>> great question, lester. allies including his running mate say he's in good spirits as they tell it. mr. golf had been golfing with a friend when the incident happened. mr. trump was talking about his golf game after the shooting and was also saying that he is glad to be alive. remember, after the rally in butler, pennsylvania, mr. butler described that attempt on his life as surreal, showing up in person to the republican convention a couple of days later. mr. trump doesn't have any in-person campaign stops and it is basketball he could decide to appear or speak publicly in the day given everything that has happened today. >> halle jackson, thank you. >>> just two months since the attempt on mr. trump's life in pennsylvania. that led tote resing naz of the secret service director. kelly o'donnell has more on what this latest incident means for the service. >> reporter: tonight, a new security challenge for the u.s. secret service in what has been a season of danger and heightened scrutiny. only nine weeks af

lester? >> all right, al roker, thanks very much. for more let's go to jesse kirsch, who is in new orleans. and jesse, how are they bracing for francine there? >> reporter: lester, we're talking about the possibility of three to five feet of storm surge flooding and even tornadoes here as we wait for francine's landfall. with the storm's latest forecast francine's path would have new orleans on the right. that is typically the side of a hurricane that sees the most devastation from rain and wind. in anticipation of landfall today there were cars lined up around the block outside of this city's sandbagging site. and the city is urging residents to finish preparations this evening and to shelter indoors during the storm, which formed closer to louisiana than others. that means less time to prepare. lester? >> all right, jesse, thank you. just moments ago the scene in philadelphia as former president trump's plane arrived for tonight's high-stakes debate against vice president harris. it's a cri

lester? >> all right, chloe melas, thank you. our senior legal correspondent laura jarrett is here with us >> combs had offered to put up $50 million . let me pick up on that train of thought. what was judge's reason for not giving him bail? >> yeah, combs had offered to put up $50 million as a bond, but it simply did not work, lester. prosecutors went in today saying he is a flight risk, a danger to the community, and the judge agreed, finding that she was worried about his substance abuse issues as alleged by prosecutors and anger issued also described here. we've seen high-profile defendants detained pretrial. you think about r. kelly, you think about jeffrey epstein. his attorney says he is going to try to appeal this denial of the bail. but if it doesn't work, he could be denied bail for a long time here and behind bars for more than a year as this goes to trial, lester. >> okay, laura, thank you. >>> we'll turn now to another major story. hezbollah blaming israel for an unprecedented at

lester? >> tom, thank you. >>> the impact of this hurricane is being felt well beyond florida. priya sridhar is in atlanta. priya, what's the situation there tonight? >> reporter: that's right, lester. here in atlanta, schools and businesses are already closed. officials say hurricane force from helene will be felt here in the city and across the state, warning of the potential for sustained power outages. tonight, millions are being urged to stay off the roads as we brace for helene's impact. lester? >> priya, thank you. bill karins is tracking the storm. what's the latest? >>> lester, we're watching for the first time in recorded history of a category 4 hurricane making landfall in the big bend of florida. you can clearly see the eye, it intensified rapidly all afternoon today. and now, it's only miles away from the coast. we're going to have land. sometime before midnight in florida, about 70 miles from the coastal area. so, what will this mean once it moves onshore? of course, with the wi

>> reporter: lester, this is pretty incredible. in just those two minutes that we saw that report, the situation has gotten even worse here in new orleans. we're feeling now those hurricane-force wind gusts. people were out here earlier. this is the lakeview section of new orleans. people love to come out here in great weather. even during thunderstorms and before hurricanes to see the storms rolling in. right now i can't see anybody out here. it is dangerous, and we've just gotten an alert that in jefferson parish, which is the suburbs around new orleans, they're asking people to limit their water use. they're scared of the water coming in and backing up those pipes. lester, back to you. >> tom llamas and team, thank you. >>> to al roker tracking francine. now it's going to be a long night. >> it really is, lester. you can see the bands which are those heavy bands just to the south of new orleans. that's what tom is dealing with right now. it is pushing in, and it is going to be the next 24 hours very difficult. right now francine

lester. >> all right. gabe gutierrez at the white house, thank you. >>> we'll take a break and then up next boeing's starliner undocking from the space station and heading home. the latest on its troubled odyssey right after this. troubled odyssey right after this. e breztri for my copd, i had bad days. [cough] flare-ups that could permanently damage my lungs. with breztri, things changed for me. breztri gave me better breathing. starting within 5 minutes, i noticed my lung function improved. it helped improve my symptoms, and breztri was even proven to reduce flare-ups, including those that could send me to the hospital. so now i look forward to more good days. breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. don't take breztri more than prescribed. breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth

lester? >> all right. matt bradley tonight, thank you. >>> the escalation of the mid east war threatens to overshadow the unresolved hostage crisis in gaza. today i sat down with anguished american families still waiting to bring their loved ones home nearly a year after the october 7th hamas attacks. it's been nearly a year now since we first saw their faces, those kidnapped by hamas terrorists on october 7th, including the families of these americans who we spoke to today. are you fearful that the world's attention is shifting away from gaza and the hostages? >> we're here today again to appeal to the people of the world that are failing to see who are the innocents here. the innocents are our loved ones and the citizens of gaza and the region that just wants de-escalation and just wants the war to end. and that should start with the release of the hostages. >> reporter: we've been speaking with these families since their nightmare began. but this is our first conversation with aviva siegel. she was a ho

lester? >> okay, vaughn hillyard, thank you. one of the few things trump and harris agree on, they both oppose the sale of u.s. steel to a japanese company. but some local workers are desperately trying to change their minds. gabe gutierrez explains. >> reporter: this is u.s. steel, responsible for some 4,000 jobs across pennsylvania. and now at the center of a fight that's growing more heated. what frustrates you the most about all this? >> i think that it's a lack of concern, you know. you're right, i'm pissed. >> reporter: chris kelly, a democrat is the mayor of west mifflin, a small town near west pittsburgh with the steel plant. his garage is also his office. at first he was skeptical when a japanese company, nippon said it wanted to buy u.s. steel. but he says nippon won him over by promising billions of dollars in local investments. >> i learned what the deal is about, what the offer is, the protection of jobs, to protect pensions, protection and modernization. >> reporter: now two peo

lester? >> priya sridhar tonight, thank you. al roker is tracking the storm. al, what's the latest? >> okay, 130-mile-per-hour winds, but it's moving a little faster now, moving northeast at 23 miles per hour, a category 4 storm with tornado watches from the carolinas down to the keys. some tornado warnings embedded in there as well. landfall somewhere tonight between 8 and 11:00 p.m. and what we're looking at is that dangerous storm surge, 10 to 20 feet from apalachicola to south of cedar key. tampa bay may see its all-time worst. wind gusts from 75 to 110 miles per hour along the florida panhandle. tomorrow as we move into georgia, 50 miles per hour wind gusts all along the i-95 corridor. a lot of damage. we could be looking at a major flood event across the appalachians, but down in the panhandle into the mid appalachians, we're talking, lester, 10 to 20 inches of rain. the flooding could be catastrophic, lasting right on into early next week. >> this is going to be a tough one. al, thanks

lester? >> all right. vaughn hillyard, thank you. join us tomorrow night for coverage of the presidential debate. we get under way starting at 8:00 p.m. on nbc. >>> tonight in kentucky an urgent search is under way after a gunman opened fire, injuring five people. schools in the area have been closed and authorities are offering a $10,000 reward. priya sridhar is there. >> reporter: tonight the manhunt continues for a suspected shooter in laurel county, kentucky. >> our goal is to apply steady pressure and wearing mr. couch down. >> reporter: according to newly released court documents obtained by nbc news, a woman called 911 30 minutes before the shooting to warn that 32-year-old joseph couch had texted her that he was, quote, going to kill a lot of people and then, quote, kill myself. authorities say couch bought an ar-15 and 1,000 rounds of ammunition at this store before he drove eight miles away and allegedly began randomly shooting at cars on the interstate. officials say couch served in the army res

lester. >> thank you. >>> in georgia, the first court appearance was today for the 14-year-old and his father charged in this week's deadly high school shooting. priya sridhar is there. priya, what happened in court today? >> reporter: that's right, lester. neither father nor son entered a plea in court today, but the district attorney did say there could be even more charges to come for the suspected shooter. tonight, the 14-year-old charged in the deadly shooting at apalachee high school shackled with hair covering his face in his first court appearance. >> you're charged with four counts of felony murder. >> reporter: family members of victims sitting in the first row. soon after his father colin gray appeared in the same courtroom. >> are you mr. colin gray. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: he's facing involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder charges in connection with the shooting. >> these charges stem from mr. gray knowingly allowing his son, colt, to possess a weapon. >> reporter: t

lester? >> okay. richard engel, thank you. >>> and off the coast of alaska a dangerously close encounter for us to report. a u.s. military jet capturing the moment when a russian fighter plane came alarmingly close, prompting the american jet to turn away. it happened in international airspace. a u.s. commander said it was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all. >>> in 60 seconds, we're hours away from a potentially crippling strike by dock workers from new england to texas. the goods you use that could be affected. next. okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. yay - woo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. (♪♪) >>> back now with the massive outage for verizon customers. tens of thousands of reports of mobile service disruptions coming in from across the u.s. the company said service has restored -- started to be restored and it will, quote, work around the clock

lester, back to you. >> all right. let's get right to bill karins. he is tracking hurricane francine. it is going to be a long night along the gulf coast. >> a lot wondering if they'll lose power, if they haven't already. numbers are growing quickly, because that eye wall has a furtch to it and we've seen wind gusts already up to 96 miles per hour inland, and the bright red area is the area of concern. highly populated area in between. all those locations have to go through a portion of this huge eye of this storm. so, here's the new orleans area here, and only about luckily about 20 to 30 miles away from that really intense band, so from the new orleans area if you're going to lose power, it will likely happen as we go throughout the next couple of hours. by about midnight, everything should calm down to about 11:00 p.m. the worst conditions and could see as much as four to six inches of rainfall and a threat of isolated tornadoes not just new orleans but areas of eastern louisiana and southern mississippi and everyone here that has a chance of gett

lester? >> all right, garrett haake, thanks very much. the secret service already under scrutiny from the first attempt on mr. trump's life, now facing new questions, including how an armed suspect was able to hide along trump's golf course for nearly 12 hours. kelly o'donnell is at the white house. >> reporter: a dire challenge for the secret service tonight, doing more amid real dangers. >> what happens -- [ gunshots ] >> reporter: and heightened threats. >> keep walking! >> we cannot have failures. in order to do that, we're going to have some hard conversations with congress. >> reporter: while the agent who spotted and fired on the suspect is getting praise, the agency is also facing questions, including why the secret service had not searched the bushes where the alleged assailant hid for nearly 12 hours. the acting director says that kind of advanced search is not part of an unscheduled stop. >> this was an off-the-record movement. it wasn't a site that was on his schedule -- it wasn't

lester? >> all right, raf sanchez, thank you. >>> now to ukraine, and our exclusive interview with president zelenskyy, coming just after one of the deadliest russian air strikes since the war began. richard engel is there for us tonight. >> reporter: ukraine says two russian missiles hit a military academy and a nearby hospital in the ukrainian city of poltava, killing dozens. what can you tell us about what happened? >> translator: that's another tragedy in ukraine. the missile strike, the missile flew some three minutes, and people didn't have time to go to shelter. >> reporter: but was it a revenge attack? the strike was just over the border from the kursk region in russia, which ukraine occupied last month. in his first interview since his surprise incursion, ukraine's president zelenskyy today told nbc news invading russia was a preemptive strike to stop russia from taking more of ukraine. >> translator: we did have understanding from our intelligence that russia was planning to set up

>> lester a pretty remarkable scene if you think about it. a man once a former police captain now the sitting mayor of new york city going down for processing just like any other defendant. a mug shot, fingerprints all ahead of his arraignment. he pleaded not guilty in court while outside of court his defense team already sort of previewing where they'll go with the case and move aggressively and try to file a motion to dismiss as early as next week. >> and there are signs this is an active investigation. >> and potentially widening, and nbc news confirming according to three sources one of mayor adams' top deputies, a top adviser, was actually raided today. her phones were seized as she was landing here in the u.s. now, her attorneys say she is fully cooperating. we're going to follow this as they're back in court next week. >> all right, laura. thank you. >>> coming up, tens of thousands of port workers set to strike. we'll explain the deep impact all ahead of the holiday shopping season right after this. the picture. with skyrizi,... ...fe

lester? >> kathy park, thank you. >>> we'll turn now from the storm to the raging wildfires in the west. california expanding its state of emergency, as dangerous heat fuels three massive infernos. dozens of homes destroyed. our dana griffin is in the fire zone tonight. >> reporter: high fire danger across the west. >> we hope the winds don't shift, and, you know, we're still worried. >> reporter: five million people under red flag warnings, as low humidity and gusty winds threaten to spread existing fires. >> there's still a potential for more people to be disrupted, and heaven forbid, anybody to be injured or killed. >> reporter: firefighters pushing back flames in four southern california counties. governor gavin newsom extending the emergency declaration after touring the fire zone. after those fires exploded overnight tuesday, harrowing tales of survival. as the bridge fire chewed through wrightwood, california -- >> the whole south side of mountain high was fully engulfed and had tried

lester? >> all right, keir simmons in beirut, thank you. >>> now to the race for the white house. the fight over key battleground states ramping up with vice president harris bringing extra star power on to the campaign trail. here is gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: tonight, vice president harris once again in the critical swing state of michigan, this time getting a celebrity boost from oprah winfrey at a live-streamed event. >> what we're hoping is going to be one great big giant voter rally. >> reporter: just weeks after the tv icon's high wattage endorsement at the democratic national conversation. >> let's all choose kamala harris. >> reporter: and with in-person early voting beginning in several states tomorrow, a new poll showing just how tight this race is. harris and former president trump tied at 47% nationally. and in the key state of pennsylvania, harris has a slim lead within the margin of error. meanwhile, the former president overnight looking to boost republican congressional can

lester, this is not what de-escalation looks like. lester. >> all right. keir simmons, thanks. >>> we'll turn to breaking news out of south carolina. the governor declining to stop the execution of a death row inmate convicted of a murder nearly three decades ago, and as laura jarrett reports, he has died by lethal injection tonight. >> reporter: he said he was innocent, but tonight freddie owens put to death for the killing of a convenience store carolina, the first execution in the state for more than a decades. after appeals came up short, 46-year-old freddie owens making a last-minute plea for clemency this week. his lawyers securing a sworn affidavit from a man who provided key testimony against owens but who now says he lied and owens did not kill irene graves, a mother of three who was shot in the head during a robbery of a speedway in 1997. steven golden, 18 at the time of that shooting, now says he was high on drugs when police initially questioned him and prosecutors offered him a deal to flip on owens adding, quote, i was scared that i would get

lester. >> all right, priya sridhar, thank you. >>> also tonight the u.s. hitting russia with new sanctions for trying to manipulate u.s. opinion ahead of the election by spreading propaganda online. here's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: with two months to go before the election, the biden administration says it is cracking down on foreign countries trying to influence opinion in the u.s. the target today, russia. the doj announcing the seizure of 32 internet domains used or sponsored by the russian government it says to spread bogus news stories. >> these websites were designed to appear to american readers as if they were major u.s. news sites. >> reporter: the doj also indicting two employees of the russia funded media company rt, which was banned in the u.s. following the invasion of ukraine. >> since at least last year, rt has used people living and working inside the u.s. to facilitate contracts with american media figures. >> reporter: the two russian nationals are accused of running a $10 million scheme to fund and direct a u.s. company producing vide

lester, this is not what de-escalation looks like. lester. >> all right. keir simmons in beirut beirut, thanks. >>> in south carolina a death row inmate said to be executed tonight for a murder nearly three decades ago making a last-ditch request for a reprieve after a key witness changed his story. laura jarrett is with us. some breaking news about this. >> we just got the order in from the justices minutes ago. the high court declining to block the execution of freddie owens. now he still has an opportunity with this pending petition before the governor of south carolina, he was set to be executed at 6:00 p.m. eastern tonight so we await word all while the victims' family is stilling waiting for closure here. he said he was innocent. after years of appeals came up short, 46-year-old freddie owens making a last-minute plea for clemency this week. his lawyer securing a sworn affidavit from a man who provided key testimony against owens but who now says he lied, and owens didn't kill irene graves, a mother of three who was shot in the head during a robbery

lester? >> all right. jesse kirsch, thank you. >>> and new polling reveals the shifting trend lines in the race for president as former president trump campaigned today in battleground pennsylvania. garrett haake now with the latest. >> reporter: with just six weeks until election day former president trump in critical pennsylvania. as he's showing new signs of strength in three other crucial battlegrounds. polls tonight revealing trump leads vice president harris in north carolina, georgia and arizona. all within the margin of error. but nationally it's harris with the edge according to our nbc news poll. the vice president's five-point lead within the margin of error, powered by a huge jump in her personal favorability. up 16 points from july. the biggest such boost in nbc news polling since george w. bush's surge after 9/11. still, trump leads harris by eight points on handling what voters said was their most important issue, inflation and rising costs. >> if you cast your vote for kamala harris, you're

that's right, lester. this is now the second time that sean combs has been denied bail in his federal sex trafficking case. in court prosecutors arguing that combs is a danger to the community, and they said that they feared combs would intimidate witnesses if released on bail. now, combs' attorneys argued today that the brooklyn jail where he is being held, which once housed michael cohen and ghislaine maxwell, had horrific conditions that were not appropriate for a pretrail detention, but tonight the judge was not persuaded, and now combs will remain behind bars until trial, which is not likely to begin for at least a year, and if convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life behind bars, lester. >> all right, chloe, thank you. >>> a terrible accident during a field trip to an apple orchard in wisconsin to report. authorities say a group of children and adults were on a wagon ride when one wagon lost control going downhill and abruptly overturned. 25 people were injured. at least one was air-lifted, but