♪ developing overnight, police have scheduled a monday press conference to offer more information after authorities have located a car and a body found near the last known location of missing teen kieli rodni. flood alerts issued for multiple states to monday night after a weekend that saw record rainfall in many places the daughter of one of vladimir putin's allies is killed in a car bombing. the question this morning, was it a contract killing? brand new nbc news polls reveal the top concern for most

americans heading into the midterm elections. a texas school district is proudly posting signs that read -- in god we trust -- inside public school classrooms, but not everyone is happy about it. and how about some snow in august right here in the continental u.s. it's monday, august 22nd "early today" starts right now good morning i'm erin o'hearn. >> i'm phillip mena. we begin this morning with a possible break in the case of missing 16-year-old kieli rodni. police have recovered human remains that may be those of rodni. she mysteriously disappeared earlier this month and last seen at a high school graduation near tahoe. yesterday afternoon, a dive team was searching a reservoir nearby when they made that grim discovery. they found a body inside an upside down suv in 14 feet of water. you can see them there pulling the car out to shore authorities have not confirmed if the remains are rodni's

a press conference will be held later today with more details. we turn now to extreme flooding that ripped through the southwest over the weekend crews in new mexico worked to rescue a man whose car got caught in rushing flood waters the man waited on the roof of his vehicle, as you can see in that video, as it floated downstream both the rescuers and the man were not hurt. and the carlsbad cavern's national park remained closed sunday after surging water cut off roads to the caverns and left tourists stranded for hours over the weekend here is raf sanchez. >> reporter: unrelenting rain bringing a weekend of flash floods across the southwest. in new mexico, this desert road swallowed by surging water. >> never been this close to flood before. >> me neither! >> reporter: leaving more than 150 tourists stranded at carlsbad cavern's national park. robert and stephanie and their three children were hundreds of feet under ground when they were

told to evacuate >> our oldest daughter, she's 10 she could understand what was going on so it was very nerve racking for her. and she was very scared. >> reporter: one of your daughters has a heart condition. what was it like to be trapped there with her. >> she has down syndrome and a congenital heart disease which she takes daily medication for and we left that in the hotel. so that was another. >> problem. >> problem for us. >> reporter: the family eventually free after nearly 12 hours. but 600 miles away in utah, rescue krus at zion national park still searching for a graduate student her muddy backpack, the only clue so far. she was swept away friday by the same current carrying this man >> hey >> reporter: clinging desperately to a log his life saved by good samaritans on the river bank. >> just like a truck pinning you against a wall he was just vice gripped in there. so i reached back ward we made a human chain.

>> reporter: people will say you're a hero. do you feel like one. >> no. i just knew i had to do something, stay with him and keep eyes on him. >> reporter: moab, utah, what should have been a busy night at this restaurant, turning into all hands cleanup operation. and to the northeast, drought-like conditions. delta airlines already issuing travel waivers due to the threat of severe weather. now, going back to the woman missing in zion national park, friends tell an nbc affiliate the grad student is a hydrology major but does not know how to swim >> scary stuff raf, thank you. to nbc meteorologist michelle grossman who has been tracking these storms for us hope you had a good weekend. good morning, michelle. >> i did hope you did, too. good morning yeah, we're tracking flash flooding even this morning in portions of texas. that will be the story all day long it's dangerous it's life threatening. if you do encounter rain on the roadways, you want to turn around it's impossible to tell how high

that water is. so this is what it looks like in terms of our flash flood risk today. many spots across the nation including the northeast and portions of the southwest, but the southern plains, lower mississippi valley where we're expecting that extreme flooding. so dallas, you're included in that where you see the pink, that is a moderate risk. that is rare we saw that the past couple of days but we don't see it often. here is the setup here it will drop a lot of rain it will be three inches per hour and we could see we'll see that storm slowly shifting to the east, continuing to drop a lot of rain in spots we're also looking at rain in the northeast today, 4 to 5 inches we'll talk about that, too, in just a few minutes. >> we'll see you in a bit, michelle thank you. >> sure. a fiery car crash on sunday killed three indiana state university students and seriously injured two others it happened early sunday morning about 10 miles from campus in riley, indiana authorities say a vehicle suddenly veered off the road,

slammed into a tree, and caught fire the driver and two passengers could not be saved they were pronounced dead at the scene. the two other passengers were able to escape alive but with serious injuries the university believes a total of five of its students were involved in the deadly crash saying several members of the football team are among them well, russian authorities have launched a murder investigation after the daughter of a prominent ally of vladimir putin was killed by a car bomb she was a conservative commentator ultranationalist father is believed to be very influential in the kremlin josh ledderman reports >> reporter: investigators say the car bomb that killed the daughter of one of president putin's allies may have been ang eyewitness video showing what's believed to be the suv she was driving engulfed in flames her father appears to be on the scene, visibly distraught. russian authorities say she was

likely murdered. a bomb placed under her seat the question is why? russian state run media citing witnesses saying her father decided last minute to travel in a different vehicle and may have been the target himself. alexander dugan has been called putin's brain, one of russia's ultranationalist right wing views found their ways into putin's speeches, including his staunch support for invading ukraine. views echoed by his daughter seen on state tv on thursday for the last time. she says, people in the west are living in a dream. and they need to be nourished by this war russia's foreign ministry speculated that ukraine may have killed her, but no evidence of that has emerged ukraine's government denies any involvement. an exrussian politician and putin critic claimed responsibility on behalf of a previously unknown group called the national republican army his claim couldn't be verified >> on one level you think that ukrainians have the most reason to dislike and depiez dugan.

on the other hand, this is no small feat >> reporter: in ukraine, fears of real obligation a country already on high alert as ukraine prepares to mark six months of war on wednesday, coinciding with its day of independence president zelenskyy warning russia may be planning something particularly cruel to ruin the occasion ukraine's second largest city will impose around the clock curfew on a bittersweet independence day >> and our thanks to josh for that report. with midterm elections 78 days away, nbc news polling shows many american voters are not feeling very hopeful 58% say they worry that america's best years are behind us that is the highest number ever recorded in our nbc poll president biden's job approval rating at 42% with over half of the country disapproving there was a shift in the issues most important to voters, threats to democracy took the top spot over the cost of living and jobs

57% of respondents saying investigations of former president trump should continue, including 21% of republicans nbc's bri jackson joins us now from d.c good morning what are the latest developments in the investigations we just mentioned into mr. trump >> reporter: good morning, phillip. new information could be coming this week in the fbi's search of trump's mar-a-lago home. the justice department has until thursday to submit a redacted version of the affidavit used to justify the search for classified documents the doj argued releasing the document would jeopardize their investigation. but mr. trump and many of his allies want that information released one of those allies includes senator lindsey graham he was scheduled to give testimony tomorrow for a different investigation in georgia. but an appeal's court put that on hold. meanwhile, we're learning more about what congresswoman liz cheney's political agenda will be now that she's lost her

primary in wyoming she's vowing tocampaign agains some members of her own party. >> i'm going to be very focussed on working to ensure that we do everything we cannot to elect election deniers i'm going to work against those people i'm going to work to support their opponents. i think it matters that much >> reporter: and it's not just cheney calling out gop candidates mitch mcconnell questioned the republican's ability to flip the senate in the midterms, saying candidate quality may be an issue in those statewide races which led former president trump to lash out against mcconnell this weekend on social media, calling him a, quote, broken down hack politician so we have to wait and see if republican in-fighting will have a real impact on these midterm elections. phillip? >> there's infighting on both sides these days, though we'll see. brie jackson, thank you. switching gears, calendar

might still say august, but take a look at this it's beginning to look a lot like christmas in colorado springs. pikes peak got the fresh powder over the season -- fresh powder of the season over the weekend and more is expected in the coming days. this is about the time of year the colorado mountains start seeing snow. and i can guarantee you that avid skiers are welcoming this news >> they are. >> chomping at the bit. >> seems like only yesterday it was 100 degrees all over the country. let's get back to michelle for more on your weather on this monday hey, michelle. >> hey there, guys the big story today is the flash flooding that we're going to be seeing occurring in the central plains, lower -- southern plains into the southeast we do have portions, 13 million americans under a flash flooding alert. we're looking at flash flooding this morning in the red where it's occurring right now remember, flash flooding is leading cause of whether-related deaths something to take very seriously. we're looking at tremendous

amount of rain today 3 to 6 very stormy in the southn plains, lower mississippi valley where we could see flash flooding soggy start for many today we'll see how long it will last with the forecast, the week ahead, in just a bit. >> talk to you later thank you, michelle. in today's quick hits the delorean is back from the future the company unveiled two new concepts the alpha 5 plasma tail and the om omega. the alpha begins in 2024 production and omega just for fun. sean connery's aston martin db 5 made nearly $2.4 million at a california auction it was driven in gold finger and reappeared in no time to die

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magic eraser and sheets make cleaning look easy. new this morning, three arkansas law enforcement officers have been suspended and are under investigation after they were filmed brow tally beating a suspect sunday morning. we have to warn you here the footage is disturbing. two crawford county sheriff's deputies and one city police officer had been searching for a suspect who threatened a store clerk and spat in their face authorities say that's when they approached the man fitting the description. he soon became violent, injuring one of them, leading to this scene captured on camera the man identified as 27-year-old randall warchester was hospitalized with minor head injuries he has been charged with seven counts including assault and resisting arrest in a statement the crawford county sheriff promised to take appropriate measures and mullberry pd says it takes the investigations very seriously

and holds all their officers accountable for their actions. civil rights advocates have their eyes on a texas school district when it started displaying in god we trust signs inside schools our dallas ft. worth station has the details. >> reporter: these signs a all donate willed hang in carol isd buildings. >> patriot mobile is honored to donate these posters and we're very excited to see them amongst all of schools. >> reporter: patriot mobile labels itself a christian conservative wireless provider is giving the school district these in god we trust science. it's all above board after a new law passed in 2021 said signs are donated with the nation's motto, schools must display in a conspicuous place in each building monday night school board meeting, three people spoke in favor of the signs with no opposition during the presentation to the panel. >> thank you for the donation from patriot mobile.

that was very kind and generous. >> reporter: but the south lake anti-rais coalition raised concerns tweeting after the meeting we love the separation of church and state. the cofounder tells us she is startled that this is a state law. >> i feel like they don't have a choice right now to put them up. but hopefully this will spread larger conversations about having more freedom of expression so if they're allowed to put up signs like this, there should be no reasons that other students or people can't put up signs that have different messaging. >> reporter: according to their website, patriot mobile says they donated hundredsof thousands of dollars to christian conservative causes. >> our thanks to julie for that report still to come, the bombers celebrate a member of the '90s dynasty. ahead, the sweet smell of revenge. chipotle calls out lemonade thieves. we'll have that story next

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so many dreams in life that don't always come true that's why i'm really celebrating this day because this was the biggest dream i've ever had in my life. and i appreciate everything you did. >> five-time world series champion paul o'neil honored in a ceremony retiring his number 21 at yankee stadium he reflected on his nine seasons in new york, thanking the fans several times. he was presented with various gifts. the best one, though, probably was a water cooler sporting the number 21 with a bat pierced through it it was a playful reference when he was anything but playful. he would get mad and destroy equipment during games and, now he has a memento on top of that great day. >> congratulations to him. what an accomplishment. chipotle is selling a new candle, no, it doesn't smell like a burrito but like a guilt trip the chain's water cup candle is lemonade scented for all the people who, quote, accidentally

fill their complimentary water cups with lemonade each purchase also comes with a free lemonade to help clear your conscience the candle is now on sale for $28. >> lemonade, right >> does it count if you do half and half, half water, half lemonade >> i think so. sprite is okay too anything clear you could be in for a super soaked monday. up next, michelle is back with us with our monday forecast. up next, ford nearly $2 billion verdict. at the end of a long day, it's the last thing i want to do. well, i switched to swiffer wetjet, and it's awesome. it's an all-in-one, so it's ready to go when i am. the cleaning solution actually breaks down dirt and grime. and the pad absorbs it deep inside, so it prevents streaks and haze better than my old mop. glad i got that off my chest, and the day off my floor! swiffer wetjet. also, try wetjet antibac to kill 99.9% of bacteria.

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dawn platinum ez-squeeze. flip the way you clean dishes. in today's top stories, former nba star dennis rodman is planning to visit russia to seek the release of brittney griner r rodman tells nbc news he did get permission to go to russia and will try to go this week griner is serving a nine-year prison sentence on drug charges. this isn't the first time rodman has conducted informal diplomacy with an international leader over the past decade, he's cultivated a relationship with north korean leader kim jong-un. automaker ford says it will

appeal $1.7 billion verdict in a wrongful death case. back in 2014, a georgia couple were killed when their 2002 ford f 250 truck blew a tire and rolled over. the couple's children sued claiming the roof of the vehicle was dangerously defective. their lawyer submitted evidence of nearly 80 similar accidents where truck grooves were crushed in a rollover killing or injuring passengers. in a statement to the associated press ford said we do not believe the verdict is supported by the evidence and we plan to appeal. actor gary busey is facing sexual offense charges after appearing at a horror film convention he was a featured guest at monster mania con in cherry hill new jersey police say he alleged will groped at least two victims. now, after fans complained about his behavior, he was removed he's been charged with two counts of fourth degree criminal sexual contact, one count of attempted sexual contact and harassment it is not clear if busey has an

attorney nbc news has not been able to reach his representatives. since the overturning of roe, walmart is now the latest company to expand abortion and related travel coverage. according to an internal memo, the company said its healthcare plans will now cover abortion for workers when there is a health risk to the mother, rape or incest, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or lack of fetal viability. the retail giant em employees nearly 1.6 million people. in arkansas, abortion is banned under all circumstances except to protect the life of a mother in a medical emergency under this revised policy, walmart employees can travel out of the state that bans abortion. and to later news what is game of thrones premiere without technical difficulties really wouldn't be one, right? the house of dragon landed on hbo max last night and burnt some fans. the app crashed for thousands of viewers trying to tune in for the premiere

hbo spokesperson told the hollywood reporter that the problem was mostly isolated to amazon streaming devices of course it was >> i mean, right i know thankfully i did not try to see it in the moment i would have been so frustrated by that. >> yeah. than for sksta

into tonight meteorologist michelle grossman is just ahead with the latest forecast. a potential break in the search for missing 16-year-old kylie rodney who disappeared after a party on august 6th. a campus is in mourning after three indiana state university students were killed in a car crash two others are in critical condition. several were football players. the shocking scene, a powerboat explodes after