>> hurricane milton strengthening into what could be the storm of the century. the category 5 barrelling forward florida this morning, forcing mass evacuations, and

landmarks like disney world and universal studios to shut their doors. our meteorologist, michelle grossman, is tracking the path of the monster storm and when it's supposed to make landfall. the race for the white house includes a race for eyeballs. we're live with 26 days until the election. searching for solution to a google monopoly. the doj indicates it's seriously considering breaking uh tp the h titan and how it would work. there's a competition that dares bears to eat their heart out. and winter is coming to an auction house. how you can take the iron throne for yourself, along with other "game of thrones" memorabilia. it's wednesday, october 9th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. glad you're with me. i'm frances rivera. we begin with the race to

evacuate ahead of hurricane milton. the category 5 storm headed for florida's western coast. milton is expected to make landfall between tampa bay and fort myers early thursday morning bringing 12 to 18 inches of rain, widespread floods and storm surge. mandatory evacuations are in effect. angie lassman is tracking the storm for us sgl. j w >> we're just about 24 hours away from landfall. we are looking at a major hurricane as makes landfall along the western part of florida, the west coast of florida. winds are howling. we're looking at winds, seas up to 150 miles per hour. we're going to see the storm surge picking up. it's picked up speed a bit, moving northeast at 12 miles per hour. we're going to see the threat to

life and property as we go throughout the later part of wednesday into thursday. and this will impact the entire state of florida as it moves across the peninsula. let's take a look at the track, because we expect it to maintain its strength as we go throughout the day. as gets closer to the coast we expect it to weak and bit as it encounters wind shear but still a major hurricane, moving across a warm gulf with record-warm temperatures. storm surge will be historic. we're looking at a storm surge that could move in several miles, up to 15 feet in some spots. the big story of course is milton. but we'll look at the rest of the country in just a few minutes. >> thank you so much, michelle. the walt disney parks in orlando will be closing at 1:00 p.m. ahead of hurricane milton, as will sea world, busch gardens and universal resort. and the waffle house, a rare closure citing their waffle

house index. in tampa, residents are bracing for the worst case scenario, the possibility of a direct hit. torrential rains could trigger feet of flooding and storm surge in the low-lying coastal region. tom llamas has more from tampa. >> reporter: 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 bull's eye. >> large portions of the tampa bay area are going to be uninabilitiable. you're not going to have power. you may not have other essentials. >> reporter: according to one report, tampa is one of the most vulnerable places in the county, 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: congressman jared moskowitz used to run florida's

department of emergency management. he says models have shown a cate category 5 hurricane hitting tampa would be the worst disaster the state could possibly face. >> the director of emergency man management is talking what's the worst kcase scenario for florid. is it is that. >> reporter: the funnel shape of the bay means the 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. 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, running up and down the halls.

>> reporter: jennifer north will ride out the storm inside this shelter with her daughter liliana. >> i don't live too far from here, but my house is quite old, and there's a lot of trees. it's just the two of us. i felt safer being at a community shelter. >> reporter: and the storm is so powerful, you're he not going to take any chances. chances. littl liliana turns 2 on friday. turning now to the race for the white house with less than a month to election day, vice president kamala harris continued her media blitz with a visit to the late show with steve stephen colbert. it is one of several interviews she did yesterday. alice barr joins us now. this interview with colbert last night was a friendly one. >> reporter: it was, frances. good morning to you. colbert brought up the idea that voters prefer someone they want to have a beer with, so he and the vice president continued their talk with some miller high life from wisconsin. and the vice president was asked

if donald trump lost the 2020 election. she said this about her opponent. >> you lost millions of jobs. you lost manufacturing. you lost automotive plants. you lost the election. what does that make you? a loser. this is what somebody at my rally said, i thought it was funny. >> it's accurate. it's accurate. >> this is what happens when i drink beer. >> reporter: vice president harris also joined "the view", where she said she would not change anything president biden has done and that she's been part of impactful decisions. she also was interviewed by howard stern, where she focussed a holot on former president tru whom she described as wanna-be dictator. donald trump responded. >> kamala is doing shows and making speeches that they're finding out she's not a smart person. and we've had enough of that for

four years with biden. we had enough. we need somebody that's very smart. >> reporter: and we could see more of a response from former president trump today. he's set to rally tonight in pennsylvania. frances? >> alice. thank you. an afghan citizen living in oklahoma has been charged with plotting a terrorist attack on election day. 27-year-old nassir tawidi was arrested. he confirmed during interrogation that he intended to target large gatherings on behalf of isis on november 5th. an attorney for tawidi did not respond to our request for comment. it's been more than a week since iran launched more than 200 ballistic missiles at israel. and the world is still waiting for israel's response. three u.s. officials tell axios that president biden is set to speak with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu on the phone today to discuss israel's plan. for the latest, let's turn to

claudio lavanga. what more do we know? >> reporter: good morning, frances. well, at least according to two u.s. officials familiar with the matter, israel has not yet briefed the united states with the details of that potential response to iran's attack last week. but entertat the same time, the the u.s. is discussing options on whether or how to join and support israel in that retaliation with its own intelligence and with its own airstrikes. on wednesday, the defense minister of israel, gallant, was meant to travel to washington to meet with the u.s. secretary of defense, lloyd austin, but that trip was canceled at the last minute by the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. an official reason has not been given for the change of plan. but the fear here, at least according to u.s. officials who spoke to nbc news, the fear is that israel would retaliate or attack iran while gallant would

be in washington. in the meantime, netanyahu issued this prerecorded video message, in which he said that israel has killed the would-be successors of the leader of the former leader of hezbollah, hassan nasrallah. he didn't name names, but one of them is believed to have been killed last week in one of those airstrikes in beirut. he also spoke directly in that video message to the people of lebanon, saying that they should take back their country. they should get rid of hezbollah. if they don't want to end up like gaza. now take a listen. >> you have an opportunity to save lebanon before it falls into the addibyss of a long war that will lead to destruction like we see in gaza. i say to you, the people of lebanon, free your country from hezbollah so that this war can end. free your country from hezbollah so that your country can prosper

again. >> reporter: now a staunch warning by the israeli prime minister to the people of lebanon that did not look for this war, nor did they initiate it, frances. >> claudio, thank you. leading the news, three weeks after being arrested, music mogul sean "diddy" combs is trying once again to get out on bail. according to the filing, his legal team argues there is no evidence that he would seek to intimidate witnesses and obstruct the ongoing investigation. combs is charged with sex trafficking and racketeering and denies any criminal wrongdoing. this is his third attempt at getting out on bail as he awaits trial. let's turn back to our weather and nbc meteorologist michelle grossman, who is tracking the rest of the weather across the country in addition to tracking hurricane milton. >> that's right, hi there, frances. the rest of the country is relatively quiet. we're nice and dry throughout the northeast. actually really nice temperatures as well. temperatures in the 60s and 70s. also dry in the midwest, great

lakes, feeling like spfall in se spots there. low 70s in chicago with lots of sunshine. as we get to the middle of the country, we're going to warm up. temperatures in the 80s and 90s, looking atoklahoma, lots of sunshine. 94 in san antonio. and we're batwatching the contid heat plains, also the southwest. and of course the big story today is milton, as it makes landfall later on tonight into the early part of thursday. all right, that's your wednesday forecast e forecast. the phillies and dodgers on the brink of elimination, and at justice department

weighs how to break up google. many remedies you take for chest congestion only mask the symptoms. hey... how you doing? this mucus won't move out. you're gonna love this property. the guy's congestion remedy? harmless. try this. mucinex 12 hour treats the mucus that causes chest congestion for all-day relief. don't leave! it's fine! ugh! i was worried about this side of town! mucinex in, mucus out! don't mask symptoms, treat the cause. using these type of cleansers could be damaging and stripping your skin. i use new olay cleansing melts every day. just soak, activate and wash. to clean, tone and refresh. that's a 3x better clean.

olay. over a dozen states are suing tiktok over its impact on kids' mental health. but first the department of justice is weighing whether to break up google after the judge ruled the tech titan hold as monopoly. charlotte reed joins us with the details. >> good morning, frances. yes, the doj announcing this yesterday. the potential breakup of google as an anti-trust remedy. these remedies would prevent google from using products such as chrome, play, and android to advantage google search and google-related products and features over rivals. the recommendations come just after several legal setbacks for google's owner alpha bet on monday. a judge ordered the country to open the android operating system. and in august a different judge found that google's search engine was an illegal monopoly

and there is an ongoing lawsuit of its online advertising business. google has vowed to appeal the doj decision as far as the supreme court if necessary, which means it could be several years before anything could be enforced. and siticking to tech. 14 attorneys general from across the country filing lawsuits yesterday accusing social media platform tiktok of damaging young users' mental health and collecting their data without consent. the lawsuit focussing particularly on what the plaintiffs see as addictive features, including 24/7 notifications and video auto play and some dangers, they said they disagree with these claims and they're adding that many of them are inaccurate and misleading. >> tough to look away, even for adults. charlotte, thank you. it's just five weeks into the nfl season, but the first head coach has been sacked. the new york jets fired robert saleh on tuesday, following the

team's loss versus the minnesota vikings in london on sunday. saleh who had been with the team since 2021 never secured a winning season and got off to a disappointing 2-3 this year. the defensive coordinator will serve as interim head coach. san diego rode to victory in game three of the nlts tuesday, thanks to a six-run second inning. they had a chance to knock out ohtani and the dodgers in game four today. the mets took a bite out of the phillies. the amazin's piled seven runs on their rivals to take game three on tuesday and have a chance to close out the series at citi field later today. and, for mets fans, the only thing more fun than a victory is this. getting to the party with their unofficial mascot. grimace joined fans on the 7 train tuesday. the mcdonald's mascot is credited with saving the mets'

season as the team compiled the best record in baseball after he threw a ceremonial first pitch at citi field back in june. up next, passengers krin cringe moment. see ya boys. ♪♪ oh... stuffed up again? so conge you need sinex saline from vicks. just sinex, breathe, ahhhh! what is — wow! sinex. breathe. ahhhhhh! ♪ there's a light. ♪ ♪ a certain kind of light ♪ ♪ 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. ♪ ♪♪ did you know, sweat from stress is actually smellier than other kinds of sweat? that's why i use secret clinical antiperspirant. it works on sweat from: stress, heat and activity. it provides 3x stress sweat protection. secret works. [♪♪] looking for a reason to try the new $5 meal deal at mcdonalds? here's one, two, three, four and the price makes 5. that's everything you get with the new $5 meal deal at mcdonald's. swiffer sweeper dry* traps 2x more dust and hair for a clean even mom approves of. nice reach! brooms can just push stuff around, but swiffer grabs dirt and even traps the hair. swiffer. the mother of all cleans. love it or your money back! what do we want more of?

the mother of more laughs. more hang outs. yeah, more of all of this stuff. but getting older also means more risk of serious flu, covid-19, and rsv. vaccines lower your risk, so you can keep doing more.

♪ ♪ you came here with nothing but a guitar. you never talk your family, your past. >> people make up their past. they remember what they want. they forget the rest. >> i want to know which side he's on. >> i'm not sure they hear what i want to play, johnny. >> i want to hear it. >> there you see, timothee chalamet with sunglasses ready to play bob dylan. it hits theaters christmas day. now to an entertainment mishap. 40,000 feet in the air, australian airline qantas is

apologizing after showing a sexually explicit movie to all passengers on a flight from sydney to tokyo last week. the airline said it chose to show the film reported to be the r-rated film "daddio ". the film played for about a lauer hour and was switched to a family-friendly film. the carrier is reviewing how the movie was selected. up next, american girl is bringing their dolls to life with new costumes. . and how to score some free pizza through january. through january. all that after the break otherwise the flakes will come back. he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head & shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here. i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. make every wash count!

and for stubborn dandruff, try head & shoulders clinical strength. remember this? can't believe we didn't always wear sunscreen. let's not regret our sunny memories. let's do something about it. no7's future renew serum, reverses visible signs of sun damage. with a world-first peptide technology. no7 don't regret, just reverse (♪♪) when life spells heartburn... how do you spell relief? r-o-l-a-i-d-s rolaids' dual-active formula begins to neutralize acid on contact. r-o-l-a-i-d-s spells relief.

no matter what kind of teeth you gotta brush, oral-b electric cleans better with one simple touch. oral-b's dentist inspired round brush head hugs em, cleans em, and gets in between em, for 100% cleaner teeth. your perfect clean starts with oral-b. old spice gentleman's super hydration body wash. (whispered) vanilla and shea. 24/7 moisturization with vitamin b3. (knock on the door) are you using all the old spice? oops. ♪ (old spice mnemonic) ♪ ♪♪ trick or treat! - kit kat. - reese's. ooo, great costume. looks like you deserve both. see ya boys. ♪♪ ♪ like a relentless weed, moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya... with rapid relief at 4 weeks.

tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission... and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. healing is possible with tremfya. ask your doctor about tremfya today. ♪ >> here's what's making headlines this morning. the tsa stopped over 5,000 firearms from going through airport security checkpoints in the first nine months of 2024. that's an average of 18 guns seized per day and 93% were loaded. tsa screened a record 678 million passengers in the first three quarters of the year.

dominoes' emergency pizza program is back, offering customers one free pizza from october 8 through january 19. place an online order of $7.99 and snag a free pizza. american girl and adult and child fans, they released a new halloween costume that comes halloween costume that comes with a wig many remedies you take for chest congestion. only mask the symptoms. hey... how you doing? this mucus won't move out. you're gonna love this property. the guy's congestion remedy? harmless. try this. mucinex 12 hour treats the mucus that causes chest congestion for all-day relief. don't leave! it's fine! ugh! i was worried about this side of town!

mucinex in, mucus out! don't mask symptoms, treat the cause. ♪ upbeat music ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ winter is coming to the auction block. "game of thrones" fans are getting 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 props, set decorations and costumes from hbo's hit show are up for auction this week, from the gold hand, a sebasymbol of resilienc the needle. >> sticking with the pointy end. >> i know which end to use. >> reporter: do you picture yourself wielding the needle? >> yeah, i'd love to do that. >> reporter: and who could forget the bell in the chilling walk of shame. >> shame! >> reporter: brian janice is with heritage auctions. >> lannister. >> reporter: maybe the most quotable character. >> i drink and i know things. >> i drink and i know things. >> reporter: valerian steel could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. but how could you put a price tag on the magic that will

transport you straight to winter fell. why do you think this is drawing so much energy? >> passion, it takes you back to when they watched the show for the first time. the whole show left an indeaindealible mark in television history. >> reporter: and now fans have a pi chance to take a piece of that home. >> definitely worth all the bragging and storytelling for those who actually win those items. now a 16-year-old twitch streamer who just became the first person to loop past the highest level on nes tetris, rolling the game back to level zero. the level reaching 255, was previously thought to be impossible. but the teen was using a version modified to avoid crashes, according to artist artist tnic.

a mama bear named grazer wins fat bear week. hibernation is just a few short weeks away. thanks so much for being with us here on "early today," on a wednesday. i'm frances rivera. coming up on "today", we'll have live coverage from florida with the latest on the path of hurricane milton, something they were watching all day here on nbc and our nbc stations. as well as here on "early today." hope you joi .

hurricane milton restrengthens to a category 5 storm as it barrels towards florida's gulf coast. officials urging residents to get out now before time runs out. nb