of course, things should improve thought the day. we'll keep you posted on everything d the "today" show is coming up next. good morning. countdown, the biden administration racing to finish emergency evacuations in afghanistan before the president's august 31st withdrawal deadline. the u.s. military telling the white house a final decision must be made today on whether that timeline should be tended. this as the taliban warns of consequences if it's not met. this morning, richard engle back on the ground in kabul with an inside look at the scramble for safety. pushing the needle with

pfizer's shot now fully approved, president biden urges more americans to get vaccinated. >> get your shot today. there's no time to waste. >> and calls on private companies to mandate vaccines for workers. so is this a game changing moment in the fight against covid? or will millions of americans still refuse? and with child cases rising fast, when will the vaccine be approved for kids under 12? we'll go one-on-one with dr. anthony fauci live. breaking overnight, changing of the guard. kathy hochul sworn in as new york's first female governor after andrew cuomo makes his resignation official with a parting shot at the investigation that led to his down fall. >> the truth is ultimately always revealed. >> straight ahead, what's next for both the new and former governors. cruise ship concerns, a passenger dies from covid after an outbreak on one of carnival's

boats. we'll hear from her family and the cruise line. those stories, plus feeling the heat. extreme temperatures taking hold from coast to coast with record highs possible. al has your forecast. and let the games begin again. we'll take you to tokyo for a look inside the opening ceremony for the paralympic games, today tuesday, august 24th, 2021. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and welcome to "today." tuesday morning. thank you for joining us. savannah and hoda off. sheinelle is here. we're here in our temporary home just upstairs from studio 1a while 1a gets a bit of a makeover. >> it will be nice. we have a lot to get to this

morning, with major headlines from around the world, including that full fda approval for the pfizer vaccine. >> what does it mean for possible school and work mandates? is it enough for people who haven't gotten the shot? we'll have complete coverage and talk live to dr. anthony fauci. meantime, residents of new york are waking up to a new governor. kathy hochul sworn in just after midnight as the first woman to lead the state of new york in a fiery farewell from andrew cuomo, just ahead. and we're going to start in afghanistan with the scramble to evacuate thousands of stranded americans and afghans and new questions this morning surrounding that august 31st withdrawal deadline with just one week to go. nbc's richard engle has made his way back to kabul. he joins us live with the very latest. richard, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, craig. as we all know when the afghan government collapsed, when u.s. troops pulled out, the taliban rolled into kabul.

there was panic here, there was a scrambling, a mad rush to get to the airport and a rush to get out american citizens and people who worked with the united states. but also, many, many people in this country just started rushing and rushing to the airport, and we saw those violent and chaotic scenes. now, we're up against a deadline. president biden says he wants this done by august 31st. he may have to decide as early as today if he's going to extend that deadline. and just yesterday, nbc news has confirmed, "washington post" first reporting it, that the cia director was here on a secret mission in kabul, meeting with the taliban's top political leader. the clock is ticking at kabul international airport with the evacuations in high gear. the u.s. only has one week to get this done. the taliban saying if the evacuations extend beyond august 31st, a date set by president biden, there will be consequences. the race is on.

this is now an extremely busy airfield. every two minutes, new planes arming in and they are not just from the united states. we've seen them from the uk, qatar, australia, civilian aircraft. this is a truly global air land. finally, it's also orderly. we watched a qatar air force plane bound for doha being loaded. no pushing, no cutting, bags searched, security with a gentle touch. candy for the kids, eyes for the camera. the taliban are helping make it go smoothly by providing security outside the airport. but will it be done in time? it'll be extremely difficult to fly out the remaining afghans and the several thousand u.s. foreign troops brought in to uaon in just just left kabul airport.

you go through the american checkpoint, and then you're handed over to what looks like another american checkpoint. you see the uniforms, soldiers in black jackets, eye protection, new weapons, m-4s, perfect condition. they know how to carry them, but they're not american soldiers, they're the taliban. and the taliban are, undisputably, in charge. they're on almost every corner now. they weren't hostile to us or anyone they saw, as they patrol pickups. the old tri color afghan flag still flies. the taliban haven't taken them down. they say they want to be inclusive and so far the capital is calm. even the old traffic cops, backed by the united states, have returned to work. the taliban move along them, and they are giving the orders. >> so, richard, you mentioned the taliban helping facilitate the evacuation effort.

we saw it there on the tarmac specifically. what exactly does that look like on the ground? and does that mean the united states is essentially working with the taliban on this? >> reporter: yes, they are. we saw it yesterday -- or we didn't see. we reported about this meeting that happened with the cia director and their political chief. that's a degree of coordination. and then i saw an extraordinary scene. so i came out of the airport this morning heading into downtown kabul. downtown kabul is controlled by the taliban. you leave the security bubble, the last american checkpoint. and literally yards away, they can see each other. the americans doing security checks, the taliban doing their security checks. there is no distance between each other. both sides are armed. there is not a hostility. maybe there's hostility inside, but there's no overt hostility and they are both trying to clear the path to get people

processed and to keep people who have no business being at the airport who wouldn't qualify who are just trying to g people back. they're just yards apart. there is no overt hostility. so there is certainly a degree of coordination. >> richard engel on the ground in kabul this morning, thank you. another major story, the coronavirus and the vaccination push. pfizer's shot, now the first to be fully approved by the fda. health officials are hoping it'll motivate more americans to get vaccinated, but what about the other shots? what about a vaccine for kids under 12? we'll go one-on-one with dr. anthony fauci in a moment. first, nbc's morgan chesky is in houston with our report. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the full approval can't come fast enough for the doctors and nurses here at the texas medical center, currently facing a surge of unvaccinated patients. the houston area alone, cases doubled in just the last week. we're already seeing this full

approval now start vaccine requirements in schools, the covid-19 fight, one that w many hope will spur those still on the fence to finally get vaccinated. >> the moment you have been waiting for is here. it's time for you to get your vaccination, and get it today. today. >> reporter: the fda granting full approval to the vaccine monday. scientists scouring data from 40,000 participants, finding the shots 91% effective in preventing covid, the fda review process taking less than half the normal time. >> the good news is this effectiveness is not only against the old variant, but it is effective against the new variant, the delta variant. >> reporter: in a statement, the fda went further, saying although we approve this vaccine expeditiously, it was in keeping

with our high standards for vaccines in the u.s. the approval has set in motion a slew of vaccine requirements. the pentagon saying they'll mandate the down tri's 1.5 million service members be vaccinated. united airline is telling >> have a good first day. >> reporter: pfizer's full fda approval comes as children return to school. pediatric covid cases reach levels not seen since last year's winter surge. 180,000 cases added in the last week alone. 200,000 kids in houston return to school on monday. >> our goal is to make sure our students, staff, community beyond the students and staff, are safe. >> reporter: but there are still holdouts. >> i'm not saying i'm going to do it or not going to do it. i'm still thinking. >> reporter: overwhelmed health care workers now reaching their limit. >> i feel some anger sometimes. they push it aside, ignore our

advice and then they come back asking and it's frustrating and heartbreaking. >> reporter: and we're hearing more from pfizer's ceo who says after looking at the data, he believes those booster shots will be a must-have for everyone. that'll take place six to eight months after their initial vaccination. craig? >> morgan chesky for us in houston, thank you. a lot to talk about as we welcome in dr. anthony fauci. dr. fauci, good morning to you, sir. >> good morning. >> you've expressed some confidence, dr. fauci, that this full approval is going to move the needle in terms of vaccinations. is that because you think the previously skeptical folks are going to suddenly rush out and get the shot or is that because more private companies will be able to mandate that they get the shot? >> it's going to be both. there's a survey that shows that about 30% of the people who have not gotten vaccinated and have been reluctant to get vaccinated said that once they get what

they consider the stamp of approval, the final impromptua from the fda that they would seriously consider getting vaccinated. that's one element. the second element is what you just said on the piece, there will be much more enthusiasm in mandating vaccines, be they in corporations, places of employment, universities, colleges, the military, all of that will contribute i believe greatly to the number of people vaccinated. and the third thing is that the company, in this case, pfizer, can now advertise. so there will be a lot more advertisement out there which you were not allowed to do unless you did get full approval. so i believe those three things working together hopefully will get a lot more people vaccinated. >> let's talk about this group that is still not eligible. as a parent of two small children under the age of 12, what is the what is the likelihood that that group is going to be able to get

the shot before the christmas holidays >> you know, i think there's a reasonable chance that that will be the case. what's going on right now is that the companies, both pfizer and moderna, at least two of them, as well as working with the nih clinical trials group in my own institute are working very hard to get data on both the safety, the correct dose, as well as the immunogenicity, namely, the predictability that these vaccines will be effective. we're collecting that data now that data ultimately will be presented to the fda to look at it for the balance between safety and risk benefit ratio for the children i hope all of that process will take place expeditiously and that we will have it on the timetable that you just mentioned, hopefully by the mid/late fall and early winter. >> before i let you go, over the past week, roughly a thousand americans have died every day

from the virus we know that nationwide cases are up in a lot of places, hospitalizations are up, as well but here is the thing. as you know, roughly i believe 73% of the eligible population right now, they've gotten the shot, dr. fauci. do you see a light at the end of the tunnel >> you know, i do, and it's going to totally be up to us if we get therwhelming majority of those 80 to 90 million people who are not yet been vaccinate, who have been reluctant to get vaccinated or have not had the opportunity, i believe we can see light at the end of the tunnel. where we reach a point where there's enough of a veil of protection over the community that you see a dramatic diminution not only of cases but in hospitalizations and ultimately, of course, in deaths >> are you talking fall, early winter or spring >> you know, it'll depend on us.

our fate is in our own hands i've said a couple of times if we do it right and get to the winter, i hope as we get to the spring of 2022, we'll be there i hope so. it's up to us. >> dr. anthony fauci, thank you. appreciate you and we are going to focus more on covid and your children in our next hour, answering your questions when it comes to keeping our kids safe when they return to school, especially that group we just talked about, those not yet eligible for the vaccine. tom llamas is with us now as we turn to the race against time to find more survivors of the devastating floods in tennessee. good morning >> good morning. the search for the missing is intensifying, but officials fear the death toll could rise. as the floodwaters recede, we're getting a better picture of the damage left behind with residents now sharing their heartbreaking stories. nbc's sam brock is in waverly, tennessee, this morning. good morning >> reporter: tom, good morning we're now three days removed from the historic floods there are still around 20 people

listed as missing and many of these homes along the creek bed ended up with several feet of water inside parents clinging for life and trying to save their children. following a generational flood, tennessee rescue crews continue the heartbreaking search for the missing this morning after surging flood waters overtook residents in minutes. it looked like a river running down through there >> reporter: damage from the deadliest flood in middle tennessee history extends up to 10 plimiles, straddling several towns. >> talking about houses that's been removed from the foundation i'm talking about houses that people can't even get to because the floors are gone. >> reporter: at least 21 people have died. the victims ranging from the elderly to 7-month-old twins riley and ryan their father tells our nbc station in nashville the babies were torn from his arms as unrelenting water swamped their apartment.

>> i had my 1-year-old on my hip and i had my twins like this grasping on to my 1-year-old and when the water hit and the room filled up, that's when i lost them. i lost all of them very his two other children did survive, though there were other young lives lost lucy connor, just 7 years old. >> we'll wear these scars many decades. >> reporter: one disturbing moment capture on facebook video by a woman who went missing. according to the charlotte observer and not independently verified by nbc news >> we're being flooded right now in waverly, tennessee. really scary >> reporter: decimated towns >> we've been salvaging what we can. >> reporter: still processing the blindsiding tragedy. janet rice and her husband lost their family business, which took 40 years to build in the deluge their building becoming a makeshift helicopter rescue pad. >> no one has flood insurance. people are devastated.

how do you recover this? i mean, there's people that their whole lives are gone uninhatable homes this morning president biden signing a major federal declaration and paves the way for low cost housing >> sam brock with heartbreaking stories today. thank you. in tennessee heart goes out to those folks. from that flooding to the heat, mr. roker is standing by for that first check of the weather. how are we doing, buddy? >> we're doing okay. by the way, that tennessee flood, climate experts say this is probably more than a 1,000-year event but in the meantime right now, jet stream up to the north and that leads to all this heat. we're talking about 40 million people under heat watches, advisories, or warnings. and you look at these temperatures today with the heat indexes, it feels like over 100

degrees in chicago richmond, virginia, little rock, continues, expands east. 93 it will feel like in boston 97 in charleston 102 in louisville. st. louis, it will feel like 107. and the late week, temperatures will be in the 90s from cincinnati, buffalo, raleigh, new york city, you factor in the feels like temperatures. it's going to feel like it's closer to 100 degrees. and we've got more severe weather firing up today. through the upper midwest, minneapolis, lacrosse, wakefield, look at the severe possibilities today from des moines, lacrosse, duluth, on into madison we are looking at dangerous lightning, hail, tornados possible with heavy rain anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of rain in the upper midwest. we're going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds number one in reliability, 16 times in a row. most awarded for network quality, 27 times in a row.

proving once again that nobody builds networks like verizon. that's why we're building 5g right, that's why there's only one best network. good tuesday morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we look at our air quality it has been improving for the north bay and south bay and we are still looking at a hazy sky and moderate air quality, definitely affecting those who are sensitive to the wildfire smoke. our temperatures are cooler thanks to the fog and the ocean breeze pick ing up today. freshening our air for our coastal areas as well. mid 60s, mid 70s for martinez as well as san jose and low 80s for antioch, livermore and morgan hill. >> and that is your latest weather. this is cozy >> good morning. >> pre-pandemic level cozy >> wow, we're almost cheek to cheek.

>> my goodness >> no. coming up, new covid concerns as the cruise industry attempts a comeback. a passenger on a carnival ship dieing from the virus. what her family and the cruise line are saying about the breakthrough case. cyberattacks targeting schools and students across the country. why hackers are going after them, and what, if anything, can be done to increase security

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her mom tells us she believes her daughter was looking for something to make her relax. police showed us pictures of what that deadly pill may have looked like. she took the pill and died from possible fentanyl poisoning. her father found her body in her room saturday morning. good morning. i'm cierra johnson in benicia. today city leaders are expected to discuss and possibly vote on making an indoor mask mandate. now solano county is not part of many of the bay area counties that currently have the mask mandate. earlier this month about eight counties and cities joined forces to say they would enact a indoor mask mandate. solano county not one of those. today at 6:00 is when benicia will discuss the issue. time to get a look at our microclimate forecast with meteorologist kari hall. >> we're enjoying the cooler temperatures for the bay area. highs reaching into the low to mid 60s and 70s for parts of the inner bay and inland areas up to the low 80s. nice refreshing breezes even

though we have still seen the hazy skies and moderate air qualse temperatures and the changes we'll have by the weekend turning hot. >> thank you for joining us as well. another local news update in half an hour. see you then.

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we are back at 7:30 on this tuesday morning. it is 8:30 at night in tokyo where the opening ceremony for the paralympic games are now under way. we watch uruguay head through the stadium. >> you can watch the ceremony on the nbc sports network and we'll have complete coverage throughout the paralympic games

across the network of nbc. >> good call on uruguay. are you a flag guy? is that your thing >> no. i saw the banner at the bottom i cheated. let's get to your 7:30 headlines on this tuesday morning. an explosive wildfire in northern california has forced thousands of people from their homes is spreading now the caldor has now burned more than 114,000 acres it's destroyed more than 500 buildings. and more than 17,000 other structures are being threatened right now. fire crews are working to keep those flames from spreading to the lake tahoe basin so far, more than 24,000 people have been evacuated from the area athe leader of the far righ extremist group proud boys was sentenced yesterday to more than five months in jail. henry admitted to burning blac lives banner taken from a church in washington during a pro trump demonstration.

he pleaded guilty to bringing high capacity gun magazines into the nation's capital two days before the january 6th riot. and news from hollywood, actress mayim bialik will fill in on "jeopardy" for three weeks after the sudden departure of mike richards. the "big bang theory" an "blossom" star was one of many who filled in for alex trebek. richards stepped down from his hosting role last week after offensive comments he made on a podcast several years ago recently resurfaced. now to the overnight changing of the guard here in new york >> kathy hochul has been sworn in as the state's first female governor after andrew cuomo delivered a defiant farewell to the office he held for more than a decade nbc anne thompson is in albany for us good morning >> reporter: good morning. for the first time, a woman leads new york state as governor and she inherits a mountain of challenges including covid

recovery all this as her predecessor still faces several investigations kathy hochul sworn in as governor just after midnight, a historic first with covid, safe school reopening and the state's economic recovery at the top of her priority list. assuring the public her time in office will be different >> i have a different approach to governing i roll up my sleeves and i get the job done >> the governor will take 45 days to build what she calls a dream team to run new york state. telling savannah, anyone previously accused of wrongdoing will be immediately shown the door >> anyone named in the report by the attorney general, involved in any unethical behavior will no longer be part of the administration they're gone on day one. >> reporter: hochul takes over after months of scandal involving her predecessor. andrew cuomo's decade in power ending in infamy. >> i'm stepping aside as your governor. >> rep harassment allegations against

him on politics and a media frenzy >> the attorney general's report was designed to be a political firecracker on an explosive topic. and it worked. >> reporter: in a prerecorded farewell speech, the three-term disgraced democrat once again denied any wrongdoing. despite the state attorney general finding 11 women who accused him of sexual harassment and inappropriate touching, credible allegations that forced cuomo to step down. >> the truth will out in time. >> reporter: though the state assembly has ended its impeachment probe, other inquiries into cuomo's behavior are moving ahead five district attorneys are investigating the sexual harassment allegations the federal government is looking into how his administration accounted for covid nursing home deaths. and there's a state investigation into whether cuomo misused executive office resources to write his book on pandemic leadership, for which

he was paid $5 million later this morning, there will be a ceremonial swearing in of governor hochul and then this afternoon, she will address the people of new york, laying out her vision on how to move the state forward from the era of andrew cuomo sheinelle. >> thank you up next, a story all parents need to see. hackers now using schools to steal information, identities and even more. >> tom costello will join us with a closer look at why it's become a huge problem, and why those cyberattacks are apparently so hard to stop that's right after this. 5g netw. like 2 lines of unlimited for just $27.50 a line. that's our everyday price. plus, our plans always come with unlimited talk, text and data included. so, switch to t-mobile and get 2 lines of unlimited for only $27.50 a line. that's half the price of verizon or at&t.

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this morning on in-dep the rising cyber security threat facing students and schools. >> cyber experts predict a 30% increase in hack against schools in the first half of the year. >> tom costello has been talking to the pros. georgetown university this morning. tom, here is the thing schools have enough to worry about these days besides this. >> reporter: yeah, you're absolutely right they have the whole mask debate, the students are coming back unvaccinated the delta variant, and now ransomware georgetown universities is among those schools telling teachers and staff and professors and students be on the lookout for phishing emails. it's auto big red flag for k through 12 students as well as universities and students really of all ages. just as k through 12 kids and college students return to what they hope is a full year of in-person learning, this morning, a new warning about the predators waiting just

beyond the keyboard. cyber security firm checkpoint software says hack attacks against education have already jumped a staggering 29% globally just this year and the u.s. up 17% with 443 attacks hi emails, identity the and most often ransomware attacks. >> what's caught the education sector off guard is they didn't think about themselves as targets. but criminals have no honor. they will go after hospitals and we've seen them go after schools. >> reporter: already attacked, a long list of universities and colleges, big and small. including ucla, the university of colorado system, the university of maryland baltimore, and the stanford school of medicine also, hundreds of school districts have been attacked, including broward county, florida, baltimore county, fairfax county, virginia, toledo, and the tiny new hall school district outside of los angeles. >> you're talking about 5 to

12-year-olds and shutting down their learning >> reporter: students and teachers locked out of payroll, grades, and lesson plans for nearly two weeks, as hackers demanded money the superintendent admits they did not have a cyberattack response plan. >> i don't think most school districts have that in place they have it around earthquakes and school shooting, but i don't think most have a response ma manuel connected to ransomware attacks. >> reporter: the superintendent won't say if the district paid to get the computers back, but ibm cybersecurity reports the average school hacks cost near $3.8 million it comes in a year of escalating attacks against u.s. businesses, oil pipelines, even the food supply now congress is considering laws to require critical businesses to report all cyber attacks to homeland security. as schools are urged to double down on security right now block access to suspicious websites regularly change all passwords teach students and teachers

email security basics. back up all systems off line never skip a security update and hire a cyber security team if you can. the k-12 security information exchange is exactly that it's a nonprofit to help school districts coordinate their cyber defenses and, really, for those school districts that don't have deep pockets, this is a really great resource guys, back to you. >> tom, quickly here, you've covered cyber security for a long time now. these hackers, are they specifically targeting students for their personal information >> reporter: their priority seems to be ransomware, trying to get money out of schools. but you're right they're going after the students' personal information because it's a gold mine here is why. students, young kids, they have a social security number, but they don't have a credit history, right so that is gold to a hacker on the other side of the world. if they can steal that

information from your son, your daughter, then they can go high hi hijack it consider putting your kids' numbers on the security monitoring, too, so you can watch for a hack against them. >> wow. >> tom costello, thank you >> something else to think about. >> oh, my goodness >> al? let's take a look at what's been going on. we've been talking about climate change and how we've been seeing some issues about that take a look at what's going on in the tropics we're tracking three areas the one we're most concerned about, this area to the west of the windward islands over the next five days, we expect a 60% chance of formation. here is the development zone so we're going to be watching that. but over this last week, we see three major events, three extreme rainfall events that are directly tied to climate change and why? well, because the black jet stream leads to extreme slow moving events, our climate has warmed up, so that warmer

atmosphere can hold more water look at the last week. waverly, tennessee, 17 inches of rain, state record n repeated rounds of rain 21 people have lost their lives. new york city, over 8 hayward county that tied to what's been happening in our climate the rest of the country, today, increasing heat in the air, in the east, strong storms in the no that's what's going on around the country. >> i'm meteorologist kari hall. watching our air quality as fires continue to burn east bay area and the east bay and santa clara valley but improving in the north bay and south bay. we continue to see cooler than normal temperatures for this time. we're also in for some weekend

heat. by friday, saturday, sunday, we're going to see temperatures in the mid to upper 90s in the valleys and san francisco lower 078s. >> that's your latest weather. sheinelle. up next, new concerns foter passenger on one of the first ships back on the waters died from covid kerry sanders has details, right after this just to talk to my parents about it and to send it to my grandparents and be like, hey this person we're all related to look at this crazy stuff they did in arizona 100 years ago. it actually gives you a picture of their life, so you get to feel like you're walking the same path they did. ♪ ♪

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the cruise line says the 77-year-old woman was given immediate medical attention, and they then helped provide transportation from belize to a hospital in the united states. the cruise line says because of the sad news, they will be making no more further comments. this morning, the safety of cruise ships, relaunched under the covid era, under scrutiny. according to the "new york times," a 77-year-old woman from oklahoma who tested positive for the coronavirus while sailing on the carnival cruise ship vista to belize has died the woman received medical care on board the ship and was then evacuated from belize back to the united states. the ship departed from galveston, texas, on july 31st we reported on the same carnival cruise last week after 27 cases of covid were uncovered on day four of the eight-day cruise the outbreak discovered shortly before the ship docked in deless

>> when they finally told us, like, what was going on, everyone just kept going on with their vacation but i think everyone started wearing their mask a little bit more >> reporter: though the ship sailed out of texas, which bans businesses from requiring vaccinations, more than 96% of the passengers were vaccinated, and all but one crew member was fully vaccinated, according to the debelize tourism board the cruise ship started sailing again from u.s. ports in june. the outbreak on the vista, the largest on board a passenger ship since that return carnival releasing a statement reading in part, we are very sorry to hear about the death of a guest who sailed on carnival vista. the guest almost certainly did not contract covid on our ship and she was assisted with expert medical care on board and was ultimately evacuated from belize after we provided a resource to her family carnival updating its

vaccination policy starting august 28th, requiring most guests not only to be vaccinate, but they must prevent negative results of a covid-19 test taken within three days before boarding a ship. at the time this passenger got on the carnival cruise ship vista, the cruise line did not require passengers to be vaccinated that policy has since changed. anybody over the age of 12 is now required to be vaccinated on a carnival trip. guys >> sad news there, kerry thanks for your report appreciate it. still ahead, covid and the classroom. you have questions and we have answers for masks to playgrounds to play dates. >> and keeping our kids safe throughout this new school year. we'll have that for you after your local news. woah! oh. ok! and that's a yeah. uh huh.

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that's why we're building 5g right, that's why there's only one best network. a very good tuesday morning to you. it is 7:56. i'm laura garcia. here's a look at what's happening now. i'm kris sanchez. the caldor fire is now a national priority as the wildfire is making a run toward the tahoe basin. it has fuel to burn because of extreme dry vegetation and changing winds. it is 114,000 acres burned, 600 homes destroyed, 25,000 people displaced at this point and just 9% containment. if you have plans to go to tahoe, you're going to want to postpone. most i definitely. let's get a look at the forecast with kari. >> getting fresh air than what they're getting in tahoe. we have some of the worse air

quality in the country today. some of the smoke drifting into the coast and east bay and santa clara valley. moderate air quality here. but it has been improving in parts of the north bay as well as the south bay and we're also getting a fresh breeze picking up today bringing in our natural air conditioning, keeping highs in the 60s for the coast and bay, 70s down the peninsula as well as the south bay and into the north bay. we're looking at temperatures up to 75 degrees in napa, low 80s in the inland east bay but our forecast heats up as we get closer to the weekend. laura? >> we'll get ready for that. thank you. we'll be back with another local news update in about a half hour. hope to see you then. in the meantime enjoy your morning.

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it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, the green light full approval for the pfizer vaccine as the white house urges more americans to get vaccinated >> i believe we can see light at the end of the tunnel. we reach a point where there's enough of a veil of protection over the community >> this morning, the new vaccine mandates we could start to see and with the new school year beginning, what about kids who aren't eligible yet for the vaccine? our team of experts standing by to answer your questions about

returning to the classroom then, journey to freedom the incredible story of an afghan pop star's desperate escape >> i have a feeling that i'm going to die here. literally. i am hopeless. >> just ahead, her message for the world about the crisis in afghanistan. plus, hidden history ♪ all my secrets away ♪ we'll take you inside the longest cave system in the world found right here in the united states >> the caves represent an american story it represents me walking in the foot steps of folks who were here way before me >> how the literal writing on the walls tells a story you've got to see to believe. ♪ i wanna rock ♪ and driving force, the big surprise for a hollywood tour group that really rocks. >> hey, you guys know where i can find "the rock"? tuesday, august 24th, 2021

♪ take my breath ♪ >> hey to friends and family >> in plymouth, massachusetts. >> from sacramento >> lakewood, washington. >> hi. we're the pleasant family from clearwater, florida. >> and today i'm turning 6 >> happy birthday. >> rock bury, south carolina >> minnesota >> here from canton, michigan. >> for christine's birthday. >> from the jersey shores. >> it's my 22nd birthday and i'm staying strong in my fight against cancer >> and welcome back to "today" on this tuesday morning. we appreciate you joining us savannah and hoda have the day off, but not these folks we're here >> hey it was a little rainy here yesterday in new york ci to see out of the plaza. >> we'll be talking to the folks in a bit let's get to your news at 8:00 the fda's full approval of the

pfizer covid vaccine raising hopes this morning that more americans will now choose or be required to get the shots. nbc's morgan chesky joins us from houston with the very latest morgan, good morning >> reporter: craig, good morning to you everyone's hope here at the houston medical center is people are encouraged to get that shot who are currently unvaccinated because they are currently facing a surge of unvaccinated patients icu rooms are in short supply and in the greater houston area, covid cases have doubled in the last week alone. but the fda making it clear this pfizer vaccine is safe for anyone 16 years of age or older and this comes as pfizer's ceo says the news comes after they've already administered more than a billion doses of this vaccine worldwide and the fda released a statement saying they held this to the high standards they would any other u.s. vaccine and we're seeing the impact come in companies and businesses making the vaccine mandates. united airlines saying all employees must be vaccinated in

the next five weeks and every active u.s. service member must be vaccinated, as well this comes as dr. fauci says he hopes this starts a new chapter in the fight against covid-19. >> it's going to totally be up to us. if we get the overwhelming majority of those 80 to 90 million people who are not yet been vaccinated, who have been reluctant to get vaccinated or have not had the opportunity, i believe we can see light at the end of the tunnel. >> reporter: and this full approval comes as we see a rise in pete yat rdiatric covid case well in the last week alone, 180,000 pediatric cases have been reported that's the highest number we've seen since last year's winter surge. and when we heard from the pfizer's ceo, he says they are doing ongoing research looking at data from 5 to 11-year-olds that are vaccine related it should be done in mid-september, at which point the fda can look at those numbers.

craig? >> morgan chesky for us, thank you. in afghanistan, the taliban is warning there will be consequences if the u.s. military does not end its evacuation mission at kabul airport in one week. the airport remains a chaotic and dangerous place. nbc's kelly cobiella has more on the evacuation effort and the remarkable journey of a young pop singer who barely escaped. >> just an incredible story from this woman her name is aryana sayeed. she's 36 years old, a pop star in afghanistan a country where music was banned under taliban rule sayeed was able to flee the country, but she's speaking out in hopes the u.s. will do more to save thousands more, including other artists and musicians whose lives are now in danger >> reporter: tense and dangerous scenes outside kabul's international airport, as the taliban seek to impose order and discourage afghans from

attempting to flee the country the u.s. embassy, which is moved to the airport, now telling those who aren't eligible for evacuation to stay away. >> if you do not have approval for a flight, you should leave the area surrounding the airport immediately. >> reporter: since august 14th, some 37,000 people have been evacuated on military and coalition flights. including pop singer aryana sayeed who shared her difficult journey with "access hollywood's" zuri hall >> i have a feeling that i'm going the die here i was hopeless >> reporter: she described a desperate scene, with crowds forcing their way towards overloaded airplanes >> women were fainting they would just try to get them out of the car and there's no space. >> reporter: just a few weeks ago, sayeed was in kabulboutique used to perform for thousands of

fans those scenes now unlikely as the rights of women there restricted under the taliban. kabul utterly transformed. >> small babies screaming, crying, women crying and, i don't know, right now, i have shivers in my hands when i'm talking about it it was unbelievable. >> reporter: sayeed, who has a british passport, eventually made it to los angeles >> the day i came here, got in touch with friends and family members left in afghanistan. they are hopeless. absolutely hopeless. i mean, i am trying to spread the word and ask the world to help those innocent people that's all i can do and i'm not going to give up >> sayeed has criticized the former president, ashraf ghani, for abandoning the country after promising to fight back against the taliban. she's also pleaded with the international community not to abandon the afghan people. she talks about the threats she lives with, as well, as her

time even before the taliban retook the country her career and public persona made her a target in afghanistan. "access hollywood" will share more of this incredible story evening. >> kelly, good to see you in person back to kabul. >> thank you, kelly. we have covered the news now. craig, you have our morning boost. >> i'll give it a shot cotton candy, one of the great summertime treats, right watch this little girl's reaction when she tries it for the very first time. >> eat it. baby, look look it is soft, isn't it yummy. look yummy. >> that's cute >> soft and fluffy almost looks like a plush toy, right? >> cute.

>> didn't take her long to figure out, the best thing about cotton candy is the taste of cotton candy >> and you can see how it kind of worked out and she said, mm-mmmm. this is kinds of good. >> how kids do that with anything sweet not fruits and vegetables. >> she'll be wanting that for a while. and up next, we have dr. torres, vicky nguyen, and dr. torres with the answers to your pressing questions about the new school year and keeping kids safe that's right after this. -i tune commercials out. -me too. they're always like blah, blah blah. tell me about it. i'm going to a silent retreat next weekend. my niece got kicked out of one of those. -for talking? -grand larceny. how about we get back to the savings? [ everyone agreeing ] [ heavy breathing ] allergies with nasal congestion overwhelming you? how about we get back to the savings? breathe more freely with powerful claritin-d. claritin-d improves nasal airflow two times more

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including automatic emergency braking. (lucky) ooh! me charms! (kids) quick, get em! nooooooooooo (lucky) new planets that can duplicate, and rockets help me race! you'll never get me lucky charms, as i zip around through space! i love me lucky charms, they're galactically delicious! we are back on the plaza with our ongoing series, coronavirus in the classroom this morning, a major topic of conversation and contention, unvaccinated children. >> several steps remain before kids under 12 will be eligible for the vaccine. in fact, the fda recently revealed it could be early to mid winter >> but the urgency for that approval mounting, with a new study showing child cases have jumped significantly check this out from about 38,000 per week in july to 180,000 last week.

how can we keep our kids safe as the new school year gets under way? well, we've brought in our team of experts to answer your questions and we're going to start this morning with senior medical correspondent dr. john torres that study we haven't seen those kinds of numbers since last winter, if i'm correct. what's behind them and what does that tell us about covid and our children >> right, craig, we haven't seen those numbers since the winter those aren't numbers we want to see, but what we are seeing are these children getting more infected and unfortunately more of them are ending up in the hospital, as well. the reason this is happening is because as numbers overall go up, children are getting infected, as well. so they're being essentially drug along with these higher case counts. and this is the unvaccinated causing the issue of the widespread outbreaks around the country. these numbers aren't as accurate as we would like them to be. some states are saying children 0 to 14 years old. others are saying zero to 20 years old. we know numbers are going up we need to do what we can to

protect the children >> we reached out to a parent group to ask about the number one topic of conversation. no surprise, perhaps, masking. rng. >> dr. torres, what do say >> in an ideal situation, everybody in schoo what should we do? >> dr. torres, what do you say >> in an ideal situation, everybody in schools would be masked, teachers, staff, all the students that's not the case across the country. but the main thing to do, number one, make sure your child wears a mask that's extremely important and talk to them about wearing a mask all day long. on top of that, look for what's happening in the classroom are they social distancing are they staying in pods or cohorts? are they staying in classrooms where they have these assigned pods and find out about testing protocols. what's happening there talk to the teacher. even though masks aren't required, are most students wearing masks or are most

students not wearing masks at that point, you might need to make a decision and say i'm going to pull them out of the classroom for a while, but at the same time, make sure your child is as protected as possible do your homework before they go to school so you understand what's going on while they're at school >> dr. torres, thank you >> let's turn now to the end of summer activities so for that we are going to see good morning to consumer correspondent vicky nguyen good morning to you. >> good morning. >> we have good questions this morning. a lot of people are trying to squeeze in a trip maybe before school starts. if your kids are unvaccinated, talk to me about the risk for putting them on an airplane. >> this is always a personal calculation of the risk versus reward the first question is what is my child's health do they have any pre-existing conditions that if they got infe wh covid, it would be complicated nec next, where are you going? what is the infection rate where you're going to be and then i would ask what are you planning to do it will be a lot lower risk if you're visiting family members and hanging out outside versus

if you're going somewhere and you're going to be out in public in crowded indoor spaces with folks. >> speak of getting together, let's talk about that. you'll want to get together with your family. we have a question from allison in north carolina. >> i'm wondering what we need to know about play dates. can my kids go to crowded playgrounds without masks? >> it's a good one >> assuming your kids are under 12 and unvaccinated, you want to avoid any sort of indoor playgrounds, any place where the air smells stale or is stuffy. poor ventilation outdoor playgrounds, experts who have children themselves, they all agree being outdoors is a good time to give kids a mask break. the one caveat is if you're in an outdoor playground where your kid is in constant close contact with other kids for 10 to 15 minutes, you might want to go to a less crowded space or consider putting them in a mask >> especially now the weather is nice, we'll try to keep them outside as long as we can. thank you, vicky

>> steph ruhle joins us now how to keep your kid safe if you're returning to office in the fall. stephanie, we're going to start with stacy who has a question. >> with offices reopening, what precautions should vaccinated parents take if they have unvaccinated kids at home? >> tom, i know you and i both we have unvaccinated kids at home they're young. we have done the hardest part. we have gotten vaccinated ourselves. that is the best way to protect our kids if we're going back to wor in person, consider wearing a mask both indoors and outdoors while we're travel to go work, also if we work in a shared work space. and get information. ask your employer, is there a mask mandate here? are people showing proof of vaccination? the more information you can get from your employer, the better it will be better position you'll be in to assess the risk for yourself and your family. >> steph, so many companies are encouraging employees to come back to work, to work in office.

if you have kids at home, you're vaccinated, they're not. but if you have concerns about coming back, how do you have that conversation with your boss without feeling like, look, i'm not being lazy, i'm just concerned. >> know going into this it can be politically charged try to be calm and empathetic. don't wait to have this conversation until it's the day you're expected back at work have it early. explain your family situation. see if they can make some accommodations and, again, go back to seeing if your employer can require proof of vaccination offer regular testing for employees. and if other coworkers have the same concerns, you don't want to gang up on your boss, but if you're in a similar situation, go to your boss together so you can sort of talk through this and find a solution that works for most of everyone >> all right some great advice there, steph thanks so much you know, it's a tough conversation to have they want to go back to work, don't want to lose their job, but it's important to keep protecting their families. >> we have an hour-long special on today all day

join us at 10:30 eastern head to today.com, and you can find the special there mr. roker is back. it's still nice out, but it's starting to warm up. >> it's going to get humid and i want to go on record when it comes to coming in or staying home, i'm lazy so i'm just going to say, i like it but i love being with my pals. fire risk out west, plenty of sunshine seattle down to san diego. hot and humid in the middle of the country. heat will be increasing waez make our way to the mid-atlantic and the northeast as the week wears on strong storms today firing up in the upper midwest. that's what's going on around good ties morning. i am meteorologist kari hall. our temperatures stay cool near the coast. also, fog lingers quite a bit longer in san francisco and half moon bay. as you head inland, we're going to see a mix of sun and clouds, and sunshine this afternoon, reaching into the low 80s for the tri-valley and east bay. mid 70s for much of the north

bay. going through the forecast, it will heat up. after tomorrow, temperatures like i said, 90s in the inland valleys. >> and that is your latest weather. >> and that is your latest weather. don't forget outside, check us out, sirius/xm channel 108. >> i haven't gotten a carson daly pop start in about a month. >> missing out >> best part of the morning. >> heck of a good month, right >> it was not. >> utter those words >> god bless you lots to get to today this is great. dwayne johnson over the weekend, "the rock" surprised a tour bus in his neighborhood. take a look. he drives by >> there's a tour bus here it always tours through my neighborhood hey, you guys know where i can find the rock? >> oh, my god! >> how are you guys doing? i'll wait. i'll wait.

don't worry. >> one of the few people i hollywood that can pull up and you immediately -- >> and he's such a good supported about it, too. >> that's the rock >> he loves it he said one of the cool parts of fame and my job making a few folks happy and he made their day, as you saw. next up, ed sheeran. on monday, he shared a sneak peek inside a recent recording session. surprisingly, he wasn't there in the studio laying down tracks for his upcoming album instead, he was in the studio recording harmony for taylor swift's 2012 song, "everything has changed. take a look. ♪ all i know is you said hello and your eyes look like coming home ♪ ♪ all i know is a simple name and everything has changed ♪ ♪ all i know is you held the door ♪ ♪ you'll be mine and i'll be yours ♪ ♪ all i know since yesterday, yeah, is everything has changed ♪

>> "everything has changed" comes from swift's 2012 "red" album, which she is preparing to release in november along with a whole lineup of new songs and collaboration. 30 songs in total. sheeran is slated to be featured on the track and another track called "run" which the two wrote together when they met check it out when "red: taylor's version," drops november 19th. finally, a big day for women on the billboard music charts. for the first time in ten years, the top three albums all belong to female solo artists. number three, olivia rodrigo album "sour. "good for you" currently number five in its 14th week on billboard's global 200 chart ♪ good 4 u you look happy as hell ♪ ♪ good 4 u you're doing great ♪ >> that has a meteoric rise to fame for her unbelievable >> my daughter is obsessed

>> number two spot, doja cat, "kiss me more. ♪ we're so young, boy we ain't nothing to lose ♪ ♪ baby hold me because i like the way you move oh, oh ♪ >> sheinelle's jam >> when you're driving in the car, it's on every two seconds >> leading the pack this week, billie eilish, featuring radio hits such as "therefore i am." ♪ i'm not your friend or anything you think you're the man i think therefore i am ♪ >> and there you have it congratulations, ladies. >> we're going to have a "today" show dance party coming up on friday no, i'm just kidding i made that up >> good idea straight ahead the best-selling items you'll want to snap up before the end

of the summer, including a skirt that's more comfortable than sweats, guys but first, your local news >> yeah! good morning. 8:26. i am marcus washington. san jose leaders consider widening covid vaccine requirements to most city related public gatherings. the mayor explains proof of vaccination where more than 50 people gather, rules would apply to sites including the convention center.on or negative covid test would not be enough for admission. look at the forecast. meteorologist kari hall tracking

what to expect today. >> nice and cool for micro climates, better air quality for north and south bay. for inland areas, including santa clara valley, you need to limit time outside, especially this afternoon. we're looking at natural air conditioning, still kicking up. keeping most of our temperatures in the 60s and 70s, low 80s for inland valleys. inland temperatures will be heating up the next few days. look how hot it gets between now and friday. this weekend, it will be really hot. and unfortunately we are going to see smoke returning as well as temperatures go up, marcus. >> thanks, kari. another local look at your news for you coming up in 30 minutes.

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♪ i'm on vacation every single we have a new show tonight with andy sandberg. we hav ♪ i'm on vacation every single day because i love my occupation ♪ 8:30 now as we enjoy more time outside here on the rockefeller plaza. >> this crowd is fired up this morning. always great to have that. coming up, we are going to take a look at the historic underworld with a historic story.

gadi schwartz takes us inside the world's longest cave system. it's right here in the u.s craig was telling me he would love to do that. >> craig was not that's the opposite of what i was saying chassie post is here with this morning's focus on fashion and beauty finds that everybody should be stocking up on this month. coming up in a few minutes on the third hour, our latest "dad's got the this. we are going to introduce you to a dad and his daughter who share quite the hobby. it's a hobby that inspired them to embark on an ethic and unorthodox trek. >> that's the original big wheel. >> you're right. and tomorrow, jill martin will be here with the new steals and deals to get you ready for fall meantime, we have an exciting announcement to make. this holiday season, nbc is putting on another awesome musical event. you're not going to want to miss this one classic "annie" live you can't do that without

finding a young, optimistic lead so after a crazy nationwide search for casting, we here now can exclusively reveal annie will be played by celina smith celina joins us. >> oh, my gosh, you're so cute >> nice to see you >> nice to see you, too. >> give some shout outs. who is watching? >> oh, lord. my sister, jessica, and my other sister, mya. hi i love you guys so much. ♪ only a day away ♪ >> i hear annie, i hear it >> what was the audition process like what did you do? >> well, first we sent in a tape because we were auditioning and then i got a call back so then we sent in more tapes and more tapes and then we got the news that i got the part >> how did you find out? hello, celina? >> well, actually, we were in my mom's room and my team called and they were like what are you going be doing this october? and i was like, i don't know and then they were like you're

going to be in new york doing "annie live" this october. and i screamed >> you have living dreams right now. we can't hear you sing so it's just like building anticipation because i can tell you can sing. who is most excited? i hear somebody over there >> my mom is right over there recording. >> i heard somebody excited. >> i love you so much. >> you're 10 years old when did you start performing? >> well, i started really sicking at this entertainment camp when i was 7 years old. >> wow >> it's an amazing cast. we have taraji p. henson will be part of it what is it like? >> it's amazing to perform with an iconic cast and i'm so excited for this journey to start. >> love it >> amazing >> you've been touring "the lion king," traveling a lot t new york city to get ready and rehearse >> of course all my friends are here, too, so i'll get to hang out with them, too.

but just being a part of this production is an amazing opportunity and i'm so excited to be here in new york >> we're all smiling i'm looking at the shoes i know you can tap i can tell by the way you move your feet. i can't wait >> just stand next to sheinelle. >> she's living my dream right now. >> sheinelle is wearing heels. >> i'm wearing three, four inch heels. >> you're the size of a 12-year-old. i love it. >> sheinelle, you could be the understudy >> i know, right i can't wait congratulations, my friend >> thank you so much >> her mom is over there about to lose her mind >> welcome >> i know we can all catch celina "annie live" when it airs thursday, december 2nd, right here on nbc. >> ah! >> love it, love it, love it mr. roker, can you top that? >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by lucky charms, they're magically delicious. >> so, celina, it's to be -- there's going to be some areas where it's rain, but you can tell people there's a little sign of hope, right, after the rain what happened?

>> the sun will come out tomorrow >> yes she would have sung it, but then we would have had to pay for it, so we can't do that. there you go thank you so much. let's show you what we've got going on as far as your weather. increasing heat here in the northeast. hot and humid in the midsection of the country the sun is already out today that's in the west tomorrow, the sun will be out from seattle down into the gulf coast. we will be looking at stronger storms through the gulf into the southeast and a few record highs in the mid-atlantic states and on into the upper midwest. that's what's going on around good tuesday morning. i am meteorologist kari hall. we continue to enjoy temperatures a little cooler than normal in the inland areas. starting out with clouds, but it will be hazy sunshine for the afternoon. by the end of the week, look at the trend. highs in the upper 90s this weekend. san francisco goes from mid-60s and foggy to more sunshine, more

smoke, and highs in the low 70s for saturday. and that is your latest weather. >> thank y >> that is your latest weather >> thank you, al just ahead, gadi schwartz takes us deep inside mammoth cave's park for s hiddenit

and we are back with a geological wonder that has a history as rich as its natural beauty >> we're talking about mammoth gave down in kentucky. the longest cave system in the world. nbc's gadi schwartz is taking us inside hey, gadi. >> reporter: hey, good morning, guys for thousands of years, humans have been descending into mammoth cave to marvel at its wonder a lot of early exploration here was done by slaves who are being honored today by a special tour guide whose family history is literally written on the walls

of this cave >> do you remember the first time you came through the entrance here? >> i remember being about 4 or 5 years old. mom and dad would bring us down here to mammoth cave often >> reporter: jimmy branchford is 74 years old mammoth cave is in his blood >> this is everything that a cave named mammoth ought to look like right here. my favorite room, the rotunda. >> reporter: created over millions of years by an underground river, mammoth cave is the world's longest cave system over 400 miles mapped and potentially another 600 miles unexplored but to fully appreciate its grandeur, you have to know about its history. ♪ everybody talking ♪ >> there's excavation. >> what you're seeing here is results of approximately 70 black men brought here to make gunpowder components for the war of 1812. >> reporter: gunpowder used to help defeat the british and solidify america's independence. that was for the fight for

freedom that they didn't have. >> a fight for freedom that these poor men didn't have >> reporter: after the war of 1812, the cave was purchased with designs on tourism. that's where jerry comes in. >> how long has your family been connected with the cave? >> we began in 1838 and continued to 1941. >> 1838 to 1941. >> yes >> who was the first branchford to work in the cave? >> matt, matterson, my great-great grandfather. >> so you're five generations down >> right >> reporter: matterson, a 15-year-old slave who was hired out to explore and map the cavern in 1838 he became one of the three original cave guides of mammoth cave >> they learned the tricks of the trade quite quickly. they became entertainers, explorers and guides they had jobs that were unique in america for people in slavery. >> on the surface, they were slaves but when they'd come down to the cave, they were guiding tours for world leaders. >> absolutely. once you got down in the cave, and you knew it better than

anybody, you were free >> reporter: molly shore has been with the national park service for over 20 years. her first job was as a guide for mammoth cave >> so i've been to a lot of national parks none quite like this >> no, there's not we always like to say we are two parks in one we have this beautiful surface area of the green river valley, but we also have the longest cave in the world, mammoth cave. >> reporter: the cave is a geological wonder, a bottomless pit. >> that's hundreds of feet, easily >> it is >> reporter: to the winding way. >> where are we right now? >> we are in a very low area >> yeah. >> reporter: this is known as fat man's misery >> it's getting pretty tight in here so that was fat man's misery this is tall man's misery. it's a leg workout whew >> reporter: the cave is a labyrinth of tight passages, cas depths, and this, the river sticks >> the under world you're in the under world undere

>> reporter: and in this kind of absolute darkness, you can't see your hands, but you can hear your thoughts. are those voices >> no. just the sound of the water and probably your imagination. >> reporter: the cave is a natural wonder jerry and his family's legacy are one of its most remarkable treasures. all around him, the name of hi forefathers written on the walls, history written in time in smoke and soot. >> this is your great-great grandfather? >> this is my great-great grandfather. several places we can find his name far out and deep down. >> reporter: for over 100 years, there was a branchford working within the walls of this cave until 1941 that's when it was made into a national park and the land around the park was seized by eminent domain and black people were barred from being guides. jerry's grandfather lost all he had. >> so your family went from being enslaved to exploring this cave to having land, having that land taken away by the government >> yes

>> and then told that you guys couldn't work in the cave any more >> right >> reporter: for 66 years, a line of branchford guides was broken, until 2004, when jerry ve job his ancestors had pioneered. >> when it comes to your family's legacy, what does this cave represent to you? >> it represents an american story. it represents me walking in the footsteps of folks that were here way before me >> reporter: 17 years later, jerry is still walking the passages his ancestors helped map. >> i can't think about standing here, as many years as i've been here already, but i don't think i'm ready to go just yet >> reporter: while jerry's name hasn't been etched on the walls in soot and smoke, he is a part of the cave forever. they discovered a new passage and named it the jerry branchford way in his honor he says he plans on guiding here as long as he possibly can guys >> wow >> blown away.

>> gadi schwartz >> that's a story, huh i hope he puts his name in the cave somewhere up next, they are best sellers for a reason the fashion and beauty buys you'll want to add to your closet that are just a few clicks away. but first, this is "today" on majestic mountains... scenic coastal highways... fertile farmlands... there's lots to love about california. so put off those chores

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but the details make this dress so special, like the flutter sleeve and the high-low hem. and it is really comfortable there's the elastic waist and that great wrap detail is so flattering >> how much is it? >> it's under $45. so this is a really special buy. >> i do love a flutter sleeve. this skirt, it's apparently quite versatile, as well >> oh, my goodness i love a midi skirt. this is a number one best seller not only is it really flattering on pretty much every body type, but it is so comfortable. i think it's more comfortable than a pair of sweatpants. i will say it. >> nice. >> you try it on and you let us know >> i know. and what's so great about this, it's high waisted. there is an elastic waistband which we love. and it's this pleated material, which is really elevated, right? >> so soft >> i love it so we're comfortable and then we're running errands. >> yes, we are >> tell me about this cross body

>> so this is the cross body phone bag. and it is the number one best selling crossbody on amazon. when a huge trend is this tech bag, it's made for your phone. but what makes this one so great is there are ore compartments for your id. >> can it you something? >> yes >> so i have a cross body. i have two cell phones i carry my phones and have the crossbody around it never fits. but if this is designed to fit your cell phones, it's a win >> and it's like your own personal assistant, right? hands free, guys so really affordable >> so what if you don't want to carry a bag with you you have to rip -- >> if we want to take that hands free idea to the next level, this is a little key chain plus a miniature wallet, so, you know, just your id and your credit cards and it's a bracelet so you can wear it over your wrist. >> i can see you having that >> you just run out of the house and grab it on your wrist. >> exactly and you can keep this on the

doorknob so you never lose your keys, and it's big enough so you don't have to fish around in the bottom of your bag how cute is that >> i love it i'm obsessed with makeup brushes. i think it makes all the difference you can buy the cutest compacts, but the brushes are what set it apart. >> exactly and sheinelle, this set, it is every brush you would ever need. 14 brushes for under $10 >> oh. >> which is incredible and which has 78,000 ratings on amazon people are obsessed with it. and it comes in this clever carrying case. it's great for travel, but put this on your counter and i'm always digging in the bottom of my bag for makeup brushes. i've got 14. >> keeps them from getting all messed up. people put them in bags. >> you're right. this is a popular kit. >> my wife would love this >> she would love this take one home for her. >> and what about this apparently this changes your nails. >> oh, my goodness last but not least, this is called milk and honey.

it's a cuticle oil and great cuticles are not just for women, craig. >> craig and al, they don't mess around with their nails. i won't tell their secrets, but they get manicures more often than i do. >> you just told our secrets >> sorry >> you were talking about the -- yes. >> i love you care about your nails. >> they do, they care. >> this is incredible. 88,000 ratings almost five stars. >> it smells good. >> so good it's a cold press oil that really helps to moisturize and revitalize those cuticles. craig. >> i told you. and you see how well he does it? and guess what you can use it on your cuticles, but also you can put it on your nails and then you can put it on your hands you can even use it on your skin >> can i say, this is a nice gift idea because it's something you wouldn't necessarily buy for yourself >> you are exactly right and it's under $15 and, again -- >> and it lasts -- this is the

thing about cuticle oil, you know, it lasts forever >> i don't know. >> i'm learning a lot about nails from craig this morning. >> i love it good stuff this morning. we both endorse them and, again, for more on all of these products, scan our qr code or head to today.com/shop. and a reminder, amazon has an affiliate relationship with "today" so whenever you buy a product from our site, amazon pays "today" a small commission. >> we are back in a moment >> we are back in a moment but first, this is "today" on can you see my wall of smiles? when i first started using genesys technology

i was kind of embarrased at all the love and attention i got from my customers. people are so moved by how much i understand about them. they start including me in their lives. that's helen and her friends. i arranged a wellness retreat for them. look at those ladies. such wisdom. mmm. but it's really genesys that helps me understand people and what they truly need. i'm just glad i can help. kids love visiting kidifornia. but parents like it to, like a lot. they go bonkers. (wuaahh) totally boom it's an adventure. (sound of playing) you know ,you have to keep an eye on them. you got to let them explore and figure things out for themselves. so hurry up (screams) they're not gonna stay this way forever. kick off your kidifornia vacation at visitcalifornia.com grass looks great, zeus!

hey could you maybe trim the hydrangea too? sure thing, kevin. do you want me to do the boxwoods as well? no. finding the right person for the job isn't always easy... ...but when you have an insurance question, you can always count on your local geico agent. they can give you personalized advice and could help you save hundreds. hey medusa! let's boogie. for expert help with all your insurance needs, get to know your local geico agent today. al, ready to spin some smucker's jars today >> i'm always ready to spin the jars so let's go through the window line up the jars, spin those babies everlee louis, a quick walker from mustang, oklahoma sit her down with a bowl of cheerios, she's one happy baby much like tom llamas >> it's true

>> kevin moore jr. is from indianapolis, indiana. once this kid wakes up, he is nonstop. he gets into everything. happy 1st birthday to thora cordova, a world class napper from new york city i would put her up against craig anytime. long walks in the stroller so does craig. let's go to the bronx now where we find miss khaleesi hickman. >> i think it is because she loves the mac n cheese james johnson is from oak ridge, north carolina youngest of four siblings. his hobbies include laughing at all of his siblings. last but not least, happy first birthday to matteo lushman i love that name vegetable lover from loveland, ohio his first word, aqua >> really? >> not mama but aqua >> aqua. >> we can't let this hour pass

without acknowledging mr. roker's glasses. those are new. >> kind of aqua. >> something new energy-boosting foods that will keep you going until you're ready for some rest. first up, on the third hour, we have a special performance from the grammy nominated band you love. >> you were the one who turned us out on this >> love the black pumas. they're going to join us in the third hour all that and more after your local news and weather and these messages

8:56. dta leaders plan to update when they resume micro service.

they are expected to talk about the possibility of test trains running soon followed by employees returning to work and hopefully bringing back passenger service. happening now, that meeting under way at 11:00 a.m. kris sanchez is monitoring it. and students at concord high school are in shock after the death of a 14-year-old student. some fear she may have taken a pill laced with fentanyl. bob redell will have the latest in the midday newscast. you can go to the home page.

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with your internet. it's wireless so good, it keeps one upping itself. switch to xfinity mobile and save hundreds on your wireless bill. plus, save up to $400 when you purchase a new samsung phone or upgrade your existing phone. learn more at your local xfinity store today. live from studio 1a in rockefeller blah ska, this is the third hour of "today." >> good morning, everybody. welcome to the third hour of "today." it's august 24th. >> we're back. >> we're altogether. we have our folks, our people. >> special moment when all four of us are together. >> we need more cowbelles. >> so we have a lot to get to this morning, including's