alabama authorities searching for multiple shooters after four people were killed in birmingham. and police say they're possibly looking at a murder-for-hire scheme. the race for the white house, new nbc polling shows a tight race as talks of a second presidential debate emerge.

what each candidate is saying. reproductive rights still a major issue in the election. but some warning, a spike in pregnancy death in texas are a harbinger of what could happen in other states with strict abortion bans. new escalation between israel and hezbollah. the two continuing to exchange heavy fire this morning. we have a live report as fears grow of a regional war. and earth is about to host a new guest this fall, a mini moon. we'll tell you what it means and how long it will stick around. it's monday, september 23rd. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera. authorities are searching for multiple suspects who opened fire on a large group of people outside of a lounge in birmingham, alabama saturday. four people were killed and 17 others were injured. police have identified three of the deceased victims as 21-year-old anietra holman, 27-year-old carlos mccain, and 27-year-old taj booker.

they were pronounced dead at the scene. the fourth victim is an adult male who died at a nearby hospital. officials are still working to identify him. nbc's priya sridhar has the details. [ gunshots ] >> reporter: an urgent manhunt under way in birmingham, alabama. after authorities say shots were fired outside of a hookah and cigar lounge in a crowded entertainment district just after 11:00 p.m. saturday night. officials say multiple suspects got out of a vehicle and opened fire, killing four and injuring 17 others. >> go that way, you have to go that way! >> reporter: authorities believe the attack was targeted and say a fully automatic weapon was used before the suspects fled the scene by vehicle. >> we believe the individual talking to is among the deceased. we believe there was a hit, if you will, on that particular person as far as, you know,

someone is willing to pay money to have that person killed. >> reporter: officials relying on the community and using surveillance video in their search. >> we know there are people in our community who know what led up to this. >> reporter: garrett gunn was near the scene. >> first, what was that? a backfire or something? and then we heard two or three more. and then we heard the bap bap bap bap, bap bap bap bap bap. and literally, everybody on the patio, we hit the deck. we hit the ground. >> reporter: and as this community grapples with the tragedy, the search for the suspects goes on. >> our desire, our priority is to take killers and shooters off the streets. we owe to it the victims. we owe to it the victims' families. we owe to it the victims who are no longer with us. >> and our thanks to priya for that report. new this morning, hope of avoiding a government shutdown. speaker mike johnson says the house will vote this week on a funding bill to keep the federal government open through december 20th. this new bill does not include any part of the save act, which would have required proof of

citizenship to register to vote. the plan does include over 230 million additional dollars for the secret service. the bill can be considered on the floor as soon as wednesday. congress has until the end of the month to prevent a shutdown. we have just six weeks until the election. nbc news has a new snapshot of where the race stands. new polling suggests vice president harris leading among registered voters, but still within the margin of error. former president trump still holds advantages on the border and the economy. while harris has an advantage when it comes to being competent and having the necessary physical health. vice president harris held a fundraiser in new york city yesterday that her campaign says raised $27 million. the vice president announced she will give another speech on the economy on wednesday, and she also repeated her calls on donald trump to accept the second debate with her. the former president says voting has already begun, so it's too late for debates. in an interview sunday, mr.

trump said if he is not elected in november, he does not see himself trying again in four years. four top staff members at mark robinson campaign stepped down, including the campaign manager. while the campaign did not specify why, the republican candidate for north carolina governor has been facing increasing calls to withdraw after a cnn report alleged that robinson used racist and sexually explicit language on an adult website more than a decade ago. dasha burns has more on the scandal's potential impact on the presidential race. >> hello to north carolina. >> reporter: battleground north carolina takes center stage as the scandal and the race for governor is shaping up in already presidential contests in the critical state. >> very hard for us to win unless we're able to get north carolina. >> reporter: former president trump won the tar heel state in 2016 and again in 2020 by a narrower margin. now a poll shows a neck-and-neck

race, the survey taken before the bombshell cnn report alleging gubernatorial candidate mark robinson made lewd comments on a site ten years ago by robinson denied. josh stein tried to tie him to trump. >> look, robinson exists because donald trump has lifted him up throughout. >> reporter: trump has not rescinded his endorsement of the candidate, despite allies urging him to. his supporters are split on robinson. do you think it can have an impact? >> if it comes down to one person, that would be very disappointing. >> i think he is bad for the election. >> reporter: other north carolinians say they have bigger concerns. >> for me, it's the economy. i mean, we're retired and we feel it. >> i think we need to change. i think money is going out too fast. i think we need a big change. >> reporter: political science professor eric heberling from the university of north carolina says a harris win here would give her another path to the

white house. >> democrats have really relied on the upper midwestern states, wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania to pull them over the top. haven't had a whole lot of luck in the south. now with north carolina and georgia and arizona potentially in play, that gives harris options. >> and our thanks to dasha for that report. israel and hezbollah in lebanon are continuing to trade fire. the idf says hezbollah launched 150 rockets, missiles, and drains into israel. no one was killed. meanwhile, the death toll from an israeli strike in beirut has risen to 45. the israeli says they were targeting senior hezbollah commanders. for the latest, let's go to claudio lavanga. good morning, claudio. what more do we know? >> good morning, frances. the israeli defense forces early this morning said today they launched a new wave of air strikes against hezbollah targets in the south of lebanon after they identified plans of a

large scale rocket fired towards israel. yesterday's air strikes from israel, again, they carried out dozens of air strikes against hezbollah launcher, military infrastructures in the south of lebanon, following as you mentioned, the firing of dozens of rockets by hezbollah into israel. now most of them are intercepted, but some of them landed in israel, in the north of israel, destroying or damaging homes and cars. now the exchange of fire as it usually happens was followed by a war of words between the two factions. now hezbollah said that they carried out their attack on sunday as retaliation against the israeli air strike in the suburbs of beirut on friday, they killed at least 45 people, including a senior leader of hezbollah while -- and also said they are entering a new phase defined by an openreckoning whi the prime minister benjamin

netanyahu responded by saying they inflicted hezbollah blows they did not imagine. the united nations is warning because of the escalation of the conflict, the region is at risk of an imminent catastrophe, and the state department has warned american citizens living in lebanon to leave lebanon as soon as possible while they said commercial options are still available. back to you, frances. >> claudio lavanga for us, claudio, thank you. a jetblue flight made an intelligence landing in kansas this weekend after pilots were alerted to smoke in the cargo hold. the plane carrying 130 passengers landed at salina regional airport without incident. the alert ended up being a false alarm and no injuries were reported. the federal aviation administration said it will investigate. all right. let's check in now on the weather where a named system could be coming in the next couple of days. nbc meteorologist violeta yas is tracking the tropics force. good morning. >> good morning. we've got one wave off of

africa, also with a pretty good chance of intensification at 70% over the next seven days. but of course of closer concern to us here is this suburbs, this area of showers and thunderstorms here across the western caribbean sea with a 90% chance of development through the next seven days. so this is likely going to eventually be helene in the future. so we could be looking at a tropical depression or a storm here through the course of the next couple of days before this eventually starts to move into the gulf of mexico. of course, this is something we're going to be watching a little bit more long-term here. so in terms of which direction this is going to go in, still a lot of time to sort out the details. you can see some of our forecast models track this westward towards louisiana, for example. some others bring it up through the florida panhandle and others into florida. this is something there along the gulf coast that folks are going to have to watch closely through the course of the next seven days. we're talking pretty quiet conditions for today, but a chance of showers across the ues

with highs into the 90s here from southern texas into some of the rest of the gulf states. and that's a quick peek at your regional weather, frances. >> appreciate, that violeta. see you in a bit. patrick mahomes, passes were falling down like pieces in a play on sunday night football. >> and mahomes, it's complete. it's race to the end zone for the kansas city touchdown. . >> the super bowl mvp kept his chiefs undefeated to start the season, throwing two touchdowns against the atlanta falcons while kirk cousins threw an early touchdown, the two were unable to create last week's monday night magic. the falcons consider stuffed by the chiefs defense on a last

gasp drive as kc was able to escape with a victory, 22-17. coming up, an nbc news exclusive on the maternal mortality crisis in texas. with the state's near total ban could mean for women. as a prosecutor, i never asked a victim or a witness: 'are you a republican or a democrat?' the only thing i ever asked them: 'are you ok?' and that's the kind of president we need right now — someone who cares about you and is not putting themselves first. i intend to be a president

for all americans, and focus on investing right now in you, the american people. and we can chart a new way forward. i'm kamala harris and i approve this message. now an nbc news exclusive about the troubling maternal mortality crisis unfolding in texas and fears that the near total abortion ban in the state could push pregnancy-related deaths even higher. zinhle essamuah reports. >> reporter: what was your first pregnancy like? >> it was just so textbook. >> reporter: but katelyn cash's subsequent forget schwirse anything but. in 2023, the 37-year-old from texas almost died giving birth to her healthy daughter. >> i just kept laying there thinking i'm never going to name that baby. >> reporter: after her placenta failed to deliver, katelyn says she continued bleeding, and according to her doctor needed a

dnc, which is often part of an abortion, but can be necessary in other circumstances. katelyn says she waited more than an hour for doctors to do the procedure, but her condition continued to deteriorate until she lost consciousness and needed a blood transfusion. she says the delay was later explained by a social worker. >> she just kind of goes oh, yeah, we don't do dncs anymore. >> reporter: katelyn nearly became part of an alarming trend. a new analysis of the cdc data from the gender equity policy institute exclusive to nbc news reveals texas saw a 56% rise in maternal mortal between 2019 and 2022 compared to an 11% uptick nationwide. every demographic went up, but the biggest increase was among white women, up 95%. texas passed a total abortion ban in 2021. 13 other states followed suit after the dobbs decision. is texas a bit of a canary in the coal mine when it comes to this issue? >> we have to pay attention to the data coming out of texas.

texas i fear is a harbinger of what's to come. >> reporter: in texas, abortions are still allowed to save a pregnant woman's life. you have practiced in women's health for otver a decade. how does it feel for you working out of texas now? >> very different. >> reporter: doctors like leah tatum are advised to use their best judgment. but if a court later rules they got it wrong, they risk losing their medical license, life in prison or $100,000 in fines. is it clear to you when you can perform an abortion and when you cannot? >> no. no, not really. so there is just this hesitancy that you can feel practicing in texas. >> reporter: the cashes believe it's a systemic hesitancy that contributed to katelyn's experience. >> i went into that delivery room with a doula and health insurance and i'm white, and i have a masters degree of education. i went in with every privilege you could think of, and that still happened to me.

>> reporter: now katelyn advocates for abortion rights. what do you feel when you look at your daughter? >> i feel deeply saddened and guilty about the future that i'm giving her. i get up every day, and i tell these stories, and i relive this trauma because i'm going to tell her i did everything i could for her. >> reporter: zinhle essamuah, nbc news, austin, texas. still to come, beetlejuice beats out optimus prime at the box office. and some say we ghmit be seeing oasis on the big screen. a behind-the-scenes look at their tour. vy edges that tear so much better. i'm starting to get tearied away. designed with smooth tear edges, charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better for a smooth more enjoyable go. plus it has more cushiony softness

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times. "beetlejuice beetlejuice" topped the box office for the third week in a row, scaring up another $26 million. the ghost with the most edged "transformers one." it took in 25 million in its debut and "speak no evil" falling to third in the second weekend with $5.9 million. and i get the draw of beetlejuice. i bet you, we're talking about halloween costumes, there are going to be a gazillion beetlejuices. >> it's going to be the one for this year. your are right. the concerts that are so big they can't be contained to the stage. on saturday, uk paper the sun reported that oasis are in talks with apple tv+ about their highly anticipated tour next year. the behind-the-scenes look would take inspiration from similar films such as "the beatles getback documentary." the gallagher brothers will be playing their first shows in over 15 years across the uk and

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are contributing to the outbreak. boosters are recommended every ten years as efficacy waynes. americans can soon order free covid tests from the government. household also be able to get up to four rapid tests. the date when has not yet been announced. as a prosecutor, i never asked a victim or a witness: 'are you a republican or a democrat?' the only thing i ever asked them: 'are you ok?' and that's the kind of president we need right now —

someone who cares about you and is not putting themselves first. i intend to be a president for all americans, and focus on investing right now in you, the american people. and we can chart a new way forward. i'm kamala harris and i approve this message. we are back with something new coming into our orbit. it's bigger than a giraffe, and it will loop around us. no, it's not aliens. instead, a mini moon. but what does that even mean? come tom costello means.

>> reporter: so is the earth getting a second moon? kind of. starting later this month a rare mini moon is going to briefly orbit our planet and then go off on its way. not all relationships can last forever, and this one has an expiration date, november 25th, according to scientists. so i know what you're thinking. why on earth is a mini moon? we're going to let an expert explain. >> a mini moon is any asteroid that is temporarily captured by the earth. so for this case, we're going to have a mini money for about two months as this asteroid makes one loop. and once it's moved on, once it's no longer controlled by our own gravity, it will go back to being just a normal asteroid. >> reporter: this asteroid called 2024 pt5 is 33 feet long and billions of years old, but was only recently discovered. the thing is, asteroids, especially small ones like this are hard to spot in our night

sky. usually they're dim and moving very fast. you'll really only be able to see this one even when it gets close with professional equipment. and you may be wondering if this thing, the size of small trailer home, is getting near enough to earth that it will be redirected by our very gravity, could it hit us? scientists promise that won't happen. >> this one is coming not even within the orbit of our normal regular-sized moon. and even if it did, add 33 feet across if it were to impact the earth, it would blow up in our atmosphere. would be a tremendous explosion, roughly the equivalent of a nuclear bomb going off but in our upper atmosphere. >> we've actually had many moons before. in 2022 and in the '80s. but they're super rare, and now we'll get one more. for just two fleeting glorious months, it will orbit around us. not a honeymoon, just a mini

moon. and once time is up, it will zoom away. >> loving this. to the mini moon and back. our thanks to tom costello for that report. before we go, here is a look ahead. thinking morning on the third hour "today" we are talk health think sleep habits as we head into the fall. plus, bill gates is live in studio 1a. and zachary quint toe stops by to tell us about his new nbc medical drama. all this on the third hour of "today." thanks for watching "early today" and starting off ur week with yous

with just weeks left until election day, new polling suggests a race between donald trump and kamala harris is tighter than ever. we're live from d.c. with where each has an advantage and whether we could see another debate. american citizens being told to get out of lebanon as