Multiple women coming forward against billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, and more of our exclusive interview. What this woman is revealing about how she says she was targeted. Did you ever think, why is this older man i did. Wanting to hang out with this 14yearold . I did. Stop that submarine. Dramatic video from one of the wildest chases youll ever seen. What the coast guard says it found inside that sub. And dream team. You guys have never been in a movie before. Harry smith sitting down with the blockbuster cast of one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Today, friday, july 12th, 2019. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to today. Thank you for being with us on a friday morning. Not only are folks in the south watching the map and the storm track closely. Theyre already feeling it. National guard has been activated. Evacuation orders are there. Thats our top story this morning. Wind and rain felt along the gulf coast and look at that picture. The conditions are set to worsen throughout the day. There are fears of record rain and record flooding. Well be in new orleans live in a moment from now. Lets go to al, who is watching this storm closely. Al, good morning. Thank you so much. Heres the latest we have from the National Hurricane center. Barry, 125 miles southsoutheast, morgan city, louisiana. Picked up speed, moving northnortheast at 5. Makes landfall Early Saturday Morning and then continues its way up the Mississippi River valley. In fact, well be talking about this on into next week. As you can see, it goes all the way up into the midwest. Tropical alerts along the coast. We have hurricane warnings. Tropical storm warnings. As you move inland, Tropical Storm watches for coastal parts of mississippi. Where the storm surge will be anywhere from two to six feet from intercoastal city to grand isle. The wind field is fairly large. The winds, again, arent going to be catastrophic but can do damage, bring down power lines and remove roofs. Well be watching this through sunday. To give you a sense of why this is going to be such a big problem, it is a massive storm in size. 800 miles across, almost across the entire gulf coast. Now, in comparison, hurricane michael, 500 miles last year. Average hurricane diameter, 300 miles. Difference was that michael was a category 3 or 4 storm, even almost reaching a 5. That caused all that damage. What were worried about, the rain. Flooding is going to be a big problem. A high risk of flooding through louisiana, central louisiana, and on into the south. Rainfall rates 3 to 4 inches per hour, and it could overwhelm the pumps in new orleans. Isolated rain, 25 inches or more. A wide area of 10 to 15 inches of rain. Louisiana is in jeopardy of breaking their alltime hurricane allison record 2001 of almost 30 inches of rain. Were going to be watching this very closely. The flooding, again, the big problem. Thats why people have to really heed those evacuation orders. Craig . Al, well come back to you in a few moments. Along the gulf coast, millions are bracing and preparing for whatever that storm brings. Nbcs Kerry Sanders is in new orleans for us once again this morning. Whats the scene right now . Reporter good morning, craig. Im on the Mississippi River. We heard al talk about rain levels up to maybe 25 inches. Take a look at the mississippi here. See the trees there . Thats where the banks of the mississippi should be. As you can see, the water is much closer. And the fear is that with the storm surge and that amount of rain, the only protection will be for that side where people live, this manmade levee that runs for miles. This morning, the gulf coast is on high alert. You have to be prepared. You never know, even if it is a small one. Something can happen. Reporter Grocery Store shelves stripped bare. Cars lining up to fill up. Residents here either hunkering down or heading out. Glen jones moved up his flight. I like new orleans a lot but i didnt want to sleep here tonight at the airport. Reporter heading out now makes sense . Right. Reporter Plaquemines Parish brought in buses to get people to shelters. Mandatory evacuations in much of the lowlying louisiana parish. Were hoping that people have heeded our warning and moved to high ground. Reporter Mercedes Antoine is going, and worried what she might find when she comes back. The water could come over the levy. What would happen to your home . Destroyed. Ill have nowhere else to go. Reporter lawrence, whose house sits up high, says he and his wife will stay. I have four dogs and one cat. I dont want to move with them. Reporter along the Mississippi River, the big concern is the storm surge. The river is already swollen, running 8 feet above normal, with 3 to 5 feet of storm surge possible. The mississippi could rise to levels not seen since 1950. So on one side, you can see all is dry. The levee is doing exactly what it is supposed to do, protecting the Mississippi River from coming over. The fear, of course, is the storm surge could push it over, flooding neighborhoods. The National Guard has been activated here, guys. More than 3,000 members stand big in the event that that flooding problem begins. Savannah, craig . Kerry sanders for us in new orleans, thank you. Politics now. This morning, we have the results of a new nbc news wall street journal poll in the 2020 president ial race. It is a mixed bag for Democratic Front runner joe biden. We also have some major headlines out of the white house, including new details on the migrant raids this coming weekend and the president s conservative social media summit. Lets start with the new poll with Peter Alexander in our studio in morning. You have the numbers. Good morning. Good morning to you. We know joe biden got mixed reviews for the first democratic debate. Well, he has good news this morning. Hes still in the lead among democrats, but he has company. Lets show you are the numbers are from the new nbc news wall street journal poll. You see joe biden at 26 , trailing him is elizabeth warren, the senator from massachusetts, at 19 . Tied for third there, senators Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders. And the south the indiana mayor from south bend, indiana, Pete Buttigieg at 7 . Warren does better with selfdescribed liberals. The democratic voters under the age of 50. Joe biden focusing on the president. Yesterday, taking aim at President Trump on the topic of foreign policy. Well, the worlds democracies look to america to stand for the values that unite us and truly lead the free world. Donald trump seems to be on the other team. We are the United States of america. We do not coddle dictators. Really, the biggest fault line were seeing among the democrats right now are those democrats who want substantial change. If you want substantial change, youre inclined to support Bernie Sanders or warren. If you want more realistic change, youre a big joe biden fan right now. The next debate, the end of this month. Thank you, peter. Speaking of the 2020 race, President Trump is headed to the battleground state of wisconsin today. We just left the white house and talked to reporters about a number of topics in the headlines. Nbcs Kristen Welker is at the white house. Kristen, good morning. Reporter good morning to you, craig. There is breaking news. Labor secretary alex acosta is stepping aside. He called the president to inform him saying it was his decision. Mr. Trump acknowledging acosta had become a distraction. This after acosta held a News Conference wednesday defending a sex crimes plea deal he helped broker for Jeffrey Epstein in 2008 while serving as a u. S. Attorney in florida. Acosta suggested epstein would not have served any jail time if his office had not stepped in. Epstein was allowed to avoid federal prosecution in exchange to pleading guilty to state charges including soliciting prostitution from a minor. Epstein spent time in jail and was forced to register as a sex offender. He pleaded guilty to new charges involving underaged girls. That was called a sweetheart deal and the pressure became too great. Acosta is now stepping down. The deputy labor secretary will replace him for the time being. Meanwhile the president also on defense this morning over the controversial social media summit at the white house on thursday. On thursday, President Trump blasting major social Media Companies. We have terrible bias. We have censorship like nobody has any understanding or nobody can believe. Reporter his comments made during a white house summit attended by some of the president s fiercest online supporters, and criticized by many for including some of the internets most controversial voices. Some of you are extraordinary. I cant say everybody. Some of you are extraordinary. The crap you think of is unbelievable. Reporter hours beforehand, the Southern Poverty Law Center called the meeting a gathering of groups and individuals who have no business at the white house. Saying the invite list included conspiracy theorists and extremists. Guests included rightwing personalities like ali alexander, who pushed the false Conspiracy Theory that Kamala Harris wasnt an american black, large social Media Companies like twitter, facebook and google said they were not invited to attend and declined to comment about the gathering. Some of the president s critics called it a campaign event, they are talking about pure socialism. Reporter but a call to action to his followers. You have a lot of power and strength. You have to use it wisely. Reporter critics saying the event was more like a campaign event. The president vowing to look for legislative fixes to what he calls censorship of the media directing some at the white house to do that. For acosta, democrats on capitol hill and the campaign trail called on him to resign because of the plea deal. Its clear the pressure was too great leading to todays announcement. Craig and savannah . Kristen, thank you. In the meantime, as we told you yesterday, the nationwide immigration raids that originally were postponed by the white house a few weeks ago are now scheduled for this r this coming weekend the operation is already being met with protests. Nbcs National CorrespondentMiguel Almaguer has the details for us good morning. Reporter good morning. Were told by two senior officials with the department of Homeland Security that beginning this sunday, immigration and Custom Enforcement agents will begin looking for some 2,000 immigrants under deportation orders the crackdown comes as ongoing protests over the treatment of Migrant Children and vows by elected officials not to help i. C. E. Agents in the field the raids were supposed to begin ten weeks ago in major u. S. Cities but they were abruptly called off shortly after President Trump tweeted, next week, i. C. E. Will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. Last friday, the president telling reporters, the raids will now be starting fairly soon i dont call them raids. I say they call in illegally, and were bringing them out legally. Reporter in cities targeted, there are calls to resist. The mayors of new york, chicago, and los angeles, all promising local police will not share resources or assist i. C. E. With the crackdown. This policy is all about fear this is about a president saying a Million People are going to be deported. Reporter in l. A. , activists have been Holding Workshops to educate immigrants about their rights californias governor says thats a good idea i just want to say to folks that are anxious about a knock on the door, when we talk about knowing your rights, without a warrant, you dont have to open the door reporter lopez is a daca recipient who has been in the country since she was 9. Shes worried about her parents and young siblings. There was many times my brother, my little one, asked me, what are we going to do . What happens if mom and dad are deported reporter already under fire over poor conditions children are experiencing in Detention Centers, immigration Officials Say theyre committed to carrying out the deportation raids. Theyre absolutely going to happen theres approximately a Million People in this country with removal orders of course, that isnt what i. C. E. Will go after this in, but thats the pool from people who have been all the way through the due process chain. Reporter immigration officials said theyd not comment on the timing or other details of the operations. Families arrested could be flown to Detention Centers in texas and pennsylvania, where theyd await deportation. I. C. E. Says the goal is to carry out the deportations as quickly as possible. Savannah well continue to cover it. Miguel, thank you. Breaking overnight, more legal troubles for r. Kelly. The singer arrested again in chicago. Stephanie gosk is here with some more details on that steph, what do we know guys, good morning. R. Kelly was already facing state charges for Sexual Assault and abuse. Now, hes been indicted by a federal grand jury on an additional 13 charges, including child pornography. He is set to be arraigned in federal court in chicago this morning. Reporter overnight, r b star r. Kelly arrested in chicago on sex charges. Law enforcement sources say a spokesman for the u. S. Attorneys office said kelly has been indicted on 13 counts, including child pornography, enticement of a minor, and obstruction of justice. I believe i can fly reporter the 52yearold singer, known for hits like i believe i can fly and ignition. Give me that reporter he was arrested walking his dog near his home. Had been said there were fbi investigations we didnt know when itd happen. Were here today, and were ready for it reporter his arrest was the second time this year that kelly has been taken into custody in chicago on sexrelated charges in february, kelly was charged in illinois with ten counts, including aggravated Sexual Abuse Involving four women three of those victims were minors at the time of the alleged assault. He pleaded not guilty. Then in may, kelly was charged with 11 more counts of Sexual Assault and sex abuse. According to court records, he again pleaded not guilty kelly has been the subject of sexual abuse allegations for nearly two decades some of them alleging acts as far back as 1998 the allegations resurfacing back in january after a sixpart lifetime docuseries surviving r. Kelly, detailing a number of womens claims that they were sexually, physically, and mentally abused. It also focused on kellys 2008 child pornography trial, centered around an infamous sex tape kelly was acquitted of all charges. The grammy Award Winning singer denied all charges in the docuseries. Here he is getting emotional, defending himself in an interview with cbs news in march. Yall quit playing. Quit playing. Robert. I didnt do this stuff. This is not me, yall. Im fighting for my [ bleep ] Life Reporter this morning, r. Kelly now back behind bar, facing a mountain of legal trouble. We expect the indictment to be unsealed in chicago today, and the new york arraignment will happen at a later date. We should learn more. Yes. Steph, thank you. Thank you, stephanie. Lots more to get to, including all eyes on london this weekend some huge matches at wimbledon, including the womens final tomorrow morning serena going for her eighth singles title at the all england club at wimbledon. It is her 11th appearance in the final there. Shes going to face off against romanias simona halep, who is going to play in her first wimbledon final. She is a very experienced player now, the guys. A big match on center court this morning. Roger federer taking on rafael nadal in the semifinals. It is going to be epic believe it or not, its been 11 years since these friendly rivals have met up on the grass at wimbledon the winner will face the winner of todays match between djokovic and bautista. Mens final is sunday morning. If youre a tennis dork, lets say. I know one. This match this morning is incredible they havent seen each other at wimbledon since 2008, 11 years, when nadal and federer went five sets almost a fivehour match epic. It is an epic rematch tennis channel did a threehour documentary on this match alone. You should check it out. Did you watch of course i did do you think rog has a shot he is the underdog actually, but what do i know not on clay. Yes. By the way, Meghan Markle expected to be at that final, as well, and kate its going to be good. Going to be epic on different levels. Why am i here right now i should be there. Youll be in front of the tv. Speaking of epic, mr. Roker. Yeah. I stopped by your dressing room this morning and said, well go twinsies. Were watching barry, hot out in the southwest sunshine, pacific nort