the first day of the new school year. the gunman identified in the fatal shooting of a california shop owner over her pride flag was it as hate crime and american sha'carri richardson racing into history. the thrilling moment she became the world's fastest woman. good evening, and welcome, everyone. tonight, as the tropical storm season heats up with a new storm battering texas, southern california still feeling the effects of its rare encounter with a tropical storm over the weekend. since then, rescuers have been focused on reaching people in mountain communities who have been cut off by washed out roads. rescuing many trapped in homes and cars by mud, debris, and rising flood waters. crews resorting to using the bucket of a bulldozer to lift residents of a care home to safety tropical storm hilary barrelled through the region, dumping record amounts of rain. idaho and montana, along with oregon and nevada all broke rainfall records nevada measuring over nine inches. and now tonight, parts of south texas getting drenching rains after tropical storm harold came ashore today on south padre island and there is brewing trouble in the caribbean tonight, as well erin mclaughlin has the very latest >> reporter: tonight, tropical storm harold makes landfall in southern texas, bringing heavy wind and rain. as some in southern california are digging themselves out of the mess tropical storm hilary left behind. after record rainfall, flooded streets, and blanketed entire communities in sludge. >> it's sad that we have to go through all of this. >> reporter: the round the clock cleanup continues. in the san bernardino national forest, a harrowing search and rescue operation now under way, after a massive mudslide barrelled down the mountain and completely wiped out this bridge, cutting off a small community just over that way home to the only person missing from tropical storm hilary that community now covered in mud. a source tells nbc news the search for the missing woman now under way. >> scariest thing in my whole life >> reporter: up the road, resident stephanie nois and her dogs were rescued today, after being stranded for more than 48 hours. how did you get the word out that you needed help? >> you know, i found out earlier, i went out to the river out there and had a white towel and a helicopter came over. i started going like that, and i guess they came back and told them that there was somebody to rescue >> reporter: meanwhile, near palm springs, relief. >> thank god they saved us. >> reporter: after firefighters rescued the elderly using construction equipment. >> there's sinkholes back there there's still standing mud of up to five feet >> reporter: that, as new video released shows this alaska airlines flight making a dramatic landing in orange county during the height of the storm. sparks flying from the landing gear >> sparks outside. >> reporter: the cause is still being investigated meanwhile, overnight, a life-threatening emergency at a los angeles hospital >> we had 241 patients that were actually impacted by this power outage >> reporter: after the backup generators failed, firefighters desperately evacuated patients, some critically ill. a woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl under the glow of flashlights. >> and we had a whole lot of them. and the baby's fine. >> reporter: tonight, as california recovers, no relief for tex texas, after mother nature's relentrelent less onslaught >> and erin, you're close to that isolated community in southern california. are there still rescues going on >> reporter: yes, lester, that's what we understand, that they've been rescuing people by helicopter, in fact, i've been listening to the sound of a chopper not far from here. as for this road, they say it will take weeks, if not months, to repair. lester >> erin mclaughlin starting us off, thank you let's bring in bill karins now, who is tracking this you're keeping an eye on some developments in the atlantic? >> yeah, lester, good evening. now that we're done with harold, we're going to move onto franklin quickly this is going to be a big problem for haiti and the dominican republic in the next 24 to 48 hours it's not a powerful storm. it doesn't have a lot of strong winds, but it's a slow-moving storm that's going to move over really tall mountains, and that's a recipe for disaster we could see up to 15 inches of rain in isolated cases, so, that's the story tomorrow everyone wants to know, though, what happens after franklin leaves the dominican republic well, it kind of lingers here in between bermuda and the bahamas off the east coast hurricane center has it becoming a category 1 hurricane by the time we get to sunday. our long-term computer models make it an even stronger storm, but safely off the east coast early next week, but close enough, we have to keep an eye on this one. >> we'll be watching bill, thanks very much. also breaking this evening, the first co-defendants surrendering today in the georgia election conspiracy case involving former president trump. it all comes on the eve of the first republican primary debate garrett haake is covering it for us this evening >> reporter: tonight, the first of donald trump's 18 co-defendants in the sweeping election interference case in georgia beginning to surrender for processing at fulton county's infamous rice street jail. attorney john eastman, charged with orchestrating the trump campaign's fake electors scheme, booked and released on $100,000 bond. >> do you still think the election was stolen >> absolutely. >> absolutely. still? >> no question no question in my mind >> reporter: and scott hall, a bails bondsman, charged with attempting to breach election equipment. >> is there something wrong here there abso-damn-lutely is >> reporter: the former president posting overnight his intention to turn himself in on thursday, attacking the case against him as a witch hunt. mr. trump's fulton county appearance also intended to pull the political spotlight away from wednesday's first republican debate in wisconsin, which he has chosen to skip, citing his commanding lead in the polls. the former president's absence dividing his rivals. >> the front-runner, who has decided not to be there, will be out on bail in four different jurisdictions. we can no longer pretend that this is normal we can't pretend that this is acceptable >> i have no issue with him skipping the first couple of debates. this is a good opportunity for me to introduce myself to the country. >> people are starving for a message of hope and optimism as long as there's anger and conservatism >> reporter: with eight candidates participating, mr. trump's closest rival, florida governor ron desantis, will take center stage and expects to take the majority of the jabs from other candidates >> i don't think it's any secret that i'm going to be the guy that people are going to come after. >> and garrett, you know, there's been speculation the former president is trying to draw attention away from this debate >> reporter: that's right, lester. he has pretaped an interview with former fox host tucker carlson that should be posted online tomorrow. and has posted he expects to be very busy tomorrow, suggesting he may have other debate distractions in the works. loster >> all right, garrett, thanks overseas, a daring rescue operation playing out all day today. seven children and their teacher trapped in a dangling cable car in the mountains of pakistan, after one of the cables broke raf sanchez has late details. >> reporter: tonight, a perilous rescue nearly a thousand feet off the ground seven children and one teacher trapped on this cable car on their way to school, left dangling over a ravine after an overhead line snapped. pakistani military helicopters circling above, lowering commandos by rope, but trying not to shake the car with the force of their rotors. cable cars are a common way to travel in remote areas with poor roads and with crowds gathering below, one man making a frantic call to localtv proonboard the car "it's a matter of human lives," he says, "the authorities should rescue all of us as soon as possible." and then, on the helicopter's third pass, success. this student stepping off the car and lifted to safety. the choppers forced to land when the sun set. but locals and rescue teams working in the darkness, using improvised pulleys to get everyone else to safety >> when the helicopter operation could not go on in the dark, i think the rescuer made this brave decision, because they didn't want the kids to be waiting all night, and the parents to be suffering from anxiety. so, i think this was a very brave decision on the part of the army >> reporter: pakistan's prime minister tweeting, "all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued." a happy ending to what was so nearly a tragedy. raf sanchez, nbc news. in ohio today, one child was kill and 23 others were injured when their school bus crashed. officials say it happened on a road in lawrenceville, west of columbus, when the bus collided with a mini-van that was in the wrong lane, causing the bus to overturn most of the injuries were described as non-life-threatening this was the first day of the school year there. and in moorsville, north carolina, authorities are investigating the deadly explosion of a house owned by tennessee titans cornerback caleb farley officials said farley's father robert died in the explosion, and another man was injured. the cause is under investigation, but authorities reported the smell of gas on the property. in southern california, authorities are calling it a potential hate crime the fatal shooting of a shop owner and noted designer in a dispute over a pride flag. here's maggie vespa. >> reporter: tonight, a california resort town consumed with grief, after law lauri carleton, a store owner, wife, and mother of nine, was killed, authorities say, confronting hate. >> it's hard for me to just not break down >> reporter: the san bernardino county sheriff says travis ikeguchi shot the 66-year-old friday at her shop, adding, her death is now being investigated as a potential hate crime. >> ikeguchi tore down a pride or rainbow flag hanging in front of the mag.pi store, an yelled many homophobic slurs, and during the confrontation, ikeguchi shot and killed carleton. >> reporter: nearby business owners say customers ran from the scene. deputies later killing ikeguchi in a shootout. the sheriff says the 27-year-old was armed with an unregistered semiautomatic handgun, noting his social media is rife with anti-lgbtq posts >> it looks like the suspect acted alone, but we want to be sure that that's the case >> reporter: carleton didn't identify as lgbtq, but friends say she was an ally her death comings amid a rise in attacks against the lgbtq community. one study tracking more than 350 incidents of hate and extremism between june 2022 and april 2023. outside a second store carleton owned in los angeles, a growing memorial robin lyles was a close friend how do you make sense of this? >> you can't make sense of it. it's senseless >> reporter: carleton's daughter calling her mom fearless, writing on instagram her flags had been torn down before, and she always responded by putting up a bigger one. adding simply, "our family is broken." maggie vespa, nbc news in 60 seconds, what's behind at least nine cases of malaria this summer in three states, as cases turn up farther and farther north. we'll talk with a top researcher looking for answers, next. back now with the search for answers after nine cases of malaria popped up in the u.s. this summer. malaria was virtually wiped out in the u.s. in the '50s, but there is concern climate change may be helping to bring it back here's tom costello. >> reporter: the big question for researchers -- is a new homegrown strain of malaria slowing up across the country, or is it malaria showing up from overseas how many mosquitos are in there >> about 200, and we grow about 50,000 mosquitoes a week >> reporter: 50,000? this doctor runs the johns hopkins malaria research institute, where they study the mosquitos that carry malaria. while the u.s. largely eliminated malaria more than 60 years ago, half a million people still die each year in africa, with children most at risk. but this summer, nine people have been diagnosed in the u.s in florida -- >> we do have a seventh case of malaria that's been locally transmitted. >> reporter: one case in texas and recently, one in maryland, the furthest case so far north in decades. but none of the victims had traveled to a malaria-endemic region mosquitos live just two to four weeks, so were the victims bitten by mosquitos that had picked it up from a foreign traveler, or, is the malaria homegrown? >> and the question is, given climate change, is this going to become more frequent we actually don't know the answer to that >> reporter: mosquitos need heat, humidity, and standing water during milder winters, like the one we had in the mid-atlantic, fewer mosquitos die off in the winter, which means there are more of them in the summer >> they can start reproducing earlier. so, by the time we get to june, we have more mosquitos. >> reporter: the first signs of malaria infection, body aches and chills, a fever of 104, and g.i. problems see a doctor quickly pregnant women are especially vulnerable. experts recommend wearing long sleeves and using mosquito repellent, and remove still, standing water anywhere near the house. tom costello, nbc news, baltimore. and coming up, as we continue tonight, students disciplined by their schools and getting little opportunity to defend themselves our nbc news investigation is next. now, to our nbc news investigation into school punishments. in some states, students who believe they've been unfairly suspended or expelled may not always get an opportunity to adequately defend themselves our priscilla thompson reports. >> here's what started the situation. this is from the superintendant >> reporter: what were some of your goals >> playing my senior year having my dad and mom walk me out for senior game day taking my mom to prom. >> reporter: dreams that were shattered last november when cory jones of tuscaloosa, alabama, was accused of bringing marijuana to campus, after police say they found weed in a car he and four friends rode in. what has this process been like? >> hell. hell >> reporter: c.j., who receives special services in school for a learning disability, says he was called into the office and read his miranda rights, which he told police he didn't understand >> the police asked me, like, whose is it, whose is it but they saying it's yours. and i'm like, i don't know, i don't know whose it is >> reporter: police investigated and charged someone else not c.j., who had no prior disciplinary issues, his attorney says but c.j. says he spent nearly two months in in-school suspension before getting a disciplinary hearing, where his dad says c.j. was given little chance to defind himself. were you all allowed to see the evidence against c.j. >> no, ma'am >> reporter: were you all allowed to challenge the statements made by his accusers >> no, ma'am >> reporter: tuscaloosa city schools then ordered c.j. attend alternative school for 45 days. >> i mainly was mad. i cried in front of all of them, because i was hurt >> reporter: an nbc news investigation found students' ability to defend against what can be life-altering punishments largely depends on where they live. several states, including nevada, virginia, and alabama don't specify students' rights in state law, but rather, give broad authority to school districts. do you feel like you all got any due process? >> no, ma'am due process does not exist in the school system here in alabama. >> reporter: c.j.'s parents hired an attorney, but district policy prohibited her from being inside the meeting where they tried to appeal his punishment charles bell has spent more than a decade studying punishment in schools. >> we're literally pushing children out of school >> reporter: more than 2.6 million students were expelled or suspended for the most recent year federal data is available. black students were suspended at a rate more than double the national average though experts say black kids don't misbehave more often >> you have to leave, you're guilty, and we don't want to hear from you anymore. that's the thinking we've created with allowing broad discretion in these policies >> reporter: tuscaloosa city schools declined nbc's request for an on-camera interview, but say their policies exceed due process requirements, and that when students violate the code of conduct, they are given notice of the alleged violation, an explanation of the evidence supporting the violation, and an opportunity to respond. >> no one had the time to listen to him you accept what we give you, that's it. >> reporter: you got the diploma. c.j.'s parents refused to send him to alternative school >> i see what i accomplished >> reporter: instead, he finished his senior year online. >> thinking about the kids that look like me, i got to fight like hell. i'm not going to stop. >> reporter: as c.j. moves forward, his family continues to fight against what they see as a broken system priscilla thompson, nbc news, tuscaloosa, alabama. up next here tonight, the american who just became the fastest woman in the world. finally, after a suspension cost her a spot at the tokyo olympics, american sha'carri richardson has made a spectacular return, by officially becoming the fastest woman in the world here's ann thompson. >> you are capable of winning this race. >> reporter: sha'carri richardson took th worst lane, lane nine. >> here comes that kar carry rsha'carri richardson >> reporter: and 10.65 seconds later, made the best of it. >> sha'carri has done it. >> reporter: world champion in the 100 meters a remarkable comeback for the 23-year-old, who had gold medal aspirations before the tokyo olympics >> it feels amazing. it feels like -- it feels like everything has paid off >> reporter: in 2021, richardson nearly made the olympic team, until she tested positive for marijuana, after learning of the death of her mom the subsequent suspension knocked her out of the tokyo games. >> i'd like to say to my fans, and my family, and my sponsorships, i apologize. >> reporter: now her running does the talking. >> i want my performance to speak all the words i needed to speak myself. >> reporter: trailing for most of the race, richardson surged ahead of the jamaicans, including the defending world champion >> seeing my name pop up, also with a pr - >> reporter: a personal record that took awhile to sink in. >> this entire season, i know i belong i know i deserve to be here and it just feels amazing to execute that, as well. >> reporter: leaving the past behind. >> i'm not back -- i'm better >> reporter: tonight, sha'carri richardson is the fastest woman in the world ann thompson, nbc news >> and that's "nightly news" for this tuesday. thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night . right now on "nbc bay area news tonight," the ongoing battle to save downtown san francisco. we've got a progress report on how the mayor is doing and what might be preventing her from succeeding. also, a mystery company is buying up nearly $1 billion in land in solano county near travis air force base. we've uncovered a strange survey people are now being asked to take. plus, the south bay is already buzzing about beyoncé. the superstar is coming to town next week. good evening. this is "nbc bay area news tonight." i'm audrey asistio in