Hallie Jackson NOW – Oct. 11 | NBC News NOW

NBC News Now Coverage

We are coming on the air with the race to rescue Hurricane survivors in full force. Florida’s Governor is saying that any deaths from Hurricane Ian are preventable, with millions still in the dark, and debris everywhere. New frustrations from people hit hard by tornadoes who say they are not getting the help they need. We are live across the affected area.

We are also live outside a mine in Colorado after a deadly elevator malfunction stranded tourists for hours underground. The big unanswered questions tonight.

Official in Texas are digging into what caused a deadly chemical leak in an oil plant, and what we are learning about the victims.

A movie based on Donald Trump will not be seen tonight. The details on how he tried to stop this movie about himself and his former mentor from ever seeing the light of day.

In tonight’s original, how seaweed can fight climate change by cutting down on those infamous cow emissions. That’s later on in the show.

Hey, everybody, I’m Yazmin, in for Hallie tonight.

Officials are warning people not to let their guard down in the aftermath. Governor DeSantis is saying they are near a preventable death toll if people are aware of the biggest dents they are trying to address. Downed power lines and flooded communities. Two million people are in the dark tonight. We are just learning that the number of people killed by this storm has gone up to 17, as those who survive start to pick up what’s left of their homes, especially in the hard-hit coastal communities in Hillsborough County. The river has not crested and there are issues of floodwaters contaminated by sewage. Tonight, things are starting to open back up. Tampa Bay International Airport, that was the first flight out early this morning. Then, access to the barrier island that took a direct hit. Now, we are seeing all the traffic from evacuees driving back to their homes. On Sunday, the President will be heading to Florida to visit affected areas. We are out in Fort Myers, Sam Brock in Florida as well. Sam, start us off. The mayor saying in her 28 years of living there, she has never seen storm surge like what she has seen in the last couple of weeks.

Reporter: And also, I would say, jarring, in the sense, when you think about Hurricane Ian. Those were 15-17 foot storm surges in places. Not this high in Punta Gorda. That’s a boat capsized out of the marina with all sorts of dock and marina infrastructure curled up and turned around as if a tornado ripped through. That speaks to the power of water and as the mayor here was speaking about, just the severity of this weather event.

Reporter: Total numbers of death, at least 17, up from 16. More than two million people and businesses without power right now. We are seeing progress from the 3.5 million we were at a couple of days ago. That is a lot of Floridians, four or five million people total when you consider all the households involved. Then, water rescues, this is outrageous what we are seeing right now in Hillsborough County. You had 91 people rescued near the river. That was just the start. 25 feet of water. That’s where the river had crested and supposed to come down eventually to below major flood stage on Monday. Obviously, it is Friday.

Reporter: I’m wondering, somehow the officials assessing the aftermath when it comes to lives saved, right? We knew there were a lot of evacuation warnings, feels like we are optimistic that a lot of people got out and heeded the warnings in comparison to the evacuations ahead of Helene.

Reporter: Not even optimistic. Certified, there is no question whatsoever lives were saved because people heeded the warnings more than anything else, Helene what it did a couple of weeks ago, rushing water, sewage water, major wind damage to a lot of these homes, forced people to re-evaluate what they were doing and the reason I say that, Fort Myers Beach. I was on the beach yesterday. They did not have a single search and rescue call in an area that has 5,000 to 6,000 people. Then we have new images of this, an area that is about 20 to 30 minutes from where I am due west, out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. You had thousands of people who can’t get back on. Not allowed back on. The reality is, they all for the most part evacuated. I want to point your attention to a conversation I just had with two gentlemen in a truck waiting for authorities in Charlotte County to get back on the islands to see what their property looks like at this hour and the sobering reality of what it might bring, take a litch.

Reporter: I worked my entire life to buy these properties. This is everything I have in the world. So, to lose all of that, to lose my retirement, to lose my business, to lose my income, to lose my house. So, your entire life-savings is wrapped up in those homes.

Assistant: Your entire life-savings is wrapped up in those homes.

Assistant: Yes.

Reporter: Yes.

Reporter: Most certainly not the only one in terms of a deadline right now to get people back on the island, there is none. We are waiting to find out when it happens.

Assistant: The aftermath of this stuff, it’s so emotional and the domino effect of what really happens to your life after everything is lost over and over again. It’s unbelievable.

Assistant: Thank you. I will talk to you again at the top of the next hour.

Assistant: We are going to go to Gaud here, multiple people from dead from the tornado outbreaks and you have folks saying they are not getting the help they need?

Reporter: Right, a lot of people in the areas hit with the tornadoes just happened. We are 25 miles south from where Sam is. The rain and the wind from the hurricane did not cause the damage. It happened before the hurricane made landfall. The residents here are telling me that there were tornado reports when the destruction happened. Now, we know that the help is out there, right? The governor has been offering press conferences asking residents to contact the state. They are being clear that the state is managing a lot of the resources. They are asking people to Google "Hope Florida" to get the help and they have a phone number that people can call 1-833-GET-HOPE. That is where a lot of the resources will be managed. So, people can call and figure out what kind of help they can receive. Now, in these areas like this neighborhood where they had a lot of destruction from what has been reported, might have been a tornado, we have a lot of debris, downed power lines, one of the issues for a lot of the residents here. You can see the power lines, there are cables just hanging there. Those power lines are the most dangerous. If you look further down, some of them go down to the ground and there is also right on the street. That is one of the things that the authorities are warning residents about. They are asking them to wait until the power company can get here and make repairs and stay away.

Assistant: So, I’m wondering just looking ahead to cleanup, right? From my understanding, officials there are not going to begin cleanup until Monday, that because they want to make sure the area is safe before they do?

Reporter: Of the hardships that have come with the living memorials of these atomic blasts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What they saw was unacceptable. The bombs killing an estimated 200,000 people. Survivors today were children then, or not yet born. They emerged from ruined cities and devastated families, and it took the long-term physical effects of radiation exposure, as well as social stigma, and survivor skills in their founding statement. They alluded to have been silent and in hiding. Now, sharing their stories of pain and love of what nuclear war can bring. In Japan, they are known as people affected by bombs. Today, for many, this recognition was overdue. They have been nominated twice before. Co-chair, and survivor, and broke down when the award was announced. He said it can’t be real.

Assistant: Incredible, full circle moment for them. Thank you, appreciate it.

Assistant: Still ahead, everybody, President Donald Trump electing Biotech. Why his campaign sued the Guggenheim Museum, C News Now.

Assistant: Alright. The most controversial movie of this award season hits theaters tonight. It is about the topic we have already talked about in this show.

Reporter: Hello, this is Donald Trump. Thank you so much.

Reporter: That is a clip from the Apprentice. A film that made waves at the film festival. All about the President’s early days with his late fixer. Now, in the President’s campaign, calling it pure, malicious defamation, and garbage. They even tried to stop it. No avail, by the way. The actor playing, says it is essential viewing before election day.

Reporter: The movie is not trying to tell you who to vote for. It is trying to inform people about what made Donald Trump the person he is today. How he became the person he is today. How we got to where we got to today.

Assistant: Maybe the most controversial film of all time.

Reporter: You know, I have been told certain members at NBC News have been given a screener. I have not seen it. I’m going based on the reporting from the people that have seen the screener. What I have heard, I would say brutal is a good adjective for it. Is the betrayal of a man who obviously they want to portray someone who is sympathetic, and serving as a sort of origin story, that someone that is involved in a lot. There are scenes of sex parties, Donald Trump using weight-loss medication, which he has denied. Donald Trump, hitting liposuction, scalp enhancement surgery. He has denied. The worst thing is that he is actually has a scene in the movie, or Donald Trump assaulting his ex-wife. Which is taken from a deposition from the 1990 divorce. There is some basis of truth in it. Later denied it, and Donald Trump later reports, rebukes it as well. What is hellacious and what is more factual? I don’t think we will have a clear picture. The point is, obviously anybody inside Donald Trump’s camp, would not want you to see this.

Assistant: One of the reasons why this thing almost didn’t get made.

Reporter: Yeah. That is part of the problem with this. None of the Hollywood studios took it up. It ran through a very small distributor. Part of the reason for that is because we all know how litigious Donald Trump and his camp are. In fact, they have already sent a cease and desist letter to the movie’s director and producer. We have a statement from the Donald Trump spokesperson from the Donald Trump camp, he said, the film is pure, malicious defamation that should have never seen the light of day. Does not even deserve a place in a DVD section at a soon-to-be-closed movie store. Ouch. It belongs in a dunce or a fire. The director is trying to clarify his position. This is not an itch. He was trying to do a realistic portrayal of a person. That would be involved with someone like this in New York that became the man we all know. Quoting, you might find some of these character questions you have about Donald Trump answered. The bigger point we are trying to make in the movie is the political theater that has been going on for a long time in this country. The movie got 1700 select theaters. The limited release. I don’t think it is going to be the October surprise that many may have hoped for. I do think it will make waves based on what I have read.

Assistant: It will be interesting to see how many folks get out to see it. Especially between now and the November election.

Assistant: And still to come, everybody, can we save the planet? How it could have used seaweed to save the planet.

Reporter: There is no question, beef is big.