tonight nbc's blake mccoy takes us inside a community in ohio where this crisis is truly hitting home. >> reporter: beneath cincinnati's scenic beauty is an epidemic. that is rotting away at this community.that is rott at this community. this past saturday hamilton county saw 22 suspected overdoses in 24 hours, prompting public health officials to issue a communitywide alert. >> we're yelling as loudly as we can, and nobody's listening. and the ones that don't listen, end up here. >> reporter: the coroner here said she's already seen 313 overdose deaths this year. the county, easily on track to surpass last year's record, 403 deaths. this epidemic is literally killing this community. >> absolutely, it is. we have -- we used to do autopsies until about noon. now we're well into the afternoon doing autopsies. >> reporter: the powerful synthetic fentanyl up to 100 times stronger than heroin is often to blame. it's laced in heroin for a stronger high, but is now being found cut into other drugs like cocaine. >> heroin was my love. it was my soul mate. >> reporter: addicted to pain pills a

blake mccoy, nbc news. >>> tonight the u.s. marine corps is considering a temporary stand-down of flight operations to refocus all military pilots and crews on training following a series of accidents involving military aircraft. the most recent tragedy this weekend off the coast of australia. today officials there said the wreckage of a u.s. osprey has been found in the water after it crashed saturday. the military has declared three marines missing after the crash deceased. >>> tonight we're getting a look on board after extreme turbulence rocked an american airlines flight so strong that it tossed people in the cabin. it sent cans and bottles flying and passengers and crew members to the hospital. tom costello has the high drama. >> reporter: the turbulence on american flight 759 was so severe, even the fly crew was caught offguard. >> really apologize for the unexpected bumpiness. >> reporter: the aftermath captured in these photographs. splattered coffee on the ceiling and overhead bins. the aisles littered with cans, wine

nbc's blake mccoy takes us inside the new 12,000-seat high school stadium. ♪ >> reporter: a celebration to dedicate this shrine to football that would make many colleges jealous. this is legacy stadium in katy, texas, the most expensive high school stadium ever built. $72 million, voted on and paid for by taxpayers. >> you have a champion football team like that, they deserve to play in a stadium like this. >> reporter: 72 million buys 12,000 seats, l.e.d. lights to display the home team's colors and luxury boxes for corporate sponsors. quite a view from up here. >> great view. >> reporter: katy's new stadium takes the price tag record from rival allen, texas, 60 million. in mckinney, texas, their new stadium, under construction, is nearing $70 million. >> at the 45, he makes the catch. >> reporter: the lure of friday night lights runs deep in texas, and the katy tigers boast eight football state championships. janet howell has carved out a section of her antiques shop for tigers gear. >> i think the cost may have been a little extreme, but the stadium was a necessity. >> reporter: a ne

blake mccoy, nbc news. >>> now to a summer of extremes. wild weather from coast to coast, fire and rain, flash floods and relentless heat making life miserable for a whole lot of people as we head into the weekend. nbc's joe fryer has all the details. >> reporter: with little notice the streets of california became arteries for swiftly moving rivers of muddy water. 30 minutes of relentless rain thursday triggered flash floods, nasty enough to stop a train in its tracks and stop several cars. at least three drivers had to be rescued by helicopter. >> i think now i'll take heed of the flash flood warnings a little better. that's no joke. >> reporter: they're also cleaning up in arizona after getting walloped by monsoon storms. there was a landspout tornado hovering overhead. while in chicago rain and lightning brought the lollapalooza festival to a halt last night. the singer, lorde, apologized to the crowd. >> the weather is too crazy for us to play right now. >> reporter: today, 19 million are at risk of severe weather. with new york drenc

here's nbc's blake mccoy. >> reporter: lotto fever strikes again. this time with not just one but two mega jackpots. >> there they are. the winners. >> reporter: mega millions and powerball have now topped $300 million each. combined $749 million up for grabs. if you were to win both and take the cash payout, you'd walk away with $470 million. >> never really play, but when it gets this big, that's what we do. >> reporter: what could you buy with all that cash? try 600,000 of the latest iphones. or 18,000 of tiffany's most expensive rings. feeling more extravagant? how about 300 gold-plated private planes from neiman marcus' fantasy gifts catalog. what would you do with that kind of money? >> pay off student debt. >> i would buy a house in dubai, several properties around town. >> reporter: for southern californians jackie and gilbert cisneros, the dream became reality. winning mega millions in 2010. >> we didn't buy a new car. we didn't travel anywhere. we didn't -- we didn't do a lot of that stuff. >> reporter: instead, they started a foundation a

>> blake mccoy tonight. blake, thank you. >>> to the white house now. president trump today throwing his support behind a plan to profoundly change immigration policy in this country. it would slash legal immigration by half over a decade, with strict new conditions that have some critics up in arms. nbc news national correspondent peter alexander has details. >> reporter: president trump tonight vowing to dramatically cut legal immigration by prioritizing english-speaking immigrants with skills that help grow the economy. >> this competitive application process will favor applicants who can speak english, financially support themselves and their families and demonstrate skills that will contribute to our economy. >> reporter: the president's proposal going beyond the campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration. >> these illegal workers draw much more out from the system than they can ever possibly pay back. >> reporter: mr. trump's message tonight reinforced by one of his top aides. >> we're saying our compassion, first and foremost, is for s

blake mccoy, nbc news. >>> there's a lot more to tell you about tonight. we're back in a moment with why a new hit song trending on the itunes charts isn't really a song at all. plap whoooo. looking for a hotel that fits... ...your budget? tripadvisor now searches over... ...200 sites to find you the... ...hotel you want at the lowest price. grazi, gino! find a price that fits. tripadvisor. >>> new numbers out from the cdc show about one in eight americans over age 12 reports taking antidepressants. that's a 65% increase between 1999 and 2014. women are nearly twice as likely as men to be taking them. experts say one factor behind the rise could be the use of anti-depressant prescriptions for other conditions, other than depression, like anxiety. also, the stigma of mental illness is lessening as more people become aware of how they can get help. >>> after a year's-long engagement in court, costco has been ordered to pay nearly $20 million in tiffany. the famed jewelry company sued claiming costco was using the tiffany name to sell thousands of rings that

tonight nbc's blake mccoy takes us inside a community in ohio where this crisis is truly hitting home. >> reporter: beneath cincinnati's scenic beauty lies an epidemic that is rotting away at this community. this past saturday, hamilton county saw 22 suspected overdoses in 24 hours, issuing a community wide alert. >> we're yelling as loudly as we can and nobody's listening. the ones that don't listen end up here. >> reporter: the coroner here said she's already seen 313 overdose deaths this year, the county easily on track to pass last year's record, 403 deaths. >> the epidemic is literally culling this community. >> absolutely. we do autopsies until about noon usually. now we're well into the afternoon doing autopsies. >> reporter: the powerful synthetic fentanyl, up to 100 times stronger than heroin, is often to blame. it's now found cut into other drugs like cocaine. christina is a recovering di it was my soul mate. >> reporter: addicted to pain pills at 19, heroin by 27. >> it's a total bankruptcy. like, mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, bankrupt. like the walking de

blake mccoy, nbc news. >>> now to a summer of extremes. wild weather from coast to coast, fire and rain, flash floods and relentless heat making life miserable for a whole lot of people as we head into the weekend. nbc's joe fryer has all the details. >> reporter: with little notice the streets of after ton california became arteries for swifting is moving rivers of muddy water. in triggered flash floods nasty enough to stop a train in its tracks and trap several cars. at least three drivers had to be rescued by helicopter. >> i think now i'll take hooed of flash food warnings a little better. >> they're also cleaning up in arizona after getting walloped by monsoon storms. while in chicago, rain and lightning brought the loc lollapalooza music festival to a halt last night with singer lord apologizing to the crowd. today 19 million are at risk of severe weather, with new york drenched by sheets of rain that turned stairs into waterfalls. last night in maryland powerful winds top he would trooez. one landed on a car killing a 14-year-old gi

blake mccoy, nbc news. >>> there's a lot more to tell you about tonight. we're back in a moment with why a new hit song trending on the itunes charts isn't really a song at all. i will nevi will neverair again. never wash my hair again now, i fuel it pantene: the first shampoo and conditioner system with active pro-v nutrient blends that puts in what other shampoos just strip out. fueling 100% stronger hair. don't just wash your hair fuel it because strong is beautiful. no wonder elle calls pantene "the biggest shampoo breakthrough in 30 years." this this this this is my body of proof. proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can take on psoriatic arthritis with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, somet

blake mccoy, thank you so much, stay safe out there. retired admiral thad alan, he conducted the response to hurricane katrina. thank you so much for taking the time to be with us. i wanted to start with pictures here of port arthur and we're seeing again these evacuations and i know you directed, of course, these -- this response in the past. and we heard blake mccoy reference these white flags that they're putting out on their homes to signal that they need to be rescued. you said we were talking off camera about how this is one of the most important pieces of this response. >> it is. one of the problems is if you don't have a mandatory evacuation or you can't keep track of who was evacuated, you don't know who is still there, and who may need assistance. they may not have access to social media, cell phone or other means to let people know about that. ultimately you need accountability, new orleans we had to do house by house sweep. you remember the icons we put on with spray paint, we had been there and what we found. we won't know

nbc's blake mccoy has the very latest developments. >> reporter: broken glass and scattered debris at a bloomington, minnesota, mosque. this morning the fbi >> we have seen an outpouring of love. we have seen cries for tolerance. >> the attack on the synagogue is an attack on a church. it's an attack on all faith comm >> reporter: blake mccoy says they set up a gofundme page just about two days ago. it's generated about $38,000 to help to repair and rebuild the mosque. >>> news4 your health, vaccines to prevent against ear infections are working. researchers in rochester found a significant drop in ear infection cases after the pneumococcal vaccine was introduced in 2000. >>> and for your health, loneliness may be more deadly than being obese in a new report. this research from brigham young university, it found that people with stronger social connections they tend to live longer. in fact, social isolation and loneliness may increase the risk of early death. as much or more than obesity. >>> if you ever dreamed of working for nasa we have a few ideas for your resume. "a," they worked

blake mccoy, nbc news. >>> well, coming up, the solar eclipse is coming. next, we'll tell you exactly the time you should be watching in the sky. >>> and kari is tracking your weather. >> don't look up at the sun, though. we'll talk about that. but we do have a lot of sun right now taking a live look outside in fremont. we'll check out the temperature trend for the rest of the day. the upper 70s by early afternoon cooling off nicely this evening. we'll have a warm up in the forecast coming up next. >>> and a new roller coaster is coming to great america. a look at the new thrill ride that will open very soon. nats cheers oc: nats trt: 7 kris/cont.vo check that out - that was a 90 degree drop. this is an animation of the new roller coaster coming to great america next year. >>> that is a 90-degree drop. this is animation of the new roller coaster coming to great america next year called rail blazer. let's check it out from the different view. >> i'm all in for this. now the coaster brings riders to the height of 106 feet above before it plummets them face d

nbc's blake mccoy has the details. >> reporter: it's the video that left an ohio mother speechless. her 7-year-old son, who's autistic, being carried by school staff by his hands and feet, at one point dragged by his ankle into an office. >> it was almost like a punch in the gut. i just wanted to grab him and hold him and hug him and not let him go. >> reporter: since the may incident in ohio, a police investigation found the boy was hitting, kicking, and biting others on the playground, and a teacher says he injured her eye. cameras don't capture that. the county prosecutor declined to pursue felony child video is upsetting and troubling but not every wrong is a crime. we showed the video to a psychologist. >> it never should have gotten to that place. >> reporter: with a deep background in special education. >> what you want to try to do is deescalate the situation. keep the child safe where the child is. >> reporter: on attorney for the teacher and teacher's aide did not respond to request for comment. they remain on administrative leave and could face disciplinary action. >> you

it's an attack on all faith communities. >> that was blake mccoy reporting from bloomington, minnesota for us. i want to bring in dino. the only daily national radio show hosted by a muslim american. we have two muslim members of congress in the united states, right. >> yes. >> andre carson of. there were faith leaders who came and stood with the imam and you say the gathering of people outside. a couple of hours before this bomb was thrown in, there were 300 people in that mosque or it was a couple of hours afterwards there would have been. so this could have been a very different story that we're talking about. >> certainly. and we can't look at this in a vacuum. that's why i wrote the article for daily beast. my facebook page is filled daily with young muslims talking about being harassed, bullied, attacks on the mosque, death threats. you know you live in a country now where you're a parent of muslims, you fear your kids going out because they might be attacked at a mosque. this is a place of worship. there should be a zero tolerance policy about any of this. so it's great to see j

blake mccoy is on the phone in port arthur, texas where a number of the rescues and evacuations have been happening. deteriorating conditions on the ground in texas. blake, what's the situation like where you are? >> we're near the louisiana border. this is part of the state that was hit with the third landfall, the last part of the state to get hit. and there's a lot of water on the ground. sun is out, water is going down, we're talking about three feet, four feet in some places. people can't get back to their homes. people who chose not to evacuate are getting nervous, even though water is not going up, they've been stuck in their homes several days and are calling rescue crews to get them out. we have seen at least one military helicopter hover over an apartment complex, pull a half dozen people out of that complex. keep in mind in storms like this, we hear it all the time, people are told to have three days of food and water. this storm was so prolonged, lot of people are out of food and water, even if they prepared ahead, batteries are dead, cell phones are dead. that's the reas

we go to blake mccoy. we're talking about a year since the election. eyes already on 2020. >> reporter: in many ways donald trump hasn't stopped campaigning. he loves these kind of rallies where he can be surrounded by his base, go off script. this campaign rally, though, comes as president trump's popularity is tanking. gallop puts his job approval at -- his drop approval in that state which you won by just three points, now 41%. the state's republican politicians have a walk a very fine line tonight so they don't alienate his base but also protect themselves for re-election. he will not attend tonight's rally. and john mccain and jeff flake will not be attending the rally either. so when it comes to 2020, could republicans dump trump? susan collins, republican senator from maine, says maybe. she says it's too difficult to say whether he will be a 2020 nominee and admitted she actually wrote in-house speaker's paul ryan's name when she voted last year. late night comments already have taken notice. >> experts saying president trump is already preparin

blake mccoy is here this morning. blake, what do we know about the winning ticket? >> even my lucky green tie couldn't help us out. if you are waking up out west, you didn't win either. the winning ticket was sold right here, this tiny little store called the handy variety in watertown, massachusetts. this is just outside boston. since there was only one winning ticket, whoever won will get the largest single payout in u.s. lotto history. $758.7 million, the cash option in this case, $480 million. there was one larger jackpot in 2016, split by three winning ticketholders. so what does that cash do to your life? we caught up with lotto winners gilbert and jackie in southern california that won $266 million playing mega millions in 2010. at the time, that was also a record. >> we didn't buy a new car. we didn't travel anywhere. we didn't do a lot of that stuff. we actually -- that was one of the first things we did is set up our family foundation. >> it put us on a different trajectory than our life would have been. >> so they set up a foundation, helping hispanic kid

. >> blake mccoy is live in port arthur, texas with our first look at damage on the ground. blake, are you near this bowling alley i spent time talking to somebody in yesterday, they had about 300 people in it? >> reporter: yeah, we're a few blocks away from that. port arthur is a tiny town. there's a whole lot of water on the ground even though the sun is out and we're a day past the rain. rescues are still going on. we hear the buzz of a coastguard helicopter over us and also just saw two coast guard boats go in. they don't know how much more people still need to be rescued. they did a lot of rescues yesterday but anyone withstanding water in their home and waiting in an attic for help is being told to hang a white sheet out the water to find them. another concern here, if you look past the water, you'll see a giant oil refinery. that is the motiva oil refinery, largest in north america by output. when we hear about gas prices going up, it's because it could be shut down for weeks as a result of this storm. that's the reason we heard the energy secretary today release the

we go to blake mccoy. it's been less than a year since the election. how could we be talking about 2020 already. >> it's crazy. the campaigning really never stops. donald trump loves these rallies where he can be surrounded by his face and go off script and attack hillary clinton and democrats and we'll likely see that tonight. this comes as president trump's popularity is tanking. gallop's poll puts job approval at 35%. 59% disapprove and take a look at the numbers specifically in arizona. his job approval there just 42%. 55% disagree with the job he is doing and that's key because he won that state by three points last year. now the states republicans in arizona have to walk a fine line so they don't alienate his base while also protecting themselves for re-election. he will greet president trump on the tarmac when he lands in phoenix tobt but will not attend the rally. republican senators john mccain and jeff flake traded barbs with him in recent months. they will not attend the rally either. when it comes to 2020 could republicans end up dumping tr

blake mccoy is here with us with a preview. >> reporter: i know you're excited about this one. it is called the money fight, expected to be the most-viewed combat sporting event in history. why all of the hype in this fight? mayweather is the greatest fighter, undefeated. record of 49-0. the much-younger connor mcgreg or is someone he wouldn't normally fight. a mixed martial art sport, which allows kicking. with this fight mcgregor will have to play by boxing moves which puts him at a disadvantage. mayweather is to win six to one. check outalkire money out of this. >>> just ahead, taylor swift, much-anticipated single dropped and we have it for you. plus, alec baldwin returns as "snl's" commander in chief. you're watching "early today." so you get more "life" per roll. bounty the quicker picker upper it's our back to school beeone cent evente. at office depot office max. 10 pack pens, one cent. composition notebooks,scissors, and plastic folders all one cent each! hurry to office depot office max. ♪taking care of busines

nbc's blake mccoy is here with us with a preview. good morning, blake. >> reporter: good morning, so far it is. it's been called the money fight and we're talking million dollar bets. floyd mayweather jr. is the greatest boxer today, undefeated. his record is 49-0 and conor mcgregor is someone that he wouldn't fight. he's a mixed martial arts fighter that allows kicking among other things but for this fight mcgregor has to play by the boxes rules. vegas oddsmakers are favoring mayweather 6-1. but so many small bets are pouring in for mcgregor, that if he pulls off a victory, sports books could lose millions. it could be the single biggest loss in history. that's what mcgregor is hoping for and he's using social media to hype the fight. this viral video with his son jack is going viral this morning. both are talking trash. >> we are prepared for 12 three-minute rounds of nonstop pace and i'll put the pressure on him and make this man. trust me on that. we are more than ready. >> one thing that i can do. i can fight. i can give it and

blake mccoy is here with us with a preview. >> reporter: i know you're excited about this one. it is called the money fight, expected to be the most-viewed combat sporting event in history. why all of the hype in this fight? mayweather is the greatest fighter, undefeated. record of 49-0. the much-younger connor mcgreg or is someone he wouldn't normally fight. a mixed martial art sport, which allows kicking. with this fight mcgregor will have to play by boxing moves which puts him at a disadvantage. mayweather is to win six to one. check out this going viral. connor is wearing a three piece suit and he has a mini me. the two fighters came face-to-face at a press conference this week. >> we are prepared for 12 three-minute rounds of non-stop pace. i will go forward and put the pressure on him and break this old man. trust me on that. we are more than ready. >> one thing that i can do, i can fight. i can give it and i can take it. but for me to be 49-0 it is obvious i'm not receiving it. i'm giving it. >> if you're trying to pinpoint mcgregor's accent, he's irish. tomorrow night's

. >> blake mccoy is in port arthur, texas. air rescues are under way. the water out there is still pretty deep. you're in knee deep water, but tamara was saying the water was as high as chest high. that her fiance had to carry her infant son out over his head in the boy's car seat. >> the water just came down so fast and hard, two feet in 24 hours, they had nowhere to go. we talked to some people who said the water was up to their waist yesterday. there is a lot of water still out here. it will be at least another day before a lot of people are able to get back into their homes. right now the rescues that you're talking about are essentially people who have been stuck in their homes. here the watt sere stagnant, it's not like houston where bayous were moving the water through quickly. people are relatively safe, even if they are trapped in their homes. a lot of them have been trapped for several days. they're out of food and water and they're scared and tired. they're saying just get me out of here, i don't want to wait until the water goes all of the w

nbc's blake mccoy explains how the school district justifies this as money well spent. >> reporter: even in a state where everything's bigger, the cost of this new high school football stadium is making headlines. the price tag? a staggering $72 million. the most expensive high school stadium in the country, costing more than many college stadiums. there's also an elevator over here on the visitor side. this is legacy stadium in katy, texas. >> here in our trophy case, we've honored fine arts groups and activities. >> reporter: it includes seating for 12,000, l.e.d. lights that display the home team's colors, a large event space overlooking th luxury boxes for corporate sponsors. >> quite a view from up here. >> reporter: the $72 million was mostly paid for by katy taxpayers, minus a few million that was made by selling the naming rights. katy may be the most expensive but it's hardly the only high school stadium in texas with an eye-popping price tag. cross-state rivals in allen, texas, outside dallas have a $60 million stadium and in nearby mckinney, they're spending $70 million for a

blake mccoy in new orleans. thank you. >>> an untold number of people are trapped in their homes at this hour. this morning, u.s. navy helicopters are joining the search and rescue operations. nbc's national correspondent, miguel almaguer has that part of the story. >> reporter: there's been 13,000 rescues since the storm hit. many of the most dangerous, the most precarious has been air operations. on monday, the helicopters pulled 200 people, including pets. they released video to us of air operations yesterday. these can be dangerous and precarious situations, flying close to power lines, cell phone towers and other obstructions. the crews going to rooftops and pulling people to safety. not just the navy, the coast guard, the fire department, the sheriff's department, all up in the air. it's an aerial ballet where they have rescued thousands of people. they're being used as spotters to keep a close eye on reservoirs, levees and bridges and other infrastructure. as the storm moves closer to louisiana, they, too

>> blake mccoy. just heartbreaking. thank you. >>> in other news, u.s. officials are abandoning plans to require sleep apnea screens for train drivers. it's been blamed for several train crashes and highway crashes. but the federal railway commission and motor carrier commission says they are no longer requiring testing for the disorder. safety experts say that puts the lives of millions of motorists and passengers at risk. >>> time for the good stuff. "hoda's morning boost." are you ready this morning? >> we all sent text messages to the wrong number. it's no big deal. here's what happened when justin texted his graduation to a total stranger. the man on the other send set h congrats along with motivational speeches. the graduate was so impressed, he tweeted out the images. and now, the real estate has a fan club. he's getting messages from young people all over the country, thanking him for being a positive and inspirational guy. and the reason that hawkins does this is, when he was younger, no one was cheering him on in school. i'm going to make other

blake mccoy. coming up a check on gold, the dollar and the effect of harvey on refineries and check out the futures at this hour remember yesterday we had the biggest turnaround on the dow in nine months. dow looking to open higher by 30 points >>> time now for today's aflac trivia question -- are you ok? what happened? dad kinda walked into my swing. huh? don't you mean dad kind of ruined our hawaii fund? i thud go to the thothpital. there goes the airfair. i don't think health insurance will cover all... of that. buth my fathe! without that cash from - aflac! - we might have to choose between hawaii or your face. hawaii! what? haha...hawaii! you might have less coverage than you think. visit aflac.com and keep your lifestyle healthy. aflac! >>> good morning, everybody. welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc we are live from the nasdaq marketsite in times square among the stories that are front and center, mortgage applications falling 2.3% last week that's according to new figures from the mo

nbc's blake mccoy is there. hey, blake. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. high school football is like a religion for many year in texas. the latest shrine to the sport just outside houston would put many college stadiums to shame. this morning, we take you inside. even in a state where everything is bigger, the cost of this new high school football stadium is making headlines. the price tag, a staggering $72 million. the most expensive high school stadium in the country, costing more than many college stadiums. there's also an ill velevator. this is legacy stadium in katy, texas. >> we offer fine arts groups and activities, as well as state championship teams. >> reporter: it includes seating for 20,000. a large event space overlooking the pristine field and luxury boxes for corporate sponsors. quite a view from up here. >> great view. >> reporter: the $72 million was mostly paid for by katy taxpayers, minus a few million that was made by selling the naming rights. katy may be the most expensive. but it's hardly the only stadium in texas with an eye-poppin

nbc's blake mccoy has the latest. blake, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the fbi is now involved, trying to figure out who set off a bomb at the mosque over the weekend. minnesota's governor is calling ate an act of terrorism that will not be tolerated. broken glass and scattered debris at a bloomington, minnesota, mosque. this morning, the fbi trying to figure out who, witnesses say, tossed an explosive device flu a window, into the office of the imam. minnesota's governor visiting the islamic center sunday. also on-hand, representative keith ellison, the only muslim member of congress, who represents minnesota's large muslim somali population. >> i wish i could tell you this is an isolated thing. but we've soon an uptick in anti-muslim hate crimes. >> reporter: there were people in the building when the blast happened sunday morning. but no one was hurt. >> if you changed the circumstances just a little bit, it could have resulted in death or serious bodily injury. the imam, says he couwould have been in his office at the time of the explosion, but thank

nbc's blake mccoy at the scene there. blake, what's the latest? >> reporter: hoda, a sad and somber mood at this school. two staff members killed, a second body as you mentioned pulled from the rubble behind me overnight. nine people injured in the blast including the president who is sharing her story for the first time with us. >> reporter: the force of the palace was so powerful it ripped a hole through minnie ha ha academy. >> see straight through the building. it's a shock, a hole i feel in every core of my being. >> harris had to be rescued from the ledge of her second floor office. >> everything started coming down. my shoes were money off and we were taking in all the dust and debris. >> building collapse, also fire. >> people trapped in the existing parts of the building. windows are money oblown out. >> people in the arms of loved ones. >> we felt like we were bombed. all the windows blown out. >> neighbors nearby could feel the impact of the blast. >> it's bad. it's not -- >> the explosion taking the life of receptionist ruth berg, to b

nbc's blake mccoy is at the scene. blake, what's the latest? >> reporter: hoda, a sad and somber mood at this school. two staff members killed, a second body was pulled from the rubble behind me overnight. nine people injured in this blast including the school's president who is sharing her story for the first time with us. the force of the blast was so powerful it ripped a hole through mini ha ha academy and through the heart of the school's president donna harris. >> you could see straight through the building. i just was in shock. literally in shock. it's a hole that i feel in every core of my being. >> reporter: harris had to be rescued from the ledge of her second floor office. >> everything started coming down and my shoes were blown off and we were taking in all of the dust and the debris. >> just assigned building collapse. possible fire. >> people trapped in the existing parts of the building, windows are blown out in all of the floors. >> reporter: those who made it out alive found their way to safety and into the arms of loved ones.

nbc's blake mccoy is there. good morning to you. >> reporter: craig, good morning. this is one of the giant pumping stations that surrounds city of new orleans. it's been working through the night to help stop flooding on city streets. schools and government offices closed yesterday to give residents more time. people here not taking any chances. harvey coming 12 years to the day that hurricane katrina made landfall in the city. those images are seared in the minds of people here forever. since then billions of dollars have been spent to improve the infrastructure of this city, despite that, though, these pumping stations are still prone to problem. in fact, some of the pumps failed earlier this month during heavy rainfall and flooded parts of the city. the good news is the forecast has improved for new orleans. they're no longer expecting the ten inches they were, instead only about five inches. >> a sigh of relief. thank you. we'll have more on harvey's impact and what's to come later in the morning. >> still more to get to. new defines from kim jong un. he is now