to using less energy from 4-9pm, together, let's flex our power to save our power. sign up for flex alerts today. damage assessments prove dire r thousands. after 20 years in afghanistan, the final u.s. soldier boards a plane to put an end to america's longest war an important safety recall involving a popular dog food that could be dangerous for both canines and humans why that morning cup of joe will cost you more in the weeks and months ahead

and an end of summer ritual pits dogs against their owners in a race to the water "early today" starts right now glad to be with you this morning. i'm frances rivera >> and i'm lindsey reiser. we're going to begin with the crisis left behind by hurricane ida. here's what we know at this hour there are still more than a million people without power in louisiana, and it could take more than three weeks for it to be restored everywhere roads are closed because of debris, and all flights are canceled to and from new orleans today. the governor has urged evacuees not to come home yet and it's becoming a common sight during troubled times. chef jose andres and his world central kitchen, they were quick to start bringing food to families and first responders in need >> two people were killed and ten others were injured after a highway collapsed in green county three of the injuries are life-threatening officials believe the torrential rain from ida was a factor for more on the aftermath of

ida, here's nbc's tom llamas >> reporter: desperation in louisiana. >> the storm came, took everything >> reporter: you don't have anything left? >> took everything >> reporter: entire communities cut off, power down, and for many no cell signal to call for help officials in an urgent race to find terrified families still trapped. >> i got my baby out, though i wasn't going to stop till i get my baby out. >> reporter: people were rescued from their homes using high-water vehicles and boats including this woman who is pregnant how high was the water >> the water was to my stomach >> reporter: so your stomach was underwater >> uh-huh. >> reporter: what do you think >> i was praying >> reporter: brown's message to officials? >> i'm about to be a mother of 7. i have nothing we need help >> reporter: others turned to social media tiffany miller begging for help while trapped in her attic in

the dark >> water came in and it came in quick. so the only thing we could do climb in the attic >> reporter: so far 35,000 national guard troops have been activated. 25,000 cleanup crews from several states are on the way. possible alligator infested floodwaters. and the death toll here is likely to rise >> what i can tell you is that the last couple days have not been good for our state and for the next several days and weeks they will not be easy either >> reporter: the damage to the power grid alone is described as catastrophic the entire city of new orleans without electricity. some outages could last for weeks. this is a massive electrical tower that collapsed during hurricane ida with several feeder bands all throughout new orleans. a lot of people think this may be one of the epicenters of the city's power problems. you look at this and you're thinking we're not going to have power for weeks if not months.

>> exactly >> reporter: all of it beginning sunday as the powerful storm made landfall. so the eye wall of hurricane ida is now approaching new orleans and we are feeling those hurricane gusts somewhere around 85 miles per hour. and the sad part is things are only going to get worse. and they did winds reaching more than 170 miles an hour on the coast powerlines like these stood no chance the rain relentless testing the state's upgraded levees, which thankfully appear to have held this nurse had to be pulled from her car. with daylight the damage revealed roofs torn from building after building, trees down everywhere. massive debris seen all across new orleans streets. this boat tossed into the middle of a highway >> we know hurricane ida had the potential to cause massive damage and that's exactly what we saw >> reporter: some communities like grand isle along the gulf

coast completely cut off, with power out and communications down, it's still impossible to assess the full impact of this monster storm. >> our thanks to tom llamas for that report. overnight there was an optimistic update about the rescue efforts the mayor of grand isle believes that everyone there did survive the storm, even though many of the buildings are gone here's nbc's miguel almaguer >> reporter: those who stayed feared they would die. the communities of grand isle, golden meadow, and matthews taking a direct and unforgiving hit from ida dozens called for help to get out, but no one could make it in josh welch rode out the hurricane on his barge in grand isle >> it's like being in a blizzard you couldn't really see around you at times i wouldn't want to go through it again. that's for sure. >> reporter: those who survived the impact are now struggling to escape the aftermath emergency teams can't make

rescues and can barely make phone calls to get word out on local radio. the road to rescue perhaps as dangerous as the choice to stay behind highways and back roads across louisiana are a mine field of downed trees and powerlines. >> i had to get them to come rescue me from my house to get out. >> reporter: and you're out here trying to open these roads >> right that's how bad it is >> reporter: this is where the only road to grand isle ends it's still under several feet of water, and just behind me broken into pieces. neighbors were said to be on the rooftops waiting for help. seven miles long, grand isle is and now was the only inhabited barrier island in louisiana. 1,500 live here. these before and after satellite images perhaps our clearest view of what's been lost. >> i think that the first reconnaissance is going to be by

air because there is so much water there, we're not going to be able to get in. >> reporter: trying to find what's out of reach as what comes into view is what no one wants to see >> miguel, thank you for that report we're going to turn now to breaking news out of california where evacuation orders are underway for the entire city of south lake tahoe that affects about 22,000 people residents and visitors were told to get out yesterday as the caldor fire rages on the fire has been burning for two weeks and has destroyed more than 186,000 acres and right now it's only 15% contained. nearly two dozen firefighters are headed to the legion from nearby nevada to help those already on the ground. america officially ended its 20-year war in afghanistan this is the last american soldier to leave kabul from the 18th airborne. major general chris donahue commanding general of the 82nd airborne division. nbc's richard engel has more on the american citizens left

behind >> reporter: united states ended its 20-year war in afghanistan with the conclusion of the largest noncombatant airlift in american history >> i'm here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from afghanistan in the end of the military mission >> reporter: 123,000 people flown out of the now taliban-controlled country the taliban firing barrages of celebratory gunfire after the last aircraft departed, but not all americans were able to get out. >> the citizens that were not brought outnumber in the very low hundreds i believe that we're going to be able to get those people out >> reporter: it's been two decades of military deployments. 2,461 americans killed 1,144 nato allies killed more than 48,000 afghans killed. 300,000 afghan soldiers trained only to collapse when

confronted about a trillion dollars spent, and more to come to care for the wounded. afghanistan handed back to the very same islamic fundamentalists the united states drove from power just weeks after 9/11 a generation of afghans raised with expectations of freedom and fundamental rights under an umbrella of american protection. it all ended isis taking parting shots, hoping to etch their dark name in history, firing rockets at the airport, to no effect. the u.s. firing back, the military says against an isis car bomb afghans say ten civilians were killed a war once called operation enduring freedom proving to be neither enduring nor leaving a legacy of freedom. americans still in afghanistan are being advised to lay low, shelter in place as diplomatic efforts will continue to evacuate them from the civilian airport in kabul once it reopens.

but it's unclear when that will be frances, lindsey >> okay, richard, thank you. jury selection begins today for the trial of theranos' founder elizabeth holmes once crowned the youngest female self-made billionaire. but now she could face decades in prison. she's facing ten counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy holmes claimed to have invented technology that could screen patients for hundreds of diseases with just the prick of a finger she lured investors such as rupert murdoch, betsy devos, robert kraft, and hillary clinton. but it all came crashing down. patients were misdiagnosed some were incorrectly told they had hiv. another who was pregnant was falsely told she miscarried. they are expected to take the stand. opening arguments start september 8th. let's get a check of what's

in store as ida lingers up the east coast here's nbc meteorologist janessa webb, who joins us now hi, janessa, good morning. >> hi, good morning. you know, we don't have a cyclone anymore, but this storm is still very feisty and i'm concerned about the tennessee valley nashville into knoxville we're going to see heavy rain for the next 24 hours before ida really starts to make its way more to the northeast. this morning 71 million people impacted by flash flood watches all the way from nantucket down to alabama and that will be consistent for the next few days before finally the storm system pushes offshore i know we have a ton of people working hard to get the power back on across louisiana, but look at these temperatures for the deep south they're going to struggle with air temperatures in the upper 80s to mid-90s but the feel-like temperature, look at shreve

northeast. the great lakes not so bad, in the mid-70s. pacific northwest, i haven't forgot about you we have that wildfire danger i'll talk about that coming up >> thanks, janessa dogs and their owners in croatia gathered this weekend for some traditional end of summer canine races. 13 owners and their dogs took part in the competition. you see them jumping into open water there and swimming about 300 feet to shore. that dog has a little camera attached [ laughter ] it was all topped off with some highly competitive ice cream speed eating for the pups, too >> well deserved all right. "early today" is back in two with a battle brewing over mask mandates in school >> and new turbulence for the airline industry as the roaneupe union takes action amid american

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the delta variant is fueling a surge in covid cases not seen since the darkest days of winner the u.s. rocketed past 39 million cases, which is over 10% of the entire population dr. anthony fauci says the country could see another 100,000 deaths by december the rapid rise in cases has caused the european union to remove the u.s. off its safe travel list. the e.u. recommended that its 27 nations reinstate restrictions on tourists and other nonessential travel. the guidance is nonbinding, which will likely mean different travel rules across the continent. the fight over mask mandates has hit a new level. the education department is now investigating iowa, oklahoma, south carolina, tennessee, and utah for banning school mask mandates the department is launching a civil rights inquiry vowing to examine whether those bans go

against federal discrimination laws sanctions have begun in florida for school districts that defied governor ron desantis' school mask ban. florida's commissioner of education announced that school board member salaries in alachua and broward counties have been withheld the move comes after both districts implemented a mandatory face mask policy the withholding of funds will continue monthly until each school board complies with state law and rule still to come, we are going to check in with cnbc's steve sedgwick and trouble brewing for coffee lovers. why your morning cup of joe might cost you more dough. ash s. it has long-lasting light scent, no heavy perfumes, and no dyes.

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the search and rescue teams continue to work day and night where hurricane ida caused havoc. the rest of the nation may feel some pain from high energy costs as a result as well. steve, good morning. >> yeah, frances, very good morning to you good morning, lindsey. two of the big staples in of course any of our lives could see price rises in coming days of course hurricane ida does not look like at the moment, thank goodness, that it's wreaked the kind of havoc that we saw 16 years ago from hurricane katrina. there we saw gas prices that rose 45 cents in six days. this time it's going to be a lot less damage to infrastructure. but of course with those power outages, you can't run refinery. some analysts are saying as high as ten cents higher in the coming days. we are expecting small price increases. as far as coffee is concerned,

coffee prices haven't been as high as they are now in four years. recently the futures for coffee used to make espresso, they had the highest level in four years. brazil, and covid-19 restrictions in vietnam, brazil, for instance, is the world's largest producer they've had a hard summer with the drought. we may be expecting some price rises to come. janessa is watching the fire risk on the west coast next. >> and a consumer alert for pet owners details on a dog food recall over a risk for salmonella hip hop group tag team to help you plan dessert? ♪ french vanilla! rocky road! ♪ ♪ chocolate, peanut butter, cookie dough! ♪ ♪ scoop! there it is! ♪ ♪ scoop! there it is! ♪

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hi, everyone you know, we're still in a very dangerous fire season for the west coast and air quality, it's a huge concern today into tomorrow. hazy start across the central plains all the way into central california now these red flag warnings that are currently in place, there are not a ton, but the fire danger continues to roar across this area. the problem is we're still in a mega drought, the winds are picking up to 40 miles per hour with very low humidity in this area next on "early today," who's too old? al roker addresses concerns about his hurricane coverage

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we have a consumer alert to tell you about pet owners, this is for you. top quality dog food is recalling its one-pound packages of beef hvm. it's due to potential salmonella concerns no illnesses have been reported but the affected products were sold through mail delivery in eight states consumers are urged to return the product for a full refund. in today's top stories, the fbi is reporting a rise in hate crimes against asian and black people numbers skyrocketed during the

pandemic just last year hate crimes targeting people of asian descent in the u.s. rose by 70%. and hate crimes targeting black people surging nearly 40%. attorney general merrick garland says the data does not account for the many hate crimes that go unreported the man convicted of murdering iowa college student most mollie tibbetts was sentenced to life in prison. he was found guilty of her murder the case became highly politicized because rivera's status is an undocumented immigrant. he was given the maximum penalty, which is life sentence without the possibility of parole the cdc is switching up its language to be more inclusive. the agency released a new guide that features what it called nonstigmatizing language and preferred terms for selected groups according to the guide, instead of saying inmate, they suggest saying people or persons who are

incarcerated or detained instead of referring to people as race or a ethnicity, they suggest saying black persons or white persons. you see him every morning on "today." al roker became a trending topic online because people were so worried about him. some were saying he's too old to be out in those dangerous conditions well, in case you missed it, here's what al had to say about that >> as much as i love the weather and i love nbc, i ams not going to risk my life for it well, he's too old to be doing this well, hey guess what, screw you. [ laughter ] keep up, okay? i will drop them like a bag of dirt >> there is al telling you just how he sees it he pointed out that he's been doing this for 40 years.

he volunteered to go, and his crew is always safe. i'm always curious that was on msnbc so there may be words not suitable for the "today".

breaking news, the caldor fire has reached the tahoe basin. this morning it's burning hot and fierce. the winds are roaring pushing the flames even closer to south lake tahoe. a red flag warning will be in effect later today. good morning and thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. we're going to speak live with a firefighter in that area in just a moment. >> first let's check in with kari hall. set the scene for us. what are we in store weather wise for us today? they really look at those conditions. >> the wind was kicking up yesterday and that fanned the flames and caused it to spread farther. the red dots