steve, good morning. >> reporter: sheinelle, good morning. in just a few hours, the former president expected here in battleground orange county to fire up the democratic efforts to flip the house of representatives come november. but everybody is still talking about the searing speech from yesterday. for the first time since leaving office, former president barack obama unloading on the trump administration and the republican party. >> it did not start with donald trump. he is a symptom. not the cause. >> reporter: the former president's return to politics held in front of the crowd at the university of illinois friday delivering a direct attack on republicans in power. >> what happened to the republican party?

here's the thing, sheinelle. firing rosstein may not have the desired effect of derailing or shutting down the russia since they are doling out pieces in the soutyorn district of new . if rosenstein goes, the investigation could continue. >> thank you, geoff. >>> one of the most closely watched senate races in the country. ted cr facing off against democratic challenger indeed red texas. -- in deep red texas. last night, the two faced off id a heate debate. wee hc's catie beck there. >> reporter: good morning, harry. this is a texas showdown. th candidates fighting hard and spending millions to win the race. this week, the politico report changed it to a toss up that is a big deal in texas because a democrat hasn't won a ewide election in three decades. here was no easing in to the firstbate. the gloves came right off. >> you just said something that i did not say. >> whatidou not say? >> and attributed it to me. >> what? >> i'm not going to repeat the slander. >> reporter: trading jab on policy, ted cruz taking

sheinelle and -- an impact here. sheinelle and peter. >> thank you. >> better t see deer in the waters than people. let's go back to see the region here. our frien miguel almaguer is there. miguel, you have shown us downed trees everywhere. thes makes acc to these areas that much more complicated. r,>> reporter: pe getting the downed trees out of the way will take time. mayor said it wl take weeks if not announce get the city back on its feet. theyere bracing for flooding event. they knew wilmington could be in the eye of the storm. we got the hurricane force winds and they were prepared for all of the water. it was the wind that did so much damage here knocking down tree after tree in neighborhood after neighborhood. it was difficult fordeirst respon to maneuver around town here. bis is where a mother and small infant were killeause of a downed tree. another woman asleep on her couch. a tree sced through her home. they are still concerned about the flooding event. iner terms of p across the state, 775,000 people hav

steve, good morning. >> reporter: sheinelle, good morning. the former president expecte here in battleground orange county to fire up the democotic effortslip the house of representatives come november. dyt every is still talking about the searing speechm f yesterday. for the first time since leaving office, formerresident barack obama unloading on the trump administration and the republican party. >> it did not start with donald trump. he is symptom. not the cause. >> reporter: the former president's return to politics held in front of the crowd at the university of illinois friday delivering a direct attack on republicans in power. >> what happened to the republan party? it's central organizing principle in foreign policy. was the fight against communism and now they are cozying up to the former hea of the kgb. >> reporter: and criticizing the resistance highlighted by the op-ed. >> they areoi not us a disservice by actively promoting 9 9 9 -- 90% of the crazy stuff coming out of the white house and promoting the other 10%. >> rorter: in a

>> reporter: good morning, sheinelle. myrtle beach appears to have been spared, but north myrtle beach, we are starting to see flooding as you can see. power is out here in north myrtle beach. about 160,000 homes in south carolina have lost power. one concern in the coming days are the main rivers could crest. the mayor tells us if that happens, it will cause catastrophic flooding. it could washout the main road leading in and out of myrtle beach. the reason this is a concern is the stores were already depleted leading up to the hurricane. this means that no fuel trucks and no food trucks will be able to get in to myrtle beach. keep in mind, 60% of the county evacuated. this means none of the residents will return to homes. back to you. >> dangerous conditions. tammy, thank you. >>> let's go to north carolina now. that rain and storm surge threat for communities is far from over. this is just hanging out over the area. nbc's kerry sanders is in carolina beach, north carolina. the fear is more water will come ashore is an

joe, good morning. >> reporter: sheinelle, good morning.this really is the story right now in northeastern north carolina. that is the rain.s it relentless. i keep getting hit with the bands. it started onhursday and continues here into saturday morning. the result othat is what you see now. this neighbhood. you look there -- >> lookt that. >> the pictures speak for itself. we are hearing a bit of joe. we will cut him off to get the connection sorte out. significant rain there. storm surge. the rainreating the dangerous environment. we want to check in with the mayor of jacksonville. mayor sammy phillips. mr. may or, good morning. we appreciate your time. up to 80-mile-an-hour winds. give us a sense of the scene around your community and try to give us a sense of how significant and widespread damage is there. >> right now we are experiencing quite a bit of major flooding in jacksonville. not all of it is related to iorm surge. a lot ofhas to do with the amount of rain we received over the last few hours in some of the lower areas of town.

kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, sheinelle. waiting game ctinues to find out whether the california professor and tat s judiciary committee can come to terms so that christine blasey ford can appear t publicly tell her story. the president again defended his chce forhe court. brett kavanaugh. calling him straight out of tintral c for the high court. a campaign stop in the d. heartl >> hello, missouri. >> reporter: an event planned to help a republican senate challenger. >> josh is a star. >> reporter: quickly became a rally for the embattled supreme court nominee. the crowd chanted. the president called on supporters to do battle forh. brett kavana >> we have to fight for him. not worry abouthe other side. >> reporter: without talking directly about the allegation made by christine blasey ford that kavanaugh assaulted her at a party when they were in hig school in t1980s. a claim the judge categoricallyi . the president insisted that kavanaugh will be confirmed. >> he w born for the u.s. supreme court. >> reporter: after days o

sheinelle. >> andrea, thank you. >> a lot of powerful moments ahead. rick davis was a close friend to senator a mccain served as national campaign manager when he ran for president in 00 and 2008. rick, good morning and condolences to you. >> good morning. thank you very much. >> i wt to start of we have seen so many solemn moments, i think, throught the ek. you had cindy mccain her head against the casket. meghan mccain openly10weeping. his 6-year-old mother there to witness and share. we heardh so m about senator mccain this week, rick, i wonder what you wan the world to know that we have not heard about your dear friend. >> i t the coverage you described has been really wonderful for the senator and ris family. a greatte to a great man. he has a very personal life also and part of what you will seeda is that personal life on grandisay at the national cathedral, his friends will gather. it isot just official washington. we saw that yesterday. great pomp and circumstance of our biggestnstitutions gathered to honor him. today, these are his friends. th

good morning. >> reporter: good morning, sheinelle. john mccain will leave the senate he loved for the last time this morning, passing familiar monuments reflecting his life's work. along the six-mile route to the service here at the national cathedral. >> american hero. >> reporter: all day and night, silently they came to pay respects. men, women and children by the thousands. sailors wearing dress whites among the crowd. average citizens, john mccain most likely never met, but touched by his example of service and sacrifice. wanting to give thanks for his life. >> this is history in the making. i wanted to be present for that. >> to me, he was a hero. he never left anyone behind. >> it shows how much people appreciate what he has done. >> reporter: casket arrived h r hours earlier. heavens weeping for the loss of the irrelevant replaceable public -- irreplacable public man. >> this is one of the bravest souls our nation has ever produced. however you choose to do your part, i hope you do it the way he did. >> reporter: inside, mccai

watch all weekend. >>> sheinelle, you "pop start"? justice yes.th lester holt ahead of his performance at global citizens festival here in new york tomorrow. take a listen. >> a lot of people struggle with the idea, why should we listen to celebrities? why is their opinion more important than anyone else's? do you feel a responsibility to be socially active and to be outspoken? >> i feel like i come from a tradition of active artists. and some of the best artists in history have been activists. stevie wonder, to marvin gaye, to anita simone. they talked about issues, the vietnam war, they talked about the civil rights struggle, and women's right. artists are truth tellers. they have a way of speaking and communicating to the world that is unique and politicians can't duplicate. we have a lot of influence. i believe it's my responsibility to use that influence for good. >> you can catch more of that interview tonight on "nightly news." >>> if you're looking forward to "a star is born" as much as we are, you're in for a treat. the single "shallow" w

sheinelle jones. she was born in philly, she worked there. her favorite spots in the city of brotherly love. we will have more on tonight's game from those two in moments. we can't wait. >> before we get there, a check of the headlines. president trump demanding the anonymous person who wrote "the new york times" op-ed criticizing him being identified, quote, for national security purposes. it was written by a senior administration official who claims to be part of the resistance to trump. the author says many trump appointees vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting mr. trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office. white house press secretary sarah sanders says the official was a coward who should resign. >>> breaking overnight, rescuers are scrambling to reach survivors buried by landslides after a powerful earthquake hit japan. the magnitude 6.6 quake instruct the northern island earlier this morning. it knocked homes off foundations and caused entire hillsides to collapse. officials say

>> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: i'm sheinelle jones from the "today" show.a pilot. y yes, ma'am. >> reporter: would like to get on the plane? >> yes, ma'am. are you in shock?e >> and w whisked her and her mom, cynthia, off to a flight with netjets. >> reporte you first. >> thank you. >> reporter: up to columbus, to train on the same flight simulators pilots use. welcome to the sete of ohio, birthplace of aviation. >> today will be in theng chal 650 sim. you get to do a flight from aspen t denver, colorado. ma reporter: are you excited? >> yes, m. >> you're going to be at the controls, not me. >> reporter: before takeoff, she told me a little more aut her lifelong dream. when did you fst dream o being a pilot? >> probably when ias 4. i wanted to do something differ wt. >> reportet is it about flying that you love? >> just being up in the air. ll be riding in the car and i'll look up in the sky and it's just like a -- you can never get that world by yourself. >> reporter: and then, it y.s reme to fl >> t's a red button right there, you push it twice. yeah. and

>> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: i'm sheinelle jones from the "today" show. how are you? hear you have dreams of becoming a pilot. >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: would you like to get on the plane? >> oh, okay. it's a lot in the morning, are you in shock? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: and we whisked her and her mom cynthia off to a flight with netyets. what a dream, right? you first. >> thank you. >> reporter: up to columbus, to train on the same flight simulators pilots use. welcome to the state of ohio, the birthplace of aviation. are you ready to fly today? >> i am so ready. >> today will be in the challenger 650 sim. you're going to get to do a flight from aspen to denver, colorado. >> reporter: are you excited? >> yes, ma'am. >> you're going to be at the controls, not me. >> reporter: before takeoff, she told me a little more about her lifelong dream. so, tell me, when did you first dream of becoming a pilot? >> probably when i was 4. i wanted to do something different. >> reporter: what is it about flying that you love? >> just being up in the air. i'll be riding in the

peter and sheinelle. >> good reminder at the end of this holiday weekend.teve, thank you. >>> now to the emotional final farewell. to john mccain, laid to rest sunday, after five days of services in rare honors in washington and arizona. nbc senior national correspondent kate snow joins us with the latest. kate, good morning. >> good morning. senator john mccain in his final resting place following a weekend of tributes to his life and legacy. his family, friends and even political rivals, including two former presidents, condemning the state of american politics, seemingly taking aim at the current occupant of the oval office. >> reporter: senator john mccain laid to rest, the celebrated statesman buried in a private ceremony at the u.s. naval academy cemetery sunday, alongside his best friend from the class of '58, admiral chuck larson. this photo released by the mccain family showing a grieving cindy mccain laying her head on her husband's casket. the burial kept off by a salute in the sky. navy fighters flying in the missing man formation. it marked the

but she nailed it. >> stuck the landing. >> thanks, sheinelle. >>> coming up, a wrong righted.ommit, opens up about his newfound freedom. (vo) this is not a video game. this is not a screensaver. this is the destruction of a cancer cell by the body's own immune system, thanks to medicine that didn't exist until now. and today can save your life. ♪ ♪ on tuesday afternoon, linda discovered the chex mix™ combination of one corn chex, one rye chip, and two pretzel pieces. then she won $27,000 on scratchers. coincidence? yes, but now she calls it money mix and we're okay with that. pick your mix with chex mix™. i'm hoping these nature sounds will help me relax a bit.. at least we don't have to worry about homeowners insurance. just call geico. geico helps with homeowners insurance? good to know. feeling better? i love you, pookie bear. [parrot 1] i love you, pookie bear. [parrot 2] i love you, pookie bear! [parrots] i love you, pookie bear!!! get to know geico and see how easy homeowners and renters insurance can be. hais not always easy. severe plaque psoriasis it's a long-distance

alroker, sheinelle jones.are going to celebrate in a big way. >> mike tirico on comcast plaza. >> what are you doing? >> we're doing tailgating >> are you going to say "football night in america." >> thursday,ot "ll night in america." >> had my fantasy football draft last night. favorite time of the year. favorite time of the year. >> you know wha it coincides with? every school back in school. yes! feeling good. >> all right. looking forward to tomorrow, mr. roker. >> yes. >> let's get c ack of today's headlines. tropical storm gordon makingrn landfall oht just west of alabama-mississippi border slamming the gulf coast withpo rful wind and drenching rain. the national hurricane center said the stori c sustained winds reaching 17 miles per hour. that's just shy of the 74 miles per hour requirement to be classified as a hurricane. forecasters say remnants of gordon could cause flash flooding across seven states in coming days. j >> breaking net in. a story we've been following. british prosecutors have charged

we'll see sheinelle in the a.m. for "weekend >>>to megyn kel is up next.is your time on in frid, sep good to you. i'm eun yang. right n we wt toheck on t morning commute with wtop's jacklor. what going on, jack? >> good news. 395 the hov lanes, thon staing cra is taf so much. lorton a broken down trr if the left cent lane with slowdowns out of dale city. in the northbound a dier 123, the other at fox mill road, they are h you. a crash. > a check on your f. he turned around the naacp. businessman. ben jealous. "marylander of the year". he's helped grow twenty companies and a thousand jobs. ben's vision: medicare for all. a plan to lower prescription drug costs and fully fund our schools. the sun says jealous has "the stature and gravitas" to lead maryland. we can do much better on jobs, on education, on healthcare. but it means we've got to believe in each other. ben jealous. governor. >>> still hanging on to clouds arou the city for now. these clo are moving out. on the lookout for high water for the next couple of hours. y improving weather picture. upper