>> jim maceda reporting to us from london. thank you so much for that, jim. >>> also breaking inside syria, the u.s. going alone, hitting a second terror target. this one the khorasan group. u.s. missiles bombarded targets west of aleppo. eight air strikes were used. the group was reportedly plotting and planning attacks against the west. >>> now much closer to home, it is time to look at the national weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning to you. >> fall is here. >> fall is here. >> and just like that, in the west, with one beautiful warm day yesterday, and now we're watching the storm approaching. this is a big storm, one of the biggest ones we have seen. look on the satellite, just spinning there, very mature storm force winds with it and it could possibly get to hurricane force winds. that's a very impressive storm system and that is going to cause our big pattern change in the west. it is good for fire fighting efforts. we're not going to watch the hot dry weather in the west like we have been seeing. moi

let's bring in jim maceda from our london bureau. we have breaking news. reports of new air strikes inside syria. >> good morning, francis. that's right. according to syrian monitoring agency, on the ground, a reliable one. two more air strikes took place. near the syrian border with iraq. and the second, near the turkish border overnight, striking next to that syrian kurdish town. at the heart of a fierce battle, as i.s.i.s. tries to take control of that border area. as many as 150,000 kurdish refugees have reportedly fled the fighting there. and it appears, the fighter planes that were used were not syrian, which would suggest these were coalition strikes. >> now, a group that is very powerful. u.s. intel says the threat was eminent. just how close? >> they were getting close. and imminent can mean sooner rather than later. u.s. officials were concerned about this group of hardened al qaeda veterans of pakistan, afghanistan, and chechnya. they were recruiting members to blow up a commercial planes. some say that it was not necessarily about to launch an

our jim maceda looks at who is winning the showdown with putin, president obama or vladimir putin. >>orter: vladimir putin as he wants fellow to see him, the charge by land, air, and sea and ever defiant. despite international condemnation for what nato calls an invasion of eastern ukraine like crimea before it. putin's response, sending in more troops and tanks over the border, nato sources say, and opening a new front in the four month conflict that's killed at least 2,600 people according to u.n. figures. some critics fear putin is carving out new territory. the kremlin referred officially for the first time friday to novato, or new russia. what's putin really up to? theodore lucioni who advises them on defense matters, said putin has no grand strategy to resurrect the soviet union. >> the former soviet space should be recognized by the rest as a zone of special interest and exclusive rights for russia. >> reporter: for putin, ukraine is a red zone within that space, though he still denies russia plays any role in the war there. putin's unpredictability has made relations with the

i'm jim maceda, nbc news reporting from london. now back to you. >> chuck hagel says he has approved a plan to target isis safe havens in syria. that plan was presented to president obama yesterday. today hagel told the house armed services committee while aiding syrian rebels entails risk, it is a risk worth taking, but some house members were still skeptical of that strategy and how much support america's allies will offer. >> there will always be risks, mr. chairman, there are risks in everything. there are risks in action and there are risks in inaction, but we believe the risk is justified, given the real threat isil poses to this country. and to the region, and to our allies. >> hagel also reiterated president obama's vow that no u.s. forces will take part in ground combat missions in iraq. the senate is expected to vote later on whether to authorize aiding syrian rebels in the fight against isis. the house passed the measure yesterday. >>> meanwhile, new developments in the king fire in eldorado county. a press conference ha

i'm jim maceda, nbc news, reporting in london.w back to you. >>> heavy rains due to a tropical storm and a seasonal monsoon have caused widespread flooding in the philippines. local officials reported that hundreds were evacuated today. some were stuck in waters more than neck deep. >>> mexico now dealing with its second hurricane of the week. at least one person died when hurricane polo hit acapulco last night. the storm brought heavy wind and rain to mexico's already battered pacific coast. the storm is now heading towards los cabos, where officials are still dealing with the aftermath of hurricane odile. >>> more american tourists are being evacuated from cabo. take a look at this long line. they were lined up at the international airport yesterday to try to board flights out of baja. large areas of the resort region are still without electricity or water. >> we've been standing in line for about 5 1/2 hours. military police have been good about getting us water, but we're frustrated. we're tired, we're dirty. we were in one of

. >> nbc's jim maceda joins me live from london with more. talk a little bit about the reaction to that thwarted plot in australia and also this new video that's emerging. >> hi, kristen. well, both stories have resonated here in britain. even though people have been preoccupied with the historic scotland referendum on independence, the latest isis video of yet another british hostage. this time, the photo journalist john cantalie, have has disturbed people here. paraded on video by isis. this video is very different. isis isn't seen to physically abuse or threaten, it has a bizarre message for west. british government officials are taking it very seriously. some officials here are saying the video is a sign that isis is becoming desperate to drum up support as the west ratchets up its anti-isis military campaign. now that australian plot, the thwarted isis plot to behead victims at random in the streets of sydney, that's getting a lot of play. australia, like britain, a key u.s. ally in the war on isis, is grapple i grappling with what could

jim maceda, thank you. >>> it's 6 minutes past the hour. in the news, we're learning more about the iraq war veteran accused of hopping the white house fence. he appeared in court yesterday. he had more than 800 rounds of a.m. moe, two hatchets and a machete u at the time. police pulled him over and found 11 weapons including a shotgun. he also had a map of the white house circled on it. he's being held without bail. >>> pennsylvania police si a wave of credible tips has helped narrow the search area for a cop killer. eric frein may be concealed by bunkers and he could be armed. >>> it sparked the summer war in gaza. now two palestinians expected in an abduction are dead. authorities said they died in a shootout that were involved in a deadly kidnapping of three israeli teens. hamas claimed responsibility for that abduction. >>> over to the israeli skies, a syrian fighter jet is shot down. it happened by the golan heights. the al qaeda group is trying to hold on to it. >>> and the world health organization says the number of ebola cases cou

. >> nbc's jim maceda joins us. are they now pushing to do more against isis? >> opinion here does seem to be shifting since the video came out. british people who are extremely war weary have been galvanized by just the gruesomeness of the execution of haines. now the threat to another brit. talking to him about the nightmare that refugees are going through. he decided to go to syria and help. and now he's living his own nightmare. henning has no military background. he's very much mr. every man. and the threat now to his life has really shaken the government and the public here to the core. there's more pressure because the apparent killer of these men seems to be british. the man the media is calling jihadi john. we understand from security sources that isis is still holding two american and two british hostages. and that authorities using satellite surveillance and sensors to track movement on the ground, they're pretty sure, they say, about the identity and general location of this jihadi john. one security source cited by "the london times" this morning.

. >> jim maceda is following that vote from london, it will go down to the wire. jim, to follow the track of this. it has been going on for two years, but the last month or so has been incredible. >> reporter: absolutely incredible. you can call this decision day in spades. the polls close in about five hours in scotland tavern. as many as four million paper, repeat, paper ballots will be counted overnight. by the time skots and britains wake up friday morning, they will have learned the fate of their respective countries. it is way too close to call for even polsters. emotions deepening on both sides, even between friends and family members, split over how to vote. they're aware of the fact that this is not a rehearsal, this is something, a decision that could last for generations. >> jim, thank you. i have to take you to breaking news on capitol hill. >>> secretary kerry started his remarks. >> because i have to be at the white house for the meeting with president poroshenko, so i'm going to try to really abbreviate, keep my answers short, but i also want to be s