the battle to beat the p pan pandemic america marks a major milestone in the vaccination effort amid a new cdc warning against the new deadly strain gaining a foothold president biden touts his $2 trillion plan as he sets his sights on gun control today. nearly double the speed limit. the cause of the crash that injured tying kber wood. >> just call him the love shaq

"early today" starts right now. >> i'm kendis gibson. >> i'm phillip mena. the cdc says one in four adults in the united states is now fully vaccinated and nearly 110 million people have received at least one dose. still, cases and hospitalizations are on the rise nbc's tom costello kicks off our coverage. >> reporter: the cdc says it has teams on the ground in michigan where covid cases have exploded. suddenly up 104% over the last two weeks. with those in their 30s and 40s now filling icus like raphael gonzales's 24-year-old brother on a ventilator. >> we don't know why he's not getting better he's fighting for his life. >> the cdc encouraging affected communities to act fast. >> in areas of substantial or high transmission cdc guidance

suggests refraining from youth sports not outside and can't be conducted 6 feet apart. >> reporter: critical since the u.k. variant is now the dominant strain in the u.s. are more dangerous and more easily transmittable. >> two weeks ago they went up from i believe we had about 8 people here, single digits, now two weeks later we're at 50. >> reporter: meanwhile, european regulators have identified a possible link between the astrazeneca vaccine and unusual cases of blood clots there 18 people are believed to have died while not approved in the u.s., u.k. authorities insist the vaccine benefits far outweigh the risks. back here in the u.s. with 3 million vaccinations a day the white house believes the country is well on its way towards a more normal fourth of july. >> the real question is how much death, disease, misery are we going to see between now and then. >> also, if you've been

vaccinated, new data suggests you're likely protected for 209 days dr. fauci says at some point booster shots should extend that protection even more phillip. >> encouraging, tom. thanks. as tom mentioned the astrazeneca vaccine is phasing another setback. europe's top regulator is admitting the blood clots, unusual as they may be, should be listed as a possible but rare side affect. matt bradley is joiningus. good morning a lot of cautionary notes regarding this vaccine what were they and what potential impact will they have in. >> it's been bungled in the european union this will heap more problems and attention on to a highly poe city lit sized system.

here in the u.k. they're recommending the astrazeneca vaccine can go to those over 30 and it can go to those under 30 if no other vaccine is available. it's about weighing the risk it's more about the impact of the disease. if you are vaccinated, it's a cost-benefit analysis. if you're vaccinated over 30 with astrazeneca, the risk of you having a problem compared to being hospitalized from the disease is so much more worth it than if you are under 30 here in europe there are people who are -- germany in particular, countries looking to russia and other countries to import that vaccine. this scandal comes on the back of astrazeneca not fulfilling the promises to provide enough vaccines that's why the european union

has been so much slower. >> people in the eu are hesitant to take the vaccine. this news does not help. thank you. president biden wants to reconstruct the idea of infrastructure the president talked about clean water program, upgrading the electrical grid while touting his $2 billion program he fired back the critics of the corporate tax break. >> my republican friends say -- many of them say it's too big. they say why not focus on traditional infrastructure fix what we've already got, the roads, highways that exist, the bridges. we are america we don't just fix for today, we build for tomorrow this k-sharpped recovery where's the outrage there where

billionaires made more i'm not trying to punish anybody, but dam mitt, i'm sick and tired of ordinary people being feesed. >> today the president will shift his focus to gun control for the latest, let's get to nbc's tracie potts >> reporter: hey, phillip. good morning the president is expected to build today on what the white house announced last night, six executive actions targeting guns, specifically having them look at a scope gun and stabilizing braces that can turn pistols into rifles. he'll also ask the justice department to resume firearms tracking that they haven't done in 50 years and draft laws for red flag laws to go to a judge and withhold weapons from people

who are in crisis. those actions would also direct five federal agencies and more than 2 dozen programs to provide more funding for community violence intervention. the president wants to name a new permanent head to the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms david chip man that agency has not had a lot of stability, only a permanent chief or two in the last 15 years. while they are emphasizing these are actions the president will take on his own, he is urging congress to act to create some laws to do some of the heavy lifting here to make sure some of these pieces are there. it's clear president biden is trying to put his stamp on things thanks let's get to the trial of derek chauvin. the defense is hitting back. zeroing in on george floyd's alleged drug use the attorney, erik nelson, had

his toughest questioning yet on an expert witness. our jay gray has the major developments from minneapolis. >> reporter: a week and a half in, there are two clear elements both at the center of testimony. >> is that right >> yes >> reporter: a los angeles police officer telling the jury derek chauvin violated police policy and abused his power the day george floyd died. >> my opinion was that no force should have been used once he was in that position. >> thank you for being here. >> reporter: the defense arguing conditions on the ground, including a gathering hostile crowd and the demeanor of the suspect ultimately give an officer the ability to determine how much force is necessary. >> it may be caught on video and it looks bad. >> yes. >> but it's still lawful >> yes, based on that didn't's policies or based on that state's law.

>> reporter: a corner stone of chauvin's defense is that heart disease and drug use led to floyd's death. using audio, chauvin's attorney says he acknowledges using drugs. >> did you hear that >> yes >> did it appear mr. floyd said i ate too many drugs >> yes. >> after a break and after the agent has a chance to listen again -- >> having heard it in context are you able to tell what mr. floyd is saying there. >> i believe he said i ain't do no drugs. >> a little different than what you were asked about when you saw a portion of it? >> yes, sir. >> prosecutors saying it was another phrase he used i can't breathe that defines how he died jay gray, nbc news, minneapolis.

>> more than 20,000 people are set to regain their voting rights in washington state governor jay inslee has signed a bill that restore the right to vote for people released from prison even if they're still on pa parole we have sad news this morning about jack hannah. the wildlife expert is retiring from public life at the age of 74 he has been diagnosed with dementia and doctors believe he has alzheimer's. hanna has been a long-time fixture on shows like letter man, johnny carson >> many of us learned about animals. >> and being creeped out. >> janessa webb is joining us this morning taking a look at some severe weather out there. janessa, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, guys. good morning, everyone

the severe weather is trying to die out over the upper tennessee valley starting to watch louisiana across i 10 into baton rouge making its way into new orleans. you can see severe warnings that go into place before this drops back down into the gulf of mexico today we do have a marginal risk of these storms invading the great lakes, midwest all the way into the southeast isolated strong gusts ars will out across the mississippi valley this afternoon. 62 across the dakotas. in the 50s in the midwest. cooler air starting to invade the midwest we'll talk about that coming up.

>> thanks. cool story here. one guy had a very lucky day at a jewelry store in atlanta nba great shaquille o'neal walked in and paid for that stranger's engagement ring in full shaq was seen handing his card to the clerk on a post game show on tnt shaq said he didn't do it for the notoriety, he just wants to make people smile he hear these stories over and over and over about shaq. >> the girl, does it count if your man didn't pay for it >> of course it counts. >> all right coming up, best buy's big plan to take on amazon. >> all right investigators also they're shedding new light on what caused the crash that seriously injured golf legend tiger woods.

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announcing new details on tiger woods crash saying he was driving twice the speed limit when he lost control of his suv. nbc's miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: it was excessive speed that nearly killed tiger wo woods. he was traveling between 84 to 87 miles per hour nearly double the speed in this area he lost control at 75 miles per hour woods struck a tree sending his suv airborne he never hit the brakes. >> it is speculated he inadvertently hit the exa accelerator and not the brakes. >> they retrieved 7 seconds of critical data including speed, steering, acceleration and braking. what they don't know, was woods

distracted wouldn't it seem logical to see if he was distracted >> it's not going to schang anything the cause of the collision is the speed and the inability to maintain the roadway. >> reporter: with woods injured, he showed no signs of impairment giving officers no probable cause to draw his blood following two prior incidents behind the wheel, one involving impairment, investigators reviewed video of woods leaving his hotel, stopping at stop signs and a street light later they say he accelerated across a center divide his airbags deploying after first hitting the sidewalk, then again after plowing through a tree do you think you asked enough questions and got enough answers of tiger woods >> absolutely. >> reporter: woods says he's grateful we now know speed nearly killed him but unknown why he was traveling so fast and if he'll ever play golf again

investigators say tiger woods did not receive special treatment and they say he'll face no criminal charges in part because no one else was involved in this accident kendis >> thanks to miguel almaguer thank you. still to come, primed to unionize it could reshape the future of amazon. >> customize your kickwis th wriks. adidas teams up with mega. with a fresh face for a fresh start. for a limited time get a 5th cartridge free. frank is a fan of fast. fast walking. fast talking. talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. fast lunching. thanks, gary. and for unexpected heartburn... frank is a fan of maximum strength pepcid. pepcid works in minutes. nexium 24 hour and prilosec otc can take one to four days to fully work. so frank can get back to fast mowing...

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in today's quick hits, saks fifth avenue announcing it will stop selling products made with animal fur by the end of next year it will close all of the fur salons this year. amanda gorman continues to make history she is ee certainly grateful to grace the cover and she doesn't expect to be the last poet to do so. >> as vaccinations are opening up worldwide, the friends at the "today" show got their first dose they all got their shots on the plaza yesterday morning. >> some screaming fans will soon replace them there >> one of these days it's been a while. best buy is toying with a new program that would offer exclusive perks. amazon is facing a union

steve sedgwick has the story. >> reporter: good morning to you phillip and kendis very interesting big union drive over at the amazon facility in alabama we're going get a public counting of the tally today. it is important. it could be the first giant u.s. warehouse that amazon has union representation very interesting there elsewhere, best buy, they're trialing something trialing it in pennsylvania, oklahoma and iowa. $199 per year best buy membership you get free perks if you like nike and mega, can you put them together? they're doing that not cheap, 200 bucks per sneaker -- per pair. that would be 400 bucks aren't they they're putting lego pieces in it

i don't know who the market is for this could be teenagers, i'm not sure i'll get it? i'll stick with my vans. >> thanks, steve >> janessa is tracking cooler temperatures on the horizon. plus, the unintended fallout moving the all-star game from at lan to tide pods child-guard packaging. people were afraid i was contagious. i felt gross. it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. four years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur.

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all right. in atlanta the mlb's decision to move the all-star game in protest of georgia's new voting law has many small businesses and business owners facing a new hit. nbc's blayne alexander joins us with more on that. blayne, good morning >> reporter: kendis, good morning to you we've been reporting this story for weeks now and we have heard from a lot of different sides. we've heard from lawmakers, we've heard from big businesses but today we're talking to small business owners, the people who are going to feel the impact by this move. after months of seeing his sales stunted by the pandemic, shawn

cooper thought all-star weekend was his chance to make up ground. >> just in this weekend, over 20,000. >> 20,000? that's more than double. >> way more than double. >> his restaurants sits in the shadow of the home of the braves and until last week home of this year's all-star game now he's facing financial loss with mlb moving the game out of georgia taking a stand over the state's new voting law and taking tens of millions of dollars in tourist revenue. >> i understandwhy they're doing it but it's still frustratingas far as the small business owner, it's kind of hard to try to maintain and bring customers in because of the pandemic. >> reporter: the game is now headed west to denver and critics point out to a city with a very different demographic black people comprise more than half of atlanta's population in denver it's less than 10%. >> it's the unintended consequence of taking a stabbed.

it draws more eyes, but the tradeoff and what gets lost in the shuffle are businesses who are desperate for more revenue. >> reporter: the pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on black businesses for many, this is another crushing blow. >> it's unfortunate to know that those who may be hurt by the legislation would also continue to be hurt by us not supporting our economy here. >> reporter: brian maluk is worried about the lasting impact >> it's a trickle down effect. we're trying to get back to a normal sense of business here. >> reporter: and, kendis, there is also some news about the state representative who you remember was arrested a few weeks ago as she was knocking on the door to the governor's door as she signed that bill into law. the fulton county district attorney announced she is not pursuing charges and that she's going to be closing the case kendis >> our thanks to blayne alexander there. the backlash, it's part of the

reason why many like stacey abrams did not support this. >> it's not new. the nba did it ford bathroom bill out of charlotte. it ended up in a repeal of the bill >> thanks for starting your day with us. >> i'mndis gibson.

right now at 4:30, a major change for booking the vaccines in the south bay. as of this morning, we will find out how much the manufacturing mistake will cost california from getting those coveted johnson & johnson vaccines. >> when i see that solano is kind of trailing behind a little bit, it does, it does affect people, and it is and it is a little bit nerve-racking to see that we are not moving as quickly as other people. >> and the reason behind restrictions is that younger people may be to blame for