they expect it to rapidly intensify as it barrels across those very warm waters of the gulf. racing toward florida. tonight, the new path just in, where they expect this to slam into florida and then up the east coast. the storm surge possibly up to 12 feet. mandatory evacuations tonight in some areas. a state of emergency already. and then tonight, the other major hurricane off the east coast. senior meteorologist rob marciano live in florida tonight. also this evening, the horrific scene on campus today. unc chapel hill. authorities responding to calls of shots fired. the terrifying scene inside classrooms and dorms. late today, the suspected gunman arrested about a mile from campus what we know about him at this hour. steve osunsami with late reporting. the deadly crash. a sheriff's rescue helicopter suddenly out of control. smoke and flames coming from the tail. the chopper spiraling toward the ground, crashing into an apartment complex. victor oquendo reporting tonight. former president trump and this evening, the federal judge now setting the trial date in the federal case involving january 6th. aaron katersky reporting. the racially motivated shooting in jacksonville, florida. a 21-year-old white man accused of killing three with an ar-15 style rifle. what they have now discovered about him already, and florida's governor ron desantis booed when he showed up to make comments in the community. in new york city at this hour, on the upper west side of manhattan, four members of a family dead, including two young children found stabbed to death. authorities on the scene at this hour, what we've learned. the three u.s. marines killed during a training mission in australia. we have learned their names tonight. and newly obtained audio from air traffic control, just moments after the or pray went down. there is news coming in tonight about elton john after a fall. simone biles making history tonight. and what happened 60 years ago today? words that echo across the nation. good evening, and it's great to start another week with all of you at home. we do goint with the u.s. bracing for a major hurricane. up to a category 3 hurricane or more. at this hour, still tropical storm idalia, but quickly growing stronger. they expect this to rapidly intensify. set to slam into fm lorida. this could be very dangerous. then racing up through the carolinas and the east coast. take a look tonight. at this hour, already churning with 70-mile-an-hour winds, stretching from mexico's yucatan peninsula and cuba. in tampa tonight, people rushing to get ready. shoppers buying wood to protect windows. and here is the track tonight. the storm path at this hour, at this point, it looks like it could make landfall in the big bend region of florida. that's from tampa north to the panhandle. but they warn the traffic could easily move. right now, tampa would be on what they call the right side of the hurricane which is never good. the so-called dirty seen glorlgnior meteorologist r marciano leading us off tonight. >> reporter: tonight, thousands of families racing to prepare for idalia. in tampa, pallets of water and other supplies flying off the shelf. debra and her daughter lining up for sandbags and getting ready to evacuate. >> yes, i've been here 20 years, and you don't wait. you just have to go. >> reporter: idalia passing through the gap between cuba and the yucatan peninsula. fueled by the warmest gulf of mexico water temps in recorded history. >> if it wobbles east, you're going to see more severe impacts here in the pampa bay area, so, all this is in place right now. >> reporter: north of tampa, up to 12 feet of storm surge expected. residents taking it seriously. >> cat 3 now, 105 water tempera temperature, it will be a 5 by the time it hits us. >> reporter: idalia set to hit since ian. it decimated barrier islands and killed at least 150 people. >> david: rob yamarciano in florida tonight. we've talked so much about the warm waters of the gulf, and i know you've studied the track. take us through the timing here. >> reporter: all right, david, it's gathering strength and gathering forward speed in our direction. because of that h, hurricane warnings have been extended. the center of this, just to the west of cuba. those warm waters, that's the fuel. we expect rapid intensification la landfall wednesday morning. and then, into the carolinas, too. rain, wind, and storm surge, a big issue. especially here in this part of the gulf. up to 12 feet of it. hurricane franklin, a beast, a category 4, 145-mile-an-hour winds. it will miss bermuda, but it's bringing life-threatening surf and rip currents to the u.s. meanwhile here in florida, urgency to prepare is ramping up tonight. david? >> we'll stay on this all week long. rob marciano already there in florida for us. rob, thank you. in the meantime, we turn to the horrific scene at the university of north carolina at chapel hill. today, the reports coming in of an armed and dangerous suspect, a massive law enforcement response. and tonight, we have learned a faculty member is dead. video obtained by our raleigh station wtvd showing students waiting inside a locked lecture hall. authorities clearing buildings one-by-one, leading students away from campus. some of those students very district, and understandably so. campus authorities releasing this photo of the suspected gunman. the university website lists him as a graduate student. what we've learned about him already, and here's abc's steve osunsami now. >> reporter: again in america, this time in north carolina, police have arrested an accused gunman about a mile away from the university of north carolina at chapel hill. >> stage for law enforcement, possible active shooter on campus. >> reporter: where police say a faculty member was shot and killed. >> everyone was just panicking, people almost opened the door. we were told not to open the door. finally, we were evacuated. >> we locked the doors quickly and everybody was just hunkering down. >> reporter: campus alerts went out just after 1:00 p.m. eastern, telling students to shelter-in-place. authorities quickly released this photo saying, "if you see this person, keep your distance, put your safety first and call 911." the same photo on the website of the school says he's a grad student. our abc station wtvd shares this cell phone video of students taking cover on the floors of lecture halls. and in the dorms, students are seen shoving all their furniture against the doors of their bedrooms. all classes and events are canceled tonight. parents with kids and a nearby grade school were panicked. this was the first day of the school year and the entire district was locked down for much of the day. >> my heart is in my mouth. i am waiting for my kid. it was his first day of school today. he's in kindergarten. this was the last thing i was kind of hoping to feel on my kid's first day of school. >> reporter: police tonight are asking all students and staff to stay away from the lab where they're investigating this evening. and where the shooting happened. david? >> david: what a way to start the school year. steve osunsami, thank you. we turn next here to the tragic rescue helicopter crash. broward county, florida, tonight. what so many people saw from the ground. the fire rescue chopper heading to a fire scene, trailing smoke, then suddenly breaking apart in midair. plunging into an apartment building. tonight, one crew member was killed, a captain, as well as one person on the ground. miraculously, two crew members survived this. victor oquendo from florida. >> reporter: tonight, the terrifying moment, this helicopter spiraling, then crashing in south florida, killing two people. out an emergency call just before 9:00 a.m., watch the broward sheriff's office fire rescue chopper flying with flames and smoke trailing behind. a pilot calling for help. >> we just had an engine failure, we're going to require priority for a runway, please, we're just having an emergency. >> reporter: suddenly, the tail breaks midair, sending it spinning out of control and plunging into an apartment building, sparking this massive inferno and leaving a gaping hole. >> it sounded like a bomb, an explosion went off. >> reporter: two of the three crew members on board that chopper survived. >> he got out? >> he got out. >> reporter: dramatic video showing them crawling on the roof near the burning wreckage. but authorities say a woman inside that building and captain terryson jackson, who was on board that chopper, were killed. >> he was trapped, could not get out, and we lost him. >> reporter: jackson had been with the department for 19 years. tonight, remembered. >> he was one of the best, the brightest. the effort he had for this community, impeccable. >> reporter: the crash site is just half a mile from the runway they were trying to reach. tonight, the ntsb and faa are investigating. david? >> david: victor owen doe, thank you. now, to former president trump, and tonight, a federal judge has now set march 4th at the start date for the federal trial on january 6th and election interference charges. abc's aaron katersky now. >> reporter: tonight, a federal judge in washington setting a date for donald trump's trial on charges he tried to overturn the 2020 election. march 4th, just one day before super tuesday, smack in the middle of the presidential campaign. special counsel jack smith in court for the decision. the former president had asked to push this trial off more than two years, to april 2026. his lawyers arguing any sooner would amount to a "show trial" and "a miscarriage of justice." in a heated hearing, they pointed to reams of documents to review and the pressures of the campaign trail. judge tanya chutkan ordering trump's lawyers to "take the temperature down." prosecutors argued trump's own behavior on a near daily basis, including his posts on social media, requires a speedy trial, saying, "he has publicly saying he has publicly disparaged witnesses. he has attacked the integrity of the courts, the citizens of the district of columbia, who make up our jury pool, and this potentially prejudices the jury pool." the judge seeming to agree, say, "mr. trump, like any defendant, will have to make the trial date work, regardless of his schedule, there is a societal interest to a speedy trial." at the same time in georgia, another key hearing underway. fulton county district attorney fani willis charging trump and 18 others with conspiring to overturn the election in that state. >> how are you feeling today, mr. meadows? >> reporter: today, former white house chief of staff mark meadows asking a judge to move his case to federal court where he thinks he can get a more sympathetic jury. meadows, who has been largely silent for months, taking the stand for more than three hours, insisting, "i don't know that i did anything that was outside the scope of my role as chief of staff," including arranging that phone call where trump pressured georgia's secretary of state brad raffensperger. >> mr. president, everybody is on the line, and just so -- this is mark meadows, the chief of staff. >> reporter: on that call, trump pushing raffensperger to find the votes he needed. >> so, look. all i want to do is this -- i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state. >> reporter: meadows testifying that everything he did was in his capacity as a top white house aide. "i saw it as part of my role," he said, "the president gave clear direction to deal with it." but prosecutors pushing him. how come he was the only white house official on that call? why were none of the white house lawyers involved? and late today, raffensperger himself taking the stand, saying flat-out, "i thought it was a campaign call." david, those arraignments are going to take all day. trump is up first at 9:30 in the morning, followed by rudy giuliani, john eastman, and sidney powell. and the rest of his alleged co-conspirators, in 15-minute intervals. david, it is expected cameras will be allowed in court. david? >> david: aaron katersky tonight. aaron, thank you. we turn now to the racially motivated shooting in jacksonville, florida. a 21-year-old white man accused of killing three with an ar-15 style rifle. abc's alex presha in jacksonville tonight. >> reporter: tonight, new details in that racially motivated shooting at a dollar general that left three black people dead. >> we have discovered new facts regarding the shooter's movements and whereabouts hours and minutes before he committed his acts of senseless violence. >> reporter: late today, law enforcement sharing this video they say shows the suspect first entering a family dollar store about a mile away. >> not only did the shooter park at the family dollar, he also went inside the store and bought some items. >> reporter: they hen stopped at edward waters university, a historically black university down the street. this video showing the suspect donning a tactical vest and blue latex gloves. students flagging down a security guard. what's going through your mind? >> that there's something wrong. i was not able to see a weapon at that time. however, i did see what appeared to be a tactical vest, a mask, along with a hat, covering his head at that time. >> reporter: authorities say the suspect hopped a curb and fled, driving to this dollar general store, where he began an 11-minute rampage. surveillance video shows the shooter without warning firing 11 rounds into 52-year-old angela michelle carr's kia, killing her. he then walks into the store, armed with a handgun and and ar-15 style rifle that authorities say he bought legally. the suspect shooting 19-year-old employee a.j. lagare, jr. and then later, 29-year-old gerald gal yan enters. the shooter killing him, missing his girlfriend. and ten minutes into this act, he sends a text. >> the suspect texted his father and says, "use a screw driver to get into my room." the father enters the room and finds a last will and testament of the suspect along with a suicide note on his laptop. >> reporter: abc news obtaining this distressed 911 call his father made to police. >> he left in his car a couple of hours ago. >> reporter: his father stating that his son had been suicidal before and was receiving psychiatric help, but had stopped taking medication. >> and does your son go anywhere that you know of, is there, like, common places he goes to? >> no, no, he doesn't go anywhere. >> reporter: by that time, the rampage was already over. the shooter taking his own life as officers arrived on the scene. investigators finding writings on the gunman, which they say contained racist and hateful ideology, as well as painted swastikas on one of the firearms. >> plainly put, this was sho shooting was racially motivated and he hated black people. >> reporter: the fbi opening investigations, saying there's also evidence that the suspect harbored anti-lgbtq+ and ant anti-semitic grievances. the latest federal data shows a 12% increase in hate crime incidents. at a vigil sunday, govm nor ron desantis, who has signed laws to restrict how race is taught in florida public school, was booed. >> governor is going to come -- [ booing ] >> reporter: the governor condemning the shooting. >> we are not going to let people be targeted based on their race. >> reporter: president biden asked about the shooting just before meeting with dr. king's family members and other civil rights leaders at the white house. >> you can't let hate prevail. >> reporter: tonight, family members of the victims praying that their loved ones spark change. >> i hope that this really does spark something for people to take a stand. >> reporter: david, tonight, the sheriff's department says the shooter worked at a dollar tree from october of 2021 to july of 2022, and he had no prior criminal history. david? >> david: thinking of those families tonight. alex presha, thank you. now, to the three u.s. marines killed during the training mission in australia. we have just learned their names tonight. and newly obtained audio here, moments after the or prey went down. here's terry moran. >> reporter: tonight, the department of defense identifying the three u.s. marines killed in the fiery crash in australia. u.s. marine corp corporate spencer kuller, 21. u.s. marine corp captain eleanor lebeau, 29. and maas read corp major tobin lewis, 37. two ugs ospreymv-22 training exercise sunday morning when one went down off australia's northern coast. the other radioing in. >> we are just declaring an emergency, in the i have vinty of mel vig island. >> roger, search and rescue is on the way. requesting you remain in the area and pass any additional details as they come in, please. >> reporter: minutes later. >> search and rescue requesting if there's a fire. >> affirm, there is a significant fire. >> reporter: the cause of this crash is still unknown. investigators are expected to remain at the site for days. tonight, three marines remain hospitalized. >> those marines who did sure save will be able to help investigators figure out what brought this aircraft down. >> reporter: the osprey has a history of deadly crashes and mechanical problems. just last year, five marines were killed in an osprey during a training exercise in california, and a marine investigation into that crash blamed mechanical failure. david? >> david: terry moran, thank you. when we come back, the breaking news here in new york city at this hour. four family members on the upper west side found dead. and later tonight, that news coming in on elton john. get help reaching your goals with j.p. morgan wealth plan, a digital money coach in the chase mobile® app. use it to set and track your goals, big and small... and see how changes you make today... could help put them within reach. from your first big move to retiring poolside - and the other goals along the way. wealth plan can help get you there. ♪ j.p. morgan wealth management. 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(vo) ask your doctor about once-weekly mounjaro. finally tonight here, the words that echoed through washington and the nation 60 years ago today. it was on this day in 1963, the march on washington. ♪ we shall overcome ♪ >> david: singing "we shall over overcome." the nation and the world would hear dr. martin luther king jr. and his dream. >> i have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed. we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. i have a dream that one day the red hills of georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. i have a dream little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. i have a dream today. >> david: words that still resonate today. i'm david muir. i'll see y >> building a better bay area, moving forward and finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. [sirens] >> one to see 300, 400 kids i want to say 300, 400 kids. >> hundreds involved in a flash mob at east bay mall. i am larry beil. kristen sze: i am there were similar logs across the country -- mobs country, all seen fights involving teenagers. larry: about 300 juveniles were involved. one person was stabbed and another person was arrested. lena howland is live with reaction. lena: a lot of people are still in shock this happened, not just in emeryville but there were similar incidents outside of the theaters across the country. one city councilmember said it was due to a lack of spaces for teenagers to hang out, along with pent-up frustration after the pandemic. national theater chains sold tickets for four dollars yesterday and around 300 juveniles were alerted to a linkup on social media at bay street in emeryville but quickly broke into groups that got into multiple fight