7 Days ’Til Polls Close; Hurricane Melissa’s Historic Landfall

We’re one week out from Election Day, with major races in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City. Voters will head to the polls facing a number of issues, including the impact of the ongoing government shutdown. NBC News chief data analyst Steve Kornacki joins host Yasmin Vossoughian to break down the polling and share a preview of some of next week’s biggest races. Plus, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica today not only as the most powerful storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season — it’s now tied as the strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Hurricane Melissa heads this evening toward Cuba, where residents are bracing for more life-threatening damage. Erin McGarry, the executive editor of the NBC News Climate Unit, joins the show to break down why this storm became so devastating. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.