Highstakes debate, and tropical Storm Francine on a Collision Course with the u. S. First tonight, francine, expected to strengthen to a hurricane this evening. As it closes in on the gulf coast, bringing lifethreatening Storm Surge and up to a foot of rain. Al roker is standing by. Also tonight, the highly anticipated clash between Kamala Harris and donald trump. Their first and potentially only debate before the election, with the race in a dead heat both candidates expected to go on the attack. And what mr. Trump told us his biggest challenge will be tonight. Our full team coverage. The scary moment on the tarmac in atlanta. Two delta planes colliding. The tail of one aircraft knocked off. We just hit something on the taxiway. Could you tell us what it was . What the airline says happened. The raging wildfires in the west forcing new evacuations. The deadly israeli airstrike on a humanitarian zone in gaza. And new video inside the tunnel where six hostages including an american were reportedly killed. And the historic launch. The allcivilian Spacex Crew set to travel farther away from earth than any human in more than 50 years. Announcer this is nbc Nightly News with lester holt. Good evening and welcome. There is breaking News Tonight on several fronts, including the first president ial debate between Kamala Harris and donald trump, now just a few hours away, with the potential to nudge the needle in an incredibly tight race. But more urgently tonight we are also tracking tropical Storm Francine. Feeding off of Warm Gulf Waters and expected to spin into a powerful hurricane as it takes aim at the louisiana coast, with New Orleans currently in its potential path and now under a hurricane watch. Tonight hurricane, flood and Storm Surge alerts are posted along the coast, where all day people have been preparing their lines of defense. Francine packing winds up to 65 miles per hour, and forecasted to produce flooding rainfall. The storm will likely make landfall about this time tomorrow. Well get to the debate. But first Al Roker is here. And al, whats the latest on Francines Track . Right now, lester, were looking at this thing moving relatively slowly, currently northeast at 10 miles per hour. Its 360 Miles Southwest of morgan city, louisiana with 65mileperhour winds. Will probably make landfall sometime as you mentioned right around this time tomorrow evening. The Hurricane Warnings up for much of the louisiana coast, New Orleans in a hurricane watch. We look for this system. Dont worry about the category. Its the impact. We could see Wind Gusts of up to 95 miles per hour, widespread outages and damage to homes. Plus weve got that Storm Surge ahead of those winds. Five to ten feet from Central Louisiana all the way to parts of the louisianamississippi coast. Were looking at a moderate risk of strong flooding. Because theyve already had recent rainfall so all this Heavy Rain could make more flooding even more likely when were looking at up to 12 inches of rain. Lester . All right, Al Roker, thanks very much. For more lets go to jesse kirsch, who is in New Orleans. And jesse, how are they bracing for francine there . Reporter lester, were talking about the possibility of three to five feet of Storm Surge flooding and even tornadoes here as we wait for francines landfall. With the storms latest forecast Francines Path would have New Orleans on the right. That is typically the side of a hurricane that sees the most devastation from rain and wind. In anticipation of Landfall Today there were cars lined up around the block outside of this citys sandbagging site. And the city is urging residents to finish preparations this evening and to shelter indoors during the storm, which formed closer to louisiana than others. That means less time to prepare. Lester . All right, jesse, Thank You. Just moments ago the scene in philadelphia as former President Trumps plane arrived for tonights Highstakes Debate against Vice President harris. Its a critical showdown with polls showing the race is a dead heat. Peter alexander has late details for us. Reporter tonight our first look inside the Debate Hall just hours before the historic faceoff between Vice President harris and former President Trump here in philadelphia. A crucial night for both candidates in front of whats likely their largest audience ahead of the election. For harris a chance to showcase what her campaign calls one of her greatest strengths, her experience as a prosecutor who can take on trump. I know donald trumps type. In fact, ive been dealing with people like him my entire career. Reporter sources tell Nbc News shes been holding Mock Debate Sessions looking for ways to get under trumps skin to provoke an outburst. Theres no floor for him in terms of how low he will go. And we should be prepared for that. We should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth. Reporter and a new poll shows the importance of this moment for harris. While more than 70 of likely voters say they know enough about the vp, nearly 30 say they need to know more information about her. I spoke to the Vice President. She seems calm, cool and collected. Reporter for former President Trump tonights a key opportunity to press Harris Whos rarely appeared in unscripted settings since becoming the nominee. Sources tell Nbc News after a series of loose Prep Sessions he did more intense preparation over the last three days. They expect him to target her record on issues where polls show americans trust him more, including the economy. We delivered an economic miracle which kamala and joe turned into an economic disaster. Reporter and the challenge changes in her positions including on immigration. Flipflopping. Shes the greatest flipflopper i mean, now shes saying oh, we want to bring a strong border. Where has she been for 3 1 2 years . And peter, so much to watch for tonight. But we already know how some things will play out. Reporter yeah, lester, thats right. Were here in the spin room. Donald trump already won the coin toss. He has chosen to deliver the last Closing Argument tonight. As you know, the mics are going to be muted for a candidate when its not their turn to speak, and well be watching if theres a handshake between Trump And Harris tonight. Just to underscore the stakes here, 30 of registered voters in a new Poll Say that they will make a decision off of this event. Back to you. All right, peter, Thank You. And Garrett Haake is also in philadelphia. Garrett, you spoke with the former president today. Reporter thats right, lester. Former President Trump seemed eager to get onto the Debate Stage tonight. He told me the hardest part of preparing to debate Vice President harris has been adjusting to her recent changes in policy positions. But he argues that those changes will make her not believable to voters. And the strategy for the trump campaign tonight, sources tell me, is to highlight what they view as harriss most liberal stances over the course of her career and argue that those are her true beliefs regardless of wherever she says she stands now. Sources close to trump tell me hes grown more focused as the debates gotten closer and polls have tightened in his favor. They believe the Vice President s honeymoon is all but over and they can end it tonight with a strong performance. Lester . Garrett haake, Thank You. One of the likely topics in Tonights Debate, immigration. And there is a new flash point, an ohio town with a rising number of haitian immigrants, and unfounded rumors there are now flaming tensions. Heres gabe gutierrez. Reporter tonight, springfield, ohio finds itself at the center of a raging immigration debate. With Violence Escalating in haiti over the past few years, Ohios Governor says around 15,000 haitian immigrants have settled in springfield, doing jobs and boosting the economy but also straining local resources, sparking outrage from some residents. Im angry that foreigners are using up the resources that were set up for the americans that reside here. Reporter those tensions first flared in springfield last year when a haitian driver without a valid license crashed into a school bus, killing an 11yearold boy. Then this week former President Trumps running mate, ohio senator j. D. Vance, amplified an unfounded claim on social media. Writing reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldnt be in this country. Springfields mayor said late today the story about pets being killed originated in another town entirely involving a woman who was arrested for animal cruelty. We have not been able to verify any credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community. Reporter also Today Vance acknowledged its possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false, while the White House called it b. S. disinformation, and dangerous. Youve got now elected officials in the Republican Party pushing, you know, yet another Conspiracy Theory thats just seeking to divide people based on lies. And lets be honest, based on an element of racism. Reporter ohio governor Mike Dewine now says that the state is sending more resources to help springfield officials deal with the migrant influx while calling on the federal government to do more. Lester . All right, gabe, Thank You. You can watch the debate and our complete coverage including peter, garrett, Kristen Welker and Hallie Jackson starting at 8 00 p. M. Tonight here on nbc. We want to turn now to that Wildfire Emergency in the west where yet another big fire is threatening more homes and forcing some new evacuations in southern california. Dana griffin is there with late details for us. Dana, the terrain is making it really tough. Reporter lester, this is the front of the line fire. Fire officials tell me there are 40 to 50 homes down there. They are hoping to spare them from these raging flames. Just south of here a new Explosive Fire in southern california. The airport fire, burning critically close to Communication Towers after threatening homes, sending residents fleeing. The California National Guard is here in san bernardino county, where a State Of Emergency has been declared. A cooldown could help the firefight because temperatures are expected to gradually drop. But the Focus Tonight is putting the brakes on these fastmoving flames before they make it to more populated areas. Lester . Okay, dana, Thank You. Now to the middle east. Israel today carrying out a deadly strike on a humanitarian zone in gaza. And new images showing how and where those six hostages recently killed by hamas were being held. Richard engel is in jerusalem. Reporter israeli Airstrikes Today hit a humanitarian zone in gaza where israel has ordered palestinians to go for their safety. Leaving 20footdeep craters, the blast tore through a tented camp. Civil defense officials say they recovered 19 bodies but suspect others were swallowed by the sand. Israel says it targeted a Hamas Control Center and killed three top militants. As the israeli Military Today released a video to explain why its fighting in gaza. There was a hiding floor. Reporter the militarys chief spokesman entered the tunnel where he says hamas murdered six hostages last week, including israeli american hersh goldbergpolin. But they were here in this tunnel in conditions where theres no air to breathe, where you cannot stand. Reporter but the fighting is not only in gaza. Today the Israeli Military admitted its highly likely its troops unintentionally shot and killed a Turkish American Woman Aysenur Ezgi eygi last week during a protest in the west bank. Secretary blinken had pointed criticism. In our judgment israeli Security Forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the west bank. Reporter the Israeli Military said today the hostages killed in the tunnel were likely kept there during their final days or even weeks. Lester . Richard engel, Thank You. In 60 seconds, it wasnt just a clipping of the wings. The Airport Collision that knocked the whole tail off a jet full of passengers. How could it have happened . Next. Rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. But im protected with arexvy. Arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower Respiratory Disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. Rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd and certain other conditions. But im protected. Arexvy is proven to be over 82 effective in preventing lower Respiratory Disease from rsv and over 94 effective in those with these health conditions. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. Those with weakened Immune Systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. The most common Side Effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. Arexvy is Number One in Rsv Vaccine shots. Rsv . Make it arexvy. Alarming Moments Today at the worlds busiest airport. Two delta planes colliding on the taxiway. The tail of one of the aircraft knocked off. Priya sridhar reports from atlanta. Reporter a slowspeed collision at Atlantas Hartsfield Jackson airport. The whole tail of that crts off. Reporter the crew of an airbus bound for tokyo seemingly unaware they hit a much smaller Delta Regional Jet bound for louisiana. We just hit something on the taxiway. Could you tell us what it was . Reporter the accident just after 10 00 this morning knocked off the smaller jets tail. It felt like when youre on the interstate and you hit the rumble strip. Reporter nathan pike, a producer for nbcs Kansas City affiliate khsb, was on the smaller plane. You could hear the Metal Scraping against the outside of the plane. And it was just shaking really badly. Reporter in a statement to nbc News Delta says the Wing Tip of the Tokyobound Plane came into contact with the smaller aircraft, adding nobody was injured and theyve rebooked the 277 passengers on new flights. Jeff gasety an Aviation Analyst for Nbc News says an version will have to determine what happens. Maybe they were programming their jet for takeoff. Maybe there was some distraction in the control tour. With the ground controller. Maybe congestion had an issue. Reporter the faa and the ntsb are investigating this incident. Experts say these types of Taxiway Collisions are rare and the slower speeds help prevent any injuries. Lester . All right, priya, Thank You. Up next, with reproductive Rights Front and center on Tonights Debate stage the doctor leading one of just five clinics of its kind in the country tells us how his practice and the women hes treating have changed in recent years. I knew something was wrong. Then i saw my doctor and found out i have afib, and that means theres about a 5 times greater risk of stroke. Symptoms like irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or lightheadedness, can come and go. But if you have afib, the risk of stroke is always there. If you have one or more symptoms, get checked out. Making that appointment can help you get ahead of stroke risk. This is no time to wait. Todays biggest Feat Wasnt Booking appointments. It was the fact that the silvas went 4 for 4 on getting all their Flu Shots with no tears. Bravery . Rewarded. When its time for vaccines, its time for cvs. whoa howd you get your teeth so white . You gotta use the right toothpaste dr. C . no