Nightly news begins right now. Zpliefrmts in a from nbc news world head kwaurts in new york, this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening. With 13 days until election day, it was down to Business Today for donald trump in a way that you might not expect for a candidate behind in the polls and running out of time. Trump making a detour from a campaign trail and critical battleground states to showcase his Hotel Business in washington d. C. A questionable investment of time with two new tracking polls showing clinton with a nine point lead over trump nationally, illustrating the urgent challenge before him. Nbcs katie is in North Carolina with more on trumps competing priorities. Katie, good evening. Reporter hi there, lester. Donald trump is about to take the stage here in kinston, North Carolina. This after, as you said, another unconventional day on the campaign trail that began with a photo op. Now critics again saying that he uses his attention from his president ial campaign to advertise for his brand. This is what i want to do for our country. Reporter 13 days until the election, trailing in the polls and struggling to stay on message, donald trump took a break to advertise his new hotel. With a notable exception of 1600 pennsylvania avenue, this is the most coveted piece of real estate in washington d. C. Its the 32nd time trump has taken reporters to one of his properties since announcing, and though the campaign called it a corporate event, he was accompanied by his Campaign Manager and senior advisors. Five words. Under budget and ahead of schedule. Reporter proving if it looks and sounds like a stump speech,ing it probably is a stump speech. Criticism trump rejected, arguing clinton was off the trail last night at an adele concert. I think its a very rude question, to be honest with you, and what i do is i want to back my children. Reporter campaign or commercial, it isnt going well. Trumps highend business is taking a hit. His star on the walk of fame smashed today by a vandal. Raids said trumps new hotel already slashed. Golfers looking for new courses. A new online poll showing 40 of americans say theyre now less likely to buy trump products. He may have to actually reconsider the Value Proposition of the trump name. It may be better that he starts slapping the trump name on things that will be more appealing to his new support base. Reporter tonight trump is in North Carolina. Another must win swing state. He is down in the polls here and today a new nbc news wall street journal meris poll shows he is down in New Hampshire and tied in nevada. Mooiks pence could help him out in such battle grounds, but today he is in utah. In any other year utah should be a red state, a very red state, and a republican lock. Its not. Conservative voters are rallying behind Evan Mcmullan, a longtime republican running as an independent for president. Right now im really excited about the momentum in Evan Mcmullan campaign. Reporter momentum trump needs to find for himself if he wants to live in that other Historic Building on pennsylvania avenue. Katie toure, nbc news, North Carolina. Im Halle Jackson in washington where an unexpected shoutout stood out in the hotel promo. Congratulations, newt, on last night. That was an amazing interview. Reporter trump talking about the fiery back and forth between former House SpeakerNewt Gingrich and fox news anchor megan kelly. You are fascinated with sex, and you dont care about public policy. Thats what i get out of watching you tonight. You know what, mr. Speaker, im not fascinated by sex, but i am fascinated by the protection of women. It was an amazing we dont play games, newt, right . We dont play games. Reporter the gop nominee clearly pleased with what he heard from one of his top surrogates, even if 134 republic some republican women are not. Theyre losing their minds. Theyre not acting like a campaign thats going to close strong. Reporter mitt romneys former top aide tweeting every time you talk about it like a neanderthal you push more and more women away from the gop, so stop it. What do you think about the women that are upset by that interview. I havent seen that on twitter or anywhere. He just is another bomb wiping out republican women voters. Not judge us for thst for this the longterm. Reporter polling shows trump has struggled with women voters his whole campaign. A demographic mitt romney lost by 11 points in 2012. Trump now trails Hillary Clinton by almost double that. 20 points. We step into that ballot box and we think about the big things that matter to us. I think more women are going to side with donald trump than Hillary Clinton. Reporter still, with trump needing help winning women, new questions on whether those tasked with helping him really are. Halle jackson, nbc news, washington. Meantime, Hillary Clinton celebrated her birthday on the campaign trail today. Tried to rally votes in florida where a new poll shows trump edging ahead and clinton using trumps own hotel event to open a new line of attack on her opponent. Lets get the latest from nbcs kristen welker. How are you feeling on your birthday . Reporter on her 69th birthday Hillary Clinton barnstorming critical florida for a second day, urging supporters to go to the polls with early voting underway here. Weve got to get everybody out to vote. Donald trump says he can still win, and he is right. Reporter a new poll out today shows trump leading clinton by two points in the sunshine state. Clinton turning to celebrity chef jose andreas to help make her case. He famously pulled his restaurant out of trumps New Washington d. C. Hotel after trumps controversial comments about latinos. Today clinton taking aim. He once again relied on undocumented workers. The same people he has been insulting and demonizing throughout this campaign. Clinton hoping rhetoric like that will help drive turnout. An nbc news flalsz of early voting in florida shows an equal number of democrats and republicans have voted so far, but more women have turned out in 12 battleground states where early voting has started. Potentially a good sign for clinton. More women so far have turned out to vote than men. Why do you think that is . Because a woman is running for president. Reporter thats an energizing factor . Yes, and its history. Reporter the Clinton Campaign says the priority this week is hitting early voting states, including nevada, iowa, and North Carolina. And pushing allimportant millenial voters to make their voices heard. That strategy on display last night when clinton made a surprise stop at the adele concert in miami. The biggest concern for democrats now . If our people are over confident and they dont turn out because they figure its in the bag, i think that the trump voters are coming out come hell or high water. I think it could be a problem. Reporter the Clinton Campaign announcing theyll hold what they hope will be a Victory Party on Election Night at the Javits Center which literally has a glass ceiling. Clinton hoping to make good on that metaphor about women breaking through the highest barrier. Lester. Kristen welker, thank you. Tonight in south dakota an Airline Pilot is out on bail after being arrested and charged with showing up drunk for a morning flight to salt lake city. It is the latest in a string of pilots arrested for allegedly trying to fly while under the influence. We get details from tom cost eli dont costello. Reporter it was rapid city to salt lake city. Delayed at the gate after tsa officers smelled alcohol on the first officer. We assumed with the local authorities there that it probably wasnt a medical issue, and indeed, the first officer was drunk. Reporter within a few minutes the first officer russell duszak, 38 years old, was taken into custody. Police say his blood alcohol level was above the legal limit. This is one of the areas where pilots and all flight crew members have a virtual zero tolerance for impairment for any reason. Reporter Sky West Airlines operated todays flight for delta. It quickly brought in a replacement pilot. In a statement telling nbc news, skywest holds its employees to the highest standards of professionalism and the safety and security of our customers are type priorities. The arrested pilot now on administrative leave. Darren farmer who was flying with his 9yearold son, calls the incident outrageous. You know, it could have injured myself, my son or, frankly, killed us if the plane goes down based upon him just showing up to work drunk. Its absolutely ridiculous. Reporter still, its just the latest case of pilots allegedly trying to fly drunk. In august two veteran united pilots arrested in scotland, and in march an American Airlines pilot in handcuffs at the airport after failing two breathalyzer tests in detroit. He pleaded no contest. Tonight yet another pilot accused of trying to fly while intoxicated. Tom costello, nbc news, washington. Want to turn now to new developments in a story weve been following for days now. Tonight the government has halted efforts for now to take back enlistment bonuses for members of the California National guard almost a decade after they were paid. These incentives improperly handed out to boost ranks during the iraq and afghanistan wards rsh. Reporter the pentagons temporary aboutface on recouping bonus payments greeted with skepticism by an iraqi veteran and member of the California National guard. How is anybody joining the military going to sign a contract if these contracts mean absolutely nothing . Reporter like thousands of other guard members, struters was ordered to pay back 25,000 in bonuses and Tuition Assistance for reenlisting in 2007. After an appeal he got the amount reduced to 5,000. A debt thats been taking 20 of his monthly pay. I have lost trust, and thats a hell of a thing to say for people that you depend on for your life when you are signing knowing you you might pay. Reporter today the pentagon announced its suspending bonus collection efforts, establishing a streamlined centralized appeals process by january 1st, and aiming to complete decisions on those appeals by july 1st. Most people are just caught up in the crossfire here. We need to give them what they deserve as quickly as possible. While carter says some soldiers should have known they were ineligible for the payments, many did not. He has told reviewers to lean in favor of the soldier. Some like chris van meter already paid their debt. That was really tough to swallow. It really was. Reporter refinancing his house to cover a 46,000 bill. The white house says they will get another chance to appeal. Presently its those individuals that need to be treated fairly as well. Reporter a fair hearing that for many soldiers has come at a very high price. Ann thompson, nbc news, new york. In addition to the bonus controversy, defense secretary ash carter is also weighing in tonight on the fight against isis as Iraqi Forces Continue their forces on mosul. Theyll begin on the isis capital in syria in a few weeks. Hans nichols sat down exclusively with secretary carter today in paris. Reporter 11 days in and more than 2,000 coalition bombs, rockets, and shells. Still the Islamic State appeared to hold their lines outside of mosul today as iraqi forces moved more than 1,000 civilians out of harms way. U. S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter telling nbc news in an exclusive interview that the u. S. And its allies are already looking across the border to syria to the Islamic States selfproclaimed capital of rocca. The plan . Simultaneous campaigns against mosul and rocca. It starts in the next few weeks, and thats long been our plan and well be capable of resourcing both. The assault will start in weeks not months . Weeks from now. Yes, thats correct. That means this year, 2016 . Thats what we expect. Thats our plan. Of course, we always try to meet our plan as we have in mosul. In mosul u. S. Forces will get closer and closer to the citys Center Riding along side iraqi and kurdish troops, but rocca will be a far different challenge. Fewer local forces with less training. The focus in paris . Working with allies on how to prevent a cornered Islamic State from desperate attacks against the west, but confidence that the enemys ranks are thinning. Remember, we took out the successive military commanders of mosul. Were extremely effective in eliminating the leadership of isil. A united offense soon on two fronts. Hans nichols, northbound news, brussels. In italy today a pair of powerful earthquakes struck the central part of the country crumbling chufrz and buildings in ancient towns near the epicenter knocking out power and shutting down major highways. Officials say the aftershock was felt as far south as rome. It comes less than two months after a deadly quake in august killed hundreds of people in italy. A lot of panic there tonight, but as of now, no reports of widespread deaths or injuries. Still ahead, shocking allegations rocking a major university. Multiple women accusing a student of sexual assault. The disturbing details Authorities Say they found inside his notebooks. Also, its a goal many want to achieve, but now experts warn it may take women nearly 200 years to get there. Alec. Were back shocking allegations rocking a prominent public university. Police say multiple women have come forward to accuse a student at the university of wisconsin of sexual assault. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez has the latest from a campus in madison. Reporter tonight the university of wisconsin has banned one of its students from campus after multiple women have accused him of sexual assault. Keep hearing more and more about it, how theres multiple people who have been affected by it, and i guess it just gets more and more sickening as we hear whats happened. Reporter minnesota native alec cook is a junior at the school. So far he faces nine charges involving four women, but prosecutors say many more counts are pending after dozens of women have come forward. The first woman who went to police said the 20yearold strangled and assaulted her for more than two hours at his apartment on october 12th. Then as news of his arrest spread around campus, the floodgates opened. Another woman claimed he had assaulted her back in february. Then another and another. Investigators searching his apartment say they found a black book in his nightstand of names of women he met and what he wanted to do with them in a very systematic way, according to the search warrant. Disturbingly enough, there were statements of kill and statements of sexual desires. He will not be allowed to be on university grounds. We hope that gives folks a little bit of a peace of mind that this threat is no longer on our campus. Reporter cooks attorney saying no facts have yet been proven. Theyre urging the public to keep in mind that not everything you hear is true and that in the past few years several grave accusations in similar cases were later proven groundless. I hope that, i dont know, more people are starting to feel safe now that this person has been arrested for it. I think this is just a problem on any campus. I think you could go anywhere in america and find, you know, a case of this nature. Reporter cook is now being held without bail. He is due in court tomorrow. Gabe gutierrez, nbc news, madison, wisconsin. We will take a break now and switch gears when we come back. Were going to tell you about the uninvited guest that wreaked havoc inside a restaurant. How long will it take for women to get payee quality around the world . A very long time indeed according to a new estimate by the World Economic forum that says the global pay gap wont close for a whopping 170 years if trends dont change. In recent years the white house says american women have earned 79 cents on the dollar compared to men. The Cleveland Indians shut out the chicago cubs to win game one of the world series. Meet their newest fans. Newborns who arrived yesterday sporting world series babies onies. A gift from the cleveland clinic. The tiny sluggers got here just in time for what could be the indians first championship since 1948. Zbliefrmt and t the video of the day comes from northwest indiana where diners are looking for a quiet meal and instead got a shock that had them running for the exits. A deer crashing through a window running over tables nearly colliding when a woman near the entrance before smashing through another window on the way out. He didnt leave a tip. When we come back, why one High School Football team has been awfully lonely on the field. Next at 6 the bayrea lmmaker aested for mder s a new sry to tell. Jess tak frojail. Raj vo plus, callsa hefty rebate go unswer. Ncb bay area respon. How we got them tking. Next close finally tonight a private High School Football team thats racked up a ton of wins often without ever playing it down. Thats because they are so dominant many opponents refuse to even step on the field with them. Our joe fryer takes us through a season filled with ups and downs and its taught these players valuable lessons. For a team thats undefeated a wildcat of archbishop murphy high used rather long words to describe their season. A mess. Its disappointing. They won their first three games by a combined score of 1700. After that five of their opponents decided to forfeit. Call it friday night lights out. We dont want to be sitting at home or watching other teams play. We want to be on the field ourselves playing a game we love. The team is not just really good. Theyre really big. Im 63. How tall are you . 68. Reporter abe lucas is one of six players topping 250 pounds which concerned opposing players and parents. We will not play archbishop. Thats like putting a vw bug up against a mac truck. Reporter the forfeits are having a trickle down effect on the cheer squad and pep band. Its brought down our spirits a little bit. Reporter so many schools have forfeited the team hasnt played a game in a month and a half, but now its about to change. We have a game again. Reporter across puget sound the olympic high trojans are finetuning their slingshot with a battle with goliath. Its exciting for me. The team never considered forfeiting. You know, theres not only lessons of football and lessons in life we can learn from this. Reporter so finally, archbishop murphy takes the field. A victory for the band, the cheerleaders, and the team which wins big, and with no injuries its a game best defined by the size of the players parts. Joe fryer, nbc news, everett, washington. Thats it for us on a wednesday night. Im lester hoemlt. For all of us on nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. D activis now out ofail ter really try to take it step by step. Right now at 6 00 a filmmaker, an activist out of jail arrested for murder and then let go. Tonight hes telling his side of the story. Good evening and thanks for joining us. 48 hours ago he was arrested for killing a man inside his home. Tonight hes out of jail and talking to us. Kevin epps is well known around town, whats his explanation . Yes, he is. Its been a roughly 48 hours for kev kevin epps. He sat down with me, tired and emotional about the entire ordeal there were rules to this interview, epps could not talk about what happened in his home. He talked openly about why this is so devastating to him. No, in the process of going through a traumatic experience and take it step by step. Its an overwhelming situation. I cant convey what im feeling, because