administration announced it would expand the wall. president biden today saying, quote, i was told i had no choice because the wall money was appropriated by law under the trump administration. our team on the border. also tonight, the battle for house speaker. former president donald trump appearing to take himself out of the running by endorsing one of his top capitol hill allies, and what kevin mccarthy said today after reports he may leave congress. philippe now a post tropical cyclone taking aim at the northeast. a flood watch for new york city. in vermont, the armed and dangerous suspect on the loose after the suspicious death of a woman along a trail near a college. police pleading to the public for help. the surprise new jobs report. 336,000 added in september, nearly double expectations but does it raise the odds of more interest rate hikes? the investigation into a major concern over the nation's 911 network. why help may not arrive in time if you text 911 instead of call. and simone biles breaking her own record to make gymnastics history. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, and welcome. president biden tonight facing blowback from his own party over his administration's intent to build new wall sections along the texas/mexico border. the president insisting he has not changed his opposition to the wall, but that his hands are tied. to stop the expenditure given the project was funded before he became president. texas along the nearly 20-mile section to be built are dubious over how far additional wall will go toward impeding the sustained flow of migrants illegally entering the country. tonight, pressure growing on the biden administration to come up with a lasting policy solution to address the crisis that's impacting the border and cities far beyond tonight. morgan chesky is in texas with the latest. >> reporter: tonight, on the border, the ongoing surge in illegal crossings averaging more than 9,000 a day in just the last week. border officials tell nbc news and now new fallout. funding nearly 20 miles of new border wall in starr county, texas, the president again today defending the decision. >> i was told that i had no choice. i can't say i don't like it. i'm not going to do it. >> reporter: the money allocated by congress during the trump administration. mr. biden saying he tried to get lawmakers to change it, but they refused, and the law required the wall money to be spent. now he's facing bipartisan criticism including from key democrats upset over the new wall. >> i think it's a terrible idea. i think it's a broken promise. >> reporter: after then candidate biden said this during the campaign. >> there will not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration. >> reporter: while republicans say biden border policies are encouraging the migrant surge, reactions tonight here in starr county where the additional wall would go up. >> we need more than 20 miles. make it 40 or 60. >> reporter: this county judge says he's still not been told where exactly the wall would go. >> we have a lot of questions, and personally a lot of things that i don't agree with. >> the rio grande valley needs a solution. >> yes. >> but you don't believe the wall is the answer? >> exactly. >> reporter: the move comes as so many keep making the dangerous trek north. at a border shelter, we met gracia and rosa from ecuador who say they were robbed in mexico and frightened but want to work hard here for their families. a dream shared by so many others that today while visiting mexico city, new york city's mayor eric adams says he shared what is the sobering reality with new york city's resources stretched thin by 120,000 migrants. >> we want to give a real picture of what's happening in new york city. we are at capacity. >> reporter: morgan, you mentioned this wall funding had to be spent by law, but why now? >> reporter: lester, the white house says they were required to act on this by the end of the fiscal year, september 30th, so essentially they ran out of time to debate this very issue. in the meantime, there is still no firm timetable on when the proposed new section of wall will be going up here. lester. >> morgan chesky at the border tonight, thank you. the showdown over who will be the next house speaker is heading for a pivotal week with two high-profile republicans pushing for the job and former president trump now endorsing one of them. garrett haake now with the latest on that. >> reporter: tonight, the race for the speaker's gavel intensifying with former president trump weighing in declaring conservative firebrand jim jordan has his, quote, complete and total endorsement. >> he is a great guy. he's been very successful, very respected. he's doing a fantastic job right now, and he's been with me all the time, i mean, literally as i was announcing that i was running, he was endorsing me, and there's something nice about it. >> reporter: some house republicans had pushed for trump to run for speaker with jordan facing off against the current number two, steve scalise. >> i have a long proven record of someone who knows how to unify republicans. >> reporter: republicans hope to select a speaker next wednesday. >> this time next week do you think this is settled? >> look, i think it's going to take a little bit of time. is it possible to get there on wednesday? sure. is it likely? no. >> reporter: but many are also pushing for rules changes, so the small handful of republicans who joined with democrats to remove speaker kevin mccarthy cannot do it again. >> matt gaetz and those hard-liners, problem, and i don't think the pyromaniacs are going to be satisfied after they've burned down one house. i think they'll have an itching to go down and burn a couple more. >> reporter: and with weeks until the government faces another shutdown, president biden saying he's willing to work with whoever emerges from the chaos. >> whomever the house speaker is i'll try to work with. they control half the congress. >> reporter: and tonight kevin mccarthy says he plans to stay in congress despite losing the speakership and run for re-election next year. lester. >> all right, garrett, thanks. the risk of flooding a big concern tonight from the leftovers of tropical storm philippe and a flood watch just issued for new york city as well, and bill karins is following it for us. take us through it. >> good evening, lester. seven days after historic flooding in new york city, the threat returned. this time it's the huge ocean storm that absorbed and collided with the cold front saturday morning over in new york city. it's going to be a narrow band just like last time and where it sets up as flash flooding for possibly 16 million including the hudson valley and a little sliver of connecticut. here's the timing on everything, saturday morning from new york city, by the afternoon it clears out. then it's going to be moving towards boston and through new hampshire and vermont. as we head through saturday night we'll watch the heaviest will pivot through northern new england and sunday things improve. a lot of heavy rain heading for northern new england where we could see flash flooding in the adirondacks and portions of maine. saturday is a bad day. >> bill karins, thank you for that. in philadelphia tonight, police have issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in the killing of a journalist and social justice advocate earlier this week. anne thompson has late details. >> reporter: tonight, philadelphia police are looking for this man, 19-year-old robert edmond davis wanted for the murder of journalist josh kruger. the 39-year-old kruger was shot seven times inside his home early monday. police say the two men knew each other. >> we believe that mr. kruger was trying to help mr. davis, and they were acquaintances. he was just trying to help him just get through life. >> reporter: kruger's friend kendall stevens shaken by the blood on his front steps. >> i'm not going to let this slide. we're going to find out who did this to him. he was killed in cold blood. >> reporter: among the evidence, authorities say, davis caught on camera in the area of kruger's home. >> we have video of the incident prior to the murder. >> reporter: but police declined to specify what that is. in columns published in a variety of outlets, kruger wrote passionately about homelessness, addiction, and lgbtq issues, all issues he lived. >> i have two big stories out right now. >> reporter: along with his writing kruger served as the city of philadelphia's spokesperson for five years. last night kruger's colleagues and loved ones mourned him at a memorial service. >> i could not believe it. after everything to be taken so cruelly. >> reporter: friends left trying to finish kruger's story, a life ended too soon. anne thompson, nbc news. and another urgent search under quay in vermont. police looking for an armed and dangerous suspect after a woman was found dead along a popular hiking trail. kristen dahlgren is there. kristen, what's the latest? >> reporter: good evening, lester. a manhunt under way tonight along this remote but popular rail trail after what police are calling a suspicious death. a woman's body was found here on thursday afternoon after a witness described hearing gunshots. at this point state police say the woman is not a student at nearby vermont state university at castleton. the college is currently on fall break, but any students or faculty remaining are currently under a shelter in place. police and search teams have been canvassing the area looking for what they describe as a white male, 5'10" with brown hair. he is considered armed and dangerous. they are also asking any local residents or businesses to comb through their surveillance video for anything unusual. they say at this point they do not know who the suspect is or any connection he might have to the victim. lester. >> all right, kristen dahlgren, thanks. markets rallied today with the major indexes all up after the latest report on jobs. the economy adding 336,000 jobs last month, almost double what economists had predicted. so what does this mean for the fed and rate hikes? tom costello joins us. tom, what should we know? >> reporter: yeah, lester, this was a blockbuster september jobs report. many employers continue to hire, suggesting a recession is not on the horizon. the unemployment rate remains at 3.8%, close to that 54-year low. president biden today said americans are enjoying the benefits. >> i think that the american people are smart as hell and know smart as hell and know what their interests are. i think they know they're better off financially than they were before. it's a fact. >> reporter: yeah, the july and august jobs numbers were also revised up. more jobs added. hourly wages have increased moderately. the fed's interest rate hikes do appear to be having the effect, inflation is trending down, but the fed wanted to see fewer jobs created as a sign inflation is truly cooling, so will it continue to hike rates next month or hit pause? the higher rates have helped push 30-year fixed mortgage rates to 7.84%, the highest in 23 years, and that has slowed the housing market. lester. >> all right, tom costello, thanks. ahead, what do you do when the big company in town shuts its doors? inside one small town's fight for survival right after this. when you shop wayfair, you get big deals for your home - every day. so big, we'll have you saying... am i a big deal? yeah you are, because it's a big deal, when you get a big deal. wayfair deals so big that you might get a big head. because with savings so real... you can get your dream sofa for half the price. wayfair. it's always a big deal. ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪ (vo) it's another ultimate endless shrimp flavor drop with new tequila lime shrimp one of seven endless choices right now, only at red lobster welcome to fun dining -when you bundle your home or renters with your auto, progressive provides protection for almost everything you own. -but do you really need... -my weighted hoop? it's for my snatched waist. foot treadmill. purse that says purse. my tuesday chalice. lake making kit. mushroom humidifier. futuristic coat rack. tells you how many coats are on it. two. you heard about the robust job numbers but not all americans are feeling that momentum with some towns facing a daunting challenge as the business that kept them going for decades pulls up stakes. brian cheung went to one such town in missouri. >> reporter: the sun is about to rise over the tyson chicken plant in noel, missouri, population, 2,100. down the road at the cliffside cafe, one of the few restaurants in the town, workers past and present gather. >> can i get a large coffee, please. >> to go or for here? >> for here. >> reporter: jimmy lasseter just wrapped up her overnight shift. >> i would like to keep coming by here because i want to support the local businesses, and they're going to lose a lot. >> reporter: in a few weeks they will close for good. the town says a third of its population works there. >> this closure is going to affect us, but we've been through covid. we've been through floods. we're going to get through this. >> reporter: for jimmy, 1 of 1,500 losing their jobs at the plant it's an end of an era. four generations of her family worked there, and without a job she may not meet her car payments. >> i don't want to lose this car. >> reporter: without a car jimmy says she can't commute to places. >> a lot of the bigger towns, you know, people are like, well, why don't you go to mcdonald's? where is a mcdonald's? >> reporter: this plant has been a fixture in noel for over 50 years. tyson bought it in the 1990s but says it has to close this and five other plants to improve performance. this as it's opening up new facilities in kentucky and virginia. tyson tells nbc news it has offered a thousand dollars to those who stay on through the plant's closing, made plans to relocate about 250 workers to other facilities and host job fairs to help the rest. in noel, mayor terry lance has fielded interest and says he's worried without any takers, people especially in the town's somali immigrant population will start to leave. >> i'm afraid we'll end up losing close to 100% of the african population. >> reporter: set on the elk river noel is a summer tourist stop known for fishing and kayaking. mayor lance says tourism should be the town's big bet. >> do you think it's time to move past the plant? >> i do, yeah. it's hard to lose that big an employer, especially for a town this small, but i've always felt like tourism was the right future for this town. >> reporter: jimmy is now bracing for change. >> if you end up leaving noel, would you ever come back? >> i don't think i would. i think if i were to leave and move over near my children, i don't think i would come back. >> why? >> there's not really anything here. >> reporter: a cautionary tale of a small town's reliance on a single big employer. brian cheung, nbc news, noel, missouri. coming up, it's a 911 lifeline, texting instead of calling, but there's a serious problem with the system, next. when i wanted to see results fast, rinvoq delivered rapid symptom relief and helped leave bathroom urgency behind. check. when uc tried to slow me down... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc caused damage rinvoq came through by visibly repairing my colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief... lasting steroid-free remission... ...and the chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check, check, and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer; death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least 1 heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. put uc in check and keep it there with rinvoq. ask your gastroenterologist about rinvoq and learn how abbvie can help you save. when you need to prepare for unpredictable adventures... 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