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GOP narrowly wins North Carolina race, Antonio Brown accused of rape and some good news for America's vets: The Morning Rundown

The country marks the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks today.
Image: The Tribute in Light rises above the Lower Manhattan skyline to mark the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on Sept. 10, 2019.
The Tribute in Light rises above the Lower Manhattan skyline to mark the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on Tuesday. Mark Lennihan / AP

Good morning, NBC News readers.

North Carolina's special election, John Bolton's White House exit and a rape accusation against NFL star Antonio Brown. Those are some of the stories we're watching today.

It is also the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Hard to believe it's been that long. Thinking of everyone touched by the events of that tragic day and its aftermath.


GOP wins tight North Carolina Congressional race

Republican Dan Bishop narrowly won a special election for North Carolina's 9th Congressional District Tuesday, in a race seen as a litmus test for President Donald Trump's 2020 prospects.

With most votes counted, Bishop was ahead by two percentage points, with 50.7 percent of the vote to Democrat Dan McCready's 48.7 percent. (See full results here).

Bishop's victory, which came one day after Trump campaigned for him, shows the president's power to rally his base, but also his vulnerabilities among suburban voters.

McCready, who fought for the House seat twice over two years after the 2018 election was thrown out because of fraud, ran as a moderate who pledged to "put country over party."

"We were not successful tonight, but I want you to remember that victory postponed is not defeat," he said during his concession speech.


Exclusive: As frustration with Bolton mounted, Trump reached out to ex-adviser McMaster

President Donald Trump unceremoniously fired national security adviser John Bolton on Twitter Tuesday after a string of disagreements.

Bolton's exit marks the departure of one of the most hawkish voices in Trump's inner circle on a number of issues, including Taliban negotiations, Iran, and China trade talks.

As the president began losing confidence in Bolton, he reached out to the man he had fired to give Bolton the job: retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster.

In phone calls to McMaster, Trump told his second national security adviser that he missed him and sought his advice on a variety of national security challenges.

Now, the big question is who will be the fourth person Trump will appoint to the key West Wing post?


Patriots' Antonio Brown accused in lawsuit of raping former trainer

New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown was accused of sexual assault, including forcible rape, by his former trainer.

The woman filed a federal lawsuit in Florida on Tuesday accusing the NFL star of three instances of sexual assault.

An attorney for Brown denied all accusations against his client in a statement Tuesday evening.

Image: Antonio Brown
The Patriots signed Brown this week after his acrimonious spell with the Oakland Raiders came to an abrupt end. John Woods / The Canadian Press via AP file

In Abaco Islands, the letter D marks the site of a grim recovery effort

Three men were walking through the tattered neighborhood known as the Mudd in the Abaco Islands Tuesday morning when they came upon the remnants of a home with the symbol of a diamond spray-painted on a wall left standing.

A single letter D was painted in the center.

D for deceased, marking the site of two bodies that they carefully removed.

More than a week after Hurricane Dorian flattened the shantytown into massive piles of wood and steel, the search and rescue effort has shifted to recovering the remains of those killed by the catastrophic Category 5 storm.

Image: Richard Graham
Richard Graham, a search and rescue volunteer, searches for bodies with his dog Miko among the rubble in the neighborhood the Mudd, in Abaco Island, Bahamas on Tuesday. Mariana Henninger / NBC News

Following in the footsteps of the firefighter fathers they lost on 9/11

Every year around this time, New York City’s Fire Department welcomes a new class of firefighters.

But this year the FDNY will have the most legacy members, ever. And it includes 12 men and one woman whose parents died serving on 9/11.

Two of Heloiza Asaro's children will be part of the incoming class. Her husband, Carl Asaro, a veteran New York City firefighter, died on 9/11. Now four of her six children will be part of the FDNY.


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Plus


THINK about it

Trump's Taliban peace talks have collapsed. But many Afghans aren't surprised — or sad, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes in an opinion piece.


Live BETTER

One good thing about fall is it's pretty much the perfect time to exercise outside. Here are some tips on how to stay cool and comfortable.


A piece of good news

In July, NBC News' Cynthia McFadden, along with Christine Romo and Kenzi Abou-Sabe, produced a powerful report on a national tragedy: Thousands of U.S. military families don’t have enough money to feed themselves, and are relying on federal aid, charities and help from relatives.

Many are simply going hungry.

But this week, there was some good news.

As a result of the NBC story, Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, received a $10 million gift from an anonymous donor to support military families.

The organization said the donor had watched the report on NBC and was moved to help out.

Wow.


Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown.

If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — drop me an email at: petra@nbcuni.com

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Thanks, Petra