as it heads north with torrential rain, flash floodg and damaging winds we've got multiple live reporters with the latest. america honors the 13 lost men and women who were brought home yesterday after being killed in afghanistan last week. now the countdown to tomorrow's withdrawal deadline. and we'll remember lou grant himself. the great ed asner died at the

age of 91. "early today" starts right now good morning, everybody. i'm lindsey reiser. >> glad you could join us. i'm frances rivera ida is wreaking havoc as the powerful storm pushes its way north. here's what we know at this hour the entire city of new orleans was plunged into darkness after a catastrophic transmission damage over a million power outages are being reported across louisiana. at least one person has been killed a 60-year-old man lost his life when a tree fell onto his home and president biden has approved a major disaster declaration for the state. let's get a live update now fro there now. >> reporter: frances, good morning. bear with me as there's a lot of developing story lines right now. the state of louisiana certainly where we've been driving through this morning, pitch black. there is no power anywhere you mentioned already a million-plus customers and businesses with no power if you figure that's three or four people per home or per business, you're looking at

several million people with no power right now. i'm in prairieville or right near it. it's a suburb of baton rouge look at the size of this tree in the middle of the highway. this is where we stopped right now, a, because there is the first confirmed fatality you see a power line down, a tree in the middle of the road a tree according to the sheriff's office here, fell on top of that man's house, killing him at the age of 60 that's one thing we're following. we're also on our way to laplace this morning it's about 45 minutes due east of baton rouge there is a dire situation. i just got off the phone with a fleet captain for the cajun navy there are reports of several thousand people, frances, requesting rescue there. that fleet captain told me those are accurate they are waiting right now, cannot get to people in that community, which is just south of lake pontchartrain, because of how dangerous it is in terms of rising water, live wires, potentially not being able to navigate boats in the dark there are reports of people

stuck in their homes is it several hundred? that's how many they have a head count for. the fleet captain told me it's in the thousands of people that need rescue, and anywhere between one foot and 12 feet of water that have hit those homes with about six feet, he told me, being the average. in new orleans proper, no power at all the eight major transmission lines going in and out of the city according to the main energy provider there say they're down so no power in new orleans what's the fallout of that they are looking now to find a pathway to restore power that was not achievable tonight as conditions continue right now here as far as wind and rain not as bad where we are, but just due east, that eye of the storm, i guess is a tropical storm, moving north. in new orleans, not just is there no power, but that has also affected water and sewage they're asking residents to try to limit the water they're using because they have 84 sewage pumps. they are not sure that the sewage and water utility company

here, how many of those are actually structurally sound, but it's a significant number they expect are not working that affects sewage. it also affects pumping clean drinking water into the city of new orleans. so that's about four or five major developing situations going on right now that we are trying to get more information on, frances. i'm standing in the middle of a shut-down highway. we are safe as obviously nothing is getting near this tree. we have hazard lights up it is pitch black out here, and there is a very strong likelihood that there are thousands of people throughout the state of louisiana that need to be rescued. >> we are just holding our breath over the next hours, next days to see what that will bring. sam, thank you for the update. let's get to nbc meteorologist janessa webb who spent the weekend tracking ida's path janessa, we're just a few hours away from daylight where we can really assess the damage >> yeah. you know, i'm really concerned about laplace, louisiana right now the national hurricane center and national weather

service issuing a flash flood emergency. i was watching that overnight, and what happened was new orleans to baton rouge got a little bit lucky the brunt of this storm went parallel and really hit leblanc parish over 13 inches of rain has fallen in that area, and that's why that flash flood emergency is in place. look at this broad system. i mean it completely takes over areas of the deep south, now making its way into mississippi. we have over 60,000 people that are dealing with power outages so now it's starting to push the center of this circulation pushing out towards mississippi. so we are finally going to see a break from the wind flow and all the rain that southeast louisiana is dealing with. still i have a category 1 storm, sustained winds of 75 miles per hour the problem, when this system rushed onshore, it was going about 16 to 20 miles per hour. it dramatically slowed down, and that's what allowed for all that

tropical moisture to dump in southeast louisiana. now, the problem going into the next few days, yes, it gets downgraded to a tropical storm still an area of low pressure by tomorrow but then it goes into the tennessee valley we already had about 17 inches last week in parts of nashville and tennessee. so another round of another 5 to 10 inches. this is something that we don't need then it starts to track into the northeast. we will be talking about ida for at least the next four to five days also there's the big-time severe weather threat you have these bands they're called feeder bands that are making their way into mississippi, alabama, the florida panhandle. there is tornado warnings that have been happening overnight. everything's pretty quiet right now, but it's the torrential rain you have those spin-ups that will continue to happen until about daylight but we have some warm, moist air that's going to allow the severe weather. i haven't talked about the winds, still going to be an

issue across the tennessee valley then we have rivers that are exceeding their levels we'll talk more about that coming up. >> so much to cover. janessa, we'll check in with you in a bit thank you. the remains of those fallen american heroes were brought home this weekend. president biden and the first lady joined the families of those service members at dover air force base for their somber dignified transfer service those 13 brave men and women include navy hospital corpsman max soviak, marine corps corporals kareem nikoui, rylee mccollum, daegan page, david snoenz, jared schmitz. hunter lopez, taylor hoover, nicole l. gee. dylan merola umberto sanchez. johanny rosario pichardo, and army staff sergeant ryan knauss. as evacuations in kabul reach their final hours, the terror threat is growing increasingly dire. "the new york times" reporting the u.s. shot down rockets aim

add the kabul airport. claudio lavanga joins us from rome claudio, what happened >> reporter: good morning, lindsey. there were reports early this morning that five rockets aimed at kabul airport were intercepted and shot down by a u.s. missile defense system based at the airport there the white house this morning issued a statement saying that the president has been briefed but that alleged attack, the latest alleged attack, has not interrupted operations there this is only the latest event in an escalation of violence ahead of tomorrow's deadline for the full withdrawal of u.s. troops yesterday the u.s. blew up with a drone strike a vehicle that the u.s. military said that posed an imminent threat to kabul airport. and again the u.s. military said there were significant secondary explosions following that strike from that vehicle kind of proves it was laden with explosives,

and it could have been used to perform another attack after the deadly bombing from last thursday but while the clock is ticking now ahead of tomorrow's deadline, there is a growing concern for the fate of the tens of thousands of afghans who have been cooperating with the u.s. in the past 20 years who did not manage to get inside the airport and on top of one of those planes out of afghanistan. but now the u.s. is saying on sunday, issued a statement saying it is among 97 nations who striked a deal with the taliban to ensure that those afghans who have got legal travel documents to get out of afghanistan will stilli be allowed to get out of the country even after the deadline. that really is a lifeline for the many afghans who will feel like they have been left behind after the deadline tomorrow. >> the remaining hours will be so crucial claudio, thank you so much. let's go back to janessa for more on ida's path of destruction. so many levels of this in the next hours, even days. >> yeah. you know what's causing the problem is usually when you see

a storm system go on land, it starts to kind of break apart. what happened was we had that rapid intensification, and that really acted as jet fuel for this system. and so this one is just not going to be handling land well it actually is charging back up. the winds across the east side, that's the dirty side of the storm system, are still very strong in mississippi, we're dealing with that right now. jackson, mississippi, going to see wind gusts through tonight up to 50 miles per hour with that slow movement it's only going about 9 miles per hour that's why i said we're going beto t get the power on across that area.

so the flood threat, it really starts to stretch in other areas. we'll talk about that coming up. >> sounds good, janessa. see you soon. coming up, hospitals around the country reached crisis mode as covid hospitalizations hit new highs. and get stuck with chuck basketball hall of famer charles barkley joins the vaccination push is having healthy gums. keep yours healthy with crest advanced gum restore. it's clinically proven to detoxify below the gumline. and, it restores by helping heal gums in as little as 7 days. because you cant have a healthy smile, without healthy gums. advanced gum restore, from crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. feel the cool rush of claritin cool mint chewables. powerful 24-hour, non-drowsy, allergy relief plus an immediate cooling sensation for your throat. feel the clarity, and live claritin clear.

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i'm 53, but in my mind i'm still 35. that's why i take oste bi-flex to keep me moving the way i was made to, it nourishes and strengthens my joints for the long term. osteo bi-flex, plus vitamin d for immune support. leading the news, the delta variant really seems to be tightening its grip on the nation according to "the new york times," the u.s. has now topped more than 100,000 average daily covid hospitalizations that average was calculated over the last seven days, and it's higher than any previous covid surge except last winter's according to data from the u.s. department of health and human services, florida has the most hospitalizations of any state with more than 16,000. texas follows with 14,000. nba legend charles barkley is using his celebrity to urge people to get vaccinated against covid-19

over the weekend, the nba hall of famer made an appearance at a vaccine drive in birmingham, alabama. the event, called get stuck with chuck, featured drive-through and walkup vaccinations. >> even if i said i don't trust it, i don't want the vaccine, i would get it because i would hate to see one of these kids get sick. >> more than 100 people got vaccinated at the event. hollywood is mourning the loss of a legend this morning. ed asner has died at the age of 91 he rose to fame as the boss on the mary tyler moore show. he went on to star in modern classics like pixar's "up" and "elf," nbc's mark barger has a look back at his life. >> you've got spunk. >> well, yes >> i hate spunk! >> reporter: that's how most of america met ed asner the first episode of the mary tyler moore show in 1970 with asner playing the gruff but

soft-hearted newsroom boss lou grant. >> if i don't like you, i'll fire you. >> right. >> you don't like me, i'll fire you. >> when i read that first script, i said, this is the best character i've ever come across. >> reporter: asner embodied the cantankerous boss for seven seasons and earned three emmy awards along the way. >> would i say i hate it if i didn't hate it i really hate it >> reporter: but when the series ended, the character continued this time in the newspaper drama "lou grant." it ran five years and brought asner two more emmys he won yet another for his role as a conscience stricken slave ship captain in the landmark miniseries "roots. those honors were a long way from his upbringing in kansas city asner's father was a lithuanian scrap metal dealer, none too happy to learn his son wanted to be an actor. but movies beckoned. >> i'm bart jason. i've been expecting you. >> reporter: roles with the likes of john wayne and paul

newman highlighted asner's early film work. more recently he played santai the will ferrell comedy elf. he also provided the voice of the grumpy adventurer in the animated hit "up". >> i'm delighted to be identified with such a spectacular. >> reporter: ed asner served two terms as president of the screen actors guild and was frequently active on hot button social issues but it was his lovable role in a tv newsroom -- >> i treasure you people. >> reporter: -- that will be the lasting memory of an acclaimed acting career. mark barger, nbc news. >> and we treasure him ed asner still to come, pain at the pump how hurricane ida is impacting gas pre. > us the latest on the storm's path this is "early today." with thatr i devised a promo for you. here's the deal parker, state farm offers everyone surprisingly great rates. yeh, right. pepperoni pocketz,

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this week today and "nightly news" willkick off a new serie focused on the challenges families are facing with the return to school kids under pressure starts later this morning. hurricane ida has had a dramatic impact on the gulf states, which is where a fair amount of the nation's energy passes through in gasoline, oil, and natural gas. so what does that all mean for your wallet? let's ask cnbc's karen show. good morning >> reporter: frances, lindsey, good morning to you. the short answer is it's too early to tell what the impact will be on prices. but here's what we do know there's been a significant hit

to supply from hurricane ida us energy firms have shut down about 95% of capacity from the gulf of mexico and that has had a huge impact on the markets about 85% of natural gas production in the gulf of mexico has been impacted. this feeds into the system if you consider 70% of the country's crude comes from this particular region, so it has quite a dramatic impact on supply but also demand. part of the equation here and don't forget this impact from the delta variant. but what we're watching closely in coming days, just how quickly refineries can get back into action this will impact gasoline and diesel prices. meantime on the markets, a muted stuff on the back of records on wall street on the friday session. we had dovish messages from jerome powell over the weekend that does set the seen for more greener markets. but that said a lot of market watches, looking for more volatility in the month of september when it approaches that's the latest on the markets.

back to you. >> thanks for the breakdown, karen. appreciate it. still ahead, tracking ida's path meteorologist janessa webb is going to join us again with e lh te and still ahead. a live look at gulfport, mississippi, after ida batters the gulf coast and one that's forever wild but freedom means you don't have to choose just one adventure ♪ ♪ you get both. introducing the all-new 3-row jeep grand cherokee l jeep. there's only one. think wearing less makeup means no need for a wipe? think again. your skin will thank you. neutrogena®. for people with skin. feel the clarity of non-drowsy claritin. and 24-hour relief from symptoms caused neutrogena®.

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right? >> that was the weather channel's jim cantore showing us just how dangerous those hurricane-force winds are battering new orleans right now. >> our executive producer pointed out the fact he's wearing a helmet there janessa, they don't fool around with things like this. >> no, they don't. i mean we're talking about winds, when this system made its way onshore, 150 miles per hour. but it's all to keep you safe. you don't want to go in the elements of this storm system, and it's still not safe at this hour look at the track of ida yes, i do think this turns into a tropical storm but what's very interesting is the east side of it still remains. so that's going to be -- we're going to be dealing with some heavy-duty rain across the tennessee valley to the ohio valley, all the way into the northeast. so flood threat is big-time across this area for 14 million people so we still have a long way to go ladies >> we're going to follow ida to

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secret as we've been showing you on the radar, louisiana certainly not the only state facing dangerous threats from ida as the storm slowly churns north this morning, it's going to bring its heavy rain and strong winds through much of mississippi. along the coast, there's already been flooding. nbc's shaquille brewster joins us now from gulfport, mississippi. shaq, you're up again early this morning after braving the storm yesterday. what's it like right now where you are? >> reporter: you see some of the wind, some of the rain that is continuing to happen here as the storm makes its way through the country. you know, one thing that we

noticed yesterday is just how quickly conditions can, there ws over the course of the day where there would be sun breaking through the clouds, and there wouldn't be much rain and wouldn't be much wind. then 20 or 30 minutes later, you have wind going horizontal -- or rain going horizontally being carried by the wind. gusts up to 60 miles an hour in this area. then there's also the concern of the storm surge. so not only do you have the idea of the wind picking up debris or causing tree limbs to go down, there's also the flooding concern that you're seeing i'll tell you we're right along highway 90, which is right along the coast here some of the road is already essentially washed up. it's impassable in some areas. that's the concern that you have from officials, still telling people to abide by that curfew that's been in place for almost 24 hours at this point since 8:00 a.m. yesterday, they're telling people to abide by that curfew because of the conditions you're seeing here. one thing you mentioned is the idea that over the course of the

night, there are many threats that they're dealing with here so not only is it the wind, the rain, the storm surge, but there's also threats of tornadoes. we have been under a tornado watch on and off for much of the night. a tornado warning, excuse me, for much of the night, where you have that alert that goes off on your phone telling you to seek cover and telling residents to seek cover that's the additional threat there's some local reports of a possible tornado that touched down in the evening. the national weather service has not been able to go out and confirm that but those are the concerns that you're having here as hurricane ida continues to push its way through the country. lindsey? >> the video we are showing there as well. shaq, our best to you and your crew you're in for another long day thank you for your reporting. and thank you, everybody, for starting your week off with us i'm lindsey reiser. >> and i'm frances rivera. coming up on the "today" show, continuing coverage on hurricane ida with live reports from across the region. have a great monday. stay safe out there. we'll see you right back here tomorrow your news continues right here on nbc and our nbc stations. 4:3

south lake tahoe evacuated overnight. conditions are changing by the minute and we're following the latest developments. powerful ida making landfall in the gulf coast. daylight begins to reveal how much damage was done. this is "today in the bay." good monday morning. hope you had a great weekend. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. we want to begin with that breaking news overnight, all of