a historic start to a high-stakes election. we're live with the record-shattering early voting totals in a key battleground

state as donald trump and kamala harris try to win over voters in this final three-week push. the u.s. sends a message to israel, increase humanitarian aid to gaza or face a cut to military aid. details on the warning raising the stakes in the middle east crisis. teen thieves target tour itourists in times swear. the new investigation sparked by the deadly boar's head outbreak. and the yankees swing their way to a two-game lead over the guardians, as baseball heats up. and who says diplomacy isn't black and white? china's newest panda diplomats arrive at the national zoo in d.c. we'll introduce you to the cuddly new additions. it's wednesday, october 16th. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm frances

rivera. we begin with that breaking news that could have a major impact on election night. overnight, a judge in georgia blocked a rule that would have required every county in that crucial battleground state to hand count their ballots. hours earlier a state judge also ruled that county election officials cannot refuse to certify lelection results. the georgia state election board voted to allow georgia officials to conduct inquiries into the results. but the judge decided any concerns about fraud must be settled in court. those rulings came the same day that early voting began in the peach state. late last night, georgia's secretary of state revealed that more than 300,000 ballots were cast, shattering records for turnout. some counties are still uploading their final numbers. nbc's alice barr joins me now. former president trump was there in georgia for a rally as the voting began.

>> reporter: that's right. donald trump held a rally in atlanta. and even though the former president has criticized early voting for years, he's now urging his supporters to cast their ballots as soon as possible this election. last night, former president trump also had this message for black and hispanic voters. >> and, i'll tell you what. any african-american or hispanic, and you know how well i'm doing there, that votes for kamala, you got to have your head examined. because they, they are really screwing you. >> reporter: vice president kamala harris has increased her outreach to black voters in recent days. before donald trump's rally she said this during a radio town hall that was hosted by charlamagne tha god. >> part of the challenge that i face is that they are trying to scare people away, because they know they otherwise have nothing to run on. ask donald trump what his plan

is for black america. >> reporter: former president trump participated in a town hall of all women voters that will air on fox news today. and he has another town hall with univision today in miami. vice president harris will also appear on fox news tonight when she sits for her first interview with that network. frances? >> alice, thank you. the afghan man arrested for planning a mass shooting attack on election day took his orders from the terror group isis-k, according to two senior u.s. officials briefed often the matter. the 27-year-old told the fbi that he was communicating with a person named malik who was affiliated with isis. tawidi was arrested last week in oklahoma, accused of planning to purchase two ak-47 rifles and ammunition for the attack. he has not yet been arraigned, and no plea has been entered. the biden administration is warning israel that it could

restrict humanitarian assistance if the humanitarian situation in gaza doesn't improve within a month. in a letter to top ministers in the israeli government, secretary of state blinken and defense secretary austin said they are assessing whether israel is impeding the transport of u.s. humanitarian assistance. a similar warning was sent to israeli officials in april, but the u.s. in the end determined that israel was not in violation of the law then. human rights groups say 400,000 palestinians in northern gaza are now trapped, starving and being bombed. vice president kamala harris also said, quote, israel must urgently do more to facilitate the flow of aid needed to those, aid to those in need. delta airlines making a major announcement amid the heightened tensions in the middle east. the airline is pausing all flights from new york's jfk airport to tel aviv through at least march 31st. delta says the change is due to the ongoing conflict in the region. a travel waiver will be issued to affected customers.

teenagers are increasingly targeting tourists in times square, and police are blaming a street gang for the crime wave. the gang is made up of migrants, many of them younger than 16. marc santia has this report. >> reporter: the hearstustle an bustle of times square given to a venezuelan street gang. >> this is their ground zero. >> reporter: police say they're targeting tourists, and the gang is actively recruiting kids to join their ranks. >> we've made arrests on individuals as long as 11. but the average age is anywhere between 14 and 16 years old. >> reporter: it's the same group jason savino says committed multiple crimes in central park this summer. >> this crew of 20 individuals, 20 individuals, was arrested upwards of 50 times.

50 times total, you know. and right now every single one of them is out and about on the streets. >> reporter: the nypd has increased patrols running the group out of times square, but there is concern they will return. >> we think that we have a gang b from venezuela where a venezuelan member was killed on venezuelan soil. we think that beef has moved over here. >> reporter: police say the gang is made up of migrants from venezuela. they're recruiting kids from shelters, including the roosevelt hotel. >> and they're preying upon young vulnerable individuals. >> reporter: and the gang is not shy about what they're doing. police say they've taken to social media to brag about their criminal accomplishments and the phones they use. >> they're using none other than the government-issued phones to use this gang chat. >> and our thanks to marc santia for that report. a man has been arrested for the fatal shooting of a woman on a popular walking trail in nashville, tennessee. 34-year-old alyssa lockette was

found with a gunshot wound monday and died in the hospital. the suspect has been identified as 29-year-old paul park of brentwood, tennessee. it's not clear if park has an attorney, and the police did not specify a charge or charges against him. police also say the two did not appear to know each other. today, a texas board is expected to make a recommendation to the governor about whether he should spare the life of robert roberson. if put to death tomorrow, roberson, who is diagnosed with autism, would be the first person in the u.s. to be executed based on the highly contro controversial shaken-baby diagnosis. >> are you counting down the days? >> i would like to believe the governor, the parole board would do the right thing. >> roberson has the support of medical experts, and even the detective who arrested him. at a press conference tuesday, north carolina governor roy cooper is saying 81 people are still unaccounted for in the

state. nearly three weeks after hurricane helene devastated the region. but officials saythe recovery is being made even more difficult thanks to misinformation. >> we have over 2,000 people from the federal family in north carolina. and misinformation will not deter us from our mission of helping people. >> federal officials also announced the small business administration's disaster loan program has been exhausted. president biden is urging congress to reconvene and approve more disaster relief funding. okay, get ready for another chilly morning. meteorologist angie lassman is tracking how long the cold will last. angie, good morning. the heater switch went on for the first time yesterday. >> yes, it did. in a lot of spots frances, and today it's going to stay on. we've got a whole lot of folks under these alerts this morning. 81 million people dealing with the freeze alerts from the plains to the southeast and northeast. we're going to see temperatures into the 30s and 40s over the next few hours. madison at 34 degrees.

st. louis at 39. pittsburgh into the low 40s and new york city right now 46 degrees. in the afternoon, temperatures are going to be a little chillier as well. places like dallas, 68 degrees. that's all you're going to get for your high. 50s across the great lakes. mid-50s for boston. out west is where a whole lot more of that warmth is. above-normal temperatures for minneapolis tomorrow with warmth spreading a little farther to the i.c.e. still on the cool side of things here for much of the east coast. and we'll keep it that way for a little while before we see a gradual increase in our temperatures by the time the weekend wraps up. meanwhile out west, a couple of fronts are going to leave us with rain from montana to california. we'll also pick up additional snow in some o high 50s for phil

washington, d.c. we head to the mid-50s for detroit and chicago today. and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you. >> thanks, angie. now to the captain finally coming alive in the bronx tuesday. >> led the majors. sends one high and deep to center field. did he get it? back on it is thomas. he's at the wall! he got it! it's a two-run home run! >> aaron judge homered for the first time this mlb post season with a two-run blast that put game two of thacs olcs out of r for the guardians. we're back in a moment with a historic fine for an airline. and an investigation into why and an investigation into why more wasn't done to prevent th y good talks to have.

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walgreen's is shuttering hundreds of stores as it confronts an online prescription boom. but first, the usda is conducting an investigation into the boar's head listeria outbreak. good morning, charlotte. >> their i >> this investigation opened by the usda on noncompliance at tha boar's head plant. since late july when boar's head issued a recall to meat products, 59 people have been hospitalized, and tenda died across 19 states. the plant was shut down mid september. some inspectors had found insects, mold and mildew and

other violations in the previous year. so the inspector general said the usda took virtually no action, allowing boar's head to continue in the virginia plant. now to walgreen's. they are planning to close around 1,200 locations by 2027 out of their 8,700 stores in the u.s. now 500 of the stores will shut in 2025 alone. and they have been battered by shrinking prescription reimbursement as will as consumers switching to online retailers. they had a boost from the covid vaccination. several drugstores, including rivals of walgreen's are shutting down stores. germany's flagship airline is facing a historic $4 million fine by the d.o.t. after it was accused of discriminating against jewish passengers. >> reporter: the federal government taking unprecedented

steps. >> is there an official explanation for why? >> reporter: after a may 2022 lufthansa flight carrying mostly jewish passengers from new york city to budapest heard this when the plane stopped for a connection in frankfurt. >> we have to cancel your flight. >> no, no, no. >> reporter: the department of transportation fining lufthansa is $4 million, a record for a civil rights violation against an airline, saying they prohibited 128 jewish passengers, most of whom wore distinctive garb from boarding their flight. >> it's the toughest enforcement action that i have seen for a civil rights violation. >> reporter: on the website, a popular site for jewish travelers. >> this is 2022. this exchange between a passenger and lufthansa drawing

outrage. >> jewish people are the problem. >> jewish people on the plane made a problem, so all jews are bad for the day. >> just for the flight. >> reporter: it's introducing a first of its kind training program to address anti-semitism. know, a d.o.t. declaration not to let this kind of behavior go unpunished. still to come, attention all target customers. there is a sale in the torture poets department. we've got the details right after this. rtment. we've got the details right after this. (knock on the door) are you using all the old spice? oops. ♪ (old spice mnemonic) ♪ [achoo!] needs, poets department.

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the new ipad mini is out october 23rd. 50 cent is headlining concerts in vegas for his first-ever residency. the rap mogul will headline six shows at planet hollywood between december 27 through january 4th. and tyra banks made her grand return to the catwalk after nearly 20 years. the super model closed out the victoria's secret fashion show rocking a bodysuit. rocking a bodysuit. this to help you go. free your gut and your mood will follow. for 8 grams of fiber, try mirafiber gummies. 2018. cleaning that greasy mess with dawn platinum... and not even scrubbing. —well, fluff my feathers. — [giggle] it cuts through the slimy stuff better than their old dish soap, removing 99% of grease. that's why only dawn is trusted to save wildlife. as they get older their risk of getting really sick from flu,

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election. a pair of giant pandas have arrived at the national zoo after a long journey from china. tom costello has the story. >> reporter: touching down at washington dulles airport, the fedex panda express. its precious cargo tracked by news helicopters and a police escort for high-level chinese diplomats, the two i3-year-olds bao li and qing bao, a female whose name means green and treasure. >> so much kmexcitement. >> reporter: it's part of a global breeding and conservation program that's moved pandas from the endangered list to vulnerable. >> if you want to have more pandas, you need to make more of them. >> reporter: the smithsonian's last three pandas flew home as

chinese-u.s. relations grew tense, but then china announced the pandas would return. two arrived in san diego in june. now a 10-year loan agreement with the national zoo paying china a million dollars a year. for the first 30 days, the pandas will be in quarantine to ensure they don't bring any parasites or infectious diseases to other animals here at the zoo. the zoo was closed as staff worked to get their new residents settled. soon they'll move to an upgraded pa panda habitat, then make their public debut if january. as a half century of panda detente returns to the nation's capital. tom costello, nbc news, washington. now to police who had to carve out time to chase a run-away pumpkin. an officer is shown trying to wrangle the great pumpkin only to be swallowed whole. he just disappeared. he eventually broke free and was able to return the inflatable back to the homeowner.

that thing is absolutely massive. kudos to the homeowners who actually got these things. i can't wait to see their holiday decorations to see if they're that big. coming up on "today." the search for home sweet home. vicky nguyen will have everything you need to know if you're in the market for a new home, including key insights and mortgage rates. and here's a pre yeview of what else is ahead. >> car-buying strategies, and the outlander star is live. and two fall recipes, all this morning on the third hour of "today". >> thanks so much for watching "early today." i'm frances rivera. have a great in new york.

stay right there, more news on the way.