controversial executive orders college football on the brink of cancellation as the major conferences are poised to punt on the entire 2020 season. staggering new numbers as schools reopen, nearly 100,000 children testing positive in just the last two weeks of july. could today be the day we find out the finalists as joe biden narrows down his choice for vp on his ticket. how did phil collins hit single "in the air tonight" become a smash hit once again? it is tuesday, "early today" begins now good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera secret service is on high alert after a scare near the white house. president trump was rushed out of the briefing room after a secret service officer shot a man just blocks away minutes later, the president returned to the podium to explain what happened. >> law enforcement shot someone, seems to be the suspect, and the suspect is now on the way to the

hospital i can't tell you the condition of the suspect >> was the suspect armed >> there was nobody else injured. >> in a statement, they said the suspect told the officer he had a weapon and crouched into a shooter's stance and the officer fired. the 51-year-old suspect is in the hospital this morning and the incident is now under investigation. with millions of out of work americans anxiously awaiting details on a new coronavirus relief package, talks are at a stand still thisw questions about president trump's executive actions made to offset the financial fallout. nbc's scott mcfarland joining us from d.c. with the latest. scott, good morning. still no timeline on when any americans will see any money. >> reporter: the president says his plan, his executive order for $400 in new unemployment benefits is being well received by some governors, but it is the states and those governors who have to help pay for it. critics say the president doesn't have the power and the states don't have the cash to make that happen

president also talked about his executive order on the payroll tax, postponing payment of the tax until the end of the calendar year, he says, for workers who earn 100,000 a yea or less. again, his critics question whether it is constitutional and say that would strip money from social security and medicare >> we just had a meeting with the governors and they were very anxious to get money for the people in their states and if they -- depending on the state we have a right to do what we want to do, we can terminate the 25% or we don't have to do that so we'll see what it is. depends on the individual state. >> last week they came up with some meager proposals and the president then over the weekend did even less. to give an illusion, so that the market would go up and people would think we're not paying attenti attention. it shouldn't be partisan >> the senate is here in d.c. this morning, the u.s. house is back home. they'll reconvene if there say

deal could be finalized or approved but it is not the deal, there aren't negotiations scheduled to cut a deal. live in washington, i'm scott mcfarland. back to you. >> start with the conversation, scott, thank you after spending spring under lockdown, a summer surge is under way in several states. growing concerns over large gatherings defying state mandates this comes as we gear up for the football season in the fall. but will the tailgating take a back seat during the pandemic? miguel almaguer investigates >> reporter: these are among the reasons why health officials say the u.s. has now surpassed 5 million confirmed covid cases, another summer weekend of mass gatherings, from house parties to church services, authorities say some are tempting fate in portland, oregon, hundreds gathered to openly defy state orders on public gatherings. in southern california, it nearly came to blows, after one

pastor opened his doors for a service despite the protests outside to shut it down. rights. >> reporter: the bitter battle over crowds and the pandemic comes as the ncaa struggles over whether to punt on this year's college football season. with several outlets reporting the big ten coverage is moving to pass on playing, the mid-american conference is delaying its season until spring 2021, amid a push to get on the field with the #we want to play. the pac-12, which includes usc, is expected to decide their future here in california, football practice that was scheduled to start next week won't. the state has a ban on all large public gatherings, and that includes at football stadiums. college football is a $7 billion business, but now amid the pandemic, any shot at a true season may be a hail mary. while 22 states are seeing a

decrease in covid cases, there is concern sanctioned events like this motorcycle rally could become superspreaders. >> i haven't even seen that many people with masks on up here. >> reporter: consider the largest public gathering since the pandemic began, thousands are rolling through sturgis, south dakota, where masks are suggested, not required. >> just selfish and unfortunate. >> reporter: the fine line between personal choice and public safety amid the pandemic. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. well, some districts are still making decisions about reopening schools, there are more classrooms beginning in person learning this week. nbc's sam brock joins us now from florida where some students just had their first day of school sam, good morning. >> reporter: phillip, good morning. florida is reopening its school doors this week and largely smaller counties as it eases into in person instruction there are new rules and

cautionary tales from other states the first day of school has never felt so foreign, under this cloud of covid-19 >> i feel still a little scary, but pretty comfortable. >> reporter: children at this elementary school are returning to new classrooms with new rules, like social distancing, regular hand washing and staggered lunches. >> they're doing everything they can to keep everything sanitized and keep the students away from each other >> reporter: masks, while recommended here, are optional >> walking into the school, i didn't see a lot of mask wearing. and i think that that should have been something that was mandatory and not optional and if i see or hear coughing, no, we're pulling right out. home is where you will be. >> reporter: in the last four weeks, there has been a 90% spike in cases among children in the u.s., where so far more than 380,000 kids have contracted the coronavirus. of the country's 25 biggest school districts, 18 are starting the school year

entirely virtual, with no in person option on day one but the nation's largest district, new york city, giving students the option of returning to classes >> we want to go back to school. >> reporter: dayshauna barker teaches school in new york city where her young children attend public elementary school. >> i'm concerned about my children wearing a mask all day. i'm concerned about the protocols of the school that they attend. >> reporter: fears for the child safety and the educators >> they're all going to have to give their condolence to somebody's mama. >> reporter: whitney redick is a mother and teacher from jacksonville, who penned a mock obituary, saying she returned to work, did her best, educator, covid security guard, human shield, but ultimately succumbed to the ignorance of those in power. calls for safety from those in our classrooms' front lines. and some good ins for nervous parents here in florida, the

state recording its lowest total of new daily covid cases in weeks with the positivity rate in single digits for four out of the last five days phillip? >> good news there, right? sam, thank you turning to belarus where a contested election led to violent clashes in the streets the eastern european country's authoritarian president declared a sweeping victory but protesters say the process was rigged nbc's chapman bell joins us now. what are you learning about this volatile situation >> police and protesters on the streets where police have been using tear gas and rubber bullets as well as stun grenades to control the crowds, this after sunday's presidential election that saw alexander lukashenko win with 80% of the vote his sixth term as president, a position he held since 1994, accusations of vote rigging, no observers at the polls, with his

main rival refusing to accept the results saying she won, she is running in place of her had husband who is jailed before the election lukashenko getting praise from russia and china, congratulations, while the u.s. and eu have said it does not appear to be free and fair a lot of the problem has been down to his handling of the country's coronavirus pandemic he has said repeatedly that it could be fixed using drinking vodka and going to the sauna we understand she is currently in lithuania where the foreign minister said she's safe where she fled people are wondering if this could be the end of who is known as europe's last dictator. frances? >> chapman, thank you for the update. the public is getting a new look at the moments that led to the death of george floyd. a judge orders the release of video from two police body cameras after reporters viewed the footage last month a warning the video is disturbing

>> i don't want to -- i'm claustrophobic i'm claustrophobic >> i'll roll the window down. >> man, i'm scared whenp breathing, it is going to go out on me, man >> floyd says multiple times that he's claustrophobic after a struggle that lasted about three minutes. he's pulled from the squad car and pinned to the ground this footage has been edited for time, but the full video has been filed as evidence. a derecho, 100-mile-per-hour wind gusts were moving across the midwest. janessa webb is tracking that extreme weather. good morning >> good morning, you guys. this was a rare event, we were forecasting just some pop-up storms, but, man, this storm really blew up, traveled 450 miles across the midwest we have damaging winds, saw winds up to 99 miles per hour across portions of des moines. now, we continue to see this storm system burning out at this

hour and you can see it is going to start to fade into the mississippi valley, causing a little bit of isolated showers, but drying out fairly quickly. still, the big weather story is the heat it is going to continue to build, right now we're sitting in the 60s to 70o filter in by afternoon for the south and southeast, we'll watch for minor flooding you guys, i'm just sweating over here, when will the heat go away i'll tell you coming up. >> we feel it too. janessa, thank you. next on "early today," a deadly blast rocks baltimore. >> and chaos on the streets of chicago. looting vienand olce erupting in the wake of an officer-involved shooting ne noseblind. he thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this...

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leading the news, an explosion rocks baltimore, leaving one dead and seven others injured the blast took out three homes, reducing them to piles of rubble emergency crews were searching through the debris for any people trapped underneath. the cause of the explosion is under investigation. baltimore gas and electric says in gas leaks were found. a night of unrest and looting left over 100 arrested, several officers injured and countless businesses damaged across multiple chicago neighborhoods for a second time this summer. nbc's gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: daylight revealed the destruction. looters ran rampant in downtown chicago, injuring 13 police officers, more than 100 people arrested, police say >> this was not an organized protest. rath they aer this was an incidf pure criminality. >> reporter: this is chicago's magnificent mile, full of high end shops, now some of them are boarded up the chaos came hours after

officers were called to the city's south side for a man with a gun. police say someone who matched the suspect's description started shooting so the cops fired back and emotions ran high, authorities say, when false rumors erupted on social media >> fair is no justification for criminal behavior ever >> reporter: across the country, it has been an increasingly violent summer in philadelphia this weekend, bullets grazed two 11-year-olds and several shootings, 20 people shoot a cookout in washington, d.c. violence that has at times overshadowed peaceful protests following the deaths of george floyd, breonna taylor and others in louisville, police have now banned street demonstrations >> this is the portland police. >> reporter: in portland, police declared another riot, the president tweeting that local authorities should bring in the national guard but in chicago, where the trump administration sent in federal agents last month to help investigate crimes, the violence continues, frustrating small business owners like jackie

jackson. >> on top of covid, the violence, the looting, i mean, how much more can a person take? >> reporter: the mayor says there will be a heavy police presence here tonight, with officers working longer shifts downtown access will also be restricted in hopes of preventing any more destruction. back to you. >> gabe, thank you. coming up, we will break down the best masks to stop the spread of covid-19 and still biding his time in the race for 2020, joeid ben expected to reveal his running mate any day now the finalists next where are you?! honey, did you hear about these new geico savings? mom? you'll get an extra 15% on top of what geico could already save you. can i call you back? your father's been researching our geneology. switch by october seventh for an extra 15% on car and motorcycle insurance. hey, we lost the wifi password. do you remember what that is? the ultimate sulfate-free lather test

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with less than a week until the democratic national convention, all eyes are on joe biden. the presumptive democratic nominee is expected to announce his running mate in days if not hours. andrea mitchell has the latest >> reporter: pressure mounting on joe biden to decide on his running mate and to choose a black woman. >> mr. vice president, have you picked a running mate yet? >> yeah, i have. >> who is it >> you >> reporter: his announcement will be digital, followed by a biographical video of his pick and a joint appearance the campaign says some of the major contenders have had in person interviews including michigan governor gretchen whitmer, who flew in secretly a week ago other contenders are senator kamala harris, susan rice, senators tammy duckworth and elizabeth warren and congresswoman karen bass and val

demings. now women's groups are vowing to defend his running mate against sexism >> the discrimination, the stuff that is out there on the internet, the attacks we have seen, that's what they're doing, they're anticipating this and i think it is a good idea. >> reporter: the campaign is also ready to combat racist attacks if biden chooses a black woman. 100 prominent black men said the urgency to pick a black woman has gone from something that should happen to something that has to happen. joining the appeal from black women. >> this is the moment that we need to make sure that the issues around racism, sexism, equality and racial justice, income inequality is addressed in a magnificent big way >> reporter: the longer biden waits past his self-imposed deadline, the more infighting among supporters of some of the candidates >> andrea, thank you we'll be watching for that pick. still ahead, why life in the bubble is working for the wnba. >> get the air drums ready

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webb janessa, when is this heat wave going to end november maybe >> at least one more day we're going to -- yeah, exactly, when it starts snowing 31 million people are impacted this afternoon today we see temperatures that are sitting in the lower 9 0s. a little bit better, but we're still going to see the heat building for your wednesday evening. then we'll see that cold front make its way in by thursday. >> looking forward to it > ich masks work which ones are worthless soft surfaces? odors get trapped in your home's fabrics and resurface over time. febreze fabric refresher eliminates odors. its water-based formula safely penetrates fabrics where odors hide. spray it on your rugs, your curtains, your furniture, all over your home to make it part of your tidying up routine. febreze fabric refresher, for an all-over freshness you'll love.

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♪ i can feel it coming in the air tonight ♪ thanks to that iconic drumbeat, phil collins' 1981 hit "in the air tonight" is once again climbing the charts. last week it hit number three on itunes thanks to a recent viral video where twins fred and ted williams react to that beat for the very first time. >> we know it is not about a man watching somebody else drown, it is about divorce phil collins told jimmy fallon that a couple of years ago, for the record, putting that decades old debate to end. >> it is just about the drum. the bubble hasn't burst yet, the league reported zero positive coronavirus tests in the first move the season. teams have been in the bubble in florida and while seven players tested positive leading up to arrival, none have contracted the virus inside the bubble. and on the ice, the nhl also reports no positive covid tests on the eve of the start to the stanley cup playoffs

teams had been playing in edmonton and toronto since august 1st >> should have taken note. by now there is no doubt that wearing masks pre connects us all and saves lives, which masks are the most effective here is nbc's kristen dahlgren >> reporter: these days the choice of face masks can be dizzying so researchers at duke health set up to find out which may work best, testing 14 different types, with a simple experiment designed to visualize small particles or droplets sprayed during regular speech. researchers said the same phrase >> stay healthy, people. >> reporter: first with no mask, note the flashes of light, those are the tiny particles which could contain coronavirus. >> if everyone wore a mask that truly blocked these particles, we would reduce the spread of the transmissible disease like covid-19, no question about it >> reporter: medical grade n-95 and surgical masks both worked well to block particles. but masks with exhalation valves won't protect those around you

cotton masks with several layers of material did well, not a lot of droplets got through. >> you don't need a perfect mask to reduce community spread >> reporter: but bandannas and neck gaiters didn't farewell researchers say they may result in more small particles than no mask at all. the bottom line, research saersa masks work if they have several layers of good fabric. if you can see through it, something like this, it is probably not doing you a lot of good back to you. >> kristen, thank you for that very useful info we all should have them by now. >> fold up that bandanna to make it effective. >> thank you for waking up with us i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. >> i'm frances rivera. on t "heto - [narrator] did you just reward yourself

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plus covid-19 spending. should federal relief money be used to hire law enforcement officers? a live report next on the bay yarea to vote on that issue today. and former vice president's pick could come down any time