effective in keeping us out of the hospital and averting severe disease. it is a bonus if they can also prevent what we call infection. you get infection, have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, they diminish that possibility greatly but they can't turn it off completely. meanwhile the highly transmissible delta variant now accounts for more than half of all new infections in the united states. that could be because the nation is still far from reaching herd

immunity with less than half of the population fully vaccinated. there is growing concern that low vaccination rates across the u.s. could potentially wipe out of of the progress the nation has made in fighting the virus. athena jones has the latest. >> reporter: america's covid-19 crisis is not over. infection rates rising in almost half the states driven in part by the delta variant. low vaccination rates putting the country's progress fighting the virus at risk. >> the more unvaccinated people there are, the longer this pandemic will be. this is not just about the individual. this is about our society. >> reporter: a goueorgetown university analysis shows that it stretches from georgia to texas to missouri. places that could become breeding grounds for more deadly covid variants. >> a stronger mutation will surface and it will become predominant.

>> reporter: new cases jumping more than 50% week over week in louisiana where just 35% are vaccinated and tennessee, where it is with 38%. >> simply put, in areas of low vaccination coverage, hospitalizations are up. >> reporter: with less than half the population fully vaccinated nationwide, the white house ramping up outreach to pediatricians and workplaces and on school campuses. >> our job is to keep doing all we can to reach americans where they are, to answer their questions, and to make it as easy as possible for them to get a shot as soon as they are ready. >> reporter: and efforts to have doctors and religious and community leaders going door to door to answer questions forhes. >> for those feeding misinformation and trying to mischaracterize the type of work, i believe that you are doing a disservice to the country, the doctors, community leaders and others who are working to get people

vaccinated, save lives and help end this pandemic. >> reporter: data show the pfizer, moderna and johnson & johnson vaccines are effective including against the delta variant which now accounts for more than half of all new cases. >> please get vaccinated. it will protect you against the surging of the delta variant. >> reporter: in matteryland, ev person who died this june was unvaccinated. and as entertainers try to appeal to young people, experts are hoping full approval for vaccines from the fda will encourage more people to get the shot. right now they only have emergency use authorization. meanwhile max mandates are back in california's state capital after an outbreak of covid cases among employees. as covid fears ramp up all over again. and with the delta variant spreading rapidly, some experts say it may be important to start testing even vaccinated people to make sure that this variant isn't evading the vaccines. pfizer said that it is seeing

waning immunity and picking up its efforts to develop booster shots to help protect people. athena jones, cnn, new york. california is set to require that all public schools offer remote learning option for students this fall. the state passed a bill to accommodate student and parents still hesitant about returning to the classroom. the measure will apply to this upcoming school year only. amid all this talk of possible covid booster shots, many health officials are still trying to vince vaccine hesitant americans to get their first dose. zeke emanuel was a health policy official -- >> i think that it will be hard to imagine that we can immunize 200,000, 300,000 people every year. we are already having trouble in the first round, imagine having

to do it every year. >> and so as we mentioned, covid outbreaks are popping up in areas with low vaccination rates. new data analysis from georgetown university shows some of the largest clusters of unvaccinated people are located in the southern united states. health officials warn these areas could become breeding grounds for even deadlier areas. >> reporter: louie and patty held off getting vaccinated. not anti-vaxxers, it just wasn't a priority. and then they got sick. >> how sick did you two get? >> i remember i was working and then i just -- it felt like a bomb dropped on me. i just wasn't feeling good at all. and i thought -- >> you're still recovering. >> i'm still recovering. >> this is not your normal voice. >> no. >> and this is a month later. it has totally devastated me. >> reporter: so sick she thought

she'd never see her daughter ashley again. >> i remember looking out of the ambulance and i could see our daughter, ashley, driving behind us. and i just thought i knew that once they took me there, i wouldn't see her. i wouldn't see my family. and you just have no control. >> reporter: this is louie and patty holding hands in the icu. he thinks that he picked up the virus in las vegas and then without knowing it gave it to his wife of 30 years. >> we got to that point where she needed to go first. i thought i was going to be tough and hold on and stay home and try to recuperate, but it wasn't the case. i immediately went down hill. >> reporter: coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths again on the rise in missouri. the state's health department estimates more than 70% of the virus circulating in the state is the more possibly more dangerous delta variant. >> we're seeing more people getting sicker and requiring

hospitalization. also we have seen that in this wave people is getting sicker faster. >> reporter: springfield's mercy hospital has seen hospitalizations rise so quickly, they have brought ventilators in from other hospitals. at spring field's cox health, 90% of coronavirus patients tested have the delta variant. >> this is going to keep happening. you know, it may peak here and then it will spread to other places. if we don't get enough vaccinated, there will be another variant that is probably worse. that is the way viruses work. >> reporter: in greene county, population nearly 300,000, health officials sounding the alarm. how concerned are you about the weeks and months ahead? >> terribly concerned. i mean, yesterday we reported another 240 cases in one day. we're not a huge community. that is a really large number. and we haven't seen these numbers since we had a surge back in december and january.

>> reporter: and in branson, a huge tourist draw, it is business as usual. vaccinations here in the county even lower than the state. just 25% of all residents here vaccinated. what is the biggest barrier you hear to people not getting vaccinated? >> it runs kind of the gamut. maybe they feel like they just want to wait and see, they are not quite ready yet. maybe they are just not someone that vaccinates. we've also heard a little bit of concern over how quickly the vaccine was developed. >> reporter: louie and patty think of this way, the unknown possibilities of getting the vaccine far outweigh the known horrors of the virus. >> the vaccine i feel personally is nothing compared to taking your chances and getting -- >> it is russian roulette really if you want to take your odds and see if you get it and how well you do with it.

unfortunately, you won't do as well as you think you are. >> reporter: so why such a big outbreak in this part of missouri right now? probably several different factors. when the vaccines came along, social distancing, masking rules, all those went out the window for many people. branne son is right down the ro from springfield, so there is a lot of tourists coming in this area. and then that delta variant, it was first identified here in springfield and in branson in there may, it is now circulating widely and the concern is that it will stick around into the fall when they will have an even bigger outbreak. back to you. the investigation into the assassination of haiti's president is intensifying. police say 17 of the more than two dozen suspects are in custody. most of the alleged attackers are colombian and two are haitian american. cnn hasn't been able to speak with them or their lawyers.

this video posted online claims to show a shoot-out between police and the attacker, but cnn can't confirm its authenticity. haiti's police chief tells reuters three suspects were killed. matt rivers picks up the story. >> reporter: arrests on the street of port-au-prince thursday after an army police operation against heavily armed mercenaries, mercenaries that authorities say are responsible for the brazen assassination of haiti's president jovenel moise early wednesday. haitian police say they have detained at least 15 colombians and two haitian-americans suspected to be involved in the attack. police say the men who opposed as u.s. dea agents to gain entry in to the presidential residence included foreign nationals. this audio circulating on social media purported to be of the time of the assassination. with men shouting that they are drug enforcement agents in

english. police seeming to acknowledge the rising tide of anger in the wake of the attack are urging citizens not to take the law into their own hands. >> we have the obligation to protect the people we have caught. we cannot practice self justice. >> reporter: still many are asking just how such a bold attack could have been allowed to happen. >> where did it come from, what country septent them, how the g do the tran got transferred her. >> reporter: and the acting prime minister did allude to the context surrounding the assassination but stopped short of outlining a motive. >> we all know that jovenel moise was really committed to some i will say some actions against the oligarchs in haiti. so we know that in the last days, he spoke about the

consequences that those actions can have on life. >> reporter: already a nation rife with political instability, gang violence and humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic, fears from neighboring nations that the presidential assassination may push haiti over the edge. but haiti's interim prime minister insists that upcoming elections will still take place despite the nation's upheaval. >> the constitution is clear, i have to organize elections and actually pass the ballot to someone else who is elected. >> reporter: but with so much uncertainty in the wake of a coordinated hit on the president, and so many questions left to be answered about just who is responsible, whether or not haitian officials can keep the nation on track for a peaceful transfer of power remains an open question. matt rivers, cnn, p port-au-prince.

and taiwan's embassy in haiti may have been dragged into the case unwittingly. the ministry of foreign affairs told cnn that group of armed men were arrested after theyin allegedly broke into the embassy grounds on thursday. intruders were 11 mercenaries and described haitian police carrying out a search operation in order to pursue justice and reveal the truth of the assassination. it is not yet clear if the 11 suspects are part of the 28 mentioned in the news conference thursday. just ahead, joe biden on the defensive, the u.s. president explains why after 20 years the time is right to bring american troops home from afghanistan. but now we're hearing of further taliban gains there. we're live with the latest developments. plus tropical storm elsa is moving north and also new york is feeling its effects. we'll get the latest from our meteorologist ahead. s no need f? think again.

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president biden is mounting a vigorous defense of his decision to pull all u.s. forces from afghanistan. biden insists this is no mission

accomplished moment but he claims the u.s. has achieved its objectives of dismantle willing al qaeda and kills osama bin laden. all american troops are expected to be out by august 31, weeks ahead of schedule. >> nearly 20 years of experience has shown us that the current security situation only confirms that just one more year fighting afghanistan is not a solution. but a recipe for being there indefinitely. i will not send another generation of americans to war in afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome. >> but critics of the withdrawal say it is allowing the taliban to capture more territory. now, this map shows taliban controlled areas shaded in black. biden says it is time for the afghan people to defend their own country. >> no, i do not trust the taliban. it is a silly question. to i trust the ztaliban?

no. but i trust the capacity of the afghan military who is better trained, better equipped and more -- more competent tent in terms of conducting war. >> and that cna coren is joinine from kabul. there is word of mortal ban gains? >> reporter: yeah, local news reports are saying that the dry portban gains? >> reporter: yeah, local news reports are saying that the dry port of islam cala has fallen to the taliban, something that the taliban is claiming as well, that this dry port is under the full control of the taliban. this is the main trade gateway if you like between afghanistan and iran. millions of dollars worth of goods flow through there, fuel, import, exports. this is a major, major border crossing, a major development in the taliban's offensive. this is 8s the second border crossing that they have claimed

now within weeks. we've also heard from the taliban in moscow, they held a press conference there several hours ago saying that they now control 85% of a begafghan terr and they have appealed to n gchlt os to continue operating in afghanistan, to not cease operations. they have also said that they want schools to remain open, hospitals to remain open. interestingly, they said that they want women and men, girls and boys, to attend school all the way to university. if that is true, that is a significant development because as we know, the taliban does not allow women to venture outdoors, they certainly don't want them to get an education. girls have been allowed to go to school up to primary age. but if this is true, if the

taliban is as serious about girls getting an education that is certainly a significant step for the militant insurgency. which as we know is trying to make out that it is the alternative government. we heard from president biden overnight giving that speech, defending his position on withdrawing u.s. troops. and he said i don't trust the taliban, but he also said that it was not inevitable that the government would fall to the taliban. but these certainly sweeping gains around the country creating a great deal of panic and alarm here. >> i can imagine. anna coren for us live in kabul, thank you so much. a special legislative session on voting called by texas governor greg abbott kicked off on thursday. the proposed legislation takes aim at among other things 4 hour v

24 hour voting and driver through oig voting. democrats say that that amounts to voter suppression. texas republicans say the renlgts legislation would improvetinteg. kamala harris spoke on it while visiting howard university. >> this is the fight of our lifetime. this is the fight of our lifetime. we all stand on the shoulders of giants, we will always remember our history. we also understand their legacy. and that we are a part of that. >> texas is just one of many states enacting voting restrictions in some form. parts of new york city are being hit by flooding ahead of tropical storm elsa. on thursday, several subway stations were impacted. the metropolitan transportation authority said it would take steps to keep customers and employees safe. the heavy rains and high winds

created havoc on the roads causing the mta to implement a ban on empty tractor trailers on tunnels. and some 20 million americans along the east coast are under tropical storm warnings at this hour. elsa first hit florida on wednesday, one person was killed in jacksonville. tornadoes were reported across the state as well as in parts of southern georgia. now the powerful storm is making its way into the northeast and joining me now to talk about that is karen mcginnmaginnis. >> yes, the system is beginning to pull away from the dpeninsul. and you can see the heavier precipitation is along the northern edge which is pushing through into new york city. starting to pick up more of that precipitation. and here is the good thing about elsa. it is moving to the northeast at

about 25 miles per hour. it has winds associated with it at 50 miles per hour. now, earlier in the day previous 24 hours, we were looking at 40-mile-per-hour winds. so it was barely a tropical storm intensity. but now where you see the blue all the way from salisbury to atlantic city, new york, nantucket and boston, tropical storm warnings in effect and it looks like 2 to 4 inches of rain will be common, some isolated areas could see 6 inches. so a flash flooding threat. and these high density population areas. it will trek through the northeast, move into regions right around cape cod and then downeast maine. wind gusts, heavy surf advisories and rip currents. so a lot of factors to consider with elsa. >> thanks so much. so while spectators won't be at the olympics, athletes,

journalists and other officials are making their way to japan. coming up, the olympian effort they are facing as they see a surge in infections. they can finally come on over again. the covid-19 vaccines are here. it's up to you. i hated sticking my fingers, then i got the dexcom g6. i just glance at my phone, and there's my glucose number. wow. my a1c has dropped over 2 points to 7.2. that's a huge victory.

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welcome back to all of you watching us here inada and arou world. this is "cnn newsroom." health officials are describing the delta variant as a ticking time bomb in africa. the continent saw more than a quarter of a million new cases last week which is according to the w.h.o. worst week for africa since the pandemic began. but the variant is now present in at least ten countries and

vaccination rates are still low. so the w.h.o. says the outbreak is likely to get worse before it gets better. david mckenzie saw firsthand how those trends translate into a fwrim g grim reality on the ground. so you can give us the big picture and take us through what you have been seeing in your reporting? >> reporter: the big picture is very bad. this is now the oworst stage of the pandemic. many countries here dealing with a brutal third wave of the virus driven by the delta variant. now, in terms of what i've been hearing from many doctors and nurses and health professionals is a system overwhelmed, both in the public and private sector. they are struggling to get people beds, paramedics are spending up to nine hours trying to find a bed for people. and people are dying while they wait. and while we've seen these kinds

of scenes across the world in the early days of the pandemic and earlier this year, this is now hitting africa the worst and many say it is because of the delta variant. >> you can get into that a little bit? because this delta variant seems very different in terms of its effect on africa than the previous two waves. >> reporter: well, that's right. very early on we were speaking about how africa might be badly hit because of in some places at least a weakened off weak health system. and just the geography meant that people felt perhaps later on they wouldn't be hit so bad. now we're here and it is being hit bad because the delta variant is so transmissible and it means that it is spreading through populations very quickly. that is why as sites like this like the discovery health vaccination center in johannesburg, you are seeing increased numbers of people come. after a very slow start, south

africa is ramping up its vaccine drive substantially. the question is will it be too late. it is good news, people can be protected by these two doses of vaccines say scientists, but in large parts of the continent, there is in some places little vaccine drive at all, less than 1% of the population is vaccinated. other than masking and lockdowns and all these things that have disrupted our lives for more than a year, it is vaccines and vaccinations that are the answer and this continent needs them to be given out at speed. >> yeah, absolutely. and the w.h.o. making that point very strongly. thanks so much, david mckenzie from johannesburg there. it has been almost 16 months since the w.h.o. declared the covid-19 outbreak a pandemic and now many countries are carrying on with plans to return to normal.

england is supposed to lift most of its restrictions in less than two weeks. night clubs in france will reopen friday night. that is the first time since the pandemic took a hold of europe. and new york which at one point was reporting more cases per day than some countries is about to shut down three mass vaccination sites because more than 68% of adults in new york city have now have had at least one shot. on the other hand, sydney australia is tightening measures as the delta variant spreads there. people are now only allowed to shop for essentials alone and can't travel more than a short distance from their home unless absolutely necessary. a lockdown will last until at least july 16. angus watson is joining us now. it has been two weeks in to the hard lockdown and doesn't seem to have slowed the spread.

>> reporter: that's right. australia has done very well throughout the pandemic with the short lockdowns to get on top of community transmission as soon as it comes up. but this time the development of new south wales didn't want to lock down the country's largest city, sydney, until contact tracers told them that the delta variant had got out of control and a lockdown was necessary. now infections persist. yesterday despite that lockdown, it was the highest day in terms of cases for this outbreak at 44. that might not seem like a large number, but australia is pursuing an elimination strategy while it doesn't have enough vaccine doses to go around. here is what the health minister said about that. >> people are looking at countries overseas where they are seeing people go about their work and pleasure in a sort of

semi normal way. and i think that is really important to highlight. that is because those countries have got vaccination coverages for their adult population. and in some cases that is very different from our situation. >> reporter: australia has vaccinated, fully vaccinated, just over 10% of its population. and that is much lower than many other wealthy countries around the world. australia's problem is both supply issue and hesitancy one. australia had bet big on the astrazeneca vaccine, the only one that is produced domestically at this point, but that does carry of course the very slight risk of a blood clot for those who get it. so that means people over the age of 60 are being offered that astrazeneca shot. the rest of everybody else needs to get the pfizer. the problem, there are very few pfizer doses to go around at the moment. the government says that it

should be getting more shipments in from pfizer very shortly and hopes to be using that vaccine to the tune of 1 million doses a week but that is still a very slow rate. the government hopes that they might be able to offer a vaccine by christmas. let's see. >> all right. thanks so much for the update, angus watson in sydney. surging coronavirus numbers are causing seoul to raise distancing measures to the slighteheslig highest level. weddings and funerals can only be attended by family members. the delta variant could become the dominant strain by august. the tokyo olympic games are set to kick off just two weeks from now, but this yeen ar many stands will be empty. spectators have been banned because of the spike in covid cases and it led to increased screenings for travelers who will be allowed to attend the

games. will ripley captured the logistical challenges they faced while traveling to japan. >> reporter: first thing people ask when i say i'm going to the summer olympics, is that still happening? send thing second thing they as it safe? we travel there to find out. our journey begins four days before we fly, two tests for covid-19. 96 and 72 hours before departure. already there has been tons of paperwork to fill out, leans to wait in just to get to this point. we can only go on testing centers approved by the japanese government. >> this is by far the most documentation i've needed just to get on a flight. >> reporter: processing my pile of paperwork takes nearly an hour at the airport. the moment of truth. they are checking high my docum. and they have brought in a man. hello. he tells me that i need to download an app, fill out online

health questionnaire. >> i have never been more grateful to get a boarding pass. >> reporter: only a few dozen passengers on my trip from taipei to tokyo. many airlines are canceling empty flights or suspending service all together. this is my first trip back to japan since the start of the pandemic. tokyo's airport ererily quiet. i don't have much company. a handful of passengers, a small army of health workers poring over my paperwork, scanning my qr code, ordering me to spit in a cup. the first of many daily covid tests. social distancing? not a problem as i wait for my results. negative. being here for the olympics

feels surreal and sad. japan invested billions to host the games. banking on a tourism boom. this is not what anyone had in mind. the pandemic makes you appreciate life's little victories. like the moment i get my olympic credentials. wow, there it is. it is official. i clear customs. and see an old friend. our long time tokyo bureau driver, pl oko inment o. he pl o kmr. okono. we finally made to japan. the process surprisingly smoothover all. even as the japanese capital fights a fresh surge in covid cases. will ripley, cnn, tokyo. coming up, teams search through rubble in florida hoping to bring closure to families whose loved ones are missing.

we'll have the latest from the surfside condo collapse. plus we hear from a man who lost both parents in the disaster. we'll share what he wants the world to know about them, next. not touching is still touching protection. adding lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99.9% of bacteria. detergent alone, can't. lysol. what it takes to protect. tony here from creditrepair.com taking to the streets to talk about credit. can you repair your credit yourself?

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♪ ♪ officials say four more victims were recovered from the collapsed condo in surfside, florida raising the confirmed death toll to 64. 76 people are still classified as potentially unaccounted for. sae search teams paused for a moment of silence wednesday after the painful decision to search to recovery. crews are working around the clock to find every last victim. the mayor of surfside says that they are all praying for a miracle, but authorities no longer think that they might find thin still alive under the rubble of the collapsed condo. now they are determined to bring closure to the families.

they are working around the clock to make that happen. >> it was moving today to hear a representative from the fire department tell the families at the family meeting this afternoon that the miami-dade fire department will not stop working until they have gotten to the bottom of the pile and recovered every single one of the families' missing loved ones. it is what we've said all along and they have stuck to their commitment and i'm very, very thankful for that. >> five more victims were identified thursday. of the 64 victims who have been found, 40 have been positively identified with 39 next of kin notified. meanwhile authorities say that they are sampling concrete from sham champlain towers authority sister tower for potential salt content that could compromise the building. some having to cope with a horrific new reality, they have lost loved ones and sometimes their entire families in the

blenk of blink of an eye. randi kaye spoke to a man who lost both parents. >> reporter: jonathan epsepstei parents were asleep on the ninth floor when the building suddenly collapsed. they lived in apartment 901. when did you last speak to your parents? >> i had actually spoken with my mom about an hour before the building collapsed. we were both night owls. and just really casual kind of late night text. i think i sent her something funny. that was about, yeah, i think that was around like 12:10. and i think the building came around at 1:20. i sent her a paul mccartney song that i thought was cool. we bonded over music a lot. so just a really quick text. >> how did you find out what happened with the building? >> i was about to fall asleep and i saw the cnn alert come

across my phone that building in authori north miami had collapsed and i immediately went to text my mom thinking how could it possibly be theirs and a message on the iphone went from blue to green meaning that it hasdn't been received. >> reporter: he didn't sleep at all that night and then saw the surveillance video of the collapse. what was that like for you? >> it was tough. it was unbelievable. i still -- i'm still struggling to understand this. you know, i immediately tried to call over and over again. i started following everything on twitter. >> reporter: desperate for answers, jonathan called around to hospitals and filed missing persons reports. like so many other families, he gave a dna sample. and then last week, detectives knocked on his door. >> i'm struggling to keep track of the days, but i believe that

detectives showed up at my apartment on thursday or friday to tell me that my mom had been recovered, her remains had been recovered. and then two days later, that my father had also been found. >> reporter: david epstein was 58, his wife bonnie 56. they had celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary just two months before the collapse. together they were enjoying early retirement, spending their days scuba diving, kite surfing and jet skiing. they had a dog too named chance. for the last decade and a half, his parents returned to the northeast for the summer in april or may. but not this year. they stayed longer because his father was treating a shoulder injury and their dog was sick. jonathan is an only child. how are you doing, how are you coping? >> i think denial is helping a little bit or just shock. i don't know how i'm feeling. this is so weird and surreal

that it is breaking in slowly. for the time being, i just want to live in my parents' memory, to live the way that i think that they would want me to live and to honor their lives. make up for the time that they lost. they were just the best. i'm thinking -- i'm thinking of what i will say at the funeral now. and i just want to emphasize they were so cool. when i was younger, my friends would come over and i always felt like that they were coming over to hang out with my parents. because they were way cooler than i was. and i miss them so much. >> reporter: and jonathan is an only child but he tells me that he has a great group of friends that he has been able to lean on for support during this time. in fact some of them waited at the family reunification center

on his behalf for word on his parents. but jonathan said that he will always remember his parents' warm spirit, they taught him to be kind to everyone and he hopes to carry that on in their memory. randi kaye, cnn, surfside, florida. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ (sounds of car doors closing) (screaming & laughter) ♪ ♪ (sounds of car doors closing) (crash sound & tires squealing) (phone chimes) this is onstar. we've detected a crash from your phone. is anyone injured? i don't think so. good. help is on the way. is there anyone i can call for you? my dad. okay, i'm calling him now.

phoenix suns are on the rise, plus wimbledon's women's finals is set. patrick snell has our minute in sports. >> we saw it here in the united states, game two of nba finals as the pheonix suns completed back to back wins against giannis and the bucks. devon booker scored 31 and the 36-year-old star chris paul playing in his first final series in 16 seasons. suns winning it 118-108. the series going back to milwaukee next with game three on sunday. to england where on thursday, ash barty booking her spot in her first wimbledon

finals with a straight sets victory over angelique kerkerbe. and it will be a busy sporting weekend with the wimbledon finals, euro finals, and the nba finals. and with that, i'll send it right back to you. and in just a few hours from now, the men's semifinals get under way at wimbledon. heavy favorite novak djokovic is seeking his 20th grand slam title which would tie the record set by nadal and federer. djokovic faces the canadian who has never reached the finals of a major tournament. in the other semi final, it is bertini. every year there is the

scripps national challenging bee. and this year's contestants boiled down to a 14-year-old from new or leans and this word. >> nur-u-r-r-a-y-an-u-r-r-a-y-a. >> that is correct! and for the record, it is a kind of tree. and she beat out more than 200 contestants from five countries. and she gets a $50,000 cash prize, a trophy and plenty of res-e-s-p-e-c-t r-e-s-p-e-c-t. she truly is an amazing woman. that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber. "early start" is next.

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♪ dream on ♪ - yes! ♪ ahhhhhhh ♪ ♪ dream until your dreams come true ♪ welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm christine romans. >> and i'm laura jarrett. it is 5:00 a.m. here in new york. you made to friday. we begin this morning with the debate over waning immunity from vaccines and the battle against coronavirus. pfizer announcing thursday that it is seeing immunity from its two dose shot weaken over time and now it is planning to seek emergency use authorization for a booster shot as early as this august. but the federal government says not so fast. hours after this pfize