let me bring in correspondent blaine alexander posted up in atlanta.e time line here and how it gets resolved and the reason why meadows' testimony is significant here. >> reporter: sure. so let's start with the time line. we don't have a date for when the testimony will take place, but we know when it will not take place and that is before november 8th, election day. that is because the d.a., as regard to this investigation is in the middle of what they're calling a so-called quiet period, essentially where they're not doing any activity around the fulton county special grand jury investigation, so that means no testimony, no subpoenas, no any other documents flying around, because, as the d.a. has said a number of times, she doesn't want to give these hearings influence in the election. we know when this day is scheduled for mark meadows to come and testify before the special grand jury, it will not be until sometime after november 8th. as for why this testimony is important, there are several kind of reasons behind it, several prongs to what she sai

with us to start our coverage, news correspondent blaine alexander and shaquille bruser. what were the highlights from the georgia debate last night? >> reporter: just to set the seen for this, of course this is a rematch. a highly anticipated rematch between brian kemp and stacey abrams thises the first time the two have met face to face on the debate stage and they took the time to capitalize on what happened in the past four years. brian kemp is a different candidate now than he was then. this time he has a record to run on. and during last night's debate you saw him pivot back to the record. one thing he's underscored was the decision to make georgia the first state to reopen during the covid lockdowns. he said that saved a number of businesses, the economy here in georgia. on stacey abrams' part she went after him on a number of things. one of the things about stacey abrams that has changed is that she has risen to national prominence. a lot of things she's said over the past three years has also remained in the spotlight. so we heard her speak on her issue of access

we have more from blaine alexander live for us in atlanta, georgia. and we also have vaughn hillyard in scottsdale, arizona. dems want to flip the governor's mansion and hold on to the senate seat and call on big names like former president obama. >> right. he's actually going to be in nevada tomorrow before making his way here on wednesday, in the greater phoenix area. let me tell you why it is important for democrats here. because for the first time, outside of the parade, in which the two candidates crossed paths, you're going to see the democratic candidate for governor, and mark kelly, the democratic candidate for senate share the stage. it is not often in arizona's recent, i don't even know if recent history is the right way, and let's talk about the last six decades really, in which you've seen democrats really make concerted efforts in this sort of a way, right? you've seen kyrsten sinema, mark kelly, even try in their 2018 and 2020 bids to paint themselves more as intents. this time though, you're seeing the democratic former president barack

blaine alexander has more. >> reporter: here in fort myers beach, you really don't have to look far toh. for john, there's nothing that compares to seeing ten years of your life look like this. >> first thing i had to pull up here, stand on top of the pile and you know, basically cry. it's a lot of hard work. >> reporter: he says rebuilding could cost nearly $500,000. the problem is, his insurance won't even cover half of that. a higher policy he says just wasn't in the budget. >> you never really think ahead of something like this is going to happen. you're already paying a mortgage payment and you're struggling a little to begin with. >> reporter: would that have been to expensive? >> yeah. >> reporter: a similar situation for randy beatty. >> that's the couch and recliner and stuff there. >> reporter: all that's gone. >> yeah. >> reporter: he canceled his flood insurance about eight years ago, but when ian hit, the water that spilled into his condo nearly reached the ceiling. >> there's a lot of people probably in the same shape at me. same boat. we're all in the same boat here. >>

with me now is nbc news correspondent blaine alexander in atlanta, jesse kirsch in youngstown, ohio, and nbc news senior political editor mark murray is here with us as well. start us off, blayne alexander. give us the expectation for tonight's debate. >> well, this is a closely-watched debate. a closely-watched race. and a number of polls show it is indeed a close race. i want to start with the latest polling between governor brian kemp, the republican and democratic challenger stacey abrams. looking at the quinnipiac numbers from last night, it shows they are virtually tied, stacey abrams by a percentage point or so. but it is important to point out that other recent polls throughout the election cycle show brian kemp with a much wider lead over stacey abrams. either way it shakes out, it is going to be certainly one that is very close. and that's why the parties are looking to get people to come out not just on election day but with early voting. we talked with resources on both sides. and unlike the senate race that is taking place in the state, where really the candidates are fo

i want to bring in from fort myers beach, florida, blaine alexander. she is an nbc news correspondent, plain, good to have you on the show. fort myers was one of the hardest hit areas in florida. what are the conditions like right there, right now, where you are? >> well, just standing where we are right now, 70, this gives you a good indication of what we are seeing as you get closer to the beach, as we get closer to this kind of strip. that is, just sheer examples of eons strength, right here, behind me, this used to be a marina shop. this was a place where people could come, rent voting equipment and kayaks to go out and enjoy the water sports, but you see what it has left behind of this, and when you look up and down the strip you see much more of the same. in fact, i spoke with one person who owns a place behind me, he said that quite frankly did not expect it to be as powerful as it was. they thought they could kind of anchored on their kayaks and button things up very tightly. he said he spent the better part of yesterday morning trying to take

for the latest, we turn to blaine alexander in atlanta for us. a lot of people are dealing with this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the cdc is warning that flu cases are on the rise across much of the country. perhaps most notably right here in the south. experts say the concern and what's really different about this is that we're seeing flu cases rising earlier in the season than we typically do. and that could certainly mean a lot winter ahead.