so from pre-cooling our homes, to using less energy from 4-9pm, together, let's flex our power to save our power. sign up for flex alerts today. today, president biden will lay out his six-point plan to combat covid now that school is back in full swing and many companies are hoping to get workers back into the office we will take you to paris where the trial has just begun for the horrif terror attack from november 2015 in which some 130 victims were murdered. the high-profile trial of one-time billionaire healthcare darling elizabeth holmes has begun. can the former theranos ceo avoid decades in prison? and our rehema ellis brings us the inspiring story delivering a lesson in

dedication that we can all learn from "early today" starts right now good, thursday morning i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. the white house is about to roll out a new strategy in the battle against covid. president biden is preparing to address the nation today, and he's expected to reveal a new six-point plan that will include new efforts to get more americans vaccinated this new proposal comes as cases soar among children. here is nbc's kerry sanders. >> reporter: the return to the classroom, potentially, dangerous with a quarter of all new covid cases now children and with families at odds over how to keep their kids safe. >> my child, my choice >> reporter: the battle over masks, still, raging with a judge ruling florida must stop enforcing mask bans. a major blow to republican governor, ron desantis. >> this is what hurts communities. we see dictator-like behavior is what he's doing. >> reporter: also, in miami a stark warning from the school superintendent after three

teachers and ten other school employees died from covid since school began all of them, unvaccinated. >> the narrative about mandatory mask policies or the -- the elimination of those have been absolutely political in nature and that, quite frankly, as an educator, as a father, is bothers me because children should not be political pawns in this political chess game. and we need to get past that >> reporter: in just a week, nationwide, nearly 252,000 kids testing positive for covid like 11-year-old levi cartucci four days in an austin, texas, hospital. >> there was some fear, and some dark thoughts that -- that crept in but thankfully, he started to get better pretty quickly once he was in the hospital >> reporter: serious illness and death is rare among children but parents, joe and katie cartucci, felt helpless as covid spiked levi's temperature to 103. >> he was on high-flow oxygen for little bit

needed steroids and blood thinners >> reporter: levi, now home, too young to get vaccinated. >> it's past time for people to take the virus seriously like, it's affecting our kids now. and i have a lot of big feelings about it all >> reporter: katie, who was vaccinated, now quarantined from the rest of her family with a breakthrough case. >> breakthrough infections happen they're rare but they happen, and they are more likely to happen when you have an unvaccinated household member. in this case, a child who can't be vaccinated. >> reporter: public-health officials say the key remains to ending this pandemic, vaccinations phillip. >> all right, kerry, thank you opening statements in the blockbuster trial of elizabeth holmes kicked off yesterday. the theranos ceo is accused of defrauding investors, doctors, and patients with her technology nbc's erin mclaughlin is in san jose with the latest >> reporter: elizabeth holmes facing the test of the 37-year-old arriving in

court. her appearance, a far cry from the steve-jobs-inspired black turtle neck she frequently wore as the founder of theranos a $9 billion blood-testing company the prosecution alleges was based on a lie this is a case about fraud, about lying and cheating to get money, the prosecutor said holmes has been charged with multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. >> we'd like to see a world in which every person gets access to this type of basic testing. >> reporter: her promise to revolutionize the way blood is drawn captured popular imagination. her face splashed across magazines and celebrated as silicon valley's most successful, self-made, female ceo. >> i have been so impressed by your dogged determination. >> reporter: convincing some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful that thanks to her technology, only a pin prick would be required to conduct hundreds of diagnostic-blood tests. the prosecution alleging she used the technology for only a fraction of the actual tests defrauding not only her

investors but also doctors and patients theranos was producing dangerously inaccurate results, the prosecutor said. pointing to faulty tests including those for pregnancy and cancer that gave patients the wrong information. problems, the prosecution says, she was well aware of. the defense painting a very different picture. ms. holmes did not go to work every day intending to lie, cheat, and steal arguing, trying your hardest and coming up short is not a crime so, is elizabeth holmes a con artist or simply a failed entrepreneur? what a jury decides could determine if she spends up to 20 years in prison. frances. >> okay, erin, thank you. the actor best known as the patriarch in the film "my big fat greek wedding" has passed away >> i am here to ask for my permission. >> may i please date your daughter >> no! >> michael constantine played the father of the bride in what is still, by far, the highest

grossing romantic comedy of all time and its sequel. before that franchise, he was best known as the principal in the tv high school comedy "room 222" which premiered in 1969 his movie daughter tweeted, quote, he gave us so much laughter and deserves a rest now. michael constantine was 94 years old. the free britney movement has a renewed sense of hope that the pop star will soon be free from the control of her father on wednesday, jamie spears filed a petition asking for the courts to end the pop star's conservatorship after 13 years it signals a major victory for the singer and her loyal fans. here is nbc's joe fryer. >> reporter: the free-britney movement could soon go from rallying cry to reality because of a petition filed tuesday by b britney's father, gjamie spears who for 13 years has been part of the pop star's conservatorship put into place after several public breakdowns.

the filing says if ms. spears wants to terminate ther own life, mr. spears believes that she should get that chance adding that britney's recently demonstrated a level of independence that calls the conservatorship into question. >> jamie spears now says he wants the conservatorship to end but that doesn't guarantee that it ends, does it >> no, the judge has the final word but make no mistake, the decision by britney's father and conservator to insist that she deserves her freedom is a milestone in the free-britney movement >> reporter: that movement picked up steam this year with britney's emotional testimony at a court hearing where she called her conservatorship abusive. jamie spears insists he had nothing to do with his daughter's alleged poor treatment. now, as jamie moves to end the conservatorship, britney's attorney is calling it another legal victory, a massive one, as well as vindication. joe fryer, nbc news. all right. let's get an early check on your weather on this thursday with

nbc meteorologist bill karins, in for janessa today good morning, bill, good to see you. . >> hey, great to see you guys. so we are watching what's left of mindy this was a quick-forming tropical storm that made landfall near tallahassee, florida, yesterday afternoon it's moving through southern georgia. there is a little bit of rain with it. it's going to be a rainy manufrainy-mornin commute from savannah to charleston and it's going to be well off the coast by this afternoon. so it's in, it's out and it's gone for the history books this was our m named storm and as you can see, by the time we even get to friday, it's well off the coast. we have had some few strong storms including in the last half-hour. a tornado warning in areas of eastern connecticut so this line of storms continues to plow through connecticut and in areas of massachusetts new york city area to philadelphia, all those areas that were hit so hard by ida with the flash flooding. those areas did not get a lot of rain last night. so good for them what's left of this storm system will linger today from providence to boston, cape cod, areas from maine to down east

maine. the bar harbor region. going to be kind of a yrainy afternoon, evening and talking about heat, look at the middle of the country. dallas, 93 denver, another day, 95. salt lake city, 96 and we do it again, tomorrow no relief from a vere rockies to the northern plains are an exception. yeah, this is that time of yearers, guys, you kind of wait for that cold front to give you some of that cool canadian air and just none in sight. >> football season and still hot. thanks. novak djokovic is one step closer to a rare calendar grand slam djokovic took three-straight

sets to advance in the men's semifinals he is now 26-0 in grand slam matches this year. and on the women's side, 18-year-old continues her improbable run she hasn't dropped a set yet and seems, you know, to have that heading to a -- a semis there with a win coming up, we will go inside france's biggest-ever criminal trial. the 2015 paris attacks and still ahead, a hero of 9/11 remembers tt tehafaful day and the desperate race to save lives. o formally extend my gratitude for the russell rate on my insurance. do you mean surprisingly great rates from state farm? i don't believe in accepting help. but i'll make an exception. here's the deal russell, there's no special rate. these prices are for everyone. with the oak and the eagle as witness, consider us square. i made that from memory, i know your face that well. when you want the real deal... like a good neighbor, state farm is there. psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff,

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survived the night of november 13th, 2015 >> i still live it every day >> reporter: helen wilson from l.a. was at the theater with her boyfriend, nick alexander. >> we heard pop, pop, pop. and kept watching and it was -- it was like in slow motion and then, a guy pushed open the door with one hand and had a gun in the other hand. and started shooting people. >> reporter: helen and nick were both shot that night she held him until he died the assault on paris that friday night was the deadliest attack on french soil since world war ii organized and carried out by isis this was a three-hour military-style ambush. paris's packed sidewalk cafes. at the theater 130 people killed. more than 400 injured.

the main defendant. >> are we gonna learn anything new? >> if he talks. >> if he talks. >> big if? >> he didn't say anything to anybody since he was arrested. nothing. not one thing. >> reporter: the attorney represents 40 survivors and victims' families. >> the truth is justice and to understand what happened on november 2014 is important >> reporter: helen is learning to cope with the pain of her injuries but she is determined to look the defendants in the eye. >> i'm going to do whatever i can to make sure that -- that my voice is heard and that his voice is heard and that all of those other people that are no longer with us are heard through me. >> our thanks to kelly cobiella for that report. still to come. remembering 9/11 our very own lester holt sits down with one of new york's

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for 20 years, we've wondered what propelled so many ordinary people to rise above fear and impending doom to become heroes on september 11th. lester holt spoke with the fire chief who led many of those heroes on that day, and now

tries to answer that question. >> reporter: joseph didn't just answer the call that day he also made the call. >> we just had a plane crash into the world trade center. >> reporter: while on another routine run in lower manhattan, fifer literally heard the sound of disaster coming >> heard this loud noise a plane coming overhead. and then, i watched this plane flying at a low altitude race past us. >> reporter: the moment captured by a film crew that had been following fifer that day later, featured in a documentary. plane's going this way. >> going along the -- the hudson river at a very, very fast speed. and so low, i could read on the fuselage the word american and then, i saw the plane aim and crash into the world trade center >> reporter: fifer, an fdny

battalion chief at the time was likely closest and initially in charge >> it looked like the plane was aiming towards the building. i remember having to slow my thinking down a little bit and create a -- a deliberate calm. >> you immediately sent your firefighters into the north tower. did you know what you were sending them into? >> i knew that we had multiple floors on fire and i knew that thousands of people were -- were trapped. >> reporter: he made critical decisions. ordering the south tower evacuated before it was hit, likely saving countless lives. among the firefighters who raced into the north tower was his younger brother and fellow firefighter kevin. >> my at, as the conditions grew worse, chief fifer issued this ominous order.

>> and i got on the radio and said, command to all units in tower one, evacuate the building >> reporter: you were asking firefighters to leave a burning building, full knowledge that there were people that you couldn't reach. >> perhaps, the first time in history that a fire chief ordered the evacuation of our firefighters with 1,000 people in the building. >> reporter: in his book, "ordinary heroes," fifer doesn't describe supermen rushing into the burning tower but, in fact, ordinary, mortal men. >> i look at my hero firefighters and i think they would say the same thing that they did ordinary things but at an extraordinary time in history. >> reporter: including his brother. kevin fifer. >> this is my brother. with his entry company, we lost

the entire company that day. >> as we walk along here, you see all these names. these are the people we lost that day how much do you think about the people that you and your firefighters saved that day? >> that day, we saved 20,000 people and i think that's what we have to remember. >> so many untold stories. that many years later. still, bone chilling. bill karins has a look at your weekend-weather forecast. that's coming up. plus, the inspirational story of a teacher going the extra mile for her students. cuu. uchhh!!! so now we use our swiffer sweeper and dusters. the fluffy fibers? they pick up dust easily. grabbing it in all those hard-to-reach places. gotcha!!! and for our floors, sweeper's textured cloths lock all kinds of dirt, dust and pet hair. unlike my vacuum, it sneaks under and around places. look at that!! dust free and hassle free. stop cleaning and start swiffering. i took my favorite cereal and made it waaay better, tony.

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welcome back to "early today. so the fall -- fall sports are in full swing but it still feels like summer. so many areas of the country this weekend, starting with your friday getaway day forecast, we are drying out in the northeast. it feels like 100 near wichita, kansas i mean, very hot in the middle of the country all the way through the upcoming weekend we'll call it toasty 90s, easily. excessive heat in the desert southwest. only, really coolest type weather will be early-saturday morning but even the afternoon will feel pretty nice in the northeast. and then, the warmth builds to the east coast on sunday so more beach weather, guys. >> make our plans now, thank you, bill. >> when "early today" returns, a lesson in dedication we will tell you how one teacher inspired her students during this pandemic. it is a beautiful story you do not want to miss. >> great update, too, when we first brought it to you.

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febreze car. la, la, la, la, la yankees' legend derek jeter dished out the praise in his powerful hall-of-fame speech. >> during my career, i wanted to make mrs. robinson proud i wanted to make hank aaron proud. i wanted to make all of you proud. not as statistics, how i carried myself and how i respected the game of those before and after me there is a huge responsibility that comes with wearing a yankee uniform. just because you have it on doesn't guarantee you anything you know, you have to earn it. you know, you demanded i earned it every single day, whether it was during the season or in the offseason, i felt as though i was representing you and i representing all of new york

i did that in the best possible way i knew how you have a dream, you believe in that dream, and you surround yourself with people who are gonna encourage you, support you, challenge you, be honest with you, and help nurture that dream. >> the captain was one of four inductees in the class of 2020 rockies' slugger larry walker and cardinals all star catcher ted simmons rounded out the player inductees and former mlb executive marvin miller was honored posthumously. >> boy, did jeter have just a fairy tale career. now, to a teacher in new jersey going the extra mile when the pandemic affected her students, she made sure to do everything she could to help keep them motivated and engaged. nbc's rehema ellis has the story. >> reporter: floyd has been prepping her students for week for a return to in-person learning. >> but this is yours, too. right? >> reporter: what is it about mrs. floyd that keeps you engaged in school? >> she makes me feel good and it makes me want to come back to

school >> reporter: and after months of pandemic learning, students wanting to return to the classroom is music to this newark english teacher's ears. with most of her students living in neighborhoods with spotty wi-fi or homes where they fear turning on cameras, at times only three of her 15 students showed up for online class it was a nationwide problem. studies estimate, overall, students lost up to nine months of learning in math and a whole year for students of color but at a time of loss, floyd's made it her mission to make students feel found. when we spent a day with her in the spring, we watched her track down missing students. texting, calling, paying home visits. >> why are you doing that? >> children are important, first. if their wellbeing, their mindset isn't right, then we're not going to have a society in the future not on this side of town, anyway >> reporter: floyd succeeded in getting all but a few students back to her virtual classroom.

this year, she's determined to get them back to physical classrooms. >> people tell me, you can't save all of the children and i just disagree. i believe i can -- i can save 100% >> reporter: a can-do attitude to keep he

right now at 4:30, an east bay community in mourning. a crossing guard and student hit by a car in front of their school. plus -- >> firefighters making headway for the caldor fire, and a grim new milestone. this is "today in the bay." good morning. thank you for joining us on this thursday. i am kris sanchez. >> i am scott