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century. hurricane milton now a category 4 as it takes aim at tampa bay with winds over 150 miles per hour. our team is tracking the timing of the storm and the race to evacuate the millions in its path. it's a one-two punch for the region still reeling from hurricane helene just 12 days ago. the federal response taking center stage on the campaign trail. we're live with fema's response to false claims about aid to victims. the challenge to the biden administration's ivefforts to crack down on untraceable weapons. and the country's largest water utility targeted in a cyber attack. the quick response to protect critical infrastructure serving more than 14 million americans. doubling or nothing. mega millions ups the ante. for a shot at more jackpots. and from red to green.

taylor swift, the richest female musician. the pop star's new era as we kick off this october 8th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. glad you're with me. i'm frances rivera. today will begin with hurricane milton, the potentially catastrophic category 4 storm taking aim at an already-battered florida. milton rapidly sfifintensified the gulf of mexico. residents are preparing and evacuating ahead of the storm. let's bring in michelle grossman, who has been tracking the storm for us, and what a storm this is, michelle. >> this is. hi there, frances. we're looking an a potentially catastrophic and life-threatening storm, a super charged storm moving through really warm waters of the gulf. still a category 4 storm. we're looking at winds at 1255

miles per hour. very, very powerful. and we do anticipate it to make landfall tomorrow night into thursday morning as a major hurricane. right now the location, 585 miles southwest of tampa, florida. we will see that landfall 1:00 a.m. on thursday as of now. that may change a bit, it has been slowing down. this is the track here. we're looking at the sp anticipation of a category 5. then as we go throughout tomorrow, we're looking at a category 4 storm. and then, as it makes landfall, a category 3 storm. we are looking at the potential for life-threatening storm surge, up to 15 feet in some spots. 15 inches of rain, and winds up to 100 100 miles per m hour.er we'll talk more about milton tomorrow. still we'll talk about the heat wave out west. we're looking at temperatures into the triple digits.

we'll talk more about that coming up. >> thanks, michelle. a race against the clock in florida where residents are fleeing the storm zone and clearing out debris from hurricane helene. tom llamas takes a closer look. >> reporter: in florida, residents facing mountains of debris from one hurricane and now another monster storm barrelling towards them. the second time in less than two weeks. and this one may be even more catastrophic. >> you always worry, but this one, there's something about this one that i'm feeling very uneasy about. >> reporter: at least six counties have issued mandatory evacuation orders. >> if you remain there, you could die. my men and women could die trying to rescue you. >> reporter: highways are clogged with people fleeing inland. on nbc 6 south florida, john morales reporting on the intensification. >> it's dropped 50 millibars in ten hours. i apologize.

this is just horrific. >> reporter: that rapid intensification fueled by claiman climate change. the remnants from helene, broken furniture and downed trees still everywhere. >> this create as safety hazard and will increase the damage that milton could do with flying debris. >> reporter: florida's governor has called it a debris removal mission, asking counties to work non-stop to get rid of all this junk, even ordering waste and landfill sites to stay open through the night. marissa parra found that effort in overdrive. >> reporter: i'm in treasure island, it is filled with debris like this. they have called in all reenforcements to remove it. look at this line of city trucks, garbage trucks behind me. >> reporter: all over the coast getting ready, including tampa general. this video went viral during helene. dustin pasture clerking the aqua fence. he hopes it's strong enough for

milton. >> 12 feet with a high tide gets us very close to our limit here. so that's a little concerning, if that's actually what we see. >> reporter: in nearby madeira beach, we were with abby lewis as an eme nn emergency notifica went off. you don't have time to cry. >> no. no. so that will be like like after milton or what's to follow. >> reporter: nbc news, madeira beach. and the federal response to these storms has been in the spotlight on the campaign trail. vice president harris is criticizing former president trump for repeating false claims about fema disaster relief funds. nbc's alice barr joins us now. good morning, alice. the director of fema has also been speaking out about misinformation. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, frances. fema is pushing back against rumors about federal aid, debunking some claims that

former president trump has been amplifying at his recent rallies. >> they stole the fema money, just like they stole it from a bank. so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them. they send hundreds of billions of dollars to foreign nations. and you know what they're giving our people? 750 bucks. >> reporter: fema has been responding to these rumors on its website, saying disaster relief fund money has not been diverted to other non-disaster-related efforts and clarifying that the $750 payments is only an up front payment for emergency costs while fema assesses how much additional funding people will qualify for. vice president harris also spoke out about these claims made by mr. trump. >> first of all, it's extraordinarily irresponsible. it's about him. it's not about you. and the reality is that fema has so many resources that are

available to folks who desperately need them. >> reporter: meanwhile, florida governor ron desantis is denying a nbc news report that he refused to take a call from vice president harris. an aide to the governor had told nbc news the call was ignored because it seemed political. desantis says he was not aware of any call. and overnight the white house confirmed that president biden has spoken to both desantis and the mayor of tampa. frances? >> alice barr for us, thank you. the supreme court today will hear a case on regulations for ghost guns, the hard-to-trace firearms assembled at home with no serial number. the biden administration passed a rule in 2022 that reclassified ghost gun parts as firearms, subject to battleckground checkd other restrictions. but manufacturers and gun rights groups have sued to overturn the rule saying they overstepped their authority. the court decided 5-4 to let the regulations take effect while

the legal process plays out. a day after israel marked one year since the october 7th hamas attacks, the war with hamas and hezbollah still rages. both groups fired missiles and rockets into israel monday. no deaths have been reported. the idf is also preparing major new offensives, issuing evacuation orders for a quarter of lebanon's coastline as well as much of northern gaza. for the latest, here's claudio lavanga. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, frances. it was an anniversary marked by both kcommemorations and fighting. on monday, hezbollah said they fired missiles at what they said was an israeli military facility near the city of haifa, the third largest city in israel, which confirmed that about 190 projectiles were fired into its territory injuring at least 12 people. in the meantime, israel continues to bomb what they said

were hezbollah infrastructures in the south of lebanon. they confirmed that two more israeli soldiers were killed in combat, possibly during the ground invasion or attempted ground invasion across the border with lebanon, bringing the total death toll among the israeli ranks in that area to 11. israel also issued an evacuation warning for residents, fishermen or vacation goers that are on the stretch, a long stretch of coastline alongside lebanon, close to the border with israel, ahead of what is presumably a maritime operation. in the meantime, in the south of israel, hamas has said that it will rise from the ashes like a phoenix. at least according to the hamas leader in exile who said in spite of all the losses during the heavy fighting in the past year, hamas is still able to recruit fighters and manufacture weapons, frances.

commemorations of october 7 took different forms on american college campuses monday. at columbia university, pro-palestinian protesters called to an end to the year-long war. and outside the university gates, pro-israel demonstrators waved flags and prayed for the israeli hostages. universities nationwide have been bracing for renewed protests and clashes of the kind that shook kpcampuses last year. new england patriots captain jabrill peppers has been arrested for alleged assault and drug possession. he appeared in a massachusetts court monday to face charges of battery with a weapon, strangulation and possession of cocaine. authorities say they arrested the patriots' safety on saturday after his girlfriend called police and told them that he choked her, smashed her head into the wall and pushed her down the stairs. peppers pleaded not guilty on all counts and posted bail.

in a statement, the patriots said they are aware of the intein incident and have no further comment at this time. the largest water utility in the country says it was the victim of a cyber attack. it provides services to 14 million customers. it became aware of the activity on thursday and immediately shut down certain systems and paused billing. american water does not believe its operations were impacted, and they are working with law enforcement. besides milton, we're watching millions on the west coast still waiting for fall to arrive. nbc meteorologist michelle grossman is back with the heat wave. >> it feels like the middle of summer in parts of the west. also the desert southwest. we're going to see record-breaking temperatures once again. temperatures soaring well above normal, into the triple digits, near 110 in some spots. heat alerts for parts of the west, including phoenix, san francisco, and take a look at

some of these numbers. they have been dealing with this heat for a long time. we're looking at temperatures soaring into the triple digits in phoenix, 108. 98 degrees in las vegas. temperatures in the 80s in salt lake city and grand junction. it's warm in the northern and central plains. temperatures by tomorrow into the 90s in austin. close to that record of 96 degrees. phoenix once again soaring into the triple digits. and we'll keep it warm on thursday as well. we're looking at temperatures into the 90s in las vegas. th's a looat states, into the 90s in some spots and looking at the southeast with the approach of milton tomorrow night. all right, that's your tuesday forecast. >> thanks so much, michelle. up next, the lottery with a

bigger chance to win jackpots. how a popular retailer is getting into the christmas spirit. tting into the christmas spirit. ♪ a certain kind of lig♪ ♪ that always shines on me. ♪ ♪ there's a way ♪ ♪ everybody say. ♪ ♪ oh... ♪ ♪ you must know what it's like. ♪ ♪ baby, you must know what it's like ♪ ♪ to love somebody. ♪ ♪ to love somebody. ♪ ♪ the way i love you. ♪ ♪♪ if you're frustrated... ...with occasional bloating or gas... ...your body's giving you signs, it's time to try align. align probiotic was specifically designed by gastroenterologists to help relieve your occasional bloating and gas. when you feel the signs, it's time to try align. have you tried these new febreze car vent clips? the new intensity dial gives you total control. i can turn it up... that smells good! or turn it down... hmm. nice and light.

enjoy 40 days of freshness, your way. ♪ lalalalala ♪ mega millions is feeling lucky. with a chance for a bigger jackpot. here with that is charlotte reed. good morning, charlotte. >> good morning, frances. first, on alphabet, alphabet has been ordered to open its android operating system. this will allow rivals to create their own app market places to compete with the dominant google play store. so the order by a san francisco judge follows a successful anti-trust case brought in last year by epic, the maker of the game fortnite. now at the time, epic was arguing that google was suppressing competition in the android app. and charging excessive fees. google says they will appeal the

decision. but that's another blow for the tech giant. a different judge said google's search engine was an illegal monopoly. and there is an ongoinglawsuit over its online advertising business. but now on to the other news, frances. are you feeling lucky? mega millions promise more billionaires as part of a major overhaul of the lottery game. the price of a mega millions ticket will go from $2 now to $5 in april next year. but the officials say that the changes will allow bigger prizes and better rewards and more giant prizes, that comes at a time when there are fewer people buying lottery tickets. the makers of the game hope that having the bigger prizes have more occasional players. >> okay, charlotte, thank you. still to come. a bad boys reunion in front and behind the camera. around welcome to the forbes 400, taylor's version.

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s they're getting away. stop, stop. we need your car, all right? can you not get a better car than that? >> will smith is reuniting with the film maker who made him an action icon, citing sources, deadline reported that michael bey is in final negotiations to direct the film fast and loose and netflix which smith is set to star in. the duo first worked together on the original bad boys in 1995, smith has not collaborated with him since 20203. taylor swift is now the richest female musician in the world. the magazine estimates that swift's net worth is

$1.6 billion. >> having officially cleared the threshold. it includes 600 million in royalties, 125 million in real estate and 600 million from her music catalog powered by the re-recordings of her albums. she beats out rhianna who is worth $1.4 billion. imagine her net worth if she went into like alcohol, if she had a label for that. like cosmetics, fashion. it's insane. up next, we remember a gospel legend and the retailer bringing a whole new meaning to christmas spirit. new meaning t christmas spirit. me is bray den. i was five years old when i came to st. jude. i'll try and shorten down the story. so i've been having these headaches that wouldn't go away. my mom, she was just crying. what they said, your son has brain cancer. brayden's mother: it was your worst fear coming to life.

narrator: watching your child grow up is the dream of every parent. you can join the battle to save the lives of kids like brayden, by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. brayden's father: what they have done for me, my son, my family-- i'm sorry, yeah. narrator: life is a gift, especially for a child battling cancer. call or go online and help save another lives of children like brayden. brayden: now, i'm 11 years old. we were actually doing the checkup for my brain. and they saw something in my throat. it's thyroid cancer. brayden's father: it was heartbreaking to find out that he has cancer again. but we knew who we had behind us.

it just gives me hope. narrator: you can make a difference. join with your credit or debit card for only $19 a month. and we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt. brayden's father: without st. jude or its donors, we would have been in a bad place. brayden's mother: these kids, they've done nothing wrong in the world. finding a cure for childhood cancer, it means everything. narrator: help st. jude give kids with cancer a chance.

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named as the grand marshal for the rose parade. sam's club will require customers to use a smartphone app called scan and go to ring up their purchases as they walk through the aisle. temporary retail chain spirit halloween will be sticking around for christmas. around the northeast in early november. you'll find everything from decor to storking stuffers. m decor to storking stuffers. ren'. you could use some metamucil. king stuffers.cking stuffers.ffr cking stuffers. helps keep youre system moving so you can feel lighter and more energetic. metamucil keeps you movin'. and try fizzing fiber plus vitamins. ♪ there's a light. ♪ ♪ a certain kind of light ♪ ♪ that always shines on me. ♪ ♪ there's a way ♪ ♪ everybody say. ♪ ♪ oh... ♪

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ball is gone. >> the royals routed the yankees to tie up the alds after that homer from salvador perez sparked the four-run fourth inning. the tigers had a stalemate to the last frame. detroit evened up the series and they'll head to the motor city on wednesday. while one kansas city team dominated on the road, another took care of business at home. the chiefs still proffered themselves worthy on monday night football. they punched in two touchdowns on the holy ground of arrowhead stadium. it was punch wtuated by an inju to derek carr. and that win was a dream come true for a young chiefs fan

at last night's game. claire bradshaw from our kansas city affiliate has the inspiring story. >> tell me what is going to be bringing you to kansas city on monday. this 5-year-old has been dreaming of the kansas city chiefs and his dream is coming true, thanks to some generous fans seeing this tiktok his mom dorie posted. chiefs fan tony gave his tickets so josiah can see his favorite players, patrick mahomes and travis kelce. >> we live in a small town. we're just a, you know, normal family, and, you know, let's make a tiktok together. people everywhere from kansas city, from all over the world just kind of fell in love with our story. >> reporter: josiah has a sweet heart, but it's backwards in his chest. so his life has been full of

open heart surgeries and hospital visits. >> i look back at his life and everything he's been through, we didn't even know if he was going to be here alive today with us. and so, shall be able to see him have a dream come true like this, it's really heartwarming for us after everything he's been through. >> reporter: josiah, one of the smallest, biggest chiefs fans you'll meet, is living his dream of being in the red kingdom. >> thank you so much, kansas city for having me. >> what a sweetheart. can't wait to see him in the video and that huge smile when he gets to that game. our thanks to claire bradshaw for that report. thanks so much for being with me, and up early for "early today." i'm frances rivera. hope you have a great day and you're back tomorrow wednesday, joining me nice and early. g me . my name is caron and i'm from brooklyn. i work for the city of new york as a police administrator. i oversee approximately 20 people and my memory just has to be sharp. and i realized,

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