Thousands of people to flee for their lives. As san juan a mayor jumps into action herself to help save people stranded by the floodwaters. Race against the clock. Time running out in mexico as the search for survivors enters its fourth day after a deadly earthquake robbed the city. Search and rescue teams from los angeles now on hand. Survivors waiting breathlessly for word of their officerloved. Were live in mexico city. All that plus more followout after this video went public of cheerleaders being forced to do splits. Is prince harry ready for his public debut with girlfriend megan markell and work, cover girls, some of the worlds biggest super models come together for a show stopping moment. Today, saturday, september 23rd, 2017. Announcer from nbc news, this is today, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning. Welcome to today im schenn sheinel im craig melvin. Tomorrow is going to be 90 degrees. Its like the warmest weve seen all year. Well take it. Im sure it will change soon enough. Full forecast in just a moment. Lets begin with President Trump unplugged taking on health care, john mccain, north korea and even some players in the nfl at a rally last night in front of an adoring crowd. Nbc kelly oconnedonnell is in jersey where the approximate the is spending the weekend. Reporter good morning. President trump headed south and stepped right into a republican family feud putting some of his own Political Capital at risk he said by being involved in a senate campaign. The president certainly did appear to enjoy talking to his supporters about one hot topic after another. Going all in in huntsville, alabama. I love alabama. Reporter a test of President Trumps political muscle as his own supporters are divided over a Senate Republican primary. Luther strange is our man. Reporter but the president s message ran the gamut blasting and belittling north koreas leader. We cant have mad men out there shooting rockets all over the place. Reporter promising that he can solve the Foreign Policy crisis the previous president s could not. Rocket man should have been handled aid lo handled a long time ago. Reporter on his domestic agenda President Trump cut loose on republicans who have failed to repeal obamacare. Friday Senate John Mccain delivered another blow to repeal. I take no pleasure in announcing my opposition to the latest gop proposal. John mccain, if you look at his last campaign was all about repeal and replace so he decided to do something different, and thats fine. Reporter fired up, President Trump kept going for an unweilding one hour and 20 minutes. The president using salty language slammed nfl players who protest the National Anthem. Get that [ bleep ] off the field right now. Reporter trump feeling pressure to deliver a primary win for recently appointed senator Luther Strange seen as the establishment candidate running against roy moore who enjoys the support of far right allies like steve bannon, the president s former chief strategist. Hes not a friend of mcconnell. He doesnt know mcconnell until just recently. He doesnt know him. He just got there. Reporter and this week that special election runoff and the chance for Senate Republicans to consider that latest attempt to overhaul health care. Without john mccains vote Senate Republicans cant lose any other members to have this pass. The chances appear dire. What a busy week. We want to touch base on another hot topic. That is the fact that the department of Homeland Security contacted Election Officials to notify them they were the targets of russian government hackers during the 2016 election. Obviously a lot of them are frustrated because its taken so long. Why not . Reporter months and months theyve wanted this information because theyre trying to prepare for those special election midterms and so forth thats coming up in just months from now. 2018 is a campaign year. They were pressing for this information. 21 states russians attempted to interfere. No evidence they actually got into the voting records or the voting rolls. Kelly odonnell, thank you. In puerto rico some towns are still having e vacuw good morning, craig. Some 70,000 people are being evacuated from those communities but all across the island its becoming an incredibly desperate situation. This morning a desperate race against time to save those trapped after Hurricane Maria battered puerto rico. With the san juan mayor leading the charge. I got an s. O. S. From somebody here that had my number and they texted and one of those messages that ive received so often in the past saying if anyone can hear us. Those are the most devastating words. If anyone can hear us, please come. Reporter so she did. With plenty of help. Were you worried out there . Oh, yes. Oh, yes, i was. Because this is which number of day . And, you know, i said oh my god, i dont see anyone in their houses. Reporter in the North Western part of the island, an extremely dangerous dam failure is forcing some 70,000 to evacuate. Dramatic rescues are under way. This mother and her two children plucked from their battered boat just off the coast. Dozens dead as the category 5 hurricane tore through the caribbean finally losing team after high winds and rain pummeled turks and caicos. In hard hit puerto rico, so many have lost so much. You lose everything. You lose everything. You have to start from zero no. Clothes, no nothing. Reporter nearly the entire island has no power. The power grid devastated meaning puerto rico will likely remain in the dark for months. For irma we had no power for more than ten days. For this one, i would say months. Reporter theyre island dark, but not their resolve. People started lining up here behind me at 3 00 a. M. To buy gas. The gas station doesnt even open until 8 00 a. M. And theyll only be able to get 20 worth of gas, a sign of how limited the basic necessities are here on the island. Tammy for us there. Thank you. It is hard to get your head around the devastation in puerto rico. And the journey ahead, frankly. Lets check in with dylan tracking Hurricane Maria for us. Is maria a threat to the east coast . Some model it is are trying to make it a threat to the east coast. It is a category 3 right now. Winds up to 120 miles per hour. Its moving north northwest at nine miles per hour. On this track, this is the center of the track from the National Hurricane center t looks like its going to stay mostly out to sea as the storm weakens, but we have to keep in mind that the left side of this cone of uncertainty is still a possibility of what may happen. So if we take a look at what we call the spaghetti plot, its a plot of all the different computer models. The majority want to keep them between these areas of High Pressure meaning it should turnout to sea. There are a few models including the american and the european that want to bring the storm close to Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. We should see that cold front push everything out to sea very quickly so it will not linger. Theres the possibility we could see a weaker storm try to approach the outer banks. Theres a possibility also of 20 to 25 foot waves for the outer banks, even up into the mid atlantic we could see 10 to 15 foot waves. That will be a concern Going Forward but thats not until next wednesday. It will be a lot of time to iron out the details of that part of the storm. Thank you, dylan. To mexico city where rescue crews are working around the clock there to find survivors from that horrific earthquake. Its been four days now since the earth quick struck. Nbc ron mott remains in mexico city. Good morning. Reporter good morning to you. This is the critical fourth day after this experts say the chances of finding survivors drops dramatically. Overnight they brought in this crane. Theyll start lifting off large slabs to get down to where people are. This is literally a life and death race against time. A fight for life with time running out to save victims trapped under a mountain of concrete on the second floor of this pancaked Employment Agency building. Members of the los angeles Fire Departments urban search and rescue unit joining the mission. Thats the only location where theres still missing people. Weve got a floor plan. We were told where the six were. Reporter for days rescuers have scooped debris into pails trying not to disturb the rubble. The death toll could grow to more than 300 including the wife of American Photo photojournalist alexis bosley, the couple running to the roof. Really bad shaking started happening. And we were standing there on the roof looking at each other not knowing what we were going to do or if we were going to be alive in the next ten minutes. And all of a sudden, the floors started pancaking. Boom, boom, boom. I woke up in an ambulance. My wife is nowhere to be seen. Reporter he survived with multiple broken bones. Both legs, ribs, and an arm. Around mexicos capital, hordes of volunteers have worked around the clock organizing and delivering relief supplies, refusing to wait on government aid. Among them, former american dreamers like miguel perez renja who came back. Make mexico a better place. Reporter the tragedy still unfolding here is personal for one mexicoborn rescuer from l. A. Being here, this is my country, its very gratifying. Reporter there have been 60 or so rescues in mexico city this week. Obviously all the families and friends who have been camped out since tuesday are hoping to add more names to the list. Ron mott for us this morning. Thank you. Now to breaking news overnight. Iran state media reporting that country has tested a Ballistic Missile. We have more from tehran. Reporter it didnt take long for iran to respond to President Trumps u. N. Speech. Staterun tv released video of a rocket being launched late last night saying iran successfully tested the longrange Ballistic Missile. This missile appears to have been unveiled earlier during the day when iran conducted a military parade. State tv are reporting that it was tested a few hours after being rolled out on that parade. The revolutionary guard claimed the latest Ballistic Missile is capable of carrying multiple war heads and has a range of 1,200 miles, putting much of the middle east within its reach, including israel. State tv also reported that the missile adds to israels misery, and it will be their nightmare as it can accurately target the occupied lands completely. This is irans fourth missile test this year. And its sure to ratchet up tensions even further between washington and tehran. Guys . Thank you. Were also following breaking news out of north korea this morning. A magnitude 3. 0 earthquake was detected in the countrys northeast, 12 miles from where they recently conducted a nuclear test. There were fears at first that this was another test. The South Koreans are now saying they believe its just a natural occurrence. This morning, the nfl is vowing to fight a lawsuit filed by the estate of former star player Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez, a convicted murderer, killed himself in prison earlier this year. An autopsy released just this week showed that hernandez suffered from cte, a degenerative brain disease caused by severe head trauma. The latest now from nbcs stephanie gosk. Reporter as a tight end for the new england patriots, Aaron Hernandez is took his share of hits. Even so, researchers at Boston University say they were stunned when an examination of his brain after his death showed a severe case of a severe case of cte. He was just 27 years old. Only played in the nfl three years. Were told that it was the most severe case they had ever seen in for someone of aarons age. Reporter earlier this year hernandez hanged himself in his prison cell while serving a life sentence on a murder conviction. Theres no question in my mind whatsoever that cte was responsible for his violent criminal behavior and for his eve eventual suicide. Reporter cte can cause problems with aggression, dementia and mood swings. Some say that may explain his actions. The diagnosis rattled some current and former Football Players including hall of famer cris carter. Im conflicted. Its a game that i love and given the information that i have, i hope the rest of my life works out well. Reporter hernandezs estate is now suing the patriots and the nfl for 20 million on behalf of his 4yearold daughter saying the league was aware of the risks and failed to disclose, treat or protect him from the dangers of such damage. The nfl is vowing to fight the lawsuit. We intend to contest the claim vigorously. The question isnt whether there are any risks. The question from the legal standpoint is whether the nfl acted in some irresponsible way for a known risk it could have prevented. Reporter for today, nbc news, new york. Re leave overnight for the five hostages finally released in an hours long standoff between police and a man armed with a machete at a tennessee bank. He took nine people hostage before releasing four from the Community First bank and trust in columbia. None of the hostages were hurt and a motive is unclear. The suspect is now reportedly in custody. An update in the wake of the video that shows a cheer leading coach forcing students into doing extreme splits. Again, this video is disturbing to watch. Quick warning there. The Colorado High School principal retired and the Athletic Director resigned friday after an investigation found that both were aware that the videos existed months before they became public. Investigators say they took no disciplinary action and did not act on principal complaints. The principal denied he had prior access to the videos. Both have been suspended since the video emerged last month. The coach was also fired shortly after the incident became public. And the worlds most legendary super models same together friday for a catwalk reunion and tribute of the late italian Fashion Designer versace. His sister shocked bringing in all the big names. He was shot dead on the steps of his miami beach mansion in 1997. Dylan is back. Were warm this weekend. What about the rest of the country . The northwest not so much. Theyll be in the 40s and 50s. Theyve had snow. You can see a little bit of snow through montana as well. We do have a cold front. Eventually that will trigger some storms. We see isolated storms from minnesota into parts of the texas where none of the storms are expected to be all that strong but theyll still be out there. The eastern half of the country, enjoy those right now, were seeing clear skies, San Francisco at 55 degrees, clear skies in the san jose, 52, and actually relatively warmer than parts of the north bay in the mid40s. 47 in livermore. Highs 77, close to 80 in san jo jose, low 80s in the trivalley today and trending warmer throughout the weekend, San Francisco, upper 70s, tomorrow, 80s, by mid weekend, a return to summerlike temperatures for the value slees, 90s returning tuesday. And thats your latest forecast. Still to come, some much leys, 90s returning tuesday. A cargo plane full of supplies heads to it is hard hit area. And dramatic moments when a military helicopter accidently fire sb fires into a crowd. First, this today on nbc. Is time now for the download. Our look back at the biggest headlines from the week that was. The emmys took on the president days before his first appearance in front of the United Nations. The biggest stories this week, the devastation from an earthquake and two hurricanes. Hurricane season showing no sign of letting up this week with jose and maria, the latest in a spring of storms to barrel through the caribbean. The winds here have been intensifying and the worst is yet to koom. Roads turned to raging rivers. Roofs ripped off. Its very sad. San juans mayor pleading for fellow u. S. Citizens to help. Remember that you are part of us even if youre not here. Dont forget us. Just dont forget us. Another massive earthquake struck mexico. Hundreds killed and many more still missing. A school full of children flattened by the quake. Rescue teams asking for silence. They can hear faint calls for help. Families desperate for more me miracles like these to rise from the rubble. Diplomatic drama during President Trumps United Nations debut. The president standing before 193 nations threatened to wipe one of them off the map. Rocket man is on a Suicide Mission for himself and for his regime. We will have no choice but to totally destroy north korea. Meanwhile, hollywoods biggest stars took on the president at this years emmy awards. Unlike the presidency, emmys go to the winner of the popular vote. The big winners who lose the nbc saturday night live for its political put downs. Plus one big surprise. Is there anyone who can say how big the audience is . Sean, do you know . This will be the largest audience to witness the emmys, period. Some of the week most memable moments caught on camera. Dramatic video showing this military helicopter accidently firing on spectators during war games in russia. Several people were hurt and some vehicles destroyed. A koala hitched a ten mile ride inside the wheel well of an suv before being rescued and turned back into the wild. And this Wisconsin Police officer shocked the crowd at a bar when he grabbed the violin and put on a show to remember. And youtube