. hello and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. just ahead on "cnn newsroom" -- >> bringing together large numbers of children, congregating them in classrooms with masks being optional, is just a formula for disaster. >> health experts warn children returning to school face bigger risks as states debate whether to make them wear masks. we're just hours away from a final vote in the senate that

could push forward president biden's infrastructure bill. and a disaster of unprecedented proportions, wildfires ravage all corners of greece forcing hundreds to evacuate . as local officials implement mandates and measures to curb the coronavirus, more americans are coming to terms with the severity of the delta variant. the cdc says more than 98% of the u.s. population now live in counties with high or substantial transmission. 250 million alone live in high transmission areas. barely more than half the total population in the u.s. is vaccinated. that is nowhere near the level required to reach herd immunity. and while vaccinations are the

highest they have been in weeks, nearly a third of the eligible population, that is americans 12 and older, remain unvaccinated. all this comes as kids across the u.s. are heading back to the classroom. and while many districts will require them to mask up, that is not the case everywhere. at least seven states have banned any sort of mask mandate in schools. in florida, an executive order from the governor effectively does the same thing. and one pediatric doctor says we could end up seeing catastrophic consequences. >> it is one thing not to care about your own health or to think that covid is not a threat to you personally, but maybe if you learn that it is a threat to your children you'll reconsider the idea of not being vaccinated. i think bringing together large numbers of children, congregating them in classrooms with masks being optional or

worse yet even forbidden is just a formula for disaster. this virus that we're dealing with now is a game changer and it is just so easily transmitted from person to person that this could truly catalyze an explosion of cases across the region. >> legal experts agree, an executive order from florida's governor does not actually ban mask mandates, but ron desantis is doubling down yet again this time threatening to withhold the salaries of superintendents and school board members who go against his order. now, that hasn't stopped schools from finding loopholes. one county is requiring students to wear masks for at least the first two weeks of school, defying the executive order. the superintendent there says desantis should focus on saving lives and let her worry about the local schools. >> i really see this as a

distraction because i have work to do. and our community needs to have our schools open. and this is what we believe is needing to happen in order to make sure that i have people in place to run the schools, i need to have bus drivers, i need to have cafeteria workers, teachers, and i also need students in schools. so if they are being quarantined and they are not in school, they are missing out on instructional learning and if they don't have the masks, we're just increasing their quarantine time and my goal is to provide the high quality education and this is the direction i believe i need to go. i don't think that we should be careless and cavalier about life. the governor should take the conservative step and do everything he can to protect the lives of our community and that is what i'm doing. >> meantime in texas, independent school districts in both austin and dallas will require anyone on school property to wear face masks.

city officials and school board members say it is the best way to keep their students safe and their communities feel the same way. >> things opened up and people could take off their masks and i think everybody celebrated that. and it is hard to go back and it is an absolute travesty that we're having to do that now. but when people see what is happening in our intensive care units, that we're running out of space, people are rallying to the cry, they are doing what it takes for our community to come together, to keep people safe, and it really does focus right now on our kids in schools. >> we can save a few lives, it is worth whatever trouble i get in. this is not something that we're defying the state just because it is willy-nilly. it is because it is a need. and as soon as we get comfortable with the metrics, talking with the health professionals, we will rescind

the mask mandate because we don't like it, but we think it is necessary. the surge of new cases is so bad in texas that some hospitals are once again setting up tents as covid wards to create more room for patients. the linden b. johnson hospital's icu is at 100% capacity with at least 63% of those positive for do covid-19. two hospitals have also temporarily closed their emergency rooms so staff could be transferred to work with covid patients. less than 500 icu beds are currently available in texas. the covid surge across the south is so bad that mississippi has no icu beds available at many hospitals. more than 200 patients are stuck in emergency rooms as they wait to get into an icu. the state's health department also says that there are more than 150 ongoing covid outbreaks in long term care facilities.

and earlier i spoke with a family physician about the florida governor's rejection of mask mandates in schools and he explained the frightening consequences that could possibly come from that policy. >> you know, we keep looking at things that we know work. number one is masks. and the appropriate fitting masks is the number one thing that works. and in the school age children, we're saying that the cdc puts children three feet apart and this delta variant is so contagious, we'll have entire classrooms taken out. so it is going to lead to the hospitals being further pushed to the brink as we saw in the prior piece where we're having children air lifted or children in icu now are just overwhelming the health system. >> he added that the data on the vaccine show that they are work and they are safe.

a major new u.n. report says wildfires, droughts and floods are all being made worse by climate change brought on by human activity. the report says the earth is warming faster than previously thought and could reach the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees celsius within the next decade. and the window is closing to avoid more catastrophic outcomes. >> stopping deforestation, we know one of the largest sources of emissions is the burning and clearing of natural ecosystems, so we need to get serious about transitioning to zero or no carbon energy. we have to get serious about resolving and fixing unsustainable models of growth that assume in-if i kin-if i knt

levels of consumption, it means promoting rejennerable materials and economies and unleashing the talent of human innovation of our creativity and ingenuity to retool the rules and how our economy is designed. al gore is warning that everyone needs to listen to the science behind this report. he of course has been sounding the alarm about climate change for decades and says there is no time left to waste. climate change and strong winds are being blamed for winter wildfires in south america. in the santa cruz region, flames have consumed some 150,000 hectares so far this year. and according to a recent government statement more than 80 fir8 80 fires have broken out just in august. and in the west u.s., there are

already 40,000 wildfires, and they have burned through more than 3.5 million acres so far. in california right now, more than 12 th,000 people are under evacuation orders. and it is an uphill battle for firefighters as hot and dry conditions in the west fuel the flames. pedram javaheri has more. >> good morning, rosemary. a lot to tell you about when it comes to the heat and fire situation across the western united states as a massive dome of high pressure builds with the backdrop of some 108 large active wildfires across 15 states. heat warnings and watches, just about any criteria of hot weather that you could throw at it, the national weather service has put in place. and this ridge of high pressure is impressive yet again and recall six weeks ago, we had a massive dome of high pressure,

temps soared into the one teens. in seattle, tit should be 79 ths time of year and they will be aiming for 100 thursday and friday. and portland, aiming for 107 where 84 is average. and a model suggests if it wasn't for the amount of smoke in the atmosphere, the temperatures would be even greater. this speaks to the state of climate right now when it comes to the irony involved in the wildfire coverage here such as the dixie fire where 2 1/2 times greater than the size of new york city, that is the amount of land consumed and all f of this smoke is keeping heat at bay. we do have another potential tropical storm fred later tonight. and we have warnings and watches in place around the caribbean as the system moves across the region. right now models are hinting that this interacts with land quite a bit, and will limit the

development of the storm, kind of rains through this region of the caribbean and potentially by this weekend approaches portions of florida as a weak tropical storm. so we'll follow it as it progresses. >> thank you so much for that. greece's prime minister calls it a disaster of unprecedented proportions. as nearly 600 wildfires force thousands to evacuate their homes and leave behind everything they own. protestors gathered in athens on monday saying the government is not giving enough financial support to emergency crews. the prime minister has apologized for any weaknesses in the country's response. some of the most devastating wildfires are now burning on the island of evia and that is where we go now. what are the efforts to contain the devastating wildfires? >> reporter: when we woke up this morning, there were no fire fronts, there was just a big

fear of the rekindling. just moments ago before we spoke, we saw enormous fires ravaging. there are trees deliberately cut down to try to halt the spread. and we also have greek firefighters, solovenia firefighters that arrived in evia this morning. so many hands on deck to try to get the fire under control. this one has been put out. everyone is at this moment on very high alert for rekindling. it is very highly probable that could occur in many parts of evia because it is extremely hot. there is another heatwave coming and that has been compounding the impact of the fires that are raging in evia. the prime minister is talking about the lapses in efforts on the ground, the international assistance has been vital.

22 countries sending firefighters, fire engines as well as aircraft to help douse the fires. here in evia, the official number is that almost half of pristine forest has been burned down. we're talking about hundreds of thousands of hectares of land that has been impacted. thousands of people evacuated, homes decimated. the impact is extraordinary. this is the eighth day that we're seeing efforts to try to get fires under control. we've had incredible efforts. i want you to take a look at what is on the ground at the moment. fire engines from greece, from slovenia, people here just trying to get the fires under control. importantly, rosemary, because it has been eight days in a row, the devastation has been enormous. but the international help has been such a vital part in getting the fires under control.

what is encouraging is you are seeing incredible camaraderie through the firefighter, we're seeing hugs, people clapping as soon as fires are doused. but the teams tell us that they still have a lot of work to do. >> a lot of work. but when you have that sort of team effort, that is very encouraging. eleni giokos, many things as always. this powerful tornado was caught on camera just west of chicago monday. officials are still assessing the damage and it is not clear yet if anyone was injured or killed in the storm. we'll keep an eye on that. a football legend who knows how to win champions league titles may be on his way to a club that does not. we are watching lionel messi's

next move. back in a moment.

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and possible major victory for his administration. senators will vote today on the final passage of a massive infrastructure bill. both parties could claim a win if the bill passes. chuck schumer praised the bipartisan and laid out what comes next. >> let me say this, it has taken quite a long time and there have been detours and everything else, but this will do a whole lot of good for america and senate can be proud it has passed this. and as we move forward, we are proceeding on both tracks, the track of the bipartisan infrastructure proposal and the track of the budget resolution with reconciliation instructions. on our side of the aisle, we know we need both tracks. one dealing with traditional infrastructure, one dealing with climate, and the problems

american families face. >> the bill faces an uncertain future in the house of representatives. house speaker nancy pelosi has indicated the chamber won't take up the bill until senate democrats pass their larger package on social and environmental issues. the woman who first publicly accused this morning governor andrew cuomo of sexual harassment is now accusing him of gas lighting his victims. lindsay borland's comments were published monday for a site called medium. meantime sources tell cnn some of cuomo's closest confidants are trying to convince the democrat to resign. their efforts come amid fallout from a report that found he sexually harassed multiple women. but the embattled governor vows to weather the storm and his lawyer is helping him fire back at the allegations in the new york attorney general's report. >> it was very clear to me that

they got some facts wrong, it was clear that they did not include information that was exculpatory for the governor or helped to put things into context. everyone is pushing the governor to resign based on a report that has not been vetted. and that people are taking to be 100% true. and the governor should be allowed the opportunity to see that evidence and do a fulsome submission which we're not being allowed to do. >> the speaker of the new york state assembly says the impeachment investigation process into cuomo could wrap up within weeks. u.s. house democrat alexandria ocasio-cortez is describing the fear she felt during the january 6 insurrection at the capitol. she barricaded herself in her office, afraid of what the rioters would do to her if they found her. she told dana bash the past trauma of sexual assault was on her mind as she heard the mob roaming the halls.

>> i think one of the reasons why that impact was so double that day is because of the masmany sanlg any and racism that is so deeply rooted in that attack. white supremacy and patriarchky are very linked in a lot of ways. there is a lot of sexualizing of that violence. and i didn't think that i was just going to be killed. i thought other things were going to happen to me as well. >> so sounds like what you are telling me is that you didn't only think that you were going to die, you thought you were going to be raped. >> yeah. yeah. i thought i was. >> meanwhile the widow of a washington, d.c. police officer is pressing the biden administration for help in declaring her husband's suicide a death in the line of duty.

jeffrey smith helped fight off rioters during the january 6 insurrection. he fatally shot himself a few days later. his wife says changing the classifications means -- classification means that she could continue receiving health and financial benefits. >> when he came home, obviously he explained what happened that day and, you know, that it was the craziest day he's been involved in, you know, they are not trained for hand to hand combat and that is what happened that day. after that, his mood changed, he kind of withdrew, he didn't want do anything. he wasn't willing to come with me on walks with the dog. he barely even wanted to watch tv. he was pacing at night, not sleeping. and just kind of became a completely different person. >> and the widow of u.s. capitol police officer howard leibergood

also wants the same thing. and lionel messi has yet to be spotted in paris, but french media report that he could arrive today. messi tearfully told the world he does not want to leave barcelona, but paris may soon become his new home. our senior producer is live at their stadium and is joining us now. good to see you. what is the latest on messi's big decision, could he possibly head for paris? >> reporter: well, we're still waiting. we haven't seen a contract yet. there has been no news of him leaving spain or him arriving in france. but anticipation is building. we spoke to some of the fans yesterday and this is what they had to say. >> i think to this is great news

for the psg. >> i think that this is very important thing for the city of paris. and for the football in paris. because it is next level for this team. and i think now it is time to win the champions league. it is time to win. >> reporter: and i want to talk about the significance of psg potentially signing messi. what this will mean for that global brand, they are one of the only clubs who could really afford to sign messi. you remember four summers ago, they signed neymar and one

other. and now they would have to be juggled by the manager. and it would be a nice problem for him to have. he is a fellow argentine, so he would find many friends here. but messi has said that he will be sad to be leaving spain. he spent two decades playing for barcelona. he's described his kids as little argentine catalan kids. but the fans here are very excited about him potentially coming and in fact the stadium behind me on saturday will be hosting they hope 50,000 fans, that is the first time since the pandemic struck, for their home game. but the big question is, will messi be here. >> that is a big question. we'll await an answer on that. many thanks. london's tower bridge isn't falling down, but it was stuck

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for any otther diseases you would not turn to your political leader for medical advice. if you had cancer, you would not turn to your congressman, you should be talking to your doctor. i wish we could do that for this pandemic as well. it is a medical and public health challenge and politicians should really let the public health and physician leaders move forward on hugow to get th thing under control. >> some of the strongest resistance to vaccine and masking guidelines is coming from republican politicians. the governors of florida and texas where covid is surging are pushing hard to overturn mandates. brian todd explains. >> reporter: congresswoman marjorie taylor greene claiming on twitter that many people who got the pfizer vaccine say they

are getting sick with covid. greene saying, it should not be approved or mandated. this comes just after greene on a recent visit to alabama suggested that public officials encouraging vaccinations could be shot. >> lucky people here in alabama might get a knock your door because i hear alabama might be one of the most unvaccinated states in the nation. well, joe biden wants to come talk to you guys. he is going to be sending one of his police state friends to your front door. what they don't know is in the south we all love our second amendment rights. [ cheers ] and we're not real big on strangers showing up on our front door, are we. they might not like the welcome they get. >> reporter: republican senator rand paul tweeted out this video to his followers in recent days regarding the cdc's latest guidelines on mask wearing. >> it is time for us to resist.

they can't arrest all of us. they can't keep all of your kids home from school. they can't keep every government building closed. no one should follow the cdc's anti-science mask mandates. >> reporter: and rand paul is a medical doctor. >> when you have people who look like they are in a position of authority such as a senator, who is also an m.d., it is tempting to say that person knows what he is talking about even though what he is saying counters the message of basically every public health and medical organization and is really damaging. >> reporter: florida governor ron desantis is entrenched in a legal battle to block businesses from vaccine passports and schools from mask mandates. on monday desantis' office threatened to withhold the salaries of school leaders who tee guy a new florida law that bans mask mandates in schools. one senator from desantis' party pushes back on the florida's governor. >> i do disagree with governor

desantis. if my hospital is full and infection rate is going crazy, we should allow local officials to make those decisions. >> reporter: why are the high profile republicans still taking misguided positions as cases and deaths spike? >> they think the biggest energy in the party is in that trump base, that trump wing that is looking to resist anything that is coming from the biden administration and is unconcerned about the virus even as the delta variant continues to run through the unvaccinated community. >> reporter: analysts point out there are republican leaders like mitch mcconnell and alabama governor kay ivey who are strong supporters of the vaccine. but they say people like mcconnell and ivey are outliers at the moment and they say anti-vax and anti-mask republicans are scoring big with those messages in their fundraising efforts. so don't expect them to back off anytime soon. brian todd, cnn, washington. we have an update now on a story we brought you last week

about a las vegas woman facing eviction. day ge deja kelly told cnn that it was the mother of three girls and it generated a lot of interest and donations, but it turns out her story was not entirely accurate. she is not the girls' mother. nick watt picks up from there in this conversation with erica hill. >> reporter: cnn found her through her post on gofundme seeking $2,000 to pay back rent to avoid eviction for her and, quote, her three daughters. she did not reach out to us. now, we interviewed kelly at her home, the girls all called her mom, appeared to be very much at home and there was nothing we could see to raise any suspicion. but later last week another woman came forward and said that she was the mother of those three girls and they live with her. obviously we investigated

immediately and, yes, helo is their mother. we've seen the birth certificates and now we know that deja kelly is dating the girls' father. she spends significant periods of time caring for the girls at her apartment. now, at the time that we visited, helo says that she had dropped the girls off with kelly for a week. now, when we followed up with kelly over the weekend, she clarified that she is not the mother of the three girls. she said that she originally described herself to cnn as a mother because she considers herself to be like a mother to those girls. helo is indepeunderstandably up that someone claimed to the of mother of her children. >> and there are things about -- or are there things that do check out? >> reporter: absolutely. she is facing eviction from her apartment. we saw her seven day notice when we visited. and we have confirmed that.

and she clearly does look after those girls part of the time. but in that gofundme post, she said that -- she described the girls as her daughters and that is just not true. >> gofundme is offering full refunds to donors after two weeks any money left will be released to kelly who says that she will use it for living expenses and accounts for each child. still to come here on cnn, a chinese court has rejected a canadian man's appeal against a death sentence for drug smuggling. we're fooling reaction to the case, that is 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.

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welcome back. one of jeffrey epstein's alleged victims is now suing prince andrew saying she was sexually abused by the duke of york.

virginia giuffre says he forced himself on her when she was 17 years old and claims that it happened multiple times at epstein's home in new york and his private island and at his partner ghislaine maxwell's home in london. prince andrew says he has never met her despite this photo. cnn has reached out to the prince's representative for comment. buckingham palace has previously denied these allegations. a chinese court has upheld the death sentence for a canadian man convicted of drug smuggling. robert lloyd schellenberg was initially sentenced to death in 2019 by a lower chinese court. he says he is innocent. steven jiang is following this case for us from beijing. good to see you. so what is the likely next move for schellenberg and what are the ramifications of this case? >> reporter: well, now schellenberg's case goes to the supreme people's court here in

china for final review before any execution could be carried out. but a canadian government has already condemned this decision and vowing to engage with chinese officials at the highest level to request clemency for him. for china's critics, this is another example of the so-called hostage diplomacy, something that beijing strongly denied, but worth taking a look at the time line of his case. he was first tried on november 28, 2018 as an accessory to the smuggling of more than 200 kilo grams of meth and he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. but he decided to appeal. now, that date is important because a few days later on december 1, a high profile senior executive of huawei was arrested at the vancouver airport by canadian authorities on behalf of the u.s. government for her alleged role in dodging u.s. sanctions against iran. that move by canada infuriated the beijing leadership and with

officials here promising unspecified consequences for canada. and within weeks schellenberg was ordered to face retrial during which he was tried as a principal to the case because prosecution claimed that they had uncovered new evidence. he was convicted and sentenced to die. now, obviously he appealed again, but now we know he lost that appeal as well. but the timing of today's announcement is also interesting because the case has entered a crucial phase of final arguments as she continues to fight her extradition to the u.s. and also worth remembering that schellenberg is not the only canadian facing potential execution here as two other canadian citizens were arrested shortly after and they have also been charged and tried and facing potential execution as well. so all of this widely seen as interconnected with their results having major geopolitical implications. >> steven jiang from beijing,

appreciate it. north korea is warning the u.s. and south korea over their joint military drills set for this month. the sister of kim jung-un says the two countries are face a more serious security threat for ignoring pyongyang's warnings. drills are held every year infuriating the north, but they have been scaled back recently due to covid. the taliban now controls six provincial capitals in afghanistan. a local official says the entire northern city of aybak has fallen. officials will meet to try for formulate an international response. civilians desperate to escape have abandoned their homes to reach the relative safety in kabul. and nick paton walsh has reported from inside afghanistan for years now.

he joins us from london live. good to see you. so what is the latest on the taliban advances and of course the ramifications for the afghan government? >> reporter: at this stage the afghan government has just announced that it will essentially be encouraging local militias form a popular up rising it says, encouraging people essentially who have weapons form part of armed groups in government loyal areas to get together and come under the umbrella of a began defense forces. that is something that has been happening in certain areas at a slower pace. we've seen an announcement that formalizes to some degree and possibly a reflection of two things, that maybe afghan security forces in the fights that they have had around the country are increasingly stretched, totally fair to suggest thatafghan xcommandos have limited resources.

but also too suggests possibly how intense the pressure is by the taliban on various different urban centers, the fact that the government has to formally recognize this sort of armed group. we'll have to see where this leads. afghanistan has a dark history of warlordism in the '90s and this may well sadly lead to elements of the country following under specific armed groups control. but it comes after an awful five to six days now since friday when the first provincial capital fell and we're now at six. aybak which appears to be calm. and the u.s. chief diplomat on this particular topic this dough far essentially it seems for three days of meetings to try to persuade the toaliban to stop o slow down its military

offensive, that essentially has been the feeling that the u.s. government has had for years now, that political process is convenient for them but also what the taliban want, but it seems fairly clear given taliban's precipitous movements on the ground that they are not interested in a negotiated settlement at this time. what leverage he will have with those talks, we'll have to find out. >> nick paton walsh, many thanks. california's governor is just weeks away from a recall election. but some of his supporters are either unaware or just don't care. what that could mean for his chances to stay in office, that is next. 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.

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texas state democrats are free to return home without fear of being arrested. many left the state last month to prevent a quorum in the legislature blocking action on restrictive new voting laws. a judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing their arrest. the republican governor and house speaker will have a chance to argue against the injunction at a hearing next week. just over a month from now, california governor gavin newsom will face a multitude of

challenges republicans and democrats in a recall election. some democratic voters want to keep newsom in office, but getting them to vote could be an uphill battle. >> reporter: pumped up to save california's governor. >> fight the good fight. >> reporter: volunteers fan out across south los angeles, a democratic strong hold. five weeks to go before the recall election in california. >> we got far more people voting no than we have voting yet or just going to ignore the election all together. just got to reach them. >> you want to put no. >> reporter: in a state where registered democrats outnumber republicans 2 to 1, the recall of governor newsom is being met by a collective yawn.

>> it is ridiculous. i think he'll still be our governor. >> reporter: unconcerned or unaware about the off year election. >> do you sense people are paying attention or talking about it at all? >> not as much, no. >> no. >> the governor? >> they want to remove him. >> reporter: appath pathy equal opportunity. if enough democrats don't save newsom, a gop challenger in question two could win. >> thank you for joining us, special coverage of the very first gubernatorial debate to recall gavin newsom. >> reporter: republican challengers at the first debate stressed enthusiasm is on their side. sure, celebrity names like caitlyn jenner and larry elder, who did not show up here, may snag headlines. and one has grabbed attention by campaigning with a bear.

but california's conservatives believe this recall is a rare political opportunity, a chance to pull off an upset. >> i think governor newsom is worried and he ought to be. i think californians are angry and frustrated. >> if you are a democrat, it is scary. >> if you are paying attention. >> if you are paying attention. >> reporter: and most are not says bell kerrik, but there is still time. newsom has millions more in the bank than republicans and is blanketing the airwaves with ads. >> vote no. >> republicans haven't done well in california in years. no statewide offices, they had a supermajority of democrats in both houses of the legislature. closing that gap from where they are in the registration, that is one big mountain to climb. >> reporter: another republican

dilemma? donald trump. so toxic in california that on cnn, larry elder jumped through hoops to avoid any connection. >> i have not voted for a democrat since 1976. i'm a republican and i've consistently voted republican. so to call me a trump supporting radio host, a little unfair is my opinion. >> reporter: california's progressive poll gives newsom the advantage, but in politics, nothing is never certain. >> after trump, there is no way of ever being sure. >> reporter: last time a republican won statewide was 2006. the governor's forces are sounding the alarm saying democrats could change all that and lose the governor's mansion just by not paying attention. and that does it for us. "early start" is up next.

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