A tanker truck in flames in connecticut, a crash killing five in georgia, one car falling 50 feet. Airports packed capping off a record summer. And the dangerous heat this holiday from the central u. S. To the northeast, potentially record breaking and the new tropical threat were tracking tonight. Plus, President Biden on the attack using a Labor Day Event to go after former President Trump as mr. Trumps gop rivals flock to New Hampshire can any of them make a dent in his primary lead. Remembering the voice behind the hit song all star as many fans play tribute to jimmy buf buffett. Tonight, the newly revealed video, his Surprise Performance. Wasting away again in margaritaville this is nbc nightly news with lester holt ask good evening, im tom llamas in for lester tonight we begin with the main gates finally opening at burning man after some Festival Goers including celebrities defied a shelter in place request and walked for hours to get out of the mud and muck today a line of vehicles stretching for miles, carrying many of the 70,000 trapped there out of the Nevada Desert many boarding buses, riding on the backs of trucks to make their longawaited exit after that late summer storm brought some two months worth of rain to the site in less than two days, stranding them in ankle deep mud, Police Investigating at least one persons death. The view from the air, a sea of tents and rvs, an enormous task ahead tonight getting everyone and everything out safely our liz kreutz is on the ground with the mass exodus. Reporter tonight with thousands urgently waiting to leave, signs the exodus at burning man has begun. Were making it out reporter after days stuck in this mudsoaked desert, the weather drying up. Festival goers known as burners finally getting the go ahead to get out. All right, you made it out. I know it im so grateful. Reporter the Traffic Backing Up by early morning, the rush visible for miles. Around camp theres still pockets of mud like this, wet and sticky its what officials are worried about as burners begin their Exodus Reporter the chaos began friday, an unusual summer storm turning the annual Desert Campout into a muddy mess, more than 70,000 trapped, some hiking miles to get out but local sheriffs probing the death of one person during the rain event, the cause still under investigation but organizers say it was not stormrelated. People are going to need to be patient. Reporter following calls to shelter in place and conserve supplies, burning mans ceo telling attendees who have been stranded for days to remain calm. Weve made it clear we do not see this as an evacuation situation. Reporter its a tradition going back nearly 40 years, the Counterculture Festival in the remote Nevada Desert, celebrating art, music, and community. Its one for the ages, thats for sure. With the line to leave taking hours, some finding it hard to get out. There was a taxi he said he can take us through, by the meter its going to be 500 or more. Reporter at the reno airport, others still stunned. I was scared. Reporter the harrowing conditions. You can smell like burning rubber and mud reporter putting even the most selfreliant to the test. All right, liz joins us now liz, we can see that long line of traffic there just behind you. Any sense of how long its going to take to get all these people out . Reporter yeah, tom, its been a slow crawl for thousands here today the line looks long here it is even longer back there even under the best of conditions it can take several hours to exit the festival, so it can take days to get this all cleaned up tom. Days to get out, liz kreutz leading us off tonight here on nightly news we want to turn to another major story, that manhunt for an escaped killer in pennsylvania now in its fifth day police confirming today hes been sighted in the same area multiple times, and get this, now theyve enlisted his mother to convince him to turn himself in george solis explains. Reporter tonight two days after this doorbell camera video showed escaped inmate Danilo Cavalcante on the run, police announced additional sightings outside the pennsylvania Chester County prison where the convicted killer escaped from thursday morning we have secured that area, and continue to actively search it while there are a number of challenges we are confident that if he is in there we will find him. Reporter Pennsylvania State police are now taking the lead role in the search i intend to stress him. I want to push him hard. Hell make mistakes. Hell show himself. Reporter local resident Ryan Drummond said he saw cavalcante in his house on friday. What i decided to do was flicker the light switch five times just to let him know that i knew that he was downstairs. And then he flicked the light back that was the terrifying moment where i looked at my wife and i said hes in the house call 911 he stole some of the produce we had snap peas, peaches and apples. Reporter cavalcante was sentenced to life in prison for the 2021 brutal stabbing of his exgirlfriend. Authorities say hes also wanted for a 2017 homicide in his native brazil. U. S. Marshals are helping in the search. This is a heavily, heavily wooded area. Its very, very thick back there. Theres a lot of hiding spots. Police are playing Audio Recordings from choppers and patrol cars of cavalcantes mother speaking in portuguese pleading for her son to turn himself in as communities are on edge. People dont know what to expect youre on high alert. Im not sure if our kids will be back in School Tomorrow if they dont catch this guy by tomorrow. Reporter today state police reminded residents cavalcante is extremely dangerous. He does not want to be caught he has very little to lose at this point george joins us now live from pennsylvania i know you have some new reporting on a reward for information leading to the escaped killers capture its around 10,000 . Reporter thats right, tom, and police say if they encounter cavalcante and hes not actively surrendering, the use of deadly force has been authorized. Tom. George solis for us. Also on this labor day, the rush to get home tens of millions of americans on the road and in the air as we cap off a record Summer Travel season as kathy park reports, This H Holiday has seen its share of tragedy on the Highway Reporter serious Traffic Accidents adding to log jams on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year in connecticut, a tanker carrying 8,000 gallons of gasoline rolled over and went up in flames sunday night shutting down the interstate for hours. While in the suburbs of atlanta, tragedy early this morning when three cars wrecked on i85 Police Say One vehicle went over a wall and dropped from roughly 50 feet. Five people were found deceased at the scene, and three additional were transported to Area Hospitals in stable conditions reporter these scenes playing out with millions on the move in the air and on the roads. It can be stressful at times. Reporter bumpertobumper traffic slowing down the post holiday rush home from the beaches in maryland to the Great Smoky Mountains in tennessee the family from detroit said theyre looking at eight hours of drive time. Just something you have to deal with when you go on vacation. Whats today looking like so far . Long. Trying to sleep in the car, get home and start School Tomorrow. Were prepared. We got the music ready theyre filling up with food, so well be good. Reporter the airports packed as well with more than 2 million traveling each day around the Holiday Weekend, an 11 increase over last year. Traveling has been so much more exhausting than it used to be all right, kathy, what about those trying to squeeze out one more day of the weekend and travel home tomorrow reporter well, tom, if that is your plan, keep in mind, millions of americans are heading back to work and School Tomorrow, so expect a whole lot of company on the roadways between 7 00 and 9 00 a. M. Tom. A whole new type of traffic, okay, kathy, thank you were also tracking the dangerous heat this holiday from texas to minnesota to the northeast. Nbc news meteorologist Michelle Grossman is tracking it all for us michelle, what else are you seeing thats right, tom, we are tracking record breaking dangerous heat, 35 million americans under heat alerts on this unofficial end to summer. Were going to see temperatures soaring into the 90s, close to 100 degrees. You certainly factor in the humidity, its going to feel like over 100 degrees. So that summer warmth does continue we could break more than 80 records tomorrow temperatures into the 90s, upper 90s in d. C. , probably breaking that record of 97. Same story as we go through wednesday, a lot of schools, a lot of kids getting back to work and school and back to reality roanoke 96 degrees, baltimore 99, cape hat rat 87 degrees. The topics, they are hot too tom, we are looking at our next system that will probably be our next named storm it has 100 chance of becoming lee in the next seven days back to you. Well stay tracking that one all week. At some labor Day Celebrations, a new layer of security, Police Including the nypd using drones to monitor events but as emilie ikeda tells us, its also raising concerns about privacy. Reporter as labor Day Celebrations blanket the country, in New York City theres another layer of police eyes now in the sky. The nypd is launching drones to respond to priority and nonpriority calls around the caribbean inspired duvet and west Indian AmericanDay Festivities which in previous years have been marred by shootings. Large crowd, large party in the backyards, were going to be utilizing our assets to go up and check on the parties. Reporter what police have called an asset, critics are concerned could become big brother. What we dont want to see is this bleeding out sort of routine patrols by drones, routine hovering over our homes and communities. Reporter on the ground in brooklyn, opinions are split. Its a safety precaution, im all for safety. Absolutely no privacy at all. I think its taking it to the next level reporter New York City has increasingly leaned on drones this year which have scanned shorelines for sharks and helped size the crowd for a giveaway gone awry last month eric adams defended drones as more efficient, especially for Noise Complaints and in crowded streets. Theyre going to utilize drones from a safe distance up, not down Flooig Inying in Someo Backyard to see what they have on the Grill Reporter according to the aclu more than 1,400 Police Departments now utilize the Technology Like in cincinnati santa monica where Drone Footage helped convict a brutal attacker as growing debate takes flight for perspective, nypd numbers show the department used drones 34 times last year, while in just the first half of this year, that use has more than tripled. Tom. Thank you. Now to the race for 2024, President Biden going on the attack against former President Trump at a Labor Day Event in pennsylvania while mr. Trumps gop rivals look to steal his spotlight in another key battleground New Hampshire, our dasha burns is there reporter tonight the unofficial end of Summer Kicking off the unofficial start of primary season hello, hello. Reporter President Biden zeroing in on Republican Front Runner former President Trump. The great real estate builder, the last guy here, he didnt build a damn thing. Reporter but a troubling sign for the president , a new poll showing more voters, 51 , believe mr. Trump has a record of accomplishments versus President Biden 41 . Brendan, im vice president. Reporter republican candidates in New Hampshire trying to make a dent in former President Trumps lead, that same poll showing hes up 46 points over his nearest rival Florida Governor ron desantis. The political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy frequently praises mr. Trump. When youre using the trump playbook and embracing trump so much, why would voters vote for you when the original is in the race and way up . Well, thats a Media Framing thats just a false characterization of the facts. The truth is i do show 90 plus of politics in common with him that much is something i respect about him. Were going to take the agenda to the next level because i can actually reunite this country. Reporter teacher tom jackson is interested in ramaswamy but hasnt yet made up his mind. What do you think its ultimately going to take for a candidate to win your vote well, i think im going to want to see how they would do in the general election reporter dasha burns, nbc news, milford, New Hampshire in just 60 seconds, the College Student fatally shot at random his father speaking out to us tonight, his shock and heartbreak as Police Search for a reason why stay with us welcome back, tonight were hearing from the father of a tcu Football Player shot and killed. Police say it was a random attack by a gunman looking to kill heres shaquille brewster. Reporter tonight the family of west smith speaking out after the Texas Christian University student was killed. Its hard to get your heart around it, to get your head around it. Its certainly been shocking. Reporter Police Say Smith was killed outside a fort worth bar friday after being approached apparently randomly by suspect matthew purdy. This is just something that was senseless and it shouldnt have happened. Reporter according to the arrest warrant, purdy admitted to Shooting Smith three times in the stomach, shoulder, and back of the head after he fell. The suspect telling police he wanted to make sure he was dead. Investigators say purdy also hit a witness with his gun and told officers he would have shot others if he had not run out of ammunition purdy, who was out on probation for aggravated robbery according to police, is now charged with murder hes in custody where he belongs. Reporter smith was a double major in finance and strategic marketing, a walkon for tcu football his freshman year, and a student who led Bible Studies for his fraternity, his family says. He wanted to be an encouragement to other people. He wanted to be a friend to other people. People just naturally gravitated toward him as a leader and a person who made them feel better about themselves. Reporter tonight without a known motive, a family and community is left heartbroken and confused shaquille brewster, nbc news still ahead, the hero in hawaii, how one man took on a raging wildfire. Back now with some sad news from the music world the Steve Harwell founder and former lead singer of The Rock Band Smash Mouth died today at his home in boise, idaho the cause was liver failure. Harwell had long struggled with alcoholism his hits with smash mouth include all star and walking on the sun. Harwell was 56 years old now to the fire zone in maui and an Amazing Act Of Heroism that may have saved an entire block of homes it was all captured on Video Sam Brock tonight with the story and the dramatic pictures. I want you to record everything when were leaving. Right from those first heart stopping moments, jessica and Steven Pickering knew their time was precious Leaving Lahaina with flames on their heels. Oh, my god. And a wall of smoke in their rearview mirror. We tried to get out of the neighborhood but were blocked by cars. Reporter along the way they spot a flash of fire in the bushes. Oh, my god, its right there in the bushes. What . The fire in the bushes steven leaps from the car to put out the flames threatening a complete strangers house. Steven, were going to get stuck, come on were you thinking at all this is crazy, and it could cost us our lives . Yes but what did his actions actually end up doing . I think that he saved that area of the neighborhood the pickerings say they barely survived without Emergency Sirens or even a text to warn them. I havent personally heard of a single notification that anybody received in all of my social networks, period. Out of how many people do you think that you talked to hundreds. Hundreds. Reporter maui countys response is under investigation, though officials have maintained that they warned residents through texts and police loud speakers in neighborhoods, but they havent specified where or when always better safe than sorry, lives and safety over structure anytime. Steve beltran spent 15 years with the Maui Emergency Management Agency as a Senior Safety official. I would have said full evacuation. In the morning . In the morning. Knowing the winds are this high. Theyre super high prepare for the worst and then hope for less. Reporter the road to recovery looks long for jessica and steven one of their Maui Diving Shops went up in flames along with about 1. 5 million worth of inventory. Having to say that we have nothing and hold your hand out and ask for help is really humbling and hard. Still, theres a soulful Silver Lining across town in the Smith Household where drew smith recognized something familiar on social media i said, honey, come in here look at this, theres a guy saving a house i said, oh, my god, its our neighborhood, and then we started looking. Were like this is our house smith says hes putting the pickerings in his will as for steven and jessica, they have their lives and their love. Oh, my god, its right there in the bushes. And a whole bunch of neighbors ready to help them out if they ever need a hand sam brock, nbc news, lahaina and when we come back, well take you to Jimmy Buffetts final performance, the video of the surprise concert we just got coming right up. Searching for my lost shaker of salt as we mark the passing this Labor Day Weekend of the great Jimmy Buffett, it turns out he had one final surprise for his fans it happened over another Holiday Weekend this summer, and no one saw it coming. Mac mcanally was three songs into his set when a figure suddenly appeared on stage behind him the crasher, Jimmy Buffett to the shock and delight of the crowd. The two old friends, mcanally lead guitarist in buffetts Coral Reefers band mac not ahold of me and said, hey, jimmy just reached out and wants to do a few song, what do you think . Lets find a way to make it happen just wanted to get out of the house. Reporter buffett was on long island when he decided to make the quick trip north to play with mcanally. That 45minute Surprise Performance in july, now believed to be buffetts last. He was a genuine, sincere, humble. Reporter buffett died on friday at the age of 76. Parrot heads have been dropping off flowers and beer at sunset cove in his honor some people say that theres woman to blame reporter just like Jimmy Buffett would have wanted. Its my own damn fault [ cheers and applause Something Special today, ladies and gentlemen. Its a great way to remember him. Thats nightly news for this monday thank you so much for watching for all of us here at nbc news, im tom llamas have a great night wasting away again in margaritaville right now on nbc bay area news tonight, finally able to leave burning man. Thousands of people trapped after storms turned the Nevada Desert into a mud pit. The first mile was like ankledeep mud, and we were barefoot because walking with shoes wasnt really an