, the city told people to stay home.

this is why. >> that water is almost to the window of that pickup truck right there. >> reporter: nbc affiliate wdsu was life on the air, as this pickup truck wound up in feet-deep flood waters, floating and spinning with a man trapped inside. reporter jonah gilmore alerted police. >> officer, they have a truck right here. >> my brother texted me saying somebody had just driven into the water. >> reporter: miles crawford lives close by. the university medical center nurse grabbed a hammer and walked into the water. >> it looks like they're climbing out of the backseat right now. that guy just broke that window. >> reporter: the man escaped with difficulty. >> oh, my goodness. he just fell in the water. that good samaritan is helping. >> reporter: as the pair moved toward high crowd, the fire department arrived. then we learned about miles crawford and his humility. >> i'm a nurse, so got to save lives, right? >> there's a real difference between someone being brought to you in a hospital and you

putting your life at risk in flood water. >> that was easy compared to what goes on behind these doors right here. we just do the best we can with the situation at hand. be kind to others and if you're able to help them, help them out. >> reporter: kindness, exactly what so many in louisiana could use tonight. jesse kirsch, nbc news, new orleans. that's "nightly news" for this thursday. thank you for watching. i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night. >> that's guy holding on to the pole. that's the life saving good samaritan right here.

what we're learning about the events that led to the shots being fired. good afternoon everyone. i'm janelle wang