the canals, and that is where they are seeing homes flooded. >> norah: plus, where idalia is headed next. ♪ ♪ mitch mcconnell health scare. >> did you hear the question, senator? >> norah: the senate's top republican freezes during a press conference, the second time in as many months. >> all right, i'm sorry. ♪ ♪ >> norah: growing criticism after cbs news questioning reveals maui's mayor didn't place a single call for emergency backup during the deadly fires. >> if the buck stops with your office, how is that possible? >> i can't speak to what or whose responsibility it was to -- >> but you are the boss of this island, so yes, you can speak to it. ♪ ♪ >> norah: mid-air scare. the new details after 11 people were rushed to the hospital after a delta flight hit severe turbulence. ♪ ♪ >> hopefully we can find everything we need here. >> parents across the country are back-to-school shopping. how is inflation impacting the bottom line? >> it is not just the school supplies itself. it was everything else that has gone up. ♪ ♪ ♪ blue moon ♪ >> tonight, the moon is expected to be the biggest and brightest it will be the rest of the year. >> the next super blue moon will happen in 2037. ♪ blue moon ♪ ♪ ♪ >> norah: good evening to our viewers in the west, and thank you for joining us on this wednesday night. we come on the air with breaking news. at least two people are dead tonight as hurricane idalia leaves a path of destruction across florida and slams georgia, south carolina, and north carolina. the video after landfall is stunning. idalia hit florida's big bend region as a category 3 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour. tonight, hundreds of thousands of customers are still without power. we are hearing stories tonight of survival. some residents who rode out the storm at home say they had to escape by swimming out of their windows. the national hurricane center's advisory is just in. idalia is now a tropical storm. but the risk of flooding, storm surge, and strong winds continues. and at this hour, there are reports of at least one tornado in south carolina. we have team coverage of this historic storm, starting with cbs's omar villafranca in crystal river, florida. good evening, omar. >> reporter: good evening. some neighborhoods here in citrus county are still underwater. this storm pummeled florida's gulf coast with heavy winds and torrential rain, and at its peak, more than 250,000 people were without power. hurricane idalia roared ashore at 7:45 this morning. >> the tide is coming in here! >> reporter: packing powerful 125-mile-per-hour winds. the storm surge flooded hundreds of miles of florida's gulf coast. the eye came ashore near keaton beach, which was nearly washed away by an 8-foot wall of water. taylor county, along the state's big bend, bore the brunt of the storm. the town of parry took a direct hit. trees were ripped down, homes and businesses damaged or destroyed, including this gas station canopy, blown completely over. this woman and her daughter were nearly crushed. >> no! >> reporter: when this tree fell into their home. cameras caught waves in nearby horseshoe beach crashing into houses. water levels there peaked at over 9 feet. emergency operations are ongoing. more than 70 residents in hudson rescued from floodwaters. in citrus county, yumi zamora is one of several people headed to higher ground after being rescued. the hospital worker went to bed after her shift and woke up with floodwaters and emergency crews at her front door. >> my car was getting underwater, so i just wake up and i start freaking out, so... >> reporter: were you able to save anything? >> no. >> reporter: these rapids are actually in the middle of a parking lot, and this has residents concerned because they say this water is spilling over from the river and draining into the canals, where many homes are located, and that is starting to flood the houses. parts of southern georgia have already received more than 9 inches of rain, and flash flooding is a major concern. manuel bojorquez is in savannah. >> reporter: you can see the water churning inside the savannah river, but the concern here isn't just river flooding or coastal flooding, it is the flash flooding that could happen with all of the rain and high tide later tonight. >> reporter: idalia has also spent multiple tornadoes. this car flipped and hit another vehicle on a highway outside of charleston after a twister touched down. it is unclear if there were any injuries. a tornado warning is still in effect for several south carolina counties. >> reporter: back here in crystal river, florida, the storm surge made roads almost impassible. boats were tied to houses to keep them from falling away. philip and linda bradley left their home this morning when water was already creeping into the house. >> i am an 8th-generation floridian. i've been here 62 years. this is as bad as i have seen it. >> reporter: as the water level goes down, we are still seeing rescue vehicles speeding around, taking people to higher ground. there are shelters set up for people who don't have a place to stay, but residents tell me it is going to take months to clean up all of this mess. norah? >> norah: what a mess. omar villafranca, thank you. well, just north of omar is one of the hardest hit florida communities called steinhatchee. cbs's jason allen is there and reports the storm surge starting to recede after the small town was a most entirely underwater. >> reporter: the powerful, 9-foot storm surge engulfed this coastal community, flooding streets and partially submerging homes. this pier at the the marina was destroyed. nearby tents ripped apart. here at the mouth of the steinhatchee river, there was a small business here, realty office. the people here told me had survived several hurricanes. the storm surge knocked it down. pieces of it are down the street. it moved this truck into the side of the building, and inside that restaurant, everything is flooded. everything inside destroyed. hurricane-force winds ripped up rooftops and downed trees in this community of nearly 600 people. streets are now covered in debris. trees snapped off in the intense winds here. the floodwater still surrounding homes. some people still up on their balconies right now, waiting for these floodwaters to go down. connie walden rode out the storm at home. she was there when this tree landed on her roof. did you know when you heard the boom what had happened outside? >> no. had no idea. no, but everything shook. >> reporter: rescue groups are now searching for survivors as residents dig out from the destruction. and i just talked to a sheriff deputy here who told me that now the search and rescue for this area, those efforts are completed. the steinhatchee river you see back here, it surged more than 8 feet above the water level that you see right now. that broke the previous record by a foot. norah? >> norah: jason allen, thank you. for idalia's latest track as it rolls through georgia toward south carolina, let's bring in meteorologist mike seidel from our partners at the weather channel. mike, good evening. >> good evening, norah. a 4-foot storm surge here in tampa put this entire parking lot underwater. this morning the water is back in the bay. all warnings have been dropped along the gulf coast. tonight, idalia is near savannah, georgia, racing northeast 20 miles per hour, off myrtle beach and out to sea by tomorrow afternoon, but along the track, here is that future radar forecast, heavy rain, thunderstorms, rainfall rates of 1-2 inches an hour. there are flood watches up from parts of georgia, across the eastern carolinas, and the tornado watch continues until 10:00 eastern. that includes savannah, charleston, myrtle beach, and wilmington. but the rainfall totals, even with this rapid movement, are prolific. some areas could get 8-12 inches of rain. again, turn around, don't drown. but it will all be off the coast by tomorrow afternoon. and we do have some good news tonight, norah. tampa international airport, which canceled just about every flight yesterday and today, only has 16 flights canceled tomorrow, so if you want to get down to the suncoast as the sun returns, you can do it. norah? >> norah: mike seidel, thank you for that. now to tonight's other top stories. there are new concerns over the health of the top senate republican, after mitch mcconnell suddenly froze again today, standing speechless in front of reporters. it comes just weeks after a similar incident and less than six months after the 81-year-old senator was hospitalized after a fall. we get more now from cbs's scott macfarlane. >> reporter: taking questions from reporters in kentucky today, mitch mcconnell suddenly stopped speaking. >> running for reelection in 2026? >> that's... >> did you hear the question, senator? running for reelection in 2026? >> reporter: expressionless for several seconds, mcconnell continued to stare straight ahead. >> all right, i'm sorry, you all, we are going to need a minute. >> reporter: mcconnell ultimately gathered himself and finished the press conference. his staff said the 81-year-old republican leader experienced lightheadedness and plans to see a doctor before his next event. president biden was asked about it today. >> mitch is a friend, as you know. not a joke. we always, i know people don't believe that is the case. we have disagreements politically, but he is a good friend. so i am going to try and get in touch. >> reporter: today's incident was noticeably similar to an episode in july at the capitol. >> hey, mitch. >> reporter: a senate colleague had intervene, as mcconnell froze before returning minutes later. his staff also said that incident was the result of lightheadedness. the episodes have raised questions about mcconnell's role as senate republican leader. >> i hope senator mcconnell is healthy. >> reporter: cbs's major garrett spoke with florida governor rick scott. >> reporter: do you believe this should contribute to a deeper conversation of how long he should remain in this position? >> i expect him to remain the republican leader through his term, and we will have another election after the 2024 elections. >> reporter: mcconnell is the latest u.s. senator to face questions about health. dianne feinstein of california, who is retiring next year, missed weeks of proceedings here, with complications from shingles, and norah, she also suffered a recent fall. >> norah: scott macfarlane, thank you. there are new developments now in the aftermath of the catastrophic fires in maui. president biden today pledging $95 million to help strengthen hawaii's electrical grid. the much-needed assistance comes as officials on maui, including its mayor, face growing calls for accountability. cbs's jonathan vigliotti is asking the tough questions. >> just go! >> reporter: as flames ripped through lahaina, desperation was everywhere. people posting video for all to see. >> social media showed the fire, showed people running for their lives. >> i'm not going to speak to social media. i wasn't on social media. we didn't have time for that. >> reporter: and yet maui mayor richard bissen would not say what he was doing. it was his job to ask the state for emergency backup. but admitted he did not place a single call in the hours during or long after the fire. mayor bissen, you are the highest-ranking official here on the island. if the buck stops with your office, how is that possible? >> i can't speak to what or whose responsibility it was to communicate -- >> reporter: but you are the boss of this island, so yes, you can speak to it. >> i am saying i cannot speak who was responsible for speaking with general hara. >> reporter: major general kenneth hara, director of emergency management, said in a recent interview he was initially unaware of crucial details. >> i thought everybody had gotten out safely. it wasn't until probably the next day that i started hearing about some fatalities. >> reporter: don't you think it was important for your agency to know about the deaths? >> i don't think i could have done anything about that. >> reporter: he did not clarify exactly where he was, as the fire gained strength. we don't know how many other people maybe died waiting for response, your agency -- >> personally, i don't think so, we have been looking at -- >> what i'm trying to say is that fire is so rapid and by the time everyone had situational awareness, it was too late, unfortunately. >> reporter: but tonight, there are questions tonight about if it was too late. we know many people jumped into this ocean to escape the flames and were not rescued until the following morning. meanwhile tonight, the fbi has scuba teams searching 4 miles of this coastline. norah, at this hour, more than 300 people are still missing. >> norah: jonathan vigliotti, who has been asking these important questions from day one. thank you, jonathan. well, now to a dangerous and scary incident in the sky. 11 people were hospitalized last night after a delta flight from milan, italy, hit severe turbulence about 40 miles from atlanta. cbs's kris van cleave reports those injured include both crewmembers and passengers. >> reporter: injured passengers, some on stretchers, helped off delta flight 175 last >> i honestly thought that we were crashing. >> reporter: passenger ayo suber shot this video and says she watched as the turbulence launched people into the air. >> the woman in the aisle next, in the middle aisle, she had gone up and hit the overhead compartment. and cracked it. >> reporter: the faa says the airbus a350 from milan, italy, hit severe turbulence about 40 miles from the airport. 11 people were hurt badly enough to be taken to the hospital. >> the threat of turbulence is always there, and that is why it is important that while you are seated, keep your seat belts on. >> reporter: sunday, a flight to mallorca, spain, hit turbulence severe enough to terrify and even sicken passengers. while injuries due to turbulence are rare, there were 163 on u.s. airliners between 2009 and last year. nearly 80% were airline crewmembers. new research is finding turbulence is becoming more common, and at times more intense, because climate change is creating more instances of severe weather. norah? >> norah: truly frightening. kris van cleave, thank you. back here in washington today, a serious legal blow for former new york city mayor and trump attorney rudy giuliani. a federal judge is holding giuliani liable for defamation against two gergia election workers, ordering him and his businesses to pay more than $130,000 in legal fees for making baseless accusations of election fraud. he may have to pay much more in damages to ruby freeman and her daughter when the case goes to trial. they say giuliani helped unleash a wave of hatred and threats against them. tonight, as students head back against them.oom, families are tonight, as students wallet, with back-to-school supplies taking a bigger-than-ever bite out of the budget. cbs's janet shamlian takes a look in our series, "school matters." >> are you ready? >> yeah. >> reporter: it is an outing that can fill a parent with dread. back-to-school shopping. >> you want to make sure you have your list. >> reporter: nausheen asif is taking daughters miriam and misha for their supplies. >> all right, girls, we are going to knock this out. >> reporter: and working on a list of her own. >> i try my best to do it during tax-free weekend. >> reporter: the texas mom is a teacher. >> wide ruled or college ruled? how much is that one? >> reporter: and pays for some classroom items herself. do you have to factor supplies for your classroom into your family budget? >> i do. >> reporter: the price of school supplies has risen almost 24% over the last two years. did you spend more for school supplies this year than you did last? >> i did for them. it is not just the school supplies itself, individually. everything has gone up. >> reporter: how to save? experts say it is not necessary to buy everything right now. winter clothes are discounted in the fall. also consider sites like facebook marketplace and resale stores for gently-used clothing. for big-ticket electronics like a laptop, shop labor day sales. >> another helpful tool, especially when you are shopping for apparel or supplies like notebooks is to go to google shopping, and they will give you all the different options, so you can really make the smart choices. >> reporter: even with a teacher discount, asif spent almost $1,000. the anticipation of back-to-school. >> misha, here's yours. >> reporter: this year with a higher-than-ever price tag. janet shamlian, cbs news, katy, texas. >> norah: a u.s. military chopper comes down hard and flips over. we've got the details next. ♪ ♪ flips over. we've got thehe details n next. ♪ ♪ i i had bad dadays, (couough, cough)h) flflare-ups ththat could p permanentlyy damagege my lungs.s. with breztztri, things c changed foror me. breztri gagave me betterer breathingng. startiting within n 5 minute, i noticedd mymy lung funcnction improro. it helped d improve mymy symp, and breztrtri was evenen prn to r reduce flarare-ups,s, inincluding ththose that coululd send me e to the hosos. so now i i look forwrward to more e good days.s. breztri wowon't replacace a rescscue inhalerer fofor sudden b breathing problems.. itit is not fofor asthma.. tell y your doctoror if you haa hearart conditioion oror high blooood pressurere before t taking it.. dodon't take b breztri moroe than p prescribed.d. breztrtri may incrcrease your k of t thrush, pneneumonia, d osteoporososis. cacall your dodoctor if woword brbreathing, chest t pain, moututh or tonongue swelliling, problemsms urinatingng, visn changes, o or eye painin occ. can't affoford your memedicat? 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(vo) you weren't made for moderate to severe crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. but entyvio is. in clinical trials, entyvio helped many people achieve long-term relief and remission. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. although unlikely, a risk of pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection cannot be ruled out. tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. liver problems can occur. it's time to ask your healthcare provider about entyvio. go to entyvio.com to learn more about the #1 prescribed biologic for crohn's and uc. ♪entyvio, entyvio, entyvio♪ >> norah: finally, tonight, the second supermoon in the month of august will be the brightest and biggest of the year for all of you sky watchers. tonight's blue moon will appear to be 14% larger and will rise over the horizon shortly after sunset in the east. the term has nothing to do with a color, but it is called that for the rarity of having two full moons in the same month. these happen only about once every three years, but a super blue moon is even more rare, taking place about once every ten years or so. in fact, tonight is the last one you will see until 2037, so here's some advice: turn on some elvis and enjoy. well, that's tonight's "cbs evening news." i'm norah o'donnell. good night. ♪ ♪ what a day it has been. you likely saw it and smelt it. smoke, similar to fire seasons creating unhealthy air. >> anyone who lived here in the past five years has been through serious smoke seasons. >> i was going to my mom's car. i smelt smoke. >> how long it will linger. >> not just the air quality but the high fire danger in the northbound mountains prompting the weather day improving conditions at least in terms of the fire threat. i will detail the air quality forecast, coming up. also, more pets are suffering burns during these hot days. local shelters are just running out of room to help them. >> shelters are in crisis. not enough fosters, not enough adopters. >> we take you live. the bye hive swarms and the one thing not to wear.. this is cbs bay area with juliette goodrich. >> we are in first alert weather moved. a loud mode. there is another air quality up for tomorrow. look at there if you can see it. the survey of smoke there in san francisco. the city skyline hard to make out in all of the haze. equally poor visibility across the bay. oakland, the smoke around the east bay hills, air quality maps showing the north ba