Orleans. The state of emergency. Francine slamming ashore in Louisiana Packing 100mileperhour winds and up to ten feet of lifethreatening Storm Surge. A national Guard Truck running off the road. Our team in the storm zone, and Al Roker tracking it all. Also tonight, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump coming facetoface again and shaking hands at a 9 11 memorial in New York just hours after their fiery debate. The candidates clashing over the economy, abortion, the border, and the moment the former president pushed a baseless and shocking claim about immigrants in ohio. Did the Debate Sway voters, and will there be a rematch . Plus, the impact The Endorsement from Taylor Swift is already having. The raging California Wildfire exploding ten times in size in just 24 hours. Dozens of homes destroyed. Dramatic rescues and Word Tonight of people trapped including an offduty officer. Plus, the Arson Arrest in another massive inferno. Inflation cooling to 2. 5 with the Fed Set to cut rates. Justin timberlake after his Dwi Arrest this summer reaching a Plea Deal. And there is good News Tonight, the special storytime from space. Announcer this is Nbc Nightly News with lester holt. Good evening, and welcome. We want to take you right to New Orleans where Hurricane Francine is taking direct aim with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour. The now category 2 Strength Hurricane making its Landfill Tonight Close to morgan city, louisiana. The national Hurricane Center Warning of dangerous and lifethreatening hurricaneforce winds. The Storm Marching ashore along the Gulf Of Mexico bringing heavy rains and flooding and a Storm Surge of up to ten feet. Dangerous conditions including a Tornado Risk expected through the evening impacting southwest louisiana, mississippi, All The Way to the florida panhandle. The rapid development of francine over just a few days left a shortened window for Hurricane Preps with sandbagging not getting under way until yesterday in some places. On its current track, the storm could be a direct hit to New Orleans. The heavy rains testing the crescent Citys Network of pumps. Tom llamas is there for us. Tom, what are you seeing . Reporter so, lester, the situation here in New Orleans is getting more intense by the minute. This city has faced bigger and stronger hurricanes, but when this hurricane came ashore, it had a rapid intensity. Now, a category 2 hurricane, and soon the big easy will feel those 100mileperhour winds. Just behind me here is lake pontchartrain, and as you know, New Orleans is between the Mississippi River and lake pontchartrain. 50 of the city is below sea level, so water is always the big threat here, but tonight theres also the scare of tornadoes. Tonight, Hurricane Francine lashing the louisiana coast. The massive Storm Barreling into the new Orleans Area and drenching surrounding communities. Take this storm seriously. It is a serious storm. Reporter the warm waters of the gulf strengthening the powerful system, now a category 2 hurricane. Wind gusts churning at 100 miles per hour. Dangerous Storm Surge slamming into the coast with pounding Rain And Flash flooding threatening many neighborhoods. I wasnt really taking it serious until now. I see, its really real. Reporter and besides dealing with the hurricane, first responders in New Orleans also putting out a fire in this district. You can see the firefighters are inside the structure. The massive hole caused by the fire as the Rain Bands from Hurricane Francine come down on them. Gas stations shut down. Flights canceled. Businesses boarded up, and the National Guard on the move. No injuries were reported. The president approving a Fema Emergency Declaration for the state. The time to evacuate has now passed. It is the time to go to ground and hunker down. Reporter flood watches are in place for 9 Million people from louisiana to florida. These are communities that still bear the scars of past hurricanes. Tonight theyre once again bracing as another massive storm makes its move. Im just praying to the lord to protect us. Tom, what are you seeing around you . Are people heeding the warnings and staying indoors . Reporter lester, this is pretty incredible. In just those two minutes that we saw that report, the situation has gotten even worse here in New Orleans. Were feeling now those hurricaneforce wind gusts. People were out here earlier. This is the Lakeview Section of New Orleans. People love to come out here in great weather. Even during thunderstorms and before hurricanes to see the storms rolling in. Right now i cant see anybody out here. It is dangerous, and weve just gotten an alert that in jefferson parish, which is the suburbs around New Orleans, theyre asking people to limit their water use. Theyre scared of the water coming in and backing up those pipes. Lester, back to you. Tom llamas and team, thank you. To Al Roker tracking francine. Now its going to be a long night. It really is, lester. You can see the bands which are those heavy bands just to the south of New Orleans. Thats what tom is dealing with right now. It is pushing in, and it is going to be the next 24 hours very difficult. Right now francine still a category 2. 100mileperhour winds moving northeast at 17 miles per hour. Heavy rainfall, they are going to be looking at four to six inches or more. Wind gusts of up to 75 miles per hour. That means power outages, isolated tornadoes. If fact, tornado watches right now including New Orleans and parts of louisiana. Were going to be watching this system push its way up into the mississippi valley. Look for rainfall, up to 4 inches, some places up to 12 inches of rain, lester. All right, Al Roker, thank you. Now to the race for the White House and the day after their heated debate, Vice President harris and former President Trump were together again. This time marking the anniversary of the 9 11 Terror Attacks. Heres peter alexander. Reporter at Ground Zero today, Vice President harris and former President Trump shaking hands again, both appearing at the solemn ceremony commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the 9 11 Terror Attack and the nearly 3,000 americans who lost their lives. Jack charles aron. Joshua todd aron. Reporter later in a show of unity, President Biden briefly wearing a Trump Hat handed to him by a supporter of the former president. It comes as the Harris Campaign is touting her performance at last Nights Debate calling for a second one. The former president , who had insisted on multiple debates, now noncommittal. Are we going to do a rematch . I just dont know. I would do nbc. Ill do fox too. Reporter it follows their historic faceoff, the first ever meeting between the two that began with an unexpected greeting initiated by the Vice President. Kamala harris. Good to see you. Reporter but the pleasantries did not last long. This is so rich coming from someone who has been prosecuted. I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me. Reporter for 90 minutes harris delivered on her strategy to try to provoke outbursts from the former president mocking his rallies. And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom. Reporter trump repeatedly taking the bait. She said people start leaving. People dont go to her rallies. Theres no reason to go. Reporter harris pressing her rival on his refusal to accept the 2020 election results. Donald trump was fired by 81 Million people. Clearly he is having a very difficult time processing that. Reporter and in another dramatic moment, slamming him for praising the repeal of roe v. Wade. You want to talk about, this is what people wanted . Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to Term Suffering from a miscarriage being denied care in an Emergency Room because the Health Care providers are afraid they might go to jail, and shes bleeding out in a car in the parking lot. She didnt want that. Reporter though harris did not specify if she supports any restrictions on abortion. Trump targeted harris for her record on the economy. Ive never seen a worse period of time. People cant go out and buy Cereal Or Bacon or eggs or anything else. Reporter and on the border. Theyve destroyed the fabric of our country. Millions of people let in. Reporter also going after her recent reversals on progressive policies like a Fracking Ban that she has since said she opposes. She will never allow fracking in pennsylvania. If she won the election, fracking in pennsylvania will end on day one. Reporter the Vice President closing the debate on an optimistic note. We can chart a new way forward, and a vision of that includes having a plan, understanding the aspirations, the dreams, the hopes, the ambition of the american people. Reporter while trump argued harris is all talk and no action. Theyve had 3 1 2 years to fix the border. Theyve had 3 1 2 years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasnt she done it . Reporter as for a possible second debate, weve spoken to trump allies who say theyre going to urge mr. Trump to do another debate, because they say he allowed harris to get under his skin, and tonight we have just learned that more than 67 Million people watched last nights showdown, lester. All right, peter alexander, thank you. One of the most inflammatory comments of last Nights Debate was a baseless claim by former President Trump about immigrants in springfield, ohio. Yamiche alcindor traveled there for us tonight. Thank you. Reporter tonight, growing fallout over one of the most talked about moments of the debate. In springfield, theyre eating the dogs, the people that came in, theyre eating the cats. Reporter former President Trump spreading unfounded claims that members of the growing haitian population in springfield, ohio, are abusing pets. City officials say theres no evidence of that. Mr. Trumps running mate, senator j. D. Vance, first spread the baseless accusations on Social Media earlier this week. When i questioned him about it in the debate spin room, he doubled down. Senator vance, what do you say to Haitian Americans and haitian immigrants who say spreading false claims about them put their lives at risk . Well, i dont think that no one has spread false claims. What theyve said is that a small Migrant Community caused a lot of problems. The springfield City Manager said theres no evidence that immigrants are eating animals. That just means the City Manager, i think, isnt fully in touch with whats going on on the ground. Reporter City Officials say the rumors may have begun with an unrelated case in another part of ohio where a u. S. Citizen was arrested for a gruesome incident involving a cat. On the ground in springfield, we found deep tensions. Its just amid discrimination and xenophobia and racism. Reporter this man runs a Community Center for haitians. They just believe that their words have no impact, and its not true. So, immigrants in springfield, especially haitians, they also are concerned for their lives and the lives of the kids. Reporter in the last few years, officials say as many as 15,000 haitians legally in u. S. Have moved to the city, which had about 60,000 residents before. City leaders had advertised newly created manufacturing jobs and springfields some like Bill Monaghan said the city suffered from the change. Its been disastrous. Whats your response to immigrants who say theyre coming here to revitalize springfield . Thats not whats happening to springfield. It might happen for them. It might happen for the landlords that are enriching themself, the City Manager who is trying to pad his budget. Reporter in a City Meeting last night, the parents of 11yearold Aiden Clark spoke. Aiden was killed in a School Bus Crash last year after a jury found a haitian immigrant guilty and tensions escalated. I said to aiden that i would try to make a difference in his honor. This is it. Reporter tonight theyre urging politicians and others to stop using their Sons Death to spread hate. You know that one of the worst feelings in the world is to not be able to protect your child. Even worse, we cant even protect his memory when hes gone. Please stop the hate. Reporter yamiche alcindor, nbc news, springfield, ohio. We want to get an update now on the worsening Wildfire Emergency in Southern California where dozens of homes have been destroyed and several people have been injured including firefighters. Dana griffin is on the Fire Line tonight. Reporter in Southern California, the race to escape. A barefoot woman narrowly rescued by a Fire Crew as flames surround her. Erratic winds fanned the Bridge Fire overnight burning across two counties destroying at least 39 homes. This woman and her cat helped to safety near here, the hardest hit area. Here the fire has come down the hill. It is now burning along the roadway, jumping over to this side of The Street where you can see trees are now on fire, hollowing them out and this will likely fall on the Road And Block it. How do you wrap your head around all of this . You dont. Not yet. Reporter Chuck Lyons Dream Home is now unrecognizable but he knows every inch. This was our basement. This was our living room. Reporter as Fires Rage 34yearold was arrested for starting the fire. Burning for nearly a week in san bernardino county. His family declined to talk. And the sheriff there says two people have been arrested for allegedly trying to burglarize evacuated homes in the fire zone. If youre going to an opportunist in san bernardino county, if we catch you, you are going to jail. Reporter Air Quality has plummeted as Winds Push smoke into las vegas, but as homes fall to the fires forward march, some vow to stop it any way they can. I built that damn house right there. Its not mine but im not going to let it burn. Reporter dana griffin, wrightwood, california. In memphis opening statements in the federal trial of three former Police Officers charged in the death of 29yearold Tyre Nichols last year. Priscilla thompson is at the courthouse. Priscilla, what happened there today . Reporter lester, tadarrius bean, demetrius haley, and Justin Smith have all pleaded not guilty to using excessive force, failure to intervene, witness tampering, and more. Federal Prosecutors Today argued that these officers took turns beating Tyre Nichols, but the defense said that the cops actions were in line with their training. Now, two other exofficers, Desmond Mills and Emmitt Martin iii have pleaded guilty and will testify, prosecutors said. The three men could face life in prison if convicted. Lester. Okay, priscilla, thank you. In 60 seconds, inflation is coming down. So are Mortgage Rates. But theres one big problem for those looking to buy a home. In 99 of people over 50. Its lying dormant, waiting. And could reactivate. Shingles strikes as a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. And it could wake at any time. Think youre not at risk for shingles . Its time to wake up. Because shingles could wake up in you. If youre over 50, talk to your Doctor Or Pharmacist about shingles prevention. Ohhoho, look at that jet stream. [ whistles ] if youre over 50, talk to your doctweather. Armacist oh, boy. Yep, theyre calling it an atmospheric river. It is coming down. [ cellphone buzzes, chimes ] oh, Flood Warning in louisiana. Are they obsessed . Oh, yeah. The stuff they do on