hurricane idalia barrels toward florida, the powerful storm is expected to make landfall, bringing deadly storm surges and tornado watches to the sunshine state we're on the ground as florida prepares, while our weather team here tracks the path russia reports a massive drone attack but no injuries we break down the key targets hit and what triggered a full stop for flights in moscow tech heads mark your calendars.

apple just sent out the invites for a fall tech event. and you won't have to wait until then to get your hands on the best back-to-school gadgets. and, it's one thing to balance motherhood and a career. it's a whole other ball game when you're a professional athlete. hear how these women are juggling between life on and off the court. "early today" starts right now good morning, and thanks for being with us, i'm jessica layton and we begin this morning in florida where hurricane idalia is barrelling toward the state's western coast. it is expected to make landfall as an extremely dangerous cat category 4 hurricane just south of the town of perry a cat 4 brings the possibility of poles and trees uprooted.

entire areas could be rendered uninhabitable for several weeks. as our tom llamas reports, these florida communities are bracing for something they have never experienced before >> reporter: this destructive hurricane powering ashore. fueled by the warm waters of the gulf of mexico the eye of the storm trained directly on florida's western coast. >> i don't have a really great feeling about it i'm hopeful, but i just think we're about due. >> reporter: with hurricane idalia's torrential rains and forecasted gusts of up to 125 miles per hour bearing down, last-minute preps are at a fever pitch. florida's governor mobilizing 40,000 linemen to try to keep the lights on. >> that's ultimate goal, rapid restoration of power this is a major hurricane. >> reporter: the keys and fort myers beach already seeing

flooding crystal river is now in the cross hairs. this is somewhat new territory for you guys, right? a major hurricane hasn't come through this area, i've been told, ever >> we haven't seen anything like this in a very long time >> reporter: idalia threatens to wash away parts of the florida coast with record-setting storm surge, a hurricane's deadliest threat the initial rush of water comes quickly. at six feet it breaks through doors and windows. at nine feet, it moves further inland a 12 to 15-foot storm surge would be catastrophic. that roofline is about 15 feet right there. look where the water is already at high tide, inches from the back yard. now a double threat from mother nature a king tide expected, when the sun, moon and earth align to produce tides one to two feet higher than normal the view from the space station shows idalia's monstrous size.

but its destructive power needs to be seen up close. look at these villages in western cuba, submerged by rains. >> very few people can survive being in the path of major storm surge, and this storm will be deadly >> reporter: first responders from missouri, virginia and new jersey already mobilized to the sunshine state >> take it seriously and be prepared >> reporter: in tampa, all flights are grounded and several months evacuated while tampa general rolls out this aqua fence to repel the stormwater. outside greg thompson's big bend bar, they're boarding up and inside it's last call. >> some people want to ride it out. we're leaving. >> reporter: what do you think about the people who ride it out? >> i wouldn't do it. >> reporter: too big of a storm. >> too big of a storm. nobody can come help you >> reporter: the clock is ticking. time is running out to get out and a stretch of florida readies for a hurricane, the strength of which they've never seen before. tom llamas, nbc news, crystal

river, florida in other news this morning, a graduate student at the university of north carolina chapel hill is now in custody after monday's deadly shooting on campus. 34-year-old tyailei qile appear in court for the first time. police say the suspect and the victim did know each other but the motive is still unclear. the shooting sparked chaos on the campus, force ing an hours long lockdown. classes will resume tomorrow medicare has named the namet ten prescription drugs it was the major component of the inflation reduction act and a move president biden praised as a victory for the american people alice barr has more.

>> reporter: hope for lower prices on ten widely-use prescription drugs under the inflation reduction act. it's a center piece of the biden administration's efforts to drive down medication costs for seniors. >> i promise you, i'm going to have your back, and ill never stop fighting for you on this issue. >> reporter: those ten drugs account for more than $50 billion or 20% of total medicare part d spending over the past year >> these precipiwewere so expen. no one in america should have to live this way. >> reporter: the drugs are used to treat everything from blood clots to blood cancer, diabetes, arthritis and heart failure.

the negotiated prices are set to take effect in 2026. and this is only the first round of medications >> these ten drugs will soon become 20 drugs and different drugs year after year. >> reporter: drug g makersmaker including merck have appealed it, calling it unconstitutional. others argue that a price control will discourage investment in life-saving cures. >> people who can't afford drugs don't have access to notifications. >> reporter: president biden touting an effort to save seniors money as he eyes a second term in the white house alice barr, nbc news house majority leader steve scalise revealed that he's undergoing treatment for cancer. he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma which he calls a very treatable blood cancer even though the treatment will take months he does expect to

return to washington and continue his work as the house leader you may remember back in 2017 scalise was injured during a shooting at a congressional baseball practice. his recovery required several surgeries and sidelined him from the house floor for three months russia bids farewell to the man who led a faileda failed co against vladimir putin the kremlin said putin would not attend the funeral u.s. intelligence says an international explosion likely caused that crash, the kremlin calling that claim an absolute lie. meanwhile, the russian military says ukraine launched massive drone attack across six vooenls rooenl /* /* rooenl /* /* regions

drones were fought down in five other areas including moscow where flights were halted from capital airports this comes as two people were reported killed from a russian missile strike there the fbi and doj say they have dismantled qakbot it likely accounted for hifrnds hundred of millions of dollars in damage. >> they were able to disrupt the bot and prevent further damage authorities in louisiana are warning of more wildfire flare-ups in the coming days after rain in the weekend did very little to change dry conditions there the tiger island wildfire is the largest in that state's history, burning through more than 31,000

acres. an unprecedented combination is blamed for the fire, which is usually one of the wettest states in the country. let's go back to michelle grossmann. we're hearing that the hurricane is category 3 now, expected to land as category 4 >> that is a major hurricane it's going to have life-threatening impacts we're looking at winds at 120 smooips. t miles per hour the outer rain bands, the r brighter colors showing where the heavier rain is falling. we could see up to 12 inches in some spots 18 million people impacted into georgia and south carolina we do have the concern for flash

flooding into the couraarolinas overnight tonight into thursday. it's expected to make landfall as a category 4 storm by 8:00 this morning bringing life-threatening storm surge up to 17 feet in some spots really heavy rains and destructive winds and moving into the carolinas taking a look at storm surge, this is the biggest take away. this is the number one killer when it comes to tropical systems. this will be historic storm surge possible and we're looking at large and destructive waves. notice 7 to 16 feet where you see the purple that is where we're concerned for the inundation of water over dry land and real ly gusty, big waves. it will bring the chance0 in hon

antonio. all right, jessica, it's all about idalia today, but we'll take a look at the rest of wednesday's forecast in just a bit. "early today" is back in 60 seconds with the airline saying no to babies on board. but first we'll catch you up on the latest before apple cuts the ribbon on the latest iphone. . to help you go... ...free your gut. and your mood will follow. for 8 grams of fiber, try new mirafiber gummies. when target's good and gather groceries, bring joy to the fo table for less.er, when sharing, the love starts with quality ingredients. and when great taste meets low prices.

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and it's expected to have better auto correct and new journaling app. lgbtq travelers from canada are warned to be cautious. they are told to check to see how they might be affected by laws passed in some states anti-lgbtq demonstrations in the u.s. have skyrocketed 30 fold compared to 2017 if you are a solitude-seeking traveler, flights may have just gotten better turkish dutch airlines is testing an adults-only zone with no one under 16 allowed. the zone will be located in the front part of the aircraft and include nine extra-large seats and curtains separating the rest of the plane it will be available to curacao

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it is back to school season, and right now moist st of us cod probably use a few new gadgets jennifer joley is here with some of the coolest and most affordable gadgets and we're going to start right here with the story pod, which is supposed to reduce screen time, right? >> it helps kids get into the new routine with a screen-free audio player it helps get them out of screens, but still into a new groove you, it works by, you can put a book on it you can put these interactive

index cards on it, or what they call these little crafties, you put them on top. and it tells a story around a theme. the amazing part for me is that it's interactive a lot of these audio players are passive for kids this has the interactive this is like a dad telling them to get up. so grandparents, as long as you have an app, you can record onto the app. think about a grandparent reading a story to a kid or tell ago chi telling a child about their first day of school. $100 on amazon called story pod >> not bad not bad. you call them your problem solvers. >> my pretty little problem solvers. it solves the problem of getting kids into the new routine. and that interactivity without the screens. i'm going to turn my own voice

down, saying get up, honey, brush your teeth >> what of your pretty little problems does the lenovo pro 7 solve? >> kids of all answer really need a device of their own for that starting into high school, when you really need to have a laptop, it's light and thin, fast and affordable. kind of the perfect solution for schoolwork, with a battery life to manage a full day of classes but time to power up homework. this solves that problem of finding that sweet spot of long battery life you can use it as a l laptop. can you use it as a such screen or a tablet. you can use it for entertainment, gaming, down time as well. >> i don't want to interrupt you, but i want to make sure we have enough time to talk about the skylight calendar. >> this solves one of the biggest problems in my own

family, juggling everyone's schedules. it is a smart all-in-one calendar that lets each person synchronize their life in one place on one main screen in your house. it tracks chores can you upload your outlook calendar, google calendar, it all synchs automatically it tracks your chores, lets you know kind of what you want to do for meal prep. it has all these great functions, but you don't have, to everyone doesn't have to run around with their calendars on their own device >> the husband, the kids can all go, and by the way, 10% off with a promo code thanks for being with us today wonderful ideas for kids of all ages we'll be right back after this a. we'll be right back after this. but entyvio is. in clinical trials, entyvio helped many people achieve long-term relief and remission. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen

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balancing motherhood and any career is a challenge. and it's a whole different ball game for pro athletes who are on the road most of their career. our blayne alexander explains how moms in the wnba are balancing team life and family life >> and barker hits at the buzzer >> reporter: wnba player cheyenne parker just made her very first all-star team the 31-year-old is also balancing another first.

motherhood you're still nursing >> i'm still nursing >> reporter: something that's even harder when she's constantly on the road her mother and fiance are often along on the ride to help with daughter naomi like that time she was playing overseas in italy. >>ly to literally go out to the stands and grab her like, come on >> reporter: you got her from the stands to nurse. >> yes >> reporter: and this was right before you hit the course. >> yes this was right before the game >> reporter: working moms are no stranger to making it work but for professional athletes, it can be more difficult >> it was very emotional time for me because i did have doubts >> reporter: but this season was one of her best. did you ever picture yourself as being a mom and a player >> no. >> reporter: players now receive their full salary while on maternity leave, up from just

50%. they also provide a $5,000 childcare stipend. a major step forward but many say it doesn't go far enough >> the wnba is trying. the sports industry in general is slow to move. >> reporter: at the dream, it's a team effort. naomi comes to practices, and every player is an honorary auntie you think it made you a stronger athlete? >> oh, yeah. made me tougher, made me stronger shows the strength and resilience of women in general we are so powerful in fact, i use that as my fuel >> reporter: doing it all with her own personal cheerleader right by her side. blayne alexander, nbc news, atlanta. >> love that and from one court to another, the men's number one seed, carlos alcaraz needed just about an hour to advance to the second round. his opponent retiring from the match after an ankle injury in the second set so the defending u.s. open champ plays his second-round match

tomorrow earlier in the day, a tough loss for venus williams in her 24th open, suffering her worst defeat in the tournament after dropping straight sets to germany's player we'll see you back here tomorrow here tomorrow.

hurricane idalia, at this hour making landfall. parts of florida's west coast feeling the storm surge. we're actually tracking the storm's path and the latest on the damage. closer to home, a microclimate weather alert with parts of the bay area under a red flag warning. meteorologist kari hall is breaking down where you can expect elevated fire as we track potential power shutoffs. also, scary moments at a bay area elementary school. how a play date flyer may have triggered a b