and this is home. >> reporter: prepared to ride out his first hurricane in more than a decade. gabe gutierrez, apalachicola, florida. al roker joining us. when can we expect landfall? >> some time late tonight, savannah. but you can see the eye of the storm right now. this is strengthening. if there's any good news, it doesn't have a lot of time to strengthen much more. so that's good. we have tornado watches in effect in sfrl florida, and we're watching 85 miles south of apalachicola, 75 mile-an-hour winds. landfall late tonight in the panhandle. by early saturday afternoon it's off the carolina coast. the cone of uncertainty still includes boston, new york. it will continue to expand. we may be talking about this into early next week. we have tropical storm watches, hurricane warnings and tropical storm warnings all the way from atlantic city to apalachicola. storm surges, the onshore, 6 to 9 feet in the big bend area, georgia north carolina coast could see 1 to 3 feet. we have the possibility of tornadoes from wilmington all the way to gainesville. and the rainfall, and my gosh, the flood risk up to 20 inches in the panhandle. we're talking upwards of 4 to 8 inches into the carolinas. rip currents stretching from florida all the way up to new england. >> we'll have to watch tonight, al. thank you very much. other news now and a major se the company hired by nasa to carry cargo and eventually astronauts to the space station. an unmanned rocket suddenly exploded during a test this morning two days before a scheduled launch. on board a satellite that facebook hoped to use to beam internet access to remote parts of the world. now spacex is behind schedule again and trying to learn what went wrong. here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it a massive explosion just after 9:00 a.m., an unmanned spacex falcon 9 rocket launched in a giant fireball that the company says started in the upper stage oxygen tank. >> evacuating complex 41, but it's south of 41. >> wow. it's still going. >> reporter: the explosion so big witnesses could see and feel it miles away, even caught on weather radar. >> it's a rocket that blew up a pretty knockous smoke plume heading out towards the beach. >> temporarily closing down the beach. >> reporter: amazingly no one was injured. it happened during an engine test fire. on saturday the rocket was supposed to launch an israeli communications satellite into orbit from which facebook planned to beam home internet access to africa. facebook's ceo mark zuckerberg today saying he was deeply disappointed by the launch failure. >> three, two, one. >> reporter: it's not the first billionaire elon musk. it has suffered a series of setbacks but also tremendous success, launching cargo resupply missions to the space station. the falcon 9 rocket launched today was the same design that is supposed to one day carry humans to the space station. former astronaut steve robinson is an nbc news analyst. >> this is a very competitive industry, of course, and it's also a very unforgiving industry. you have to balance being hard charging and being extre >> reporter: today's explosion appears to have significantly damaged the spacex launchpad potentially serious setback for spacex as the company works through a backlog of satellite launch dates and upcoming resupply missions to the space station. tom costello, thank you. to presidential politics and big backlash for donald trump from some of his biggest latino supporters who say now they feel misled and betrayed after trump indicated he was only to come out swinging last night, calling for a major immigration crackdown. katy tur tonight with the reaction. >> reporter: until today jacob monte was a member of donald trump's national hispanic council. >> i'm not going to be a hispanic prop like the mexican president was. so i resigned. >> reporter: bowing out after trump's fiery immigration speech last night. any previous suggestion he may work with undocumented immigrants already in this country a pipe dream. >> legal status or become a citizen of the united states by illegally entering our country. >> reporter: disregarding his counsel's advice. >> i argued and most did for a softer tone than he decided on. >> reporter: instead trump stuck to the hardline immigration approach that won him the primary. >> we're going to triple the number of i.c.e. deportation new special deportation task force. >> reporter: even after he seemed open to compromise with the mexican president earlier that day. >> we didn't discuss who pays for the wall. >> reporter: that's not true according to enrique panena nieto who retweeted that mexico would not pay for the wall. in an attempt to keep his pace and appeal to moderate voters. >> there certainly can be a it's a hardening, actually. i think you'll see there's really quite a bit of softening. >> reporter: but it may be too late as some republicans like jasmine monroy has already made up her minds. >> you are going to get the hispanic vote? no. that's being fake and a hypocrite. >> i think the latino community is completely unavailable to donald trump because of his language not just on this issue but he does speak a language of intolerance. >> reporter: sources will get his second security briefing in new york city. this as his wife melania files a $150 million lawsuit against an american blogger and the daily mail for what she says are false stories claiming that she was once an escort. hillary clinton's campaign meanwhile announced that it smashed a fund-raising record in the month of august. while clinton has been shaking hands with donors often behind closed doors, the roll of attack dog h supporters and surrogates andrea mitchell with the story. >> reporter: tonight hillary clinton off the trail relying on joe biden to attack trump. >> this is a guy born with a silver spoon in his mouth that now he's choking on because his foot's in his mouth along with the spoon. >> reporter: and tim contain on the morning shows. >> i think this is kind of a diplomatic amateur hour by donald trump. >> reporter: but biden raising eyebrows not leaping to defend the clinton foundation to foundation always been 100% ethical in your view? >> i think the clinton foundation like all foundations have found themselves in a position where things are changing, and i think she's going to change. >> reporter: the candidate herself only two public events in two weeks. when she does appear, ducking questions. what do you think of donald trump's new hires? >> thank you so much. we're having a great time here in cleveland. >> reporter: clinton has spent most of her time making her case to donors in private. th in august. 62 million for her campaign, the rest for the democratic party. >> every day donald trump is out there is good for the clinton campaign. every day hillary clinton is not distracting from the attention donald trump is getting is also good for the campaign. >> reporter: tonight clinton once again out of sight after driving off to practice for her debate against trump. likely to be the make or break moment of the campaign. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. authorities in florida said they have found zika in infected continental u.s. officials say that development is disappointing but not surprising after dozens of nontravel-related zika infections in people in miami-dade county. but until now they hadn't been able to find mosquitoes with the virus. in a major announcement today georgetown quluniversity, the oldest jesuit institution in the u.s., says it will start making amends for a low point in its history by allowing descendants of people it bought and sold a treatment as its most elite alumni. kristen welker has more. >> reporter: it was news maxine crump and michelle harrington could have never imagined. >> it was shocking. >> reporter: earlier this year the sisters learned they're the direct descendants of a group of slaves sold to louisiana in 1838 to save georgetown university from bankruptcy. today another stunning revelation. georgetown announcing 272 slaves sold and anyone who helped build the university will now get preferential treatment in admission process, like the children of alumni. >> we belong as part of the georgetown family. >> it makes us. >> that's right. >> reporter: the news monumental for lauren crump. >> it makes me want to consider georgetown. >> reporter: more than a dozen universities, harvard and brown, have publicly recognized their ties to slavery, but today further. >> i want to recognize the descendents of the enslaved children, women and men. >> reporter: georgetown will seek to alter the physical imprint of its legacy, renaming two buildings which once paid tribute to college presidents involved in the 1838 slave sale. it all started last fall when students of all races started demanding justice. >> today brings a point of pride and overwhelming joy. doesn't go far enough? >> well, they're right. but we got to make the first step. >> reporter: a journey that began with 272 forgotten souls now on a path toward atonement and forgiveness. kristen welker, nbc news, washington. still ahead tonight, pain relief without the pills. so many alternative treatments out there, but which ones actually work? what experts are now revealing. also a scary mix-up in the sky. we're back with new hope in the battle against the rising epidemic of opioid addiction in this country. a new study is revealing which alternative treatments can relief pain with fewer prescription pills and possibly without pills at all. nbc's dr. john torres explains. >> reporter: judy, a lawyer in new york, has suffered neck pain for three debilitating. almost some days unsustainable in terms of tolerating it. >> reporter: after trying almost everything, she found relief with acupuncture, which stimulates certain nerve endings. >> it can cause you to feel pain differently. >> reporter: and it works for a lot of americans. according to one of the most comprehensive studies of alternative pain relief. today the national institutes of health patients reported on what works and what doesn't. for those with arthritic knee pain acupuncture and tai chi had the best results. for neck pain, massage therapy, and back pain it's acupuncture and yoga. not so effective natural supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin. at the cleveland clinic connie powell is using a combination of alternative therapies including meditation to reduce high doses of painkillers. i didn't feel there was any way out. >> reporter: judy swears by acupuncture. does it hurt? >> no, it does not hurt. you know that someone's touching you, but it's not like getting a shot. >> reporter: insurance companies don't always pay for these therapies. pain experts hope this study proves they do work and should be covered. dr. john torres, nbc news, new york. we're back in a moment with a rare and stunning images in the night sky over africa to the delight of star gazers. a ring of fire eclipse as the moon passed between the sun and the earth without completely blocking out the sun, hence the ring you see, a ring of sunlight around the moon, and it's beautiful. tonight, calls for the federal government to investigate a mother's nightmare. why an airline somehow allowed two young boys to get on the wrong flights last described her moments of sheer panic. here's anne thompson. >> reporter: 5-year-old andy martinez waved good buy for what should have been a flight from the dominican republic to new york's kennedy airport. flying alone for the first time, his mom maribel paid the airline an extra $100 to a have an translator she says he wasn't there. >> translator: i was given another boy, and they asked me it was the first time, is this your son? and i said, this is not my son. >> reporter: that child had her son's passport. andy landed in boston, the other boy mistakenly sent to jfk. jetblue put andy on the next flight to new york and, after what she says were more than three terrifying hours, maribel had her son back. my hands, thank god. >> reporter: but when asked if it was the two boys that switched the passports causing the confusion, the mother's lawyer jumped in. >> we're not going to speculate. >> reporter: in a statement the airline said the children were always under the care of jetblue crew members. jetblue apologized, refunded the flights and offered the families credit on future flights. as for andy, he's back in the dominican republic with his dad, but flying another when we come back tonight, an update on a girl whose story has amazing story we first brought you this past spring. today was back to school day for a remarkable girl who had struggled with so much at such a young age. well now her future looks much brighter thanks to a teacher's incredible gift. here's nbc's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: the first day of school. time for friends old and new. but this reunion is extra special. because 8-year-old natasha fuller and teacher jody schmidt share a bond that goes far beyond the school yard. since birth natasha has battled kidney disease, struggling to stay alive. until the third grade teacher down the hall surprised natasha's grandmother, she would share one of her kidneys. we were with them just before the operation. >> i'm worried she's going to get scared, because i'm scared, going to be okay. >> yep. >> yeah. >> reporter: that was just five months ago. natasha has regained her color and strength and remains as precocious as ever. >> she's worked hard at school. she's worked hard with dialysis. she's worked hard at being a friend and a granddaughter. i'm not surprised that she's recovered as well as she has. >> reporter: she's even done some things for the very first time, like swimming. and your favorite food is -- >> chocole! and kit-kats and fries, and oh, burritos. >> reporter: i'm getting hungry. >> don't mess with that little one. >> reporter: natasha's grandmother says nothing will hold this little sparkplug back. you think she's going to grab it by the horns? >> she already has. she did the day after she woke up from her surgery. >> reporter: this is my world? >> you bet. >> reporter: a lifelong friendship >> give me a hug. >> reporter: kevin tibbles, nbc news, wisconsin. aren't they amazing? that's going to do it for us on a thursday night. i'm savannah guthrie in for lester. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today." for all of us at nbc news, thanks for announcer: today on the meredith vieira show why cindi crawford's 14-year-old daughter is causing a stir in the modelling deyou buchlt and that is dishing about star trek and dishing about co-star leonard nimoy and reveal a home renovation. [applause] ? ??j >> meredith: hi, everyone. we have a great show today. thank you. and my first guest is legendary actor captain kirk william shatner. and he has a new book out. and talking about co-star leonard nimoy. look at the this space. chicago's nick gehlfuss is here. okay. my paint popped open. something goes on when you have a giggle will. i heard a pop as i walked out. let's go on to the show. when it comes to super models. we know that cindi crawford is beautiful and successful and modelling 30 years. her career started in high school when she signed with an agency at age 17. clearly looks run in the family making a splash with her first fashion campaign and she's 14 years old. critics are saying that she looks too sexy, too soon. what did you think? >> megan: i didn't look like that at 14. >> yamaneika: she looks great but way too old and she's not 14 is not a good image for a young girl. >> meredith: other fashion models have started that age. >> lance: she was fully dressed. [applause] >> megan: other 14-year-olds look at that and say i have to look like young like eighth grade. that is not a regular 14. >> lilliana: you didn't look like that? >> megan: she's stunning. >> lilliana: it is the nature of the industry and going into the modelling industry and 14 is not that young. you look at cara delavine and had her first feature in