what he saw. the judge setting former president trump's federal election trial date for march 4th, just a day before super tuesday. will that date hold? caught on camera, the fire rescue helicopter spinning out of control and crashing into an apartment building in florida. two killed including a woman on the ground. what we're learning. and simone biles is back after a historic victory is she eyeing the paris olympics >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt good evening, everyone, and welcome. floridians have seen this movie before. anxiously watching the development of a hurricane. hoping it will defy predictions, weaken and go somewhere else. but tonight idalia is staying on script, starting this day as a tropical storm but expected to strike florida's big bend as a major hurricane as soon as wednesday morning. tonight 13 million people across florida are under tropical storm or hurricane alerts governor ron desantis declaring emergency executive orders in 46 counties and warning the storm could bring life-threatening storm surges at mid-afternoon today it was still a tropical storm with 70-mile-per-hour winds, but expected to rapidly intensify. in preparation tampa international airport planning to cease operations overnight al roker is here to start us off al, what are we looking at >> lester, as you mentioned this is going to be a rapidly intensifying storm right now idalia is just off the tip of cuba, 70-mile-per-hour winds moving north at 8. here's what we have. hurricane warnings from port st. joe to south of tampa those will expand. the path of the storm will bring it up and probably landfall sometime early wednesday. could be as a category 3 storm, somewhere between tallahassee and cedar key. we are looking for winds that could top 118 miles per hour bringing down trees, communication, damaging buildings as far as that storm surge, that wall of water, life-threatening inundation, roads washed out, upwards of 7 to 11 feet, especially around cedar key. and of course tornadoes can't be ruled out from cross city including tampa and sarasota rainfall amounts, lester, we're talking heavy rain from the florida panhandle to the carolinas. locally four to eight inches with as much as a foot of rain lester >> all right al roker, thank you. and our priscilla thompson is in the storm zone priscilla, there's a mandatory evacuation where you are tonight. >> reporter: that's right, lester. windows here are boarded up the sandbags are in place. as residents are racing to get out by tomorrow's 4:00 p.m. deadline tonight florida's gulf coast taking no chances when it comes to tropical storm idalia >> i got the bags that i need and they loaded it in my car >> reporter: idalia could become the strongest hurricane to hit florida's big bend since 1950 in cedar key tammy wilkes is preparing to evacuate and bracing for the worst. >> how bad do you think the storm is going to be? >> it looks like it's going to be a big one. even some of our old locals are pretty concerned at this point. >> reporter: several counties under a state of emergency mandatory evacuations and school closures along the coast already issued >> we want everybody to make the best decisions they can for themselves and their families >> reporter: tampa international airport closing at midnight. officials urging floridians to prepare. >> what we always like to say is run from the water, hide from the wind >> reporter: residents and business owners in the fort myers area concerned and still rebuilding after hurricane ian hit nearly a year ago. >> it was really hard to see something that you've built just destroyed. in an instant. >> reporter: as drivers load up on gas in tampa officials warning of fuel contaminated with diesel at more than two dozen gas stations over the weekend the contaminated fuel could cause damage to engines. meanwhile, residents are stocking up on supplies and lining up at sandbag locations >> i'm just afraid that our luck is going to run out, we're not going to be prepared one time, and that's when the luck's going to run out >> reporter: priscilla thompson, nbc news, cedar key, florida we'll turn now to the terrifying moments today at the university of north carolina chapel hill the campus placed on lockdown for hours after a gunman fatally shot a faculty member. police apparently making the arrest on live tv. here's ali vitali. >> reporter: tonight an alarming if too familiar scene a college campus on lockdown after a deadly shooting. >> call for an active shooter on campus. >> reporter: this time at university of north carolina chapel hill >> i'm grieved to report that one of our faculty members was killed in this shooting this loss is devastating, and the shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted in our campus community. >> reporter: it began this afternoon with a school alert for an armed dangerous person on or near campus. "go inside now avoid windows. just one week after classes started. >> has a 9-millimeter. possible asian male. >> reporter: heavily armed officers swarming the campus. students walking down the street with hands up many posting pictures sheltering inside school buildings >> so immediately we all just stayed hiding in the stalls, squatting on the toilets, just scared we didn't know what was happening. >> it was terrifying because you know, you see that on your phone and you think it's just one of those things >> reporter: police putting out this photo of what they called a person of interest then what appeared to be an arrest late today shown on nbc station wral >> now they're leading the person around the vehicle in handcuffs that's the person we saw sitting down on the street with his hands behind his back getting into the back of that police car >> reporter: and just after 4:00 the campus given the all-clear. >> you know, ali, we'll never get used to that sight of students with their hands up leaving a college campus there are a lot of questions here about what led up to this and what actually happened >> reporter: absolutely, lester chief among them how and why this happened. at this hour both the suspect and victim are unidentified law enforcement are still searching for a firearm. nevertheless, a harrowing and frightening way to go back to school lester >> ali vitali, thank you. and there are new developments in the racist shooting rampage at a store in florida. a security guard from a nearby college campus is being hailed as a hero tonight for potentially preventing even more deaths he spoke with our gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: before the gunman, seen here on surveillance video, walked into a dollar general store in jacksonville saturday and killed three people, tonight police releasing new images of the moment he stopped in the parking lot of nearby edward waters university. that's when a group of students flagged down a campus security officer. >> i don't consider myself a hero. >> reporter: lieutenant antonio bailey quickly confronted the gunman, later identified as 21-year-old ryan christopher palmeter >> what appeared to be a tactical vest up under a shirt and mask >> did you ever in your mind ever consider not confronting this suspect? >> no, i did not this is what we signed up for >> reporter: the gunman sped away and later opened fire at the dollar general nearby before taking his own life while the local sheriff says it's not clear that the gunman planned to target the university, the school's president has no doubt why he went there first. >> do you believe that if he had not confronted the suspect, do you believe that this attack would have unfolded here on this campus >> i absolutely do >> reporter: tonight the fbi is investigating the shooting as a hate crime. the sheriff here says the gunman had written down racist rants. the victims identified as jerrald de'shaun gallion, a.j. laguerre jr. and angela carr. >> this is so unreal oh, god. >> reporter: carr's daughter ashley says her mom was an uber driver who leaves behind three kids and 16 grandchildren >> she's touched the lives of hundreds if not thousands. >> reporter: today president biden meeting with civil rights leaders commemorating the 60th anniversary of the march on washington. >> white supremacy is a poison >> reporter: police say the gunman legally purchased the ar-15 style rifle and handgun he used and that he had no criminal record, though as a teenager he was held for an involuntary mental health evaluation. >> what he did is totally unacceptable in the state of florida. >> reporter: at a prayer vigil governor ron desantis faced boos from the crowd. [ boos ] after previously drawing backlash over efforts to change black history teaching standards in florida's public schools today the governor announced the state would set aside $1 million to beef up security at edward waters university. lester >> all right gabe gutierrez, thank you. the judge overseeing former president trump's federal election interference case set a trial date today now another trial for the republican front-runner is set to collide with the 2024 presidential primaries. we get more from blayne alexander >> reporter: tonight, request denied that's the ruling from a federal judge to former president trump seeking to delay the start of his federal election interference trial until after the 2024 election. instead, judge tanya chutkan has set a start date of march 4th. prosecutors had requested a january start date, but trump attorneys had pushed for a 2026 start, saying they needed time to prepare. but judge chutkan said, "mr. trump, like any defendant, will have to make the trial date work regardless of his schedule. today mr. trump blasted it as an attempt to undermine his presidential campaign calling it "election interference." it's yet another collision between the republican front-runner's legal calendar and the height of campaign season that march 4th start date just one day before super tuesday three weeks later the start of mr. trump's trial in manhattan, where a d.a. is accusing him of concealing hush money payments to a porn star he's pleaded not guilty then on may 20th the special counsel's case on classified documents. mr. trump has also pleaded not guilty not yet on the calendar, the election interference case in fulton county, georgia, where today his former chief of staff mark meadows testified about this call from then president trump to georgia's secretary of state brad raffensperger. >> i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. because we won the state. >> reporter: meadows is pushing to move his case to federal court, which would mean jurors from outside atlanta, not just heavily democratic fulton county. all of it is spilling from the courtroom to the campaign trail, where the trump campaign says it's raised more than $7 million since his surrender last thursday, including selling campaign merchandise featuring mr. trump's mugshot. and tonight mr. trump's georgia arraignment has been set for september 6th. he could appear in person or virtually or waive his appearance altogether lester >> all right, blayne, thank you. now to the horrific helicopter crash caught on camera today in south florida. a fire rescue chopper spinning out of control and crashing into an apartment building two people killed including a woman on the ground here's tom costello. >> reporter: tragedy on a life-saving mission. >> is it going down? >> reporter: a sheriff fire helicopter trailing smoke, then spinning out of control just 650 feet up the chopper's boom and tail rotor buckling under enormous strain as it nose-dived into an apartment building. killed in the crash, fire captain paramedic terryson jackson and an unnamed female resident of the apartment building the chopper was responding to a traffic accident with injuries when the pilot reported he was turning around >> we're having mechanical issues. we're headed back to our station. >> a fire broke out on board. they did their very best from my understanding now to try to extinguish that fire >> reporter: the pilot and another paramedic were injured in the crash as were two people on the ground all now reported in fair condition as the department mourns the loss of captain jackson, a beloved 19-year veteran. >> terryson was a rock star he was one of the best of us. one of the brightest he bled this profession inside and out all day long >> reporter: the chopper involved is a dual engine euro copter 135 like this one used by police and rescue services around the world. >> this is a widely used helicopter. it's got a very good safety record. >> reporter: among the questions for faa and ntsb investigators, how and where did an on-board fire break out? had the chopper recently gone through any maintenance? had any pilot recently reported any problems? with the fire and sheriff's department tonight mourning one of their own lester >> tom costello, thank you. in just 60 seconds the fleecing of america. the major company accused of defrauding the government how a retired marine blew the whistle and earned $40 million for it back now with a historic fraud settlement with one of the biggest government contractors in the country. and it only came to light after a marine corps veteran raised the alarm. ken dilanian has our report >> reporter: much of sarah feinberg's philosophy about life was shaped by her time as a captain in the u.s. marines, serving in iraq. >> it helped me get a sense of right versus wrong and to have a clear picture of the service that i wanted to perform for our country. >> reporter: in 2015 as a young mom she was rising up the ranks of booz allen hamilton as a financial analyst. >> booz allen works almost exclusively with the u.s. government and they have a ton of contracts with the department of defense. >> reporter: she says she quickly realized the company's other contracts, some with foreign governments like saudi arabia, were bleeding cash >> and in order to keep the company profitable they were passing those costs on to the u.s. government contracts. >> so these private contracts including with foreign governments are losing money and to cover those losses they're taking money from the american taxpayer? >> that's right. >> and it was a lot of money. >> what i discovered when i was there was that they were overcharging the government by nearly 100 million a year >> reporter: that's when feinberg says she began a campaign to convince her bosses to put a stop to it >> it made me very upset as a taxpayer. it made me very upset as a marine officer. i saw how limited our resources were >> reporter: after dozens of meetings she got her chance to present her findings to eight senior executives she was 31 >> they're mostly older men. there were i think two women in the meeting, of the group and i was definitely the youngest person in the room >> reporter: feinberg started by telling the group that fixing the issue would mean losing money but she says she was quickly cut off by the chief financial officer, who told her -- >> i appreciate all the work you've done on this. we are not going to make it a priority this year. >> that must have just been devastating for you. >> it was very devastating for me i called my husband right afterwards and told him i was quitting my job. >> reporter: feinberg got a lawyer who explained she could sue on behalf of american taxpayers and claim a share of any settlement under a law that dates to the civil war, the false claims act the justice department began an investigation and seven years later announced a $377 million settlement as much money as it was, feinberg says the company should have faced even harsher penalties. feinberg's $40 million share landed in her family's bank account a few weeks ago. booz allen admitted no wrongdoing, saying in a statement that the company has always believed it acted lawfully and responsibly and noting that a criminal investigation was closed without charges. >> did they underestimate you? >> i wish they would have taken me and the issue more seriously while i was there. >> reporter: today $40 million richer feinberg says she plans to give much of it to her church >> i've got three kids ♪ i tell them doing the right thing is the right thing no matter what the outcome is. there's very few times in this life where you'll actually be rewarded for doing the right thing. but this is one of those unique situations >> reporter: ken dilanian, nbc news, washington up next, as we continue tonight with tensions high between beijing and washington, is the giant panda in the middle we're back now with a long good-bye at the national zoo. three giant pandas are set to head to china after captivating millions for decades in the backdrop the escalating tensions between two global powers here's ryan nobles >> reporter: giant pandas are one of the most popular animals in captivity and their time in the united states may be coming to a close. >> i want them to stay >> reporter: the smithsonian national zoo in washington, d.c. announced that their three bears will return to china. >> they're a staple. they're, you know -- i think of the smithsonian zoo, i think of the pandas. >> reporter: it marks the end of a more than five-decade run for the unique animals at the national zoo that first began after president richard nixon's historic visit to china it was a major diplomatic victory for the chinese that led to similar relationships with other countries. >> there's been no greater ambassador to getting people to love animals, love nature, love conservation than the giant panda. >> reporter: when the giant pandas leave washington, it will leave only one zoo in america with the animal the san diego zoo's partnership ended in 2019 the memphis zoo in april of this year atlanta's agreement ends in 2024 but zoo officials are hoping for an extension. it all comes at a time when political tensions between the united states and china are on the rise. the smithsonian's arrangement was not with the government specifically but instead a chinese conservation organization >> so cute >> reporter: but for zoos in america there are few animals that have had the impact giant pandas have. >> they're the star of the show here. everyone comes to see the pandas >> reporter: and zoogoers here in washington have just a few months left to catch a glimpse of the pandas they're scheduled to return to china at the beginning of december. lester >> ryan nobles, thank you. when we come back, simone biles soars with a historic win and a comeback unlike any other. finally, after two years off, simone biles returned to the national championships looking like she never missed a day in the gym. here's emilie ikeda. >> reporter: in her first u.s. championships in two years simone biles twisted, flipped and soared her way to another entry in the record books >> she's the best in the world and back in a big way. >> reporter: reminding america why she's called the greatest of all time >> nailed it >> reporter: with the encouragement from training mate jordan chiles, 10,000 fans erupted into a standing ovation as the 26-year-old clinched her eighth national all-around title. >> it's really amazing. everybody in here believes in me and my teammates believe in me, my coaches, my family, everyone so i just need to start believing in myself a little bit more >> reporter: biles is the first person to ever win eight national titles. her first came in 2013 so long ago she says she can barely remember it. >> it feels pretty good but it hasn't really sunken in yet. >> reporter: now she's the oldest national champion ever, appearing to have shaken off the twisties from the tokyo olympics >> i just seriously can't believe i'm out here competing again i just really can't. so i'm proud of myself for that >> reporter: her commanding score making clear biles is back and continuing to pull off the impossible, like this vault no other woman can do as for what's next >> you don't want to tell us if paris is one of those personal goals? >> not yet >> reporter: the 4'8” dynamo is leaving fans on the edge of their seats. emilie ikeda nbc news >> literally at the top of her game. that's "nightly news" for this monday. 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," chaos at a mall in the east bay. hundreds of teenagers involved in several brawls. >> it was like a stampede. it was a -- it was a stampede of them just, like, going back and forth. >> so what happened, and what's next? we're talking with the mayor of emeryville. also, some of silicon valley's richest people are backing a plan to create a whole new city. what we're now

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