Through southern california. Dozens of homes, even a Ski Resort destroyed as the flames forced thousands to evacuate. And francines fury, the storm swamping the gulf coast, flooding roads, forcing rescues, and the threat is not over for 14 Million people in its path. Our Nbc News reporters are following the latest developments. We begin with nbcs Mike Memoli in charlotte, north carolina, where the Vice President will kick off this new phase of her campaign. What are we expecting there, mike . Reporter well, chris, charlotte is a nascar town. And the way the campaign describes it she has been Revving Up for the past weeks, now she has to shift into gear. She had to choose a running mate, introduce themselves before the convention, and we know how much she prepared for the debate on tuesday. Now, because they view the debate as a huge success, they want to double down on the message she brought to the debate stage, talking about the need to change the pace, not look back to the trump administration, and embrace her optimistic vision for the future of the country. Were going to see her on the trail in charlotte in just a few hours, on to greensboro, multiple stops in pennsylvania as well. You can hear from the noise in the room, the level of energy, the level of enthusiasm. It was something i picked up on talking to voters as we were waiting to get into this arena. Take a listen to some of the conversations i had before. Its our turn now. Its womens turn, and shes going to be it. And its going to be wonderful. I just wanted to come for a little bit of the excitement and see and hear more. This is my daughters first time voting, and so [ applause ]. And i was like, what an experience. So we had to be here. The whole idea that, you know, that were moving forward together and just Hope And Joy and unity, and i wanted to be a part of it. Reporter chris, i was just talking a few moments ago to a volunteer for the campaign who said when she was knocking on doors, yes, they would vote for joe biden. They werent enthusiastic about it. Not only am i voting for Kamala Harris, im bringing my friends to the poles, signing up for Volunteer Shifts. Its that momentum democrats are optimistic about, especially when it comes to winning a state like north carolina, a tipping point state, that could take away from Donald Trump. Chris. Mike memoli, Thank You. With a deadline looming, House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing a critical decision about how to weigh a possible Government Shutdown against the demands of Donald Trump. Nbcs Ali Vitali is reporting from Capitol Hill for us. Walk us through whats happening there, and how long congress has to figure it out. Well, look, they are on a deadline. That tends to work well up here, chris. Theyve got just shy of three weeks, and i got to tell you, three weeks can sometimes feel like three years, especially when youre watching the government try to avert a government shut down. What were watching is speaker Mike Johnson get squeezed by members of his conference. He put forth a plan before members came back to town after a lengthy Summer Recess where he said he was going to fund the government for six months, up to march 2025, and he would also be including the Save Act, a republican Election Integrity Bill that they say stops noncitizens from voting. Again, we should point out as we often do, thats already illegal, nevertheless, it is a priority for conservative republicans and for former president Donald Trump who has signalled he would in his words in a Heart Beat shut the government down to keep the Save Act in the conversation. Heres what Speaker Johnson said about the debacle he found himself in, his own members dont have sufficient volts for it but also unable to make changes because he could earn the ire of the president. Listen. Were working through all the options but we are fiercely committed to the Save Act. Well see. Well have more conversations through the weekend. Thats how the process works. The only path forward is a bipartisan one, and im hopeful that house republican leadership and traditional republicans will reach that conclusion sooner rather than later so we can get the job done. So you heard there from the top democrat on the house side, Hakeem Jeffries saying the only solution is a bipartisan one. Hes probably right but its not looking like its going to be bipartisan if republicans in the house continue with the method and the plan that they are currently working on, which, again, is a sixmonth Continuing Resolution with the Save Act. Its not going to work on the house side, and its definitely not going to work on the senate side, leaving them having to come up with Something Else. Well see what that is. Chris. Ali vitali, Thank You. Now to california where fast moving wildfires have consumed 100,000 acres and injured more than a dozen people. Nbcs Morgan Chesky is reporting from san bernardino county. Morgan, we have seen some incredible images of the damage. Obviously some of that is behind you. Whats the latest . Reporter chris, you smell the smoke from miles and miles away, and then you arrive here on the scene to just a heartbreaking image after another. This home here outside of wrightwood, california, one of several that was incinerated about 48 hours ago, thats when these flames really took off overnight, forcing evacuations, and you can see the charred remnants of whats been left behind. This vehicle just absolutely incinerated. Fortunately, if there is any good news at all, chris, it is that there have been no reported fatalities. Evacuations did work as planned, and crews have been on this fire 24 7, cutting new line, making water drops as needed to try to contain this now more than 50,000 acre blaze. The largest in the state that still sits at 0 contained. Meanwhile, we have another Fire Burning in orange county, the airport fire. That is merely 8 contained and were still following the latest on the Line Fire. Chris, we go back a week ago, the Line Fine was the focus of the fire fighting efforts. We have now learned that authorities are planning to announce charges against one man they say was not only the cause, the potential cause of the Line Fire that burned thousands of acres, but he might also be tied to multiple other fires as well. Those arson charges, about to be announced at a Press Conference in san bernardino starting any minute now. Well be keeping a close eye on that. In the meantime, though, evacuations still in place here in wrightwood, california, where the damage is just heartbreaking. Chris . Yeah, we just saw a picture that just started that Press Conference. Well keep our eye on it. As we get more information, well let folks know. Morgan chesky, Thank You for that. Millions under the gulf coast, francine roared. I know, steven, this storm posts a number of Flood Rescues in the region. Whats the latest where you are . Reporter yeah, chris, youre absolutely right, we are in Gulf Port right now, where the Heavy Rain has moved out. We are still getting some wind gusts here from francine. But now people in the northern part of mississippi are dealing with Power Outages and those Flood Threats remain there, and those Flood Rescues in new orleans, the National Guard was out to try to help with that situation last night. Some of the Pumping Stations that weve heard so much about in the past 20 years, since katrina there, they did have some issues with those, causing some of the water to back up there. Those Flood Rescues, that was happening. People were driving into Flood Waters and having to be rescued out of their vehicles. A difficult situation, and another situation that is still ongoing, kenner, a suburb of new orleans, one of the areas dealing with their Sewer System that is backed up, unindated inundated. Meanwhile, Power Outages throughout the region. Its not something you want. You want to be able to use that ac, people are out there trying to assess the damage that is left behind from the storm. We know some roofs were damaged. Buildings, homes, people are still trying to figure out exactly what theyre dealing with. Its not that long. 2021, people are still dealing with insurance claims from that, and now they have turned around and theyre facing another round of damage, chris. Steven romo, Thank You. In 90 seconds, State Election officials sound the alarm over the u. S. Postal service, and the delays they worry could upend the voting process. Process. I got my bleep together. I got my bleep together. The whole class knows i got my bleep together. Just say it you can get your shots together too, your Covid19 Shot and your flu shot, at the same visit, as recommended by the cdc. I got my shots together, dude ask your Healthcare Provider about getting this seasons Covid19 Shot when getting your flu shot, if youre due for both. Are you getting your bleep together . Ill be honest. By The End of the day, my floors. Yeesh. But who has the time to clean . Thats why i love my swiffer wetjet. Its a quick and easy way to get my floors clean. Wetjet absorbs and locks grime deep inside. Look at that swiffer wetjet. Your Record Label is taking off. But so is your sound engineer. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. Our advanced matching helps find talented candidates, so you can connect with them fast. Visit indeed. Com Hire Zyrtec Allergy relief works fast and lasts a full 24 hours so dave can be the. Deliverer of dance. Ok, dave lets be more than our allergies. Zeize the day with zyrtec. The first ballots of the general election are now in the mail. From alabama, after north carolinas were delayed. Today, election officials across the country are concerned that the u. S. Postal Service Isnt ready for november. In a joint, open letter, They Implore postmaster general Lewis Dejoy to take immediate action to address problems surrounding lost and delayed election mail, writing, quote, failure to do so will risk limiting Voter Participation and trust in the election process. That warning comes as we see multiple new indications of Voter Engagement suggesting turnout this year could be high. Record donations, high ratings for the debate, and a major surge in new Voter Registrations even before Pop Star Taylor swift began a Registration Push including last night. If you are over 18, please register to vote for Something Else thats very important coming up. The president ial election. I love you all so so much. Joining us now, brendan buck, former aide to House Speakers Paul Ryan and John Boehner and an msnbc political analyst. Maya rupert, former Campaign Manager for julian castro, and ben wikler, chair of the democratic party of wisconsin. Ben, its good to have you in studio. I dont need to tell you this, your state is at the center of both of these things, the push for Voter Registration, but also some problems getting things underway. I want to ask you about both. Tell me about the surge in Voter Registration in your state, tell me what youre up to . Its very exciting to see. The number i keep coming back to, the fact. In august 13th, we had our august Primary Election for the fall, and this year, compared to the august primary Election And President ial years for the last six decades had the highest voter turnout, including people same day register, chuck do in wisconsin. You dont have to register to advance. Were seeing a flood of people, folks all over the state getting involved. Volunteering for the first time, more than half of the volunteers signing up now have never volunteered before, and getting out, registering and voting. Im just going to ask you quickly, you and i were talking on the phone a couple of days ago in advance of the debate. How many volunteer hours have been served in your state . We have seen more than 50,000 people have signed up. But weve had 40,000 people complete Volunteer Shifts that are usually two or three hours long, and a lot are reregistering to come back again. Knocking on doors, joining Phone Banks and going to farmers markets, having barbecues, and ask everyone to take their phones out and contact everyone they know to sign up to volunteer and donate. That engagement is fueling a surge of energy that i think will have consequences down ballot, Tammy Baldwin for senate and the president ial. The good news is we all want as many people as possible to participate and as many people as possible to vote. Can you concerned about the warning in the letter to the postmaster general that there is a risk of Voter Participation and eroding trust. What i think is good is so many people are engaged writing that letter, working to solve these issues. We have seen over and over, these republicans attacks and going back to when trump was in office, attacks on the u. S. Postal system. What we have seen over and over again, is people overcoming those obstacles, and now in every race, where people are trying to undermine the election, tried to gain public office. People who believed in democracy won those elections. This will be a safe and secure election. It will be easy for people to cast those ballots, and the ballots will be counted. We need to earn them. Brendan, republicans have been trying to increase mailin ballots. Donald trump has long linked Absentee And Mailin balloting with fraught. He tweeted about unproven claims that mailin ballots were fraudulent. Donald trump wants every voter, no matter republican, democrat, thirdparty candidate. Why is he saying 20 are fraudulent . Hes referencing information for the 2020 election. What were talking about right now is making sure that every vote matters and every vote counts. What information do we have . What evidence is there that 20 of the mailin ballots are fraudulent . I didnt see the report, so i would have to go back and look at it. I cant directly speak to that. So, brendan, are republicans capable of changing the narrative on mailin ballots which they now at least some seem to be acknowledging are a good thing for your own candidate . Every Campaign Operative understands theyre a good thing. The first House Race i worked on many years ago, one of the first things i learned is you chase mailin ballots, you bank those votes and dont have to worry about turning them out. Donald trump has done and said a lot of selfdestructive things over the years. This is near the top of the list. Telling your voters not to use mailin votes is, without question, costing you votes on election day. For whatever reason, people dont show up, things happen, and youre losing votes. Everyone has tried to convince him otherwise. Kevin mccarthy tried to convince him otherwise, Mitch Mcconnell tried to convince him otherwise. He has been convinced he has been hurting himself by doing this. He has such a large megaphone, his daughterinlaw telling people its okay is not going to do the trick. Its all part of the conspiracy to overturn peoples votes. Michigan Secretary Of State spoke to msnbc about threats that Election Workers face amid all of this. Heres what they said about it. It is chilling, frankly, to know that powerful individuals with great mega phones, former President Of The United States would use that platform. His ambitions for simply doing our jobs. These threats are not threats to us. Theyre threats to the american people. Theyre threats to the will of the voters and our democracy itself. So maya, how do you reassure voters about the process when not only do you have a lot of people denying that its safe. You have Election Workers who are scared, and theres also been i did a quick google of Election Workers now state after state after state theyre having trouble getting people to work at election sites because of their worry that they are not safe. And theyre saying there could be long lines. You add a lack of Election Workers to what may be record registration drives. Where does that leave you . I think, i mean, its right to sound the alarm because this is this is a situation where people are afraid to work the election. People are going to be dealing with, just as you said, long lines, couples with, you know, the sort of heightened fear. I think we have to do a few things. One, i think we have to remind people to stay in line, that its worth it. I think there need to be voices across the board, countering what Donald Trump is saying. I think we need, you know, obviously democratic voices, but i think it would be really really valuable right now to hear from