i'm jim acosta in washington. good evening. we begin with a couple of breaking news stories from california. magnitude 5.1 earthquake has shaken southern california. the epicenter was in between santa barbara and ventura, according to the u.s. geological survey. there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage. right now, in the southwest, the main concern, though, is tropical storm hilary, which will cross into southern california within the next couple of hours. some areas will see a year's worth of rain. according to those forecasters, in just a day or two. flash flood warnings are up across the region. deteriorating conditions are affecting the roads. we've been showing you this image. this tells the story for a big chunk of this area and the skies. hilary has contributed to more than 1,000 canceled flights at this point. 4,000 delays. the worst is likely to come. this is what hilary unleashed in baja, california. one person in this coastal town died when their vehicle was swept away. forecasters are warning people to be prepared for catastrophic and life-threatening floods. the warning that blankets much of southern california is stay off the roads if you can. a mudslide shut down a portion of a freeway north of los angeles. crews were able to clear that away. our reporter is in palm springs, california, where some roads were closed hours ago. stephanie, what's the latest? how do things look where you are? it looks like a little flooding on that road behind you. >> reporter: for sure. this is what i can tell you, jim. local emergency here in palm springs because of tehese floodd out roads. we've been out here all day. we drove down this and it was fine. all of a sudden, after the first time i was on with you today, this is what's happened. this road is completely flooded out. we have seen a few cars go through here. i had to change shoes because my socks and boots were so wet. i put on these old-school sandals here. this is how deep it is. you can't tell how inundated the road is. we know at least one car has been stranded in this water. this is why they're telling people not to do that. but we have seen cars go flying through this. it can be very dangerous when you can't see how deep it is. this is part of the issue, washing out the road behind us where we have been standing. that's the road that leads to interstate 10. it is flooded out down there, as well. they knew that was happening, and that's why they barricaded the road off so early. but all in all, they are seeing some issues here in palm springs, and the storm is not done. there's still more rain and wind coming through. the wind has died down now a bit from when i talked to you last time. but it's still very persistent right now. so you are seeing this whole idea of mudslides, of fast-moving water, all of that inundated in parts of southern california. we're definitely seeing it right here in palm springs. >> all right. stephanie ilan, please stay staff. give us the latest if anything comes up over the next hour. thanks for all your hard work. let's go about an hour south to san diego where officials are preemptively closing some roads, as well. especially those roads prone to flooding. cnn's kyung lah is there for us. the brunt of the storm is expected to hit san diego any moment. it looks like it's okay, just drizzling it seems where you are. but that might lull some people into a false sense of security. >> reporter: yeah, exactly that, jim. that is the concern by city officials. what the mayor has said is that this city is not built for this type of weather. the city has had three to four inches already, and the expectation is, in these next few hours, the city could see three to four times that much. that's why you are seeing things like this. i want you to take a look. this entire road is completely closed off, and the reason why is because this area right behind me, this is really a bit of a concrete jungle. this is where a lot of the water from the hills, from the deserts, all funnels down into these drains. and so the concern is that, you know, you have drainage. and that's where you can run into some flooding issues. so the concern from the city is whether the infrastructure can take it, especially in august when people are not expecting it. and a lot of people aren't heeding some of the rules. all these barriers that were put up, we saw people were simply driving around them. it wasn't just one car, it was one car after the other. that's why you are hearing city officials say stay home. the city park is closed, as well as parks, as well as all of the beaches. the navy has moved ten ships out of san diego bay because the concern is this tropical storm could damage some of those sea vessels. so the schools, in fact, say because of all of this water that is coming into the city from this tropical storm, they're going to delay the start of school, which is supposed to be tomorrow a full day. so the preparation is in place, jim. the concern is that people won't necessarily heed this advice, and that this infrastructure could fail. but as you point out, it is a lighter period of rain right now. but the city is stressing it is not out of the woods yet, jim. >> there's some heavy bands of rain coming into that area in the next several hours. please stay safe. kyung lah, thank you for all your hard work. really appreciate it. parts of san bernardino county is under evacuation. josh campbell is there. josh, what is it like where you are? >> reporter: well, the wind is picking up, the rain picking up here, as well, jim. all of us here just got an alert from the national weather service, this part of san bernardino now under a flash flood warning. the national weather service call thing a very dangerous situation, telling residents not to be out on the roadways unless you are evacuating, based on authorities telling you to do so. where we are here as we look over to the side, this is the base of the san bernardino mountains. this whole mountain is under a mandatory evacuation because of the sign over my shoulder here really says it all. this area, prone to mud and debris flows from recent burns. we're going to walk very slowly, because the wind is coming in rapid bursts here. you can see behind me, some of these burn scars. this is what has fire department officials so concerned. in past years, this whole area was subjected to wildfire. what that means is that will significantly change the landscape here should water start rushing down the mountains, down to the lower areas. officials tell us they're very concerned. i spoke not long ago with the battalion chief of the san bernardino fire department said look, if residents get the evacuation order, it's not something officials are sending out lightly. they are very concerned about people in this area. take a listen. >> we asked you to evacuate, we don't take that lightly. we are asking you based on predictions and concerns and want you to get out sooner rather than later. the last thing we want you to do is leave last minute and be overticken by flood waters. 12 inches of water can take your car off the roadway. so we're asking you to evacuate, so please do so. >> reporter: and san bernardino fire department certainly on high alert. the battalion chief saying their staffing has been increased around the area, this is the largest county in the nation geographically. firefighters have about 20,000 square miles to cover. across that area from east l.a. to the arizona and nevada borders, officials are out and about, on the alert just in case this situation turns into massive flooding. people are out there, monitoring the weather models and trying to get in touch with the public to warn the public of potential flooding. we'll have to wait and see what happens. the rain starting to pick up, jim. >> all right. josh campbell. thanks for all the hard work to you, as well. let's go now to cnn's jennifer gray. jennifer, you know, as we are talking to those correspondents over the last several minutes, one of the recurring themes were these rain bands were lightening up from time to time. it looks like things are dissipating. is it dissipating overall for tropical storm hilary, or might there be some heavier bands coming on later this evening that people need to be concerned about? >> yeah, it's definitely not over, jim. this is something that people that live along the gulf coast and the east coast are very used to with these bands. there will be breaks and then come back once again. but we are still seeing some moisture pulling up from baja, california, which will feed into southern california in the coming hours. while the heaviest rain may have wrapped up, we have more that will come. it is still a 60-mile-an-hour storm, moving to the north at 23 miles per hour. we've had almost five inches of rain reported in san diego county, san bernardino county. almost four inches of rain. so really unbelievable rainfall totals across this corner of the world. we're looking at nash flood warnings, all of these boxes shaded in red are flash flood warnings. so we've had rain rates from half an inch to an inch an hour, which is really incredible, because the terrain, we've been talking about that, is so dry and it's not going to absorb that rain, it's just going to wash down the hillsides, the mountainsides and into those valleys and fill up those creeks and river beds incredibly fast. so it's very easy to get flash flooding across southern california. but those flood watches extend all the way up to the pacific northwest, because the storm is going to shoot straight north during the overnight hours and into tomorrow morning. this is 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. you can see already on the border of oregon, so it's a fast mover for sure. we're going to see anywhere from two to four inches of rain widespread. the national weather services in southern california were reporting potentially up to ten inches of rain before it's said and done. so those rainfall totals are still stacking up. >> yeah. we'll see the reports of bad flooding, and that sort of thing coming in, strtrickling in overe next 12 hours. some of that damage will be extensive. what about the earthquake on top of everything else? they had a magny ny tud of 5.1 southern california. it sounds as though people did get the text alerts. we talked to the mayor of los angeles not long ago. they felt the quake in the emergency operation center. >> absolutely. they got those text messages, which is good. if a tropical system wasn't enough, let's add an earthquake on top of it. it was about nine miles deep 2:41 local time. there were no tsunami threats with this one, and it looks like there's not any widespread damage and no fatalities have been reported. but there have been at least a dozen aftershocks since. this was very recent, and most were arnound 3.0, maybe a tad higher. like i mentioned, no tsunami threat or no damage reported yet, which is excellent news. but just one more thing to add to the day. >> yeah, busy day for the folk there is in southern california. hope everybody is staying safe. jennifer gray, thank you very much. much more coverage of tropical storm hilary coming up. in the meantime, the mayor of long beach, california will join us to explain how they are doing where they are. a new court filing connected to the georgia election interference case. where mark meadows says his charges should be thrown out. you're live in the cnn newsroom. ♪ chchevy silverado has what it takes to do it all. with up toto 13 camera views. and the z71 off-roroad package. ♪ you ok? 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>> reporter: yeah, the days that we're looking at are thursday or friday. that is according to a senior law enforcement source, who is familiar with the knowledge of that surrender. of course, friday, as you mentioned, is the big day that marks the deadline for d.a. fani willis' command that these 19 defendants come and turn themselves in tomorrow. it has been a week since the indictments came down. sources tell cnn that there is a lot of conversations happening here, communication between trump's team and the d.a.'s office specifically conversations that are going to continue into next week about the conditions to his appearance, and also the logistics of his surrender. we've been hearing from a lot of officials, including the fulton county sheriff that trump and the co-defendants will be treated the same as everybody es. frankly, that's not possible due to all of the security precautions that have to be taken here with transporting a former president of the united states. we know that the secret service has been here on site over the last couple of weeks, working out with the city of atlanta and the fulton county sheriff's office the particulars of that surrender and also the arraignment. it's likely, jim, that booking process for trump and the co-defendants will move much more swiftly. jim? >> easy bthank you very much fo legal analyst. let's go to my next guest, michael moore. i want to ask you about mark meadows' request to get these charges dismissed. what do you think about that? >> well, i'm glad to be with you this afternoon. there's nothing surprising in the filings that meadows has made thus far. i mean, we expected that he was going to file to have the case transferred from the state to the federal court. and now he's asking the judge to dismiss the indictment against him, at least, because of the supremacy clause of the constitution. that really is just sort of in layman's terms says that the states can't enact or enforce laws that deal with a federal official performing their duties. so he's making that argument that he was doing as he was told in his role as the presidential chief of staff, making calls, making appointments, reaching out, doing the things he was directed to do. the judge has set a hearing on august 28th, and we'll know more then. but these filings were expected i think by anyone who thought much about the case. so we'll see what the judge does with it later. >> you're there in atlanta, a former u.s. attorney. you know, what do you make of this spectacle that we're going to see unfold in four or five days from now, when the former president is expected to surrender at the fulton county jail. we expect that to happen. i suppose we can't say that there's a guarantee that's going to happen. and these other 18 co-defendants are supposed to be there, as well. how do you -- just as somebody who is in atlanta, perhaps you can spraexplain how is this goio unfold? >> yeah, this is unprecedented. you know, i think it's a good lesson for everybody who says that all people will be treated the same in this case to just now recognizing that's not how it's going to be. you cannot have a former president, a sitting president, former president, any of them come into a situation where there's not been some extra security. and make sure there are no problems as he's processed in. this is not going to be run of the mill. this idea we're going to treat him like everybody else, that's just not going to happen. you know that by looking at the pictures, the barricades surrounding the courthouse not that long ago. so basically, for trump and for some of these other folks turning themselves in, it will be a little different. they'll come in and get some biographical information, that type of thing, fingerprinting. the question up in the air is whether or not there will be a mugshot. >> what do you think? >> well, i mean, my guess is they won't do one. >> oh, really? >> i think it's probably ill advised. you do a mugshot because you need to identify somebody. this guy is one of the most recognizable people in the world. there's no question if he were to skip bail, run over seas that they can find him quickly. that's the purpose of a mugshot. i mean, that's what it boils down to. so to make a statement out of it politically or otherwise i think at this point doesn't make a lot of sense. but i would hope they would just move him in and out fairly quickly. this is different than federal court. federal court, we saw the defendants move quickly to a judge and have them issue a bond set and all that kind of stuff and being advised of the charges. this is different. this will be a case where they are processed in and out of the jail. and then there will be an arraignment date set with the court. at that time, they will make an initial appearance in front of the court who will add vice him of the charges and that type of thing. >> those proceedings may be on camera? >> there could be. there's no prohibition in state court. there's a history in the fulton superior court to have trials televised in some respects. and in certain instances they have done that in the past. you saw when the indictment was returned the other night, there was plenty of media there. you saw the clippings about that. the clips certainly of the indictment being handed out. cameras in the courtroom will be up to the judge. we have a fairly new judge assigned to the case and he'll have to make some decisions about what goes on. but nothing like you have in the federal courts and the supreme court where there are no cameras. >> michael moore, thank you very much for your time. we appreciate it. >> glad to be with you, jim. tropical storm hilary is heading to southern california. california governor gavin newsom is expected to give an update in minutes. we'll be staying on top of that and bring that to you as it comes in. you're live in the cnn newsroom. . there's a story in every piece of land. run with us on a john deere gator™ xuv and start telling yoururs. i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work. 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>> yes, it could. i'm not surprised, because he's got the highest name i.d. by far. he's got a vice grip over the party and he's sucked up all of the oxygen because of his profound legal problems. but once the debates start, candidates will have more of a chance to speak up and make the case for themselves. remember, this is also a state by state race, so if dents can be put in trump in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, that could have a cascading effect. but it's a reason debates matter so much. because debate, trump has been able to suck up the oxygen. >> margaret, what do you think? >> look, i think the national polls are interesting, they do demonstrate how strong trump's grip is on the party. but this isn't a national race. this is a -- you know, there are 25 primaries relevant here. most importantly, iowa, then new hampshire, south carolina, and the super tuesday states. so those are the numbers we should be looking at. no surprise here, trump is leading in most of those states. but you do see chris christie and ron desantis becoming number two in new hampshire. the debate also make a difference. it's just important that we think about iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, these early states. this is not a national race. >> electability matters. >> guys, i have to break in. the governor of california speaking. stand by. >> -- had the intention of doing what i've done for much of the day, and over the last few days. that was to visit, to check in, to listen, to learn, and to offer the support of the state. i've had the privilege of doing that today from the border. i had the privilege of being in national city yesterday with the convoy with the national guard, 350 that were deployed in 11 counties throughout the region. i had the opportunity to spend time with mayor bass' colleagues down in san diego and elsewhere, talking about their efforts and moved our way up to meet with farm workers that were just worried not about the weather, but about the fact that they didn't get a tday of pay becaus they were asked not to work out in marietta, temecula area. i just had the opportunity as well to be with the sheriff in san bernardino. i drove over here and watched three accidents on the freeway. quite literally one in front of us, about 30 yards, a pickup truck. so mr. president, i appreciate your comments about common sense. just do your best, be safe. if you don't have an essential reason to be out there, don't. if you're passing the chp, which i was with, maybe you want to slow down. which is the incident that marks my consciousness here today. but it's also a marked conscious in this respect, how proud i am of all of the leaders that are assembled here today. you've got folks that have reps. we were just out here, how many months ago? with all those rain bombs and atmospheric rivers in december, january, february, march, you know, i think there's an old ancient curse that loosely is translated to you live in interesting times. certainly interesting times. tornados, lightning strikes. i've got cal fire worried about wildfires because of the winds. the tornadoes. i walked out of the office of emergency services in san bernardino, checked my phone and learned about an earthquake that came in at 6.0, that appears to be close to 5.1. there were over 13 aftershocks just in the drive over. these are certainly interesting times. that was punctuated by a call just an hour or so ago from nevada. the president checking in, comparing and contrasting the work we're doing here and the support. i want you to know how grateful the president is, and i am for this local support you are providing the people of hawaii in maui, and 100 plus personnel that we have sent over to maui, as well. complementing this extraordinary mutual aid system that is just best in class, does not exist at this scale anywhere else in the country. i would argue around the globe. and i don't say that lightly, because people travel around the world to learn about this system of mutual aid. 7,500 people the state has predeployed. 3904 chp, over 2,000 cal tran officials. we just brought down some of our engineers from northern and southern california that will do inspections around bridges so we can more quickly open up and recover. none of us, none of us, including the superintendent in the comments he made, are naive about the nature of where we may be this time tomorrow. you know, this is not a permanent state. so people are going to look forward to getting back, and we have to make sure they get back but they're safe. so an enormous amount of work that has to be done. final point, while we have 7500 personnel situated throughout southern california, and we put forward that emergency declaration, localism is determine nif, and it's not just local elected officials but neighbors helping neighbors, checking in on seniors and the most vulnerable. making sure those that are served know what's going on and what to expect. we're just walking into this. i left and i'll close, i left from palm springs and city hall, meeting with the mayor and others, and there wasn't a drop coming from the sky. as soon as we got to san bernardino, they reported flooding at that same site, and the most significant rainfall over a 60-minute period any time in the history of palm springs. that's how quickly this system is moving. take nothing for grant it. if you think boy, the skies are clear and i can go out on a long jog or walk, just be cautious. wait till this time tomorrow night to consider that. so let me, again, thank you all for your consideration and the privilege of the opportunity to share that. again, deep gratitude for your leadership, madame mayor, for staying ahead of this and being as serious as you have been and intentional as you have been. people expect nothing less and we're very proud of the leadership here in l.a., l.a. county. thank you very much. >> that was governor newsom there in california giving the latest on how they're dealing with tropical storm hilary. we'll take a quick break and have the latest on the storm as it's barrelling into southern california. it's going to be a long night for people in that part of the country. the governor there, other local officials urging residents not to take this too lightly. you might see some light bands of rain coming through and think this storm is over with. that is not the case according to forecasters. it's going to be a long night of heavy rain and it's going to be very dangerous in certain parts, depending on where you live. if you are in a flash flood prone area, you have to be very careful according to the officials and the governor. we'll take a quick break and be right back. stay with us. with 20 grams n for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensusure® high protein. boosost® high protein. now available e in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv (christina) with verizon business unlimited, i get 5g, truly unlimited data, and unlimited hotspot data. so, no matter what, i'm running this kiten. 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>> at this point, yes. but let me just say, jim, this climate events are devastating, and they're unprecedented. you look at in my area, it's prone to wildfires, as you know. we have floods, we have these unprecedented tropical storms. right now we have to make sure that people are safe and that lives are saved. and i have to applaud our governor for declaring a state of emergency and our mayors, mayor bass, supervisors, the first responders, fema is embedded in many of the teams that are making sure that people are safe and lives are saved. this is the time we have to pull together and make sure all of california focuses on the dangers before us and make sure that people are not impacted and that they follow the guidelines that have been put forth. >> yeah, california, no question about it, has been dealing with a lot of climate change, weather related disasters in recent years and it just seems to be getting worse and worse. i want to ask you about politics and what's going on taking place later on this week. former president donald trump who is now facing four criminal indictments, he's expected to report to the fulton county jail later on this week. either thursday or friday. according to what we're hearing from our sources, but a new cnn poll finds him 40 points ahead in the race for the republican nomination. i'm just wondering, are you surprised by that? and what do you think? do you think the president should be speaking out a bit more about trump's legal troubles? the president has been very quiet about that. >> well, the judicial process is working. no one is above the law, including donald trump. and we'll see how these court proceedings proceed. i have to just say, you know, we have many tools at our disposal to hold donald trump and those responsible accountable. for example, i am the lead plaintiff in an naacp lawsuit indicating and saying as the basis of the lawsuit that no one is above the law, donald trump does not have immunity and, yes, we're suing for damages and we intend to make sure that this never happens again. we filed our lawsuit before the january 6th committee and they did a phenomenal job with chairman thompson leading that effort. and he initially was the lead plaintiff in our naacp lawsuit. but he excused himself because of possible conflicts which he did not need and want and wanted to make sure he had full reins of the january 6th committee. we're working on a variety of legal strategies to hold donald trump accountable. that's the issue that we all must really focus on. not whether or not the president or anyone has spoken out. but let the process work. and i'm sure that there will be justice. >> and i know you're running for that seat held right now by senator dianne feinstein. and as you know, she has missed some important votes during her months long absence and she continues to face questions about her health. she was hospitalized after suffering a fall at her home. what is your sense of it right now? do you think it would be helpful to the state of california to have her step down at this point, have the governor come in, appoint a successor, or is it okay to wait, do you think, until election time? >> i don't think that's the issue for me. we have to all hope that he recovers and that she is in such -- in good health and can get back to work. no one benefits from her not being there. but first priority is her health and making sure that she's okay and that's where -- what i have said in the past and i will continue to say that. and, in fact, once again, no one benefits from her not being there. but we have to be concerned first and foremost about her health. >> but you have this big storm coming through california right now. would it be better for the state of california to have two united states senators who are able to put in 100% day in and day out? >> it's all hands on deck. when we have storms in california, when we have emergencies, we have emergency preparedness, protocols established, house members, members of the senate. i serve on the appropriations committee. i stand ready to do everything i can do personally in my capacity as a member of the house appropriations committee to make sure that lives are saved and that people do not -- are not negatively impacted by this tropical storm. and so this is a moment where everyone is working together to make sure that we provide the mitigation efforts and the emergency preparedness and the funding to make sure that california is not -- and its residents are okay after this devastating storm. >> all right. and we wish the best to everybody in california as this storm makes its way through the state and into the rest of the southwest. stay safe if you're watching and congresswoman, thanks very much for your time. we appreciate it. >> thank you. my pleasure. we'll be right back. chevy silverado has what it takes to do itll. with up to3 camera views. and the z71 off-road package. ♪ you ok? 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