states including missouri have less than 15% vaccinated. the data showing rate of covids states with low vaccination rates. >> definitely don't want to be in this position i care physician where they added second icu due to rise in covid patients. >> we have newborns or ages 30 plus. the disease process is faster than before and they're getting sicker sooner than before. >> it feels like a lot of people let their guards down. >> it's hard to talk to a patient to ask what will you do different all of them said i wish i would have taken the vaccine. >> reporter: carmichael said that's what jones told her. >> she said mom you were right, i should have got the vaccine, should are wore the mask more.

she felt over confident that even if she got it she would be ok. >> reporter: the doctor is concerned that case numbers will come up now that we're just out of a major holiday weekend. >> reporting from springfield. biggest challenge getting more americans vaccinated. only 18 states are fully vangd with half the pop eliminaulatio. one state with low vaccination rate is arkansas. we find out why. >> reporter: it's the lunch hour in little rock. >> hello ladies. >> hi. >> reporter: we went to every table to ask the same question have you been vaccinated. >> absolutely. >> yes. >> absolutely. >> ervverybody's an absolutely. >> despite the reputation. >> only 34.3% of arkansas population is fully vaccinated. that's why the co-owner was

shocked when she found out every single person in the restaurant was vaccinated except one hi n. thought i bet at least 80% of my >> arkanr said vaccing. outside little rock it's a different story. >> certainly the rural areas of the state we have more resistance, there's less vaccine acceptance. >> reporter: the county that includes little rock has fully vaccinated about 40% of its residents. in some of the rural counties the number plummets to less than 25% and covid hospitalization are climbing up 54% in just the last two weeks, that is due in large part to the so-called delta variant which the governor says is spreading fast here. >> over 98% of hospitalization

are not vaccinated as hospitalization rise in arkansas more people are getting vaccinated. >> that's true. and so -- >> driven by what? fear? >> well, i presume it's driven by risk. they see the risk increasing and say we're going to go ahead and get at dforvaccin is. david gn state, arkansas. >> the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. (ringing) - hey kaleb, what's up? how you doing? - hey, i'm good, guess what, i just had my 13th surgery. - really? i just had my 17th surgery. - well, you beat me. - well, i am a little bit older than you. - yeah it's true. how are you doing? - i'm doing good. i'm encouraged by seeing how people are coming together to help each other during times like these. - kind of like how shriners hospitals for children is there for us. imagine if i couldn't get my surgery. o wod have happened.

- same for me. i know my shriners hospitals family will continue to take care kids like us who need them most all because of caring people like you. - like me? - no, the people watching us right now at home. - oh, those people. hi people. - kaleb and i know not everyone can help right now, but for those of you who can, we hope you'll this special number on your screen right now. - you'll be making sure our amazing doctors and nurses can keep helping kids like us, who need them now and in the days to come. - your gift will make a huge difference for kids like us. - ooh, ooh, show them them the thank you gift. - okay, okay, hold on a second. with your gift of $19 a month we'll send you this adorable, love to the rescue blanket as a thank you and a reminder of the kids you're helping with your monthly support. - so what are you waiting for? you can use your phone and call, or go to loveshriners.org to give

and join with thousands of other generous people who change lives with their gifts every day. - i think that's about it buddy, good job. - my pleasure captain. please call now. if operators are busy with all the other caring people, please wait patiently, or you can go to loveshriners.org to give right away. - [alec] big or small, your gift helps us all. - [both] thank you. (giggling) jason, did you know geico could save you hundreds - [both] thank you. on car insurance and a whole lot more? cool. so what are you waiting for? mckayla maroney to get your frisbee off the roof? i'll get it. ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ ♪ ♪ whoa. re n ank yomcka , get it. m noing itu get it. you threw it. it's your frisbee. geico. switch today and see all the ways you could save.

for more than a year now china has been transfixed by the story of a wandering herd of elephants that walked out of a game preserve one day and just kept walking. so far three have given up on the long march and been returned to the reserve. now with that story. >> reporter: it's the march of the elephants captivating china and the world. drones buzz overhead as chinese authorities track every move of their mammoth cross country journey all day and all night long. loud speakers blair warning residents to evacuate the elephants are coming, in some places they're coming close. this policeman said if we deserve them they may go on a rampage. the pham li of 15 has raided kitchens for food and reportedly dunk their trunks in wine and

devoured fields of crops causing more than $1 million in damage. experts aren't sure why the elephants left their nature reserve a year ago. it's not unusual for them to move small distances this herd has treked more than 300 miles. >> we don't know where they're going, they're moving around trying to find a place that works for them and i think they haven't found it yet. >> until they do, the wandering elephants will keep scientists wondering just where they'll end up. tina kraus cbs news. now to a ground breaking documentary called "secrets of the whales" we spoke with the man behind the camera. >> so much of the process for you is the waiting. >> it is the waiting. and patience is probably the most important -- my goodness, whoa, right there. >> on the whale watching trips that leave the new england aquarium you're guarantee to see a whale or you get a rain check

for a future tour. >> there you go. >> weot guarantee to spend the day with the man who may have spent more time up close with these creatures than anyone else on the planet. >> whale are the world's most intelligent giants. >> his latest project took him three years, to 24 locations, from the equator to the poles, the result, secrets of the whale. a four-part documentary that features some of the most fascinating underwater moments we've ever seen. at the aquarium where he is exploring residents, he gave us a special screening. >> this one female adult orca came in and was sort of checking me out. >> said we can go back and feed her, figure this is the right way to do it. >> it is. >> that includes the encounter with the orca who seems to offer him a stingray for lunch. >> i'm swimming towards this an 3458 who

this animal with this ray, i'm thinking here it is, the moment, she drops it and i thought i lost it but i knelt on the bottom and she comes back. >> orcas which some call killer whale may be the most dangerous hunter in the ocean but in this case the whale appeared to be treating scurry like a member of the family maybe because he kind of is. >> if you could spend time with only one animal it would be whale. >> when you're working with whale it's a different level, it's a high degree of cognition, those animals are truly allowing you into their world if you'reis his features haveee on the cover of "national geographic" multiple times. but for this latest documentary and book he had to rethink a lot of what he knew about the planet's largest animals. >> one of the emerging themes i

sort of settled on was this notion of culture. the fact that these animals have these rich traditions. >> they announce where they are from when meeting whale from other places. >> yeah the researchers in the caribbean were studying sperm whale and say the first thing whale does is when it meets another whale says i'm from dominiona. >> showing truly enduring whale dynamics, how mothers teach calves to swim and eat. how whales communicate across thousands of miles and even sing, activities that has taken place for tens of millions of years but in increasing pressure last couple hundred. whales were prized for their fat used in soap and cosmetics and whales were killed by the

thousands. >> whales overall were in a bad place in the 1970s, how much better has it gotten? >> it's a double-edged is sword, whale populations have increased, the down side is the oceans in general have been degreed aided we're dumping 18 billion pounds of plastic every year and 60% out of the ocean in last 60 years and climate change is changing what they eat. so populations are increasing but the overall picture is not particularly good. >> working solo is just as effective but they have chosen to perform as a group. >> the animals of course are the stars. >> only today they have a dedicated fan trying to track them down. >> but scurry supporting role is crucial. >> national geographic explorer

and world-famous photographer brian scurry. >> you love the introduction of you. >> i have it on a loop at home. my kids love that part. >> exactly. >> his work on ocean life is continuing, working on his next national geographic project regarding changes to the gulf of maine, recently this video of two endangered white whales off cape cod appearing to hug. our trip to cape cod was not as rigorous as his three-year expedition but just a few hours on the water, not too shabby. >> oh, nice. >> whoa. >> sweelt. >> he likes us. >> i think so. >> today was successful. >> it was. >> got a friendly humpback. >> either you're good luck or

weir good luck. >> i think it's you. awesome. oh, man, that is just beautiful.

after more than a year of coronavirus restrictions italy is again welcoming travellers from the u.s., that's good news for the city of canals, venice. chris is there. >> reporter: the pandemic was a double whammy for the italy tourism industry, first a national lockdown and then a ban on american tourists, the biggest spenders here in venice, but now, for the first time since the pandemic, americans are comingback. the pandemic turned the water into a desert and now direct flights from u.s. to venice are finally landing again. tabitha waters and family from kentucky were among the first on board. >> what's the pandemic been like for you?

>> -- it's just been really hard thing to get used to. and seeing the world finally start to become normal again is really good. >> the feeling is mutual at this the oldest coffee house once on the brink of bankruptcy during the pandemic. now americans like the waters family are helping bring it back to life. >> my heart literally has not stopped beating fast. >> like venice's newly reopened opra house named after the mythical phoenix, the city is rising from the ashes. jane is a environmental scientist. >> there's a lot of potential to make life in this city a whole lot better, not just for us but for nature, and other organisms. >> nature that filled the void,

ducks, octopuses, even dolphins in the grand canal. but with restrictions nowloed t with tourists adding up by the minute. wi suchir resistable with suchir resistible beauty can you blame them. >> but she says -- >> other sites in the world pay to get in to let in daily people. >> limit cruise ships she says they not only dwarve the city they're known to crash into it. just one of thehallenges to striking a post-covid balance for both locals and visitors alike. reporting from venice. >> and that's the "cbs overnight news" for this friday. for some of you the news continues, for others, check back later for "cbs this morning" and follow us online

any time at cbsnews.com. reporting from the capital i'm ben tracy. orng news." defending the drawdown. president biden makes the case for withdrawing u.s. troops from afghanistan, ending america's longest war. why he's speeding up the exit. summer soaker. tropical storm elsa races up the east coast bringing flash flooding and tornadoes. where it's headed and how much rain to expect in areas already drenched by storms. m-u-r-r-a-y-a. >> that is correct. [ applause ] >> letter perfect. how thea