live on nbc bay area and after the 11:00 newscast. >> you know, jacket weather would be fine. you are going to need the umbrellas again. a little bit of that tomorrow. we turn the corner starting sunday. 70s and 80s inland and approaching the middle part of the week. >> and it's going to feel like spring by time you all go back to work. >> we will see you tonight, the mass shooting in a nightclub in miami. two people killed, seven others injured. a man opening fire on a security guard after a fight. customers caught in the crossfire. a police officer wounded in the shootout. victims rushed away on stretchers.

what survivors told us. >> you start hearing shots. one after another after another. countdown to total eclipse. the mad rush to the path of totality. local officials warning about traffic gridlock and food and gas shortages. >> we expect a million or more people to visit the state of texas to see the eclipse. plus, could taking a picture of it damage your phone? aftershocks rocking the new york city area. if a bigger earthquake hit, are major northeastern cities ready? new concerns after hundreds of people managed to get past parts of airport security. why the tsa says it's happening more often. the battle over one of america's natural treasures. will a mine be allowed to be built on the edge of the swamp? why environmentalists say it could be a disaster. plus, wild video of a raccoon attacking people at one of the nation's most popular amusement parks. and caitlin clark does it again. what she told our correspondent

one day from her final college game. ♪ >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with jose diaz-balart. >> good evening. it was a terrifying scene at a miami area nightclub. an altercation led to gunfire which then turned into a full-on shootout with police. innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. when the bullets stopped, two people were dead, seven injured. victims treated on the sidewalk outside the club. others rushed to the hospital, including one police officer. there are now two investigations, a homicide investigation into the shooting that started it all and an investigation into the officer-involved shooting. marissa parra starts us off from doral outside miami. i want to warn you, some of the images in this story are disturbing. [ sirens ] >> reporter: deadly chaos at 3:30 in the morning inside a miami area nightclub spilling onto the streets. >> shots fired at --

>> reporter: nine people shot inside, two of them killed including the bar's security guard. >> start hearing shots, and it wasn't one, it was one after another after another after another. >> reporter: peter jordan was among those enjoying doral's martini bar, known for its night life and one of the few places in the area open until 4:00 a.m. but this just 30 minutes before closing -- >> four to five people shot plus an officer. >> reporter: police say it started with an altercation. >> the security guard that was working intervened, and that's when the subject produced a firearm and shot and killed the security guard. >> reporter: authorities say two doral police officers then jumped in, exchanging gunfire with the shooter, killing him. one of those officers also catching a bullet in his lower extremity. >> one of the officers, the one who was struck, with four years of service, applied a tourniquet on himself immediately after being struck. >> reporter: six bystanders, five men and a woman according

to police, were shot in the crossfire. >> you start thinking right after, right, when you're on the floor, you start thinking is this going to be the end? am i going to die here? >> reporter: victims appearing to be treated outside captured on this graphic video. the injured rushed to area hospitals, one of them in critical condition. >> you think that it's never going to happen to you on a night when you're having fun. two feet away, i could be dead right now. >> marissa parra joins me from near the scene of the shooting of the six bystanders shot, do we know if any were hit by gunfire from the police? >> reporter: it's an important question, and many are asking. police are saying they don't yet have the answer. and to find out will require a forensic investigation which authorities say will take time. jose? >> marissa parra in doral. thank you. now to the mad dash to go see monday's total eclipse. millions are packing into towns and cities in its path, braving

traffic, crowded airports, and paying out-of-this-world prices to see it all unfold. priscilla thompson has the latest from dallas along the path of totality. >> reporter: by air and on the roads, towns along the eclipse path are bracing for millions of tourists from around the world. >> i'm really excited. >> we're excited. >> excited, yeah, it's a really rare opportunity. >> reporter: all for a chance to catch monday's rare glimpse of the sun, moon, and earth aligning, plunging parts of the u.s. into total darkness for minutes. >> it's like christmas time. so we're ready for it. we're ready for our passengers. >> reporter: a show of hands revealed almost every passenger on board this plane to arkansas came for the eclipse. and how about this for a path of totality -- this map showing airbnb bookings almost totally sold out from texas to new england. the same goes for car rentals, and uber is reporting a nearly

300% increase in pre-booked rides on monday. >> we expect a million or more people. that's going to mean a substantial increase in traffic volume. >> reporter: officials in texas are pausing road construction and urging residents to avoid nonessential travel. some counties in the state even declaring a state of emergency. >> we don't know what to expect. >> we've had texas fema come and talk to us about filling up with gas, getting your bread, milk, your eggs. >> reporter: advice they're giving in case people get stuck in traffic like this from the last eclipse in 2017 when congestion in some areas lasted more than ten hours. a small price to pay, some say, for a once in a generation sight that likely won't happen again in the u.s. for another 20 years. >> priscilla, we know we shouldn't look directly at the eclipse without those cool glasses, but what about taking a picture of it? >> reporter: yeah, jose, much like your eyes, pointing your camera lens directly at the sun on your phone can be dangerous.

experts recommend using a filter like a spare pair of eclipse glasses and placing them over the lens before snapping that perfect shot. jose? >> priscilla thompson in dallas. thank you. let's turn right to meteorologist bill karins. bill, so much focus on the weather the next couple of days. >> it's all about the clouds, jose. millions want to get into the totality, the complete darkness on middle of the eclipse. austin still looks very cloudy for a lot of texas. dallas, a flip of a coin. at least you have a chance. little rock seeing improving forecast for clearing skies. looks great indianapolis. cleveland, going to be cloudy all day, and then clearing right as the eclipse is about to happen. so fingers crossed for you. buffalo does not look great for western new york. and northern new england, get ready. all these small new england towns with clear skies, get ready for thousands of people heading your way monday. >> bill karins, thank you very much. and we will have complete coverage of monday's total eclipse right here starting at 2:00 p.m. eastern, 11:00 a.m. pacific on monday. more aftershocks today

following that historic earthquake that hit the northeast yesterday. it raises new questions about what would happen if it had been bigger. are cities in the region ready? george solis reports. >> well, we just had another one. >> reporter: tonight, more aftershocks from friday's historic earthquake raising new questions and seismic concerns. >> maybe that was an aftershock. >> reporter: nbc10 philadelphia reporter brian sheehan was moments away from a live report when his team felt one. >> yeah, you good? >> reporter: in new jersey this mom grabbing her daughter as they felt one, too. >> whoa. >> reporter: dozens of aftershocks reported since the rare 4.8-magnitude tremor that rattled new york city and the rest of the east coast. >> it sounded like an explosion. ♪ >> reporter: l.a. native jared demel recorded the moments the quake hit near the epicenter in northern new

jersey. >> the last thing on my mind was earthquake. >> let's go up, see what we got over here. >> reporter: the nypd quickly launching drones to inspect the city's iconic and older landmarks like the brooklyn bridge. >> we're looking for any anomalies, any structural deficiencies on our bridges. >> reporter: with as many as 29 aftershocks after the big quake, the question now -- are major east coast cities like boston, philadelphia, and new york prepared for a big one? according to a city forecast, a big quake could cause injuries and billions in damage. generally speaking, are the city's buildings designed to handle earthquakes? >> generally speaking yes. so from the '90s onward all buildings were specifically designed for earthquakes. >> reporter: but the city's buildings have never been truly tested for quakes, and some scientists say they not be for some time after this one. >> just about anywhere in the northeast could have an earthquake. >> reporter: if we were to see another 4.8 or larger, what could that signify? >> absolutely depends on where it is. you put it in the middle of, you know, a philadelphia, a new york

or boston, we're going to be seeing some level of damage. >> and george, a lot of cities on the east coast have a lot of older buildings. what would happen to them? >> reporter: yeah, jose. here in new york city, they estimate some 200,000 buildings were built before the earthquake building rules went into effect and would be severely damaged in the event of a major earthquake. jose? >> george sew lease in new york, thank you. there has been a stunning break in diplomatic ties between mexico and ecuador. that after ecuadoran police broke into the mexican embassy in qi tto yesterday to arrest a former ecuadorian official who had been seeking asylum amid corruption charges. leaders across the americas have expressed outrage, and mexico's president announcing he was cutting diplomatic relations with ecuador. to college basketball now. the men's ncaa championship will be set tonight, while for the women, caitlin clark is one step closer to adding champion to her long list of accomplishments.

jesse kirsch spoke to the superstar ahead of her last college game. lining it up -- misses again and it springs connecticut far over six from three-point range. >> reporter: friday night started rough for iowa superstar caitlin clark. but in the second half -- >> three -- [ cheers ] >> reporter: a game turned into a nail-biter. >> and that will do it! iowa survives connecticut! >> reporter: the hawkeyes eked out a two-point win over uconn advancing to the ncaa championship. a what would a national title mean to you? >> i think it would be the cherry on top to be able to win a national title for this university. it would be super special not only for myself but my teammates. >> reporter: it won't be easy. >> undefeated south carolina will play for the national championship! >> reporter: iowa faces the

south carolina gamecocks who boast 37 wins and zero losses this season under the leadership of coaching legend dawn staley. >> it's a match-up that we got to win. iowa's a challenge. they're playing their best basketball. >> reporter: it's an epic final match-up in a season that's seen women's college basketball reach record levels of popularity. who's your favorite player? >> caitlin clark. >> reporter: how come? >> because she's the best shooter ever. >> reporter: no matter what, tomorrow's clark's last college game before going pro. when you see the size of the crowds here in cleveland, even for practice there's no question that number 22, win or lose, has already left her mark on the game. jose? >> jesse kirsch in cleveland. thank you. still ahead tonight, airport safety concerns. reports of hundreds of people slipping through parts of tsa checkpoints.

air travel has hit an all-time high, and now an alarming new report is raising concerns about safety after hundreds of people slipped past part of the tsa screening process. steve patterson has details. >> reporter: it is the great inconvenient tradeoff of air travel we all agree to. >> good morning. >> reporter: every year roughly 850 million passengers wade through airport security. the tsa now reporting at least 300 instances of people attempting to bypass a part of airport security since march of last year. more than 200 of those were people trying to enter through the passenger exits. 80 people bypassed the tsa podium where i.d.s are being checked but completed the rest

at the security screening process. the number of instances relatively small but points to something more troubling. is this a larger problem? >> yes. and i believe it's a larger problem because it demonstrates a trend. >> reporter: former tsa deputy administrator john helinsky says more can be done to harden exit points from physical barriers to more sophisticated ai cameras, improvements the tsa says would require additional funding. >> when i saw the number of about 200 breaches of exit lanes, that's something that could be mitigated. it goes back to the equation where is your vulnerability in the airport. this has now become a vulnerability and you have to pay attention to it. >> reporter: and security breaches can mean massive upheaval like in san diego in summer of 2022 when hundreds of passengers had to wait to be rescreened after a man bypassed a baggage screen. the tsa says most of the recent lapses are not considered full security breaches and account

for just 1 in 11 million passengers. most described as inadvertent and unintentional actions. >> 300 is a very small number. the thing to keep in mind is that very few made it through to anyplace where they would likely have been potentially a threat. >> reporter: and ever-present struggle keeping the skies safe with security on the ground. steve patterson, nbc news. and we're back in a moment with the new battle to save an american natural treasure. the clash over building a mine near the famed okefenokee. and theme park threat. the raccoon attack caught on camera.

we're back with a shocking caught-on-camera raccoon attack. it happened at pennsylvania's hershey's theme park. >> oh, my god -- >> you see people scattering when the raccoon starts running through the crowd. caught hold of one person's leg, then it ran off. in all, two people were injured. and one of the nation's most important wildlife habitats could be at risk. communities around georgia's okefenokee are locked in a battle over the environment versus the economy, and it could come to a head this week. nbc's priya sridhar reports from this natural wonder. >> reporter: nestled along the florida-georgia border is the 438,000-acre okefenokee swamp. the largest black water swamp in north america.

>> here you can see alligators, bob cats, black bear, river otters. all kinds of wildlife that you wouldn't be able to see in such a concentrated form in other places. >> reporter: michael less manages all of it for the u.s. fish and wildlife service. >> there's an american -- >> reporter: he believes this national treasure is under threat. >> what we're putting at risk is something that cannot be replaced. >> reporter: under threat from a proposed mine set to be built almost three miles from the swamp. the mine is looking to draw up to 1.4 million gallons of water per day from two surrounding wells. critics argue that water is critical for the famed swamp. >> it will affect the water levels in the swamp, could lead to increased drought. and that, in turn, could lead to increased wildfire. >> reporter: the biden administration, a wide array of environmental groups, and celebrities like leonardo dicaprio are all speaking out against the mine. the swamp's wildlife cypress forest and flooded prairies draw

almost 400,000 visitors to the okefenokee swamp national wildlife refuge every year. some locals fear the proposed mine could hinder tourism and pose a risk to the swamp's fragile ecology. shirlene carter runs a campground here. she thinks the mine nearby could hurt her business. >> they're coming here just for the wildlife refuge. if they do this mine, we're not going to have that. >> reporter: but others who live in the small town of 4,000 say the mine could bring much-needed, good-paying jobs and investment to this region. >> we're an impoverished community. i think this would bring high paying jobs with access to insurance, 401(k), improve the standard of life of our citizens. >> reporter: twin pines minerals, the alabama company looking to build the mine, says mining won't affect the swamp, adding it will be conducted below the highest water levels of the okefenokee. for the swamp to be drained, water would have to defy gravity and flow uphill. the georgia environmental protection division, which has final say, is so far siding with the mining company. they've already given it

preliminary approval, and final approval could come as early as next week. unless environmentalists can convince them the risk to this wildlife wonder isn't worth it. >> it's beautiful, it's big, it's wild. we're doing absolutely everything we can to protect and manage this beautiful place for the american people. >> reporter: priya sridhar, nbc news, the okefenokee wildlife refuge. when we come back, there's good news tonight. the wedding surprise that turned a hospital stay into a memory of a lifetime.

♪ there's good news tonight. you know so often the good news doesn't get as much attention as the bad, so every saturday we highlight the many people who spread joy and love. these are just some of the stories this week. they say there's no crying in baseball, but they threw out those rules at texas a&m last week. you see that girl on the right? that's freshman jamieson harvey. she was working the aggies game when all of a sudden -- [ cheers ] that's her dad, u.s. army major rick harvey, who's been deployed overseas for a year. [ chants ] ♪ >> it was a home run reunion they'll never forget. [ cheers ]

>> i'm michael. >> and talk about heroes -- that's california firefighter michael macshane finally meeting a man whose life he helped save years ago after a terrible accident. >> of course. of course. >> thank you, michael. >> yes. >> thank you. >> the man returning to thank him. >> to know and be reaffirmed that there's something out there much bigger than us -- always watching over us. ♪ >> and in oklahoma -- >> we're writing a check for $1,940 for school lunch debt. >> sean cummings is on a mission to wipe out the state's school lunch debt, raising money and giving out check after check after check. more than 30 in all since february. sean honoring his beloved wife

kathy who recently passed. she was known for her commitment to community and service. >> every time i show up to these schools, i'm walking over after we're finished, i get hit with the slightest bit of grief and then a whole load of happiness. >> and this was a day of brand-new beginnings for jitana and middleton, but not one they ever expected. this surprise wedding was organized by staff at advocate lutheran general in park ridge, illinois, after the one the couple planned got canceled. she had a heart attack and emergency c-section to save her baby grayson's life. the couple telling me why they felt blessed that day. there was a moment that you were particularly moved when you saw just how much so many people had done for this moment. >> i don't have words to describe it. it was just so amazing. >> aw. >> as soon as i came around the corner and i seen all of the

people that helped save my life and grayson's life, my emotions just went through the roof. i started crying. >> with so much bad news that we're always seeing, it's kind of important to underline that there really are a lot of good people doing a lot of good things. >> absolutely. >> yes. >> you know, for us to put a little, you know, a little sparkle of hope onto someone that is having a bad day or going through something bad, that miracles do happen. ♪ that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. hallie jackson begins as anchor of "nightly news sunday." she's an extraordinary journalist and can't think of anyone i'd rather share the weekend with. please tune in. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time, and good night.

right now at 6:00, people across the bay area feeling some shaking today. two small earthquakes rattling the east and the south bay. plus, the rain is getting ready to make a comeback. we've got the updated timeline. plus, the high end car used in a high end chase ends like that. why the police are still monitoring the site several hours later. the news at 6:00 starts right now. thank you for joining us. >> okay, you may have felt a small jolt, depending on where you were today. two small earthquakes rattled the bay area. the most recent quick hit 20 minutes ago in the hills south of gilroy. it was a small magnitude 2.5 quake, but our size mow graph right here picked up a little something, you can see. one of our nbc bay area staffers said it was quick,