states and around the world. i'm christina macfarlane in for max foster. just ahead -- >> i feel like i've already won. it is pretty awesome the things that i've done. >> when her serve is on, there is no stopping her. >> we're watching it with grace. >> and taking issue with the fbi

search. >> hard to say that the documents got there by accident. hello and welcome, it is thursday, september 1, 4:00 a.m. in washington, 9:00 a.m. here in london. and 11:00 a.m. in ukraine. where new develops are emerging from the et emmbattled zaporizh power plant. one of the reactors has been shut down and an emergency protection system activated because of the ongoing shelling in the area. this is as u.n. inspectors are en route to the site as fears grow that the shelling could trigger a nuclear accident. the head of the international atomic energy agency says that the team is pushing forward despite the significance risks involved. melissa bell is joining us live from kyiv.

we heard from rafael saying that his team will continue to travel to the plant. this visit is becoming more important by the hour given the news of yet another reactor shut down. what more can you tell us about that? >> that's right. and what we're getting is a much clearer picture of how events have unfolded this morning around the zaporizhzhia power plant. the heart of so much concern over the course of the last few days. and what we're seeing is that it was at about 5:00 a.m. that that shelling began. we had heard first of all from the mayor of the town in which the zaporizhzhia power plant is, what he spoke of on the telegram channel was shelling, machine gunfire in the streets, helicopters overhead, and civilian casualties. now, since then, we've also been hearing from one of the heads of the russian-backed

administration in those russian controlled zones saying also that there had been three civilian fatalities, five injuries in this fighting that has been going on around the plant, the shelling that i was telling you about. now, that began just after 5:00 a.m. it was just before 8:00 a.m., so a couple hours later, a few hours later, that the 14 man mission was to set off from zap city, it is a couple hours away from the plant itself, and here is what rafael told journalists as they set off. >> we are moving. we are aware of the current situation. there has been increased military activity including this morning. until very recently, a few minutes ago. i have been briefed by the ukrainian regional military commander here about that and the inherent risks. but weighing the pros and cons,

and having come so far, we have not stopping. we are moving now. >> reporter: extraordinary courage there on the part of the lead of that 14 man strong iaea mission that has a sense and we've been hearing the last few days that it is extremely dangerous, risks are significant, and yet this is a mission that has to take place, all the more so now in the context of where that fifth reactor, one of only two that was functioning, has now been switched off as a result of the shelling. and i think it is important to bear in mind the context here. repeatedly ukraine has accused russian forces of using the zaporizhzhia power plant as a military base for their equipment and from which ukraine says that they launch attacks. russia for its part has been speaking about shelling. i think no one anticipated that even as the convoy of the iaea was on its way that things would become so much more tense this

morning. >> yeah, melissa, absolutely. thank you for that. and i want to talk a bit more about this now with fred pleitgen who is live for us this morning in moscow. fred, russia we know had allowed this mission to take place and had consistently denied any blame for the shelling. do they share concerns for the security of the plant, the obvious nuclear threat? >> reporter: well, they certainly share concerns for the plant. it has been quite interesting because just hearing what melissa said, the russians actually acknowledged that shelling has been going on in the city and that also several people were wounded in that as well including a child which apparently was critically wounded. they blame all of that on the ukrainians. the latest that i'm seeing on russian news agencies right now is that they say that most people have been brought to shelters, that most shops are closed and there is barely anyone in the streets right now. so obviously a very tense situation and one where certainly the fact that that town has been shelled is

something that seems to be confirmed by both sides even though both sides are trading blames for that. it has been quite interesting because following russian state news agency, they have been giving progress updates on how the convoy or "the eth"thethe i moving on and they expect them to reach the power plant fairly soon. and russians continue to say that they hope that the mission will be able to be successful and will be able to take place. one of the interesting claims that we heard from the russians this morning is that they claim that the derail the mission, even tried to land paratroopers and the power plant to try to stop this mission from taking place. obviously impossible to confirm any of that. but it certainly does seem to be the case that this is a mission that is taking place under not only tension but extremely difficult circumstances as the iaea tries to get to that power

plant. russians also confirming what melissa just said there that she heard from the ukrainians as well, that apparently one block of that power plant has been shut down. and one of the things that we have to point out, that that power plant is really only running at very little capacity to begin with. apparently only two blocks of that power plant is in situation anyway and now one shut down as well. >> as you say, both sides following this mission as it proceeds to zaporizhzhia very closely. thank you, fred. and coming up later in the show, schools in ukraine are open for the first time in months. we'll talk to the executive director of unicef about the impact of war on the children and their education. donald trump's lawyer will appear in a florida courtroom today to argue for a special master to review documents seized by the fbi at trump's mar-a-lago estate. they claim it is no surprise agents found classified material at his home and it was never cause for alarm but the justice

department sees things differently, accusing the former president of hiding and moving documents to obstruct its investigation. sara murray reports. >> reporter: the trump team is doubling down on their request for a special master to review the materials that were seized from that august search in mar-a-lago, that is from a court filing from the trump team wednesday night. they say the notion that presidential records contained sensitive material should not have been cause for alarm and the national archives should have continued to negotiate in good faith. of course we know those negotiations went on for months and the former president still had not returned all of those. the trump team does not rebut fact by fact many of the damning items the justice department laid out in a court filing in their narrative of events earlier this week. they did that issue with the june 3 meeting, the trump team said it has been significantly m mischaracterized. this is when investigators showed up at mar-a-lago to collect documents after they had issued a subpoena and a trump lawyer signed a document saying

essentially we've handed over everything with classified markings pursuant to the subpoena. of course we later learned from the justice department that was not the case, there were many documents with classified markings left behind at mar-a-lago. the trump team also had some pretty pointed words for how the justice department has conducted themselves saying left unchecked the doj will impune, leak and publicize selectityve aspects. of course the move the fbi has made so far have been signed off on by a judge, but we'll hear more about this fight in a hearing in florida on thursday. sara murray, cnn, washington. the justice department says that it recovered more than 100 documents with classified markings during its august search that includes three found in the desks of trump's office. mick mulvaney was acting chief of staff during the trump administration and here is his take. >> i know a little bit about how the white house works.

i know how it wasn't working very well at the end of the first term and it is completely possible that they threw a bunch of documents in boxes and just left and inadvertence would be a defense here. but it they are in his desk, hard to and i that they got there by accident and i told the president when i worked with him, it is very rarely the original act that gets people in trouble, it is the attempts to obstruct or cover up after the fact. and my guess, an educated guess at this point based on what we're sighing in the media, that the president may be more in trouble for how treated the documents after the fbi started its investigation than he is because of how they got there in the first place. >> trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election are also under investigation in the state of georgia. a key ally involved in the scheme john eastman testified wednesday before a fulton county grand jury according to his attorneys. eastman stood alongside former

trump attorney rudy giuliani as they fired up a rally of trump supporters on january 6 just before the riot. giuliani has already testified but no details have been disclosed about their testimony. now to a truly inspirational story from the world of sports. after losing badly at wimbledon and hinting at a possible retirement, tennis superstar serena williams is moving on to the third round of the u.s. open. she beat the world number two on wednesday night. williams says she is playing well because she loves the challenge, she doesn't have anything to prove and she has absolutely nothing to lose. >> i just feel like i have had a big red x on my back since i won the u.s. open in '99. and it has been there my entire career. because i won my first grand slam early in my career. and so -- but here it is different. i feel like i've already won, you know, figuratively and

mentally. and it is just really awesome the things that i've done. and so i never think about it. and, yeah, so tonight i was like -- just play, be serena, you are better than this. and that is what i was able to do. >> serena williams will face the australian on friday. for more, here is carolyn manno. >> reporter: serena williams has had a career that has spanned nearly 30 years. five american presidents. we all know about the 23 grand slam singles titles, four olympic gold medals, she's done so much over the last two decades and still she proved wednesday night that she loves this sport so much that she is not ready to hang it up just yet. it was such a gritty and inspired performance against the second seeded player in the

world and at the end, it was serena who reigned supreme as she moves on with one final chance to win another singles title and add that to a legacy that already has no equal. what else could you possible expect from the greatest to have ever played the game. >> well, i'm a pretty good player. you know, this is what i do best. i love a challenge, i love rising to the challenge. yeah, i haven't played many matches, but i've been practicing really well and my last few matches, it just wasn't coming together. and i'm like but this isn't me. >> reporter: what is remarkable, she was a 50:1 long shot coming into win the tournament on the singles side and she's defying expectations. she will be on the court with her sister venus in doubles on thursday. that is still the plan even though she is advancing on the

singles side and we'll see if she can continue this magical run in singles on friday. in flushing, queens for an doctor, i'm carolyn manno. home court has been a boost for williams.octor, i'm carolyn. home court has been a boost for williams.ctor, i'm carolyn manno. home court has been a boost for williams.tor, i'm carolyn manno. home court has been a boost for williams.or, i'm carolyn manno. home court has been a boost for williams.r, i'm carolyn manno. home court has been a boost for williams., i'm carolyn manno. home court has been a boost for williams. we asked experts what else they are seeing in her game. >> her movement has been so off since coming back at wimbledon, of course she didn't play for a year. that was to be expected. but how quickly she is seemingly finding that "a" game again and i think the dreams that we all had about serena making a big run and going deep in this tournament are starting to become a potential reality right now. >> now no one expects her do well, she's having a blast and playing great tennis. right now you're going, oh, my goodness, could we be watching something really spectacular as in she continues to work her way through the draw, goes all the way through the weekend and into

next week. i think that anything now is possible for of course one of the greatest athletes in any sport we've ever seen. >> she's coming as if she just started as a teenager, she letting you know that i'm authentic. everything about the presentation is true to who she is. >> williams will be back on court today for a doubles match with her sister venus. still ahead, going to school in the midst of war. students and teachers across ukraine are adapting to a new reality as they return to class today. a top unicef official will be with me to include the challenges they face. and sharp rebuke from the office of the chicago mayor after the governor of texas buses dozens of migrants to her city. plus wildfire closes parts of a busy california enter state, why a weekend heat state could make matters worse. >> that's right, as temperatures soar to 15 to 20 degrees above average this weekend, not only will it stress the firefighting efforts, but also california's

electrical grid. i'll tell you how hot it will get and cover all those stories coming up after the breaeak.

we're seeing the chaos that has been caused by the biden administration. well, i have news for new york. i have news for washington, d.c. as well as the rest of the country. we are not done yet. there are more cities on our list. >> texas governor greg abbott there making good on his promise, his government sent dozens of migrants by bus to chicago on wednesday. but the illinois city welcomed them saying that they would assist them. a spokesman for mayor lightfoot said that abbott's practices were racist and he was without any shame or humanity. figures released this week show that texas spent more than $12 million on busing migrants to other cities as of august 9. in california, a fire shut down part of interstate 5 in both directions in northern los angeles county on wednesday. more than 10,000 vehicles pas through the area on a daily basis. evacuations were ordered for those close by.

and the state is preparing for a strain on its power grid, temperatures are expected to rise throughout the labor day holiday weekend possibly breaking records. and derek van dam is joining us live from atlanta. and how bad are these temperatures going to be? >> the temperatures are going to stay extremely hot for an extended period of time, so it will be a strenuous heatwave, long standing heatwave as well. so it will not only put the strain on the firefighting efforts that you saw there, but also on the electrical grid as well. pg&e is warning its customers to not charge their vehicles during peak electrical demand, 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. locally on the west coast. that is just incredible to think about what is happening there. and we've already broken records in some locations. anaheim, california being one of them. yesterday it was 106, breaking a record set a couple years ago. so what is to come? we have over 40 million americans under heat alerts as

we speak. so these are heat advisories in the shade of orange from southern oregon, nevada, and that is an excessive heat warning from san francisco just outside of the bay area into the los angeles region. and it includes the coastal areas where you would anticipate at least the option to cool yourself down closer to the pacific ocean. that heatwave doesn't look like it will ban out that way. we have over 160 potential record highs to be tied or broken over the next week or so, and it is all because of the extensive area of high pressure, we call it a heat dome. this time of year that will trap in the uv radiation from the sun and that will allow for our temperatures to sky rocket. in fact triple digit heats easily met. death valley often are canned our litmus test. how warm it will get out west, we not hottest on earth during the month of september is 126 degrees.

we believe monday will be the hottest day of this heatwave. you can see the shades of red dominating the weather map and we expect the extreme heat to be the main story this weekend. >> california continuing to be hit hard. derek, thank you so much. the death toll continues to rise in pakistan from deadly monsoon rains and flash flooding. almost 1200 people have died since june. nearly a quarter of those are children. the world health organization has classified the disaster with its highest emergency rating. and $10 million is helping the country as rescues continue and recovery slowly begins. how do you focus on learning when you are in the middle of a warzone? students and teachers across ukraine will have to adjust to that reality as the new school year gets under way for many today. but the adjustment will be difficult to say the least because according to the u.n., more than 7 million refugees

have fled ukraine, many of them children, and more than 5 million ukrainian kids immediate humanitarian assistance. and close to 1,000 children have been killed or injured since the war began. that means five children are killed or wounded every day on average. and one in ten schools has now been damaged or destroyed. for more, we're joined by unicef's executive director catherine russell, and she is joining us from just outside kyiv. thank you for joining us. we know nearly 1,000 children have been killed or injured since the war began. and education is important at anytime, but during a time of war, this war in particular, and given the trauma that children have suffered, how vital is it that they return to education today? >> as you said war is the worst enemy of children. it is terrible, it destabilizes

th things. but education gives them some sense of normalcy. so we've seen it at this school where it is the first day back, kids are excited, but they also have a shelter where they have to go for protection. so it is a difficult situation of contrasts in a warzone. >> and great to see the scene behind you there and the obvious excitement that the children have returning to school today but we know that the scale of this task is immense. more than it 00 schools damaged, over 200 completely destroyed, and the risks of course of continued shelling is there. ukrainian children have been scattered far and wide due to the war. and so how is this going to work? what are the challenges you face and what plans have you put in place for this? >> as you say, there are immense challenges. first we're trying to get as many children back in the classroom as we can because in addition to this war, you know, they have also had two years

really of covid where they were doing remote learning. so on top of that, they have a conflict of war here where we're trying to get them back in the classroom. as you said, many schools have been destroyed. we're working to try to get those back on track, but we're also in a situation where the government is allowing children to come to school only if the schools have shelters in place. and so not all schools obviously have those. we're helping to build those refurbish those shelters so children have a place go when the alarms go off. >> and how difficult has it been to get teacher, educators back into classrooms in the midst of a warzone, the dandangers that y face, is it a challenge to find teachers to resume the school year? >> imagine yourself as a parent and you have to decide whether you feel comfortable sending your child to school where they will be by themselves when the

alarms go off. yesterday i was at one of our facilities and the children were playing and next thing there is an alarm and all the children are moved in to shelters. adults are rushing to shelters. that is a terrifying thing. and to imagine that your child is separated from you having to go through that is a tough decision for parents. so on the one hand they want to keep their children close, takes natural instinct. on the other hand they know how important it is to get these kids back into classrooms and into schools because they have to get their education back on track. and children want to be with other children. you know, i definitely picked that up since i've been here, the kids are excited to be together again. >> and one of the most complex and dangerous situations is likely going to be for children and teachers living in occupied areas where we know russia have already moved to change curriculums, educators may be russian. so how will teaching continue in those areas? >> you know what, it is a really

difficult question for us because we don't have access to those parts of the country. and access is absolutely critical. humanitarian access is critical. we need it, we have to have it in order for us to assess what is happening and try to help the children there. but right now, we're almost operating in the dark. we don't know what is happening there. >> for the children who are returning today, as i say, it is fantastic to see and we hope that they will get the education they need as the war continues. and many thanks to you for joining us and giving us your take on the situation. >> thank you so much. i mean, children are children, right? they want to be in school, they want to learn of and they want have fun and we're doing our best to help them. >> good to hear. thank you. u.s. president biden is ordering federal assistance from the capital of mississippi which is desperate for water after a treatment plant was damaged in recent flooding. the governor says a new pump has been installed at the facility

which moves clean water to tanks around the city, but it has mechanical and electrical issues and needs new parts. residents of 150,000 are getting dirty water from those tanks. jackson's mayor hopes clean water can be restored by the weekend, but he warns of more interr interruptions. >> i do want to be clear and set expectations that there will be future interruptions including the one today. they are not avoidable at this point and they will be as limited in time as we can possibly make them. >> the mayor of flint, michigan says his heart goes out to the people of jackson. flint dealt with a water contamination crisis after they switched supplies to cut costs. disinformation and lies, that is how china describes a new report on human rights violations. we're live with the details of that next. plus president biden is on a campaign blitz of pennsylvania

ahead of the midterm elections with a key address in philadelphia tonight. those details are coming up. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember t three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life ie on a fixed budget are ice, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price?

you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information.

welcome back. let me bring you up-to-date with our top stories. we've now learned one of the reactors at the zaporizhzhia power plant has been shut down. an emergency protection system activated because of ongoing shelling in the area. this is as u.n. inspectors are en route to the site. and donald trump's legal team will make their case for a special master today in a florida court. the hearing comes after trump's lawyers responded to the justice department's scathing court

filing. we'll have more on their response next hour on early start. sarah palin has lost her bid to fill alaska's vacant u.s. house seat. she was defeated by the democrat who will become alaska's first indigenous member of congress. the former republican nominee for u.s. vice president blamed the loss on a state system of rank choice voting which was used for the first time in this special election. she said alaskans don't want a, quote, destructive democrat agenda but that is what resulted from the confusing new system. alaska's only house seat has been empty since march after the state's republican congressman died. palin will get another shot during the november midterm elections when she and pertola will again be on the ballot. pal l . and president biden is heading to pennsylvania before

the midterm elections. and the president's message is zeroing in on trump and his maga supporters as the greatest threat to the soul of the nation. cnn's mj lee has our report. >> reporter: the white house is making clear that president biden's primetime speech in pennsylvania on thursday night is not just going to be about the theme of democracy, but also about the battle for the soul of the country which of course was a main pillar of the presidential campaign back in 2020. so it is very clear that the white house sees a political opening here not just to cast the midterms as a choice between democrats and republicans, but against trump republicans and the maga xwogop extremists and anti-democratic actors. we got a preview when he used the issue of law enforcement to cast the gop as simply

unacceptable. here is what he said. >> let me say this to my mag republican friends in congress. don't tell me you support law enforcement if you won't condemn what happened on the 6th. you're on the side of the mob, side of the police, you can't be pro law enforcement and pro insurrection. you can't be a party of law and order and call the people who attack the police on january 6 patriots. you can't do it. >> reporter: ahead of that speech thursday night, i did ask white house press secretary karine jean-pierre whether the president believes that some of these factors, these threats to democracy that he saw a couple of years ago and that prompted him to run for president in 2020, whether he believes those forces are still at large or believes there is progress made since he has come into office. and jean-pierre says it is not

stopping, it is continuing. so that gives you an idea of the tone that we probably will see from president biden. i will also note that this will mark the second of three trips planned to the state of pennsylvania in just about a week or so. so you really get a sense of how much this political calendar is ramping up. mj lee, cnn, the white house. the long awaited u.n. report on china's treatment of weergs a uighurs and other muslims is finally released and beijing is blasting the findings saying that they are a farce. the overall assessment by the u.n. high commission of human rights is that serious human rights violations have been committed. and that assessment is based on interviews with 40 people of uighur and other ethnicities. the report says that allegations of patterns of torture or ill treatment including forced medical treatment and adverse conditions of detention are credible as are allegations of individual instance of sexual

and gender-based violence. the report years in the making was released in the final minutes of the term of the human rights commissioner. i want to bring in kristie lu stout. i know that you have the report in your hands. walk us through the key lines here. >> reporter: the report is 45 pages long. it was as you said released just minutes before the end of the tenure of the outgoing u.n. human rights commissioner. and this is a damning document. in it says that serious human rights violations have been committed and crimes against humanity may have always been committed. and it goes through quite methodically all the key allegations that have been made over the years against china in regards to its treatment of uighurs as well as other ethnic muslim minorities in the region, allegations of torture, sexual vir l

violence and rape, and forced medical treatment, and this report says that the allegations are credible. in this report you have the voices of people who have been inside these detention facilities, individuals who either worked there or were detained there since 2016. and their accounts are truly chilling. many of them say that they were forced to undergo these medical treatments, that they were regularly administered injections or pills. i want to bring up one such account for you in this u.n. human rights report. one individual said this, quote, we received one tablet a day, it looked like an aspirin, we were lined up and someone with gloves checked our mouths to make sure that we swallowed it. and others spoke of various forms of sexual violence including rape, including sexual humiliation, including forced very invasive body exams. one woman talked about an incident in which one of these invasive exams was conducted in

a group and she said it was done in this group setting which, quote, made old women ashamed and made young girls cry. the details in this document are truly disturbing and damning. china has blasted the release of this report. they have said it is based on lies and disinformation. we have a statement from china's mission to the u.n. in geneva, they say all ethnic groups including weth uighur are equal members. and they have curbed the frequentrenceses of the activities. and one of the recommendations is to take prompt steps to release all those arbitrarily detained. back to you. >> truly disturbing details. we'll see if anything comes from this. kristie lu stout, thank you very much. with millions expected to fly this labor day weekend, some

major airlines are adjusting their policies on food and hotels for stranded passengers. we'll explain those new passenger rights next. winner is. one and done. bounty. the quicker pipicker upper.

do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance.

this is xfinity rewards. our way of showing our appreciation. with rewards of all shapes and sizes. [ cheers ] are we actually going? yes!! and once in a lifetime moments. two tickets to nascar! yes! find rewards like these and so many more in the xfinity app. millions have made the switch from the big three to xfinity mobile. that means millions are saving hundreds a year on their wireless bill. and all of those millions are on the nation's most reliable 5g network and most recommended wireless carrier. that's a whole lot of happy campers out there. and it's never too late to join them. get $450 off any new purchase of an eligible samsung device with xfinity mobile. or add a line to your plan today at xfinitymobile.com

u.s. financial markets are hoping to rebound from four straight days of losses when trading begins in a few hours and it is not a great picture right now. you can see all three major indices are still down. wednesday the dow lost nearly 1%. the nasdaq fell more than half a percent and the s&p lost more than three quarters of a percent. and meanwhile bed bath & beyond is trying to stay out of bankruptcy before the company says it will layoff at least 20% of its corporate employees and close about 150 stores. its sprawling line of brands will also be reduced with the company looking to improve inventory. parent company of the popular app snapchat is also planning to lower 20% of it global workforce this, will impact the jobs of

more than 1200 staffers. the company says it is planning to restructure with a new focus on community and revenue growth. the stock has plummeted by more than 75% since the start of the year sgh year. and a dismal summer for travelers. and now some of the biggest carriers are promising do better and take care of stranded passengers. but as pete muntean explains, it took someproductprodding from washington to get it in writing. >> reporter: they are being told to step up their game. president biden urged airlines to take a hard look at their policies, called customer service agreements, the airline version of that dreaded fine print. and they layout what you as a passenger are entitled to in case of a cancellation or delay.

remember, airlines have canceled about 45,000 flights this summer alone according to flight aware. and now airlines are caving to the federal pressure. american, delta, jetblue, united and southwest have all rewritten their policies. before you almost had to be a lawyer to sift through some of these. but now they rewrote that in plain language. but in some cases they are outright changing the policies themselves. shear one example. on united you used to be entitled to a meal voucher only if your flight was delayed four hours. now united will give a meal voucher to a passenger delayed more than three hours. one big caveat here, the passenger protections only applied to delays and cancellations within their control. we're not talking about weather. we do know that changes will be compiled all in one spot starting on thursday, department of transportation is rolling out a website so you can see how each airline stacks up against one another. just in time for what could be a

big weekend for travel. the fda says thursday will be one of the busiest days of the holiday weekend in terms of flights scheduled. united is expecting 2.6 million passengers on its airline alone. >> thanks very much, pete. new york's times square is officially a gun-free zone. the state law limiting where firearms can be legally carried in public is set to go into effect today after it survived a challenge to strike it down. the law outlines areas deemed sensitive where firearm possession will be illegal and that includes times square which of course is a busy tourist hub. thousands of troops are coming together on the korean peninsula and the u.s. and south korea staging their largest combined military drill in years. up next, a closer look at that. . skip the rinse wiwith finish quantum. its activelift technology provides an unbeatable clean on 24 hour dried-on n stains. skip the rinse with finish to save our wateter.

and it's easier than ever to■ get your projects done right. inside, outside, big or small, angi helps you find the right so for whatever you need done. with angi, you can connect with and see ratings and reviews. just search or scroll to see upf on hundreds of projects. and when you book and pay throug you're covered by our happiness it's easy to make your home an a check out angi.com today. angi... and done.

u.s. and south korea are holding their biggest combined military exercises in years, both calling them defensive in nature. north korea says the drills are. paula hancocks is joining us live from seoul. it has been some time since we last sawmill taker drills like this held of this scale.

and they may be defensive in nature, but surely that is not how north korea are seeing it. >> reporter: it is not. and it is true, it has been at least five years in fact since the media since we have been invited to see these large scale live fire drills. the purpose of course is not just for the u.s. and south korean militaries to be able to train together and to be able to have these large scale military exercises, but they want potential enemies to be able to see them too. they want the deterrence that those images will bring. and so what we did, we went on wednesday to go and see a combined unit, first combined unit between the u.s. and south korea which was formed back in 2015 and it is the first time that they have managed to have these kind of live fire drills. so they wanted to show those to us knowing that of course there would be others including north korea that would be watching their capabilities. now, they were on hold for some time. there has also been two weeks of

joint drills which north korea has slammed had just ended today, this thursday, but they have been on hold not just for covid-19, which of course made an awful lot of things turn to computer simulation, but also because back in 2018, then u.s. president donald trump said that he wanted to pause what he called the war games saying that they have no place alongside what he was hope doing with kim jung-un. he was within his diplomatic arena, he was carrying out summits with the north korean leader and wanted to put the drills on hold. now, very little came of the diplomacy per se and north korea is showing no interest in talking to the u.s. or south korea, so we're seeing the drills once again. >> paula hancocks live from seoul, thanks very much. and in the u.s., updated covid covid-19 boosters that include protection against omicron variants could be going into arms as early as friday.

and dr. jansanjay gupta has the details. >> christina, this new shot authorized by the fda has two significant components. it will now provide an option for people under the age of 50. remember they were authorized for people over the age of 50, these boosters. and this is known as a bi-veil y valiant vaccine. and so it now helps protect against the ba.5 variant. that is the by veil yent nature of this. and people over the age of 50, they would have a significantly higher risk of dying if they are unvaccinated compared to people with two or more boosters. and vaccinated people with one booster have three times of risk of dying as compared to those who had two boosters. that is why it was primarily

authorized for people over the age of 50. but we'll see what the cdc says specifically, but pfizer's vaccine should be available for those 12 and older to get the vaccine and moderna is for people 18 and older. one thing to keep in mind, it should have been at least two months since you received your previous shot. and there is reasons for that. if you get a shot too close together, sometimes it may not have the same effect. and it could also increase the risk of myocarditis. so at least two months since the previous shot. there will be a vote on thursday today by the cdc to make a formal recommendation. so we'll see what that says. but overall it probably is going to match again the idea that pfizer's shot available for 12 and older and moderna's 18 and older. if that vote goes through as expected, these shots could be available in pharmacies just like we've seen over the last couple of years over the next several days. it is labor day weekend, so it may take a little longer.

but certainly over the next week or ten days the shots should be available. 170 million of the shots have been ordered. they won't have a cost, they are already paid for by the federal government, so you should be able to make your appointment and get the shot as you have done in the past. >> our thanks to sanjay for that. now for the moment everyone has been waiting for. the world gravy wrestling championships are back. after the two year pandemic pause, they returned in full force for the 12th annual event. challengers compete in two minute wrestling matches in a pool of xwgravy. gives a new meaning for playing with your food. what a great way toend. stay tuned for "early start."

i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life iurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three p the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price?

you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information.

at xfinity, we're constantly innovating. and we're working 24/7 to connect you to more of what you love. we're bringing you the nation's largest gig speed network. available to more homes than anyone else. and with xfi complete, get 10x faster upload speeds. tech upgrades for your changing wifi needs. and advanced security at home and on the go to block millions of threats. only from us... xfinity.

the united states and around the world. it is thursday, first day of september. welcome to september, folks. i'm christine romans. and we begin with a crucial hearing later today in that court fight over the fbi search for classified documents at mar-a-lago. the former president donald trump's lawyers will try to persuade a judge at 1:00 p.m. eastern that an independent third party, something called a special master, should review the seized material. last night trump's attorneys submitted their response to the justice department brief