tv Way Too Early MSNBC August 10, 2021 2:00am-3:00am PDT
2:00 am
i'm back from vacation one day and i've already eaten 20 seconds of the last word. already back to my terrible habits thaflt does it for me. i'll see you again tomorrow night. "way too early" is up next. fuelled by the delta variant, coronavirus cases across the u.s. have hit the highest level since february. in response, the pentagon is moving to require vaccines for troops. the question is what other mandates will follow? plus, today the senate is poised to pass a roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. with the vote just hours away, the question is how many republicans will support the bill? and nasa is hiring. the agency is looking for applicants willing to live and work in a simulated mars environment for a year. the question is could this be nasa's next giant leap?
2:01 am
it is "way too early" for this. ♪♪ good morning and welcome to "way too early," the show that's still broadcasting here from planet earth for now. i'm alicia menendez on this tuesday, august 10th. we'll start the news. we begin with the latest on coronavirus as the delta variant causes infections to surge across the u.s. the u.s. case count now exceeds 36 million since the start of the pandemic. for the first time since february t country is averaging more than 10,000 new cases a day fueled largely by infections in areas with low vaccination rates. in some parts of the country, hospitals are nearing capacity with available icu beds available in the single digits. worse, in some instances, patients are being turned away. nbc's news correspondent morgan chesky has more. >> reporter: as the delta variant wreaks havoc nationwide,
2:02 am
covid is on the rise in every state. the virus causing the highest number of u.s. cases since february, hitting the south where vaccination remains low is especially hard. in austin, texas, home to nearly a million people, only six icu beds remain open, residents getting this robocall over the weekend. >> the covid-19 situation in austin is dire. >> reporter: the attorney's top doctor calling it an hour-by-hour situation. >> cases are rising so sharply, you could potentially send patients out of state? >> it's a possibility. >> reporter: the surge now forcing the worst-case scenarios like covid overflow tents in houston and pediatric units full. a mother's daughter was flown to a hospital nearly 150 miles away.
2:03 am
>> it was very overwhelming, heartbreaking. >> reporter: many states including new jersey and arizona haven't issued mask mandates, while in arkansas, the governor with a surge in cases regretting a prior ban. >> it was an error to sign that into law, i admit that. >> the virus is being spread through aerosols and not droplets. wearing a mask becomes more important. >> reporter: dr. gottlieb advises wearing a surgical mask protects you more. for now, the push to vaccinate. the pentagon announcing mandatory inoculations for nearly 2 million service members by mid-september with covid numbers nearing a critical mass. >> we're not making any difference even though we're trying. >> reporter: doctors and medical providers are facing burnout with yet another surge. turning now to capitol hill, in just hours, the senate will
2:04 am
hold the final vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. senators will meet at 9:30 this morning. majority leader chuck schumer and minority leader mitch mcconnell expected to speak and the vote will be held at 11:00. the legislation is expected to pass by a wide margin. 19 republicans have already joined all democrats to back the bill, and that number may increase. directly after the final bipartisan infrastructure vote, majority leader schumer says the senate will vote to proceed with the democrat-only budget reconciliation package. speaking of that $3.5 trillion budget plan. the money would be spent on things such as expanding medicare, lowering drug prices, combatting climate change, paying for pre-k and paid family leave. taxes will be increased on wealthy companies as well as an increased irs enforcement. as we mentioned, majority leader chuck schumer wants to pass it right after the senate gets done stroengt infrastructure bill and
2:05 am
before senators leave for their august recess. as for actually passing the budget, democrats will need support of all 50 members of their caucus including senators kristin sinema and joe manchin who have expressed concern over the price tag. joining us this morning, jake sherman. any surprises this morning? >> no. the only surprise might be, alicia -- thanks for having me -- is that more republicans will be voting for it than before. it's safe to say mitch mcconnell will be voting for it. i think down the line we could have 70 or so republicans vote yes on this, which is a big deal. this is not something we anticipated months ago when talks between shelley moore capito and biden blew up. we thought the infrastructure
2:06 am
process was dead and democrats would have to go it alone. here we go. 20 or so republicans are going to vote for it, which, again, is pretty unexpected. >> to what do you contribute that movement? >> i think that republicans were at the table and had a hand in the process and i think that became -- and the right republicans, by the way, republicans that were close to mcconnell and were representative by, you know, at large of the senate republican conference. i think part of this is wanting to split off from the days of donald trump. i think part of it has to do with just the fact that, you know, republicans have gotten a bad name over the last decade for just being the party of no, rightly or wrongly, and i think people had -- there was a lot of bottled up energy to legislate. and i think that was -- that kind of came to a fore here. >> particularly since trump had threatened some of these republicans if they do vote for it. i want to ask you about the democrats, the latest thinking
2:07 am
on senators manchin and sinema? >> i think they will. the policy is going to be a heavy lift for manchin and sinema. we're a long time between now and then and this resolution and getting the majority of the biden agenda through, but i think it's going to be long and hard for those two democrats. >> jake sherman of punchbowl news. thank you as always. with the u.s. ending its time in afghanistan, the militants are ramping up their efforts with many children caught in the crossfire. nbc news correspondent kelly cobiella has more. >> reporter: the afghan air force striking taliban targets in the south, claiming to have killed 16 insurgents after a rapid advance in the north, the taliban taking over three cities in one day. they're now in control of at
2:08 am
least five regional capitals and fighting for more. the u.s. providing some air support to afghan forces, but no ground troops. >> it's their country to defend now. this is their struggle. >> reporter: families fleeing the fighting are now homeless in kabul. the conflict taking a toll on children. 27 killed in the last 72 hours alone, according to the u.n. this man worked with u.s.-funded aid agencies and is applying for visas. he has three young sons and two older daughters, both educated and unmarried. >> and what's your fear for your daughters? >> it's very difficult for me to say it. it's very difficult. >> reporter: like so many, he's afraid he's running out of time. >> our thanks to nbc's kelly cobiella for that report. the president has issued more economic sanctions for belarus. it comes on the alexander of the
2:09 am
re-election of alexander lukashenko. it was not only fraudulent by many in the west but it turned violent thanks to his regime. the military department was sanctioning 23 people and entities linked to that violent crackdown or the forcing down of a flight to obtain an opposition journalist in may. also to target, those in the belarus government. still ahead, the alleged victim of jeffrey is suing. those stories and a check on weather when we come right back. .
2:10 am
i'm morgan, and there's more to me than hiv. more love, more adventure, more community. but with my hiv treatment, there's not more medicines in my pill. i talked to my doctor and switched to fewer medicines with dovato. dovato is for some adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment or replacing their current hiv-1 regimen. with just 2 medicines in 1 pill, dovato is as effective as a 3-drug regimen... to help you reach and stay undetectable. research shows people who take hiv treatment as prescribed and get to and stay undetectable can no longer transmit hiv through sex. don't take dovato if you're allergic to its ingredients or if you take dofetilide. taking dovato with dofetilide can cause serious or life-threatening side effects. hepatitis b can become harder to treat while on dovato.
2:11 am
don't stop dovato without talking to your doctor, as your hepatitis b may worsen or become life-threatening. serious or life-threatening side effects can occur, including allergic reactions, lactic acid buildup, and liver problems. if you have a rash and other symptoms of an allergic reaction, stop dovato and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems, or if you are, may be, or plan to be pregnant. dovato may harm your unborn baby. use effective birth control while on dovato. do not breastfeed while taking dovato. most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, tiredness, and anxiety. so much goes into who i am. hiv medicine is one part of it. ask your doctor about dovato-i did. ♪♪
2:13 am
have the ravens talked about getting vaccinated? >> i just got off the covid list. i've got to talk to my team doctors, you know, and try to see how they feel about it, you know. i keep learning as much as i can about it and go from there. >> you might go for it. >> we'll see. talking to the doctors. we'll see. >> despite a second coronavirus infection, baltimore ravens quarterback lamar jackson still on the fence about receiving a coronavirus vaccine. he returned saturday after missing ten days, a league mandated quarantine after testing positive. he also tested positive in november and missed one game. he's one of few players without the shot as the players entered camp last month with a 90% vaccinate rate. the league has threatened stiff penalties and forfeitures for unvaccinated players.
2:14 am
it's unclear whether jackson can afford the risk in long-term tocks. meanwhile luka doncic is set to sign an extension with the mavericks. this is after the team sent an entourage to his home country to complete the biggest contract in franchise history. the 22-year-old was an all-star in his second and third seasons after being named rookie of the year. he has twice been voted first team all-nba. he's expected to sign the massive deal this morning less than a week after leading slow vain yo to its first olympic best and fourth placed finish in tokyo. during to be able in a back-and-forth game in kansas city, the yankees and royals were scoreless through six innings. the royals match new york's run
2:15 am
total in the eighth, ninth, and tenth innings, but three scored by the yankees in the top of the 11th proved too many for the royals. new york beats kansas city, 8-6. time now for the weather. let's go to meteorologist bill karins for the forecast. hey, bill. >> hey, good morning, alicia. we have so much going on between heat waves. we could have a tropical storm over florida this weekend, not to mention we're going to deal with severe weather today too. let's get to the first big headline, and that's the heat. we have 91 million people at risk for the heat advisories and warnings. philadelphia is under a heat warning, the midwest and deep south. this is the dog days of summer. some of the hottest days will be today through thursday, getting a little cooler o every the weekend. to the northwest, we'll get a
2:16 am
high of 112. the hottest, thursday and friday. this is the second-most shattering heave wave. how hot will it be? >> the heat indices, when you combine the temperature and feels-like temperature with the humidity in the air will be between 105 raleigh will feel like 95. the heat is on in the midwest. if you're not dealing with heat, you'll have severe weather to deal with. yesterday we had big storms and a couple of tornadoes in the areas. the southern plains into the midwest. today we're watching madison toward chicago and green bay. we could have a couple of tornados possible. 37 million people included in the severe weather threat today. it's going to be hot and humid and stormy in that region of the country. and then finally we do have tropical storm watches that are up even now for the turks and
2:17 am
caicos, southern bahamas, puerto rico, you're under a storm warning along with the virgin islands. this storm system will be gaining strength over the next 24 hours. right now it's pretty week. it should become tropical storm fred over the next couple of days. this is what i don't like. by the time we get over the weekend over the very warm water of the florida straits, it's possible this storm could get a little bit stronger as it's approaching the florida region or the panhandle. we're going to have to watch this one carefully over the upcoming weekend. right now the hung center has this just below hurricane strength by the time we go through sunday morning. for our friends in tampa, the keys, and up toward new orleans and the panhandle of florida, pay attention to this forecast closely over the next couple of days. >> we'll all be watching, bill karins. thank you. still ahead, with d 20th anniversary of september 11th next month, the justice department is pledging to review documents relatinged to the terrorist attack for possible
2:18 am
public release. we're going to dig into that story and more next. 're going tt story and more next. ♪ when you have nausea, ♪ ♪ heartburn, ingestion, upset stomach... ♪ ♪ diarrheaaaa. ♪ pepto bismol coats your stomach with fast and soothing relief. and try new drug free pepto herbal blends. made from 100% natural ginger and peppermint. ♪ rock the boat don't rock the boat, baby ♪ ♪ rock the boat don't tip the boat over ♪ here we go. ♪ don't rock the boat, baby rock the boat ♪ see disney's jungle cruise. it's time to rock the boat, america. (piano playing) here we go. ♪♪ [john legend's i can see clearly now] ♪♪
2:19 am
♪♪ ♪♪ make your reunion happen with vrbo. your together awaits. vrbo tide pods ultra oxi one ups the cleaning power of liquid. can it one up whatever they're doing? for sure. seriously? one up the power of liquid, one up the toughest stains. any further questions? uh uh! one up the power of liquid with tide pods ultra oxi. when you have metastatic breast cancer, what does it mean to be a thriver? it means we grab a hold of what matters most. we sweat the details. ask for what we want. get what we need. and we need more time. so, we want kisqali. living longer is possible and proven with kisqali when taken with a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor in premenopausal women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's significantly more effective at delaying disease progression
2:20 am
versus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor alone. kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills, or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash or are plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. kisqali is not approved for use with tamoxifen. it's our time. for more time. we asked for kisqali. ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. for more time. we asked for kisqali. i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger.
2:21 am
under pressure to fulfill a campaign promise, the biden administration plans to disclose some documents that show connections between families of saudi arabia and the hijackers that carried out the attacks. in court filings, the fbi submitted a letter to two federal judges overseeing the action that reads in part, the fbi has decided to review its prior privilege assertions to identify additional information appropriate for disclosure. the fbi will disclose such file information on a rolling basis as expeditiously as possible. biden said, as i promised during
quote
2:22 am
my campaign, my administration is committed to ensuring the maximum degree of transparency under the law. in this vein, i welcome the department of justice's filing today. >> our goal is now to bring this matter to a conclusion with all due haste. >> that timeline comes after a meeting with the senate judiciary committee and investigators. that probe is being expedited in the wake of the report. governor cuomo disputes many of the allegations and denies any wrongdoing. the state assembly will hold public and private hearings through the rest of the month. but a new report says the governor is trying to avoid impeachment. he's agreed to not run for a fourth term in exchange for not being removed from office. new york state assembly speaker carl heastie shut down the
2:23 am
request saying he's not cutting a deal. the federal action filed by virginia giuffre accuses prince andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17 years old. according to nbc news reports, the suit claims that 20 years ago epstein and his longtime associate maxwell engaged sexual encounters with prince andrew and knew she was a sex trafficking victim at the time. it was filed under the act. representatives for prince andrew declined to comment though he has previously denied the allegations. maxwell's attorneys did not immediately respond to the request for comment. coming up, some republican lawmakers are not onboard. what it means for military
2:24 am
readiness. but before we go to break, we want to know why are you awake? i'm your reasons to waytooearly@msnbc.com or tweets me @aliciamenendez or #waytooearly. we're going to read your answers later in the show. answers later in the show. to j.d. power. number one in reliability, 16 times in a row. most awarded for network quality, 27 times in a row. proving once again that nobody builds networks like verizon. that's why we're building 5g right, that's why there's only one best network. experience our advance standards safety technology on a full line of vehicles. at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. get 1.9% apr financing on the 2021 rx 350. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. i've never slept like this before.
2:25 am
we gave new zzzquil pure zzzs restorative herbal sleep to people who were tired of being tired. what is even in this? clinically-studied plant based ingredients passion flower, valerian root, and hops. new zzzquil pure zzzs restorative herbal sleep. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein.
2:27 am
2:28 am
in a memo sent to troops yesterday, lloyd austin said he would seek president biden's approval to mandate the vaccine mid-september or immediately after it is approved by the fda. the president quickly issued his support for the order. the statement yesterday he wrote in part, quote, we're still on a wartime footing, and every american who is eligible should take immediate steps to get vaccinated right away. i am proud our military women and men will continue to help lead the charge in this pandemic as they so often do by setting the example of keeping americans safe. another 237,000 have received one shot. not everyone is on board with the military's vaccine mandate though. here's what republican senators rick scott of florida and johnson of florida had to say about this announcement.
2:29 am
>> when did we decide we're going to give the government the ability to tell us to wear a mask or take a shot. i'm so sick and tired that some bureaucrat thinks they're so smart they can tell us what to do. >> right now my office is being inundated with urgent pleas for help, throughout the private sector and military as well that because they don't have faith in the federal government, because the health agencies haven't been forthright and transparent, they don't want to be forced to take a vaccine. >> joining us now, nbc news white house correspondent. tell me what's behind the biden administration's administration to do this? >> reporter: we knew, alicia, this has been in the works for a couple of weeks. this is something they had asked the military to look into. the fda is likely going to authorize full approval for at least the pfizer vaccine and
2:30 am
then probably the moderna shots in the coming weeks because of this issue of not wanting to have any federal vaccine mandates for the entirety of the country, but there are some sectors where we've already seen the biden administration make these kinds of moves as what we saw a couple of weeks ago with federal workers, civilian ones. more than 2 million of them. now this news coming that this is something the president wanted the secretary of defense to ask of all service members, more than 2 million of them, to require the vaccine by mid-september. so we're talking four to six weeks from now that gives them the opportunity to go get the inoculations right now and have them be fully effective. the thing about the timeline, if the fda gives approval before then, secretary austin may move up the date and say he wants the military vaccinated by whatever day that comes, which could happen sometime this month. but the interesting thing here
2:31 am
is the white house is in a bit of a precarious situation because they have said federally you're not going to see mask mandates, there won't be lockdowns. they're really leaving this to local states and jurisdictions, but they're hoping more of the country is going to mirror more of what they're doing because of people like this. it's people like dr. anthony fauci who expects once there's full approval from the fda, there will be a flood of vaccine mandates for places like schools and businesses. that's what they're hoping in the fall will help fight this delta variant. they're not sure about the service memberships who refuse to get the shots. as we know right now, there are about 17 vaccinations that are required if you want to be in the u.s. military. this is something they've gob through with several different things. you can always get a health exemption, we know. it's unclear whether they will be dismissed if they refuse to get it otherwise, alicia.
2:32 am
>> we're talking about covid, but it's a big day for infrastructure on capitol hill. how is the white house managed to balance it all? >> the president is here in wilmington delaware where he hasn't had events. this was supposed to be a longer planned august vacation, but because the senate is still finishing its work, he's going to head back to washington later this morning because he wants to be at the white house when this infrastructure package is expected to be finalized. this is something he long campaigned on. this is something he wanted to work with republicans to get to become a reality. and remember just a couple of months ago the talks started to fall apart before the bipartisan framework came into view. so this is something you can expect the president to tout as one of his signature achievements i'm told by white house officials of the first seven or eight months in office. this is something he promised that seems pretty dicey at times
2:33 am
that is now becoming a reality, of course. the challenge doesn't end there once that nearly $1 trillion bill is signed into law. then this other way larger package, the $3.5 trillion of the so-called human infrastructure, things like social programs, paid family leave, child care, and elder care, that is going to be a little bit more of a bigger mountain to climb and to scale, but you can absolutely expect the president to celebrate this in a summer of legislative challenges where you're right. it's unclear what eats going to happen with voting rights. we don't know what's going to happen with police reform. these are big ticket items we'd like to see progress on, but they're going to point to infrastructure as a place of true success and bipartisanship, alicia. >> monica alba, good to see you, my friend. still ahead, the totally different career with na san jose sharks simulating life on mars. "way too early" is back in a moment. "way too early" is back in a moment
2:35 am
i'm evie's best camper badge. but even i'm not as memorable as eating turkey hill chocolate chip cookie dough creamy premium ice cream and chasing fireflies. don't worry about me. i'm fine. you can't beat turkey hill memories. did you know diarrhea is often caused by bad bacteria in food? try pepto® diarrhea. its concentrated formula coats and kills bacteria to relieve diarrhea. see, pepto® diarrhea gets to the source, killing the bad bacteria. so, make sure to have pepto® diarrhea on hand. (vo) at t-mobile for business, unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. whether it's ensuring food arrives as fresh as when it departs. being first on the scene, when every second counts. or teaching biology without a lab. we are the leader in 5g. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. without trade-offs. unconventional thinking.
2:36 am
it's better for business. (naj) at fisher investments, our clients know we have their backs. (other money manager) how do your clients know that? (naj) because as a fiduciary, it's our responsibility to always put clients first. (other money manager) so you do it because you have to? (naj) no, we do it because it's the right thing to do. we help clients enjoy a comfortable retirement. (other money manager) sounds like a big responsibility. (naj) one that we don't take lightly. it's why our fees are structured so we do better when our clients do better. fisher investments is clearly different. tide pods ultra oxi one ups the cleaning power of liquid. can it one up whatever they're doing? for sure. seriously? one up the power of liquid, one up the toughest stains. any further questions? uh uh! one up the power of liquid with tide pods ultra oxi. ♪ born to be wild ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ born to be wild ♪ see disney's jungle cruise.
2:37 am
applebee's and a movie, now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. time now for something totally different. nasa is offering up the chance to live in space sort of. they're seeking four crew members for a one-year mission to simulate a habitat. they'll live in a 1,700 foot 3-d model so they can study the challenges that might pop up during a future mission to tread planet. it calls for healthy and motivated citizens between the ages of 30 and 55 years old plus a s.t.e.m. master's degree or sufficient experience piloting an aircraft. it's not really a vacation as they'll experience equipment and environmental stressors. an ohio toddler is chasing
2:38 am
his dream, making an unexpected appearance in a major league soccer game in senate. the 2-year-old bolted onto the field in the middle of the day followed by his mom who quickly scooped him off and rushed him off the field. the game continued without interruption and no one was injured. the toddler's mom told reporters her son was eager to chase the because and blissfully unaware of what he had done. he was gifted the game ball after the match. ariel nicholson is featured in videographer. it's titled "generation america." it's celebrating models celebrating norms. nicholson shared her excitement. to have the opportunity to participate in the shifting
2:39 am
landscape is a dream come true. there's a new memorial to the late elijah cummings. this is inside the baltimore court house that bears his name. the mosaic was unveiled yesterday to honor the late congressman. the mosaic commissioned by the youth alumni will currently stand in the cummings courthouse. why is florida's governor fighting to keep kids from having to wear masks? and as we go to break, a look at this date in history. 28 years ago ruth bader ginsburg was sworn in as the second female justice on the u.s. supreme court. >> i, ruth bader ginsburg, do solemnly swear -- >> -- that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. >> -- that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states.
2:40 am
and new ways for them to reach you... is what business is all about. it's what the united states postal service has always been about. so as your business changes, we're changing with it. with e-commerce that runs at the speed of now. next day and two-day shipping nationwide. same day shipping across town. returns right from the doorstep, and deliveries seven days a week. it's a whole new world out there. let's not keep it waiting. it's a whole new world out there. it only takes a second for an everyday item to become dangerous. tide pods child-guard pack helps keep your laundry pacs in a safe place and your child safer. to close, twist until it clicks. tide pods child-guard packaging. i'm dad's greatest sandcastle - and greatest memory! but even i'm not as memorable as eating turkey hill chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream with real cocoa. well, that's the way the sandcastle crumbles. you can't beat turkey hill memories.
2:43 am
is escalating in florida. governor ron desantis is now threatening to withhold pay for education officials who enforce mask mandates for students. the statement from the governor's office warns that florida's board of education could narrowly tailor any financial consequences, citing salaries as an example of board members who require masks this fall. at least one official offered a defiant response. he told school officials at a meeting yesterday, quote, you can't put a price tag on someone's life, including my salary. it's one of several counties who have already authored masked mandates in schools. dr. carly simon is out with a new op-ed in the "washington post" titled why our school district is defying florida's
2:44 am
ban on mask mandates even if it means we lose funding. she writes in part, my district is experiencing a dramatic spike in the number of employees testing positive for covid-19, and school hasn't even started. tragically two of our employees died from covid-related complications just over a week ago. many are quarantined and unable to work and a number keep rising. the board voted unanimously and courageously to require masks for all students during the first two weeks of school, a necessary step to start the academic year safely. surely we're upset about the loss of funding but it shouldn't come to that. after all, we want what desantis wants, to keep our schools open and kids in the classroom. i value life too much to take the chance of threatening others. as our chair so aptly put it, better a lot of funding than a loss of lives. and superintendent carlee simon
2:45 am
will be a guest coming up on the "morning joe." the state of arkansas set a new record for hospitalizations yesterday since the start of the pandemic. the department of health reported there are only eight icu beds left available in the state. last week a judge temporarily blocked the state from enforcing a masked mandate ban in which issa hutchinson said he regrets signing. joining us now is a doctor from johns hopkins. doctor, it's so interesting. i saw a thread you put on twitter about kids. i as a parent was grateful for your expertise. what is it we need to be looking for as educators and students returning to the classroom? >> a few things. as a parent of a school-aged child i know it's stressful for parents as we head back to
2:46 am
school. i recommend keeping an eye on the cases in your community. there's a dashboard with the cdc and in "the new york times." there are lots of places to find that data. that will help you make decision on what to allow and what to pull back on. definitely send your kid to school in a mask. i highly recommend it. even if your district is not requiring masks, please make sure your child does wear one. lastly be careful about the extracurricular activities you participate in. indoor sports, for example, are going to be riskier, so we're choosing to avoid those for now. >> there's a lot of discussion on mandating vaccines. your thoughts on mandaing teachers and staff be vaccinated. >> we heard from the lead over the school's biggest union that she's supporting, i think that's a great sign. there's energy around getting teachers vaccinated.
2:47 am
that's an important step for making schools safer. the other important step is to get your child vaccinated. they're eligible, but only 30% of kids ages 12 to 15 are vaccinated. we can do better than that. >> there's a psychological piece to this. there are children who have been out of school for a full year. what do we do mentally to prepare our kids especially since we know that year is full of uncertainty. >> this is hard. this is the third school year that's been disrupted. i have a second grader who's been out of school longer than she's been in school. i know it's incredibly difficult. we're taking the situation as it is. that means going to school while managing coronavirus. by now kids are accustomed to wearing masks, and it's not as big of a deal as at the start of the pandemic. it's important to talk about these measures and that we're
2:48 am
trying to do everything to keep everyone safe. >> as we watch this back-and-forth play out between governors and a lot of southern states who are banning mask mandates and superintendents who are pushing back from your perch and public health, what do you make of it? >> it's not my recommendation to lift the mask mandates. i think it's very important where unvaccinated children congregate to have everyone in a mask. because the coronavirus situation is quite intense in some areas of the country, i think allowing leaders to have local measures to keep communities safe is particularly important, and i would like to see that returned to local leaders. >> dr. caitlin rivers, thank you for your time. earlier we asked why are you up way too early. jeannie says i'm up way too early headed to the gym because i like pizza. i like pizza too. another writes i'm up to take my
2:49 am
early morning walk to the river to take sunrise pictures and look for jumping fish. and deborah writes i'm up way too early to try to see meteor showers at the beach. nice. coming up on the "morning joe," we'll hear from the florida superintendent we just mentioned who's defying a ban on mask mandates even if it means losing state funding. plus dr. anthony fauci will join the conversation. "morning joe" is just moments away. " is just moments away
2:50 am
i've never slept like this before. we gave new zzzquil pure zzzs restorative herbal sleep to people who were tired of being tired. what is even in this? clinically-studied plant based ingredients passion flower, valerian root, and hops. new zzzquil pure zzzs restorative herbal sleep. [♪♪] if you have diabetes, it's important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost today. if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you. switch now and get 2 unlimited lines and 2 free smartphones. and now get netflix on us. it's all included with 2 lines for only $70 bucks!
2:51 am
only at t-mobile. >> tech: every customer has their own safelite story. this couple was on a camping trip... ...when their windshield got a chip. they drove to safelite for a same-day repair. and with their insurance, it was no cost to them. >> woman: really? >> tech: that's service you can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ ♪all by yourself.♪ you look a little lost. i can't find my hotel. oh. oh! ♪♪ this is not normal. no. ♪♪ so? ♪♪ right? go with us and find millions of flexible options, all in our app. expedia. it matters who you travel with.
2:52 am
now to the climate crisis and perhaps the most urgent warning yet. the new u.n. report declaring the world is at the code red stage. richard engel has more. >> reporter: the signs are all there. with fires raging around the world, in greece and turkey and in california. >> the dixie fire is the second largest in california history, it still threatens some 13,000
2:53 am
homes. >> reporter: and where there isn't fire, there's water. once in a century flash floods killed hundreds in germany, belgium and china this summer. the climate is getting more hostile and the u.n. said it is already too late to stop some of the devastating impacts of climate change. >> it's indisputable that human activities are causing climate change and making extreme weather events more frequent and severe. >> reporter: the u.n. report is the largest and most up to date study on climate change. it says shrinking glaciers and sea ice are inchangeable for a millennia pl but it's not without hope. finding temperatures can stabilize if we act over the next several decades. >> thanks to richard engel for
2:54 am
that report. joining us now with a look at axios a.m. the co-founder mike allen. what is the axios one big thing this morning? >> good morning. axios' one big thing is one place where trump still wins, where trump still wins is the best-seller list. so here on the show we've seen a lot of the authors of the new trump books out. three big trump books all at the top of "the new york times" best-seller list. the books are selling but there's not that many of them. let's level set. think back to mary trump's book which got a lot of coverage. in the first week it sold 1.3 million copies. in the first two, three weeks of these books. looks what's going on. the best selling of the three, carol and phil ruckers, 125,000
2:55 am
copies, michael bender, he is 75,000 copy. and michael wolff, who was a global phenomenon the last time he had a trump book in the first few weeks 45,000. these are mpd book scan, figure they cover about half of books but they give you a sense of the proportions of book sales that trump does well on the best-seller list but it's nothing like the national phenomenon that trump books once were. >> speaking of trump and trump republicans i want to play something that senator rand paul of kentucky posted on twitter. take a listen. >> it's time for us to resist. they can't arrest all of us. they can't keep all of your kids home from school. we don't have to accept the mandates, lockdowns and harmful policies of the bureaucrats. no one should follow the cdc's
2:56 am
anti-science mask mandates. if you want to shutdown federal agencies again, some of which aren't back to work yet. i will stop every bill coming through the senate in an amendment to cut their funding. >> is that about 2022? >> we saw it. jump to 2024 with florida governor ron desantis saying i'm not putting a mask on my kid, i want to see my kids' smiling face. yesterday in dallas, the school board there defying governor greg abbott who said no mask, vaccination requirements in the dallas schools. they are going to require masks. so think about it, who do you not want to be at this moment? i know that you, like i, have friends who are teachers, work in schools. they suddenly in an enforcement zone on the front lines of the culture wars.
2:57 am
it's like the restaurant owners we've heard in new york saying i don't want to enforce this, i'm trying to run a business. they're trying to run a school, educate kids. this is the third school year interrupted by covid. >> and the other refrain i hear from local leaders, this isn't about politics it needs to be about the health of their students and faculty. >> axios has a look at the bus store over the august recess, what can you tell us about that? >> yeah. we got an image of the democrats' recess bus kicking off in virginia where i live. we're seeing the three part democratic message for recess. they're going to talk about creating jobs through the infrastructure bill, talk about cutting health care costs, and they're going to talk about also cutting taxes for families. so a three-part republican
2:58 am
message, their three leaf clover is going to be inflation, immigration, crime. we're getting the 2022 preview that you were talking about coming on wheels all throughout the country with leading mayors, governors, other local officials that people will relate to and that local tv assignment editors will relate to. >> quite the contrast in the issues there. i want to ask you about the ohio senate race between j.d. vance and rob portman. bump for vance in the polls, what do you attribute that to? >> your viewers are familiar with j.d. vance. there's a crowded race there to succeed senator rob portman, who's retiring. j.d. vance was behind. jonathan swan got his hands on some figures from the super pac of jd vance showing that he's moving up and he got a very
2:59 am
important endorsement, congressman jim banks of indiana who leads the republican study committee, the conservative caucus, he's endorsing vance and j.d. vance, who's doing tons of conservative cable also getting hits there. in your feed, you're seeing he -- playing a lot of the cultural themes on twitter, lighting up twitter with seemingly a new fight every day. >> a big day for infrastructure on the hill. do you think we're going to see any surprises? >> the surprise is this is happening. biden's change the world agenda is happening. this is his second trillion around 11:00 a.m. when we get the final votes from the senate and go to the house and president biden's signature. we're starting, just in the last 24 hours. we've seen all the biden plans come into view.
3:00 am
first you had the trillion dollars from the covid plan, then this is the hard plan with roads, bridges, and then we saw the $3.2 trillion for the human side infrastructure yesterday. that's the part that changes government permanently. once you have pre-k for everyone, once you add some of those, they're not going to go away. that's how you have a legacy presidency. >> mike allen, as always, thank you. thank you for getting up way too early with us on this tuesday morning. "morning joe" starts now. the other democrats crack the whip and there is a weird thing, there is a herd mentality that the obey chuck schumer and their only answer is sir, yes, sir. >> that weird thing ted cruz is noting there, where a political part
216 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
MSNBC West Television Archive Television Archive News Search Service The Chin Grimes TV News ArchiveUploaded by TV Archive on