florida tonight with the urgent efforts to keep people safe from hurricane milton. nightly tonight, the race tonight, the race to escape, as monster hurricane milton threatens to make a 5 strength and e direct hit here in florida. the hurricane regaining category 5 strength and expected to double in size before slamming florida's west coast. a state of emergency, mandatory evacuations. highways jammed with vehicles trying to get out. theme parks shutting down. tampa in the potential bulls-eye. we're with first responders bracing forwarning the worst storm to impact. tropicana field where the tampa bay rays play transformed into a base camp. president biden warning this could be the worst storm to hit florida in over a century, as the southeast is still reeling from helene. al roker with a shifting new storm track tonight. also this evening, four weeks until the

election. kamala harris on a media blitz, and asked what she would have done differently than president biden. how she answered and just in, the afghan national under arrest in oklahoma. th. and the new book claiming donald trump secretly sent covid testing machines to vladimir putin during the shortage in 2020 states are suing the . how his campaign is responding. and just in, the afghan national under arrest in oklahoma. the terror attack he is accused of plotting for election day. the new legal battle over children using tiktok. why more than a dozen states are suing the popular app. and for fans still pining for "game of thrones," your chance to own a piece of the hit show. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt, reporting tonight from florida's gulf coast. here is lester holt. >> good evening and welcome from st. pete beach, where neighborhoods like this still bear the scars of the last hurricane to come

through here, helene. now the area tonight of bracing for what's about to come, hurricane milton, now barely 30 hours away from making a historic landfall here along florida's gulf coast. it could wind up being the strongest hurricane to hit thes. tampa bay area in a century. officials warning an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. as expected, milton's intensity has fluctuated, right now back to a category 5, which were we begin tonight with al roker landfa some time wean and some new tracking updates. what's the latest, al? >> lester, we are watching this system intensifying now. 165-mile-per-hour winds, category 5, moving northeast at night. the track brings it a little south of tampa,

so they may be spared the worst of that storm surge, but it's still going to be bad when we make landfall some time between 12:00 and 3:00 a.m., maybe an hour or so on either side of that. now the storm surge is a big deal, 10 to 15 feet south of tampa going towards fort myers and sarasota. 5 to 8 feet as you get farther south. but as the hurricane exits, it could see a storm surge on the eastern end of florida. and we're also looking at a high risk of flooding, anywhere from ocala, orlando, sarasota. heavy rain, 18 inches or more, that's going to cause catastrophic flooding. and lester, also tornadoes possible from daytona beach, sebring, all the way down to key largo. lester? >> all right, al, thanks very much. on the way here today, we saw roads leading out of the flood zones filled with traffic, many who witnessed what helene did a few weeks ago complied with mandatory evacuation orders and made their escapes from the storm zone, leaving behind community likes this one, empty and vulnerable. tonight, time is running out with the ferocious category 5 hurricane milton heading straight for the florida gulf coast. >> you must leave. i'm not asking you to leave. i'm telling you, you must leave. >> in vulnerable areas, police blasting

out last-minute notices to evacuate. >> quickly secure your home or business and safely evacuate the area. >> there are signs many here are heeding the dire warnings. >> absolutely going to leave now. take whatever i can get in my car. >> bumper-to-bumper traffic heading out of town, while some of the region's most iconic communities look like ghost towns. in st. pete beach, we found the streets piles of mostly empty today, except for piles of debris from helene. this is amazing, these piles of debris everywhere. >> it's mountains of debris everywhere. and they seem to be growing. >> fire chief jim kilpatrick took me around to show me what they're up against. this ball field now a drop zone for debris. the piles of debris in stacks like this here along the barrier islands were actually created in the immediate aftermath of the last hurricane. officials thought they would have time to get rid of it, but then they found out about milton. trucks are staged all over the area to pick up as much as possible before milton barrels

from the stree in. but chief kilpatrick says there's not enough time to clear it all. this is amazing. this is all collected from the streets of the barrier islands. >> that's right. these are all household items that were put to the curb for the first storm. >> i'm looking at -- the 12-inch-long stick here. this becomes a lethal weapon, doesn't it? >> right. it's a missile with 175-mile-per-hour winds, that could kill >> it's going to be a catastrophic impact, potentially someone. >> mexico is already being pummelled by milton's heavy wind and intense rain. it's the strongest hurricane formed in the gulf of mexico since rita back in 2005. its stunning scale apparent in this view from space. >> it's going to be a catastrophic impact, potentially across two of the major population centers in florida. >> even inland cities like orlando expect to be impacted. disney and universal both closing their theme parks early tomorrow. while president biden today announced he has canceled a planned trip overseas in order

to focus on the storm. >> this could be the worst storm to hit florida in over a century. and god willing it won't be, but that's what it's looking like right now. >> and that's exactly why emily siegle and samuel scherrer are leaving. this is debris from helene? >> yes. >> they closed on their new home three weeks ago, just before helene roared ashore. what does this house mean to you guys? what does it represent? >> i mean, it was going to be like our future long-term house. so this is pretty disappointing. >> like so many here in florida, they don't >> we're still hoping it goes south. but we're definitely preparing for the worst. >> thankfully, they have another place to stay. they plan, like many others on this island, to leave tonight. as milton sharpens its aim, tampa is bracing for a potential direct hit. tom llamas is there. tom, that area is especially vulnerable. >> reporter: yeah, lester, that's right.

there's a combination of factors, including the shape of tampa bay, the fact that it's shallow near the coastline, and that's why that storm surgepi damage from hurricane helene was so severe. it's the reason why these piles are so big. and we've just learned from county officials here in hillsborough county that most of the piles still around the tampa area will not be picked up. they tell us too many workers have evacuated, that there is too much debris and not enough time before conditions worsen. for more than a century, tampa has avoided a direct hit from a major hurricane. but as milton barrels across the gulf, experts warn this time tampa could be in the bulls-eye. >> large portions of the tampa bay area are going to be uninhabitable. you're note going to have power. you may not have other essentials. it comes to >> reporter: according to one report, tampa is one of the most vulnerable places in the country when it comes to storm surge. and the national hurricane center warns milton could bring a wall of water up to 15

feet. >> i've never seen a hurricane with that trajectory before. so it kind of spooked a lot of people. >> reporter: think this is the one that's going to hit tampa? >> i'd like to say no, but it could be. >> reporter: congressman jared moskowitz used to run florida's department of emergency management. he says models have shown a category 5 hurricane hitting tampa would be the worst disaster the state could possibly face. >> the director of emergency management and the national hurricane center is talking, what's the worst case scenario for florida? it is that. it is the black swan of a category 5 storm coming into tampa. >> reporter: researchers say the underwater depth off the coast and the funnel shape of the bay mean the right powerful storm could trap an enormous buildup of water. another challenge? tampa's dense population. more than 3 million people live in the area, and not everyone has the ability to pick up and leave. tonight, some hospitals choosing to evacuate vulnerable patients. >> folks came from as far as louisiana and

missouri with ambulances to help transport and move these patients safely. >> reporter: bob fritzinger was moved from a hospital in pinellas county which sits on the gulf to safer ground. >> they were really working, i mean, running up and down the halls. >> reporter: tampa resident jennifer north will ride out the storm inside this shelter with her daughter, lilliana. >> i don't live too far from here, but my house is quite old and there's a lot of trees. because it's just the two of us, i felt safer being at a community shelter. >> reporter: and the storm is so powerful, you're not going to take any chances? >> yeah, not going to take any chances. >> reporter: lilliana turns 2 on friday. her mom still hopeful they'll get the chance to celebrate back home, even as this historic storm rages on. tom llamas, nbc news, tampa. now to the race for the white house. vice president harris facing some tough about his relationship questions on her media tour, while former president trump's campaign responding to reports in a new book about his relationship with vladimir putin. here's garrett haake. >> reporter: tonight, in her ongoing media blitz, vice president harris telling abc she wouldn't change anything president biden did. >> would you have done

something differently than president biden during the past four years? >> there is not a thing that comes to mind in terms of -- and i've been a part of most of the decisions that have had impact. >> reporter: later saying she would name a republican to her cabinet. former president trump slamming the response, calling it, quote, her dumbest answer so far, and biden the worst president in history. while on cbs, harris was pressed about her record on the border and from day one literally, we have . >> was it a mistake to loosen the immigration policies as much as you did? >> it's a long-standing problem, and solutions are at hand. and from day one literally, we have been offering solutions. >> but the numbers did quadruple under your watch. >> and the numbers today because of what we have done, we have cut the flow of illegal immigration by half.

>> reporter: new data obtained by nbc news shows there were 54,000 illegal border crossings last month, the lowest number in three years. meanwhile, "washington post" reporter bob woodward writes in a new book that former president trump secretly sent russian president putin covid tests for his personal use in 2020. "please don't tell anybody you sent these to me," woodward says putin told trump. "i don't care," trump replied, "fine." woodward citing an unnamed aide claiming trump may have spoken to putin as many as seven times since he left the white house. nbc news has not confirmed the reporting. the trump campaign responding in part, quote, none of these made-up stories by bob woodward are true. harris slamming trump today. >> everybody was scrambling to get these kits, the tests. this guy who is president of the united states is sending them to russia to a murderous dictator for his personal use? >> and garrett, we just learned of an arrest in an election day terror plot. what more do we know? >> that's right, lester. the fbi arrested 27-year-old nasir tawhedi, an afghan

citizen living in oklahoma city, saying he wanted to conduct that election day attack in the name of isis. the doj saying he was arrested while trying to buy semiautomatic weapons and ammunition. lester? >> all right, garrett haake, thank you. in the middle east, the fighting between lebanon and israel only getting worse. lebanon's health ministry saying 36 people were killed and 150 wounded in attacks by israel this week. richard engel is in beirut with late details. >> reporter: israel is delivering hezbollah crushing blows. today, new video shows israeli troops raising the israeli flag in a southern lebanese village. although the lebanese military has yet to confirm it, prime minister benjamin netanyahu today claimed an israeli strike killed hezbollah's successor, assassinated by israel chosen to replace hassan nasrallah, assassinated by israel just days before. >> hezbollah is weaker

than it's been for many, many years. >> reporter: riding high, the biden administration worries netanyahu could retaliate against iran's recent missile barrage without fully coordinating with the u.s. tonight, the israeli defense minister's planned visit to the u.s. set for tomorrow was postponed. president biden has said he does not support striking iran's nuclear facilities. an israeli attack on iran's oil industry could drive up gas prices ahead of november's election. vice president harris weighed in on "60 minutes." >> which foreign country do you consider to be our greatest adversary? >> i think there is an obvious one in mind, which is iran. iran has american blood on their hands. >> reporter: here in beirut, evacuations are picking up pace. ten u.s. charter flights, including today, have so far taken out a thousand americans and hundreds more have left on commercial flights. there is an urgency to get them out. lester? >> richard engel, thank you. in 60 seconds, is

tiktok doing enough to keep kids from being addicted to the giant social media app? more than a dozen states say no and are suing tiktok. that story coming up after this. even this. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent. 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. why didn't we do this last year? before you were preventing migraine with qulipta®? and look at me now. you'll never truly forget migraine, but zero-migraine days are possible. don't take if allergic to qulipta®.

most common side effects are nausea, constipation, and sleepiness. qulipta®. the forget-you-get migraine medicine™. new legal troubles for tiktok tonight. the wildly popular social media app facing a fresh round of lawsuits from more than a dozen states, accusing it of harming children's mental health. brian cheung explains. >> reporter: social media giant tiktok facing allegations tonight that it's as addictive and dangerous as cigarettes. >> for young people, the tiktok platform is like digital nicotine. >> reporter: 13 states and the district of columbia are taking tiktok to court, alleging that dopamine-inducing algorithm hooks young users into endless scrolling causing anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia. >> tiktok has engaged in a patterned practice of deception, of lies. it has addicted an entire generation of young people and teens. >> reporter: the lawsuit also alleges the app at times

promotes harmful and deadly behavior, from subway surfing to stealing cars. the lawsuits also allege tiktok doesn't do enough to stop children from scrolling into mental health problems. >> they lose track of time, that is by design. >> reporter: alleging further that the app's beauty filters create unreal standards, and that around-the-clock notifications lead to sleep loss. the states saying tools like a 60-minute limit aren't effective. >> the tools that they have oftentimes are difficult. why in new york state's view was that not enough? >> the tools that they have oftentimes are difficult. they're hidden. parents cannot activate those tools. >> reporter: tiktok enies. blasted the claims as inaccurate and misleading, adding that the lawsuits are disappointing after they tried to work with the states for

over two years. in august, the federal government sued tiktok for what they allege are widespread violations of children's privacy laws, allegations tiktok denies. president biden signed a bill earlier this year that could ban tiktok in the u.s. if its chinese owner bytedance doesn't sell it. lester? >> brian cheung tonight, thank you. up next, the storm within the storm. the rising tide of hurricane relief misinformation and what the head of fema told us about wild accusations. stay with us. some people saw a response as early as 2 weeks. with austedo xr, dan can stay on his mental health meds— (dan) cool hair! (vo) austedo xr can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, or have suicidal thoughts. don't take if you have liver problems, are taking reserpine, tetrabenazine, or valbenazine. austedo xr may cause irregular or fast heartbeat, or abnormal movements. seek help for fever, stiff muscles, problems thinking, or sweating. common side effects include inflammation

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are you ready to stop settling and start demanding more? join me in changing city hall. back now with a back now with a growing political storm over the federal hurricane response, with the white house trying to fight what it calls rampant misinformation. gabe gutierrez reports and asks the head of

fema about their response. >> reporter: tonight, in the aftermath of hurricane helene and with hurricane milton barreling towards florida, president biden is callingk they'r misinformation about the federal response un-american. >> it puts people in circumstances where they panic, where they really, really, really worry and think they're not being not disaster relief. trump also falsely taken care of. >> reporter: former president trump and some of his allies keep spreading false claims. >> for one thing, a billion dollars was stolen from fema to use it for illegal migrants. >> reporter: that's not true. fema has distributed more than a billion dollars to shelter

migrants, but the agency says that's from a separate government program, not disaster relief. trump also falsely claims residents are only being offered $750, even though they can qualify for more. >> he really lacks empathy on a very basic level to care about the suffering of other people. >> reporter: on social media, even more outlandish conspiracy theories are exploding, from false claims of fema stealing money from donations to the government controlling the weather from antarctica. >> the amount of misinformation just continues to grow unnecessarily, and it's just really creating an interference for us to be able to do the job that we need to do. it prevents them from actually coming in and asking for help. >> reporter: but we also pressed the fema administrator about criticism of the federal response. >> the administration was slow to get started. we're only beginning to see that mobilized about a week too late. >> reporter: including from helene survivors. >> i hear them say on the radio that fema is here, but i haven't seen them. >> reporter: what do you say to people like her? >> i think the best thing i would say to this, just because you don't see a person wearing a fema shirt does not mean that we're not here. >> reporter: in florida, there is another political storm brewing between governor ron desantis and vice president kamala harris. a source familiar with the situation tells nbc news he has refused to take her calls. >> it is utterly irresponsible and it is selfish. >> reporter: overnight, desantis

fired back, saying he did not know she called, adding he has spoken with president biden and harris has no role in the process. >> she's the first one who is trying to politicize the storm, and she is doing that just because of her campaign. >> reporter: meanwhile, a white house official tells us they're preparing to fight misinformation ahead of this latest storm, calling the false rumors the worst they've seen. lester? >> all right, gabe gutierrez, thank you. we'll take a break right here. ahead, no longer a fantasy world. the people clamoring to bring home a piece of "game of thrones." that's next. breztri gave me better breathing. ♪♪ starting within 5 minutes, my lung function improved. ♪♪ breztri also helped improve my symptoms... and was even proven to reduce flare-ups... including those that could send me to the hospital.

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and how this relates to the a's. also, the high profile bay area politician using an there is good news tonight for "game of thrones" fans who now have the chance to own a piece of their favorite show. here's emilie ikeda. >> reporter: five years since "game of thrones'" reign on television ended, fans of the medieval fantasy are suiting up for a battle of their own. it's remarkably heavy. more than 2,000 propers, set decorations, and costumes from hbo's hit show are up for auction this week, from jamie lannister's gold hand, a symbol of his resilience, to arya stark's needle, making her one of the deadliest assassins. >> stick him with the

pointy end. >> i know which end to use. >> reporter: do you picture yourself yielding the needle? >> yeah, i'd love to do that. >> reporter: and who can forget the bell in circe lannister's chilling walk of shame. >> shame! >> reporter: brian is with heritage auctions. >> the most favorite character of mind is tyrion lannister. >> reporter: and maybe the most quotable character. >> i drink and i know things. >> i drink and i know things. >> reporter: valerian steel could cost you of dolla. but how do i don't put a price tag hundreds of thousands of dollars. but how do you put a price tag on a magic that will transport you straight to winterfell? why do you think this is drawing so much energy? >> passionlibl. it takes them back to when they watched the show for the first time. the whole show left an indelible mark in television history. >> dracaris! >> reporter: and now, fans have a chance to take a piece of that history, forged with dragonfire, home. emilie ikeda, nbc news.

all right, that is "nightly news" for this tuesday. thank you for watching, everyone. i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night.

it is inevitable. chloe! hey dad. they will grow up. [cheering] silly face, ready? discover who they are. [playing music] what they want from this world. and how they will make it better. and while parenting has changed, how much you care has not. that's why instagram is introducing teen accounts. automatic protections for who can contact them and the content they can see. ♪♪ is the app isn't doing enough to protect kids. does this lawsuit have teeth? also, we're continuing to follow the developing news in florida. hurricane milton, now a category five storm. are people prepared? plus las vegas just hours away