sandra, so homesick when away from this island she loved -- is now forever a part of it >> that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. it's monday july 19th. covid on the rise with all 50 states seeing an increase in new cases. plus the olympics starting on fr friday tennis star coco gauff tests positive a pulls out of the games. multiple people have been shot in a series of attacks in tucson, arizona including emts and firefighters new details about another shooting this one outside nationals park that sent fans scrambling in fear and ducking for cover in the dugout at least five texas state democrats have tested positive

for covid. all of them say they're fully vaccinated as they try to block republican-sponsored voter restrictions and after having gone missing for five days, rescuers were able to locate a famil and her with her owners. "early today" starts right now good monday morning. i'm phillip mena >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera we begin with breaking news. a deadly shooting in tucson, arizona that spans three crime scenes first police say a did notman opened fire on an ambulance near a park two emts were shot they're only 20 and 21 years old. and one of them is in extremely critical condition the suspect's next target was a house fire where first responders and neighbors were arriving to help >> one of the firefighters is in fact struck in the arm he is in good condition. and one of the neighbors is shot

in the head and he is deceased >> next the gunman rammed into an arriving police car the shootout with the officer left the spookt" suspect in critical condition police say one unknown victim also died in that house fire and there are children in the household unaccounted for. law enforcement are just starting to dive into what's expected to be a very complex investigation. the nation seems to be backtracking in its progress against covid-19 every state in this country is now seeing an uptick in cases, especially in areas with low vaccination rates. this has led some places like los angeles county to reimplement an indoor mask mandate for everyone regardless of their vaccination status. nbc's jennifer johnson has more. >> reporter: masks are back on in l.a. county officials say they had no choice as new kalss of covid-19 surge again. >> i would say it's not punishment it's prevention. we still have 4 million people out of 10 million that haven't

been vaccinated. >> reporter: federal health officials say 99% of people in the hospital with covid-19 now are unvaccinated as hospitalization rates surge across the country 70% increase in florida. a 150% increase over the last month in springfield, missouri fueled by the delta variant. >> we know what the solution is. it's vaccination people need to get it. it's readily available >> reporter: doctors are urging the reluctant to get vaccinated, concerned this fourth surge of covid-19 won't be the last and more places will be forced to put in prevention measures >> now, in areas where there are low numbers of vaccinated people or where cases are rising, it's very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures like the mask rules. >> reporter: meanwhile, the first cases of covid-19 are showing up at the tokyo olympic games. a handful of athletes including american tennis player coco gauff have tested positive and at least one international olympic committee member, less

than one week before the games begin. jennifer johnson, nbc news, washington now to the deadly rise in gun violence in america. the search is on for this car suspected to be involved in a shooting that sparked fear and chaos at a washington nationals game here's nbc's kelly o'donnell >> reporter: fans returned a game resumed but anxiety lingered in the aftermath of gun violence. >> it's a different feel at the ballpark today >> reporter: fear took the field saturday night at nationals park in washington when gunfire could be heard z >> please remain calm. >> reporter: confusion set in. and a race to find safety. players and fans scrambled >> it's a very bizarre scene at nationals park we have no idea where the panic began -- >> where the panic began was in right field. a whole bunch of fans in the concourse began running from center field to right field in the concourse. >> nobody knew what it was then a whole storm of people

started running. actually happened outside the ballpark officials say shots were exchanged between two cars three people were wounded, including a woman passerby grazed in the chaos. this incident is part of a national spike in gun violence friday, also in washington, a drive-by shooting left this 6-year-old girl, nayah courtney, dead her mother and four other adults wounded. >> nayah was starting the first grade this fall. and now that won't happen. >> reporter: cities report more gun violence new york gun incidents up 29% over last year atlanta homicides up more than 27%. philadelphia up 31%. with 299 murders president biden says the federal government can do more to crack down on licensed gun dealers who sell illegal weapons >> we'll make sure you can't

sell death and mayhem on our streets. it's an outrage. >> reporter: this spike in violence poses a real danger to the public and a political threat to the biden white house. the administration is responding among the steps they're taking, setting up five new strike force teams to address illegal gun trafficking. and the administration is working with state and local officials to show them ways to use extra covid relief funds for crime prevention frances? >> frightening trend kelly, thanks. cleanup and recovery effort is under way in germany, where more than 180 people have died in historic floods that area was hit with about three months' worth of rain in just 24 hours, causing the worst flooding in more than half a century. neighbors and strangers working together to try and clear out the debris as rescuers searched for the hundreds more that are still missing. for the latest we turn to nbc's claudio lavanga who is live in

hemehscheim, germany claudio, good morning. >> reporter: yesterday the chancellor of germany angela merkel visited the area and she described what she saw surreal, which is the word that i will use to describe what i have seen for the last three days. i've been here reporting on this story. now, what you see behind me used to be a train station only a week ago now it is a pile of rubble with as you can see to my left cars just washed away here on the riverside. to my right is uprooted trees. those are everywhere then you see a pillar there. that used to hold a pedestrian overpass that had to be brought down because it became too unstable and this is it looks like literally that time stood still for the past five days since the flood, since the torrential rain transformed this river which used to be a gentle waterway, this is the river into a monstrous wall of water that left behind death and destruction. well, now the clearout is just literally started. we saw only half an hour ago the

first wrecked cars were towed away now, angela merkel yesterday also said that by wednesday she hopes that the government will approve an aid package worth about 300 or more than $300 million. and by the look of it, frances and phillip, the residents here will need every single penny of that to rebuild what's lost. >> our thoughts are with those there. claudio, thank you new details about a frightening hazmat incident at a six flags water park near houston that sent dozens of people to the hospital saturday. officials say a hazardous vapor was released into the water in the park's kiddie pool or its surroundings investigators believe it was caused by the combination of two cleaning agents, a form of bleach and sulfuric acid >> when these two chemicals mix, they can create a toxic compound which is called chlorine gas, which if inhaled can cause serious lung injury and can even be life-threatening. >> authorities do not suspect foul play but are still searching for the cause. six flags remains closed while

an investigation is under way telling nbc news, "we will reopen when we are confident it is safe to do so." a final round rally at the open in great britain brought one young american back to championship status. collin morikawa did not bogey once on sunday, ending the tournament at 15 under par and securing the open championship it's the 24-year-old's second major victory in just eight appearances at golf's grand slam he won the pga championship with no spectators in attendance last year team usa faced off against border rivals canada with first place on the line at the concacaf gold cup. the americans hardly waited to get the action started just over 20 seconds into the match sebastian leget crosses it over to shakelle moore who buries it for the goal it is the fastest goal in team usa history breaking clint dempsey's 2014 record. and it was enough for the americans to beat canada 1-0 and nascar was at the magic mile in new hampshire for the

foxwoods resort casino 301 it was aric almirola who capitalized with 28 laps to go winner matt dibenneteau went to the pit lane almirola did not he took that momentum all the way to the checkered flag. almirola qualifies for the playoff later this season with that victory it is his first win since october of 2018. with 98 races to go. we are coming off the weekend and now to weather and a soggy southeast and dangerously dry west let's check in with meteorologist bill karins, who's in for janessa today hi, bill good morning >> hey, good morning hope you guys had a wonderful weekend. the complaint box is full from people in the northeast with all the rain the southeast with the thunderstorms. and the fires in the west. and we're continuing the trend this week. there's really no change in sight. a lot of rain, even at this hour, rolling through tennessee just north of georgia and into areas of the carolinas these are the areas that are going to get the heaviest rain today, especially this afternoon and tonight. watch out for flash flooding

possible shreveport to alexandria charleston, raleigh. atlanta toward northern alabama. and how about the west high fire danger red flag warnings from california through oregon. some of these blazes have just gotten so huge one near crater lake has gotten really big up to 300,000 acres over the weekend. today's forecast still a little cool in the northeast with showers lingering around boston. look how hot it is still in montana. 105 today instill cloudy, cool y just another ugly weekend from much of central and northern new england. we'll have the week ahead forecast, guys, and see if anything's changed to this nasty

weather pattern. >> we're going to want to hear that, bill thank you. folks in harvey, louisiana are spelling out just how proud they are of their new hometown hero the city put on a parade for zaila avant-garde today. the 14-year-old became the first african-american ever to win the scripps spelling bee she's not only a dictionary pro. she's also a guinness world record holder for her basketball dribbling skills in what might be the most bizarre story of the day, a woman breaks into the dentist's office, removes 13 teeth from a patient, and that is just the beginning. and as the pressure builds on texas democrats over voting rights, at least five state representatives come down with covid and all say they're vacc vaccinated that's next. heading back to school is more exciting than ever. and when kids have what they need to move forward together... anything is possible. kohl's. how did kellogg's combine crunchy oat clusters with a touch of honey... plump, juicy raisins and tasty fiber

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all of the representatives say they are fully vaccinated. the caucus says all those who tested positive are feeling good with either no or mild symptoms-s adding that it will provide daily rapid tests for all members and staff in d.c a woman with down syndrome has been awarded $125 million after a jury found that her former employer, walmart, violated the americans with disabilities act according to the "new york times," the woman worked for the company for 15 years but was fired in 2015 due to excessive absenteeism after she said the company shifted her hours, which created significant difficulties for her. well, a federal jury awarded that woman $125 million in punitive damages and $150,000 in compensatory damages walmart said that verdict would be reduced to $300,000, which is the maximum amount allowed under federal law for compensatory and punitive damages a baseball fan is facing a lifetime ban from every major league ballpark after he hit red

sox outfielder alex verdugo with a ball from the yankee stadium stands over the weekend. the fan was ejected on saturday after an angry verdugo shouted toward the bleachers in the sixth inning the yankees released a statement saying there is absolutely no place for that conduct in their stadium. now to a very bizarre story out of western nevada. police say a woman in reno was arrested after she broke into a dental office where she used to work, stole cash and then admitted to pulling more than a dozen teeth from an unwilling patient. 42-year-old laurel ike, who is not a dentist, told authorities that she used anesthetics that had been discarded on that patient. still no word on the motive. she does now face multiple counts of burglary and performing surgery without a medical license. still to come, one lucky dog. a firsthand look at the rescue after firefighters tracked down a pup trapped inside a wal days and sleepingutde t osihe box. why olympians will lay their

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♪ you got what i need ♪ ♪ but you say he's just a friend ♪ ♪ but you say he's just a friend ♪ ♪ oh baby you ♪ fans are mourning the loss of a hip-hop pioneer biz markey was a happier, dj and producer made famous by that song we just saw there, the 1989 hit "just a friend." it earned him the nickname clown prince of hip-hop.

markie died on friday, though no cause was released he was hospitalized last year for complications from type 2 diabetes biz markie was only 57 years old. a cincinnati dog has quite the tale after vanishing for five days, and it turns out girdle had fallen down a crevice and got trapped between two concrete walls at home after days of searching, her owners heard the dog's cries from behind the garage wall. firefighters had to use a sledgehammer to rescue the pup after all that it took about ten minutes to free the dog and then reunite her with her happy homeowner. >> that is a lucky dog getting out of there now to the cardboard cots in the olympic village. as olympians begin their stays there in tokyo, they'll be spending their nights on some very unique beds the bed frames are made out of cardboard. they can hold, though, about 440 pounds it's never been done before for the games. organizers say the beds are the first in the olympic village to be made of renewable materials both the frames and the mattresses are set to be recycled after the olympics.

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we are just days away from an olympics many thought would never happen even now the games are riddled with uncertainty amid the pandemic nbc's liz mclaughlin takes us on the emotional roller coaster ride that is the road to tokyo >> tokyo [ cheers and applause >> reporter: a moment of pride for japan. winning the bid for tokyo's second olympics. seen as a symbol of the nation's recovery nearly a decade after the fukushima disaster, when an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown killed 18,000 people. but by the start of 2020,

another crisis took hold as coronavirus cases started to spread across the globe. shortly after the olympic flame arrived in japan came the announcement that the games would be delayed by one year >> for the first time in olympic history that we have to address such a postponement. >> reporter: as the pandemic raged on in japan and around the world. organizers moved forward with plans for a simplified olympics. with strict virus precautions. tokyo will host more than 80,000 journalists, officials and staff. international spectators are banned and most events won't allow domestic fans either >> it's a bummer for us not having our family there with us. >> reporter: more than 11,000 athletes housed in the olympic village will be tested daily >> so everybody can rest assured our first priority is safe and secure olympic games

>> reporter: but the majority of japanese citizens are skeptical according to polls anti-olympic sentiment grew with a new wave of covid-19 cases and a slow vaccine rollout a state of emergency is in place here in tokyo and surrounding regions and will remain throughout the course of the games, meaning bars and restaurants are not allowed to serve alcohol. though the torch relay has been moved off capital streets, officials ensured the games will go on. a light at the end of the tunnel for athletes simply grateful for a chance to compete as olympians. in tokyo liz mclaughlin, nbc news don't forget to catch the opening ceremony this friday here on nbc. more than 7,000 hours of olympic coverage will air on the networks of nbc universal and on our multiple platforms that we've outlined and rightfully so, all the challenges ahead but still so much to look forward to, so much to cheer

for. >> yeah. and also, you know, they're doing it on the side with knowing that their olympics dreams can be dashed by more than just defeat s r starting your week off with u

breaking overnight, a series of shootings results in multiple people wounded and killed in tucson, arizona. with emts and firefighters in the line of fire all 50 states are now seeing a rise in new covid cases. some taking a harder hit than others as mask mandates may be brought back to stem the surge the summer olympics began on friday and now tennis star coco gauff has tested positive for covid and will miss the games. as more cases are reported inside the olympic village this morning we're getting a much clearer picture of what went down when