mike? a quick look at san jose, 101 and 680. the bay bridge toll plaza is looking lighter. toll plaza tuesday. >> that does it for us. ♪ good morning. pushing forward. >> fill that seat. fill that seat. >> we will. we will. >> president trump looking to fill the supreme court vacancy ahead of the election as senator lindsey graham says republicans have the numbers they need to make it happen. >> we've got the votes to confirm justice ginsburg's replacement before the election. >> but democrats promise the unprecedented fight is just beginning. we're live with the very latest from the white house and capitol hill. landfall. tropical storm beta touches down in texas overnight and it's set to dump rain for days as it

crawls east. al is tracking its path and we're live from the rain-soaked region. coronavirus confusion. yet another reversal from the nation's top public health institute. this time over how the virus spreads. as a former member of the white house task force who quit over her frustration with the president's response speaks out for the first time in an exclusive interview. >> i felt that in my heart and in my entire being i think american lives were continuing to be on the line. changing seasons. ellen degeneres returns to the air responding to those allegations of a toxic work environment and promises big changes at her show. >> take responsibility for what happens at my show. >> this morning, both new support and new criticism uring. those stories plus, air bubba. michael jordan and bubba wallace

teaming up for a new era of nascar as they make history on and off the track. "today," tuesday, september 22nd, 2020. ♪ >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. hey, everybody. welcome to "today." so happy you're joining us on this tuesday morning. not just any tuesday morning. >> it is the first day of fall. there is a little chill in the air. a lot happening as well in the news this morning. actually weather's a story. slow-moving tropical storm beta is bringing even more rain to the already-soaked gulf coast. we're going to talk about it is headed next when al gives us his full forecast. >> indeed. and in our capitol, ruth bader ginsburg will be the first woman to lie in state this at the supreme court tomorrow. thousands are expected to pay

tribute. but the battle over her seat is our top story. >> yes, from whether the vacancy should be filled before the election to the two candidates who appear to the front-runners for the seat. judge amy coney barrett and judge barba rar lagoa. we have it covered beginning with nbc white house correspondent peter alexander. hi, peter, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the president announcing he will make his announcement this saturday. if confirmed that would be the most justices seated by any president since ronald reagan. president trump as nbc news was first to report meeting yesterday with one of the top contenders right here at the white house. judge amy coney barrett. >> president trump in ohio overnight. >> fill that eat. >> reporter: rallying supporters behind his plans to fill the late ruth bader ginsburg's seat. >> we will. we will. >> reporter: the president pledging to unveil his selection

by week's end. >> we're looking at five incredible jurists. five incredible people. women that are extraordinary in every way. i mean, honestly could be any one of them. we're going to be announcing it on friday and saturday. >> reporter: president trump earlier dismissing one of ginsburg's final wishing conveyed by her granddaughter to npr that the next president choose her replacement. the president falsely claiming that ginsburg's words may have been made up by democrats. >> it sounds so beautiful, but that sounds like a schumer deal or maybe a pelosi or shifty schiff. that came out of the wind. maybe she did it. maybe she didn't. >> the president saying he wants the senate to confirm his >> i'm just doing my constitutional obligation. new interview argues that decision should be left to voters. >> there will be close to 40% of the people already voted.

it's a violation of the spirit of the constitution. >> reporter: senate majority leader mitch mcconnell declaring the president's nominee will receive a vote. >> we're going to vote on this nomination on this floor. >> reporter: nbc news learned the president met at the white house monday with one of the front-runners, judge amy coney barrett according to a source familiar with the meeting. the 48-year-old married mother of seven including two adopted children from haiti now serves on the seventh u.s. circuit court of appeals is the favorite among social conservatives. another top contender barbara lagoa cuban american was the first hispanic woman to serve on the florida supreme court. she was appointed to the 11th u.s. circuit court of appeals less than a year ago confirmed in a bipartisan senate vote with a support of 26 democrats. americans will get their chance to honor justice ginsburg this week. she will lie in repose at the supreme court on wednesday and thursday. with an outdoor viewing for the public planned both days. then on friday, house speaker nancy pelosi announced ginsburg will lie in state at the

capitol, becoming the first woman to do so and only the second supreme court justice to receive such an honor. savannah and hoda. >> all right, peter alexander at the white house. peter, thanks. now to the battle brewing on capitol hill over the nomination process, the timing and the potential nominees with democrats hoping to swing at least four republicans to their side that is not going to happen. nbc's capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt with the latest and the strategy going forward on the hill good morning >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you republicans are moving as fast as they can to push president trump's supreme court nominee e even know who it is. the timeline accelerating with just 41 days until election day. overnight, senator lindsey graham saying senate republicans have the votes. >> we've got the votes to confirm justice ginsburg's replacement before the election. we're going to move forward in the committee. >> reporter: the republican

senator whose comments from 2016 have gone viral since ginsburg's death -- >> if there's a republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say lindsey graham said let's let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination. >> reporter: now saying the contentious brett kavanaugh's hearings are what changed his mind. >> after kavanaugh, that's what changed with me. they're not going to intimidate me, mitch mcconnell or anybody else. >> reporter: so do republicans have the numbers? right now there are 53 republicans in the senate and 47 democrats. with vice president mike pence in position to break a tie, that means four republicans would ir to prevent president trump's nominee from winning confirmation. >> if a senate majority over the course of six years steals two supreme court seats using completely contradictory rationales, how can we expect to trust the other side again? >> reporter: murkowski and

collins both breaking ranks with their party saying whoever is elected on november 3rd should choose the nominee. but it's a tough road for democrats to find a third let alone a fourth republican to change the outcome. mitt romney of utah voted to impeach president trump and could make his decision as soon as today. meanwhile, democrats hanging their hopes on arizona where democrat mark kelly is leading republican senator martha mcsally in what is technically a special election. if kelly wins, he would join the senate in november, cutting the critical number from four to three. but it's basically impossible t the outcome here. leaving democrats threatening to add justices to the supreme court in retaliation if they win the senate and the white house in november. savannah. >> kasey, thank you. rich lowry is the editor of the conservative national review and an nbc news political analyst. rich, good morning to you. >> hey.

>> if the question was can republicans nominate and confirm a successor, i think the answer is they can and they will. the question is will they do it before election day. how do you see this playing out? >> well, there are two ways to stop it. w explaining get four republicans to publicly come out and say, no, we're not doing this. you have two who said that. it's easy to see mitt romney being the third. almost impossible who would be the fourth at this point. the other way would be for republicans who are up for senate election this year to privately say to mcconnell, please, please. this is too politically hard. let's not do this. i kind of don't think that's happening either. so my guess is they'll go and try to do this before the election. the thing is they'll have very little margin for error. >> what do you mean margin in terms of lost votes? margin in terms of anything going off the rails? >> anything. anything.>> anything. anything something goes wrong, you lose two weeks, the timing might be impossible but they're going to make a go of it. >> now to the unknowable i've warned you.

this is impossible to answer because you can hear all kinds of theories on this. but what's yours how does this affect the presidential race? the fact that there is an epic supreme court battle in the offing >> i don't know. i'll say the polling of it -- it won't surprise me early polling indicated people want them to wait wouldn't be surprised if that polling holds. but then the key question is intensity. and in the past in these kind of court battles, they've motivated democratic donors but really motivated republican voters. so it wouldn't surprise me if that holds true this time as well and then also savannah, this feels epic right now it will feel epic at various points in time including the confirmation battles but there's so much else going on it just wouldn't surprise me if this doesn't have the huge effect it would in a different quieter news environment >> let's not forget the economy in a pandemic and the rest of it

but what do you think might happen with the senate that's the other issue that seems to be going forward. and democrats have, you know, potentially some potent arguments in terms of health care i mean, obamacare is going to be before the court one week after election day and that is one of the democrats' favorite campaign issues >> yeah. i think the court, you know, for partisans and activists, it matters a lot for most ordinary people it's an abstraction so i think it is -- it makes sense for democrats to try to ground the issue in a policy question and health care obviously has been a democratic advantage for generations. makes sense for them to make the court fight seem about health care >> all right rich lowry, always good to get your analysis. thank you very much. appreciate it. >> thank you all right. 7:11 now craig's here with another important story on the changing coronavirus guidance from the nation's top public health institute. this is a confusing one, craig >> good morning.

it's just the latest controversy involving the centers for disease control. on monday the agency pulled new covid guidance off its website because it said the information was posted by mistake. but it's information that outside experts have been calling for the cdc to issue for months nbc's tom costello is following this story for us. tom, good morning to you >> reporter: hey, craig, good morning. here's the bottom line the cdc posted guidance on friday which essentially said that the virus can spread in aerosol form in droplets further than the six feet we've been working with that would complicate efforts, you can imagine to open up schools and restaurants and businesses then suddenly the cdc on monday pulled that guidance down saying it was posted in error for the world's premier health agency, another black eye and

more public confusion. the cdc says new changes to its covid guidance were posted in error. guidance that represented a major change in how coronavirus a transmitted saying that aerosol droplets are now thought to be the main way the virus spreads. small particles that are produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes. that last word "breathes" is important. but it's no longer on the website. a former cdc director says this latest misstep only further undermines the agency's credibility. >> they haven't been allowed to do their job this is not a failure of public health it's a failure to support and be guided by public health. >> reporter: throughout the pandemic, the cdc has been accused of inconsistent messaging, bowing to political pressure from the white house. in late august, the agency abruptly reversed different guidance, suggesting people who were exposed to covid but were not symptomatic did not need to be tested. the cdc director was asked to explain that to congress >> the cdc guidance that came out was clearly misinterpreted within six feet of a person with

>> reporter: "the new york times" then reported the sudden documented covid infection for at least 15 minutes and do not change was ordered by trump vet have symptoms you need a test. objections of veteran cdc now new mixed messages about how scientists well covid is spread over aerosol form. >> many in my field have been saying this since february and all the science shows airborne transmission is happening. we've been urging cdc and w.h.o. to update their guidance >> reporter: the advice for businesses, restaurants and schools trying to reopen >> open up the windows, bring in more fresh outdoor air or bring in higher grade filtration that can clean airborne viral particles out of the air >> reporter: yeah. and while we've all been working with the six feet of separation rule, 12 feet is better. 18 feet, even better than that that's really the bottom line here craig, back to you it seems as if the president has also made some news about some comments he made related to the virus and young people specifically what more can you tell us about that >> reporter: yeah, these were comments he made late yesterday

specifically talking about how dangerous or how well this virus affects young people take a listen. >> now we know it. it affects elderly people, elderly people with heart problems and other problems. if they have other problems, that's what it really affects. you know, in some states, thousands of people. nobody young below the age of 18, like, nobody they have a strong immune system who knows. take your hat off to the young, because they have a hell of an immune system. but it affects virtual nobody. it's an amazing thing. by the way, open your schools. >> reporter: well, the problem is that simply is not accurate the american academy of pediatrics reports 10.3% of all covid cases involves people under the age of 18. 587,000 kids under the age of 18 have contracted covid. now, they have a very low mortality rate, but the concern of course is they can easily spread it to older people. their parents, the elderly, and

they can become superspreaders in certain events. guys, back to you. >> tom costello in washington. thank you. we turn now to the weather. yet another storm battering the gulf coast. tropical storm beta made landfall overnight. it's packing heavy winds and rain. al is tracking that storm for us, but first let us turn to nbc's morgan chesky in galveston, texas, there with the latest there. hey, morgan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. and beta has definitely arrived. you can feel with this surf pounding the sea wall. we followed this storm north after it made landfall late last night dropping more than a foot of rain in many areas. and the main threat today, flash flooding from here all the way to louisiana. this morning, tropical storm beta crawling up the texas coast. dumping heavy rain and flooding coastal communities. >> the sea just looks angry, right? you can tell it's just mad. >> reporter: the slow-moving

storm making landfall overnight. it's expected to hug the coastline moving at just 5 miles an hour. the national hurricane center warning of possible life threatening storm surge. that surge causing a chunk of this pier to come away before the storm even made landfall. the peer said he had to remove it before it caused any more damage. >> we did lose an additional piling which is disappointing. but i think we're going to be okay. >> reporter: in port o'conner, sheriff's deputies have been keeping a watchful eye on the shore. patrolling around the clock to make sure the residents stay away from the dangerous tides. >> a lot of the streets and stuff down by the bay are already flooded. you know, we're putting up barricades as fast as we can and just trying to make sure everybody stays away. >> reporter: but despite the warning, some deciding to ride out the storm and stay home. >> no. we stay for every tropical storm. >> if it was a category 4, we were in trouble, we would have been gone by now. >> reporter: others not taking the risk. >> it's just not worth it for us to stay. getting trapped in your home,

water everywhere. >> reporter: and this morning houston police reporting not just streets but parts of highways are under water. if this storm moves as slowly as it currently is, this could be a significant flooding event for the next 24 hours. we'll send it back to you. >> all right, morgan chesky, morgan, thank you. those slow-movers are just trouble. >> exactly. al, where is this headed? >> guys, here is the deal. we are seeing reports of a lot of flooding going on in houston. we've got about 10 to 12 inches of rain that's fallen already. right now beta's 35 miles north/northwest of port o'connor. and here is the problem. it has slowed down. winds moving -- its forward motion is northeast at 3. and as we take a look right now in houston, you can see these feeder bands are coming in. heavy rain. i-610 is closed now. and there are going to be more

road closures as this goes on. here's the timeline. as this system pushes to the east, it's hugging the coast as a tropical storm and then depression. ahead of it, heavy rain starts to fall. we're looking at the flood threat shifting over to louisiana. and then making its way up into the mississippi river valley. tropical downpours will extend right on through the southeast. the big problem is going to be the rain. look, we've got 11 million people currently under flash flood watches and warnings going on right now. and then the rainfall through thursday, another 6 to 12 inches of rain. that's on top of what's already fallen through thursday. and we could see some areas with up to 20 inches of rain. we're going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. jack, and the fa

milies who adopt them. subaru. more than a car company. good tuesday morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. happy first day of fall. we're going to see better air quality for most of our microclimatein except for the north bay. times of smoke and moderate air quality today. as our temperatures head into the upper 70s we'll see that for parts of the peninsula, over to oakland we're reaching 73 degrees and some upper 80s for the interior valley. nice day, but we'll see a heatup coming in this week. >> by the way, guys, we still have a category 2 hurricane off the east coast hurricane teddy. and it is causing coastal

flooding and rip currents from florida into nungs so even though it's not physically affecting land, it's still having some impacts, too >> all right, al, thank you very much coming up next after mounting frustration with the task force member caused her to quit now she's speaking out for the first time she's take us behind the scenes of the coronavirus response. plus, it's off to the races for michael jordan and bubba wallace teaming up to make nascar history we'll tell you about their new

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a very good morning to you. 7:26. i'm laura garcia. fall is officially here, but there are new concerns for businesses that they're having with the big season change. >> reporter: i'm bob redell in livermore for the first day of autumn. some restaurant owners are nervous about the cooler fall temps and how it could impact their outdoor dining during this pandemic. a number will be adding outside heaters. one company in the north bay tells us demand for propane heaters has been unprecedented, never seen sales like this. good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. elon musk will have what he calls battery day today, make a few announcements from tesla's palo alto headquarters including possibly announcing tesla will build its own battery and a million mile battery. they just mean super, super long range. all right. we'll see if a convertible is in

the works for today maybe, kari? yeah, be absolutely. it's going be to be really nice and comfortable. we're looking at some near average temperatures for the first day of fall reaching into the upper 80s for the inland east bay as well as the north bay. you head down to napa, 84 degrees for the high today. and 73 in oakland. in palo alto expect a high of 79 degrees. we do also have mostly good air quality except for the north bay where we will still have some smoke moving in from today into the weekend. as we look at the rest of the microclimates we are going to have a few days of some good air quality, but as we get closer to the weekend we'll start to see that smoke returning especially friday into saturday. our temperatures will also be heating up with our inland valleys going from the 80s to the triple digits by sunday. laura? wow, summer is hanging on the first day of fall. that will do it for us. another local news update.

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7:30 now tuesday morning and it's a pretty one look at that view of central park here in new york city 22nd of september 2020 and if you have your farmers' almanac open this morning, al, it's the first day of fall isn't it >> we still have two hours >> at 9:30 >> okay. >> and you'll feel that tingling and then, boom >> you'll feel that tingling >> yeah. i'm not saying where, but you'll feel it. >> it's just a change of season. >> we'll compare notes >> al, you're kooky. >> got to go love you bye. >> thanks for the great news, al let's get to your 7:30 headlines on a tuesday morning police in louisville, kentucky, are operating under state of emergency rules this morning as the city braces for a grand jury decision in the breonna taylor case the police department is canceling vacation and time off requests officers will work 12-hour shifts it's unclear at this point when

a decision is going to come down there louisville taylor, of course, shot by police back in march by officers carrying a narcotics warrant six officers are reportedly under investigation. rescue efforts are underway this morning off the western coast of australia where nearly 300 whales are stranded on a sand bar wildlife officials, fishermen are teaming up to pull the whales into deeper water each one weighs up to three tons it's not an easy task. these efforts could take several days the nfl has dished out more than $1 million in fines for coaches not wearing masks on the sidelines on sunday. three head coaches seattle's pete carroll, denver's vic fan vee owe and san francisco's kyle shanahan each fined $100,000 for violating the league's covid-19 protocols. their teams were fined $250,000 each warnings were issued i league-wide memo one week

earlier reminding coaches they must wear masks. now to our exclusive sit-down with that top aide who quit the white house coronavirus task force over what she calls the president's disregard for science saying it's costing american lives she's speaking for the first time on television to our senior correspondent andrea mitchell. good morning >> reporter: good morning. olivia troy is a life-long republican who worked at the pentagon, was detailed to iraq, and worked at the national counterterrorism center. most recently she was an adviser to vice president pence. after eight months on the coronavirus task force, she had to speak out calling it the hardest decision of her life >> i felt that in my heart and my entire being, american lives were continuing to be on the line >> reporter: more months olivia troy had a front row seat to critical decision making inside

the white house, seeing firsthand what outside critics have said about the president's handling of the pandemic >> it was really focused on public image, messaging, and it was really more about, you know, his personal agenda than really the agenda that the task force had a hand in which was how are we going to save and protect americans? >> reporter: she said president trump knew in january how serious a threat the virus posed. >> we certainly had a task force meeting and discussion where we had this conversation. that this was going to be big. >> reporter: that early. january 28th >> late january we knew. >> reporter: yet the president was saying a week later it's going to disappear it's going to go away. >> it's going to disappear one day. it's like a miracle. it will disappear. >> reporter: how did that make you feel >> it was frightening. when you're the president, words matter >> reporter: at one meeting in the situation room she says the

president suggested covid might not be such a bad thing. did the president of the united states really say that >> absolutely. i was sitting to the right of him in the room when he said it. he said when you're a politician, you have to shake a lot of hands you have to shake a lot of hands and these people are disgusting. it's gross and so maybe covid's probably a good thing, right? i don't have to shake hands. i don't have to do that anymore. >> reporter: he said that maybe covid is a good thing because he doesn't have to shake hands with people, with disgusting people >> that's what he said and i can't imagine how any -- honestly normal human being would ever say that outloud the middle of a pandemic >> she describes the scientists not wearing a mask and promoting hydroxychloroquine >> i'm taking it, hydroxychloroquine, right now, yeah >> reporter: what was the breaking point

what made you want to speak out? >> i felt i needed to tell the truth about what was happening and what we were dealing with internally especially with the president who, you know, was involved in the work that was going on in the task force i just felt that now it mattered more than ever >> reporter: both the president and the vice president dismissing her account >> it reads to me like one more disgruntled employee >> i never met her to the best of my knowledge. maybe she was in a room. i have no idea who she is. >> reporter: troy says that she still respects the vice president, but thinks he was in an impossible situation. never before in politics she is endorsing joe biden, a decision made even more important after the cdc once again reversed that important guidance on the virus only just yesterday. savannah >> andrea mitchell with the exclusive interview. andrea, thank you. and you can catch more of that exclusive with olivia troy on nbc "nightly news" and andrea's show as well >> troy also told the new yorker

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this morning nba legend michael jordan getting into the nascar game >> oh, this is a biggy jordan is teaming up with three-time daytona 500 winner denny hamlin to form a new nascar cup series race and team. and get this, they've signed bubba wallace to drive nbc's sam brock has more on this one. hey, sam >> reporter: hoda, craig, good morning. how is this for a power combination? six-time nba finals mvp michael jordan teaming up with denny hamlin to form a brand new racing team for 2021 it makes the jordan the first majority black team owner in decades right now and it also puts bubba wallace, the sports only full time black driver behind the wheel those two trying to leave their mark on and off the track. this morning nba legend michael jordan is ushering in a new era for nascar with rising star bubba wallace in the driver's seat >> obviously i'm a big nascar fan. >> reporter: the charlotte

hornets owner partnering with three-time daytona 500 winner denny hamlin to form a new nascar team for the 2021 season. the move makes jordan nascar's first full-time black team owner of a full-time race team for over 50 years. overnight, jordan providing historically nascar has struggled with diversity and there have been few black owners i see this as a chance to educate a new audience and open more opportunities for black people in racing >> my interest in the sport has been there for a long period of time i love watching. i set my clock every sunday to watch, you know, nascar. >> reporter: in june, jordan who's been criticized in the past for not speaking out on social issues pledged to donate $100 million to organizations dedicated to ensuring racial equality he spoke to craig last year about using his platform to affect change. >> why are you more outspoken now than you used to be? >> you know, when i was playing, my vision and my tunnel vision was my craft i was a professional basketball player now i have more time to

understand things around me, understand causes, understand issues and problems and commit my voice, my financial support to >> reporter: bubba wallace who signed a multi-year deal to drive for the new team writing on social media overnight this is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that i believe is a great fit for me at this point in my career nascar's only full-time black driver has had his issues. nascar concluded he was not a victim of a hate crime but the drivers rallied around him on the racetrack. the fbi concluded he was not the victim of a hate crime, fellow drivers rallied around him in a display of solidarity on the racetrack. nascar banning the confederate flag from all races. >> speaking up about things that are not right in this world and how we can make this a better place for our generation is very important >> a lot of things cool about this deal. jordan and hamlin, they are business partners. but more than that these two guys are good friends.

>> reporter: yeah. it turns out they are longtime friends, golfing buddies hamlin says they first met about 11 years ago that was at a charlotte bob cats game. jordan a owner of the charlotte hornets. the friendship formed right from there. it's taken off it should also be noted, hoda, that brad doherty who was jordan's teammate is also the co-owner of another racing team in nascar. you know michael jordan is not very competitive so expect a lot of animation tons of competition. you know, friends squaring off here on the racetrack. back to you. >> it's going to be a good one all right, sam, thank you so much what do you say we shift gears, kids? >> i was going to say this morning we talked to jordan's spokesperson and they said mj is focussed on social justice movement and supporting bubba. it's the right moment to support the right change in nascar sometimes you have to occupy space to provoke change. and also goes on to say that this is probably not the end of what we're going to see from mj.

>> all right not the last dance >> oh, look what you did there >> you told me to watch the documentary. >> very nice >> it won an emmy. >> it won an emmy last weekend >> it did? it should. >> i haven't finished it good stuff as we mentioned, it is fall and very fitting for that. we've got frost advisories 13 million people from the appalachians all the way up into new england. upstate new york unfortunately it has been a very warm summer. typical september. you can see how wide it is now the september sea ice has shrunk 1 million square miles less than average. second lowest summer minimum in a 42-year period and in fact, extreme arctic warming, the siberian temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above average. arctic warming is actually taking place twice as fast as the rest of the planet that adds to global warming and sea level rise so we're watching that carefully. we've got teddy off the coast. that's causing rip currents from florida all the way to new

england. flooding rains continue down through the southeast. we'll get an update in beta in the next half hour warm and dry out west in the northern plains. and plenty of sunshine up and down the west coast. that's what's going on around the coun good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. let's take a live look outside in the south bay where we're waking up to a beautiful sunrise and heading out the door on this first day of fall to some better air quality. it looks pretty good throughout the day except we'll still have to limit time outside in parts of the north bay as we'll still see some drifts of smoke coming in. looking at our temperatures today it's going to be very seasonable with highs in the 60s near the coast.as. >> and that is your latest weather. savannah >> mr. roker, thank you so much. >> thanks, al. coming up, reaction pouring in after ellen degeneres goes back on air for the first time since allegations of a toxic workplace. what she's saying and how it's being received

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well, we are really proud this morning because another emmy was awarded to an esteemed member of our nbc family for a story that aired here on "today." last night our senior investigative correspondent cynthia mcfadden won the emmy for hard news feature in a newscast and her story was unforgettable. it was about the child miners of madagascar it aired here on "today. it touched a lot of people every time cynthia takes on one of these hard issues, our viewers really respond and they did in this case as well and now she's won an emmy and deservedly so. >> she always shines a light and does it with such tenderness like she does when she tells a story. so congrats. and by the way, speaking of emmy winners, harry smith is joining us >> you've got so many emmys. >> there's not room. >> no. he had to buy a second house. >> never shows them too. but you've got a fun story coming up, don't you

>> we do our old pal willie nelson, right? this guy just does not rest. so for the 35th year in a row, farm aid is coming back at you this weekend and we'll give you a little preview in a bit >> we can't wait first, a first look at your local news it has the same effectiveness you know and trust, but we removed the citrate buffers, there's less liquid, and a thinner needle... with less pain immediately following injection. ask your doctor about humira citrate-free. and you can use your co-pay card to pay as little as $5 a month. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections,... ...including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened,... ...as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems,... ...serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common... and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections,...

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in san francisco. today is national voter registration day and there are several events across the bay area to help you so your voice is heard for the 2020 election. one of those events is a drive-through drive that's in richmond at the public library that runs from noon until 3:00 and in contra costa county the board of supervisors there holding a seminar on in-person and mail-in voting. you can catch that on their county website. good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. the senate, of course, arguing over a supreme court nominee and whether that's proper, but don't forget we are also now just eight days away from the federal government running out of money. that's september 30th. and republicans and democrats still need to make a deal on that. right now we're in our first day of fall, and it's a nice start to our day, kari. yeah, we have good air quality and seasonable temperatures.

we're looking at our highs that will reach into the mid-60s near the coast. for the bay some low 70s for spots like oakland. upper 70s for palo alto and low 80s for the south bay. upper 80s as you make your way into the inland valleys. and we'll see more weather like this throughout the end of the week. this nice weather continues and we'd better enjoy it. look what's headed our way for the weekend. we'll see some really hot weather starting on saturday continuing into sunday along with some gusty winds, and we'll have the concern of a high fire danger that will continue into early next week while san francisco will also get a heatup. we're going from the 60s to the mid-80s by the end of the weekend. laura? so we are in fall but summer is hanging on. another update in half an hour. have a great day. with school back in session, xfinity is committed to helping

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♪ it's 8:00 on "today. coming up, supreme showdown. overnight president trump vowing to quickly choose a supreme court nominee. >> i'm just doing my constitutional obligation. >> republicans now saying they're ready. >> we've got the votes >> democrats preparing for a fight. so where do things go from here? we're live with the latest plus, all apologies. ellen degeneres opens up after a summer of controversy. >> i take responsibility for what happens at my show. >> just ahead, how viewers and former staffers are reacting and on the farm again. 35 years after first throwing farm aid, the investors look back at the iconic event >> i called a few friends of mine and they said, you know, we had it >> how musicians are still coming together for a special cause. "today," tuesday, september 22nd, 2020

♪ >> hi. we're students at university of colorado boulder >> we're celebrating the beginning of our senior year >> and we love the "today" show. go bucks ♪ >> we love the "today" show. >> celebrating the 7th birthday from virginia. ♪ >> how good to see all of you. we wished one of those faces aw. happy birthday we did one better. now you have your mug on tv. literally holding your mug on tv >> we're so happy you're with us if you missed your first hour, you missed good stuff. you can set that dvr >> then you don't miss anything. >> you don't miss a moment >> we're working on something for tomorrow we were talking about. we were just talking about cynthia mcfadden tomorrow she's speaking with small business owners around the country about their struggles during the pandemic. a super important story. >> some are managing to keep the lights on.

others can't see a way forward it's an important conversation about what these places mean to our communities and what happens when we lose them. >> we look forward to that tomorrow let's get to your news at 8:00 the president is fast tracking his plan to fill the late justice ruth bader ginsburg's supreme court seat before the november election. yesterday he revealed his plan to give his choice by the end of the week nbc news learned that the president met yesterday with one of the top contenders for the job, appeals court judge amy lis republicans have the votes they need >> we've got the votes we need to replace ruth bader ginsburg before the election. we're going to move forward in the committee. >> in a new interview yesterday democratic presidential nominee joe biden said voting to fill the court seat right before the election would violate the spirit of the constitution tropical storm beta heading slowly toward louisiana after making landfall overnight along the texas gulf coast

the storm is bringing heavy rain, damaging winds, and flooding a section of a fishing pier that collapsed had to be cut up and hauled away to save what was still standing and this morning, the national hurricane center is warning that beta could generate a life threatening storm surge. and now to the latest on that controversy surrounding the ellen degeneres show in her season premiere monday, the comedian confronted those allegations of a toxic workplace behind the scenes saying she is committed to making it better. nbc's joe fryer joins us with more on that good morning >> reporter: good morning. ellen degeneres didn't mince words as she kicked off her 18th season for the first time she was on camera addressing those workplace allegations. ellen's tag line has always been, be kind to one another the host says she's now more committed than ever to making that a reality on the show that bears her name >> if you're watching because you love me, thank you if you're watching because you don't love me, welcome >> reporter: with her signature

wit and smile, ellen addressed the serious allegations of a toxic work environment on her show >> i learned that things happened here that never should have happened. i take that very seriously and i want to say i am so sorry to the people who were affected i know that i'm in a position of privilege and power. i realize with that comes responsibility and i take responsibility for what happens at my show >> reporter: the premiere of her 18th season now with a virtual audience follows a summer of controversy with some of her staff accusing senior management of racism, intimidation, and sexual misconduct. parent company warner media launched an internal probe and found deficiencies related to the show's day-to-day management parting ways with three of the show's top producers >> we have made the necessary changes and today we are starting a new chapter >> reporter: degeneres assured her staff that all issues would be corrected >> i'm excited to see all of my staff and my crew. hi, everybody. please don't look me in the eye.

>> reporter: and while her behavior was never part of the investigation, some reports have contradicted her reputation as the queen of nice. degeneres addressed those allegations head on. >> being known as the be kind lady is a tricky position to be in the truth is, i am that person that you see on tv i am also a lot of other things. sometimes i get sad. i get mad. i get anxious. i get frustrated i get impatient. and i am working on all of that. >> reporter: her first guest tiffany haddish came to her defense. >> i don't like how people were accused you of all these things. whatever you can't always know what's going on at the workplace. >> reporter: reaction was mixed. one viewer posted you are a person, just like us you are kind one former employee told buzz not only did ellen turn my trauma, turn our traumas into a joke she somehow managed to make this about her still degeneres hopes this new season will be her best yet both

on and off camera. >> all i want is for every single one of them to be happy and to be proud to work here >> i love you. >> reporter: the internal investigation apparently has concluded, but neither the ellen show nor warner media has released any more specific changes. a source close to the show says ellen has been connecting with her staff in small groups over zoom trying to make sure everyone feels like they're valued and being heard back to you guys. >> all right, joe. thank you so much. oh, there was craig. >> hello good to see you, joe. >> good fun party trick. my voice, your face. anyway how about a boost? >> i got a boost for you kids. how about this the giant panda cub born at the national zoo in d.c. just had a very important checkup >> oh. >> it was the cub's first complete veterinary exam since it was born last month >> look at him the medical team listened to its heart, its lungs, tested its reflexes we learned the baby is 13 inches

long, weighs a little over 2 pounds oh, the sound. signs of a healthy cub the team also took a dna sample to help determine its gender they don't know yet. >> i was wondering >> they'll know in the next couple of weeks. i don't think i've heard a panda cub make noise >> and after the checkup, got its flu shot coming up next, it's been part of american pop culture for 35 years harry smith talks about the legacy of farm aid with the man who was instrumental from the very start the one and only willie nelson we'll have the one and only harry right after this you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past... they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. let's help protect them together. because missing menb vaccination could mean missing out on a whole lot more. ask your doctor if your teen

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to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc. stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. rpls, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. if you've been financially impacted by covid-19, janssen may be able to help. "goldwe believe intriana good we can all afford. ♪ sing it, yeah, yeah from make believe made for everyone. ♪ all gold to ♪e to a t-shirt that means the world. yeah, good to me ♪ harry smith joins us for the

latest chapter in our series "mr. smith goes to." this morning an all-american tradition is marking a really important milestone because it was 35 years ago today that farm aid boosted the morale of the country's struggling farmers and gave many of them a voice. >> of course there would be no farm aid without willie nelson this morning harry is talking with the music legend about his inspiration and why it still matters. harry, morning >> reporter: boy, does it ever th still matter somewhere in a dusty bin, there's a picture of me covering farm aid 2 in texas in 1986. okay willie nelson was leading the charge back then and thank goodness he's still leading the charge right now the farm crisis of the 1980s was a cruel and bitter season of loss >> sometimes we feel like we've been used. >> reporter: farm after family farm faced foreclosure an american way of life was

dying. >> the governor of the nation's farm credit system warned today it could collapse within two years dragging the rest of the economy with it unless the government provides cash for a bailout. >> reporter: 1985. ♪ whiskey river willie nelson was appearing at the illinois state fair. he had a regular visitor there >> he'd come out and we'd sit on the bus and drink a beer or something and talk about things. >> reporter: he was the governor jim thompson >> and he was telling me how bad it was getting for the farmers, for the small family farmer. after he told me what he did, we realized how important it was. 21 days later, we had our first farm aid >> reporter: the first farm aid made national news >> willie nelson isn't waiting for washington he's busy organizing a benefit concert to raise money for farmers. >> the money from farm aid will go to help save the family farms and keep them feeding america. >> reporter: farmers learned

they had a friend and that friend had a lot more friends. >> it's going to make maybe the city people and everybody, the government aware of our problems we're having on the farm >> america has the best farmers in the world but we're forcing them to sell their product so cheap in order to compete with the world market that we're putting them out of business >> here's willie nelson! ♪ on the road again >> most of the 80,000 people who turned out for the concert stayed into the night. ♪ >> reporter: among the first to benefit from farm aid, the missouri rural crisis center farmers roger allison and rhonda perry say having willie nelson on their side back then was a difference maker >> one of those moments where people thought, wow, willie nelson somebody who really matters is standing up for us >> it was the best thing we could hear you know, it gave us hope. >> reporter: it's still a tough go, though, for small family

farms in the u.s more than 100,000 farms have been lost in the last 10 years >> there's a feeling that, like, they're losing it for all those generations of their family who managed to hold onto it until now. and i think that is -- that's a lot of pressure and that's a lot of stress on farmers in rural america right now. >> reporter: travel across rural family farms are dwarfed by ma d versus goliath >> a guy with a couple hundred acres versus a guy with thousands and thousands of acres, that's pretty tough that's pretty tough. >> it's like playing poker with somebody and you've got a hundred bucks and they've got a million bucks. ♪ >> reporter: just like the first farm aid, when willie reached out to a few friends -- >> neil young. john mellencamp. loddy. >> reporter: -- a concert

happens. just like the first farm aid neil young, john mellencamp, bonnie raitt will perform. >> i called a few friends of mine and next thing you know we had it they do show up for the farmers and i think for you too. >> they do >> yeah. ♪ >> reporter: so this is going to be an amazing concert. it's saturday night, virtual of course but among the people who are going to be there including who we named dave matthews, norah jones nora jones it's going to be a knockout concert. it's free, of course, but believe me they're going to ask you for donations. >> yeah. so listen to some good music and open up that wallet if you're able to do it. i mean, farmers were already struggling just by virtue of the fact that they need farm aid every year, year after year it's such a difficult situation for small farmers but the pandemic just adds to it, harry >> reporter: think about this. as these farmers -- a lot of

farms have gotten bigger, the smaller guys said we're going to be creative and directly market to, for instance, restaurants. if all the restaurants are shut down, what do you do with your produce? what do you do with the livestock that you've been preparing to go into that? so there's still a lot of pressure on these farmers. and you think about, for instance, what this thing called consolidation going on a couple of thousand dairy farms are closing every year in the united states. so it's still as we say a tough go out there on the land there's some stoic people. there's a lot of pressure. and you know what? willie nelson comes by and says, we're going to give you a helping hand >> wow >> for 35 years. >> thank you, harry. and you can find out more information about saturday's concert 35th farm aid at today.com. hope you check it out. let's get another check of the weather from al. >> god bless him and his friends. thanks so much as we show you what's happening right now, beta 10 miles east of victoria, texas.

slowly moving northwest at 3 miles per hour and you can see on the live radar right now, heavy rain bands are setting up over houston. a lot of highways are closed now. and in fact, rainfall amounts already 7 inches of rain or more in houston normally for the month, the whole month of september they get 4 inches of rain they may double or triple that before it's all over an additional 6 to 12 inches of rain stretching from houston all the way into the lower mississippi river valley isolated totals of 20 inches rip currents up and down the east coast because of hurricane teddy. warm and dry in the northern plains and the west coast >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we can see the fog that we have over san francisco right now. not a whole lot to see as we look at that camera view. but we'll see that clearing out as we go into later this morning, into the afternoon.

inland areas, all nice and sunny. and we're enjoying some seasonable weather for this first day of fall. we're in the 60s near the coast with upper 80s in the interior valleys. as we go through the forecast, we'll see more of those temperatures in the 80s into the start of the weekend. >> and don't forget if you're heading out, check us out on our sirius xm channel 108. off the rails with sheinelle, dylan, and yours truly. >> al, part of the forecast a little sunshine just walked in her name is sheinelle jones. >> good morning. >> how are you guys? happy fall. >> no. we got an hour >> not yet 9:30 >> 9:30 this morning >> yes >> still summer. >> an hour and 10 minutes. >> i mean, seriously an hour and 11 minutes all right. people on the west coast, happy fall when i say happy fall first up, kelly clarkson she kicked off the second season of her talk show on monday al is still talking. it's been quite a summer for a lot of reasons, kelly dove right

in and talked about her recent divorce. >> 2020 has brought a lot of change also to my personal life. definitely didn't see anything coming that came but what i'm dealing with is hard because it involves more than just my heart it involves more than just my heart, it involves a lot of little hearts. you know, we have four kids and divorce is never easy. and we're both from divorced families so, you know, we know the best thing here is to protect our children and their little hearts so i'm usually very open and i usually talk about everything. but in this case i will talk a little bit here and there about how it affects me personally, but probably won't go too far into it. because, you know, i'm a mama bear and my kids come first. >> we love kelly it can't be easy to address the news head on but she certainly did that and she said song writing is helping her through this tough time with that taken care of, kelly moved onto what she thought was an interview with a viral facebook star but it turned out to be one of her all-time favorite song writers. >> let's talk to this budding musician along with his owner sophie

hi, sophie oh, my gosh. first of all -- holy [ bleep ] holy [ bleep ] i was like, she looks exactly s like patty griffin what >> she and savannah almost had the same reaction. >> i was like is that patty griffin? >> we didn't get the bleep from you. we got the bleep from kelly. but a fun surprise for her wasn't that good next up, bts has played som. that huge crowd was here just of the biggest venues and even packed our plaza outside when they weren't even performing that huge crowd was here just for a sit-down interview but now the group is playing what might be their smallest venue use. the npr tiny desk set. so how did bts known for their crazy dance moves do with the tiny desk? i think they nailed it even performing "dynamite" with a live band for the first time

♪ ♪ like it up dynamite ♪ light it up dynamite ♪ >> i like it you can hear their voices. and they are very talented it was fitting they had the whole group there finally the billboard music awards are just around the corner and this morning we are exclusively announcing the nominees in two of the biggest categories are you ready? without further ado, top artists. billie eilish, post malone, jonas brothers khalid, taylor swift. talk about a stacked category. and the nominees for top billboard albums are billie eilish, ariana grande, khalid, post malone, and last but certainly not least taylor swift. it's been a good year for music.

kelly clarkson will be hosting the billboards again this year we can only hope she'll perform a medley of the nominated songs. that's always good like in years past by the way, garth brooks will be be receiving the icon award. >> what doesn't kelly clarkson do by the way, she does everything. >> she's so darn likable >> yes, she is. >> the 2020 billboard music awards air live wednesday october 14th right here on nbc to check out the rest of the nominees, head to the billboard music awards on twitter. >> man >> love that >> it was stacked, right >> good stuff. >> congrats to kelly clarkson. despite the challenge, she's having a good career >> definitely. sheinelle, thank you so much still ahead here on a tuesday morning, he rose to fame with his passionate sermon at harry and meghan's wedding. but bishop michael curry has even more love to share with us this morning he's up early for us we're going to talk about the power of community and holding onto hope even during the toughest of times. good to see you, bishop. but first your local news.

good morning to you. 8:26. i'm marcus washington. today, national voter registration day. several bay area cities are holding events to help people get registered before the upcoming election. and october 5th marks the first day of mail-in voting in the bay area. at midday, we'll have available options to make sure that your vote counts. plus, positive news on the covid fight. the bay area is flattening the curve in the south bay. only 2% of people being tested are coming back positive. that's the lowest number since last june. and head over to our home page to see what doctors are saying is contributing to that decline. get a look at the forecast for you here on the first day of fall. >> yeah, we are starting out with some nice weather across the bay area and some sunshine. we are going to see some pretty good air quali the north bay wh there still will be some smoke coming through at times. if you're sensitive to the smoke, you need to limit your time out there. but we'll see temperatures very

seasonable with our highs reaching into the upper 70s for parts of the peninsula. low 70s for oakland and then we head inland. it's going to heat up into the upper 80s today. as we go through this forecast, more weather like this at least through friday and then it will heat up for the weekend. possibly a high fire danger this weekend, marcus. >> thanks, kari. we'll have another local news update coming up in 30 minutes. we saw the cloud of smoke and my heart fell. i knew we'd lose our home... and we did. over 24,000 homes have been destroyed by wildfires

in the past few years. wildfire victims need help so i'm voting 'yes' on 19. it limits property taxes on wildfire victims so families can move to a replacement home without a tax penalty. you never know what you'll be faced with. please, vote 'yes' on 19. floor and decor is now oand curbside pickup!g whether you're looking for tile, wood, stone or laminate, with our incredible selection and everyday low prices, you'll find the perfect floor at the perfect price. come explore in person or online.

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♪ it's 8:30 now. tuesday morning, 22nd of september, 2020. there's a wonderful crowd. they're from an elementary school in austin, texas. we're going to celebrate a really special teacher this morning. >> there she is in the middle. she's right there. >> it's like hollywood squares middle square. >> we can't wait to talk with her and her kids we also have a packed half hour ahead including an eye opening report on young farm workers. we're going to take you to arizona to meet two incredibly hard working sisters in school now they're supporting their family after their parents were deported to mexico how one program is trying to help children get out of the field and get into the classroom. and then we're going to speak with the head of the episcopal church

one of our faves our bishop bishop michael curry. he has a new book out about the power of love. following up on his sermon at harry and meghan's royal wedding. >> i started that book yesterday and read your little blurb coming up on the third hour, we're catching up with skiing sensation mikaela shiffrin two-time gold medal winner spreading the word about resiliency during these difficult times. and we want to mention that today is national voter registration day so to mark the occasion, some nbc stars including john legend are spreading the word about the importance of planning your vote this year. head to nbcnews.com/planyourvote to learn more. now let's get a check of th is brought to you by target. weather from mr. roker >> announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by target. >> and let's start off with what's happening today of course we've got to worry about beta bringing flooding rain all the way into the gulf coast. warm and dry out west. rip currents up and down the

east coast as we move on into tomorrow, slightly milder here in the northeast. tomorrow will be our first full day of fall. flooding will continue into the mid-mississippi river valley heavy rain moves into the pacific northwest and some strong storms in the northern plains you know, i know i'm getting older because our camera guys are moving the monitor that much closer to me so that i can see it that's what's going on aro >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. let's look at our seven-day forecast and our temperatures i basically hold steady. we've had nice weather the past couple of days and we'll see that continuing through friday. then high pressure ramps up, and we're looking at some very hot temperatures for the weekend. starting on saturday, continuing into sunday. and with a high wind, we'll also have the concern of a fire danger that increases and includes monday as well into early next week. >> and that is

weather. >> that's how close my kids would stand to the tv if i let them they like to get right in front of it. >> oh, sure. coming up next, we're going to meet two young women help pick the produce you see in your grocery store while also going to school full-time. we're going to take you inside a program giving teens like them the support they need in and out of the classroom but first

back to school this fall, there are nearly half a million children working illegally as seasonal laborers on farms across the country this morning we're taking a deeper look at efforts to help get those kids a proper education. >> it is our latest story in an ongoing collaboration of reports jointly produced by nbc news and telemundo. nbc's gabe gutierrez joins us with more on this one. hey, gabe, good morning, buddy >> reporter: hi, craig good morning many americans don't know about the migrant education program

but it's been around since the 1960s. working to get children out of the fields and into the classroom. and my colleague telemundo correspondent nicole suarez and i went to azoarz arizona to find out how it works we met two young sisters who are far from typical teenagers along the u.s./mexico border in this sleepy farming community, jime >> reporter: what do you want to be when you grow up? >> a pediatrician. >> reporter: but at just 17 and 15 years old, they're not able to only focus on school. in collaboration with nicole suarez from telemundo, we followed their daily struggle. >> so you're the head of the family now >> yes. >> reporter: what does that feel like >> it feels normal but at the same time it's a big responsibility >> when their parents were deported to mexico two years ago, both girls stayed behind. both u.s. citizens now the sisters attend school just one day a week in person

and work full time in these agricultural fields. >> reporter: tell me a little bit about what it's like to go out there day after day. >> well, it's really hard sometimes. i want to just leave everything there and leave. but i'm like, no i kept going, going, going >> would it be easier for you to move back to mexico with your parents? >> we have to stay here so that my brothers can get education. >> reporter: do you think you're growing up too fast? >> yes >> as night falls, their day begins what time did you get here >> i got here around 10:30 >> 10:30 at night. it's now almost 5:00 in the morning. why have you been here so long >> we went looking for a job i have to go ask bus by bus, van by van to get one. >> because they're in between crop seasons in arizona, the jobs are scarce. but jimena gets lucky. she's headed to a melon field where she'll work for the day. not leslie

so your sister just left on a bus. now you're by yourself does that scare you? >> yes, because i don't know where they're taking her i don't know who the people are. >> reporter: the aguilar sisters are only two of the estimated 400,000 to 500,000 migratory and seasonal child laborers in the united states. agriculture is big business in arizona bringing in roughly $23 billion a year for these essential workers, it's barely enough to pay the bills. they work eight hours a day five days a week in the field to support their family >> reporter: the work is grueling and each of them earn about 500 a week >> we put it together and say this is for the rent, the food, the gas, the light, and the water. every migratory student earns a high school diploma or ged >> reporter: laura alvarez is the director of the migrant

education program. >> what's your name? >> reporter: working to get migratory children out of the fields and into the classroom. like many here at this elementary school in yuma. many people across the country don't realize that there are so many children in this position american citizens that need this type of help >> in arizona alone, we have over 10,000 students that we provide instructional support services for >> reporter: without this program, what would happen to these children >> that's a thought i don't want to think about >> eric and luis both worked these fields throughout high school >> i used to wake up at 2:00 a.m. to work here the weekends and it was very, very cold >> reporter: but now with help from the migrant education program, they are both about to graduate with a bachelors degree what message do you have for other young adolescents who might be going through the same situation? >> try their best. just go forward.

>> reporter: for the aguilar sisters and the situation they're trying to leave behind by graduating with the help of the migrant education program. do you want this work for your children >> no. i don't want this for my children i want them to study and be somebody in life >> reporter: so every sunday on their one day off when they cross the border into mexico to visit their parents, they carry their homework in that hope for a better life. and it is really incredible what these kids have to go through. and the pandemic has changed the routines for so many of them the aguilar sisters who you saw right there, they actually told us they got covid-19 and are now recovering guys >> my goodness wow. >> thank you, gabe for that eye opening report. >> we don't think about where our food comes and who are the people who pick it up. and bring it to us >> picture your own kid doing that at 15 years old doing that and going to school. >> gabe, thank you also a big thank you to nicole suarez as well for bringing us

that special report. all right. coming up next, guys, the wonderful bishop michael curry on keeping hope alive in trying times. and how he believes love can change the world change the world but first this is "todayon" rush to work, grab a drink, hurry home. - [cell phone beeps] - stop! don't be on your phone. let someone else take the wheel. make a little eye contact. make a plan. it's a busy world out there. we're all in it together. go safely, california.

put it in gear and take off., next thing you know, the phone is in your hand!

stop! we should be holding the wheel, not holding the phone. it's a busy world out there. and we're all in it together. go safely, california. bishop michael curry has been leading the faithful of the episcopal church for decades but he gained worldwide fame in may passionate sermon on of 2018 when he delivered a passionate sermon on the power of love at the wedding of prince harry and meghan markle. today he is spreading that message wider. his new book is called "love is the way. simply put, he is one of our all-time favorite guests bishop curry, look what we have on the set >> oh, you got it. >> hey this is definitely a read after the show and commercial break read we need you in this moment so it's good to see you >> good to be with you.

>> you look at what's happening in this moment and you can't list all the things that are going wrong. we talked about the pandemic, the fires, the hurricane the racial injustice the economic hardship. and you say the answer is clear. and the answer is love and that sounds good, but how do you make that happen how do you make love turn into change >> well, first of all, you may have to redefine love. the love i'm talking about is not so much a sentiment as a commitment a commitment to a way of life that is unselfish that really does seek the good and well willing of others. as well as yourself. somebody asked me how does this apply in the corporate world i said it applies very easily. is the decision about me or we love is about living for we. love is about working to change things that are harmful and hurtful in our world to do your part and your share to actually make a positive difference in life and the truth is if we all would

do that. if we would do that, then migratory children would have the education they need and we wouldn't have child labor in our country. then no child would go to bed hungry you see what i mean? if we would collectively -- it's a collective revival around the country to revive from just about me to about we and when you face we, that includes me. everybody gets blessed >> i like that now, you know what i don't know if you said this or someone else did, but i think you did. i think you said it's hard to hate up close. >> yes. >> and i think there's something about that but the weird thing is people aren't getting up close with people who disagree with them. they're polar opposites. >> yes >> so how do you even -- how do you bridge that gap? >> it's a decision you have to decide -- i really do think we have to have a revival of relationships in this country where people who are

committed to a way -- living a life based on and grounded in love, make the decision. i'm going to work to be in relationship with people i disagree with. actually, make that decision find somebody you disagree with. and sit down and get to know that person as a human being as a fellow child of god and not to change their mind, not that you'll necessarily agree. but that you'll find a way to learn to live together with mutual respect, admiration, and potentially even love for each other. as brothers, sisters, siblings >> we heard about that with justice scalia and ruth bader ginsburg they were opposites but they were friends >> exactly >> let me ask you this your book has something cool in it you talk about the power of community. love is an action that has changed the world for the better love is martin luther king and mahatma gandhi and josie robbins. who's josie robbins? >> she may be looking at this right now. josie robins, our sister and i,

she was in a coma for a long time had a massive was one of those folks in our community that turned around and supported us she has been in my life to this very day from the mid-1960s to this day she's a model of love that i experienced in my life but not only that, josie robbins was principal of a school. this is back in the '60s and early '70s when girls got pregnant in school, they had to step out of school for a while to have the baby she was the principal of a public school that made it possible for girls to stay in school when they were having the baby to have prenatal care, to have everything that was necessary to give that baby a start in life so they could grow up to be all that god wanted them to be josie robins wered a advocate for women and women's issues long before it was fashionable she stood up for young people.

and made sure -- i can hear he now in the hallway telling students top popping gum you're a lady. act like a lady. she called us to our better selves you know what? she's a normal person. she's a normal person and did extraordinary things and affected the lives of many that's what love looks like. >> well, love does look like josie robbins. we know it's her birthday this week, so we want to wish her a happy birthday this week you let us in on that little secret well, i can't tell you it's always so great to see you. and we all were saying we kind of like your new hairdo. now, is this planned is this something we're going with >> my wife calls this the covid-19 frederick douglas look. >> the covid-19 frederick douglas look i like that. bishop curry, will you just leave us with some parting words? people are feeling hopeless in this moment. they want some optimism and some hope >> the truth is no matter how difficult it is, we can make it and we can make it together like

the old slaves used to say walk together, children, don't you get weary because there's a great camp meeting in the promised land. god bless you. >> preach. >> you get a round of applause from our studio. thank you, bishop curry. >> love you guys >> love you right back we'll speak to you a little later on hoda & jenna. you can learn more about this great book it's called "love is the way." today.com/shop coming up next, a very special my "today" plaza crowd we're going to celebrate teachers going above and beyond for their students but first this is "today" on whatever stereotype you're gonna try . . . . . . to put on me about having hiv isn't gonna fit. that's for sure. my name is zach and i'm on biktarvy. one-pill, once-a-day treatment . .ne s.

. . . pill, biktarvy fights hiv . . . . . . to help you get to and stay undetectable. that's when the amount of virus is so low it cannot be measured by a lab test. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a build-up of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding . . . . . . or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. if you're living with hiv . . . . . . keep loving who you are. and ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you.

it series "today's" education plaza. we've been going from east to west all across the country recognizing remarkable teachers who have gone above and beyond they've always gone above and y. >> they're going beyond but they've gone abover and yonder >> they're going to have a time with your grammar. >> i know, right >> this morning we've made our

way to copperfield elementary school in austin, texas. >> yes >> and a teacher who refused to let me digital divide stand in the way of her students' education. >> i am a dual language teacher for third grade in austin, texas. >> reporter: margaret olevarez has called cooperfield elementary home for 18 years it's a title 1 school nearly 85% of their students qualify for free or reduced lunch. when the pandemic closed campus this spring, many students struggled with access to online learning the need for help was incredible >> a lot of our kids don't have devices. even some teachers didn't have a device at home >> reporter: mrs. olevarez got to work. she spent the summer contacting corporations and ceos asking them to help a teacher out some said no even more said yes >> we had over 200 devices that were donated and we had over $31,000.

>> reporter: the list of donors was staggering. >> a lot of the companies were also hit hard with pandemic. so for them to say yes to want to help a total stranger was humbling >> reporter: today every single student at copperfield has a device in hand a priceless gift that's already paying off for the next generation. >> some of these are second graders. google docs. to see these little ones go through the chromebooks and laptops, amazing >> mrs. olevarez is joining us now with some of her students. good morning >> morning >> good morning. >> it is so great to see you guys it's so great to see you, mrs. olevarez i just want to ask you, like, first of all the idea that a lot of your kids didn't have digital stuff. and the way they were doing their homework is they were actually taking pictures on their phones of homework assignments, sending it to the parents. the kids would work it out they would take a photo of the

completed assignment, send it back to you. >> unbelievable. >> when the money started rolling in and the laptops started rolling in, how did that feel for you >> it was very humbling. like i mentioned, i sent an email to a few ceos. i did not think i'd get the response i did for them so say yes and see the faces on my students, their smiles when they were -- i told them they were going to have something to work on, it was just amazing >> and for a lot of the kids, this is the only route in. because a lot of these kids have no other way of learning give me an idea what it meant to the students >> it meant a lot. it meant no longer having to take a picture with a cell phone. a lot of their work when we closed down is they were trying to communicate with me via text. sending me pictures of their homework so it was really difficult

i saw the struggles. it was frustrating for them and for myself as well it was really hard for them to sit there and do it on paper take pictures. they worked extra hard also having to do their assignments >> mrs. olevarez, your students love you so much they've gotten up bright and early. i hope people have been looking at their faces they can't smiling they're the cutest isabella, you little cutie tell me -- she's got the sweetest smile isabella, what does mrs. olevarez mean to you and what does getting this gift of technology mean to you? >> it means a lot because she helps a lot to the school and it means a lot for school because sometimes we need help and she's the one that does it for us. so yeah. it means a lot >> well you mean a lot thank you so mrs. olevarez some of you might be on the devices right now. we're seeing them right now because of her and what she's done so take a good look. >> thank you, guys and thanks to the kids at

copperfield elementary and our nbc affiliate kxan they helped us out thank you. we love you. >> thank you >> we'll see you after your local news >> bye good morning. 8:56. i'm marcus washington. a tier change for the north bay county. health leaders saying soleano county is moving from the purple tier to the red tier today. businesses like malls, movie theaters and gyms can all open at reduced capacity. you can head to our website and see those reopening tiers for all bay area counties. and fall officially here but the cooler temperatures are causing concern for some businesses operating outside. some restaurants scrambling for heat lamps and propane heaters to stay open as they prepare for colder temps. happening now for you, the cooler weather is pushing that

smoke from the wildfires out of the bay area. at midday, kari is going to let us know how that is affecting our air quality. and today is national voter registration day. bay area cities are holding events to help people get registered before the november election. at midday we'll have some available options to make sure that your vote counts. plus, the young museum is reopening in san francisco. right now it's only open to members at limited capacity. a full reopening to the public is set for friday. and we'll have another local weather update for you coming up in an hour. i'm looking at your mri. your shoulder seems to be healing nicely. i'm sorry baby... i don't want you to play with that... (singing) twinkle, twinkle little star. how i wonder what you are... how are you doing? schedule a video visit with your doctor. kaiser permanente. thrive.

i've from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza, this is the third hour of "today." >> good morning and welcome to the third hour of "today." i am dylan here with sheinelle, al, and craig. it is tuesday, september 22nd. do you know what that means? >> fall. hey, now. in 30 nutes. >> it's officially the autumnal solstice. u 9:30 this morning. >> isn't it's the autumnal equinox? >> that's what i meant. i was so ready with my explainer. we were going to change the grhi