welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. just ahead on cnn news room -- >> we're not crying wolf. >> we're approaching 70,000 plus cases per day and it almost certainly will go over 100,000. surging covid cases have health experts warning everyone should be taking this pandemic much more seriously. facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment, dozens of officials call on new york governor andrew cuomo to resign

or be impeached. and simone biles leaves the tokyo olympics a champion overcoming twisties, turns and tragedy. thanks for joining us. the united states current covid surge could be its worse yet. that message from the previous u.s. surgeon general who told the "washington post," we are seeing 50,000 hospitalizations a day and the weekly average of new infections is soaring well past 80,000. these are the highest levels we've seen in months. but he says it is not too late to turn things around. >> it is not really about national immunity so much as it about making sure within your

household, within your workplace, within your child's school you have appropriate levels of protection so that you can prevent spread from turning into an outbreak. and so think about what you can do and what those around you can do to protect yourselves. that is how we stop this pandemic. >> but more young people keep getting the virus. the american academy of pediatrics says some 72,000 children and teens daughter co -- caught covid last week, five times as many kids at the end of june. yet some state leaders refuse to adopt safety members. of florida governor signed an executive order barring schools from forcing children to wear masks. and florida is now the epicenter of the latest wave of the virus setting new records in recent days for both infections which are hitting highs not seen since

january as well as hospitalizations. but while cases soar, vaccinations are falling. florida is now recording less than 20,000 a week. broward county, just north of miami, is now requiring hospitals to report all key metrics meaning not just surges and hospitalizations, but also how many icu beds are available. >> the governor has just decided as a show of really, you know, just to show off to his base that he is currying favor with that he will stop all local officials from having any impact on this. so our local school board, our superintendent is not going to be able to do what they want to do because he is threatening to withhold funding from them. it is unbelievable in a sense that it feels like he is doing everything in his power to make this disease incredibly difficult. >> mean while top health expert dr. anthony fauci says he hopes to see the pfizer/biontech

vaccine get full approval from the u.s. food and drug administration within the next few weeks. he says that could speed up the process for getting the vaccine approved for children younger than 12. right now it is being distributed under emergency use authorization. the fda says it is moving as fast as possible but isn't setting a date. >> i think there are a certain proportion of people who are just waiting for that full approval even though the data are overwhelming right now that these vaccines are highly effective and are safe. but some still want to wait for that final improceed made tur on the products in question. and the other thing, it will allow independent local enterprises, universities, colleges, businesses who will feel much more comfortable when they say i'm going to main date that if you want to come to this school, if you want to work in

this place, you've got to be vaccinated. i think that we'll see much more of that when you have the backup of the full approval of this vaccine. >> dr. fauci also says pressure from local covid vaccine requirements may be the key to help convince some people to get the shot. he noted this morning city's decision to start requiring customers to show they have received their vaccine before entering restaurants, entertainment venues and gyms. the new rule is set to begin september 13th. meat producer tyson foods is joining the growing list of companies requiring workers to get the vaccine. the employer says its entire u.s. workforce will need to be fully vaccinated by november 1. tyson foods is one of the first companies to impose a vaccine requirement for frontline workers. microsoft will also start requiring proof of vaccination for all employees, vendors and guests entering their u.s.

offices starting in september. as the delta variant sweeps across the u.s., the country is ramping up its focus on vaccines and preparing for whatever comes next. later today, president joe biden will meet with his top science adviser to discuss planning for future pandemics. before that though, mr. biden turned up the pressure on state and local leaders to intensify their vaccination efforts. on tuesday, he also took aim at state officials who he says have made responding to the pandemic even more difficult. >> worst of all, some state officials are passing laws or signing orders that forbid people from doing the right thing. as of now, seven states not only ban mask mandates but also ban them in their school districts. even for young children who cannot get vaccinated. i say to these governors, please

help. if you aren't going to help, at least get out of the way when people are trying to do the right thing. >> and earlier i spoke with dr. rodriguez an internal medicine specialist and viral researcher. and i asked him about president biden's call for more places to require vaccinations. >> not only do the people that are unvaccinated have the right to not get vaccinated if they wish, but those of us that want to stay healthy have the right to stay healthy. so nobody is keeping people from going to the theater or going to a stadium. they just have to follow the requirements of that private institution and get vaccinated. it is like no shirt no shoes no service. no vax? you're not coming in. i think it is logical, i think it is the right thing to do and at the end if it does cause more people to get vaccinated, all the more power to it. >> we'll see if other cities step up and according to the

"new york times," the fda aims to give full approval to the pfizer vaccine by the start of next month, perhaps sooner. what impact could this potentially have on current vaccination rates do you think? >> well, i hope that it has a great impact. you know, the cynical part of me says that the people that don't want to get vaccinated are not going to get vaccinated, but there is a portion that says that this is experimental, once the fda gives it final approval, it is no longer experimental, it has been looked inside and out and found to be safe and effective. >> dr. rodriguez also emphasized what the white house has been saying, we're new facing a paebld pandemic of the of the unfax na. relief on the way for millions of renters facing eviction. the cdc has extended an eviction moratorium that protects people from getting removed from their

homes as covid-19 cases rise. kaitlan collins has more now from washington. >> reporter: what you are seeing from the cdc is a fresh effort to stop those potentially forthcoming evictions that many fear were going to happen after the initial moratorium had been in place for several months, expiring saturday night with no backup plan for those families that were going to be affected by it. now what the cdc has put in place is a more targeted eviction moratorium than the one you saw before, targeting the families living in areas of substantial and high transmission of covid-19. and the cdc is basically making the argument that it would be detrimental to public health to have this eviction moratorium expire at this time. of course this is a similar moratorium to the one that the white house had been saying for days would likely face legal challenges when they were arguing essentially our hands are tied, there is not much more that we can do and this caused a serious feud with other democratic lawmakers especially

progressives who said that the white house had waited too long to call on congress to act about that eviction moratorium after the supreme court ruled had they could no longer in good standing continue to impose that. so the question is how long it will be before it does face legal scrutiny. president biden acknowledged to us that he believes it will face legal scrutiny, but what his argument was is that essentially if there is a legal challenge, it will buy them time in order for these families to try to get rental assistance, federal government out what it is that they are going to do. so of course potentially hundreds of thousands or millions of families suddenly forced from their homes amid a pandemic where the delta variant is still raging. kaitlan collins, cnn, the white house. monday cnn showed you a las vegas mother facing eviction after she lost her job when the pandemic hit. kelly pawned and sold much of her furniture for cash just to

keep her family afloat. after her story aired, more than $192,000 and counting has been dough natured to her gofundme page thanks to the help of strangers. tuesday she was back on cnn thanking all the people who helped her. including cori bush. >> it is an honor to even speak with you. i'm so fortunate right now, this is beyond me. when i put that up, i never thought that anybody would have reached out especially cnn. and then to hear that congress person -- my story reached you, this is just amazing. i'm so thankful to there is people like you out there. i'm so thankful for it, thank you so much. [ crying ] i'm sorry. >> you and your family deserve representatives that care about you, that our country deserves to have representatives that represent. and so this is the least that we

can do for you is to step up and make sure that you get to stay in the safety and comfort of your home while we work on other things to help make sure that your life and the lives of your children are better. this is our work. so you don't even have to thank us, this is our work, this is the least we can do for you. >> an amazing outcome there. here is her gofundme page, called help my girls say a void evi eviction. wildfires, detroiroughts an soaring temperatures becoming a bigger problem. california is battling wildfires and demand for water in one area is 16 times greater than what is available. and in greece, parts of athens were evacuated after a wildfire

quickly grew out of control. the country is under threat from an intense heatwave, one the prime minister describes as the worst in more than 30 years. and in turkey, thousands of homes have been damaged as firefighters struggle to control spreading wildfires. one town had a call for outside help as the flames got closer to a thermal power plant. syria's white helmets have offered to help providing temporary shelters before those displaced by the fires in turkey. the group says it stands firmly with the turkish people even if it can't do much. now after a week of fighting back the flames, fatigue is setting in on emergency workers and local volunteers. pedram javaheri is following the latest doefevelopments, but fir arwa damon is on the fire lines in southern turkey .

>> reporter: that is the 7th pass that that helicopter has done over this one area. and it was a new tiny little fire starting point that quickly engulfed the side here. and these firefighters, these volunteers, they are so exhausted and getting understandably so emotional. >> yesterday it was amazing, we were kind of in the middle of a vortex. that was amazing. like i almost called my mom and said okay, mom, thanks. yesterday was amazing. >> reporter: and today you've been fighting but it keeps like popping up? >> it takes more time to do

anything. and we just start all over. >> reporter: how has today been? >> today? worse. because the fire is spreading to the direction of a city. >> reporter: so different points now. >> yeah. small but it is getting bigger. >> reporter: you're quite emotional. >> come on, look at it. look at it. >> reporter: this fire has been moving so quickly and they are trying to get some of the water trucks to move further down. this is devastating. and it is not just happening here. across southern europe, a number of countries are fighting forest fires. and the conditions here as well, we have been experiencing a significant heatwave. in turkey for example, there have been record high temperatures, very low humidity, and all of these allow for the

fire to move very violently and very aggressively. and that is our own doing. that is because of climate change. arwa damon, cnn, turkey. good morning rosemary, this is seven days in the works as far as the southern and southeastern corner of europe with the excessive heat. this is taken there about 20,000 miles up looking across the mediterranean ocean. and you can clearly see the smoke and haze from all the fire activity into portions of eastern and southeastern europe and a broader perspective shows you it is rather large and encompassing. southern turkey, we've had upwards of 150 fires in the past several days and much of it in the southern tier here where you see the smoke again across parts of the mediterranean. but in greece the past 24 or so hours, temperatures over 40 degrees celsius in some 200 locations. the highest location sits just a

few miles away from the med terrain i can't be coastline, 47 celsius, that is 117 fahrenheit. iraq is about 113 degrees fahrenheit. shows you the heat rifling the deserts. bei across the united states, deserts also surging with heat. and scattered storms in the southern united states and especially in the carolinas where excessive concern for flooding there around the outer banks and back toward the west, we do have the monsoon in full effect in parts of new mexico with additional flooding concerns in tore there. at hot as 120 in palm springs, these are 10 to 12 degrees above average for this time of year. and notice what is happening as far as the united states is concerned, a lot of heat to be had here in the early portion of august, temperatures around oklahoma city right around 90 degrees, even seattle and portland climbing into the upper

mid-80s and low 90s. >> thank you so much. and new york's governor is losing allies after a report saying that he sexually harassed several women. what president biden ois saying after the calls for him to resign. plus blaring sirens in afghanistan's capital, details on a car bomb attack amid a major taliban offense. because a quality night's sleep is scientifically proven to help increase energy and improve recovery. and it keeps you at your best all day long. the new sleep number 360 smart bed is temperature balancing. and it helps keep you asleep by sensing your movement and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. proven quality sleep is life-changing sleep. only from sleep number.

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-thank you. -like really. just knowing your score won't improve it. instead, work to actually fix your credit with creditrepair.com. welcome back. the results are in in two key primaries in ohio. in 1the 11th district, cnn projects establishment democrat shontel brown will defeat nina turner. brown is a heavy favorite to win the open seat. and in the 15th district, cnn projects mike carey will win the republican primary. the former coal lobbyist was endorsed by donald trump and is favored to beat democrat alley son russo in november. missouri's republican governor has pardoned the st.

louis couple who pointed their gu guns near protestors. they pled guilty to the charges and demonstrators were working on a private street protesting the mayor's decision to publish names and addresses of people supporting police reform. mike had said that he was afraid the protestors has killed him. he has turned the notoriety into a bid for the u.s. senate. new york governor andrew cuomo is facing the fallout after a damning report from his state attorney general. it says there is credible evidence that he sexually harassed 11 women. statistic assembly members say they are ready to talk impeachment and at least three democratic state senators want cuomo barred from future office. paula reid has more now on the investigation. >> reporter: new york's governor andrew cuomo loses the support

of his most powerful political ally president joe biden. >> i think he should resign. >> reporter: this is after the new york attorney general's office said earlier today that the governor sexually harassed multiple women and violated federal and state laws. >> the investigation found that governor cuomo sexually harassed current and former new york state employees by engaging in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching and making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women. >> reporter: investigators concluded the governor sexually harassed 11 women including a new york state trooper assigned to his protection. >> in elevator he ran his fenker from her neck down her spine and said hey you. another time she was standing holding the door open for the governor. as he passed, he took his open

hand and ran it across her stomach from her belly button to the hip where she keeps her gun. she told us that she felt completely violated to have the governor touch her as she put it between her chest and her privates. >> reporter: another accuser describes similar inappropriate touching. >> on november 16, 2020, in the executive mansion, the governor hugged executive assistant number one and reached under her blouse to grab her breast. there were also several occasions on which the governor grabbed her butt. >> reporter: the report states we also conclude that the executive chamber's culture, one filled with fear and intimidation, while at the same time normalizing the give's frequent flirtations and gender based comments contributed to the conditions that allowed the sexual harassment to occur and persist. cuomo was quick to respond denying the allegations. >> i want you to know directly

from me that i never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. i am 63 years old. i've lived my entire adult life in public view. that is just not who i am. and that is not who i have ever been. >> reporter: the allegations against cuomo ramped up earlier this year when charlotte bennett, a former aide, alleged that cuomo had asked her questions about her sex life during a june 2020 conversation in the state capitol. she also hinted at a pattern of retal retaliation. >> do you believe he was propositioning you? >> yes. >> for what? >> sex. he sexually harassed me. i'm not confused. it is not confusing. i'm living in reality and it is sad to see that he is not. >> reporter: cuomo addressed ben threat p

bennett personally in his remarks. >> i did ask her questions i don't normally ask her. i did ask her how she was doing and how she was feeling. but i was wrong. i've heard charlotte and her lawyer and i understand what they are saying. but they read into comments that i made and draw inferences that i never meant. >> reporter: paula reid, cnn, new york. time for a short break. when we come back, the tokyo olympics are over for simone biles, but we are hearing another emotional revelation from the american gymnast. plus new restrictions in china as covid-19 spreads. what beijing is now doing to keep its residents safe. - [narrt ready for what's next, custom gear from custom ink can help make the most of these moments. we've developed new tools to make it easy for you. custom ink has hundreds of products to help you feel connected. upload your logo or start your design today at customink.com hey, i just got a text from my sister. you remember rick, her neighbor?

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

a belarusian olympian seeking political asylum is now en route to austria. the sprinter left tokyo hours ago on a vienna-bound flight. it was originally thought she would fly to warsaw after being offered a humanitarian visa. but now it is unclear where she will ultimately end up. she has said she fears for her life after she was ordered to return to minsk on sunday. a disciplinary commission will examine how she was treated and hear from belarusian officials. to tokyo now and surprising

revelation from american gymnast simone biles after she won bronze on tuesday. she announced that her aunt passed away several days ago. meanwhile the competitions roll on and today spectators will be allowed at the cycling event. the competition is set to begin next hour with a round of a thousand fans watching in person. and blake essig is standing by live south of tokyo, but first let's go to patrick snell. good to see you. an incredible comeback of course for simone biles. but also some sad news revealed. what is the latest on all of this? >> hi rosemary. just to reset for our viewers, she won bronze on the balance beam tuesday, but then revealing afterwards her aunt passed away unexpectedly three days ago now having pulled out of a number of events in tokyo to protect her mental health, this was biles'

last chance to compete at the summer games. the 24-year-old though conceding that her expectations on her return to action were not that high. >> i'm pretty happy. i wasn't expecting to medal. i just came out here and tried to do a good beam set. i switched my dismount last minute because of everything going on. but to have these two next to me, they are amazing and i watched them train so hard. so they are definitely deserving of one and two. and so just to have one more important to compete at the olympics meant the world to me. >> biles also revealing she had to be medically evaluated daily by doctors and have two sessions as well with a sport psychologist before elaborating on the passing of her aunt saying that was something i wasn't expecting to happen at the olympic games either. so at the end of the day, you have to be a little bit more mindful of what you say online because you have no idea of what these athletes are going through as well as in their sports. biles revealing a short while ago she is also leaving tokyo

with a full heart. and elsewhere, another golden moment for the host nation to tell you about. this in the women's skate boarding park event. a 19-year-old winning gold and at 12, yes, 12 years of age winning silver. sky brown, age 13, winning bronze. and america's women's basketball team booking their spot in the semis beating australia. the u.s. who plays serbia next have won gold in every olympic since right here in atlanta in 1996. they currently have a 53 game win streak in olympic play. and for the second day in a row, a 400 meter hurdles olympic final, we had a thrilling finale, two athletes breaking what was a previous world record, this time in the women's race as america's sydney mclaughlin breaking the world record to win gold in a time of

51.46 seconds. that beats the mark that she set in late june. meantime delilah mohammed winning silver with a time that would have surpassed mclaufr ly laughlin's mark on june. and elaine thompson completed historic double double adding a 200 meters gold medal to the 100 meters crown just as she did at rio in 2016. not only did she finish first in tuesday's final, but she was well ahead of her rivals crossing that line in 21.5 # seconds, second fastest ever time in this event. and i do want to squeeze this one in, world record holder in pole vaulting celebrating a gold medal after the 21-year-old american born swede soaring to over 6.20 meters on his first attempt. the overwhelming favorite who came close to setting another world record delighted to get

the job done and realize his childhood dream. the athlete who grew up in louisiana with a specially equipped pole vaulting pit in his own backyard. what a great story. as i send it back to you. >> so many great stories. it has really been incredible. >> they keep on coming. >> thank you as always. appreciate it. let's bring in blake essig now. blake, finally some fans in the stands. what is going on and how long might this last? >> reporter: since the olympics started, i've had the opportunity as a member of the media to attend several events and i will tell you, it is such a surreal experience to be inside these venues with nobody else inside. but today, that will change as i was joined by several hundred very polite fans at this arena behind me. it is only one of five olympic venues allowing limited spectators across the country. and the only venue that is

enclosed allowing spectators. that is because this prefecture has no state of emergency declared. as a result fans filled the # 600 seat arena, everyone was wearing masks, clapped to cheer on the athletes and for the most part seemed to maintain a social distance. this is a rare experience given the ban on spectators at the 97% of events. and even though the number of fans was limited, there was a noticeable change in the atmosphere. people recognized the rare opportunity that they had being among the lucky few to get a ticket to an event where spectators were allowed and acknowledging these games have had their issues, just being able to be in there so close to these world class athletes and watch them compete made them feel like these olympic games are really happening there are only three pre-faek churs that are not under a state of emergency and decided to allow a

limited number of spectators. and in those prefectures, venues are only allowed to be filled to half capacity and not exceed 10,000 people. but today the total number of people who actually showed up was a fraction of the possible 1800 people that could have been in here and that is because tens of thousands of people who had tickets have asked for refunds and officials say those tickets were not resold. >> all right. blake essig bringing us the latest on that. many thanks. in china, the delta variant outbreak has reached wuhan, the original epicenter of the covid-19 pandemic. and it is prompting citywide covid tests as authorities scramble to contain their first reported local infections in more than a year. kristie lu stout is joining us from hong kong, she's been monitoring this. so why is china struggling to contain this covid-19 outbreak after doing so well at the start

of the pandemic? >> reporter: it has everything to do with the highly contagious nature of the delta variant and also according to the council for relations, the fact that china needs more effective vaccines. the delta outbreak is growing and causing alarms with panic buying in wuhan. of course that was the city where the coronavirus first emerged and the delta variant has been detected there. first emerged onigrant workers infected. and they announced 71 new locally transmitted cases, the highest daily tally for china in six months. and the fact that the virus has been able to spread to 26 different cities and 16 provinces across the country in the last two weeks is generating a lot of concern. sweeping pandemic restrictions are now in place. millions of people are in lockdown in various cities across china.

mask testing campaigns are under way in places like wuhan and also a city that recently had to deal with the catastrophic floods in the central part of china. and sweeping travel restrictions are also in place across the country. china it appears is throwing its entire pandemic playbook at the delta variant. will it work, will it contain the variant? listen to this. >> china can use its playbook again, it worked successfully the last year. things that they can do maybe can't be done elsewhere, they can use the mass testing, the lockdowns, quarantines to get delta under control. but it may take a little longer than previous outbreaks have taken. >> reporter: the delta outbreak could jeopardize their travel plans for the upcoming golden week holiday that takes place october 1, that is two months away. and a also starting today, also

beijing 34r0iolympic games are six months away. >> we'll see what happens. we'll be watching. kristie lu stout joining us from hong kong. coming up next, new calls for justice in beirut one year after the deadly blast at the city's port. many want to know why there are still no answers. [whispered] air wick. get more fresh fragrance with air wick scented oils. for the price of one frebreze refill, you get two air wick refills. for over 50% more of the fresh fragrarance you love. choose air wick. tony here from creditrepair.com taking to the streets to talk about credit. can you repair your credit yourself? yes. -great. how? uhhh... how long does credit repair take? i don't know, like 10 years. what? are you insane? what's a good credit score? go. 600. maybe if you're trying to pay thousands extra in interest rates. cut the confusion, get started with a free credit evaluation

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show me the olympics. [ "bugler's dream" playing ] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

just into cnn, taliban are taking responsibility for a car bombing in afghanistan's capital. [ sirens ] sirens sounded after the explosion near the heavily fortified green zone in kabul. the bombing appeared to target the acting defense minister. he and his family were unharmed. but eight civilians were killed along with foyer attackfour att.

this is during the militant's push toward several major cities. hours later there was another explosion near a defense facility in kabul. police say two civilians were injured. there has been no claim of responsibility. ♪ remembering those who lost their lives in a massive explosion a year ago today in beirut. and for those whose loved ones are among the thousands who were killed or wounded, for the hundreds of thousands who were left homeless by a blast that was felt almost 250 kilometers away in cypress. the official investigation has stalled, but there are now new calls for answers, justice and

accountability. and ben wedeman is joining me now live from beirut. so, ben, one year after this deadly blast in beirut, how much have things changed and what impact has this had on people's lives? >> reporter: first of all, it has had a huge impact on people's lives keeping in mind of course that in addition to the more than 200 dead and 6,000 wounded, almost 300,000 people lost their homes as a result of the blast. the port is right behind me and that is where hangar 12 was where the ammonium nitrate, at least 270,000 tons of it exploded. and it is hard to understate just how close beirut is to the port. within a mile's radius of where the explosion happened, 100,000

people used to live. if you look around this neighborhood, there has been -- there have been repairs done. some houses have been rebuilt. but others, no. in some areas you walk down the street you would think that the blast happened a week ago. the government has been largely absent in the effort to rebuild this part of beirut. the donor community is very hesitant to dchannel any money through the lebanese government given its long history of corruption and graft. as far as the investigation goes, we're already on the second judge who is trying to get senior officials to answer questions, but many of them are hiding behind parliamentary immunity, professional immunity, and the feeling is that this investigation is going nowhere at this point.

now, there are calls for some sort of international investigation or perhaps involvement in the ongoing investigation to try to move it forward. and the feeling is if it is going to continue at its current rate with its current limited resources and staff, that this investigation like so many into previous assassinations and bombings in lebanon is going nowhere. >> very frustrating. ben wedeman, many thanks. and "connect the world" will bring you stories of decision nik dignity, current and hope as they mark one year since the explosion. still ahead, packed pews and not a pandemic precaution in sight. we will take you inside one

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as the delta variant fuels a surge in covid cases across the u.s., many states are reintroducing mask rules and other precautions. but one church in maine is having none of it. gary tuchman reports. >> reporter: at this church just outside of bangor, maine, there is a prevailing feeling that the extent of the covid-19 pandemic is exaggerated. and that politicians have no business redistricting what takes place in this evangelical nondenominational christian congregation. ken graves is the pastor of the calvary chapel. >> we don't need the governor to manage our risk for us. we can do that ourselves. >> reporter: so his church ask turns out unsuccessfully for the supreme court to block the state of maine from reinstating and enforcing any future covid restrictions. graves claims his in-person church outreach to those who are

suicidal, addicted to drugs or just average attendees are essential and limitations are unconstitutional. >> heart disease is going to take out most of us. should we be in charge of your diet? >> if i was heart disease and i breathe on you, i'm not going to give you heart disease. >> right. >> if i'm infected with covid-19, i can. and you could die from it. >> right. >> isn't there is a big difference? >> i don't think that there is a big difference. the difference is between those two, heart disease kills women and more people. the risk is far greater -- >> but if you have it, you can't give it to me by sitting next to me. but if you have covid-19 and we're without masks, you can give it to me. you don't think that is a difference? >> no, i don't think it is a difference. >> reporter: this church follow some of the state's restrictions in the beginning but ultimately decided to no longer do so. there are now no restrictions here. maine has done better than most all states in fighting the

virus. but it could change because of the delta variant. congregants want no changes. >> i feel safer being here where no matter when or how my death happens. >> i don't think that state should ever have a role in curtailing religion. >> have you been vaccinated? >> i have not. >> do you have any plans to? >> no. >> have you gotten covid? >> i've never been tested. >> have you been vaccinated? >> no. he have more confidence in my immune system than in this experimental protocol. >> how do you know you are not going to spread it so-to-someone e -- >> that is the word thousand with the so-called vaccine. >> not so-called. this is an amazing vaccine, it has stopped the pandemic in its track. and now we're getting a surge because so many people like yourself have not gotten vaccinated. here we are almost back in the same situation. just get the shot.

that is not how you feel? >> no, i really do not have confidence in the shot. >> reporter: the pastor does say any congregant who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus is requested not to do to church. but if they do show up, they won't be kicked out. he also says he is not planning to close his church doors again even with this denial from the supreme court. no patrt of you that doubts wha you are saying? >> none. >> reporter: gary tuchman, cnn, maine. >> incredible. and in the latest pandemic travel news, royal caribbean says that its entire fleet of cruise ships will be sailing by spring of next year. the cruise line says it has covid safety measures in place and all crew and guests must be fully vaccinated or take multiple covid tests throughout their trip. thank you so much for your company. i'm rosemary church. be sure to connect with me on twitter@rosemary cnn. "early start" is up next.

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good morning, it is wednesday, august 4. it is 5:00 a.m. here in new york. thanks for gettingen a early start with us. i'm laura jarrett. >> and i'm amara walker in for christine romans. we have reports from kabul, tehran, london and tokyo. can andrew cuomo survive in that is the big question as the new york governor faces the fight of his political life after a damning report from the state's attorney general's office. investigators found that governor cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women and created a hostil