a vaccine shortage in all 50 states grows as january becomes the deadliest month yet in the pandemic, and president biden's new task force weighs in for the first time. the climate change challenge issued by the biden administration to create jobs and clean up the environment. will the games be over at game stop as the stocks drop overnight. nbc and telemundo team up on why so many communities of color are having trouble trusting the

new vaccine. and the day after a deadly tornado, smoky the dog is pulled from the rubble. it's thursday, january 28. "early today" starts right now. good morning i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. january 2021 has been the deadliest month so far in this pandemic more than 430,000 american lives have been lost to this virus and the task force warns it could reach half a million next month. the hurdle is to get everyone vaccinated as quickly as possible before the new strains are able to spread any further nbc's jay gray is tracking the progress. >> reporter: long lines across the country and a lingering question. >> where are all these vaccine doses? i think every american citizen deserves the right tknow where all the doses are. >> reporter: in an effort to get more shots into arms, the biden administration is promising to up distribution. 10 million doses every week to

every state for the next 21 days, an increase of 16% drugmakers are stepping up production, and an additional one from johnson & johnson can be authorized in just weeks. >> we're taking action on increased supply and increased capacity, but even so, it will be months before everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get one. >> reporter: doctors stressing everyone must remain vigilant, wearing hands, washing hands, and social distancing, especially if they identify new highly contagious strains of the virus. >> the variants have been identified recently. they're spread more easily, more transmittable, which can lead to increased numbers of cases and increase the already taxed health care system. >> reporter: infections seem to be hitting a restrictions. >> some people might interpret that as a sign that they can

resume life as normal, and that's absolutely not true. >> with the hospitals still few and the risks of the virus growing. jay gray, nbc news. as the case count rises, so does the number of children who contract the virus now doctors are seeing a rise in the illness that sometimes follows a covid infection. nbc sarah dallof reports. >> reporter: children getting sick after being exposed >> we're seeing more cases now than we have at any point in the pandemic. >> reporter: what was first called a mystery illness is now called mis-c which can cause veer organ damage. it's killed dozens of children and is now in 47 states with cases spiking. the next few weeks could be the worst yet. >> we are pretty concerned we don't know what the long-term consequences of this is going to be. >> reporter: emily ricks was a

healthy 6-year-old and didn't know she had covid after developing severe abdominal pain, she ended up in the icu and her heart rate was plummeting. >> it was really scary the first night when they were trying to figure out what was wrong with her. >> reporter: emily responded to treatment, but they don't know if she'll have lasting damage. >> you don't know what child is going to have that problem. >> reporter: covid vaccine trials in children 12 to 15 are currently under way. astrazeneca has plans for trials in the uk with children 5 and up parents should look for symptoms like a rash, gastrointestinal problems, and a high fever, but they need to get help before the damage is too severe. president biden is taking action to help americans get care today amid the raging plano sign another set of executiv to care, specifically by reopening

federal marketplaces and making it easier to join medicaid in his first eight days on the job, the president has signed over 40 executive actions, and more are expected soon on immigration. but sources tell nbc news the white house will have to hold off for a few days includes the announcement for a task force under the trump administration. breaking news. a stark warning in the wake of the deadly capitol riot. the department of homeland security entered its first action suggesting they may be emboldened to target elected officials and government facilities tracie potts joins us. this is a rare move for the dhs. >> reporter: yeah, frances, it's rare it's the first bulletin we've seen from the agency this year since they warned of cyber attacks by iran and the first ever in ten years warn of domestic extremism

this comes after the riot at the capitol. this will remain in effect until the end of april, telling law enforcement that their priority should be protecting government buildings. they're warning that violent extremists may be emboldened by the siege at the capitol added to that, racial and ethnic tension and covid conspiracies all leading to potential violence it cites grievances fueled by false narratives, an apparent nod to qanon conspiracies. there were qanon members at the capitol who stormed the capitol. so for now security remains tight in washington with thousands of national guard troops still surrounding the capitol until the end of the impeachment trial. frances? >> the troops becoming a fixture there at the capitol tracie, thanks. combatting the climate crisis is a cornerstone of president biden's economic plan.

he signed executive orders that he says will help create new jobs nbc's anne thompson has a look at that plan. >> reporter: after the hottest day on record the biden administration taking action on climate change, selling it as an economic program. >> when i think of climate change, i think of jobs. >> reporter: he's considering making climate change a national priority, con serve 367% of all land and water by 230 and having the federal government buy zero emission vehicles. >> this will mean 1 million new jobs in the american automobile industry. >> reporter: colorado state's melissa berks studies the arctic. >> is there any time to waste on acting on climate change >> no. we need to act now we've seen the wildfires here in colorado as well as california we've seen extreme drought and excessive heat in the southwest. >> reporter: the most controversial order, pausing

universal gas leases on federal gas and water. in new mexico some fear it will cost jobs as most is on federal land. >> it will shift investment of future dollars to private land in texas or it will -- the production of that oil will move overseas. >> reporter: trying to keep today's workers working while creating tomorrow's jobs anne thompson, nbc news. a hollywood star dimmed after the passing of this film and tv legend. >> i am frau blucher >> one of her classic roles. cloris leachman starred in ""the mary tyler moore show"" and also "phyllis" in the 1970s "youngs was

insanely talent. she could make you laugh our cry at the drop of a hat cloris leachman was 94 years old. >> cloris leachman, oh, yeah, she was in that, in that so prevalent what a career. the sierra nevada has extreme snow and rain. here to tell us more on that is janessa webb good morning. >> good morning. there's dual sides with the heavy snow, but the flood threat is really extreme this morning into your afternoon. could see up to eight inches locally in some areas, and we do have evacuation orders for central california throughout the morning. so you can see flood watches and flood warnings they're still in place even for southern california. and then the higher elevation. blizzard warning are still in place for the sierra nevada where ten feet of snow is still

expected throughout thursday friday afternoon it's associated with this front that will linger across the plains all the way into the southwest as the upper midwest. pretty warm across dallas all the way into florida look at that 07 70 in miami this is just the beginning of the cold weather i'll show you more coming up. >> we've got to get ready. they're calling it a paradigm shift in technology three months after the first passenger test, jirn hyperloop is showcasing the passenger experience this includes terminals and pod riders it plans on starting commercial rides on the hyperloop by 2030. >> it does look cool.

coming up, the rules of reddit online investors take on wall street in a war over game stop stock. and threading the needle for the covid vaccine and communities of color from getting damaged in the wash. nah! that's why i use new downy defy. it helps stop stretching, fading, and fuzzing. that's what's up! we have an assistant locker room manager? help protect your clothes with new downy defy damage. ♪♪ would you like to try a breakfast sausage made with plants? plants it's delicious and i'm a kid so if i like it... mmmm. morning star farms, america's favorites made from plants. and try incogmeato. liz, you nerd, cough if you're in here! shh! i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. made from plants.

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coats and kills bacteria to relieve diarrhea. see, pepto® diarrhea gets to the source, killing the bad bacteria. so, make sure to have pepto® diarrhea on hand. we're back now with the troubled vaccine rollout and the difficulty officials are having building trust among communities of color we have the latest in our nbc telemundo collaboration. >> reporter: as an essential worker serving customers at a mexican baker in chicago, she should soon be eligible for the covid vaccine, but she has some side effects. >> what have you heard from your friends and family, are they willing to take it >> no, they're not willing to take it. >> 26% say they would take it as

compared to 46% of whites. this man's church who's 80% hispanic is meeting people where they are. >> reporter: this is a food bank, but you're passing out the flyers >> yeah, about the vaccine and covid testing. >> where is the fear >> part of the fear is being picked up. >> if you don't have papers. >> because we have a lot of immigrants in our community. >> you're ready for the vaccine. >> reporter: while many are convinced, many are skeptical. >> you're not going to take it >> they said a lot of things about the vaccine and you don't really feel safe so you've seen a lot of things on youtube and the internet that have given you doubts. [ speaking foreign language >> there's no way anyone can convince you to take it. but lack of trust isn't the only

problem. out of 16 states, reporting data by race show almost all of the latinos are die big the virus than those receiving the vaccine. >> reporter: that's right. here in florida, the cases of those is 20% that's why they're trying to sound the alarm to reverse the dangerous trend. earlier this month florida announced it was getting more vaccines into communities of colors but this doctor says it's not happening fast enough. >> i get emails every day. >> reporter: for five months, he's been leading a statewide program through his hospital. >> what would you say are the main problems when it comes to vaccinating the latino community. >> lack of supply is one of the main problems and lack of a federal or statewide plan. >> reporter: hispanics make up 26% of the population in florida, but of the nearly 1 million vaccines administered,

less than 125 thousand have gone to hispanics they're trying to send more mobile clinics into hispanic communities. this man is having heart surgery next month he and his wife have been trying to make appointments for weeks. >> you're trying everything. >> yeah. >> phone calls, going physically to the parkis to see if you can get the vaccine. >> yeah. >> has it been frustrating >> of course because we want to get it because we want to be safe. >> reporter: they hope to get the vaccine later this week. and when we return, apple sets a record for the smartphone era. and is it game over for game stop cnbc's steve sedgwick will have the latest in battle raging between wall street giants and armchair investors ep aids,

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latest is cnbc's steve sedgwick. steve, good morning. >> good morning. these markets are not for the feint-hearted in the best of times, we all know that right now. we've got extraordinary action some smaller stocks like game stop and amc are roller coasters be so careful. what you've got are stay-at-home traders taking on the hedge funders. game stop, 400% this week alone pushing january gains to 1700% be careful out there if you get involved in the stocks amc fell 33% in overnight trading. elsewhere, one thing you can be sure of is apple they just had their best quarter ever extraordinary. iphone sales accounting for a large part 17% increase year on year. 17%. just shy of $66 billion. it was the first quarter ever the company had over $100

billion in sales so mega figuring out one slight disappointment, they wouldn't give any guidance i guess that's where we don't know where we're going with covid and society. back to you. >> instant billionaires and a lot of bag holders these days. thanks, steve. coming up, we'll tell you why you may want to add extra layers when you go out this morning. a heartwarming story and the rescue of a trapped dog and the aftermath of returning him it's delicious and i'm a kid so if i like it... mmmm. morning star farms, america's favorites made from plants. and try incogmeato. with mucinex all-in-one you've got unbeatable relief from your worst cold and flu symptoms. made from plants. so when you need to show your cold who's boss, grab mucinex all-in-one... and get back to your rhythm. feel the power. beat the symptoms fast.

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an alabama family is rejoicing this morning they reunited with their dog who disappeared after the tornado. he was pulled from the wreckage. they're proud smoky is okay. now they can concentrate on rebuilding. janessa is back with us tracking an arctic blast janessa, hello again. >> hey, good morning you know, typically we see this kind of cold going into february february is known as the coldest month of winter, so this is just a few days early as this blast of arctic air is going to seep in this afternoog hours. it's the winds that are going to start to whip up from detroit all the way to pittsburgh. the feel-like temperature in the teens, and that's only the beginning. by tomorrow morning, northern new england, negative digits,

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as covid-19 deaths continue to skyrocket in texas. one woman who lost her mother is honoring all victims >> reporter: behind each of these pore tralts there's a story about either a friend, family member, or co-worker. for rosie davis, it's her mom. >> she was the most loving and caring nurse she had so many patients that adored her. >> reporter: rosie's mother, mary castro, was a retired nurse. the 75-year-oln a nursing home

she spent five days in the hospital and died on may 17th from covid-19. >> mother's day would be the last day i would see my mom rosie looked for a way to mend her broken heart she found support from a 16-year-old. >> my mom had gone on ipad and i started drawing. >> reporter: the new jersey teen runs a page called faces of covid-19 she draws loved ones who have past at rosie's request, she drew her mom. her first portrait was her grandfather, an artist, who died last year. >> my grandfather is not a number mary castro is not a number. >> reporter: she brought the artwork to life in north texas inside the irving archives museum you'll find the yellow heart memorial

there are 216 screen prints of hannah's portraits along with pieces of paper of those who passed from covid-19. >> every time i pass this wall, my heart breaks. >> reporter: a visual reminder that every statistic represents a human, a person, someone loved and cared for who they miss every day. >> our thanks for that report. we say it over and over, over 400,000 deaths every single one of them a person, a story. >> we can't travel, but that's a reminder for everybody. how about this for travel a pair of climbers climbed an 1,100 foot tall chimney. they got the idea to climb it in 2015 five years later here they are making it a reality.

it took two tries with 13 pinches. they did it in seven hours and 32 minutes when you first hear the story and you hear chimney, not a relg reg lar chimne.

right now at 4:30, another soggy start. a live look at our radar and the rain far from over that includes threat conditions for early morning commuters. >> the rain is causing a crews from the bay area still on scene helping afterd homes and people in monterey county. it's going to be a wait and see what the weather is like. >> proceeding with caution, more local restaurants get the green light to reopen today, but will all this wet weather get in their way? "tod