i'm frances rivera. have a great weekend.

breaking overnight, an economic crisis averted. u.s. breaking overnight, an economic crisis averted. u.s. ports firing back up this morning after dockworkers struck a tentative deal to end their strike. we're live with the details and how it could impact your wallet. desperation setting in. one week after hurricane helene, the race to deliver relief cut off by the monster storm as hopes dwindle in the search for survivors. shocking allegations against a country super star. garth brooks accused of sexual assault. the singer breaking his silence. barnstorming the battleground states with 31 days until the election. liz cheney backing kamala harris in a bipartisan push while donald trump digs in. we're live on the campaign trail. and, one of the last big economic releases ahead of the election. what to expect from the september jobs report due out in just hours.

and a thursday night thriller. the falcons send off the buccaneers in an overtime stunner. we have the highlights to kick off friday, october 4th. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm frances rivera. we begin with breaking news. dockworkers along the east and gulf coast are hidedeaded back work after reaching a tentative agreement on wages. the u.s. maritime alliance and the international long shore mens asocsociation have agreed end the work stoppage until january 15. it would raise wages 61.5% over six years while automation talks are still under way. ports from maine to texas have been shut down since monday night, raising supply chain concerns. president biden thursday praised both sides for getting a tentative deal done that reopens the ports. we'll have more on this with cnbc's charlotte reed in just a few minutes. the united states has

organized a second flight out of lebanon for americans. up to 250 citizens and their immediate family members have now fled the war-torn country on special chartered airplanes. the state department spokesperson said the u.s. would continue to evacuate americans by air. all this as israel expands its ground operations in the south of lebanon. and the bombing of the capital city beirut. for the latest, let's turn to claudio lavanga. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, frances. according to the lebanese authorities, at least 37 people were killed on thursday and another at least 151 were injured during that new wave of airstrikes carried out by israel on the south of lebanon and also in some of the suburbs of the capital, beirut, bringing the total death toll now since this conflict began in lebanon to almost 2,000. now the idf, the israeli defense force, has also issued on thursday evening more evacuation

warnings for people, residents living in some of the suburbs in beirut and essentially announcing another overnight of bombings. let's move down south to the border between israel and lebanon, where the frontline of the war is, and there is still fierce fighting there. but, for the first time, two soldiers from the lebanese regular lebanese army were killed by israeli forces. one at its outpost on the border and the other with his fellow foot soldiers as he was trying to help residents of a border town to evacuate the area. lebanon was not the only place that israel bombed and carried out airstrikes on yesterday. on thursday, also there were airstrikes on the west bank, according to local authorities there. 18 people were killed in that airstrike. now the idf did not give specifics of that hit. but the palestinian national initiative said that the

airstrike hit a calf tfe in a refugee camp. three former memphis police officers were convicted of witness tampering in the tyre nichols federal case. nichols was brutally beaten by five officers after a traffic stop in january of last year. he died dayslater. the defendants now face up to 20 years in prison. none of them were found guilty of the more serious count of excessive force and failure to intervene, which could have resulted in life in prison. two other ex-officers in the case have already taken plea deals. one of them admitted nichols was, quote, helpless when they beat him. country star garth brooks now facing a california lawsuit alleging sexual assault and battery. in the suit, a hair and makeup artist who worked for brooks identified only as jane roe accused him of exposing himself to her and raping her in 2019. her legal team accuses brooks of

trying to silence her with a preemptive complaint filed in mississippi. brooks team confirms he filed the mississippi complaint where he denies the accusation and accuses roe of defamation and extortion. he said he felt hassled for many months. it's like having a loaded gun waved in my face. brooks is seeking damages and a declaration that the allegations against him are untrue. the movie "rust", will make its world premiere at the film festival in poland. halyna hutchins was killed when a prop gun alec baldwin was holding went off. baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but the case against him was dismissed in july. the festival plans to honor her legacy. old photographs have come out of republican candidate mike lawler wearing black face. he was dressed as michael

jackson at a halloween party. he was 20 at the time. lawler put out an apology saying in part, my costume was intended as the sincerest form of flattery. a genuine homage to one of my childhood idols. for anyone who takes jooffense the photo, i am sorry. he was elected in 2022 and i facing off against his democras running for reelection this year facing off against his democrat opposition. donald trump is going to georgia to tour the devastation left by hurricane helene, while vice president harris is heading to battleground michigan, a day after taking the stage with a prominent republican. alice barr is in d.c. with the latest. this is a sight that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. >> reporter: frances, it's just another sign of how unusual this campaign season is. and has been. the daughter of former republican vice president dick cheney took the stage with the

current vp. liz cheney backed harris at an event in rippon, wisconsin, commonly known as the birth place of the republican party. the former congresswoman made a spirited appeal to republican and independent voters, calling former president trump a threat unlike any we have faced before. >> above all else, i know that the most conservative of conservative values is fidelity to our constitution. i tell you, i have never voted for a democrat. but this year i am proceedly casting my vote for vice president kamala harris. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: cheney voted to impeach trump in 2021 in the wake of the january 6 capitol attack. her speech came on the heels of a new filing by special counsel jack smith, arguing that the former president should not be immune from prosecution for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. mr. trump last night arguing the

filing was political, while doubling down on false claims of election fraud during a rally in michigan. >> it was a rigged election. it was a rigged election. you have to tell kamala harris that's why i'm doing it again. if i thought i lost i wouldn't be doing this again. >> reporter: later today, vice president harris will hold a campaign event in michigan, while former president trump tours damage from hurricane helene in georgia and north carolina. and tomorrow the former president returns to butler, pennsylvania to hold a rally at the same site of his attempted assassination in july. frances? >> alice barr for us, thank you. it has now been one week since helene began its path of destruction across the southeast. the death toll now rising to at least 215, as hope fades in the search for survivors. sam brock is in hard-hit asheville, north carolina. >> reporter: after hurricane helene battered large sections

of the south, the search for those unaccounted fort continue. >> the water rose so fast i had to grab a post and hold on. >> reporter: the devastating death totals only expected to grow. so far 215 fatalities confirmed across six different states, from florida's pinellas county to georgia. then there's north carolina, where more than a hundred have died. and search and rescue efforts have taken some miraculous turns. former nascar driver greg biffle using a private helicopter to deliver supplies, spotting a stranded survivor, only because he was hoisting a mirror, also in the mountains. employees of sky fire a.i. firing up their drones and showing us how they work with governments and even private companies to locate the missing. >> aid for local law enforcement to help search and rescue, to help find routes, to better get aid in and out.

>> reporter: we take a bird's-eye view of the destruction in burnsville, north carolina an hour outside of asheville. >> there's been a lot of search and rescue in this area. i know it's been very difficult for them to get up here. this is one of the areas that still needs a lot of supplies to get moved in. >> reporter: on this day, choppers, likely medevacs fly overhead as the team shows us roads that have been buckled, broken and chopped off. all the while, families wait. >> we've had conversations with people who haven't seen their loved ones in a week. and that's completely heartbreaking. >> reporter: their efforts even helping companies like cvs who determine road and bridge status so they can get medications to patients in need quickly and search for several employees who are unaccounted for following the storm. the damage on the ground, in this case an access bridge by a local quarry that's all but gone, indicative of the challenges that remain for restoring infrastructure like water. swannanoa fire chief, addressing the pipes. >> i don't think there's a word

to describe it. i don't know how long this is going to take. >> reporter: for so many, the road ahead is long, but the mere survival is something to celebrate. >> the front door, the water pushed it in. it pushed in the back door. within 30 seconds it went from the ground to neck level. >> reporter: sam brock, nbc news, asheville, north carolina. now to the fall heat wave hitting much of the country. angie lassman is tracking those temperatures. >> it's another warm one across parts of the southwest. we've got 29 million people under alerts from phoenix, stretching up to san francisco, including l.a. speaking of phoenix, it's been ten straight days of record highs for folks there. and we'll take another run at a record high this afternoon as well with 109 set for the afternoon temperature. las vegas expected to break a record as well with 102. and that heat continues into tomorrow. more of those record highs possible. and a little farther east, pueblo, all into the 90s. it sticks with us as we get into the later parts of the weekend.

we'll finally start to see a little bit of improvement by late next week. as far as the gulf coast is concerned, we have some of these tropical downpours thanks to a system we could see develop maybe by monday. we'll see heavy rain across the gulf coast. and that's something we watch into the in san antonio. showers and thunderstorms in the forecast for corporaus christi. upper 80s in orlando. low 80s for charleston. 81 with mostly-cloudy skies in charlotte today. and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you. "early today" is back in a minute with a preview of a critical september jobs report. critical september jobs report. an

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the september jobs report is due out in the september jobs report is due out in just a few hours. but first, back to our "top story." the port strike is over this morning after the union struck a deal on wage increases. for the details, let's turn to cnbc's charlotte reed. good morning, charlotte. >> good morning, frances. well, east and gulf coast ports are beginning to reopen after dockworkers and port operators reached a tentative deal, putting an end to a strike that started just three days ago. now this was the first major work stoppage by the international longshoremen association since 1977. sources told cnbc as part of the deal wages would increase around 62% over six years, raising the average wages to about $63 per hour, from 39. the contract has been extended until january 15 to give them

extra time to continuet negotiations. one of the issues is port automation. it will take about two weeks to clear out the backlog. we're expecting the economic data with september jobs report released later this morning. it is expected like in august to show a gradual slow down compared to last year. non-farm payrolls are expected to show a growth of 150,000 jobs with a steady unemployment rate of 4.2%. the market will be watching this data closely to try to get hints what could be the next stipeps r the sterldfederal reserve. still to come, the real slim shady gets some real good news from his daughter.

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with kind of the not-so-friendly always sunny. it's going to be funny how they do it. now to a relation that made slim shady lose it. eminem released a video with a tribute to his daughter haley. it ends with haley giving marshall a custom detroit lions jersey that reads grandpa on the back with an ultrasound photo. he is shown to be emotional at the reveal that he's about to become a grandfather. if this doesn't make you feel old, i don't know what will. he's written so many songs about her. what a cool chapter to embark together on. >> and bring us along for the ride throughout all these years and milestones. when we come back, the shortage of eli lilly's popular weight loss drug ends. weight loss drug ends. and

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here's what's making headlines this morning. for th here's what's making headlines this morning. for the first time since 2022, the fda says a shortage of mounjaro and zepbound is now over. according to a new study, the widespread use of fluoride in toothpaste and mouthwash may be diminishing the results of water fluoridation. silicon valley can get drone deliveries for the first time. they can deliver directly to your doorstep. and a new big mac is coming and a new big mac is coming to m botanicals. ♪♪ these sulfate-free formulas deeply penetrate and replenish nutrients. ♪♪ to boost hair health cdonald's,e wash. ♪♪ all without the salon naturals price tag. ♪♪ ♪♪

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the pitch. swing, right field, reeling back, at the wall! out of here! it's out of here! >> pete alonso stepped up for the mets when it mattered mostr. down two runs to the brewers, ain their decisive wildcard gauge. tgame. the polar bear gave the mets the lead. the amazin's ended with a double play and insured their season will continue. they will take on the phillies in the nlds. kirk cuousins once again activated his clutch gene facing the buccaneers. he engineered a last-minute drive to get lhis team into fied goal range after younghoe koo

set them to overtime. >> mooney moving. fired. that's caught. and that is hodge. and hodge is going to take it to the end zone! >> cousins hit hodge for the walkoff score, giving the falcons the crucial division win, 36-30. she may have been bounced from the playoffs, but caitlin clark got a pretty good consolation prize. the womens hoops phenom was named wnba rookie of the year by a near-unanimous vote. she lived up to her expectations as this year's top draft pick and brought the indiana fever to the post season and smashed several records in the process, including assists and three pointers by a rookie. a massachusetts woman is fighting to keep a rescued beaver as a pet. she rescued the beaver named nibby two years ago and has raised it since.

recently the re recently the wildlife agency wanted to release her into the wild. >> i heard nothing until a few days ago, and now it's we've got to release her. >> worried nibby wouldn't survive on her own, she reached out to state representatives to stop it from happening. the state has put the plan on hold much to the relief of jane, but work is still under way to ensure nibby will be safe. cute. still ahead on today. al roker is lending a hand to the community of asheville, north carolina. after the city was devastated by hurricane helene. and here's sheinelle jones with a preview of what else is coming u>> this morning on the hour of "today", george and maya lopez are live. and joy bauer is sharing with u.

i'm frances rivera.