eight republican hopefuls are booked for the debate stage tonight while the frontrunner will be preparing to get booked in georgia former president trump won't be there for the first big showdown in the gop primary, but his shadow is expected to loom large. we're live in georgia this morning. a one-two punch of tropical storms harold slamming into texas with strong wind and relentless rain just a day after hilary hit

california with floods and mudslides. a high-wire rescue the nail-biting race to save a group of students from a cable car stuck dangling 900 feet above a ravine after a support wire snapped move over, bud, there is a new king of beers. how modelo stole the crown and could the fyre festival rise from the ashes? the surprising second chance for the notorious failed music festival that spawned hit documentaries and countless memes. it's wednesday "early today" starts right now glad you're with us, i'm frances rivera >> i'm jessica layton. the first of the 19 defendants charged in the gentleman >> ge georgia elections case turned themselves

in donald trump is expected to and major topic of conversation among the eight other republicans who are taking the debate stage >> for more on this, we go to brie jackson outside the fulton county jail in atlanta which of the defendants turned themselves in today? >> reporter: good morning, frances, jessica as you mentioned, i'm outside the fulton county jail right here behind me and so far, before that deadline, that friday deadline that prosecutors have set, we are seeing defendants already turn themselves in that includes john eastman and scott hall they have turned themselves in and been booked here at fulton county jail. eastman, as you may know was a member of former president trump's legal team and known for allegedly orchestrating the so-called fake elector scheme. a plot intended to keep trump in office following his election office scott hall is a georgia bail bondsman charged in connection with a voting data breach in coffey county.

two other defendants, david james shaver and kathleen austin latham were also confirmed to have been booked early this morning. eastman remained defiant about his actions, despite the charges he faces >> i am confident that when the law is faithfully applied in this proceeding, all of my co-defendants and i will be fully vindicated >> do you still think the election was stolen? >> absolutely. >> absolutely. still. >> no question no question. >> and former president trump who faces 13 counts in last week's sweeping indictment is expected to surrender on thursday in a news release monday the fulton county sheriff's office said there will be a hard lockdown of the area surrounding the jail when former president trump turns himself in >> and brie, this is all happening against the back drop of tonight's first republican debate while trump will not be attending, there is some place where we could see him

>> reporter: yeah, well, frances, former president trump announced last week that he will be skipping the first two debates, citing his major lead in the polls instead, trump will attempt to co counter program the debate by attending a pre-taped interview with tucker carlson. details have not been released on what stage it will be released on. but the debate stage will have defenders and enemies of former president trump. trump has held a commanding lead in the polls since announcing his bid to retake the white house last november and tonight's debate in milwaukee will be a major test to see if one of his rivals can break through amid his continued legal battles. >> they'll be talking about the elephant not in the room let's turn to the latest round of extreme weather to hit the u.s.

the system known as harold made landfall in texas a tropical storm before weakening to a depression but overnight it continued to bring heavy lane and it comes as california continues a massive storm recovery effort. erin mclaughlin has the latest >> reporter: tropical sdorm 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. >> sad that we have to go through all of this. >> reporter: the round the clock cleanup continues. 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, stephanie and her dogs were rescued after being stranded for more than 48 hours how did you get the word out that you needed help >> i went out to the river with a white towel. when the helicopter came over i started going like that. i guess they came back and told them there was somebody to rescue >> reporter: near by, palm springs relief after firefighters rescued elderly using construction equipment. >> there's sinkholes back there, standing mud of up to five feet. >> reporter: that as this alaskan airlines flight made a landing with sparks flying from the landing gear meanwhile, a life-threatening emergency at a los angeles hospital >> we had 241 patients actually impacted by the power outage

>> reporter: after the backup generators failed they desperately evacuated patients, some desperately ill, a woman giving birth to a baby girl under the glow of flash flights. >> baby's fine >> reporter: as california recovers, no relief for texas. >> our thanks to erin for that report maui county has updated the number of people missing after the tragic wildfires they now say between 101,100 people are unaccounted for, an increase after the mayor said 850. the officials say some of the information is incomplete. they may only are a first name, making it hard to verify if the person is missing. 115 people are confirmed dead. authorities are asking family to provide dna to help them identify more victims. a van driver for a day care in nebraska has been charged with felony child negligence after a 1-year-old girl was left in the back seat of the vehicle

and died of heat exposure on monday ramaya worthington was found more than five hours later cpr was done as she was rushed to the hospital but her life could not be saved temperatures in omaha reached into the upper 90s that day and court documents show the child's body temperature was 109 a bond hearing for the driver is set for later this morning the victim of a north carolina home explosion has been identified the officials say the blast that happened late monday killed robert farley. he is the father of tennessee titans player caleb farley no foul play is expected caleb farley was not home at the time the titans head coach said the team doing everything they can to support caleb and his family. now to a close call and a stunning story out of pakistan this morning where seven students and their teacher were rescued from a cable car left dangling 900 feet above a

ravine the 12-hour ordeal was broadcast on television, gripping the nation for hours as our raf sanchez reports, ingenuity and bravery from both rescue crews and locals saved the day. >> reporter: 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 bovgs 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 local tv from on board 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 rescuers 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. >> just incredible now to millions of americans waking up to a new day of record-pushing temperatures in the forecast nbc meteorologist michelle grossmann is tracking how high those temperatures could go.

>> we're going to see those temperatures climbing into the 90s,upper 90s for many and triple digits. you factor in the humidity, it will feel like 110 in some spots. 97 million people affected by heat alerts, even into florida and everywhere in between. we looking at excessive heat warnings in the who the pink, memphis, st. louis, we'll se, ws climbing 100 in minneapolis and chicago and the same story tomorrow. we'll see temperatures climbing into the triple nls fodiy. sid of sizzling in the south. 102 in houston

all right, a hot day in the mid section of the country we're tracking storms, we'll talk more about that coming up >> okay, michelle, see you soon. "early today" is back in 60 seconds with the battle brewing in the beer industry >> why america decided to tap a new favorite after this tap a new favorite after this se left or right because they're both chewy, crunchy and delicious. febreze! your bathroom... needs febreze small spaces... the always-on, odor-fighting air freshener you set and forget. no outlets used, no batteries needed, no effort required. so your bathroom stays continuously fresh for 45 days. that's the power of febreze small spaces. when target's good and gather groceries, that's the power of bring joy to the table for less. when sharing, the love starts with quality ingredients. and when great taste meets low prices. that's totally target. mr. clean magic eraser powers

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very rapidly especially in dollar sales >> reporter: in may, modelo was selling above the $300 million mark while bud light brought in $284 million june saw the same trend. modelo hitting $339 million in total beer sales >> bud light has suffered really far more precipitous drops this year, following the whole dylan mulvaney controversy so, it's just been really unprecedented time in brewing industry history >> reporter: the brand saw backlash when transgender tiktoker dylan mulvaney posted a video about bud light as part after branded content partnership. if impressive carrying skills, right in i got some bud lights for us >> reporter: a violent campaign followed with celebrities like kid rock posted videos shooting at bud light and tossing out the beer >> [ bleep ] bud light and [ bleep ] anheuser busch >> reporter: but further

backlash occurred when mull vain eye said that bud light didn't reach out to her >> i've been scared to leave my house. >> so much bud light and all these beers, they're all gone. what have you got there in >> number one selling beer in america. >> reporter: modelo was already on pace to outpace the light beer seeing double digit growth in the last decade thanks to the ever-growing hispanic population, now 19%, according to the census. >> a large part has to do with the allegiance of hispanic consumers. >> reporter: the beer also marketed in english for the first time in 2016 with the fighting spirit campaign >> you are a fighter this is your reward. >> reporter: the english-language ads now a fixture during televised sporting events including the

super bowl constellation brands says the taste for this beer now transcends beyond the border >> our drinker base is actually about 50/50. it's about half hispanic and abouthalf not hispanic we've been really successful >> reporter: something the consumers and company can toast to >> our thanks to valerie castro for that report. still to come. kelsey grammer is going back to where everybody knows his name your entertainment news is next > your entertainment news is next - oh, i saw it. - sorry about the vase. - can we just say vase like normal people? - fine. - i always wondered what it would be like to have a tail. - maybe you did one time. and maybe a thousand years from now, i'll be tail-less using that chewy app to get you great prices on treats. - i'm pretty sure it takes more than a thousand years- - vase. - pets aren't just pets. they're more. - vase! - [announcer] save more on what they love with everyday great prices at chewy. (air whooshing) (box thudding)

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frazier crane is back for more listening. we have a look at the new reboot the ten-episode revival starts streaming on october 12th, and you think of the span of frazier crane in the '80s, on "cheers. >> barbenheimer is given credit for the box office soaring moviegoers are flocking to screens for national cinema day. some are giving tickets for $4 a pop. not bad. >> if all this movie talk has you looking for recommendations, we have a first look at an upcoming space epic.

rebel moon was teased. they hope this can create a new multi-verse franchise. part one premieres december 22nd all those franchises, let's see if this one is just as good. >> do you believe in second chances? the creator of the infamous fyre fest wants you to. after being released from prison, billy mcfarland is plank the next festival. this week's presail hale has so out. >> there will be an elevated grilled cheese sandwich this time around. mic michelle's on storm watch, next. bro, she's not a witch, t'. hey! you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner.

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>> its characters were all black but they were good guys and bad guys >> reporter: they produced films that feature all black casts made in the height of the jim crow era it showcased african-americans in roles on-screen that they would have been prohibited from holding off screen one is aviator bessie coleman. >> bessie coleman, who was the first african-american pilot, actually wrote to them saying make a movie about me. unfortunately, she was killed shortly before they were going to make this movie she was killed in an accident in jacksonville but he still made a movie then about an aviator coming back from world war i >> reporter: that film, "the flying ace", came out in 1926, 15 years before the air force allowed black pilots and 37 years before the first woman

pilot. >> it was a clan stronghold. so what he was doing, he wasn't just making films with black kansass. the casts were living here on the property with his family. that just didn't happen back then >> reporter: despite these risks, these films were well-received around the country by black and white audiences >> one of the interesting things about mr. norman's films is that they were made for black audiences, and that's who he assumed would see them but he was surprised when white audiences also came and watched and loved it >> reporter: but by the 1930's, much of the production was shipped to california and the studio was largely forgotten it eventually fell into ruin after being a dance studio and office complex however, 30 years ago, residents started to learn about the buildings' history and after years of hard work and major renovations, the space is now a museum where people can get up close and personal with the objects and stories featured

in these once-forgotten films. >> our thanks to maya eaglin for that report. coming up on the "today" show, how you can help name the one of a kind baby giraffe born without spots. we'll be live with the details >> thanks so much for watching "early today." i'm frances rivera >> i'm jessica layton. have a gre

at gop presidential candidates prep for the debate stage, donald trump will be elsewhere. we're laying out the landscape at 2024 election season kicks off. in pakistan, a daring rescue caught on camera seven students and their teacher trapped nearly a thousand feet in the air see on