covid calamity india has now set a worldwide record for new cases as hospitals are overrun by new patients as the u.s. and others are rushing splice the deat suspected smuggling boat capsizes off the coast of san diego. after a weekend tw protests and demonstrations, today andrew brown jr. will be laid to rest

thank you for supplying spacex that was the message from mission control during a rare night landing. a rough turn in indycar racing in fort worth, texas takes out a half dozen racers. we have the highlights plus, as covid restrictions ease, is it time to plan that trip back to nature, complete with a few freebies found only in alaska? "early today" starts right now >> good monday morning i'm lindsey reiser. >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera we begin with india's worsening battle against covid-19. over the weekend, the nation of nearly 1.4 billion people reported a world record of 401,000 new cases in a day large parts of the country's health care system are in crisis as aid shipments from other countries continue to pour in. for the latest we turn to claudio live in rome claudio, good morning. >> frances

the covid crisis in india is reaching apocalyptic proportions. bringing the total number of indians who have now contracted the virus since the start of the pandemic to nearly 20 million. well, that means that hospital beds have run out for a while now. also morgues and crematoriums are at full capacity people are literally dying in the streets in their own homes, in their own cars, and they have to be cremated because the crematories are full on make makeshift biers in makeshift fields the medicines and oxygen are quickly running out, and that is why so many other countries like the u.s., the uk, germany and france and others are sending supplies like faced tests, oxygen, ventilators thisproblem. the long-term solution here of course is the vaccination campaign here is where the contradiction is india is the biggest producer

and distributor of vaccines in the world, and yet it doesn't seem to find enough for its own people, frances. >> that is so tough to hear given those dire circumstances claudio, thank you back here at home, more than 104 million americans are now fully vaccinated against covid according to the cdc, and people are eager to get out more than 50,000 spectators packed churchill downs to see medina spirit win the kentucky derby. that's the largest crowd at a sporting event since the pandemic began fenway park hosted a graduation doubleheader for emerson college. ceremonies were held for both the class of 2021 and for 2020 graduates who missed out on an in-person celebration last year. covid cases are dropping in more than two dozen states, including new jersey the governor there says a big announcement is coming this afternoon about easing restrictions and ramping up vaccinations meanwhile, infections are on the rise in puerto rico. over the last seven day, the

island's rate of new cases was about 25% higher than the rest of the u.s 55 of puerto rico's residents have gotten at least one dose, but officials fear people are disregarding restrictions too soon breaking this morning, four people have died and 25 are injured after a suspected human pieces after colliding with a reef authorities believe it was used during an illegal migration trip the city's lifeguard chief says it is one of the worst tragedies he has seen in his 26-year career our ali vitali is following the story for us >> reporter: a deadly day on the water. >> the lifeguard boat just left to go get some more victims. >> reporter: a suspected smuggling boat carrying 30 people capsized off the coast of san diego. here you can see people in the water. the wreckage surrounding them. debris slamming against the shore. officials saying -- >> once we arrived on scene, the

boat had been basically broken apart. there were people in the water drowning, getting sucked out in the rip current there, and there was people on shore, two jet skis, three rescue boats coming. we picked up about seven people this the water. >> reporter: early reports indicate the group had been riding in a type of fishing boat, often used by smugglers to bring people into the u.s. illegally from mexico. >> saw a bunch of like tons and tons of ambulances and fire trucks coming down here and we came down to check it out. it's looking pretty scary out here it's like the biggest search and rescue thing i've ever seen. pretty crazy. >> reporter: emergency crews rushed to the point loma area sunday morning >> our goal was to rescue everyone we can from the water. >> reporter: officials say they assigned almost 100 people to work the incident, from medics to a chaplain. a community praying for the survivors and those who were lost alli vitali, nbc news andrew brown jr. will be

laid to rest today amid growing calls for justice in his death >> say his name! >> andrew brown. >> protesters marched throughout the weekend, outraged over a judge's decision not to release police body camera footage to the public for now nearly two weeks ago, brown was killed unarmed as sheriff's deputies executed a search and arrest warrant the coin has revealed 20 seconds of body camera videot to the family a a public visitation was held yesterday ahead of today's funeral. reverend al sharpton will deliver the eulogy a federal judge has ordered police in columbus, ohio to stop using force against nonviolent protesters the judge said police ran amok during george floyd protests last summer. the decision decided with 26 plaintiffs who sued the city alleges officers used excessive force on protesters who pose no threat spacex has made history once

again. the first crew to complete a mission using the futuristic dragon capsule landed safely but they mad predawn arrival. nbc's kelly o'donnell has the details. >> reporter: a 3:00 a.m. plunge >> spacex copy, brace for splashdown. >> reporter: the u.s. space program's first nighttime ocean return in more than 50 years >> but we have visual confirmation of the crew resilience capsule. >> reporter: a successful homecoming near panama city, florida. >> liftoff. >> reporter: for a nasa mission led by a private company, elon musk's spacex. four astronauts, three americans and one from japan, completed six months in space at the international space station. >> on behalf of crew one and our families, we just want to say thank you. >> reporter: the crew feeling that return to, the

commander. he's really excited. >> feeling pretty good after six months in space. >> reporter: consider this america's last splashdown with the added danger of darkness was apollo 8 in 1968, a celebration of this new era. >> so ou is one day that everyone's a space person. >> reporter: their dream of commercial travel with a ticket to space kelly o'donnell, nbc news. a massive protest in the uk led to the english premier match postponing a game after fans stormed the field before the game fans brought signs and flares to the stadium, upset with the involvement of the glazer family in the european superleague proposal they own manchester united as well as the tampa bay buccaneers the team issued a statement saying it acknowledges the crowd's right to protest, but regret the disruption is a safety concern to fans, staff and police

five fishermen are safe this morning following a dramatic rescue at sea. this was the coast guard photo of their burning boat off of cape cod rescuers choppered in one by one, hoisting the men up to safety the cause of the fire is under investigation. making his debut at 35,000 feet in the air, a baby was born on a delta flight from salt lake city to honolulu and the birth coming as a complete shock to passengers and the mom. she didn't even know she was pregnant she went into labor mid flight, and luckily, a doctor and two nicu nurses were on board to help deliver the baby boy safely at just 29 weeks, they were able to keep baby raven stable for three hours until the plane landed passengers applauded the mom as she was wheeled off the plane. even with the mask, you could see the huge smile, smiling with her eyes right there a surprise mom. >> what a way to come into this world. glad they're both safe. >> she used that middle safe there. both seats are blocked off all right. severe weather sweeping across

the south. multiple dangerous tornadoes have been reported across mississippi. the mayor of calhoun city says about a third of the town has lost power and first responders are rescuing people who are trapped in their homes there are many signs of widespread damage. no reports yet of any injuries let's get a check and see what's in store for this monday. hi, janessa. good morning >> hi, good morning, ladies. good morning, everyone as lindsey said, we are watching that severe weather event continues to make its way across mississippi. about 100,000 people were under atornado watch about two hours ago. that has been lifted but we're still watching that severe storm making its way across northern mississippi. but we also have another line of storms from the high planes toa currently happening. severe weather will continue throughout the afternoon and this just in from the national weather service they have issued an enhanced

risk for the upper tennessee valley two sections of the midwest this afternoon now 40 million people going to be impacted by severe weather. and that lingers all the way into tuesday afternoone in the central texas into the deep south. busy severe weather week we'll talk more about that coming up, ladies. >> we are encroaching on that season all right. thank you, janessa we'll check in with you in a bit. a scary sight before the green flag at the indycar race in texas seven cars got caught up in the back of the field. in front of the starting line with tires and debris lining the track. conner daily's car flipped upside down and skidded down the track before finally flipping over on the grass.

he said after the race being all right and being upside down isn't fun. >> my goodness when you see those crashes, it's a miracle. up next, the terrifying moments after shots range out at a wisconsin casino and justice at long last for a man who spent over two dadeces behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. with cascade pla. and save water. did you know certified dishwashers... ...use less than four gallons per cycle, while a running sink uses that, every two minutes. so, do it with cascade. the surprising way to save water. i'm 53, but in my mind i'm still 35. that's why i take oste bi-flex to keep me moving the way i was made to, it nourishes and strengthens my joints for the long term. osteo bi-flex, plus vitamin d for immune support. ♪ yeah! yeah! yeah! ♪ osteo bi-flex, plus vitamin d real fruit whole grains and chocolatey chunks. doing something good for yourself... has never been this delicious. kellogg's special k.

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pardoned 58-year-old darryl anthony howard howard was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to 80 years in prison for a double murdeat took place in 1991. in 2014, a judge threw out howard's sentence after his lawyers uncovered new evidence, but he remained in prison until august 2016 when he was freed by that same judge, by the way when dna evidence exonerated him. howard is now eligible to apply for compensation of up to $750,000 black gun ownership is on the rise, but the number of blacks who own gun stores remains low. according to the national shooting sports foundation, there are at least 6,000 gun stores in e states, but the national african american gun association says fewer than ten are black-owned. since march of last year, the fbi has conducted over 46 million background checks for gun purchases. the national shooting sports foundation found that 40% of the gun sales were to first-time

buyer, adding that gun purchases from black americans increased last year, 56% more than any other race in case you missed it this weeken academy award-winning actress olympia dukakis died on saturday after months of failing health she starred in "steel magnolia's, look who is talking, mighty afphroditeaphrodite, moo, and a ton of stage and tv roles. she is perhaps best known for playing cher's world weary mother in "moonstruck" winning her best act supporting actress. if you haven't seen that film, she is such a joy to wr tch list a firsthand look at alaska's campaign to make and our shot of the day. the cte-rfpiurpeect scoop in the stands at a phillies game.

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all right, map, i'm impressed. >> no one is getting between this guy and his ice cream today's shot of the day, taking a sunday night at the ballpark to a new level this phillies fan keeps it cool. that foul ball lined right to

him. but he got it in one hand without spilling the ice cream in his other hand. >> super smooth. that's the way to do it. burning question, what flavor. >> right >> if it's rum raisin, i'll drop the ice cream. >> mint chip breaking a finger. all right. now to alaska where there is a big push to bring back tourists and their dollars, going so far to even offer vaccines t visitors a the airport nbc's kevin tibbles reports from toad yak records they call alaska the last frontier. its bounty is its beauty and like the sea lions basking here on kodiak island, they're hoping tourists start returning too. alaskan tourism was slammed by the pandemic, including marty owens' charter tour business how many tours would you take out in any given summer? >> oh, 600 or 700. >> reporter: last summer that number dropped to just 12. to entice new visitors, alaska's

offering to vaccinate tourists for free and is launching a national ad campaign >> the idea is if we have excess vaccines, why non without the big cruise ships stopping here this summer, alaska buzzes with hope the covid hibernation is passing, especially now so many here are vaccinated themselves >> i'm a serial optimist and so i'm going to keep saying that we're going dom back and we're going to come back strong. >> reporter: lee robins sees bookings on the rise at his b&b. he is often offering free use of car if you come. >> i'm just getting flooded with inquiries to come here now because the rest of the world isn't as safe as this place. >> reporter: at the museum hope too. some 7,000 years worth of rich native alaskan history and artwork is there to discover and purchase >> tourism dollars are vital because they create a marketplace for those artists to

be able to sell their work. >> reporter: and while the economy still relies heavily on fishing, many small businesses count on visitors. the 200-year-old russian orthodox church still awaits prims from around the world. and the kodiak brewing company is ready for locals and visitors to kick back over a craft beer even the little fo tckodru that could survived the winter and is geared up for summer and it still smells fresh. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. we love our new home. there's so much space. we have a guestroom now. but we have aunts. you're slouching again, ted. expired. expired. expired. thanks, aunt bonnie. it's a lot of house. i hope you can keep it clean. at least geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy. which helps us save a lot of money.

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celebrate all the moms in your life with sparkling gifts and we are back with a story about defying the odds a high school senior overcame a major personal challenge to make his college dream come true. here is nbc's kate snow. >> the mail came. >> reporter: it was one of those hold your breath moments caught on camera. >> i'm actually genuinely nervous. >> reporter: for kevin meger of lexington, south carolina. >> are you kidding me? are yo

>> we're going to place, about the university of tennessee that gets you really excited? >> the fact that it's where i always wanted to go to college and the fact that they gave me a chance >> reporter: a chance kevin's parents thought me might never have that's because he was born with a rare condition kevin is missing the vital nerve finers that connect both hemispheres of the brain, the superhighway that helps them work together, commuting vital information. >> what did the doctors tell you? >> they just said he would never function in life well would have to take care of him the rest of his life. >> reporter: but they held on to hope they put him in physical and speech 30, even moved the family

to find the bestd when he was 1 >> why don't you tell the peoplw the potential in kevin and his classmates and made learning fun. >> i would tell kevin and the other students positive things and that they're accepted here because of that, they no longer have that fear of failure. >> reporter: kevin set high goals. he was clear he wanted to go on to college and get a job >> this will be the next chapter in his life. the next step in his life to become an independent young man. >> reporter: and kevin knows exactly what field he wants to focus on what are you interested in >> meteorology, storm chasing, stuff like that. >> reporter: weathering almost impossible odds. >> you're admitted to the university of tennessee. welcome to the bighorn family! >> reporter: amy, what are those tears? >> it just make miss heart feel so good. we're so proud of him. just talking about it makes it -- we're very, very happy for him. >> kevin will be at a special program at tennessee designed

for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities he will be living on campus in a dorm just like all the other freshmen lindsey? >> kate, thank you so much i'm almost a little speechless here. >> he blasted through all those expectations and that support from his parents and that teacher, kudos to all o

there are people in the water drowning getting sucked out in the rip current there, and there is people onshore, parts of cpr in progress down below with multiple people injured. >> breaking details overnight. a fourth victim has died and 25 more are injured after a suspected smuggling boat overturns. to india, where supplies are pouring in as the nation of almost 1.4 billion faces