at the forefront of a charge to save a piece of history from the bulldozers >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt good evening as the nation turns the corner in the fight against covid, the thing that some experts believe has helped slow the spread, vaccine mandates, are facing the biggest challenge yet. the governor of texas tonight banning businesses and entities in his state from requiring proof of vaccination, setting the state on a collision course with the feds and leaving some companies that operate there caught in the middle. nationally, the number of fully vaccinated has inched up to 56.5%, leaving 67 million americans who are eligible for the shots unvaccinated even as attention turns again to booster shots for the already vaccinated miguel almaguer tells us more. >> reporter: even as some hospitals in hard-hit texas face another surge of covid cases, the governor here is issuing an executive order prohibiting any entity including private businesses from imposing vaccine requirements, fighting what he calls federal overreach, governor greg abbott says covid vaccines are safe, effective and our best defense against the virus but should remain voluntary and never forced >> we continuously are releasing mandates that are undermining everything that public health stands for. >> reporter: with many frontline workers outraged by the ban on vaccine mandates, abbott, who contracted covid in august, has tried to stop school districts from requiring masks and covid vaccines, though they have long required vaccinations for diseases like polio and measles. some of the nation's biggest corporations are based in texas american airlines saying today, "we believe the federal vaccine mandate supersedes any conflicting state laws." >> there have just been so many things that have been perplexing that go against medical advice, that go against what some of the greatest scientific minds in the world have been advising us to do since the very beginning of the pandemic >> reporter: as our nation squabbles over mandates, some 67 million who are eligible remain unvaccinated today the brooklyn nets say they have no choice but to play without nba supersta kyrie irving, who has not compity's mandate to play at the barclays center >> i think it's very disappointing that a high-profile athlete declined vaccination we all really should get vaccinated, not only for ourselves but on behalf of everybody around us. >> reporter: with many americans still refusing to get their first dose, this week the fda will also take on boosters for those vaccinated with moderna and johnson & johnson. tonight our nation deeply divided over the choice to vaccinate and the right to implement mandates >> and miguel, there's news breaking about kids and vaccines. what are you hearing >> reporter: well, lester, the white house had a phone call with governors today telling them to be prepared to vaccinate children 5 to 11 years old by early november. of course that's anticipating fda authorization. meantime, on friday we should add the fda will also hear research on mixing vaccines that's already happening in other countries and could soon happen here lester >> news a lot of us have been tracking miguel, thank you. just developing tonight, a deadly shooting at a post office facility in memphis, tennessee authorities say a postal employee shot and killed two other workers at that facility they say the suspect then died from a self-inflicted gunshot. the facility is a postal annex it is not used by the public breaking tonight, new details about the death of gabby petito. three weeks after her body was found in wyoming a coroner there releasing autopsy results revealing her cause of death. kristen dahlgren has more for us tonight. >> reporter: after an exhaustive autopsy the teton county coroner confirming how gabby petito was killed. >> cause death by strangulation and manner is homicide >> reporter: the coroner says the 22-year-old died three to four weeks before her body was discovered in the wyoming wilderness that would put petito's death somewhere around the last week of august. the last confirmed sighting of petito was august 27th. two weeks after the moab police stopped petito and her boyfriend brian bystanders reported domestic violence. >> i was apologizing to him >> reporter: no charges were filed tonight the coroner says the case is in the hands of investigators and that dna samples were taken by the fbi >> this autopsy included a whole body cat scan, a examination by a forensic pathologist so we pretty much covered all the bases. >> reporter: investigators have been searching for laundrie for nearly a month. wanted on debit card fraud charges and for questioning in petito's homicide. after his parents say he went hiking in a local reserve in september and never returned today an attorney for laundrie called gabby's death a tragedy, adding "brian is only considered a person of interest in relation to gabby petito's demise. at this time brian is still missing and when he's located we will address the pending fraud charge against him. no comment from petito's family as they learn more about her final hours. kristen dahlgren, nbc news there is a new wildfire raging tonight in california, where high winds caused a blaze near santa barbara to blow up, forcing evacuations and threatening more than 100 buildings. erin mclaughlin has late details for us. >> reporter: it's a battle to save california's pristine coastline from devastation. just north of santa barbara the alisal fire burns out of control, shutting down a section of the famed pacific coast highway. its breathtaking views now marred by smoke. >> not only is this area prone to significant fires that have had significant damage in the past but it's also a beautiful area >> reporter: the fire doubling in size overnight. forcing evacuations from the forest to the sea. firefighters now defending the famed reagan ranch once known as the west coast white house. you can see those flames climbing up that hillside just feet away from this highway. fire officials say the dry fuel combined with the northerly winds are the reason why this highway will be closed for the foreseeable future 7,000 acres scorched, 0% contained threatening up to 120 structures the toll adding to the state's staggering fire season. almost 2 million acres burned so far. >> do you tie this to climate change >> you know, some people would we are seeing our fires burn differently. we're seeing them burn hotter and faster. they're more dangerous. >> reporter: rancher patrick brown's family has owned this land for more than 80 years. he evacuated last night. are you scared >> yeah. >> reporter: tonight fear, apprehension, and an all-out effort to save one of the most beautiful stretches on earth erin mclaughlin, nbc news, santa barbara county a new drive by the biden administration to block that controversial law in texas that bans most abortions. the justice department urging a federal appeals court to suspend the law once again. our catie beck is in texas with more tonight. >> reporter: in texas tonight a new firestorm of legal chaos over the state's controversial abortion law. >> there's just a remarkable uncertainty, confusion with patients about what the requirements are of the law and whether or not abortion is still legal. >> reporter: last week a lower court in texas suspended the law, declaring it unconstitutional then 48 hours later an appeals court reinstated it. >> the bill that i'm about to sign that ensures that the life of every unborn child who has a heartbeat will be saved from the ravages of abortion. >> reporter: the most restrictive abortion law in the country took effect september 1st, banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected around six weeks but it does not criminalize abortion instead it allows citizens to be enforcers who can file suit against anyone who helped obtain an abortion past the deadline for up to $10,000. anti-abortion advocates encouraged to see the law once again in effect. >> the fact that it has saved about 100 lives a day for over a month, meaning over 3,000 lives saved, is just an incredible victory. >> reporter: but overnight the justice department asking an appeals court to suspend the law again, calling it state-sanctioned sabotage of the constitution texas democratic state representative donna howard says the confusing climate is by design, to make getting an abortion virtually impossible >> if you're not paying attention right now to what's going on in texas, you need to be because what's happening here is absolutely what's going to flow across the rest of our nation >> reporter: texas has until thursday to respond to the justice department this case could ultimately be decided at the supreme court lester >> all right catie beck, thank you. in just 60 seconds new details about the downfall of las vegas raiders head coach jon gruden and after days of chaos at southwest airlines new warning signs about holiday travel harrowing new images of that deadly plane crash in a suburb of san diego. surveillance video shows the plane going down before it struck two homes and several vehicles two people were killed, including a ups driver and the pilot, who was a doctor from arizona. people in the neighborhood helped to rescue one couple from their burning home now to the bombshell rocking the nfl tonight. super bowl-winning coach jon gruden resigning from the las vegas raiders after e-mails containing racist, homophobic and misogynistic language were revealed. steve patterson now with the growing fallout. >> reporter: the news came as millions tuned in to "monday night football." >> breaking news tonight. jon gruden out as las vegas raiders head coach. >> reporter: jon gruden announcing his exit as head coach of the raiders. just hours after a "new york times" report detailed a series of e-mails he wrote over the course of nearly a decade that include sexist, racist and anti-gay language aimed at a slew of targets ranging from players to league officials. in a statement to the team gruden saying, "i love the raiders and do not want to be a distraction. i'm sorry. i never meant to hurt anyone." the e-mails sent while gruden was an analyst for espn and confirmed by the nfl but not seen by nbc news were initially discovered during an nfl workplace misconduct investigation. the report detailed several e-mails from gruden including a racist description of nfl union chief demaurice smith, anti-gay slurs insulting the nfl commissioner, panning the hiring of female referees and chiding the hiring of the league's first openly gay player, michael sam. wide receiver keyshawn johnson, who played under gruden, on espn. >> he's just always been a fraud to me never from day one, he's been a used car salesmanue slammed gruden's comments, calling them "appalling, abhorrent and wholly contrary to the nfl's values." now new questions on how the nfl will handle this investigation as the league combs through a trove of e-mails and calls for transparency get louder >> the only way to answer all these questions is to make the e-mails available and let's see who said what and when about whom and to whom, and then maybe we have a better picture of how big of a cultural problem this is for the nfl. >> reporter: the disgraced exit of one of the nfl's biggest names raising more questions about the league's future. steve patterson, nbc news southwest airlines delayed hundreds more flights today as it gets back up and running following days of cancellations and chaos. our tom costello now on what could be a very troubling sign ahead of the busy holiday travel season. >> reporter: five days after the meltdown began -- >> are there any seats -- >> reporter: -- southwest was mostly back on schedule today, canceling just 89 flights after cutting nearly 2,500 since friday forcing hundreds of thousands of angry passengers to miss their flights. >> it was horrible we had a flight friday morning at 7:00 a.m. that was canceled due to crew issues we were delayed 12 hours getting out of orlando to get to chicago. >> i was kind of scared this morning that our flight was going to be canceled >> reporter: southwest ceo gary kelly >> obviously, i really feel for our customers. >> reporter: again today blamed the trouble on weather-related airport ground stops in florida last friday >> by the end of the day we had significant numbers of airplanes and flight crews that were totally out of position >> reporter: but while other airlines recovered quickly, it took southwest until today to catch up. through the summer many airlines struggled to handle the unexpected surge in passenger traffic >> it seems like southwest was likely, you know, at the max capacity in their schedule with very little margin for error and a lot of their flights do go through florida. >> reporter: both southwest and its pilots union deny suggestions that pilots caused the slowdown to protest the federal vaccine mandate. though southwest pilots have asked a court to temporarily block the mandate. american's pilots union says 30% are still not vaccinated while 84% of delta's employees and 99% of united's are vaccinated between airline staffing shortages, controversy over vaccine mandates, and a surge in passenger traffic, this could be a challenging holiday season ahead lester >> all right, tom, thank you. up next, taking aspirin to prevent heart attacks and strokes. the new guidance being proposed shoot. what's wrong? i think i'm down to my last inhaler. don't worry. you can refill it and get it delivered using the kaiser permanente app. smart. refill most prescriptions online and get delivery for no cost. wanna help kids get their homework done? well, an internet connection's a good start. but kids also need computers. and sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all the amazing things we're gonna learn. over the next 10 years, comcast is committing $1 billion to reach 50 million low-income americans with the tools and resources they need to be ready for anything. i hope you're ready. 'cause we are. when it comes to flooring, i'm hard to please. so, i go to floor & decor where i find every imaginable tile, wood, laminate or stone without compromising my design. cause one aisle doesn't cut it. i need an entire store. explore floor & decor in person or online. new tonight, an about-face on the guidance doctors have given for years on taking low-dose aspirin for those at risk of a first heart attack or stroke our dr. john torres is here now john, these are new recommendations. what does everyone need to know >> lester, this comes from the u.s. preventive services task force which today issued a draft recommendation changing previous guidance that called for a daily low dose of aspirin for those 50 and older who are at a high risk of heart disease or stroke these new recommendations now say adults in their 40s and 50s should only take daily aspirin if their doctors recommend it but the biggest change, adults 60 and older should not take daily aspirin if they haven't had a prior heart attack or stroke the task force says the potential side effects, mainly bleeding, outweigh the benefits for them. lester >> this caught a lot of folks' attention. thanks for walking us through it, doctor there's a new water crisis in michigan involving unsafe levels of lead not far from the city of flint where that water disaster there put so many at risk. our meagan fitzgerald has more tonight >> reporter: just three hours from flint another michigan city facing an urgent water crisis the contamination coming from old lead pipes. had you been drinking and cooking with the water before then? >> i had i had no idea. >> reporter: the state says it's known about the elevated lead levels for three years and that residents had access to the information, but many residents say neither the city nor the state did enough to warn them of the danger when did you learn that there was lead in the water? >> last week i've been drinking the water, cooking with the water, brushing my teeth. >> reporter: two weeks ago the state started distributing bottled water to residents after a petition was filed last month detailing the problem to the epa >> the state of michigan would not have responded to this crisis if it hadn't been for the petition from epa >> how do you know that >> because years had gone by where nothing had happened >> reporter: hundreds of people have been waiting hours, lines stretched across several blocks for some this is their only hope at fresh drinking water >> this community cannot afford to buy water. i'm horrified. i cannot believe for one second that a city, a state, or the federal government would allow children to continue to drink this water >> reporter: but the state agency responsible for oversight of the water supply says they've been addressing the lead levels all along. >> steps were taken as soon as the elevated levels were recorded to work on that corrosion control and get that in place. corrosion control takes time we are seeing elevated numbers, but we're also seeing in general an improvement overall. >> reporter: a community fearful and worried about their health the state and the epa have allocated millions of dollars to fix the pipes here, but officials say that's a process that could take years lester >> all right, meagan, thank you. up next, one woman's battle to save part of her neighborhood and her heritage from being bulldozed. this is hispanic heritage month, and tonight we look at the battle to save part of a neighborhood in el paso, texas and one woman doing everything she can do to protect it guad venegas is there. >> reporter: they call her tonita and at 93 antonia morales is almost as old as the neighborhood she's fighting to save >> i like my community. i'm happy. >> reporter: two blocks of century-old structures including a chinese laundry and victorian homes all part of the downtown el paso barrio called el duranguito, where people displaced by the mexican revolution once settled but for now the future of part of el duranguito hangs in the balance. the city of el paso has been trying to build a 15,000-seat entertainment center here for concerts and sports events, which would mean destroying parts of the neighborhood tonita's lived in for decades so she's fighting back refusing buyouts to leave her apartment, she's now the only holdout in her complex doing what she can to save this storied neighborhood el duranguito is one of eight latino heritage sites that have not been classified as historic districts, excluding them from conservation and protection, like this dominican bodega in rhode island and this east los angeles park, a historic gathering place for chicano students >> only 2% of all national landmarks have anything to do with hispanic history. >> reporter: local historian david romo says el duranguito's historical significance is being overlooked >> we have roots here. and that's why we're fighting >> reporter: the former mayor of el paso says economic growth in this area would benefit the community more than preserving it. did you guys consider building the arena at a different site there's a lot of land in el paso >> we looked at other areas. there were four studies done before i became mayor that determined that that was the best location. >> reporter: the city won three lawsuits trying to stop the project and another is still pending. but tonita has no plans to back down sure to become a historical figure herself, just like the neighborhood she hopes to save. guad venegas, nbc news, el paso, texas >> that's "nightly news" for this tuesday. thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night working at recology is more than a job for jesus. it's a family tradition. jesus took over his dad's roue when he retired after 47 year. now he's showing a new generation what recology is all about. as an employee-owned company, recology provides good-paying local jobs for san franciscans. we're proud to have built the city's recycling system from the ground up, helping to make san francisco the greenest big city in america. let's keep making a differene together. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music) ♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪ i'm raj mathai. the next on bay area news tonight a viral video shows a high school football player getting hit over and over and over again. tonight the head coach placed on leave. but the timing of it raised some questions here. we also talk about why these types of drills are so dangerous. walgreen's has had enough. the pharmacy is closing more bay area stores permanently because people just keep stealing. why the pandemic is making this problem worse and what can be done to stop these types of crimes. and disturbing accusations made against the south bay

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