Was set to get underway. I think Hunter Bidens legal team reached the maybe noncontroversial conclusion that there is no way he was going to win This case. Norah could Hunter Biden face time in prison . And what about a pardon from his father . The Cbs Evening News starts now. Good evening. Im norah odonnell, and thank you for being with us. And we are going to begin tonight with that breaking news, after the president s only surviving Son Today pleaded guilty to nine charges of Tax Evasion and falsifying tax returns. And tonight, we are hearing from Hunter Biden about why the sudden change in his legal strategy, as This move will avoid a lengthy and embarrassing trial for the biden family. What we do know is This, that This development was not part of a plea deal, and it does set up the possibility that the president s son could spend decades behind bars and raises new questions about the chance of a pardon from President Biden. Cbss Scott Macfarlane reports the surprising move came as Jury Selection was getting underway. Reporter Hunter Biden, who was convicted by a jury in Delaware In June of unlawfully possessing a gun, is trying to avoid a second criminal trial This year. He is charged in california with allegedly scheming to avoid paying at least 1. 4 million in income taxes. But in a Surprise Move ahead of Jury Selection today, bidens attorneys acknowledged the evidence is overwhelming and offered for biden to plead guilty. Hunter decided to enter his plea to protect those he loves from unnecessary hurt and cruel humiliation. Hunter put his family first today. Reporter an unorthodox, unexpected move in the federal Court System where guilty pleas typically come with plenty of warning and only after negotiations and agreement with the prosecutors. Among the many things that were unusual today is the fact that it appears that what Hunter Biden is offering is to plead guilty to all the charges, but in exchange for nothing. Reporter at first, prosecutors protested because in bidens initial Offer Today his attorneys said hed plead guilty but wouldnt accept full responsibility for the crime. Biden already faces prison time for the Gun Conviction earlier This year when hes sentenced in midnovember, and now faces the prospect of additional time behind bars, even with a finalized guilty plea in the tax case. Earlier This summer, the president said This about the idea of a pardon. I abide by the Jury Decision and i will do that and i will not pardon him. Reporter in a statement he just issued, Hunter Biden said he was concerned a trial would cause anguish and that he didnt want to put his family through that. Norah . Norah you know, the president made those comments about a pardon before he dropped out of the race, so its still a possibility, right . Reporter the white House Press Secretary was asked about the prospects of a pardon now. She says he is still a no. Norah Scott Macfarlane, thank you very much. Turning now to that horrific School Shooting in georgia that left two teachers and two students dead. Cbs News Tonight has new information about the alleged teenage shooter, the gun he used, and prior warning signs, including his interests in School Shootings. Cbss Mark Strassmann is an winder, georgia, just outside of atlanta. Mark, i understand youve got some new reporting about how the suspect got the gun. What can you tell us . Reporter yeah, norah, multiple sources tell Cbs News that investigators are now looking into the weapon used in This attack and whether it was given to the teenage suspect by his father as a gift last year. In equal Parts Grief and shock, winder is grappling with Wednesdays Horror at apalachee high school. We are getting our first look at suspect colt gray, his mug shot. He had local Law Enforcement worried as early as last year. This is sad that we had that kind of evil in our society. Reporter Janis Mangum is the sheriff in neighboring jackson county. Her deputies first questioned the gray family in 2023. The issue, the fbi had received Anonymous Tips about online School Shooting threats posted on an app called discord. Its username referred to the 2012 Sandy Hook gunman. In an Incident Report obtained by Cbs News, a deputy reported the teen assured me hed never made any threats to shoot at the school. Investigator miller im not saying you are lying, but its the teen responded, its a serious thing. His father, colin gray, told deputies the family own hunting rifles. He added his son is allowed to use them when supervised but does not have unfettered access to them. But without more to go on, the case was closed. Was This a missed opportunity . I dont think it was a missed opportunity, no. I think he did all he could with what he had at the time. Reporter This is Cell Phone Video of a School Hallway Right after the shooting. What appears to be an Arstyle Rifle lies on the floor. Today, at an event in wisconsin, President Biden talked about the deadliest School Shooting in georgia history. We are grateful for School Personnel and first responders who proved and prevented more people from being killed or injured and brought the suspect into custody. But as a nation, we cannot continue to accept the carnage of gun violence. Reporter the teenage suspect makes his first Court Appearance in the morning. What worries Law Enforcement in This moment are copycat shooters, and just since the shooting here yesterday, Metroatlanta Sheriff offices have arrested at least two teenagers for making school threats. Norah . Norah that is alarming. Mark strassmann, thank you very much. We do want to take a Moment Tonight to focus on the victims of the shooting, to find out who they were and to tell their story. Cbss Jericka Duncan takes a look. Reporter christian Angulo And Mason schermerhorn were 14 years old. Both freshman at apalachee high school. Ester matias is also 14 and a classmate of christians. He was a very sweet kid. He did not deserve This. Neither did the coach or. Everyone else. And, yeah, you know, it was very unfortunate. Reporter christian was the youngest of four. Ximena verdin is a Family Friend. I was close to him because he is my best friends little brother. Something really unexpected. You dont expect it to happen to you until it does. Reporter mason was known for having a big smile. A Family Friend called him the sweetest, most loving soul. Ronald clark is a chaplain who knows masons mother. He says he went inside the School Yesterday to help investigators find him. You know, the willing that she thought she was coming to pick up her son to go home, that part just was devastating. Reporter 53yearold Algebra Teacher christina irimie, a remaining romanian immigrant, jumped in front of a student to protect them from the shooter, according to an eyewitness. Father Nicolae Clempus says he knew irimie for more than 20 years. I would not be surprised that she would do such a thing because she was dedicated to her students, to the children. Reporter richard aspinwall, who went by ricky, was 39. He was a Defensive Coordinator for the schools football team. Sophomore isaiah hooks is a player who describes his coach as a kind man whose standards he hopes to live up to. He would always push us to be who we are and just like always made sure that we were doing the right thing. Reporter isaiah says he had just seen his coach that morning at football practice. I wish it was all just a dream. I mean, me and my team, me and my friends, we could all just wake up and it is still wednesday morning. And nothing, none of This had ever really happened. Reporter family and friends of the victims that i spoke to today all expressed how thankful they were for the Love And Support expressed by This community. Norah, tonight we are learning that seven of the people who were hospitalized as a result of This shooting have been released. One person remains in stable condition. Norah jericka, thank you for telling their stories. Voters could see new evidence in the federal Election Interference Case against former President Donald Trump before the election. This comes after the judge sided with the prosecution today, saying trumps campaign is not relevant to the case. As for the trial itself, that wont take place until after election day. The former president s lawyers also pleaded not guilty on his behalf, as he was arraigned on revised charges in response to the supreme courts ruling on president ial immunity. Now to america decides, with the economy one of the top issues for voters in november, former President Donald Trump laid out a number of his economic proposals in New York today, and it included a Task Force to conduct a financial and Performance Audit of the School Government led by Tech Billionaire Elon musk. Cbss Robert Costa has the details. It will be a national economic renaissance. Reporter former President Donald Trump today spelled out his vision for the economy and had sharp criticism of Vice President harris. Comrade Kamala Harris wants to sacrifice our wealth, kill the economy, and drive jobs overseas to punish businesses more. Reporter trump claims a second Term Agenda would include lowering the corporate Tax Rate, slashing regulations to boost energy production, and imposing tariffs and Tax Penalties on companies that dont produce in the u. S. Vice president harris, by contrast, has said she would raise the corporate Tax Rate from 21 to 28 . Billionaires and big corporations must pay their fair share in taxes. [cheers and applause] reporter Trump Today also embraced a Government Efficiency Commission pushed by Billionaire Supporter Elon musk, who has called for a complete audit of the federal government. Elon, because he is not very busy, has agreed to head that Task Force. Be interesting. If he has the time. Would be a good want to do it. But he has agreed to do it. Reporter harris made her way to pittsburgh today, where she will focus on Debate Prep ahead of tuesdays clash with trump in philadelphia. There will be no studio audience. Candidates cannot question one another. And their microphones will be muted while the other is speaking. The former president lashed out at the Host Network and falsely claimed harris would get the questions in advance. Abc is the worst network in terms of fairness. They are the most dishonest network. The meanest, the nastiest. But that was what i was presented with. Reporter sources close to harris tell me her Debate Prep is not just about policy and message, but about getting ready for the unexpected from trump. As for trump, his advisors tell me he isnt having a formal prep, but instead is bantering with allies about how to handle harris and draw her out on issues like immigration. Norah . Norah Robert Costa, thank you very much. And we will have complete coverage of the president ial debate on tuesday, starting at 8 00 p. M. Eastern right here on cbs, followed by live simulcast of the debate, and then cbss expert analysis. We hope you will join us on tuesday. Heavy rain and downpours are moving across the gulf coast, beginning and bringing with threats of Flash Flooding overnight from lake charles, louisiana, to New Orleans. Cbss Lonnie Quinn joins us now with a forecast. Good evening, lonnie. Good evening norah. Hello, everybody. There are two big whether stories right now. You just heard norah talking about the big rain that is out there, big heat. Lets start with the rain. Want to take us out to the gulf coast. I mean, New Orleans has already, all week long, been getting piled on with the rain. They picked up over 7 inches already in their rain bucket, and by the time we get to tomorrow night, New Orleans could pick up another 6 inches. That would give New Orleans their years worth of rain with another four months to go in This year. But the heat is the story out west. Anywhere from the canadian border to the mexican border we have got heat advisories, high Heat Warnings out there. For some folks like Los Angeles that stays in effect until monday. Tomorrow Los Angeles hits 100 degrees. While portland, oregon, also hits 100 to greaves. Well to the north of l. A. , but for portland, oregon, that will break a record a stylist in 1958. 65 Million people dealing with that bigtime heat. Norah, it is all yours. Norah Lonnie Quinn, thank you so much, and as lonnie just mentioned, that heat on the West Coast is intensifying. This years extreme characters across the southwest have led to dangerous conditions, emergency rescues, and even death. Cbss Carter Evans reports. Reporter its a scene thats played out across the west all summer rescuers saving people overcome by heat. Were probably going to break records This year. Reporter Mike Leum is with the l. A. County sheriff searchandrescue team, on track to beat last years 733 missions. When it comes to heat illness, he says getting medical treatment within an hour is critical. Well, that person needs to get to a Trauma Center as soon as possible and get intravenous fluids flowing. Reporter so youre airlifting these people out . Yes. A lot of hoist rescues. A lot of heatrelated injuries. Reporter This is the hottest summer on record for las vegas, and there have been more than 180 heatrelated deaths in the area so far. And in the phoenix area, with three straight months of tripledigit temperatures, at least 177 heatrelated deaths have been reported, with more than 430 still under investigation. Experts say Heat Deaths are often undercounted. What we end up counting is really just the tip of the iceberg. Heat exacerbates a whole host of underlying conditions, from diabetes to various forms of Mental Illness to pulmonary respiratory issues. We often dont record that as heatrelated. Reporter back on the trail, leum s