all right. that is going to do it for us tonight. i'll see you again tomorrow. "way too early" is up next. ♪♪ they will not be forgotten. and as i said, we will use every diplomatic, economic assistance tool at our disposal, working hand in hand with the international community, first and foremost, to ensure those who want to leave afghanistan after the 31st are able to do so. with the deadline looming, the state department says there could be as many as 1,500 americans still seeking to leave afghanistan. it's on track to leave on time, but the question is could a terror attack complicate

matters. plus as covid cases soar, johnson & johnson sends a booster vaccine. just like other vaccines, the question is how long will the protection last. and serena williams and roger with draw from the u.s. tennis open. it's way, way, way too early for this. good morning and welcome to "way too early," the show that's wondering who's left to play in the ugs open. i'm sam stein on this thursday, august 26th, and we'll start with the news. with just days left before the united states is scheduled to with draw troops from afghanistan, the state department is trying to track down any remaining american citizens. despite the deadline, secretary

antony blinken says the u.s. will stay for as long as it takes to finish the evacuations. >> let me be crystal clear about this. there is no deadline on our work to help any remaining american citizens who want to leave who decide do so along with the many afghans who stood by us for many years and want to leave and have been unable to do so. that effort will continue every day past august 31st. the taliban have made public and private commitments to provide and permit safe passage for americans, for third country nationals, and afghans at risk going forward past august 31st. >> blinken added yesterday around 1,500 american citizens remain in afghanistan and 4,500 have been evacuated. u.s. officials have estimated that tens of thousands are still in the country. the white house said earlier yesterday that 80,000 people had been evacuated in total since

august 14th, including 19,000 in the previous 24 hours. meanwhile u.s. forces are conducting extraction missions to rescue americans and afghans who cannot reach kabul's main airport. according to officials who spoke with "the wall street journal," the cia and u.s. troops have rescued people. these extractions are reportedly being done by helicopter and on foot walking past taliban into the airport. the u.s. forces have gone into kabul on joint missions with british and french allies. a potential terror attack in kabul has made evacuations more complicated, warning americans to stay away from the airport. "the new york times" said the u.s. was tracking a, quote, specific and credible threat at the airport from an islamic state group in afghanistan.

they're also telling people outside the airport to leave immediately. the british and australian governments issued similar warnings, describing an ongoing and high threat of terrorist attack. turning now to capitol hill, house minority leader kevin mccarthy is taking a stand against democracy on the spending bills, but in an appearance on cnbc, he was pressed how to stop it. take a look. >> we'll have 5 million on the books -- >> it will be over my dead body because i'm going to do everything in our power to stop it. the damage -- >> do you think you can? >> there is an opportunity -- >> how will you stop it? >> i think manchin and sinema could slow it down. more importantly, what about the ten democrats in the house who just folded? their folding means they're not going to get re-elected. they're not going to get re-elected passing the largest package and spending bill.

over the week they agreed to move forward with their $3.5 trillion package to cover so-called infrastructure child care and community college. joining us now, senior writer at "the daily beast." >> sam, it is way, way too early. >> fair enough. how are things panning out on capitol hill? is there anything kevin mccarthy can do it shofrt the threats he's making? >> ironically the republicans want to play hard ball here. the truth is they're kind of playing into democrats' hands. if they really wanted to stop the reconciliation package, the one thing they could have done is try to pass the bipartisan bill, right? the fact is that donald trump is saying don't do that either, right? i don't want you guys working with democrats at all on infrastructure. so, you know, if they actually wanted to stop this, the way to

do this would have been to play with it, move republicans to get this done, you know, on the bipartisan bill, and then leave the reconciliation bill. >> matt, let me pick up on one thing you said. there trump doesn't want this. is it your sense that people on the hill, republicans specifically, that trump still hold as lot of sway and is affecting the course of this debate? >> for sure. i think in the senate, there are a lot of republicans who are saying, you know, we wanted infrastructure for decades, moving forward with this bipartisan bill is limited enough, it's really strictly for the roads and bridges that they wanted, but with trump and with the house, he's definitely got a firmer grip on this. when trump says, you know, don't do this, i'll do an infrastructure bill when i'm

president again, listen, house republicans listen. and senate republicans and mitch mcconnell are able to ignore that noise a little more, where house elections are tied to donald trump and him supporting them. >> matt, let's do a quick circle toll afghanistan. what are you hearing about this, what has been the response to it? what is the feeling on the hill as well among democrats watching joe biden really grasp for a solution to this? >> well, you have to understand that like every congressional office is right now dealing with actual refugee who are trying to get out. they're dealing with requests from people in their district who know a family member or a military member who work with an afghan interpreter. they're constantly feeling -- there's a real crisis on the hill. as much as democrats want to tell the 60,000 or more -- i

think it's over 70,000 actually evacuations that they've gotten out of the country, on the individual case by case basis, these congressional offices are very aware that their americans of -- americanal lies who are not out of the country, and they're working tirelessly. there are a number of staff that get into these issues right now. so they're keenly aware of current issues because they're literally working on a lot of these cases, and as much as, you know, biden's looking for allies for them to say, look, you know, i'm standing by, ending the war, getting people out, we've gotten over 70,000 people out safely. there hasn't been an american death at this time. he's not going to get this round of applause until, really, all these people, congressional offices have been dealing with, till those people are out of the country. >> all right. matt fuller with a beautifully color coordinated bookshelf

behind him. thank you so much, really, for your time this morning. >> thanks, sam. >> of course. still ahead, new protection could be on the way for millions of americans who have received the one shot johnson & johnson covid vaccine. plus, the boston red sox rallied against the minnesota twins last night but still came up short as they have so often in recent days. those stories and a check of the weather when we come right back.

rush hour will never feel the same. experience thrilling performance from our entire line of vehicles at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. lease the 2021 is 300 for $379 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you whether you need a single line or lines for family members, you'll get great value on america's most reliable 5g network. like 2 lines of unlimited for just $27.50 a line. that's our everyday price. plus, our plans always come with unlimited talk, text and data included. so, switch to t-mobile and get 2 lines of unlimited for only $27.50 a line. that's half the price of verizon or at&t. only at t-mobile. the leader in 5g. wondering what actually goes into your multivitamin? at new chapter, its' innovation, organic ingredients, and fermentation. fermentation? yes. formulated to help you body really truly absorb the natural goodness. new chapter. wellness, well done.

i've lost count of how many asthma attacks i've had. but my nunormal with nucala? fewer asthma attacks. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection-site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala. find your nunormal with nucala.

fuhgettaboutit. gone. home run blast. >> that was a.j. pollock delivering the dagger for the dodgers. padres had no answer for his two-run homer in the bottom frame. l.a. ends last night's 16-inning

epic. it was on when i woke up at 4:00 a.m. with a 5-3 victory over san diego. what a game. now to baltimore. i can't believe they're making me read this. they were awarded a dubious mark in the record brooks. snapping a record for the worst league. four earned running given up by ohtani. this is the one i can't believe they're making me read. it's boston. the red sox, they failed to gain ground in the wild-card race in an off night for both the yankees and athletics as those teams prepare for a start of a pivotal four-game series tonight, boston losing a half game in the second spot after falling 9-6 against the minnesota twins off those

standings. for the first time in a quarter of a century. srena williams, roger federer, and rafael nadal will sit out this time from the u.s. open. serena continues to recover from a torn hamstring that has kept her out of competition since the opening set of her first run match in wimbledon in late jeune. while her singles title remains on pause, federer, the first man to reach 20 grand slam trophies is done for the season as he need as third operation on his right knee. and nadal is also done for the season because of an ailing left foot. with former open champs off the court, it leaves novak djokovic

with a chance to complete a career grand slam. the tournament begins monday in new york city, returning to full capacity after fans were banned last year due to the pandemic. fans can also attend without masks or ability to vaccinate. proof of vaccination is needed for indoors. time for a check on the weather. we check in with meteorologist janessa webb. janessa, what's going on there? >> good morning, sam. i know everyone is trying to beat the heat, but it's still in the south central and western tear. tough conditions if you're not a hot weather fan. 69 million people are going to be impacted by heat advisories for today. these heatwaves continue.

this southbound our fourth heatwave across sections of the northeast as we're dealing with daytime highs. the feel-like temperature going to be about 110 from the mid-atlantic all the way into the northeast. air temperatures today across the board from the tennessee valley to the ohio valley in the mid-90s. i wish i could say it backs off for tomorrow, but it spreads down more to the deep south. into charleston, a high of 89 for your friday. this comes with severe weather unfortunately for the upper midwest. there is that enhanced risk of some isolated tornadoes as well. so the flood threat is pretty big from wisconsin into green bay. could see some localized flooding up to 3 to 5 inches. sam, do your best to try to beat the heat. >> people, be careful out there. janessa, thank you much. still ahead, the alabama

poison control center is getting phone calls from people trying to combat covid by taking a drug meant for livestock. that story and more next. that story and more next that's how we've become the leader in 5g. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. - i'm norm. - i'm szasz. [norm] and we live in columbia, missouri. we do consulting, but we also write. [szasz] we take care of ourselves constantly; it's important. we walk three to five times a week, a couple miles at a time. - we've both been taking prevagen for a little more than 11 years now. after about 30 days of taking it, we noticed clarity that we didn't notice before. - it's still helping me. i still notice a difference. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

(vo) unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. that's how we've become the leader in 5g.

#1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. more than three-quarters of the country's intensive care units are now full as the covid variant continues to surge. 77.3% of all icu beds are now occupied with 28% of those beds filled by covid-19 patients. nearly half of all states now report their hospitals' icus have exceeded 75% capacity, with arkansas and alabama officials saying their states were completely out of icu beds. in florida, state officials are scrambling to contain the resurgence of covid-19. more people are catching the virus, being hospitalized, and dying now than at any previous point in the pandemic. over 26,000 new cases were

reported yesterday alone, breaking the state's single-day case record. hospitalizations have tripled in the past month, stretching many hospitals to their breaking points. in all florida has recorded at least 3.1 million cases state wooind and nearly 43,000 deaths. meanwhile in georgia, the state officials have deployed more than 100 national guard troops to hospitals across the state to help staff with the rise in covid cases. the guardsmen will be going to ten hospitals in the region to assist machinery rooms and front line workers with the overwhelming number of patients. last week governor kemp signed an executive order from requiring businesses to enact covid mandates and other restrictions in order to stop the spread of the covid virus. two morgue trailers have been moved to two counties in alabama due to a rise in covid

cases. one was deployed at the state forensic sciences in mobile, nothing at the department of public health. both hospitals are struggling with ka pass tills. mobile county reported 49 deaths up from 28 the previous week. baldwin reported 17 deaths equally during the past two weeks. but with covid numbers rising, the south baldwin regional medical center has called the federal medical team assistance. yesterday 40% of the 56 covid patients were in the icu. 82% of hospitalized are unvaccinated. overall, only 34% of residents in both counties are fully vaccinated. meanwhile calls to the alabama poison center over the exposure of ivirtamine, a drug used to

deworm livestock has been used. the poison control has received 24 calls. that's ivermectin. i finally pronounced it correctly. it does not prevent covid. you're not a horse, you're not a cow. seriously, y'all, stop it. now to a new update on the johnson & johnson covid-19 vaccine. the company has evidence that people who have received a one-shot dose could benefit from a booster shot after six months. nbc's tom costello has the latest. >> reporter: new protection could be on the way for the 14 million americans who received the one shot of the johnson &

johnson vaccine. it still provides protection against covid. it's strong and stable after eight months offism munization. now it reports an added booster shot increased antibody protection by nine times. >> this is a fabulous vaccine, it really is. the data out this morning suggests a second j&j shot six monthings later gives you a huge increase in your antibody levels. >> reporter: good news, but worried they may not have the same level of protection offered by the two-dose moderna or pfizer vaccines. keith says he's concerned. >> i feel a whole lot better. this is what i've been waiting for. i've been waiting to hear this. there's nothing been mentioned about a booster for johnson. it was all pfizer and moderna. >> reporter: the biden administration is eager to offer boosters six to eight months after americans are full ya

vaccinated starting next month, but is it safe to mix boosters? giving a pfizer or moderna booster to someone who got the j&j shot, overseas studies suggests yes. >> mixing the two would lead to high effectiveness levels and that's very promising. >> reporter: meanwhile the poo push comes as more agencies and employers push for vaccine vaccines. now the city of chicago, delta, disney say unvaccinated employees will have to pay $200 extra each month for health benefits. still ahead t house committee tasked with the january 6th committee insurrection are seeking donald trump's inner circle. we'll have new reporting on the sweeping records request. but before we go, we want to

know why you're awake. email your reasons to waytooearly@msnbc.com or tweet me @samstein with #waytooearly. i want your dog and cat pics. we'll read your emails later in the show. l read your emails lat the show nce. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. (vo) unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. that's how we've become the leader in 5g. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all.

baaam. internet that doesn't miss a beat. that's cute, but my internet streams to my ride. adorable, but does yours block malware? nope. -it crushes it. pshh, mine's so fast, no one can catch me. that's because you all have the same internet. xfinity xfi. so powerful, it keeps one-upping itself. can your internet do that? all right. welcome back to "way too early." it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. i'm sam stein. with less than a week until the august 31st deadline to withdraw

u.s. troops from afghanistan, the white house insists it's on track to finish evacuations, but some top republicans are criticizing the president for the chaotic exit. >> the biden administration is willing to accept the fact they'll be leaving americans behind to the taliban stronghold. he turned his back on our own citizens stranded in afghanistan. he turned his back on our allies and partners and his duties as commander in chief. >> you say the president should be impeached for what he's doing. why? >> he's been derelict in his duties as commander in chief. he withdrew all forces in afghanistan without taking out american citizens and those who fought along our side. there's no higher responsibility. i think it would be an impeachable offense. >> meanwhile thehouse select

committee charged with investigating the january 6th riot is looking at staffers and even family members. they include mark meadows and others. they receives letters, the department of defense, homeland security, justice, interior and others. any partner who fails to meet the deadline would likely be met with a subpoena. joining us now, senior politics reporter grace panetta. grace, welcome. realistically, grace, how many of these record requests do we think will be met? >> this is a massive amount of documentation that's being requested from these agencies

it's two-week deadline for a wide range of records, touching on many different topics. these agencies will try to comply the best they can, but we expect the committee to be pretty aggressive in going after these records and it could take months to sort through all this. >> we're talking about the requests go way back, much further back than around the election. they go to the spring of 2020. why go that far back if this is about january fth? >> yeah. i think it's -- the request in some places is related and go back to 2020. that's when trump started ramping up his rhetoric, that the election would be stolen because of the pandemic and votes stolen. i think the committee is trying to put together the time line, the pieces of how this all came to be. >> one of the frustrations democrats had during the trump years is they were dragged on,

challenged legally, that documents were never produced. what steps are democrats taking to avoid potential potholes as they go forward with this investigation? >> they're definitely working on an aggressive timeline. i think chair thompson is going to be severely pursuing this. they are prepared for some legal battles potentially over executive privilege over these records. >> let's stay on that for a second. do we have a sense of trump world's reaction to these sweeping records request? have we gotten any actual reaction? >> yes. trump did put out a staid decrying the committee as a leftist farce, but the many investigations under his presidency said he will try to fight that in court by invoke executive privilege, but that

remains to be seen. >> do we have anything who will cooperate with the committee? >> that remain as big question, what testimony they can get voluntarily. so far, you know, it's such a wide range and wide scope they're going after. >> and let's be realistic here. what is the time frame for actual documents being made public or even a conclusion to be reached by the committee itself about what happened on january 6th? >> that's a big question. i think it's going take months. it's not going to be a speedy resolution. they designed this to be a comprehensive investigation. it may not be until next year that we get any kind of report. obviously with the midterms approaching, that's something they're moving toward. it could be many months. >> all right. grace panetta, thank you so much for coming in and joining me this morning. greatly appreciated. a big defeat in the u.s.

supreme court for the biden administration. the court ordered the government to resume a controversial immigration program, forcing asylum applicants to wait outside the country. nbc justice correspondent pete williams has more. >> reporter: it's one of the first things president biden did after taking office, ending a trump administration program known as remain in mexico. it required people seeking asylum to wait outside the country while their claims were considered. tens of thousands remained in tent cities. many were attacked by criminals and drug gangs. >> people were kidnapped. people were raped. all kinds of terrible things happened to these people while they were trying to get protection under the laws of the united states. >> reporter: but lower courts ordered the biden administration to leave in place the leave in state. texas and missouri had soon to get it going, arguing that when president biden stopped it,

number of migrants trying to enter the country skyrocketed because migrants know that even though the vast majority of the asylum claims are rejected, most are in the u.s. to wait. >> you're going to see a reduction in the numbers. over 1.1 million people have entered the country illegally that we know of since january. we have to be able to stem that tide and control our border. >> though the ruling stands, it won't be easy for the u.s. to simply restart the program. we need mexico's cooperation with isn't happy about this decision. our thanks to pete williams for that report. still ahead, the surprise chance for a totally different ride in the iconic oscar mayer weinermobile. i was not expecting that. way too early is back in just a moment. nt

>> 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. ♪ (vo) unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. that's how we've become the leader in 5g. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy, even a term policy, for an immediate

cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized that we needed a way to supplement our income. our friends sold their policy to help pay for their medical bills and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned that we can sell all of our policy or keep part of it with no future payments, who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have one hundred thousand dollars or more of life insurance you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit conventrydirect.com to find out if you policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. nope nope c'mon him? oo, i like him!

nooooo... noooo... noooo... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty picks up messes quicker and each sheet is 2x more absorbent , so you can use less. he's an eight he's a nine bounty, the quicker picker upper. (man) go on, girl, go on and get help! that's it, girl! [heartwarming music] (man) ah! (burke) smart dog. with farmers crashassist, our signal app can tell when you've been in a crash and can send help, if you want it. it's new and one of many farmers policy perks. also, our signal app could save you up to fifteen percent on your auto insurance. (man) that's really something! (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. [dog barks] (both) good girl! ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪

time now for something totally different. a baby born on an aircraft will forever carry a piece of that plane with her. the parents have decided to name their baby reach after their call sign. the mother went into labor and suffered blood pressure. they descended altitude to increase cabin pressure, ultimately saving the mother's life. wow. reach and her family are still doing well at grandstand air force base in germany. now, just in time for a national dog day today -- didn't realize it was today -- president biden has signed into law a pilot program to connect service dogs with veterans suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. they assist wounded service members for the veterans therapy act, the bill requires the

veterans affairs to establish a five-year program providing service dogs with veterans who suffer from ptsd. it passed by overwhelming support in congress earlier this year. the signing comes after years of hard work, to, quote, address mental health. dogs are the best. the music adaptation of the '08s classic film "the karate kid" has set its prebroadway run for 2022. "karate kid" the musical will begin in may 2022. it will run through june 26th. the cast has yet to be announced. they'd better have a song devoted to the song, "put him in a body bag, johnny."

flamin' hot mountain dew. they call it the company's most provocative drink yet. spicy and citrus flavors. the drink will debut on tuesday exclusively on its virtual store for a limited time. oscar mayer has partnered with lyft to transport people in style. i gegs you could call it style. passengers who require a lyft in some major cities may be surprised with a free pickup from the famed weinermobile. the 27-foot-long hot dog on wheels can hold up to four passengers and riders will enjoy trips with music, neon lights, and free oscar mayer swag. i can't believe they repurposed

my car. governor abbott renews his mandate on mask bans. "way too early" is coming right back. "way too early" is coming right back (vo) unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. that's how we've become the leader in 5g. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. my nunormal? fewer asthma attacks with nucala. a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala reduces eosinophils, a key cause of severe asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala. find your nunormal with nucala. men put their skin through a lot. ask your doctor about nucala. day-in, day-out.

that's why dove men body wash is new and improved with skin-strengthening nutrients and moisturizers... ...that help rebuild your skin with every shower. baaam. internet that doesn't miss a beat. that's cute, but my internet streams to my ride. adorable, but does yours block malware? nope. -it crushes it. pshh, mine's so fast, no one can catch me. big whoop! mine gives me a 4k streaming box. -for free! that's because you all have the same internet. xfinity xfi. so powerful, it keeps one-upping itself. can your internet do that?

joining us now with look at axios a.m., nick, what is the one big thing? >> the one big thing is a path to america. we've been digging in to what happens to americans after they've gotten on a plane in kabul. you see tons of stories, the chaotic airport and people in the military. what happens next? well, for the most part, they move to three main procession areas, major u.s. air bases in qatar, bahrain, and germany. remember, there have been more than 8,000 ee vax -- vacuated

out. the flooding has been the worst part. people have been packed into hangars where it's over 100 degrees. there were problems with heat and cleanliness. they're scrambling to fix that. that's where the refugees are processed for the first time, looking at what their visa status is. visas for those who help the war effort. that speeds the process along. mess who have had visas have made it to the united states. they're processed and sent to military bases. they'll figure out where they'll go. you have local communities and officials and mayors who welcome them. now, of course, those are the

refugees that have had these documentation. what's uncertain is where they'll be outside overseas who don't have a visas. we haven't gotten a time line. it's looking like these will be up for many months to come. >> nick, this morning you're also reporting on yesterday's summit between pittsburgh and big tech leaders and cyber security. i'm asking you, what are the companies' plans for cyber defense? >> this is something that slipped under the radar. we might not forget the massive solar wind attack happened this year as joe biden came into office. we learned about the massive breach of a lot of cyber installations. the big meeting at the white house yesterday, all of the top ceos, microsoft, apple, ibm, amazon were all there. huge pledges by them. tens of billions of dollars and new spending initiatives to

help. a little bit of a subtext here yesterday. there's a little bit of tension between the government and a lot of these big companies. some are being actively sued by the united states, being threatened. we're looking at this like a carrot-and-stick approach. they're wanting people to take voluntary steps lest there be additional regulatory or legislative actions. big tech doesn't have a lot of friends in the white house around capitol hill nowadays. >> that's putting it likely. axios is also tracking covid across the u.s. obviously a mayor concern for everyone. what are you guys seeing? >> it's the same grim story. cases are arising in 46 states, but it's exactly what you'd expect. in a lot of states where there are less vaccinations and opposing mitigation such as

wearing of masks in schools or public places or these types of things from businesses, we're seeing cases rise, hospitalizations rise. it's very unfortunate. i can't remember how long we've been doing the math. with failure in up tick of vaccinations we're seeing the cases grow again, 100,000 a day, the highest since earlier peaks and it's looking grim going into the fall. >> let me follow up on that quickly. we have a prospect of schools reopening amidst all of this, could complicate things, accelerate the virus, we also could have schools closed because of this. how worried is the administration about having schools shutter as they begin in the fall because of delta? >> we're seeing that in a lot of states in the south where schools open up in august. after a couple of days outbreaks led them to closing down quickly. the picture of the times behind me are the school bus times, one

of my kids went back to school here in washington d.c. so that's top of my mind. people are wondering if schools took precautionary measures and the fighting we've seen in communities like in florida, texas where local communities are trying to enforce mask mandates in schools over the objection of governors that you can't do that. in florida the governor is threatening to withhold the salaries boards that have mask mandates. >> thank you for joining us this morning. earlier in the show we asked why are you awake? erin writes all of us up "way too early" and tuned in with our pets would like to welcome you to the party, make sure you get an extra coffee this morning. i have. thank you. anthony tweeted meet riley, she watches "way too early," she's trying to break her record of

tennis balls, five here with a frisbee. dewayne shared this photo, my dog is a bunny. that's a bunny. another viewer writes i'm up way too early celebrating tiny tina's third birthday. happy birthday, very cute. up next, more on the surging cases of the coronavirus in the u.s. coming up on "morning joe," we'll hear from the member of the intel committee, republican senator ben sasse about the pace of u.s. evacuations from afghanistans. plus chicago mayor lori lightfoot joins the conversation on the heels of a new vaccine mandate for city employees. "morning joe" is moments away. s "morning joe" is moments away. 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. nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: it's a whole new world out there. try hypnosis... or... quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette it's the biggest sale of the year, on the new sleep number 360 smart bed. it's the most comfortable, dually-adjustable, foot-warming, temperature-balancing, proven quality night sleep we've ever made. save 50% on the new sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. plus, 0% interest for 24 months. only for a limited time. if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you whether you need a single line or lines for family members, you'll get great value on america's most reliable 5g network. like 2 lines of unlimited for just $27.50 a line. that's our everyday price. plus, our plans always come with unlimited talk, text and data included. so, switch to t-mobile and get 2 lines of unlimited

for only $27.50 a line. that's half the price of verizon or at&t. only at t-mobile. the leader in 5g. 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. feeling sluggish or weighed down? it could be a sign that your digestive system isn't working at it's best taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber, gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day. 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. texas governor greg abbott seems to be about the power of big government lately, he reissued a ban on vaccine mandates by any state or local government after the pfizer vaccine was given full fda approval. earlier this week the governor credited the vaccine for helping him recover from his own case of covid.

back in june he signed a law allowing state agencies to revoke the licenses of any businesses that require proof of vaccination or a negative test. he also asked the state legislature to consider whether state and local governments can mandate vaccines and if so, what exceptions can apply. he also signed an executive order banning schools from enforcing mask mandates, something many districts have fought back against and won. now a pregnant nurse from alabama contracted the coronavirus and died. hailey richardson, worked as a labor and delivery nurse in pensacola, florida. the 32-year-old nurse who was seven months pregnant decided not to get vaccinated due to fears of what could happen to her unborn daughter. sadly she contracted the virus and was hospitalized. after three days in the hospital doctors gave the news she would lose the baby because they had to treat her as if she was not pregnant to save her life.

days later she deteriorated and died. leaving behind her husband, jordan and 2-year-old daughter. devastating story. earlier this month the cdc announced it was safe for pregnant people to get the vaccine. meanwhile, delta airlines said it won't be firing any employees if they aren't vaccinated like some companies are threatening to do, instead they'll charge extra. they'll make employees pay $200 more a month on the company health plan if they aren't vaccinated against covid. the ceo said it will also stop paying protections next month for those who are unvaccinated and test positive and miss work while having to quarantine. they said 75% of the employees are vaccinated but it needs to do this because all employees who have been hospitalized in recent weeks have all been unvaccinated. the average hospital stay costs the airline about $50,000 per person. for weeks now we have seen

unvaccinated americans packing hospitals across the country. in the surge of covid cases is taking a toll on health care workers. an affiliate was allowed inside the hospital in oregon. we have the story. >> reporter: hospitals in oregon are at their breaking point. only 7% of icu beds available across the state. >> every single patient on the unit right now has a breathing tube. >> reporter: here at ohsu hospital in portland, more than a dozen critically ill covid patients fill the medical icu, all but one are unvaccinated. >> there's always a nurse kind of right here ready to intervene. >> reporter: people from all over the pacific sea board come here to ohsu to get medical treatment from alaska to idaho, to montana. . >> our physicians are just being called at every opportunity, can you take this patient, can you help with consults on this

patient. this patient is 26 and dying. this patient is 21 and dying. this patient is a father of four and dying. that's when they turn to us and the inn is full. >> reporter: health care workers are exhausted and straining to keep up with the surge of covid patients. >> you see these people, you know it's preventable. >> yeah. >> what goes through your mind? >> heartbreaking knowing that people are fighting for their lives and it could have been prevented. i don't think people have an inkling of the amount of suffering that you will experience being sick with covid. it is extremely painful. >> reporter: americans who hesitate to get the vaccine asking nurses and doctors to shoulder the unbelievable weight of deaths and illnesses. >> it's really unnecessary. it's totally avoidable. i think that's the most heartbreaking part of it. >> i just wish people could hear it, if you're worried about side

effects from the vaccine itself, your risks of what can happen to you or your loved one if you do not get vaccinated are astro no, ma'am higher. >> thank you to our health care workers and thank you for getting up way too early with us on this thursday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. we know that our fda has, in many ways, failed us by not allowing for the use of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. >> i pelted them with questions about 11 and the vaccine and ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as well as other proactive treatments and practices already helping covid-19 patients across the country. >> joe, people listening to that kind of advice, calls to the