a once in a generation storm slams the baja coast the famously sunny shores of southern california lashed by tropical storm hillary millions of americans brace for an onslaught of rain we are tracking where the dangerous storm is moving next. president biden heads to hawaii this morning.

the message from locals to the president, stay out our way he's set to speak with survivors as the growing death tollleads to grief and anger. russia shooting for the stars and crashing on the moon what the country's space agency has to say about what went wrong and what this failure means for the future of the space race not too long after the first surgery i was able to see. it was this whole thing, i was crying. >> a revolutionary surgery restoring patients sight the key to it all lies within stem cells hear from the doctors performing the procedure that patients are calling a miracle. and meet the former teacher helping to welcome students back to the classroom in style. she's found a new career tacoratinghe t rooms she once ht in. it's monday, august 21st and early "today" starts right now good morning, thanks for being here, a lot to get to. i'm steven romo. we begin this morning tracking

tropical storm hillary 26 million people in its path are under flood alerts and hillary has already shattered rainfall records in southern california with river levels now soaring. crews have been searching overnight for one person believed to be missing in the santa clara river. governor newsom says his concern now is for people in hard to reach areas. >> i'm worried about some of the more rural and remote areas in the eastern part of the state, some of the more mountainous regions where people can be trapped or there can be debris concerns that's where we're focusing a little more of our extra energy. >> and this is an example of some of those rural areas the governor was talking about, road crews got this video near san bernardino, mudslides are a major problem during and after storms in this region as we've seen so many times santa clarita city shared this video of a road crumbling away into the rushing water michelle grossman will join us with an update in just a moment.

but just as that tropical storm was bearing down on southern california, mother nature was dealing another b bl to that ararea ventura a county wasas rockekeda 5.1 magnitudude eartrthquake peoplele in the sosouthern paraf lolos angeles s county reportedt they also felt that shaking. officials say there were no reports of significant damage, but did warn of potential aftershocks. president biden will travel to maui today as the island continues to recover from the devastating wildfires that started merely two weeks ago but with the death toll expected to rise both federal and state responses to that tragedy are coming under scrutiny and islanders are now speaking out against the president's visit. nbc's miguel almaguer has more >> reporter: the recovery teams here in lahaina complete their grim search, for some anger for the mountain of loss. >> i cannot do anything. we never receive nothing

nothing at all. >> reporter: bracing for a death toll still expected to rise at least 2,200 buildings are gone, most of them homes the president expected in maui, but not welcomed by all. >> we don't need you don't come here. >> reporter: facing criticism for what some call a tepid response in the days after the fires. >> mr. president, any comment on the rising death toll in maui? >> reporter: white house staff says the president has been working behind the scenes to provide support and relief to those most in need. >> i was in complete communication with him throughout this event, helping him understand what i was seeing. >> reporter: fema offering meals, housing and an initial $700 payment to survivors who say it's not nearly enough to start rebuilding their homes and lives. >> stay out of our way get rid of the red tape. >> reporter: planning to meet with victims and response teams,

the president's visit comes three days after maui's top emergency management official resigned, when herman andaya stood by his decision to not sound emergency sirens that often dicate a tsunami, local leaders, including the governor, appeared to stand by his side, but he offeder this suddenly stark rebuke >> do i wish those sirens went off? of course i do. >> reporter: in maui the demand for accountability, the plea for presidential help, and the endless sea of heartbreak. as the death toll swells well over 100 the vast majority of the burn zone has been searched, but more than 1,000 people remain unaccounted for back to you. >> all right more to watch there. miguel, thank you. well, another dangerous wildfire emergency is growing at this hour. this time it's in washington state. three different fires have been burning outside spokane since friday the largest has burned more than 10,000 acres and is only about

10% contained. at least two deaths are now believed to be linked to these fires. thousands of people are under evacuation orders. our jess kirsch spoke to a woman who lost her home. >> i can't even explain the feeling of knowing that like everything you worked for is gone, you know, yeah, so there's going to be insurance anand stu, but it doesn't make up for, you know, what you see when you see all of your stuff turn to ash. >> the national weather service reporting earlier the spokane region's air quality was the worst in the united states, maybe even in the whole world. to politics now. former president donald trump has confirmed he will skip the first republican primary debate ending weeks of speculation. in a statement posted on social media, mr. trump pointed out that he is leading the gop field by a wide margin and said he won't be going because the people know who i am that's a quote from him.

the debate wl happen on fox wsnet 9:00 p.m. eastern wednesday, seven people will be on the stage and among them former arkansas governor asa hutchinson who just last night revealed he met the polling and donor criteria to qualify for the debate. russia's first mission to the moon in half a century ended in a complete failure. the unmanned spacecraft crashed into the moon after running into a problem for pre landing orbit sunday morning for more on this let's going to claudio lavanga following this story for us do we know why the mission failed >> reporter: good morning, steven well, russia's space agency roscosmos said in the early hours of saturday the craft landed an unpredictable orbit, spun out of control and crashed on the moon. it says it will create a special commission to investigate the reasons behind the crash whatever the motives behind this

mission's failure this was also a crash landing for russia's ambition to prove it can be a major player in space exploration. this was the first moon mission in almost auto years, 47 years since it was still the soviet union. it was meant to prove that russia could keep up with more advanced lunar programs like in the united states, china, but also india the craft was meant to land today on the moon to become the first spacecraft to land on the south pole of the moon where scientists believe there are large reserves of water and other precious materials, but two days before a similar spacecraft launched by india which is expected to land on wednesday, which is why some analysts believe that russia may have pushed this mission a little too far in an attempt to win the space race with india to become the first spacecraft to land on the south pole of the moon, while losing in the meantime, both the race and the craft, but also its reputation

in the world of space exploration, steven. putation inf space exploration. >> it feels like we're back in the '60s, claudio lavanga, thank you. turning to maryland, the first acquired case of malaria the person who was infected has not traveled outside the u.s they are hospitalized and recovering according to a june cdc report, there have been seven cases of locally-acquired cases of malaria, in florida, and one in texas since may. more than 2,000 cases of the mosquito-borne illness are reported every year in the u.s. but neither all of them involve travelers who were infected overseas all eyes on the west coast as a massive tropical storm brings rain to the southwest desert michelle grossmann tracking it all for us good to see you, michelle. >> we had a historical day with

rainfall rates what they get in a year, we saw up to eight inches, also the sderts th desert we saw a minimal tropical storm. moving at 28 miles per hour. been moving fast for the past 12 hours. this's good news so it will move through the state and nevada and the mountains. but right now, 75 miles northeast of bakersfield, california, dropping heavy rain. it's still bringing heavy rain and gusty conditions as well 27 million pple under flood alerts, also flash flood warnings in the red. landslides, mudslides, wsaw debris

joplin, into the triple digits in little rock, shreveport, 103 today. we're looking at really tough heat in the middle of the country. we'll look at that coming up a new stem cell procedure is becoming a beacon of hope for many who have lost their vision due to injuries. what one patientnt had to sasay about t that life-chchanging surgery,y, coming upup next. i heard her cooking skills are e like superernatural, m . they say s she can make things appear out of thin air. bro,o, she's not a wiwitch, that's benny'y's mom.m. hehey! you guguys want toto come in? mymy mom made e dinner. hehey! you guguys want toto come in? ((♪♪)) this is totoo good to o be . ((♪♪)) make youour table lelegenda, with countntry crock.. i used to wait to run my dishwasher 'til itit was superer full.

non— i runun it daily.y. weekdadays— weeeekends— you mighght think that's w wasteful, b but it's . eveven half loloads use 808% lessss water thahan handwashs. saving $ $130 on utitilities. cascscade. dare e to dish differently. hohow white dodo you thinkk your t teeth realllly are? saving $ $130 on utitilities. let's trtry the tissssue tes. ooof, , still yellllow. whitening toothpaste can only d do so much.h. there'e's toothphpaste whit, and d there's s crest 3d whitesestrips whitite. soso much whititer! cresest. welcome back a potential medical break through is giving new hope to people with blindness. restoring one damaged eye with stem cells from the other. kristin dahlgren has the details. >> reporter: nick always dreamed of being a pilot >> i figured that would be a perfect career path for me

>> reporter: and he was well on his way until a freak accident on july 4, 2020 here at home in california >> we watching the fireworks instead of shooting up in the air it exploded on the floor i unfortunately took a direct hit to my eye, dead center >> reporter: the eye blinded >> thought my life was done. didn't know if it was ever going to get better. >> reporter: until he heard about a completely new procedure. the doctor and her team pioneered a procedure using stem cells to restore the cornea in the damaged eye of patients with severe injuries. >> it is possible to take a small biopsy of the stem cells, grow them in the laboratory and then transplant them onto the patient's eye. taking them from healthy eye to the diseased eye >> reporter: in a phase one study, all saw marked improvement. two saw significantly better without additional treatment and the other two were able to go on to get artificial corneas.

>> look a little bit up. and down >> reporter: nick moved to boston and is now one of a new group of patients receiving the surgery. at what point did you realize it had worked >> not too long after the first surgery i was able to see. it was this whole thing, i was crying >> reporter: while still in the early stages, doctors consider this a steppingstone and say stem cell surgeries may soon go beyoyond corneal to glaucoma and other parts of the body. nick now flying again for fun. >> especially to see just the blue sky out of left side is so crazy. i neff thver thought i would set again. >> reporter: for the first time in a long time, seeing hope. kristin dahlgren, nbc news, boston still to come, a heartfelt message from al roker on his 69th birthday. and nexteawarm hrtining stories to start your morning gn a a positive n note. we'll be b back.

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>> we're back now to share uplifting stories highlighting the many people spreading love and joy. we have a few of those this morning. >> reporter: this is a moment she had been waiting for embraced by family after finding out she had passed her final nursing exam a dream come true for this proud latina, who came to america as a child. andrea is the first in her family to graduate college in the u.s. >> we know it's not easy for us to obtain the american dream at least seeing one or two people have hope, gives everybody else haope. >> reporter: and take a look at this very good boy

that's retired military dog ryder, getting a very special package from the u.s. war dogs association. filled with toys, a certificate and medal for his service. >> look at you >> reporter: ryder served in the u.s. navy, spending time overseas with his owner, josh. finally getting glasses after being diagnosed as legally blind. his mom shayla puts them on, and then he sees clearly for the first time giving us all a smile as bright as sunshine. >> there's always going to be somebody that cares about you. >> reporter: in minnesota, this is 13-year-old jackson >> i'm just trying to say something nice >> reporter: out with friends, the kids were ding-dong

ditching >> you matter, man, or girl. >> reporter: but jackson had other plans, sharing a message on a stranger's doorbell camera. tell me a little bit about request you decided to record that message >> i just thought that maybe the person that would see the video needed to hear it. >> reporter: ashley mann lives at that house and was so moved by jackson's words, she posted the video to social media. >> it left me speechless, because it was something i've never expected young kids to say. >> reporter: jackson's mom, carissa, proud of her son. >> i just stood there in awe and amazement. and really proud >> i'm just trying to say that you matter, man. >> reporter: what is it that you want jackson to know >> that he matters, too. i mean, everybody, everybody matters in this world. we're all humans, we all deserve

a chance to have happiness and love and everything else >> whoever you are, you matter to someone just keep that in mind don't forget that. >> not a bad way to start your monday our thanks to jose for that report and still to come, michelle has the latest o on the possibie rerecord-breakaking tetemperatu millions i in middddle amemerice undeder heatat alerts. we'll l be back. ay that's right fofor me. ♪♪ ♪ f feels more e easy. ♪♪ ♪ m my doc and d i agreed. ♪ ♪♪ i pick ththe time. ♪♪ ♪ tododay's s a good dayay.♪ ♪♪ i pick ththe time. ♪♪ ♪♪ i screenened with colologud and didid it my waway! ♪ ♪♪ i pick ththe time. ♪♪ cologuarard is a onone-of-a kinind way ♪♪ i pick ththe time. ♪♪ to screen n for colon n canr ♪♪ i pick ththe time. ♪♪ that's effectivive and nonon-invasiveve. it''s for r people 45 5 plt average ririsk, not hihigh r. that's effectivive and nonon-invasiveve. false e positive a and negate resultlts may occucur. ask yoyour provideder for cologuguard. i did it mymy way! ♪♪ to give e your teethth a dentntist clean n feeling. start withth a round b brush . add popower. and you've got o oral-b. add popower. round clcleans betteter by surroununding each h th add popower.

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hey! you guguys want toto come in? my mom madade dinner.. make your r table legegenda, wiwith countryry crock. my mom madade dinner.. feeling g sluggish or weighghed down? it could b be a sign t that your digigestive sysystem isn't at i its best. it could b be a sign t that your digigestive sysystem memetamucil gugummies makeke iy to g get the fibiber you nee. promoting g your digesestive hehealth for a betteter you. metamucicil gummies.s. the eaeasy way to o get your daiaily fiber.. welcome back on this monday. heat will soar in the middle of the country. we're looking at temperatures into the 90s factor in the humidity, it had feel like 110. we're looking at minneapolis under a heat watch stretching from the south central states into the ohio valley temperatures into the triple digits in so many spots, even as far north as omaha the record there is 101. they're probably going to break

that 100s in baton rouge. that heat will continue tomorrow, more triple digits into the middle of the country 102 in st. louis 103 in fort smith and near 100 in memphis >> a hot of triple digits. thank you. coming up, how one tchcheaer went frorom teaching in n the clasassroom to creating g a new carereer wewe'll be bacack. wiwith mr. clelean clean f fr, coconquering m messes is t tt easy. clean frfreak's s mist is the timemes more powowerful, and itit works on n cont. clean frfreak, just t freak, wiwipe, done.. and d we're donene. hm, , what aboutut these? ♪ looks riright. [sfx: spililling soundnd] nooooo... nooooo... nooooo... quick, the quicicker pickerer upper! bobounty absororbs spillss likeke a sponge.e. and bountyty is 2x more absororbent so youou can use l less anand get the e job done w wit. thisis works. kikind of.

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teaching >> reporter: at the elementary, students are back in class >> this will be for the art room >> reporter: and so is ms. edwards. >> okay, so i need to finish putting up a number line staple, staple, staple >> reporter: rachel edwards used to teach at the home of the astronauts >> lots of them started to pay me when i was teaching, so i was like, you know what? i could start a business out of this >> reporter: in the classroom with an exclamation point. she created a plan, imagining a new career >> i was trying to see which letters were going to be in the sentence >> reporter: helping teachers by decorating this classrooms >> it has a lot to do with learning usually it helps students focus more >> reporter: so the former teacher started a business called classroom bloom >> taking your class from gloom

to bloom >> reporter: with staples and glue >> spray glue, tape, glue gun. i think i use all three at some point. remember her busins grew from seven classrooms last year to 20 classrooms this year >> my old students saw my coming down the hallway, they're all running up to me, "hey, ms. edwards" >> reporter: she isn't at the head of the classroom anymore but is still teaching by example. >> it could help them to be brave and step out and try anything that they put their minds to and to never be afraid and to try, try things new and now i have a chemistry high school class coming up next week, too. that will be interesting >> i love that our thanks to noah walker for sharing that story >> reporter: al roker celebrated 69 years around the sun and shared a video to instagram expr expressing gratitude >> after everything i went through last year i am more than

grateful to be celebrating this birthday and to all of you who sent good wish and well wishes over the past year, god bless you, thank you so much. i appreciate it. >> he went on to thank his "today" show family and his own family, expressed appreciation for his wife for getting him out of the hospital. he suffered from blood clots and internal gledi internal bleeding at that time, and we are so happy he is doing much better now. happy

tropical storm hilary drenching the southwest. tens of millions are preparing for life-threatening floodwaters from idaho to northern mexico. the latest on hilary's path plus the path of sdruderu