when less clean energy is available. because that's power down time. the kabul count down with more americans pulling out of afghanistan and pressure growing from the taliban military flights are moving ever faster to beat the deadline now only five days away. new covid cases setting records in florida and around the country. hospitals are getting slammed with new patients. almost all of them unvaccinated. we'll take you inside an i.c.u as wildfires continue to wreak havoc in many parts of california, now insurance companies are dropping homeowners with long-time.

is there any recourse? and meeting with the president. >> big shout out to our furry best friends out there on this national dog day as we highlight our viewers and staff's pets on this thursday, august 26 "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm phillip mena >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera we begin with new developments surrounding coronavirus. the pentagon is mandating u.s. military troops to get vaccinated against covid-19 as soon as possible the mandate came in the form of a memo from defense secretary lloyd austin who said, in part, to defend this nation we need a healthy and ready force. according to pentagon data, more than 800,000 service members have yet to roll up their sleeve and currently only 68% of our active duty force is fully vaccinated florida has set a new record for one-day infections on tuesday the state reported more than 26,000 new infections. south dakota is reporting a spike in covid cases after the

surge motorcycle rally the state has over 3,000 new infections in the last two weeks. and meade county home to surges has had more than a 1500% increase in cases in the past 14 days meanwhile, pop star harry styles has become the latest musician to require testing or proof of vaccination to attend his concert in october in tampa, florida. nbc's christine pitawanage has more from oregon >> reporter: hospitals in oregon are at their breaking point. only 7% of i.c.u. beds available across the state >> every single patient on this unit right now has a breathing tube >> reporter: here at ohsu hospital in portland more than a dozen critically ill covid patients fill the medical i.c.u., all but one are unvalgd. >> there's always a nurse kind of right here ready to intervene. >> reporter: people from all over the pau scific seaboard co

here from alaska and montana >> our physicians are just being called at every opportunity. can you take this patient? can you help us consult on this patient? this patient is 26 and dying this patient is 21 and dying this patient is a father of four and dying. they turn to us and it's full. >> reporter: health care workers are exhausted and straining to keep up with the surge of covid patients you see these people you know it's preventable. >> yeah. >> reporter: what goes through your mind? >> heartbreaking knowing people are fighting for their lives and it could have been prevented i don't think people have an inkling of the amount of suffering that you will experience being sick with covid. it is extremely painful. >> reporter: americans who hesitate to get the vaccine, asking nurses and doctors to shoulder the unbelievable weight

of death and illnesses >> it's really unnecessary it's totally avoidable i think that's the most heartbreaking part of it i just wish people it if you're worried about side effects from the vaccine itself, the risks of what could happen to you or your loved one if you do not get vaccinated are astronomically higher. >> reporter: christine, nbc portland kabul issued a warning to americans trying to reach the airport. they were warned to stay away from several airport gates unless given instructions from officials. the state department called this a dynamic and volatile security situation. we are joined by nbc's jay gray. jay, what do we know about the number of americans still in afghanistan? >> reporter: well, according to the state department, about 1500 still on the ground there in afghanistan. 500 do have the specific instructions on how to get to the airport and when to do that. the rest, though, u.s. officials are frantically reaching out and trying to contact to make that

happen back here in washington, there continues to be a lot of pushback on president biden and the administration for not extending the deadline for these evacuations. >> the biden administration is willing to accept the fact that they will be leaving americans behind in a taliban strong hold. the president's misguided decisions run the risk of creating the largest international hostage situation we have ever faced as a nation >> there is no deadline on our work to help any remaining american citizens who decide they want to leave to do so along with the many afghans who stood by us these many years and is want to leave and have been unable to do so. that effort will continue every day past august 31st >> reporter: and the pentagon points out that 80,000 people have already been evacuated. later today president biden is hosting a virtual meeting with a group of bipartisan governors, all of which, frances, say they

will welcome afghan refugees to their states >> that in mind with those still stranded there and trying to get out safely jay, thank you malala is recovering from her sixth surgery after being shot by a taliban fighter nearly ten years ago. the 24-year-old human rights activist has also spent the past two weeks since her procedure working to help evacuate refugees from afghanistan. in a post to podium i didn't mean, she recalled her injuries and long recovery writing, in part, i watched as province after province fell to men with guns loaded with bullets like the one that shot me she also shared how she and other activists helped many afghan families find safety amid the ongoing evacuation from the kabul airport. two dozen san diego students and their families are stranded still in afghanistan they traveled there to visit family over the summer many of them have not been able to make it to the airport, and one family of five has managed to escape. the el cajon school district is

working with representative darrell issa to help them get out safely a group of internationally known afghan students have been evacuated. they are teenage girls that are part of a very impressive robotics team. nbc's richard engel kacaught up with some of them in qatar >> reporter: thousands of afghans have made it out of the airport, and the first stop for many is doha, qatar, including afghanistan's so-called robot girls. these high schoolers competed in competitions around the world, won events and innovation awards 18-year-old samaya is the robotics team captain. was it difficult for you to leave afghanistan, to leave your family, to leave your home 17-year-old ida is a programmer >> i have recommendation for all the people that are still in afghanistan, around the world. just do not ever give up and continue to do what you want >> reporter: that team is still planning to intercom petition in september. they are working on a robotic

light that destroya new consume morning. over 52,000 pounds of willow tree chicken salads and dips have been recalled over possible plastic contamination. it affects products sold between august 10th and the 13th the company says pieces of hard white plastic may be in the food it's affecting states in northeast, connecticut, massachusetts, maine, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, pennsylvania, rhode island and vermont. if you love some red, red wine, this next story is for you. a new study has found that three glasses of red wine a week can help lower blood pressure. the study published in hypertension, an american heart association journal, found that higher intake of food rich in antioxidants called flavonoids reduce blood pressure. the analysis included 900 participants in germany. not red wine weather when it

comes to the wicked heat hampering millions across the u.s. today janessa webb has the hot and humid forecast hi, janessa. >> hi, good morning. yes, it won't stop across the desert southwest impacting the central us to the northeast, i do want to focus on the pacific northwest. southern california into arizona, we're dealing with temperatures -- air temperatures near 117 degrees so this is not helping the wildfire danger. red flag warnings in this section of the country, with 92 large wildfires burning, and the acres burned so far, 2.6 million, and that's going to continue because i have no rain in the forecast for the next five days. now, looking, going into your friday and the weekend, across the coast slightly cooler, but that fire danger increases for,

across the board we're in the lower 90s. feel like temperatures near 100. and there's still watching the storm system headed for the gulf we'll talk about that coming up. >> important to hear all right, janessa, thanks two more star players are withdrawing from the u.s. open the williams sisters, serena and venus said they would not play in the tournament next week. serena cited her torn hamstring and venus said she's dealing with a leg injury. it's the first time since 2003 neither williams sister is playing in the u.s. open up next, disorder in the court. pro-trump lawyers slapped with sanctions. plus fire policy fury. the new roadblock homeowners are facing trying to pte tirrocthe property from those wildfires. i felt gross. it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. four years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better

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lawyers who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election in michigan are facing serious sanctions this morning in a scathing decision, a federal judge recommended disbarment for all nine attorneys who tried to flip the state for former president trump. that includes trump's lawyers sidney powell and linwood. initial to financial penalties, the judge said for them to receive 12 hours of legal education, half of which will focus on election law. in that ruling the judge called the lawsuit an historic and profound abuse of judicial process saying the group took on the charge of deceiving a federal court and the american people into believing their rights were in fringed without regard to whether any laws or rights were violated california's massive caldor fire is closer to tahoe this morning. in the situation even more dire for families who can no longer get fire insurance jake ward explains >> reporter: the city of novato,

california, is looking for fire before it happens. firefighter dan russo goes home to home advising residents on how to keep their properties safe >> we don't like to see any grasses growing in the first 5 feet >> reporter: he took me along on his rounds i look at this, california grass bungalow you see dripping torch of flame. >> potentially >> reporter: even a well defended california home in the wrong place may not be able to afford fire insurance or find it at all in 2019 alone, insurance companies dropped the policies of about 230,000 homeowners in the state. that's a 31% increase from the year before. the traditional math which judges homes by neighborhood or zip code tells insurance companies not to take on homeowners like kelly. >> we bought the house 33 years ago. >> reporter: she couldn't renew her insurance when the coverage lapsed >> i was told, well, we have some kind of a rating system now, and where your house is is

rated in a higher fire danger than we're willing to write a new policy, so we won't write for you. >> reporter: but technology could help zesty a.i. can help them evaluate each home, not the zip code >> it looks something like this on a big scale >> reporter: what you're trying to do is look at it house by house? >> that's right. what we do is we are able to analyze imagery taken from satellite and we have trained our models to essentially make sense of the metric. >> reporter: the hope is zesty a.i.'s data will allow insurers reward those who make their home safer rather than writing off entire zip codes this technology can be used on other disasters, not just fire, but floods, hurricanes, hail the technology is there to allow insurance companies to negotiate with homeowners to maybe bring their prices down. the question now is whether they'll use it that way. >> jake, thanks. when we return, cnbc's steve sedgwick will tell us why some

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greiner dunked 15 of those kristen stewart as princess diana, the video was not released publicly, but she is seen talking with prince charms played by jack farthing. bringing the heat with summer wine down, limited edition of flaming hot flavor. it can be purchased on mountain dew's online store starting tuesday. united states may be the world's favorite target for cyber crimes, from election tampering, ransomware freezing our computers. now that could all be changing for the better cnbc's steve sedgwick is here to tell us why. good morning, steve. >> yeah, great to see you both today, frances and phillip this is interesting because you say the private and public sector which has been attacked by malicious players in cyber wear what happened is you have the white house and joe biden meeting with the big technology companies talking about what they can do to offset the

attacks, the likes o the last year or so but the commitments now come from the likes of google, $10 billion worth of spending over the next five years. microsoft $20 billion worth over the next five years including for whole range of enhanced security talks ibm 150,000 with more skills krispy kreme is starting monday 30th, offering every american who received at least one covid-19 vaccination, wait for it, not one, but two free doughnuts. yes, you get the original glaze if you can prove you had a shot, plus heart glazed donut. lovely back to you both >> that could change everything. anti-vaxers could be singing a different tune just because of that steve, thank you so much janessa is tracking danger in the tropics that's next. >> who said there's no such thing as a free ride

a custodian gets the surprise of a lifetime and we're celebrating national dog day with a lot of help from our viewers. we asked for photos of your four-legged friends and you didn't disappoint. we tried to get in as many as possible we have some here and many more ahead in our e-block pets are especially important during the panmidec. multiple studies show they can reduce stress. >> what is an e-block? >> coming up and then ♪ ♪ worst of all ♪ ♪ you never call ♪ baby daydreaming again? but i love you still you know i'm driving, right? i do. ♪ buttercup baby just to let me down ♪ if you ride, you get it. geico motorcycle. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. new zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil.

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georgia elementary school, so the staff got to work raising money to help him buy his own car. look at chris jackson, frozen in place when teachers handed him the keys as he was walking to work he said he was saving up to buy a car and being gifted a new ride was one of the greatest moments of his life, and the greatest reaction, too still frozen >> man, that is beautiful. janessa webb here with us, she has an early look at the weekend. janessa, hello again >> hi. you know, i'm asking people not to wait on this storm system to be named before they start to take action. this trend looks close to louisiana and texas where we could potentially have a major hurricane. this will escalate fairly quickly going into later tonight. it makes its way into the gulf as we go into saturday potential landfall overnight sunday into monday guys >> all right, janessa, important to know. thank you. next on "early today," why only fans is reversing its decision to ban sexual content

that next, and yr p ot, o.oupuphos people were afraid i was contagious. i felt gross. it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. four years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections —some serious— and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur.

learn more at cosentyx.com. juul in today's top stories, a michigan man has been sentenced to six years in prison in the plot to kidnap the state's governor more than a dozen suspects are facing charges, but ty garvin was the only one to plead guilty five other men are scheduled to stand trial in october garvin cooperated with the investigation. and during his sentencing hearing, he apologized to governor gretchen whitmer and her family they say hay is so for horses and so is ivermectin. they are warning not to take the an fight covid-19ng

it's flying off the shelves in oklahoma a doctor in the state is echoing the fda's warning. she says it could cause a wide range of health issues including cardiac rhythm problems and blood pressure issues. the health officials in mississippi say two have been hospitalized after taking the drug more legal troubles for adult film performer ron jeremy. he is facing over 30 counts of sexual assault involving 21 women. the alleged victims range in age from 15 to 51, with the alleged assaults dating back to 1996 jeremy has pleaded not guilty to all counts if he is convicted, the charges carry more than 300 years behind bars jeremy is due back in court october 12 after push back from users, they plan to ban pornography from their platform. they cited unfair treatment from banks for the policy change. sex workers condemn the proposal to ban explicit content who are

in large part responsible for the site's success and rely on it as a source of income and only fans spokesperson telling nbc the changes were required due to banking changes. the prescription can support all genres of creators let's celebrate birthdays on august 26. keke palmer turns 28 actor/musician evan ross turns 33 >> stand up turns 39 mcc mccauley calkins is 41 >> melissa mccarthy turns 51 today. >> grammy winning jazz musician turns 61 valerie simpson turns 61 we thank you for waking up with

"early today." i'm frances rivera >> and i'm phillip mena. before we go, we want to leave you with the pictures yo coming up on the "today" show, a veterinarian will answer questions whether it comes to new pets for now the news continues

right now at 4:30, forced out of their homes. the gas leak leaving hundreds evacuated overnight. we're live.