joining us now, ron allen in manhattan. tom winter at 30 rock. msnbc legal analyst barbara mcquade, former u.s. attorney general, and susan del percio who also served as special adviser to governor cuomo. >> ron allen, susan del percio, tom winter, let me start with you about the accusations and the way he tried to re-cast them today. let's fact check him and his attorney who preceded him before we get into the politics of it. >> sure, andrea. a couple of things. this is the first time we heard the governor address specifically the allegations made against him in that independent report released by the attorney general's office as it pertained to trooper number 1. this is a member of his protective detail who she says was the subject of, rather, sexual harassment and claims in statements made by the governor about her attire and about her dress and about the idea that she was going to be married and that will result in a reduction in her sex drive according to the report. on top of that, she also said he touched her inappropriately at times. the

>> ron allen, our thanks to you. and as ida moves further inland, nearly 80 million people are now under flash flood alerts al roker is tracking it all al, what are you watching tonight >> we're watching for rain, tom. this thing is moving into very saturated ground in certain areas. so ida, as it moves to the north-northeast, it continues to track at a fairly good clip, moving north-northeast 9 miles per hour, 35-mile-per-hour winds. it is going to bring heavy rain, stretching starting tonight on into tomorrow into the midatlantic states, into the northeast by thursday, and then finally, out to sea. but when it does, it is leaving in its path quite a bit of rain. flash flood watches and warnings stretching from the gulf coast into the northeast. for 78 million people, rainfall amounts from 2 to 3 inches. but locally, we could see upwards of 6 inches of rain or oversaturated soil that is going to mean a lot of flooding for a lot of folks, tom, stretching from the gulf all the way into the northeast. >> al roker, who

closed tomorrow as the storm comes in we are covering it all for you tonight, and we begin with ron allen on new york's long island. >> reporter: tonight with millions in new york under a state of emergency, officials are calling for voluntary evacuations for some coastal low-lying areas. tourists cutting vacation short. >> going to the airport, trying to take a flight out to los angeles before they all get canceled >> reporter: long island bracing for what's expected to be the first direct hit by a hurricane in more than 30 years, when gloria in 1985 caused a billion dollars in damage. >> with hurricanes, you really can't mess around. >> it's going to be our anniversary on sunday. so those plans got canceled. we're just going to hunker down, drink some champagne >> if you have to move, if you have to stock up, if you have to get to higher ground, it has to be today please >> reporter: with time running out before henri's expected landfall before noon sunday, residents lining up for gas and boarding up, preparing for 3 to 6 inches of rain, 75-mile-per-hour wind gusts, and massive power ou

ron allen in jackson, mississippi for us.onal hurricane center is saying jackson is seeing sustained winds of around 40 miles an hour. what are you experiencing there? obviously we see the rain coming down. >> reporter: yeah, it's raining and more rain and more rain to come, craig. that's mostly what we're feeling here and have been feeling since the overnight hours. a real drenching in a place like so many around the country that's already saturated. and that's the big concern, how much more rain are we going to get. when we look at the radar, it looks like the biggest storm showers are to the east of here. but every time we think that it's ending or winding down or maybe not going to be as bad as it is, it feels like it picks up a little bit. so we are literally taking this hour by hour. the winds are not as bad as they were earlier this morning. there were some gusts reported as much as 50 miles per hour in some parts of the state, around here as well. most of the damage and power outages are to the south of here as the st

i want to go to ron allen posted up in jackson, mississippi.moving inland towards where you as a tropical storm. talk about the biggest threat where you are. >> reporter: right now it's rain and it's been raining pretty heavily since the overnight hours. the worst of the storm hitting here is in the next couple hours. as a matter of fact, beginning now and into the next few hours is when everyone is watching very carefully to see if the storm stays together or breaks apart. there could be some heavier rain coming and there could be some stronger winds. so far gusts of wind in the range of 40 miles per hour, some up to 50 but not much stronger than that. if that continues, the power outage problem, the damage problems here could be less severe. there is some damage around the state to the south and 135,000 customers without power. the number is the examined to go up higher. everything else is closed, the airport is closed, businesses are closed, schools are closed in this area and that's what we're dealing with now. unpredictability of the storm

joining me ron allen on the ground in new york city. er: good morning, hallie. the mandate goes into effect here in new york and all about the numbers that you are citing, the spread of the delta variant and because the city is trying to increase the number of vaccinations here. it's already relatively high for the rest of the country, about 66% of the adult population is fully vaccinated. but they want it to be higher so essentially this is something of a carrot and stick approach. if you want to go into a restaurant, a concert, if you want to go to a gym, any other indoor facility, you need to show proof of vaccination starting tomorrow here in the city. we talked to a number of people here outside of the restaurants and cafes in the upper east side of new york, most seemed accepting of this. the vaccination rates are high in this part of town. here is what some people had to say their thoughts about this new vaccine mandate or passport. take a listen. >> the proof of vaccination will definitely make people get more enthusiastic about

nbc's ron allen is in montauk, new york with more. ron, how serious has the storm been on long island? >> reporter: it is drenched and soaked long island just like it has the entire region. that is the big concern that officials have now. there are flash flood warnings in place. right now we're at montauk point the furthest east you can get in new york. and we're up high and there are still strong winds that are blowing in off the ocean. i can see that there are thick clouds still in the skies. so those are reminders to residents to remain vigilant. that is what officials are saying. the worst of the storm has apparently blown through here and it moved through very quickly, which was a good thing. you'll remember a couple days ago there was talk that this part of long island even further west closer to new york could be the bulls eye. that didn't happen and that was of course the big relief. but there are still concerns about possible flash floods happening and this was not the kind of hurricane or tropical storm that ripped apart buil

joining me is nbc news correspondent ron allen from jackson, mississippi.ee the rain is already starting. how are they preparing there? >> reporter: well, andrea, it's been raining since the early morning hours and everyone knew this was coming and they're hunkered down. everything is shut. the airport is closed down, schools are closed, businesses are closed. there's very little traffic on the roadways. these are crucial hours because the center of the storm is almost parallel to jackson and the heavy rain is really just -- it just keeps coming. it's steady. the winds right now have died down for the most part. we have been getting some gusts, but most of those were earlier in the morning. as much as 40 or 50 miles per hour, but now the winds are not the problem so much as the rain. it's relentless and it's unclear how long this is going to last. when you look at the radar system, it seems to show most of the heavy rain is moving to the east of us. however, when you're standing here, it just keeps raining. we're at a hotel where there are hundreds of evacu

ron allen with nbc is in jackson, mississippi, where the strong winds and rain starting to pick up. >> reporter: this started a few hours ago and has been picking up as the hours have been going on through the morning. sheets of rain. the wind is picking up but gusts reported as much as 50, 60 miles but again it comes in bands. we are still north of where the storm center is. it's moving very slowly as we heard reported throughout the morning. the peak and worst is supposed to happen later this afternoon. but it's already getting pretty bad. we're hunkered down outside of a hotel because we have a refuge, all the cars in this parking lo the are people from louisiana who have come here to seek shelter. it's about a three-hour drive or so from new orleans to jackson on a good day, and people are here with all their possessions and families and pets and they're just huddled by the tv and on their phones trying to get word of what's going on back home. here the concern is about a lot of rain. this year, like so much of the rest of the country, is saturated and four to six more inches of r

more than 6 inches of rain have fallen in central park already ron allen is out at long island at theontauk lighthouse. >> reporter: henri pounded the shores of new york's long island, by then not the hurricane many expected but through the day the rain and wind still extremely intense. >> pretty crazy. a lot stronger that i thought it would be. >> reporter: long island may have escaped the direct hit that many feared, but it's still packing quite a punch. the center of the storm is passing by us just about now there off the coast out into the atlantic, and the big problem right now is the wind. not so much the rain but across the region, henri's downpours caused widespread flash flooding in new jersey, nearly 100 motorists who ignored the warnings rescued from vehicles. >> please seek shelter. >> reporter: a huge concert in central park evacuated because of lightning. >> proceed to your vehicles and protected areas. >> reporter: the park drenched by more than 4 inches of rain saturday night now warnings of more high water possible in already soaked inland areas. >> now is not the tim

ron allen is at the eastern end of long island in montauk, new york.u, we've been looking at pictures and it's looked like a hot mess. storm surge levels could reach just four feet at least but look at those waves, winds. talk about what you're seeing and feeling. >> reporter: it's gotten better. we're wondering if this is a moment we're near the eye of the storm or just getting a break in the clouds or something. it was a lot more intense. the winds are still pretty strong. you can see out there the ocean. that is the atlantic ocean. the atlantic and long island sound kind of meet. south and west of where kathy was, rhode island/connecticut area, you're right, they dodged a bullet here. this was the bull's eye. it appeared the storm may have missed here, clipped the edge of us. now we're trying to get assessments of damage. there was a utility company that warned outages could last seven to ten days which had people concerned. how could that be? the rain has stopped. the winds are still gusting. the seas are still churning and we'll see what the rest

ron allen in new york. vaccine mandate goes in effect today for indoor activities.hat mean for people? >> reporter: if you want to go into a restaurant, gym, concert, other performance venues, you need to show proof of vaccination, starting today. enforcement comes in a few weeks as the policy is rolled out. forms of vaccination proof you can use are the state excel see or pass. the city is trying to increase the vaccination rate here and they're concerned about the delta variant as is the rest of the country spreading. numbers are going up slightly, though not as much in other parts of the country. it is a carrot, stick approach. the point is they're saying that if you want to participate in the life of new york city, you need to be vaccinated. here there's acceptance of it, vaccination rate is relatively high, i think 66% of all adults are fully vaccinated. and numbers are tending to go up. but there are a lot of concerns. over the weekend there were some protests, a lot of it political, a lot of it spearheaded by the republican who is running for mayor, and the s

also there, ron allen, who's in montauk, new york for us. what are you feeling? lots of wind or has it pretty much passed? >> we're feeling some rain. some mist. the winds have kind of died down considerably and the feeling is that everything is just very, very soaked and that this rain might continue. there's a lot of clouds, thick clouds still out there and the feeling is that the winds were not as strong or as long as many people feared. remember, this was thought, long island was thought to be the bull's eye. there was concern about the first hurricane here in more than 30 years. well, that did not happen. but of course, tropical storms still cause a lot of damage and a lot of concern like sandy, irene, others. here, as we've been surveying the community, we're not seeing a lot of damage. we're not seeing a lot of power outages. a lot of people here are breathing a sigh of relief, frankly, that things could have been a lot worse here. but again, the governor and others are warning not to let down your guard just yet because there's still concern about floodin

we have reports now from nbc news correspondents from ron allen, kathy park, and vaughn hillyard. >>res of long island, not the hurricane many expected but the rain and wind still extremely intense. >> pretty crazy. a lot stronger than i thought it would be. >> reporter: across the region, downpours caused flash flooding. in new jersey, nearly 100 motorists who ignored the warning rescued from vehicles. a huge concert in central park evacuated because of lightning. >> proceed to your vehicles. >> reporter: the park drenched by more than 4 inches of rain. warnings of more high water possible in soaked inland areas. >> now is not the time to say we are out of harm's way. we are not out of harm's way. >> reporter: from the tip of the furthest point out, the keeper of the lighthouse watching it all unfold. sounds like long island dodged a bullet. >> we could have been worse. not to say it was all that good but it could have been a lot worse. >> reporter: with henri headed to massachusetts and expected to reach new hampshire and maine in the coming days, many in its wake breathing a sigh

bill, let's talk about where ron allen is and what's coming for jackson. it looks like the storm is spinning to the east right over mississippi? >> yeah. i'm not as concerned with the power outages up in jackson, i think we'll get gusts up to 40 miles per hour in that area. the storm is going to weaken that the wind damage isn't substantial. flash flooding could be a possibility if you live near streams that could be an issue too. winds are in the 20 mile per hour range right now. one of the stories that i think is going to develop today and everything i'm reading about the power outages in new orleans, this is not a flip of the switch type of thing. it's a lot of people ahead of the storm that had the means and money left now the people waking up without power and see they may not have power for days with the means and money are going to leave today in the new orleans area. what's going to be left behind is the people who don't have money to spend time in hotel rooms, their food will start going bad during the day today. the forecast, it's 88 to 90 degree