nutrition bar empire. it could happen. because there's space for any dream on loopnet. the most popular place to find a space. as we come on the air, all eyes on the supreme court right now, with no action yet from the justices overnight or this morning to temporarily block the country's most restrictive abortion law. now in effect in texas as of midnight. opponents of the law wanted the court to step in. so far the justices have not with abortions in texas now banned after six weeks of pregnancy. this morning some clinics pledging to stay open. is this the beginning of the end of roe v. wade.

what diplomatic sources are telling us about getting americans out of afghanistan and how the taliban worked with the u.s. in the final days of america's longest war. plus the new threat coming from the house republican leader. kevin mccarthy's warning sparked by the january 6th commission, what he says a would-be gop majority will not forget. i'm hallie jackson in washington along with julia ainsley, nbc news senior political editor mark murray, former u.s. attorney and msnbc legal analyst barbara mcquaid joins us as well. julia, let's start with the law out of texas, the most restrictive abortion law in the country. here's what it can you see, not just bans abortions after the fetal heartbeat or roughly six weeks which is before many women know they're pregnant, only a couple weeks after a missed period and has no exceptions for rape and incest and gives private citizens the power to sue anyone who helps somebody who is going to get the procedure, that means somebody who pays for it, somebody who

drives the patient to a clinic, they could face a lawsuit for "abetting" an abortion. julia, talk about the significance not just of the law but the supreme court taking no action on it before this deadline at midnight. >> the law is extreme as you point out, even a driver could be sued for 10,000. the women themselves would not be sued but a private citizen who has absolutely no connection to the abortion at all could stand to win $10,000 from suing say an uber driver for driving a woman to a clinic if she's past six weeks pregnant. now the supreme court significance. this shows that the current bench is perhaps moving in a more conservative direction on the abortion issue and that's key when you look at the next term, when they will decide on a mississippi case that bans abortion after 15 weeks, seen as the kin calf whether or not this supreme court would stand up the 1992 decision on roe versus

wade. you think the direction under the prior administration, brett kavanaugh, amy coney barrett taking the place of people who were abortion rights advocates or not advocates but they would make decisions that were more toward abortion rights, now those people have taken their place. we'll see how this tees up. there's also another place that the supreme court could weigh in on this texas ban, and that is in an emergency application filed by some abortion providers in texas to try to block this law from going through. they could still rule on that shortly before they get to that mississippi case. >> that could happen today, this morning, this afternoon. julia, stand by for a second. barbara, let me bring you in here. it's important to note this texas law has a provision in it that is different from other anti abortion laws that have passed in other states. that is this is not about state officials who are having to enforce the law, right? this gives private individuals like we talked about the ability to sue, so against as julia said

an uber driver, somebody who pays to provide an abortion in addition to the providers. that is important because there are those who support the law, who believe that's the reason why it will stand and why it is not unconstitutional under roe. >> yes, hailey, as you mentioned, this is what makes this law so diabolical for two reasons. number one because it's not involving state action of bringing criminal actions against doctors who perform abortions it is incentivizing bounty hunters to find people performing abortions so they can collect their award. that alone will create a dangerous scene area know. the legal issue you're focusing on is also important because it could make it impossible to challenge this law until you have an actual case or controversy. that means some doctor performed an abortion and somebody files a lawsuit to claim it and so in the meantime, having that law just out there is going to have

a chilling effect on most doctors who are going to say i don't want to subject myself to liability. i don't want to violate the law. i could be sued in every county in the state of texas so i'm not going to perform abortions anymore. that's the harm of a case like this, of a statute like this, it's going to have this chilling effect even though there is a never chance to overall roe versus wade, it will have an effect of ending abortions in texas. >> talk about the reaction we've seen this morning, developing in the last few hours this morning, and specifically from abortion rights advocates who say this effectively does ban abortions in the state of texas for the very reason that barb is talking about here. i'm seeing a tweet from planned parenthood on screen right now saying we aren't backing down, we are still fighting. planned parenthood stopped scheduling abortions in texas after today at this point. julia, what else can you tell us? >> that's true. planned parenthood had to stop

scheduling abortions because all of their staff would now be liable for the private lawsuits that barbara just mentioned. we're seeing that emergency application, that is a big part in the fight against this and what we know from our nbc reporting, overnight waiting rooms in clinics were packed with women trying to get in before this deadline, outside the windows they had people with flashlights shining in. that is what makes techs techs the epicenter of this fight and stems from complete silence just feet away from you at the supreme court. >> that is exactly the point and mark, i'll get to you. barbara, the supreme court could have based on this emergency plea from abortion rights advocates to stop this texas law from going into effect. the supreme court could have acted before the midnight deadline. they did not. a silence that says something. that's action on the part of the court.

how do you anticipate this moving forward? it's possible the court could just never take action on that emergency appeal and announce no we're not going to do anything on this, right? >> yes, and i agree with you, i think the silence is deafening. for every minute that this law is on the books, and it is as of md night tonight, last night, today, constitutional rights are being violated. the purpose of emergency stays are is to preserve the status quo while lawsuits can be litigated, while courts can work things out. it takes time to do the briefing and hear the arguments. emergency stays are generally granted if you can prove a couple of things, a likelihood of success on the merits in light of roe versus wade that seems likely. the other is whether there will be irrep.able harm in the absence of a stay or harm to the other if there is a stay. the women not able to get abortions while the case is litigated in the district court

is irreparable harm and in light of the clear precedent of roe versus wade it is very high and so the circuit justice is justice alito for the fifth circuit court of appeals, although the rest of the justices have the aged to grant the stay, it would require five votes and so if we don't hear from the court with five votes it's because there are not five votes that want to push this issue so i think every minute that goes by is a violation of the constitutional rights of women seeking abortions in texas >> we're talking about the legal piece of this here, under roe, roe as it is read from cases with established precedent after roe protects abortions up to 22, 24 weeks roughly. the fetal heartbeat law happens around six weeks, bans abortions after six weeks. a lot of women don't know they're pregnant at that point. this is one of the most hotly

politicized issues in the country and a recent nbc news poll that looked into this. talk about where the country stands? >> our numbers from the most nbc news poll show the majority of americans say they support abortion rights always or most of the time, compares to 42% who say abortion should be illegal all the time or most of the time, and the people who are on the legal side of things, clear majorities of women of suburbanize the you end up having, people living in the northeast but also the majorities who believe abortion should be illegal come from evangelical christians, southerners and whites without college degrees and hallie, it strikes me how this could scramble politics in the 2022 midterms as well as 2024.

when it comes to abortion from politicians, roe versus wade is the law of the land, i believe abortion, i'm against abortion. there should be a time limit on how many weeks you should have an abortion but rarely has there ever been a i want to see roe v. wade ended. some republicans politicians have gone that far, not others. that on a state-by-state basis will be on the ballot across the country, competitive gubernatorial house races. >> mark, one of the experts that our nbc news team talked with suggested that this is going to be what's happening in texas may end up being a road map for other states seeking to ban abortion. i wonder how you see this unfolding as it relates to for example more discussion particularly on the left about the courts, the way that the court functions, changes that some progressives have been calling to for the court.

do you see this building momentum for that down the road? >> to me, the first step in being able to change the courts is having more political power for democrats. right now you have a 50/50 senate. you're not going to be able to change the filibuster or approve any legislation. it changes the composition of the united states supreme court, but what i think would be instructive is if this issue is on the ballot in tons of races across the country from senate contests all the way from new hampshire to florida, and then if republicans lose because of it, i do think they could have consequences but the races aren't going to be forea while. we're also ending up seeing this abortion shoot play out in this year's virginia governor race and taking place front and center. this is more of an issue than a lot of people would have expected a while ago.

>> mark murray, barb mcgade, julia ainsley thanks for being with us. we'll stay on top of the story and any developments on it throughout the day. we have a lot more to get to, president biden defending his decision to end the war in afghanistan and the way the withdrawal of the u.s. troops has handled. the fallout from his pushback next. plus millions of people in louisiana and mississippi dealing with crazy heat, no power, after hurricane ida and that may last for weeks. we're live on the ground in new orleans. and new this morning, what patriots coach bill belichick is saying whether the surprising release of quarterback cam newton was related to his vaccination status. that's coming up.

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this didn't just happen on joe biden's watch. it happened as a direct result of joe biden's decisions. >> far from a success, this is a fiasco and a humiliating failure. >> those are republicans obviously, going after president

biden this morning after his fiery speech defending the decision to pull out all remaining troops from afghanistan, about 100 to 200 americans according to the administration, thousands of afghan allies are still in the country. it is up to the state department to help those who want to leave. that means a complex diplomatic dance with the taliban. andrea mitchell who is getting ready for her noon show, good to have you, and joined by nbc news white house correspondent mike memoli getting ready for his long day at the white house, another one for you, mike. andrea, given your wealth of knowledge and sources inside the state department, diplomacy without diplomats in afghanistan, how does this work? >> it works from 1,200 miles away from doha, where the diplomats are but they don't have consular officials. we've on it this in other conflict zones with no representation in north korea but we use the swiss as

representing american interests if there is an american trapped there or other issue. we've done that in other places. we don't have that arrangement yet presumably the qataris, closest to acstand, we have diplomats in islamabad but it's very difficult. for those left behind the afghans the americans we know who they are, we've been in touch with them particularly people who have family connections and reluctant to leave according to the state department. thousands of afghans in the siv process, couldn't get to the airport or the gate f they were in kabul or people who never got approved, people i have heard of specific people a couple who died at the abbey gate in that explosion who never got approved as an siv for some reason that

the veterans who worked with this man did not understand. when he died a letter from a congressman in his hand to show to the marines at the gate but never got approved and he and his wife tragically died, two children further behind in the crowd with the brother-in-law surviving, two young sons. there's story after story and as we see the stories courtney kube has an extraordinary story of the taliban protecting an american family on the bus from an impending sue identify bombing an amazing story of cooperation in those closing days but at the same time we saw richard enengel's story of the taliban in the northern part of the country celebrating with a mock funeral of coffins covered with nato, british and french

flags and the american flag. the taliban leadership is not completely in control and there's isis-k and other threats. there could be some extractions through another airport or helicopter extractions from pakistan. we don't have an agreement from the five neighbors around afghanistan to keep their borders open. so it's going to be very difficult and the president was defensive about this, about getting everyone out, that was his promise on july 8th but he did not get everyone out. >> mike, i want to hear what you're hearing from sources inside the white house. the administration is defending this sake we gave these folks many opportunities to get out or to help them get out if they wanted it. what are you hearing from folks about what's next after the president's speech yesterday? >> hallie, what you began to see at the white house yesterday was some of the decision makers who

spent the last 17, 18 days in crisis mode trying to manage what was a dangerous and ever-evolving situation on the ground in kabul, now engaging in some of that political debate we heard some republicans making over the course of this last few weeks and that included jake sullivan for instance yesterday making the rounds saying all this criticism is coming from those who weren't in the room, didn't have to make the tough judgment calls in real time and included the president who had spoken to the country five times previously during the course of this crisis and much more defensive in his remarks yesterday talking about the decision he made standing by what he decided in terms of ending that military mission, acknowledging some of the chaotic scenes and the tragic scenes over the course of this time including the loss of life of 13 american servicemembers, but really making it clear that ultimately what he decided is in his view the national interest of the u.s. now as we're approaching now in the month of september the

anniversary of 9/11 there was a circular focus about what it means to take on the threat of terrorism now without boots on the ground from afghanistan. take a look from yesterday. >> we will maintain the fight against terrorism in afghanistan. we just don't need to fight a ground war to do it, and to isis-k, we are not done with you yet. >> ultimately the president's argument was that this is now about diplomacy, not so much about deployments anymore, hallie. >> mike memoli and andrea mitchell, thank you. coming up the top republican in the house puts out the veiled threat to companies that cooperate with the committee investigating january 6th. next up, how the committee is responding this morning, that's new. don't miss it. doesn't miss a b. that's cute, but my internet streams to my ride. pshh, mine's so fast, no one can catch me. that's because you both have the same internet.

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so it's not news that kevin mccarthy is opposed to what the january 6th committee is doing, but what is news is what he's doing now, the republican leader threatening to make moves that would derail the committee's work, after the committee sent orders to 35 social media and communications companies to preserve records that could be

relevant to their investigation. well now kevin mccarthy is warning "they are in violation of federal law if they comply with the request and if they do, "a republican majority will not forget." joining me leigh ann caldwell. you got to note here there is a backdrop that potentially kevin mccarthy's records, maybe mccarthy himself could end up subpoenaed by this very committee. >> hey, hallie. we have no indication yet leader mccarthy's records are part of this record preservation or the other record requests made by the government or made to the government in other companies but we do know leader mccarthy's roll on january 6th and leadup is of interest to the committee and investigators. we know that he talked with the former president on that day, it was reported there was a very tense phone call between the two of them but his statement last

night saying there could be, that house republicans would not forget if they take back the majority next year, should these companies cooperate. well, that is quite a statement and quite a threat and what the committee is saying they are saying that they are not going to deterred by people who are trying to white wash the investigation or who they say are trying to obstruct the investigation. now, moving forward, we have spoken with some of the nbc news has spoken with some of the companies and some say including reddit they are cooperating fully with the committee. they haven't given us any additional information just yet but one thing i do want to note, hallie, is last year when they found out or excuse me a few months ago they found out the trump administration had sought the phone records of two of trump's least favorite

democrats, eric swalwell and adam schiff we did not hear any complaints from republicans. >> leigh ann caldwell, thank you. in new orleans a dozen people rushed to the hospital but the emergency workers responding to the destruction and major power outages after hurricane ida, 12 people were apparently dealing with carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator. the power may be out for days if not longer. what you're looking at here is grand isle, louisiana, a barrier island off the coast, every single structure there, look at this, has been damaged. nearly half of them have been totally destroyed. the storm has killed six people so far. ellison barber is in new orleans. what do we know? >> reporter: we are standing in the lower ninth ward an area that most people know and remember because of how

destroyed, how hard hit they were during hurricane katrina. you can see the power lines that are down over here, all the way over here. countless trees are down in this neighborhood as well, this like most of new orleans this area is completely out of power, people are sitting outside because this heat is better than being inside. we met one woman who has lived here since the 1960s, she survived hurricane katrina and said in hurricane katrina was the water in her home, six feet of water with ida it was the wind. listen to more of what she told us. >> i'm going to get myself together and have to go. i realize -- see, when i was younger, i could deal with the heat. since i'm oiled, i can't deal with the heat. katrina that was rough, six feet of water in my house. >> reporter: you came back? >> i came back. >> reporter: how come? >> it's home. they said why are you coming back here? at my age, where else i'm going? this is home.

>> reporter: so the power company interg looking at who two-ways to get some power in new orleans, make them part of the larger grid or island in their own grid to get some relief. they got light on in eastern new orleans this morning. we haven't seen it just yet. people have seen no signs of help in this neighborhood so far. >> ellison barber live in new orleans, thank you for that. up next, california's governor facing a surprisingly close recall election and ahead of it our jacob soboroff goes one on one with the governor himself. >> do you really think this is about a republican recall and only that, that there aren't unhappy people in california unhappy with governor gavin newsom? tv+. and now only t-mobile gives new and existing customers one year of apple tv+ on us. only at t-mobile.

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at chevron's el segundo refinery, we're looking to turn plant-based oil into renewable gasoline, jet and diesel fuels. our planet offers countless sources of energy. but it's only human to find the ones that could power a better future. you know what they say. california knows how to party, but the party may, may be coming to an end for the state's governor, because he's facing a

tight recall election, only the fourth gubernatorial recall ever in u.s. history. if the voting happened right now based on the polling out in california, he'd be safe but just barely and still a couple weeks to go. president biden and vice president harris have both said they plan to campaign for the governor before election day in this race that could have ripple effects nationally as jacob soboroff joins us fresh off his one on one with the governor himself, gavin newsom. jacob, good morning. >> reporter: hallie, good morning to you. first of all, california knows how to party, nobody is inviting me to the party. >> i highly doubt that, my friend. >> reporter: surprisingly -- no, i don't know. the recall is surprisingly closer electoral party than definitely anybody would have thought. in a state that's 2:1 for the democrats, there's a good chance the governor gets recalled . i talked to him about why that

is. at this l.a. campaign stop the main argument volunteers are asked to make is blaming republicans for using a process they call undemocratic. >> we're seeing a power grab to circumvent the will have the people. >> reporter: in a state where covid, wildfires, homelessness and crime are in the headlines, the process itself is what newsom wants on the ballot. you really think this is about a republican recall and only that, that there aren't unhappy people in california unhappy with governor gavin newsom? >> everybody's upset with everybody the last 18 months. it's been a difficult 18 months for everybody across the spectrum. let's talk about who is behind this. it is a republican recall backed by the rnc and gingrich and huckabee and knew knees. fundamentally this is a republican recall. >> reporter: the ability is one shared by voters in 19 states. opponents of the governor

collected 1,719,900 signatures after a judge extended the ked line during covid. every voter in california gets mail-in ballot. shall gavin newsom be recalled from the office of governor and who should replace him. up north i checked back with bernadette, living closer was too expensive to the hospital where she works. she sent her son to live with his dad outside of city. person shot. >> reporter: half a mile, 6/10 of a mile away. you're having a tough time? >> um-hum. >> reporter: have you thought about whether or not you want governor newsom to be recalled from office? >> i can't put the blame on him. i think that he should keep his job, this would be something that definitely you know, keep him on his toes in little areas that need more attention.

>> reporter: like? >> homeless, covid. >> reporter: in long beach i first met 23-year-old camilla in june and learned about respiratory problems she has from growing up next to the freeway. she graduated from college a year ago and despite having two jobs can't afford to move out of her parents' house. do you get the sense the governor understands how hard life is for you and people like you? >> no. it's really upsetting. i don't mean to get emotional, but he has no idea. he has no clue. >> reporter: the race itself could hinge on struggling voters like camilla who share that sentiment. it sounds like you're going to vote to recall the governor. >> i am. i am. i actually was "independent" up until last week, i just switched to republican, like what 23-year-old latina is going to reregister as a republican and

here i am. >> reporter: his leading challenger republican bernie elder. bernadette and camilla are looking for leadership that understands what matters to them. inequality is worse in your state than any other state in the united states of america. do you blame people for wanting a change in leadership? >> i just got here two and a half years ago. >> reporter: democrats in power over ten years. >> and over two decades we lead the nation in terms of challenges. we're the richest and poorest state and i recognize that and also recognize the responsibility to do something about it. >> reporter: governor newsom wants californians to know and to believe that larry elder his primary challenger is not going to serve them on some of those challenges that he is talking about. he says larry elder is the opposite of him on variety of issue, immigration to minimum wage to climate change, you name it. larry elder says he's not a trump republican but newsom continues to argue otherwise. it's up to voters like

bernadette who mighting on the fence about coming out who support governor newsom and voters like camilla, who says she's tired of the situation in california, she wants a change in leadership. the election day is less than two weeks away, but voters are voting right now mail-in voting in the state of california so it's only a matter of time. >> some real national implications of this one, too, depending on who wins this race could affect other things related to the senate here in d.c. jacob soboroff, good to see you this morning. thank you. as we've been on the air in the last few minutes, we've gotten new details about this story you may have seen how a u.s. congressman threatened an american ambassador as he tries to get into afghanistan, allegedly. we have gregory meeks whether the u.s. might ever officially recognize the taliban. there is he, he joins us live after the break. for driving safe and driving less. okay, what message did you hear this time?

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accused of threatening a u.s. ambassador. oklahoma republican mark wayne mullen just posted to the gram. "we've been helping get americans out of afghanistan, yes. is the mission continuing, yes. am i missing, no. did i go dark for a little, yes, because it wasn't safe to be communicating." here is the back story. the statement comes after new reporting out from "the washington post" that officials say he threatened embassy officials in tajikistan after being can he nid a request looking for help to get into afghanistan to rent a helicopter to get out a handful of american citizens. just this past hour congressman seth moulton said this. >> i know mark wayne and i've been asking some of my friends and connections about him because i'm concerned for his safety. >> "washington post" national security reporter john hudson is here with his scoop. let me clarify here. i don't know that congressman

mullen in his instagram post said where he was specifically. he just said he was safe. he's not missing. you got to walk us through your reporting here because apparently mullen shows up in the region, the second time he tried to make a trip out there, got a ton of cash, all this money and looking to get a helicopter to get some people out. none of this is sanctioned by the u.s. government and the state department official told you that it was almost impossible to overstate how dangerous this was on this part. >> tyler and i started reporting this out after hearing from u.s. officials how concerned they were after a congressman said he was launching basically a rogue rescue operation, not authorized by the pentagon, not authorized by the state department, wanted to just show up in tajikistan with a huge amount of cash, which of course you have to go through customs when you're bringing massive amounts of cash, wanted to land in too at

that tajikistan renting a helicopter, officials believed was an attempt to use the border between tajikistan and afghanistan to try to get american citizens out. a really extraordinary turn of events, hallie. i know you've covered washington for a long time. i would challenge anyone to come up with similar scenarios, where you have congressman trying to enter a country recently taken over by the taliban to try to rescue american citizens. it's an extraordinary turn of events. >> one quick note we've been showing our banner at the bottom of the screen. congressman mullen said is he on his way home, that what he's saying in the instagram post. when you talk about this, what was the reaction you got? you had congressman moulton and mier who took that very sort of now well-known trip to

afghanistan themselves and went to the kabul airport and both returned to talk about it. came under fire both of them from leaders in washington who said that's not the way we should be handling things, not the way we should be doing things at this point. >> yes, absolutely. that's the context of this happening, increasingly bold actions by members of congress to want to get involved in this absolute national security crisis in afghanistan. moulton and meyer were the first ones. this one ups the ante, because with moulton and meyer, they came under the sort of notion of oversight of an american evacuation effort. the united states military is out of afghanistan now is there is no american presence to oversee, also no american military presence to protect you if you are there. now, you were right, he said that he is heading home. he said that he is safe. he admits he has gone dark in the process of reporting this, tyler and i would have tried to get in touch with his office,

was not able. that instagram post leaves open the question, many questions, where was he? what has he been doing? what were -- was he successful in getting people getting people out? tons of open ended questions at this point. >> i know you will be working on those in the hours and days to come. we photothat we have been told that he is totally safe. congressman, good morning. thank you for being with us. >> good morning, hallie. >> i have other questions to ask you, but your reaction to what we're seeing now on this tripp that he took? >> just picture irresponsible.

as the president said we're out million tearly, and we'll get with those american that's are remaining in afghanistan and they want to get out. there is a process and plan to do that. that is not his job or his responsibility. we should vote on whether or not congress should authorize use of military force. >> let me ask you about something that they said here on msnbc. they asked wlornd they will recognize the taliban government. >> i don't think any time toon, i don't know if we will ever recognize their government. the taliban says they will form

a government. we'll see what kind of credentials they present. do they honor their stick it out. >> do you see a u.s. recognition of the taliban? >> i don't believe what they say until we see what they do. they have been making commitments and statements. the question is whether or not they will fall low throw on that. so that confirm can get an education and go to work. we have to see if any of those things come about. no one would naj we would have had relationships with the communist government of vietnam. now we have a relationship with

the government of vietnam. so you never say never, but there is a lot that the taliban has to show that they will really uphold the principals of their government and human rights of the citizens and people. >> let me ask about what this all means in the fight against terror. you have the wall street journal saying counter intelligence officials are tracking violent militants and their plots, they say. is that a concern for you based on where you sit? >> i know that we have common intelligence in many places around the globe where we don't have them on the ground. we are doing counter terrorism very well. protecting the homeland in that regard. the president indicated that

those individuals from isis-k. we will pay the price. we have the ability to make sure that the counter terrorism continues to keep the homeland safe and the president has clearly indicated that he will not hesitate to utilize that intelligence and our ability to strike. >> thank you for being with us. >> did cam newton's vax status lead to him being cut from the new england patriots? wait until you hear what coach bill belichick said this morning. aid this morning. vehicles, the highest level of safety you can earn? subaru. when it comes to longevity, who has the highest percentage of its vehicles still on the road after ten years? subaru. and when it comes to brand loyalty, who does j.d. power rank number one in the automotive industry for three consecutive years? subaru.

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this morning the patriots are conditioned cam newton's vaccination status had anything to do with getting ket from the team. coach bill belichick asked this morning if that was a factor in the roster decision saying simply with a classic belichick economy of words, no. but player vaccination status overall is coming up more and more. check it out. >> for months, cam newton has been vying to be the patriots starting quarterback. he is not only not the starter, but he is off the team. it comes just days after covid protocols. they called it a test. and while mac jones looks really

good, they think that newton may have been released partly because of his vaccination status. >> do you think it played any role in cam newton being released by the patriots. >> i know they want their players to be vaccinated. >> this is how he responded when he asked. >> i think it is too personal for each and every person. i'll just deep at that. >> they say 92% of the players are vaccinated. jaguars coach urban meyer saying it is a factor why roster cuts. can i say that was a decisionmaker? there are different rules in the nfl. they also can't use saunas or steam rooms or eat in the team

cafeteria. unvaccinated players are tested daily. vaccinated players get tested once a week. >> a lot of coaches are presenting this to players. >> the pressure to get vaccinated it not just in the nfl. but they have stopped short of a mandate for players. but the players do not, and roughly half of them aren't. all eyes are on the nfl as the season dpips with vaccines playing a role in game plans. >> speaking of the pandemic we're answering all of your back to school pandemic questions. submit them on twitter.

we'll have a live special report on friday at 11:00 eastern. now, craig melvin picks up coverage. >> good wednesday morning to you, craig melvin here lots to get to this hour. first in the south we're watching a dangerous convergence of threats in the wake of ida. lingers widespread power outages. surging covid-19 cases, and now stifling hot weather. terms in some places that feel like 118 degrees. and states have passed staunch democratic protests. what this bill means for texas voters once governor abbot signs it into law. we start with the fallout from