The midnight deadline fast approaching. The potential impact set to be felt at dealerships and even repair shops across the country. A live report from detroit, straight ahead. Here it comes. Hurricane lee on the move. Watches and warnings now stretching from new york to maine. Millions on the east coast to be impacted by strong winds and heavy rain. Als got new information on the storms timing. Captured. Our nightmare is finally over. Were learning more about the dramatic the end to that nearly twoweek manhunt. This morning how the escaped murderer was tracked down, the Hero Police Dog who helped collar him and the controversy over this group photo. Dozens of officers posing with the nabbed fugitive. The official who led that manhunt is joining us live. Breaking news, the luxury cruise ship that ran aground in greenland pulled free moments ago to the relief of hundreds of passengers. Well have the latest. Alligator scare. Look how big it is the frightening moment a massive gator charges a group of girl scouts in texas. Inside their frantic scramble to safety. All of that plus, completely heartbroken. Aaron rodgers breaks his silence in the wake of the injury that has ended his season. Holy cow. I cannot believe this. And reignited the debate over artificial turf. Why the Players Union wants it removed from all stadiums. And carrie on. Music superstar Carrie Underwood returning to our plaza for the first time in nearly a decade. And our plaza is packed for a special concert you do not want to miss. Today, thursday, september 14th, 2023. Announcer this is today with hoda kotb and savannah guthrie. From studio 1a in Rockefeller Plaza. Good morning. Welcome to today. Its a thursday morning. Glad youre with us. Usually on a thursday morning, we are not talking about an awesome concert. But today we are, not just any concert, Carrie Underwood out on our plaza. Its been ten years since she stepped on the plaza concert. Weve been waiting patiently. The fans are packed in. And good weather out there, too. But to our north, getting ready to face the rain, wind, and possible storm surge from hurricane lee. Heres a live look. This is boston, one of the areas under a storm watch this morning. Calm now, but whats coming . Als full forecast in a moment. But let us start with our top story. That looming deadline. The Auto Industry bracing for a possible strike, its set to begin at midnight. The united autoworkers saying without a deal, its roughly 150,000 members are ready to walk out of detroits biggest carmakers. Jesse kirsch is in the motor city with us. Whats the latest you know . Reporter hoda, good morning. We are now inside of 18 hours to the deadline, the Auto Industry here in detroit getting a lot of attention, and arguably little that has to do with the shiny new cars behind me here at the detroit auto show. Right now, the uaw and the big three automakers here in motor city still do not have agreements. And if there are not deals before midnight, it is expected the uaw will strike against all three. The union says this will be the first time in history they have struck against all three of the big three automakers. This has implications for tens of thousands of jobs, but it also means if youre trying to buy a new car or get your current ride fixed, things could get more complicated. In motor city and beyond, this morning, the drum beat of a potential united autoworkers strike is growing louder and the clock is quickly running out. Were willing to do whats necessary to win justice by any means necessary. The uaws demands for detroits big three automakers include a 46 pay raise, compounded over four years. But according to the union, gm, ford, and stellantis are only offering between and 17 and 20 raises over four and a half years. And without deals before midnight, the union says workers will walk off the job at all three companies. You prepare to go on strike . Absolutely. What do we got to do, you know, to protect me . To protect my job, to protect my future . Reporter already the union collecting donated food and toiletries, a reminder if they go on strike, some workers may struggle to even pay for the basic things we all need at home. Instead of having all of its roughly 146,000 big three workers walk out at once, the union is planning to only strike at specific facilities. The impact could be just as great as if you shut down the entire company. Because if there are no engines, no transmissions, that essentially shuts down final assembly. Reporter in statements, stellantis and gm both emphasizing good faith negotiations. Sure hard to negotiate a contract when theres no one to negotiate with. Reporter fords ceo and the uaws president trading barbs, including over what ford is offering for workers pay. I dont know what to say other than we have put great officers in front of the uaw, and were waiting for the response. Reporter the looming strike could be essential for car buyers, repairs could get tricky, too. If i cant get the parts to fix your car, its going to be a huge problem. Jesse, the day is young. Theres still time to negotiate. Any chance that this thing will wrap up in time . Reporter hoda, at this point, gm and stellantis are saying that there is good faith bargaining going on. Youve got ford saying its team has been sleeping at Company Headquarters to get the job done, but the union is accusing these companies of negotiating in bad faith and making insulting offers. And if a strike starts, its not clear how long this could last. The union says its strike strategy will evolve. And were not expecting all of the workers to be on strike. That means with fewer workers getting strike pay, the unions money could last longer, and that could drag out a strike. Hoda . All right, jesse kirsch for us there in detroit. Jesse, thank you. We move now to this storm weve been tracking all week long. Hurricane lee. It is moving north. Watches and warnings have already been issued now for parts of new england. Al is tracking it all for us. Hes on the road this morning in washington. Hi, al, good morning. Hi, guys, good morning. And good morning to you. Heres the latest on lee, from the National Hurricane center. Category 2 storm. Its 295 miles southwest of bermuda, 100 mileperhour winds. Its moving north at 9 miles per hour. Its starting to pick up some forward motion. We have Tropical Storm watches from watchhill, rhode island, to portland, maine. And hurricane watches from portland to eastport. First time theyve had watches like this in 15 years. Now, the coastal impacts, as the storm makes its way up to the north on friday, were going to be looking at high surf, dangerous rip currents, as we move into sunday morning, makes landfall somewhere between bar harbor and halifax, but the tropicalforce winds are what were most worried about, extending out some 300 miles to the west of the track. Here are the impacts were looking at. The winds, strongest along the coast. Montauk, 40mileperhour wind gusts. Boston, 47. Bar harbor, 61mileperhour wind gusts. Storm surge, 2 to 4 feet will be the worst around plymouth to chatham. Dangerous surf and rip currents, lifethreatening flooding, possibly, with that storm surge. High tides in chatham, 1 23 in the morning, and heaviest rain right along the coast, ep up along down east maine with some totals up to 5 inches, guys. Well continue to monitor this as this situation develops. Well check back with you for the full forecast, thank you. Lets move mow to the capture of escaped inmate Danelo Cavalcante, unfolding wile we were on the air yesterday. The nearly twoweeklong manhunt coming to a close after police using thermal imaging picked up a heat source in the pennsylvania woods about 30 miles from where the prison was. In a moment, we will talk to the governor of pennsylvania, along with the commissioner of the Pennsylvania State police, but first, nbcs george solis has been covering this story for us since the beginning. Hey, george, good morning. Reporter hoda, good morning to you. It all unfolded in dramatic fashion in the woods behind me. The tactical teams forced to wait out a storm before they could make their move and cavalcante did not go down without a fight, but in the end, authorities managed to get their man. This morning, after nearly two weeks on the run, convicted killer Danelo Cavalcante is finally back in custody. Our nightmare is finally over and the good guys won. Reporter cavalcante managed to elude authorities for two weeks by slipping past perimeters, stealing a van, and even using a razor he found in a stolen bag to shave off his beard in an attempt to disguise his appearance. You know, i dont know he was particularly skilled, he was desperate. Ive said that all along. Reporter now were learning how cavalcante managed to stay one step ahead. U. S. Marshal robert clark was part of the task force tracking cavalcante. A watermelon, he found a watermelon on a farm early in his flight, he drank water from the stream. Reporter Authorities Say they used the element of surprise to zero in on their target. Overnight, a dea aircraft with thermal imaging picked up a heat source but was forced to leave the area because of severe weather. Tactical teams eventually able to move in. Cavalcante did not realize he was surrounded until that had occurred. That did not stop him from trying to escape. Reporter when he tried to flee, a k9 named yoda by customs and Border Protection took him down. Officers on the scene posing for this picture with the handcuffed cavalcante. Theyre proud of their work. Theyre not doing anything to demean him or harm him in any way there. Reporter a chief Border Patrol agent posting additional photos online. Officers also recovering the rifle cavalcante stole from a home earlier this week. Officials say cavalcante planned to use the weapon to steal another vehicle. The family of debora brandau, the exgirlfriend cavalcante was convicted of murdering, releasing a statement saying theyre deeply grateful for the support and hard work by authorities. Also grateful this community, once gripped with fear, now finally able to exhale. I am super relieved. Super glad that its over. Reporter this morning, cavalcante is waking up inside a maximum security prison in montgomery county, pennsylvania, but where he will ultimately end up to finish carrying out that life sentence is still being decided. Savannah . George, thank you very much. Were joined now by the governor of pennsylvania, josh shapiro and colonel christopher paris, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State police, which led this intense manhunt. Gentlemen, good morning to you. Good morning. Good morning. Governor, ill start with you. Obviously, a huge sigh of relief for the community, for the team of officers, an incredible effort there on the ground. Are you surprised, though, that it took 14 days for this man to be captured . No, look, im incredibly proud of the Pennsylvania State police and im incredibly grateful to the good people of chester county, who every single day remained vigilant. Who worked hard to make sure that we were able to capture this suspect without incident. There was no loss of life, there was no threat in the community, thank god, and ultimately, at the end of the day, we found ourselves in a position of seeing the best of Law Enforcement. Law enforcement at every level, state, local, and federal, coming together to apprehend this suspect, to capture him without incident. Im proud of them. Colonel, its been a long, long two weeks. What was the hardest moment for you and your team, when did spirits dip the most . I dont know that the spirits actually dipped. Our concern, always was the threat to public safety, and were indebted to the people of chester county. He had a weapon. It was a weapon that could have certainly hurt Law Enforcement, but more importantly than that, it could have hurt members of the public. So a desperate person on the run with nothing to lose, facing life without parole, that was our chief concern. We wanted to find him wherever we could. Colonel, what do you think about this photo op with some members of the team posing with the suspect moments after his capture. How does that sit with you . Is that appropriate . Thank you for the question. I believe that you have to put it in proper context. That these Tactical Operators surrounded him and sat through a lightning and thunderstorm through the evening when we lost the aerial overwatch, and this was an individual who was crawling towards a weapon, which he stole. And the professional restraint that they showed and being able to take him alive and in relatively good health, were very proud of that professionalism. Governor, how about you . Look, im proud of them and theyre proud of their work. I think its important that we acknowledge for 14 days, Law Enforcement from every level left their homes, left their loved ones and they put their lives at risk, savannah. I think its important for everybody to understand that the gun that cavalcante had literally was capable of piercing the bulletproof vests that they were wearing. They put their lives at risk every day. They were proud of their work and im incredibly proud of them. No question it was an incredibly difficult and involved operation, and not a single shot fired, nobody hurt. That is incredible work there. Governor shapiro, colonel paris, thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Thank you. 14 minutes past the hour. Bring craig to the table. Big news out of washington. Hoda, savannah, good morning. Good morning to you, as well. Big news, indeed. Capping months of speculation about his future, republican senator mitt romney says he will not seek reelection in 2024. And romney specifically cited his age. 76, as one of the deciding factors. Capitol hill correspondent ryan nobles joins us with the latest on this one. Ryan, good morning . Hey, craig, good morning. Among the many reasons that mitt romney has decided that its time for him to retire is a desire to hand over power to the next generation. And as he slowly steps away from public life, hes revealing plenty of details about what goes on behind the scenes in politics. Reporter on capitol hill, senator mitt romney, known for breaking ranks with his party says its time to move on. Frankly, its time for a new generation of leaders. Reporter the gop nominee for president in 2012 i accept your nomination for president of the United States reporter romney now doesnt recognize his party. The Republican Party today is in the shadow of donald trump. He is the leader of the greatest portion of the Republican Party. Its a populist, i believe, demagogue portion of the party. Reporter its part of why he decided to step away. Frustrated by trumps stranglehold on the gop and a general lack of anyone willing to stand up to him. Something he did repeatedly, voting twice to convict trump in two different impeachment trials. I was among the senators who determined that what the president did was wrong, grievously wrong. Reporter he outlined that frustration to author Mckay Coppins as part of an upcoming biography. In an excerpt released by the atlantic, coppins revealed that romney said in private meetings that colleagues ridiculed trumps ignorance, rolled their eyes at his antics, and made observations about his warped, toddlerlike psyche. Romney made it clear that he doesnt want President Trump to be president , but also thinks that President Biden should not run as well. According to the coppins biography, romney toyed with the idea of a third party run for president where he would say whatever he wanted, but decided against it. Because of a concern it would reelect trump. And with renewed questions about the age of the countrys political leaders fueled by Health Scares experienced by his colleagues senators mcconnell and feinstein, by stepping aside at the age of 76, romney is intentionally sending a message. I think its time for guys like me to get out of the way and have people of the next generation step forward. Reporter his decision not to seek reelection sparked a round of well wishes from his colleagues, both republican and democrat. Hes a Great American and has been an outstanding senator. I believe the senate will be a lot worse for not having mitt romney here. Hes been a voice of reason. And meanwhile, former President Trump did not take long to respond to romneys announcement. He called it fantastic news and said romney did not serve with distinction. Romney says he still plans to be involved in the political debate, but craig, he said he likely wont ever run for office again. Ryan, lets shift gears for a moment, some other news in washington overnight. President biden making his first comment on the impeachment inquiry. What can you tell us about what you heard from the president . Reporter thats right. The president himself has gone to great pains to ignore the plans of House Republicans to impeach him. But last night he told a group of donors that it is something that he is not focused on. And he also blamed republicans for using impeachment as a way to avoid talking about the pending budget battle. He said, quote, the best i can tell, they want to impeach me, because they want to shut down the government. And while the president may not be focused on impeachment, his staff, the white house is. Theyve established a war room to combat the republican charges, and House Democrats have strategized ways to push back. Craig . Ryan nobles for us there in d. C. Ryan, thank you. Some terrifying moments for a girl scout troop in texas. Children were swimming in a lake when suddenly an alligator appeared and started charging toward them. Take a look. Look how big it is [ screaming ] terrifying it happened last weekend at huntsville state park, thats north of houston. Scout leaders and parents rushed into the water, pulled the kids to safety. Nobody was injured, thankfully. Officials closed that swimming area for the rest of the day and the texas parks an