then from 4-9pm reduce use and take it easy on our energy. sign up today. every day we're on the ground is another day we know that isis-k is seeking to target the airport and attack both u.s. and allied forces and innocent civilians. >> the president reaffirming the urgency to get out of afghanistan by august 31st as evacuations ramp up, tens of thousands are repositioned around the globe the cdc is laying out the facts for covid vaccine effective. cases soar along with 1,400

deaths in the past day we'll take you tocaliforni for the latest on the wildfires that are consuming acre after acre after an alarming rate. we'll remember charlie watts. and our lest remember hotel introduces us to an american hero jumping at every chance to honor those who served with him during world war ii. "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm phillip mena >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera the pressure is mounting to ramp up evacuations in afghanistan. president biden is sticking with the august 31s line to remove u.s. citizens, afghan refugees, and the remaining u.s. forces from the country. nbc's jay gray joins us now from washington d.c and, jay, the president did leave the door open to the possibility of staying longer. >> he did, asking the pentagon and state department to come up with contingency plans in case there is a problem with the time

line moving forward. but he's pointing to the stepped up evacuations in the region with more than 70,000 airlifted out just since the 14th. and remains confident that this can get done by the deadline but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle here in washington, they're just not sure. >> the completion depends upon the taliban continuing to cooperate and allow access to the airport for those who are transporting out, and no disruptions to our operations. >> i can tell you there is no way we can humanly get all of our american citizens and afghan partners out of the country by that time. people are going to die and they're going to be left behind. >> two members of congress, democrat seth mouthon and republican peter mayer, both veterans, both made a secret trip together to kabul airport they said it was an oversight

mission. moulton tweeted that he really doesn't believe there's any way the evacuations can be done by the end of the month, not even by september 11th. house speaker nancy pelosi when she found out immediately sent a letter out urging house members not to travel to afghanistan, not to divert attention or resources away from the currennn a week until that consequential day. and we'll see which way it goes. jay, thank you in the battle against covid, white house officials say they are seeing about vaccination rankings by state. leading the pack, vermont, massachusetts, and connecticut florida and texas are right in the middle and at the bottom mississippi and alabama with 37% >> reporter: the cdc is now reporting that new covid cases across the country are up 12%

week over week because of the delta parent and deaths have risen 23%. the state of florida alone is now topping 3 million covid cases since the pandemic began at st. joseph's hospital in tampa, the pandemic is peaking daily. >> this is not normal. >> reporter: this nurse says she brought four patients to the morgue >> i went home last night and i was mad. >> reporter: why >> because i don't need to be doing this right now we could have avoided this whole wave if more people in our country had gone and just gotten two shots. >> reporter: the health system now has about 1,200 covid patients, shattering its previous record last summer. there's 26 beds here and right now 25 of them are full. the hospital has set up overflow beds in other parts of the facility >> the amount of death and dying

that we're seeing is, in my whole nursing career i've never seen anything like it. >> reporter: ambulances often have to wait here to drop off patients or they're rerouted to other hospitals that are also stretched thin >> for example, if we're on critical care bypass, we're saying that we don't have beds or staff to provide care for critical care patients. >> so now essentially you're diverting ambulances about half the time now because you just don't have the beds? >> exactly >> reporter: across the country new covid cases are up 12% over the last week. deaths are up 23%. >> i think the only chance we have is vaccination, and that's it >> reporter: among healthcare workers, the emotional toll is measured in long shifts and longer memories. just this week jamie helped care for a fellow nurse who came down with covid and did not survive >> it could be me. it could be any nurse. ite anyone we know

and once you're in the bed in the icu, you don't have any control anymore. i'm still here and i'm still trying, but i want to make people better. that's what i do and i can't and it's awful >> reporter: a few months ago we doubted that it would get this bad again. but for this hospital, it's the worst it's never been. of course, it's not like this in all parts of the country, but for many healthcare workers here and in other places experiencing surges, it is incredibly frustrating. phillip? >> frustrating, some would say infuriating. vice president kamala harris had to briefly pause her overseas travel plans. there were concerns after u.s. diplomats in vietnam reported signs of the mysterious havana syndrome nbc's andrea mitchell is following the story. >> reporter: last-minute delay on the vice president's high-profile trip to vietnam after embassy staffers reported

akouszim symptoms similar to the so-called havana system over the weekend. security officials decided there was no threat to the vice president since the embassy staff had been working from home because of covid nbc has reported as many as 200 reported cases at posts all over the world of this still mysterious ailment three hours late, vice president harris arrived in hanoi where we are told she will be carrying out her full schedule. a major victory for president biden's domestic agenda the house voted along party lines to move forward with a $3.5 trillion budget resolution. speaker nancy pelosi broke a stalemate with centrist democrats by promising a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure vote by september 27e budget re the biggesn of the american social safety net in decades. republicans oppose the spending and the proposed tax increases to pay for it. >> the house also passed a

sweeping voting rights bill named after the late civil rights congressman john lewis. the bill would fight restrictive voting laws passed in states like texas and georgia after discrepancies by tennessee officials, the flooding death toll is now down from 22 to 18. and the search continues for three who are still missing. residents are assessing damage from the devastating storm with more than 270 homes destroyed. and at least 160 facing major damage president biden has approved a major disaster declaration for humphries county allowing those impacting to access fema's individual assistance program. california's caldor fire has now burned thousands of acres. cal fire director tom porter says the fire is now the number one priority in the nation for

fire fighting resources as it creeps closer to the lake tahoe area from the fires to extreme heat nbc meteorologist janessa webb joining us now with those details. good morning, janessa. >> hi, good morning. if you're across the pacific northwest, slightly cooler this afternoon, but we do have heat warnings that are currently in place for the desert southwest some of these temperatures going to be reaching 117 degrees for the next three days. so very consistent, and we'll see dry air continue to make its way across this area red flag warnings continue to be in place across the pacific northwest. now, if you're across the east coast, look at highs today in the mid-90s, but the heat index will be consistent as well all the way into charlotte, north carolina, to richmond will be

the feel-like temperature neary. louis. miami today partly cloudy, 91. okay the tropics, here we go again. we have three disturbances that i'm watching we'll talk about that coming up. three former "saturday night live" co-stars are set to reunite this winter for a new holiday competition series called "baking it. maya rudolph and adam sandberg are set to host. it will premiere on nbc's streaming service. it's funny to get this combination when it comes to cooking and this whole comedic

trio should be fun. >> baking shows are extremely popular. and you add them in the mix, i'm sure that will be, too >> "early today" is back in two. just how much a tom brady rookie card could fetch at auction. and the faa cracks down on unruly passengers. i have more than 73. go for the handful! not touching is still touching protection. adding lysol laundry sanitizer kills i have more than 73. 99.9% of bacteria. detergent alone, can't. lysol. what it takes to protect. ♪yeah, yeah, yeah♪ real fruit... and whole grains. ♪yeah, yeah, yeah♪ doing something good for yourself has never been this easy. just do what's delicious.

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these fudge brownie m&m's are really fudgey yes they are. to put a fudge brownie center in an m&m's is... genius! i know. i was going to say hard! why won't you... ughhhh... ahhh! why won't you go in... fudge brownie m&m's. >> according to new data

released by the faa, there have been nearly 4,000 reports of unruly passengers since the beginning of the year. over 2,000 of those reports related to passengers refusing to wear masks. the agency also said nearly 700 investigations have been initiated with 132 cases resulting in penalties in a typical year the faa usually gets about a hundred to 150 formal cases of unruly passenger behavior the united states tennis association announced a new mental health initiative for players. competitors will have access to resources including mental health providers and choir rooms. the organization has acknowledged the added stress from the covid-19 pandemic major league baseball is handing out its second suspension in the crackdown against illegal substances used on baseballs arizona diamondbacks pitcher caleb smith was the latest he was given a ten-game suspension as well as a fine after umpires found a foreign substance on his glove

smith said after the game that that was just a mix of dirt and recog rosin. fans of nfl great tom brady, this is for you. another one of his rare items is up fornship rookie ticket card. it is number holy grail of brady football cards. two similar cards sold for over $5 million in recent auctions bidding runs through september 25th >> i mean, that is it. >> sad thing is you put that thing in front of me i'm like, eh, it looks like any other card to me. take a spin and see times square like never before a giant ferris wheel is now towering over that tourist hot spot 110 feet high that ride lasts about 12 minutes and gives a bird's eye view of

the crossroads of the world including port authority as well as that guy in the knockoff elmo costume. tickets will cost 20 bucks for adults, 15 for kids. rides start today that'll run through september 12th don't know if you're going to be able to see naked cowboy though troubles. still to come, melissa mccarthy's new netflix movie might come with a side of tears along with her usually laughs. a world war ii veteran takes his celebration to new heights just lucky i guess. (sfx: airplane flying overhead) we're a little closer to the airport than we thought... (sfx: airplane grounded outside the house) at least geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy. saving us so much money. -hi. -how was your flight? -good. -good. morning, ted. for bundling made easy, go to geico.com.

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sign up for flex alerts today. there's a guy i used to work with, someone you could talk to. ♪ >> what's your pet's name? >> i don't have a pet. >> no pet? >> that's a first. come on back not you, sit down stay >> grab the kleenex because netflix has dropped the first trailer for "the starling. this movie stars melissa mccarthy and chris o'dowd. now to a very special birthday celebration >> frances, some inspiration from a veteran we have all come to know well and who just celebrated a birthday milestone in high style. for tom rice, the feeling before

parashooting 7,500 feet above the earth is a familiar one. and one he welcomed again to celebrate his 100th birthday >> i like to jump. it gives you a new vision of so many things that 90% of people will never be able to see. >> reporter: this jump though far different than the one he took in 1944 over the normandy countryside in german-agooccupid france he returned to france to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the invasion where i was lucky enough to meet somf that l knowledge r ranks grow thinner by the year. >> i feel great. go back up and do it again >> reporter: and jump again he did. ♪ god bless america ♪ >> we're honoring all of those that were killed that didn't make it that couldn't get home >> reporter: rice landing to cheers from his hometown of

coronado a birthday celebration saluting the greatest generation and 100 years of a life well lived >> congratulations happy birthday >> it's recognition for somebody who helped shape this world as we know it now >> reporter: rice says he hopes to jump again when he's 101. in the meantime, he offers this advice >> there's a lot to be done and a lot to live. it doesn't make any difference what age you are, but do it, end of paragraph >> end of paragraph is right thanks to lester for that. and we salute tom rice as he salutes everybody that he has served with as well. a big salute at that, especially 101 if he's really looking for that goal. >> that's awesome. we thank you for your service of course to this country, mr. rice next up, janessa is tracking new trouble in the tropics and a dog day afternoon

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one of the most iconic album covers in rock history is at the center of a new lawsuit. spencer was a baby he is now suing the surviving members of the band, claiming that as you see right there on your screen, that was child pornography and that he couldn't consent to the use of his image. according to court documents he claims to have suffered lifelong damages and that his legal guardians never signed a release. he is seeking $150,000 from each defendant. i want to know what those damages are trauma and all over all those years. >> again, it's something we all

recognize, that iconic photo there. a busy week for kanye west he's working on a little more than that upcoming album his longtime nickname, he cited pe personal reasons on the document he is setting up a replica of his childhood home in chicago. there will be a listening party at that place tomorrow we are remembering rolling stones drummer charlie watts he died at a london hospital on tuesday. ♪ >> reporter: if the rolling stones are the world's greatest rock and roll band, then charlie watts is surely the greatest rock and roll drummer. he kept the beat for over 50 years, dropped out of the stone's no filter tour this month after undergoing surgery

he died in a london hospital surrounded by family paul mccartney, a member of that other famous british band taking a moment to remember watts >> charlie was a rock, a fantastic drummer. steady as a rock >> reporter: often impeccably dressed in suits, watts was soft-spoken, letting his bandmates take the spotlight >> can you say hello >> hello [ cheers and applause >> he speaks >> reporter: but he was at the heart of the rolling stones. they called him the enginem setn he was 14 years old, developing a passion for jazz he even started his own 33-piece band in the '80s >> when i was a kid 12, 13, i heard rock and that was it >> reporter: his job was to make it swing and bounce, and that's

what he did. stephanie gosk, nbc news we thank you for kicking off your wednesday with us i'm frances rivera >> and i'm phillip mena. tomorrow is national dog day so, you can visit us on instagram or facebook. moraga majestic mountains... scenic coastal highways... fertile farmlands... there's lots to love about california. so put off those chores and use less energy is available.rgy because that's power down time.

right now at 4:30, a wildfire looming near lake tahoe this warning. the cautious warning to residents as flames spread and air quality worsens. plus -- >> there was no evidence that he had anything to do with what happened to lacey. >> years after being convicted for the murder of his pregnant wife, scot peterson's legal team is fighting to get him a new trial and hear from family of c. we dive to the violent trend that left one student unconscious. this is "today in the bay."