at peace with his past. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. [music playing] category 3 storm and strengthening. i'm shepard smith. this is the news on cnbc flooding recedes in puerto rico, leaving catastrophic damage and most residents in the dark >> it happened so fast, and all this stuff around. >> the victims' plight, and where the storm is headed. the migrant flights to martha's vineyard now the subject of a criminal investigation. >> somebody came from out of state, preyed upon these people, lured them with promises of a better life. >> what could this mean for

the florida governor ron desantis he used taxpayer money to pay for the charter jets team trump meets with the special master over documents seized at mar-a-lago the judge's question that trump lawyers say they don't want to answer russia now planning to declare parts of ukraine russia. referendums announced for occupied territories what the white house is saying as more bodies are uncovered in war zone mass graves dozens arrested after feds report a quarter billion pandemic scam. alex jones makes his first appearance outside his latest sandy hook defamation trial. and do we have to tip for everything now >> announcer: live from cnbc, the facts, the truth, the news with shepard smith. good evening it's getting worse hurricane fiona now a major category 3 storm after devastating puerto rico and the

dominican republic today the storm damaged the eastern islands of turks and caicos, according to the national hurricane center. fiona is likely to strengthen they say to a category 4 status tomorrow before threatening bermuda late thursday. it's expected to head then towards northern newfoundland but will not hit the u.s. mainland, according to the hurricane center but would you look at this two days after fiona made landfall, puerto rico is still in chaos right now 55% of the island doesn't have clean running water, and more than a million customers don't have electricity. puerto rico's governor warned it could take days before everybody has electricity, but nothing is guaranteed hurricane fiona dropped an inch -- or i should say an average of 10 to 16 inches of rain across puerto rico but more than 30 inches in some isolated areas, the surge of water so powerful, it washed this ferry ashore. new today, the fema

administrator announced she'll travel to puerto rico to assess the damage and that she'll deploy hundreds of additional personnel. when hurricane maria hit five years ago, fema committed $28 billion in federal recovery money for puerto rico. but the local officials used only a fraction of it. in fact, as of last month, the island's government had spent about a fifth of the funds that's according to a director in the government accountability office it's all leading to more calls for more congressional oversight on disaster relief money >> it needs congress to exercise its oversight and its effort to ensure that it doesn't matter if you appropriate disaster money if it doesn't end up going to the people of puerto rico, if it doesn't create an energy grid that is resilient so that whenever the next hurricane or natural disaster comes, the lights stay on >> of course, they've heard it in puerto rico for years and years, and now the power is out

again. for now, much of puerto rico is in the dark. nbc's gabe gutierrez now in our top story live in toa baja near the capital of san juan. >> reporter: shep, this is what a devastating cleanup effort looks like widespread flood damage as far as the eye can see we're in toa baja, puerto rico, which was devastated by the floodwaters which started on sunday the nearby river rushed in and flooded many of these homes. some of these homeowners were just able to get here for the first time today now this afternoon, i took an aerial tour of this area and a few others, and, thankfully, the floodwaters in many parts of puerto rico are receding because the rain has finally stopped in some parts of the island however, the cleanup effort is just beginning in the southern part of the island, there is still widespread flood damage, and most of puerto rico remains

without power. about 80% right now does not have electricity and as for running water, about 55% don't have running water it is a significant -- there is significant devastation here exactly five years after hurricane maria. now fema says that its warehouses are stocked at this point, and the governor has told me that he expects the power to come back first and then the water service. but, shep, there is widespread frustration here among many residents who feel that the power grid should have been more effectively rebuilt after hurricane maria. again, they hope that this power returns as quickly as possible the governor is still hopeful that could happen in the next few days shep >> gabe gutierrez in toa baja. a federal lawsuit over migrant flights to martha's vineyard a group of asylum seekers whom the florida governor ron desantis flew to the island last week is now suing him.

they filed in massachusetts federal court just today, accusing governor desantis and other florida officials of carrying out a premeditated, fraudulent, and illegal scheme centered on exploiting this vulnerability for the sole purpose of advancing their own personal, financial, and political interests. nbc news has reached out to governor desantis' office but has not yet heard back news of the lawsuit came just hours after reports that another flight of migrants may be heading to delaware today. that sent officials and volunteers there scrambling. they say they got a tip that the plane was set to land just miles from president biden's vacation home in rehoboth beach the white house said it was aware of those reports and when reporters asked the president about it, he had a message for governor desantis. >> he should come visit. we have a beautiful shoreline. >> governor desantis said today he could not confirm the possible flight was happening, and at our last check, that

plane had not even shown up. all this as a sheriff in texas says he's investigating whether anybody committed a crime by sending those migrants to massachusetts. here is cnbc's perry russom. >> reporter: florida governor ron desantis defending his migrant flights to martha's vineyard >> it was volunteer, offered transport to sanctuary jurisdictions. >> reporter: the flights are now under investigation by the sheriff in bexar county, texas. >> we believe there is a possibility that the laws were broken here in the state of texas in bexar county. >> reporter: a venezuelan migrant was paid to recruit about 50 migrants from this resource center in san antonio >> we want to know what was promised to them what if anything did they sign did they even understand the document that was put in front of them if they signed something. >> reporter: desantis says the migrants were given a release

form to sign, along with a path containing a map of the island >> they were provided an ability to be this the most posh sanctuary jurisdiction maybe in the world. and obviously, it's sad that martha's vineyard people deported them the next day >> reporter: the migrants were ferried to joint base cape cod two days after arriving, and massachusetts governor charlie baker says it was voluntary. the moving of migrants is being praised by top republicans >> i personally thought it was a good idea. >> reporter: critics are now raising questions over whether florida state funds were properly used. in the state budget highlights, it reads $12 million was allocated to facilitate the transport of unauthorized aliens out of florida these migrants were flown from texas. the bexar county sheriff says they are legally here. >> everyone down there will say between a third and 40% of the people coming across are seeking to end up in florida, and if you can do it at the source and divert to sanctuary jurisdictions, the chance they end up in florida is much less >> reporter: the majority of migrants being bussed and flown

are from venezuela according to customs and border protection, last month there were more than 25,000 stops involving venezuelans at the border, up 43% from july >> what's on my watch now is venezuela, cuba, and nicaragua and the ability to send them back to those states is not rational >> reporter: and then today desantis accused venezuelan president nicolas maduro of releasing people from prison and sending them to the border in a statement from the foreign ministry, a spokesperson says it is not only absurd, but designed to justify his action regarding venezuelan migrants. shep >> perry russom live in our midwest newsroom did former president trump declassify any of the top secret documents found at mar-a-lago? and if he did, which ones? a special master is now on the case, and he's pressing the legal team for donald trump for those answers. today was federal judge raymond dearie's first court hearing as special master his job is to review all of the documents that the fbi seized during their search and to wee

out anything that might be off limits to investigator because of executive privilege or attorney/client privilege judge dearie making it clear that he wants to move forward quickly so that the investigation can move forward at the heart of the legal battle are roughly 100 highly sensitive documents that fbi agents found in the former president's personal office and storage room mr. trump's lawyers are suggesting that he may have declassified some of them, but they're refusing to disclose which documents. they claim it could hurt their defense in the future. in court today, judge dearie pushed back, saying my view is you can't have your cake and eat it too essentially, if you're going to claim the documents are declassified, then do it they did not the former president's lawyers are also fighting for quick access to the classified material they say it's necessary to defend their client. but at today's hearing, the doj's lawyers argue that these documents are so sensitive that some of the investigators aren't

even allowed to look at them and that top-secret clearance is simply not enough. some are america's most closely guarded secrets and are on a need-to-know basis mr. trump's lawyers insist they need to know the special master shot back the government has a very strong obligation that the information doesn't get in the wrong hands it is a matter of need to know and if you need to know, you will know. let's bring in chuck rosenberg, nbc news contributor and former u.s. attorney and senior fbi official chuck, why was it significant that the special master, judge dearie, questioned the issue of whether these are classified or not? >> well, the judge simply wanted the trump lawyers to tell him, to tell the court, whether or not they're going to claim that mr. trump had declassified them.

they've been saying that to the press. they've been saying that outside of court that claim is floating around. but the only place it matter, shepard, is in court and so judge dearie wanted to hear from them whether they were going to say that in court and to your point, they still refused to do it you know, the classified documents are important for a number of reasons, including the intelligence community of the united states needs to do a full damage assessment to see if anything was compromised and if stuff was compromised, to try and fix that compromise. and they need the fbi to help them do it and so the judge knows, and he's exactly right, that he needs to resolve this question and resolve it quickly so the investigation can continue and so the intelligence community can do a full damage assessment. that's why it matters. >> you know, the doj has that appeal pending before the 11th circuit, asking to retain the right to review the classified documents. the lawyer for the doj said today if they lose, they still have other appellate options is he talking the supremes there?

>> he might be right, if you lose in the appellate court, you can always try and take it up one level higher so it imagine that's what they're referring to but look, the government wants this to be resolved as quickly as possible, again, so they can continue their investigation and so they can do a full damage assessment so appellate litigation, and you know this, shepard, slows stuff down it's not helpful to the government to slow stuff down. judge dearie said something interesting today. he told the -- i'm sorry, he told the trump team that if you're not going to make a claim in court, if you're not going to assert that this stuff has been declassified by the former president, then i'm inclined to rule against you and then the government said something interesting. there is a 1988 supreme court case called egan which says it's really not even for the court to decide whether or not something is classified. that's an executive branch decision and an executive branch function, and i imagine that the executive branch, the department

of justice, is going to prevail on this. >> chuck rosenberg, great to have you thank you. the feds are calling this one the biggest covid relief scam yet nearly $50 people accused of swindling a quarter billion. money that was meant to help feed hungry children how the feds say the suspect pulled it off. first, president biden said the pandemic's over. now the original epicenter, new york city, announcing one of its strictest covid rules is over too. and a nasty nibble to th nose and a land roll that's the accusation. plus terroristic threats and the threat to kill the new developments for the coo of beyond meat, which a nose obviously is >> announcer: the facts, the truth, the news, with shepard smithing back in 60 seconds. i remember setting up shipstation. one or two clicks and everything was up and running. i was printing out labels and saving money. shipstation saves us so much time. it makes it really easy and seamless. pick an order,

print everything you need, slap the label onto the box, and it's ready to go. our costs for shipping were cut in half. just like that. shipstation. the #1 choice of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get 2 months free. $250 in federal money meant to feed needy, hungry children instead went towards buying

luxury $250 million in federal money meant to feed needy, hungry children. instead went towards buying luxury cars, jewelry, and resort homes. that's the stunning charge today from the justice department. federal prosecutors in minneapolis today unveiling what they call the largest pandemic-related fraud case yet. >> the plan began when the pandemic started in late march 2020 and spread rapidly. it quickly became the ultimate get-rich-quick scheme as the defendants capitalized on the pandemic and grew this operation within months. >> 47 of them in minnesota indicted, charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery, the doj alleging these people billed the federal government for meals they did not serve, to children who did not exist. the fbi special agent in charge called their actions the epitome of greed cnbc's bertha coombs is with us. man, how do the feds say this scheme was pulled off? >> you know, it's amazing. they're calling this the brazen scheme of staggering proportions.

the doj accusing these defendants of creating fake companies that claim to offer food to thousands of needy children in minnesota, requesting a quarter billion in covid relief funds from the department of agriculture. but instead of filling hungry stomachs, prosecutors say they used the money to line their own pockets, charging the federal government for millions of fake meals.of fake meals. >> more than >> more than 125 million fak meals are at issue in this case. they did all of this in a little over 20 months these defendants were executing their scheme fast. >> now according to an affidavit from the fbi, one restaurant collected more than $1 million in a single month, claiming to have fed 185,000 children, children who the doj says don't exist. the defendants allege to have made up fake names of kids using an online name generator at the heart of the operation, a

so-called nonprofit called feeding our future prosecutors say the organization opened up more than 250 sites in minnesota that were supposed to offer free food to children. but feeding our future is run by a woman named amy bach, who officials say oversaw the entire scheme when the minnesota department of education reached out to bach, trying to verify her nonprofit activities, federal prosecutors say she gave false assurances that feeding our future was monitoring the sites under its sponsorship and that the sites were serving the meals as claimed. but the department of ed began denying feeding our future's applications for new feeding sites. at that point, bach actually filed a lawsuit against the department, accusing their employees of discrimination.s ad she pleaded not guilty this afternoon. >> if the government's

bock denies any wrongdoing, and she pleaded not guilty this afternoon. >> if the government's right, and we don't yet know, that's a lot of gall. >> yeah. >> more to come. >> that's an understatement. >> bertha coombs, thanks very much no more vaccine mandate for private workers in new york city that starts next month the mayor, eric adams, made the announcement just today. he's faced a ton of backlash over the city's covid requirements earlier this year, mayor adams rolled back the rules for professional athletes and performers, but he kept them in place for tens of thousands of private and public employees well, now his honor is starting to level the playing field starting to. mayor adams told reporters today he is not dropping the mandate for city workers, at least not yet. >> our vaccinated road force kept the city open and operating. over 300,000 employees, it was crucial to put it in place, and we're keeping that in place. we think it's imperative to send the right message and lead by example. >> well, new york city's also planning to lift its vaccine requirements for students who want to play sports or other after-school activities.

new today, a rise in sexually transmitted diseases all across the country is out of control. that's according to the head of the national coalition of std directors. and now health officials are calling for changes to prevent and treat efforts. efforts. this after this after a 26% rise in new syphilis cases last year that's the highest rate in more than two decades gonorrhea and hiv also on the rise the director of the cdc's division of std prevention i now calling for reducing stigma, broadening screening and treatment services, that he also says he wants testing to become as easy and as affordable as at-home pregnancy tests. the house could vote on a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing another attempt to overturn a presidential election who's behind it, what it calls for, and whether it could pass

new questions about america's prison system. the shocking statistic alleged in a new senate report about the number of deaths behind bars that never get reported. no more trips to the post office no more paying full price for postage and great rates from usps and ups mail letters ship packages anytime anywhere for less a lot less get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again

another busy day. a 4-week trial plus po of course it is - a dig you're a cio in 2022. so what's on the agenda? you guys have a look at that and see... morning security briefing - make that two. share that link. send that contract. see what's trending. check the traffic on your network. in real time. with the next generation in global secure networking from comcast business. lunch? - sure. you've got time. onboard 37 new people. with 74 new devices. does anybody have any questions? and just as many questions. shut down a storm of ddos attacks. protect headquarters. and the cloud. with all your data on the nation's largest ip converged network. whoa, that is big. ok. coffee time. double shot. deal with a potential breach. deal with your calendar. deal with your fantasy lineup. and then... that's it? we feeling good?

looks like we're feeling good. bring on today with comcast business. powering possibilities. how to how to stop the next capitol insurrection from happening. congresswoman liz cheney says she has a plan in one of her final acts as a member of congress, she's se to introduce a bill called the presidential election reform act. her fellow january 6th committee member democrat zoe lofgre is on her cosponsor here on legislation set for a vote as soon as tomorrow the bill would clearly reaffirm that the vice president has no real role in counting electoral votes. the vp but a figurehead in the process. of course, this comes after the january 6th committee revealed that president trump and his team went to great lengths to try to pressure vice president pence into rejecting the electoral results. nbc's senior national political

correspondent sahil kapur now.r. sawhill, what else does this call for and does it hav sahil, what else does this bill call for, and does it have any chance to pass >> oh, shep, it does have a very real chance at passing the bill is expected to get a vote in the house of representatives likely tomorrow. and it's expected to pass with the support of democrats and at least one republican, the co-sponsor liz cheney, as you mentioned. now, in terms of what else is in the bill, let's put this graphic up on the television it makes abundantly clear for anyone who doubts that the vice president's role is simply to count the votes, nothing more, nothing less it raises the threshold to objecting which what it currently is, which is one member of house in the senate to 1/3 of both chambers. it would force states and governors to certify only lawful winners of the election on the basis of state law, and it would prevent changing after the election to certify a different winner now, after it passes the house, it goes to the senate, which is working on a similar version,

which has piqued optimism. there are divisions there. the senate bill has a 1/5 instead of 1/3 there is action for aggrieved in the house bill that senators i talked to are not particularly fond of. now, as for cheney, this is a mission she's staked her political career on. it's the reason she lost her primary. she stood up to donald trump and she decided she is willing to go down politically for the cause of standing up to donald trump and preventing another january 6th from happening let's have a listen to what she said about what this bill is about and what it's not. >> and i want to be very clear that this is to prevent future attacks during election processes. so no one should take our effort to reform the electoral count as any indication that donald trump did not violate the existing law or did not violate the constitution >> now looking at the calendar, shep, this is headed for a big vote in the house and the senate in terms of the senate, likely

in the lame duck session after the midterm election cheney has said this is one piece of the january 6th select committee's legislative recommendations, and there will be others. >> sahil, thanks very much the justice department is undercounting the number of deaths in prisons and jails across the country just last year, the federal government failed to count nearly a thousand deaths that's according to a newly released bipartisan senate report the senate subcommittee on investigations found that the doj did not count at least 990 deaths in custody in 2021. under federal law, the justice department is required to collect data about inmate deaths inside all state and local correctional facilities that accept federal funding the subcommittee says the doj is failing at that responsibility. >> today after a ten-month bipartisan investigation we can reveal that despite a clear charge from congress to determine who is dying in prisons and jails across the country, where they are dying, and why they are dying, the department of justice is failing to do so

>> the senate subcommittee says congress is still waiting for a co mandatory report from the doj about preventing deaths in local the doj expected t prisons and jails. the doj expected to submit that report in 2024 and if it does, it will be eight years overdue. first responders in chicago rushing eight people to hospitals after an explosion destroys part of an apartment building what we're learning about the investigation. ford stock tanks the worst day in more than a decade the news behind the plunge and russia now plotting to annex parts of occupied ukraine. reporting from the ground and analysis from a former u.s. ambassador to ukraine as we approach the bottom of the hour and the top of the news on cnbc. an why do nearly one million businesses

choose stamps.com to mail and ship? no more trips to the post office no more paying full price for postage and great rates from usps and ups mail letters ship packages anytime anywhere for less a lot less get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again

a big american automaker with an even bigger warning, and that's what's topping cnbc "on the money. ford's stock took a huge hit today. the drop comes a day after the automaker prereleased parts of its third quarter earnings in the report, ford warned investors of a billion dollars in unexpected supply chain costs. the result ford shares plummeted 12%, worst day in more than 11 years. $7 billion in market value wiped out. thursday night football

already paying off for amazon prime. during its first exclusive regular season nfl stream, amazon prime video attracted a record number of prime signups during a three-hour period that's according to amazon exec in a memo viewed by cnbc amazon has 14 more thursday night games this season. the tech giant paying about a billion dollars a year for the rights and peloton adding a rowing machine to its product lineup. they're calling it peloton row and the starting price $3,200 to access classes you have to buy a prescription on top, like with other peloton machines. deliveries for peloton row exported to begin in december. today at the pump, the average price nationwide for a gallon of gas, $3.67 the cost of gas down a few tenths of a cent overnight it's now down 98 straight days still, a gallon costs 48 cents

more than it did this time last year on wall street, markets slide ahead of the fed's expected rate hike tomorrow. the dow down 313 the s&p down 44. nasdaq down 110. i'm shepard smith on cnbc. it's the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news alex jones lashing out at the judge in his sandy hook defamation trial >> this is a travesty of justice, and this judge is a tyrant >> why the conspiracy theorist says he isn't getting a fair trial after he called the school massacre a hoax. the midterm elections now seven weeks away we break down the new polls from a key battleground state that could decide the balance of power in d.c. but first, russia set to hold what the u.s. calls sham referendums in occupied ukrainian territories.

voting scheduled to begin on friday in four regions in the eastern and southern parts of ukraine. luhansk, kherson, donetsk, and zaporizhzhia the referendums including on russia annexing the regions all but certain to go moscow's way u.s. officials warn that the kremlin will manipulate the results. today national security adviser jake sullivan slammed the idea >> the united states will never recognize russia's claims, claims to any purportedly annexed parts of ukraine these are not the actions of a confident country. these are not acts of strength quite the opposite >> ukraine's foreign minister also denouncing the referendums. in a tweet today he wrote in part, "russia has been and remains an aggressor, illegally occupying parts of ukrainian land ukraine has every right to liberate its territories and will keep liberating them whatever russia has to say." in a moment, former u.s. ambassador to ukraine william

taylor but first, our sister network's "sky news" and their correspondent deborah haines inside a newly liberated town in northeast ukraine, where authorities are investigating alleged war crimes by russian soldiers and russian sympathizers records in the towns and villages closest to russia, an erie eerie quiet in between the sporadic shelling. there are suspicions not everyone here in vovchansk is sorry russia's occupation has ended. a soldier who is accompanying us is keen for the man to answer our questions. the house sits next door to this place. it used to be the main police

station until the russians came. i'm outside what was until just a few days ago a russian base here behind me, that was a russian military checkpoint. and on the floor a remainder of old russian newspapers, this one here dated the 9th of august with a headline that rather fittingly reads ukraine promises counter-offensive. the occupiers appear to have controlled by fear, punishing those sympathetic to ukraine in a nearby village, the soldier introduces us to his family. they couldn't see each other during the occupation, making moments like these all the morn precious the father shows us marks from where he says he was detained and tortured with electric shocks, but not by the russians. instead, he says it was local policemen who chose to

collaborate with the occupiers and wanted answers about a theft. with the village back under ukrainian control, those police officers apparently fled to russia, but the sense of betrayal lingers deborah haynes, sky news, near the ukraine/russia border. >> now william taylor, former u.s. ambassador to ukraine ambassador, an occupier cannot hold referendums in an active war zone and expect the world to see such a thing as legitimate is this propaganda or a sign of desperation from vladimir putin? >> and maybe both, shep. it may be a sign of desperation. he is having -- putin is having a very hard time he needs to show something to his right wing who is giving him a very difficult time for not doing better on the battlefield. but there is also this issue in the provinces of russia where they are looking to see

what president putin can do. but as you say, no one is going to take this seriously no one outside of russia is going the take this seriously. sign of desperation. he is facing all kinds of problems this is a playbook, shep you remember that in 2014, the russians annexed crimea and then did a sham referendum just like they're talking about now. and they got 97% of the vote, shep that's what they say they got. 97% of the vote. it was a sham then it was done at the barrel of a gun. this is not going to be convincing to anyone and so this is a sign of desperation on putin's part. >> you know, authorities have doubt more bodies from mass burials near a liberated city in the northeast of ukraine investigators say most of them are civilians. ambassador, is that a last straw? can the west no longer give putin a sort of offramp to this war? >> ukrainians are not willing to

give him an off-ramp for this war. ukrainians see those kind of atrocities they recognize genocide. they know what putin is trying to do to all ukrainians. he is trying to wipe ukraine off the map. so the ukrainians are not eager to show an off-ramp. they're not eager to show any kind of interest in negotiations with this butcher. so these war crimes just further isolate president putin. >> ambassador william taylor, thank you. we're getting new details of a routine military training flight that went completely wrong. a navy fighter jet hit a bird, then crashed into a texas neighborhood that was back in september but today military officials released this cockpit video of the thing. the two pilots see that, preparing to land the jet when the bird came into view and struck the engine, and then boom

alarms start blaring moments later as they try to make it to the airport. [ alarm >> we are trying to make to it the runway >> tried to make it, but they couldn't moments later, the jet started to nosedive. video cuts out right before the plane crashed into a residential area both pilots did survive because they ejected seconds before impact police found one of the pilots badly burned, his parachute caught in some power lines this video shows the crash aftermath. three homes damaged, but nobody on the ground seriously hurt according to a report, the accident caused nearly $50 million in damage. we're now exactly seven weeks away from the midterm elections with control of congress and so much more at stake. today designated as national voter registration day vice president kamala harris was in south carolina, urging young people to register on a visit to historically black colleges. across the state line in georgia, a new poll is giving republicans the edge in some crucial races. the latest poll from "the

atlanta journal-constitution" newspaper shows democratic senator raphael warnock neck and neck with his republican rival herschel walker. walker's slim lead within the margin of error. the poll also shows republican governor brian kemp widening his lead in a rematch with the democrat stacey abrams that's now 50-42 let's bring in greg bluestein. he covers georgia politics for the ajc and is also a nbc contributor. he appears to be doing better against abrams this second go-around. >> yep, shep he's up 50-42 as you just mentioned. and this is only the latest poll that shows him with a sizable lead over stacey abrams. he is using the powers incumbency to support his reelection bid, and many georgia voters are siding with him even some democrats and independents are backing his candidacy for a second term. overall, this poll also has some other bad news for georgia democrats.

republican candidates for down-ticket officers as fail double-digit deficits, and joe biden's approval rating is at just 37% >> wow hard to win with that. herschel walker has agreed to debate next month, but he said this about his opponent, senator warnock. look >> i'm just a country boy. and he is a preacher he is a smart man, wearing his suits. so he is going show up and embarrass me at the debate october 14th, and i'm going to show up and do my best >> setting a mighty low bar. >> yes this is the classic game of lowering expectations. he wants to enter that october 14th debate with folks questioning whether he can even utter a sentence, so that if he holds his own, voters and others will think he won the debate i can tell you behind the scenes, herschel walker is working. he has a debate coach. he spent hours preparing for that showdown with senator raphael warnock. i think to him -- he's a former competitive football star. i think this gets his competitive juices flowing

>> the dogs winning doesn't hurt great to see you it's peak hurricane season, but many in florida are still struggling to get property insurance. why some companies are now abandoning the state and what it means for homeowners plus, a first-of-its-kind push to address mental health. the test that experts are just now recommending that most every adult should get then we found shipstation. now we're shipping out orders 5 times faster and we're saving a ton. go to shipstation.com /tv and get 2 months free. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining

insurance.

♪ ♪ how's he still playin'? aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength. reduces inflammation. don't touch my piano. kick pain in the aspercreme. alex jones appearing for the first time today outside his second sandy hook defamation trial. jones slammed the trial and claimed he's innocent. >> this is a travesty of justice and this judge is retiring this judge is ordering me to say that i'm guilty and to say that i'm a liar i was not wrong about sandy hook >> he went on to plug his website, books about covid vaccine and children >> she already found him liable

for damages. now the jury will decide how much money jones and his company must pay to the families of eight sandy hook victims and an fbi agent who responded to the shooting they received death threats and harassment after he called the d deadly hoax a crisis his lawyers said he does plan to take the stand but it's unclear when that will happen. >> a top executive at beyond meat is arrested after he by the a guy's nose doug ramsey charged with terroristic threat ramsey was leaving the game when another car swiped his front tire police say he then got out of his car, punched through the other vehicle's back windshield.

witnesses told police they heard ramsey threaten to kill the people who hit him then police say he bit the owner of the other car's nose, quote, ripping the flesh right off the tip. ramsey has been the chief operating officer of beyond meat since december before that he spent more than 30 years at tyson foods. a few hours ago beyond meat announced it suspended ramsey. he didn't respond to cnbc's request for comment. a massive explosion in chicago sent eight people to the hospital part of the building collapsed according to the fire department it came from the fourth floor. chicago's deputy fire commissioner said eight people hospitalized have everything from severe burns to other traumatic injuries no word yet on the cause atf and the chicago pd bomb unit still investigating. climate disasters around the

world are becoming more frequent, more severe and more expensive. last year and the year before commissioner said eight people hospitalized have everything from severe burns to other traumatic injuries no word yet on the cause atf and the chicago pd bomb unit still investigating. climate disasters around the world are becoming more frequent, more severe, and morer tota expensive. last year and the year before, u.s. insurers paid out $176 billion for natural disasters alone. that's according to the american property casualty insurance association. they say that's the highest ever total for a two-year period. but nowhere is the property insurance situation more expensive and more unpredictable than in florida.w er >> the ins cnbc's contessa brewer covers the insurance industry for us. she is live in new york city contessa >> hi there, shep. property owners in multiple states are facing skyrocketing premiums and hard to get coverage but the insurance industry itself says florida's market is in full meltdownnited property d casualty, dropped them. >> in florida how can you have a

house without homeowner's in >> how about a sandwich? >> reporter: steve and jo seligman have lived in their wellington, florida home since 2004 this year, their long-time the insurer, united property and casualty, dropped them >> in florida, how can you have a house without homeowners insurance? it's just not possible adds nice as our house is, we can't even get homeowners insurance. >> reporter: the seligmans scrambled for a new policy and found only one option, the public one, citizens, created by the state legislature 20 years ago. >> i thought citizens was a last resort insurance company for those who needed last resort and i had no idea that they were writing now for just about everybody in florida. >> reporter: not everybody, but the number has more than doubled since 2017 the number has more than doubled since 2017 >> getting insurance in florida right now is probably the hardest it's ever been >> reporter: danielle lombardo heads up the real estate practice for global insurance broker lockton >> insurers just can't be profitable in florida right now. >> reporter: so many are leaving. the seligmans' insurer, upc, was one of the state's biggest and just announced it's bailing on florida. at least 14 other companies have stopped writing new policies in the state. and over the last two years,

seven others collapsed, unable to pay their debts >> insurers are having to pay out a lot more than they previously thought >> reporter: inflation is partly to blame labor and materials for repair are more expensive, and a population boom has driven home values higher. but there has not been a hurricane since 2018 boo the insurance industry blames factors other than natural catastrophes first, government policies like regulators keeping premiums artificially low, or restricting how insurers assess a property's risk second, fraud. for instance, contractors offering to submit insurance claims for new roofs, even though old ones weren't damaged by storms. third, lawsuits. florida accounts for 79% of the nation's property insurance litigation, but only 9% of the e homeowners' claims, according to the state insurance regulator. in the meantime, the seligmans are paying 27% more their policy

through citizens with a higher deductible >> so it's a lose-lose for the homeowner. i don't see any way out of it, unless we get some kind of governmental intervention that's going to stop this nonsense.f governmental intervention that's goin >> like many floridians, the seligmans were told the age ofs their roof was a problem, so they got a new roof. their premium went up because roof replacement is now more expensive. the state passed a law saying insurers cannot exclude coverage based on the age of a roof and insurers say that is exactly the kind of government mandate that makes premiums rise for everybody, shep. >> a vicious cycle thanks so much appreciate it, contessa. for the first time, u.s. medical experts are recommending that all adults under 65 get regularly screened for anxiety that's according to a draft ng recommendation release recommendation released today by the u.s. preventative services task force the draft also recommends adults get screened for depression. researchers say the timing of the draft is especially relevant

because of the pandemic when doctors saw a rise in mental health issues related to all of the stress and the isolation according to the task force, about a quarter of all men will experience anxiety at some point in their lives for women, the likelihood significantly higher 40%. the recommendation is not yet final and will now enter a public comment period through october 17th everyone seems to love a good online viral challenge, right? but this latest one, man, i mean, the fda is now involved, and this is certifiably, cnbc can confirm, absolutely stupid, ridiculous, and horrible we'll show you exactly what it is and why the fda sent out a warning about it and get good service, give a tip, right but is it getting completely out of hand? see that screen?

why do we see that screen for literally everything now i mean, i never tipped for this? why do i tip for this now? i mean, i like to tip. i appreciate good service. but tip, i didn't even see it employed, like the kiosk wants a tip. what are you doing we'll turn to vicky nguyen on the tip triangle

these folks don't have time to go to the post office they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again.

to tip or not to tip it used to be easy eat at restaurant, tip your server stay in a hotel? something for the housekeeper. get a haircut? as touchscreen with tip slide the barber a little extra.

but as the touchscreen where the tip option grows and grows the gig economy can get you anything you want delivered for a price, you might wonder, has tipping gone too far nbc's vicky nguyen on who to tip and how much >> reporter: from dine-in restaurants to independent coffee shops and even the vet's office, the pressure to tip has reached a tipping point. >> i'm sorry to say this, but tipping culture has gotten out of control >> reporter: patrons often feel guilted into adding a few bucks to the tab as more places turn to the tablets with preset tipping options. >> i will be ordering from a kiosk, and the kiosk asks me if i want to tip. why am i needing to tip? >> reporter: with takeout and delivery booming since the pandemic, many are questioning if tipping is always necessary >> i'm not tipping for my food arriving cold so you can make more money. >> reporter: some service workers are striking back. videos posted online reportedly show orders piling up for people who don't tip up-front. >> no one in their right mind is going to want to go five plus miles for under $3 pay

it's not worth the risk. >> reporter: the reality, delivery drivers earn a base pay. doordash says that ranges from $2 to $10 per order depending on time and distance. 100% of tips are passed along to drivers. other apps have similar pay structures, while at restaurants, bar tenders and wait staff are often paid below minimum wage one study finding more than half of their earnings come from tips alone. for that reason, it get experts recommend tipping 20% for average dine-in and delivery ordersg 20%. if you are ordering takeout a tip is appreciated though the amount can be 10 to 15% of the bill. >> if somebody is providin if you're ordering takeout, a tip is always appreciated, though the amount you give for carry-out orders can be 10 to 15% of the bill. >> if somebody is providing a service for us, if they are serving us, if they are pulling bags of food together, i think it's very important to tip >> reporter: still, there are situations where you can turn down the tip jar insiders say examples include picking up clothes from the dry-cleaner, or if you receive care from medical professionals. even services from highly skilled workers like plumbers or electricians can be completed

without the guilt tip. for the news, i'm vicky nguyeny well, we're here now don't cook your chicken in n nyquil that's a real message out today from the fda it seems there is another of those tiktok challenges. cook chicken in cough syrup, then eat it. no the fda warns when you cook the syrup, it condenses the medicine, and the boiling releases videotapers with concentrated levels of medicine that you can breathe in and harm your lungs in a statement, the fda wrote in part the challenge sounds silly and unappetizing, and it is. but it also can be very unsafe put simply, somebody could take dangerously high amount of cough and cold medicine without even realizing it do not take the tiktok challenge. is your dog a big barker like can't shut it up for long periods of time? well, if you live in atlanta, your noisily four-legged friend could cost you cash. the city council now says a $150 fine is in order for a dog owner whose pup is caught barking fo

longer than ten minutes without a 20-second break between barks. very specific. the city's nuisance animal ordinance used to apply to pet noises lasting longer than 20 minutes. but one city councilman called that unreasonable. now there are exceptions bad barking at a vet hospital? that gets a pass or at animal welfare organizations. but anywhere else, look out. it seems others can complain about your dog if they live or work within a thousand feet radius of your pet and repeat offenses? the city says they could cite up to a thousand dollars. and it's not just dogs the ordinance also applies to any pet that meows, whines, crows, or anything else, because in atlanta, pet noises are high priority thanks, atlanta. 60 seconds left on a race to the finish vladimir putin was supposed to give a surprise prime-time

speech to the russian people after a major setback in the battlefield in ukraine but the kremlin has delayed that speech until tomorrow without explanation. still uncertain what putin might be planning to announce. migrants flown to martha's vineyard are now suing the florida governor, ron desantis they claim that they were misled with false promises of housing and cash assistance, and they're accusing governor desantis of using them as pawns in a political stunt. and federal investigators say they've busted the largest pandemic fraud scheme yet. $47 people charged with stealing a quarter million from a meal program for needy children now you know the news for this tuesday -- the tiktok challenges can we collectively come together and go no, i'm not cooking my chicken in nyquil i'm just not doing it.

it's 5:00 a.m. on cnbc here's your "five @ 5. investors are turning a little bit higher investors focused solely on jay powell and the federal reserve and the latest policy decision due at 2:00 p.m. eastern time today. in europe, the continent's energy crisis getting more december prass this morning as germany nationalized, took over one of its