their popular taco truck was stolen, but they're not down and out. what they're doing to not quit on their dream of sending their boys to college. we'll have that for you coming up right here at 6:00. up next, we're going to send it over to lester holt with "nightly news." then we'll see you back at 6:00. tonight breaking news hurricane delta slamming into the storm-weary gulf coast. a large and powerful category-2 storm. destructive winds and rains. dangerous storm surge and wide spreading flooding expected in a region crippled by hurricane laura. why so many chose not to evacuate our teams in the gulf and al roker is tracking it all. the president declaring a cure for covid-19. eyeing a campaign comeback about to hold his first in-person event since his diagnosis. dr. fauci saying the white house hosted a super spreader event plus, what the president now says about a covid relief

bill as millions wait desperately for answers. after the alleged kidnapping plot against michigan's governor, a growing threat of militia groups cases on the rise in the northeast. the cdc's grim new projection securing the election our exclusive look inside the cybersecurity effort to prevent foreign interference and attacks. how big is the threat? just authorized. a rapid test for covid and the flu. how to tell if you have the flu, covid, or seasonal allergies. remembering a baseball legend hall of famer yankee whitey ford. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, it's a disturbing case of deja vu for people living along the southwest louisiana coast now. breaking as we come on the air, hurricane delta is slamming ashore with staends winds clocking over 100-miles per hour the storm is tracking a dangerous and way

too familiar path. on course to hit some of the same communities we saw devastated devastated by another hurricane weeks ago. we begin our team coverage with morgan chesky in lake charles. >> reporter: good evening. here we go again it was almost six weeks ago we stood on this exact balcony and watched hurricane laura tear through this area. tonight it's delta the eye wall has torrential rains moving through the area and the worst has yet to come. >> reporter: tonight driving rain, dangerous winds, flashing southwest louisiana in a devastating deja vu. the category-2 hurricane slamming into battered cities. >> it's going to exacerbate a bad situation. >> reporter: in lake charles, delta's rain tested roofs ripped off by hurricane laura six weeks

ago. >> it affects you physically, mentally, psychologically. to turn around six weeks later and experience it again is tough. >> reporter: the city all but empty after mandatory evacuations that convinced almost everyone to leave town. >> you live in louisiana, you have to expect hurricanes i would feel it more stressful leaving than staying >> reporter: he did what he could with sandbags around his home the debris from hurricane laura lines his entire city block and the winds only growing stronger are you concerned about what it could do with this >> of course i'm concerned. >> reporter: in lake arthur, which could see up to 9-foot storm surge, chris hendricks and his father are watching delta roll in. not as worried about the flooding as the wind >> it's going to be a bad situation. a lot of people will lose a lot of stuff in their homes. we're hoping it shifts a little more east. >> reporter: tonight nearly 10,000 louisianans are in shelters many returning home

after laura made their homes unlivable. barbara jackson and her son edward spent more than a month in a hotel last week they finally returned too overwhelmed to leave again. >> i am not leaving. >> reporter: so tonight they watch and wait tired and storm weary as delta marches on nbc news, lake charles. i'm sam brock in lafayette. about 70 miles east where many families feel the same way. they're riding out the storm. >> it'll rise but it'll go down within a few hours. >> hurricanes are a way of life

here >> reporter: mark plans to anchor down on his boat if it weren't for the boat, would you have evacuated? >> probably along with my daughters, granddaughters i'm captain of my boat have to go down with the ship >> reporter: in lafayette parish, no mandatory evacuations as conditions worsen what is the threshold to require mandatory evacuations for a quarter million people >> lafayette never had mandatory evacuations in our history. the government can't substitute common sense >> reporter: the state's nearest megashelter at capacity because of covid as leaders urge people to go to hotels instead. they're implementing curfews and demanding drivers stay off the roads. in the small city which is close to the coast and right in the cross hairs of hurricane delta, they're well above sea level. not as much concern about flood actually ripping through the streets. a few miles away, much closer to sea level with the water expected to spill over straits and approach homes. >> to wake up and step into water is, you know, a frightening feeling. >> reporter: whipping

winds can produce wide spread power outages and inflict fresh damage. >> over the years, i did redid everything i owned five or six times. i'm done >> reporter: tonight local officials here are most worried about wind damage but flooding is a concern lafayette river has breached the banks despite efforts to pump out water and keep river levels low. we still have a ways to go with the storm. >> thanks. sam brock and morgan che cre chesky, thanks al roker is tracking it all. what are we looking at tonight and through the weekend? >> lester, delta moving on shore now at 105 miles per hour winds category 2 storm it will move inland we'll also see the storm surge now tamper down but we still have destructive wind and rain and then saturday it makes its way into

the tennessee river valley with gusty winds and rain for much of the southeast. sunday even affecting the mid atlantic and northeast with flash flooding and river flooding, as well. we have 6 million people under flash glad watches and warnings through the mississippi river valley with up to 15 inches of rain before it's over. lester >> all right, al thank you. we'll keep an eye on delta as it makes the way inland there's breaking news in the white house tonight. the president to resume in-person appearances starting this weekend and again hailing what he alone calls a cure for covid-19 that helped him recover. hallie jackson has late details >> reporter: the president eager to escape his covid confinement. now expected to appear tomorrow at a law and order event on the south lawn, according to a white house official set to greet attendees from the same balcony where he peeled off his mask monday night, arriving home from the hospital now as the trump campaign announces his first rally set for monday in florida, new confirmation that nine people at a rally several weeks ago in

minnesota tested positive for the coronavirus, including two people who had to be hospitalized one in intensive care. at that event, few masks and no social distancing. similar to events at the white house before the president's diagnosis. leading to this startling new declaration tonight from the nation's top infectious disease doctor, anthony fauci. >> we had a super spreader event in the white house it was in a situation where people were crowded together and not wearing masks. the data speaks for itself >> reporter: at least 27 people connected to the administration or campaign have been infected with covid with one official today repeatedly refusing to disclose the last time the president tested negative when was the president's last negative test prior to his diagnosis? >> so, we don't have

that >> reporter: you don't know or don't want to say? >> so, umm, we don't have that. >> reporter: why not be transparent about that specific, very specific piece of information? >> so, i stated we'll have further updates from the doctors. it's not something that has the public health value that the other information we're releasing does >> reporter: that's not accurate knowing the president's last negative test could help determine who else may have been exposed to the virus president trump's ready to hit the road soon. today doing a different kind of campaigning. >> this is a mega, megarally. >> reporter: a two hour town hall with rush limbaugh and declaring a cure for coronavirus. >> i'm telling you, we have a cure manner therapeutic -- manner therapy -- more than a therapeutic. we have a cure >> reporter: the president referencing regeneron's anti-body cocktails. >> i can tell you, it's a cure. i'm talking to you today because of it. you know, because i think i could have been a bad -- i could have been a bad victim i fit certain categories that aren't so great. >> reporter: none the treatments the president received is considered a cure. if you do get sick with this virus, there is no guarantee you

would have the same outcome as the president would have >> reporter: and late tonight we learned thursday's presidential debate has been cancelled after it went virtual to protect the health and safety of everyone involved the debate on the 22nd, though, is still on. lester >> hallie jackson, i know you're juggling a lot the president making headlines on a potential covid relief bill what can you tell us about that >> reporter: yeah. he's now back at the negotiating table on a big bill to try to help americans during this pandemic after walking away from negotiations earlier this week. the white house is now moving closer to what house speaker nancy pelosi wants but even if they can get to a deal on relief, the senate would have to approve it and right now that does not look likely before election day. >> hallie jackson at the white house, thank you this evening there's a new focus on the threat of radical militia groups in this country after the arrests of extremists accused of plotting to kidnap the governor of michigan pete williams tonight on what has fuelled these

groups >> reporter: some of the 13 people arrested this week in michigan, state and federal officials say, were involved in two militia groups part of a movement on the rise restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic and black lives matter protests bringing people to the streets have energized militias that share a hatred of government and law enforcement. >> the coorganizing principle of a lot of people who are joining the militia movement, they want to overthrow the existing political order. >> reporter: one of those charged in the kidnapping plot rebelled against the pandemic rules on social media. >> every single person that works for government is your enemy. >> reporter: a friend of adam fox, another charged in the plot, said he recently became more radical. >> he changed in the last eight months with the covid, wearing a mask he believes his constitutional rights were taken away >> reporter: covid restrictions imposed bay woman government. >> we're seeing folks being resentful that a woman tells them what to do.

>> reporter: law enforcement officials tell nbc news some of the kidnap plotters were followers of boogaloo. investigators say another follower was arrested in june charged with shooting a court security officer in oakland, hoping to spark a race war. >> i think they're so dangerous individuals that are out there. it's a point of great concern. i think it's important our elected leaders tone down the rhetoric >> reporter: experts who track militias said that groups once thrived in the shadows are out in the open with some believing only violence is the answer pete williams, nbc news, washington tonight new worries about a second wave of covid-19 in places that have had the virus under control and what a top public health official calls the new silence spread here is kristen dahlgren with that >> reporter: across the northeast tonight, an urgent warning about what could be a second wave on the way. >> what we're seeing is we take down our guard when we're with

people we know i can know you and you can be asymptomatically infected >> reporter: dr. deborah birx saying the spread isn't for public places as much as small, private gatherings in the past stwo weeks, at least six eastern cases have been seen cases increase more than 25% >> for those that haven't, wake up for crying out loud. wake up. >> reporter: new york city is averaging more than 500 cases per day for the first time since june brown university has been tracking hot spots since the start of the pandemic. note the red areas moving across the country. now reappearing in the northeast. do you think it's going to be as bad as what we saw in the spring >> well, i'm hoping things will not be as bad. part of the reason is we have more testing available. so we can tell when things are starting to ramp up and get bad and hopefully change our behavior >> reporter: but tonight some of the forecasts are grim the cdc said death ace cross the country could reach 240,000 by the end of the month it ranks covid as the third

leading cause of death. experts warn with even new therapies and a vaccine, it will be months before life returns to normal broadway announcing it'll remain closed until at least june 2021. for this actor, it's more than a show that isn't going on. >> there's tons of people you don't see. it's the behind the scenes the crew, hair, make up, lights, wardrobe >> reporter: for many, pain mixed with pandemic fatigue, as experts warn not to let our guard down kristen dahlgren, nbc news in 60 seconds, threats against the election how the country is trying to prevent cyber attacks from overseas and here at home

we're back with an nbc news exclusive. behind the scenes with cybersecurity teams working to prevent foreign interference with u.s. elections. with all 50 states

running their own elections, it's pretty daunting challenge tom costello reports >> reporter: 25 days until election day with 8 million having already voted under the threat of foreign interference outside albany, new york, nbc news was given exclusive access to a national security operation center coordinating cyber defenses against foreign and criminal hack attempts. >> we see a lot of cyber threats impacting elections as well as other state and local and business organizations, as well >> reporter: election defense became a top homeland security priority after the russian hacks of 2016. now massive collaboration with the military, the fbi, and nsa. >> reporter: this week homeland security warned cyber threats from both nation states and nonstate actors will remain acute and likely grow. singling out threats from russia, china, and iran to disrupt election infrastructure how often do you see a probe or an attempt at an attack.

>> every single second >> reporter: every second >> the internet is a wild place >> reporter: chris kreps is the director he vows this year's elections will be the most secure ever. >> anything can happen on the turn of a dime we're ready. we've secured systems. we've exercised. we've trained. we have responses plans in place. we're ready for just about everything >> reporter: the challenge? coordinating defensive strategies with 6,000 local and state governments nationwide matt masterson is the point man on election security. >> we literally have intrusion detection sensors sitting on state networks across all 50 states looking for malicious traffic, looking for malicious activity >> reporter: it could take one county election officer clicking on the ransomware e-mail to let someone in u.s. cyber command is also on the offensive. in 2018, targeting a

russian troll farm taking it offline. >> that didn't set them back much substantiatively but sent a message to russia that the united states had that capacity and could do it again >> reporter: homeland cybersecurity said the biggest threat to the election may not be russian hacking but russian disinformation campaigns to undermine confidence in the election campaigns already underway. >> tom costello, thank you. when we come back, how to tell the difference between covid, the flu, and seasonal allergies. joor night we're

remembering a baseball legend, yankee hall of famer whitey ford has died he helped lead the team to six world series championships in the 1950s and '60s and known as one of the game's greatest stars. whitey ford was 91 years old. to a growing concern over flu season amidst the covid outbreak and folks are asking how do you tell the difference with the symptoms? here is miguel almaguer with tonight's search for solutions. >> reporter: with our nation on pace to add another 47,000 covid cases today, there's growing concern hospitals could be overrun with those who think they have the virus but don't. >> it can be difficult to tell the difference >> reporter: tonight the fda is granting emergency use authorization for a new swab test that can determine in two hours if the virus is the flu or

covid. set to roll out in some large hospitals within weeks. in the meantime, doctors say the shared symptoms between flu and coronavirus are strikingly similar. fever, headache, cough, body aches, and fatigue with covid-19, many lose their sense of smell and taste, often unable to register strong odors like coffee or onions, which can be unique to the coronavirus. >> you don't want to expose other people call ahead to make sure you're doing what they need you to do to keep everybody safe >> reporter: when it comes to cold and allergy symptoms, they're typically less severe and rarely include a fever, a better indicator of flu or covid. >> get a flu shot and try to do it before halloween. it can take two weeks to offer you protection and perhaps some peace of mind. lester >> miguel, thanks. up next a mission for those in need. the nobel peace prize winners inspiring the world.

doing what they need you to do to keep everybody safe. >> reporter: when it comes to cold and allergy symptoms, they're typically less severe and rarely include a fever, a better indicator of flu or covid. >> get a flu shot and try to do it before halloween. it can take two weeks to offer you protection and perhaps some peace of mind. lester? >> miguel, thanks. up next a mission for those in need. the nobel peace prize winners inspiring the world. i lost almost 12 pounds! oh! (announcer) for those also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. it lowers the risk. oh! and i only have to take it once a week. oh! ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) ozempic® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not share needles or pens. don't reuse needles. do not take ozempic® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to ozempic®. stop taking ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, itching, rash, or trouble breathing.

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we can find a way to get through this together. gonna go ahead and support him, get my hair cut, leave a big tip. ♪ the americans who drive our trucks and ambulances, who put fear aside and run toward the flames. these are the people we depend on. that's why at the ford motor company, our super dutys have undergone 20 million miles of testing. so that these people can depend on us. ♪

finally, the inspiring group making sure more than 100 million people have enough to eat. stephanie gosk now with more on their life-saving mission. >> reporter: in yemen, a violent conflict has raged for five years. the world food program is on the ground bringing help to 2 million mall nourished children mall neuroriched

children today the u.n. organization won the nobel peace prize. >> our people put their lives on the line every day because they're dedicated to helping and former south people >> reporter: executive director and former south carolina governor david beasley spoke to us today. >> the next 12 to 18 months is really going to be the worst humanitarian crisis time period since world war ii >> reporter: you're talking about more than doubling of the people who face food insecurity just because of covid? >> that's exactly right. >> reporter: the world food program was dwight d. eisenhower's idea. since 1961, it helped people worldwide during historic times of need. the ethiopian famine, the haiti earthquake, shifting in recent years to war zones. >> i think this nobel peace make a difference.

prize is a call to action i hope this will be an example of this an inspiration for others around the world you can make a difference. one organization can make a difference >> reporter: the world needs the help now more than ever stephanie gosk, nbc news and that's "nightly news" for this friday. thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night watching, everyone. i'm le right now at 6:00 the controversial new feature from yelp. about racism in restaurants. critics say it can be too much control to customers. >> livelihood taken in a the dark of the night. >> they're working so hard. trying to make a living. %

some people receiving two ballots. some receiving someone els ballot. i'll have the explanation and the action being taken. >> let's start on the peninsula. late this afternoon the stanford football team began practicing for the season. not at stanford. you can see that's wood side high school. they aren't allowed on campus. they went to wood side. this is beyond the football story. it's about different restrictions in our communities and why we'r