we've historically had vaccination requirements in schools, but those have always come at the state level, never at the national level, and so this is an unprecedented assumption of federal mandate authority that really disrupts and divides the country. >> a growing number of republican governors come out against president biden's sweeping new vaccine mandates, but the president is hitting back at critics, threatening legal challenges, and saying, bring it on. the question is how will this fight play out? plus, senators joe manchin and bernie sanders at odds over

democrats' $3.5 trillion budget resolution. the question is what does the infighting mean for the president's economic agenda? and california's gubernatorial recall election is in its final stretch. with voters heading to the polls tomorrow, the question is can governor newsom hang onto his job? it's "way too early" for this. ♪♪ good morning and welcome to "way too early," the show that is a california dream. i'm jonathan lemire on this monday, september 13th. we'll start with the news. three mjor news studies by the centers for disease control high light the power of the colvin vaccine amid the highly contagious delta variant. the first report found that people who are not fully vaccinate ready 11 times more likely to die from covid-19 compared to those who are. that study looked at more than 600,000 covid cases from april

through mid-july in 13 states. meanwhile, according to the "washington post," a second study showed that moderna's vaccine was more effective in preventing hospitalizations compared to vaccines from pfizer or johnson & johnson. that assessment was based on the largest u.s. study to date involving about 32,000 patients. and a third study looked at the effectiveness of the two mrna vaccines, pfizer and moderna. that report found those vaccines were 87% effective in preventing hospitalizations and remained highly effective even during delta's predominance. a new york hospital is pausing maternity staffing over some quitting. it is said it can no longer proceed with delivering babies in a safe manner. the hospital said the maternity

unity already has staff shortages with at least six resignations so far and has received pushback from additional employees who express and unwillingness to be vaccinated. under the state law, the first deadline is september 27th. medical exemptions are made for those who are allergic or who have had adverse reactions to vaccines. more than a dozen governors, all republicans, are pushing back on the requirements, despite a recent drop in covid cases. nbc news correspondent morgan chesky has more. >> reporter: growing backlash over president biden's mandate, at least 19 governors denouncing the rule, announcing businesses with at least 100 employees make covid vaccines mandatory or make weekly testing mandatory. florida governor ron desantis, promising this. >> people should not be cast aside because they make a

medical decision for themselves. >> reporter: president biden calling the opposition cavalier, adding all federal workers and contractors should be vaccinated in 75 days or face fines. >> the requirements for vaccination are part of a long tradition we have in this country of taking steps as a collective to keep people safe. >> reporter: but fallout under way. in new york, one hospital is turning away expectation ant mothers after staff members quit. >> the number of resignations received leaves us no choice but to pause delivering babies at lewis county general hospital. >> reporter: in north carolina, business owner steven bullock feels stuck. >> it's a fight every day. >> reporter: the vaccination rate of his 125 employees, about 40%. now he fears some quitting will work somewhere smaller where the mandate doesn't apply. >> how do you find anything

capable of changing someone's mind at this point? >> frankly, you don't. >> reporter: major corporations in favor. companies like amazon, home depot, and walmart say they welcome the plan, the hope, to drive down covid cases as they start to plateau. infections down 10% from the peak during the latest wave driven by the delta variant. doctors say there are three main reasons why, increased use of masks, a steady rise in vaccination rate, and the virus burns through until there is no one else to infect. >> president biden responded. >> look. i'm so disappointed that

particularly some of the republican governors have been so cavalier with the health of these kids, so cavalier with the health of their communities. this is -- this is -- we're playing for real here. this isn't a game. and i don't know of any scientists out there? this field that doesn't think it makes considerable sense to do the six things i've suggested. >> joining us now, white house reporter for "bloomberg news," josh win grove coming to us live from wilmington, delaware, where he traveled with the president where he spent time this weekend. josh, good to see you. what can we realistically expect to see from them, and is the white house ready? >> well, the attacks they're sort of pledging are more focused, jon, at one half, and that's the private sectors. those with more than 100 employees have to get testing or

vaccinations. if you're an employer, you would probably want vaccinations. it would be less expensive. he's on weaker legal footing there is the wide consensus, so we essentially don't know how these legal fights will turn out. with others, he's on stronger legal footings. so i think they're sort of safer there. but broadly speaking, you know, this is the widest series of mandates that president biden has brought insofar. until then, they've been using incentives, try to play nice, beg people to change their mind, give them an off-ramp if they will. you've heard the surgeon general say people are hardened. president biden's speech was a shift in tone where it's almost really more forcibly putting onus on the unvaccinated saying

they're the ones in the way of opening up again and getting back to normal. >> josh, you've been covering the administration's vaccine rollout from the beginning. this is the president's most sweeping plan. where's the -- what's your assessment of whether this will work? what shortcomings are there? what more can they do? >> well, there are a couple of areas i'll talk about in a moment where they're criticized for not doing more. more broadly, these mandates have driven back vaccination. we've got from hitting home runs to hitting singles, taking whatever progress we can get. in some ways you talk about giving people an opportunity to get their back down, sort of engage a little more and not lose face. they can say, i didn't want to get it, but my employee made me.

this fuels things. two big areas where there's question marks. everything biden did thursday was focus on employees and employers. there's a unique legal relationship there. of course, even though they have the highest vaccination rate, seniors remain the ones most at risk for dying. the biggest question is how do you get more shots into the arms of that small group of seniors, more than any other age. those who haven't are the ones most at risk. we don't know. the other one is other countries are requiring vaccines or proof of a negative test or proof of recovery with domestic flights and travel. president biden hasn't done that. doubling the fines for people who throw a fitz for a mask on an airplane. but they're saying you have to have a test or prove you have a vaccine to get on a plane. they even shown know interest. the airline industry has pushed against that, but that's what other countries are doing. >> we'll leave you to your

denver broncos win. north korea has said it has successfully tested a new long-term range missile over the weekend. plus the latest on the democratic infighting over the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. those stories and a check on the weather when we come right back here, pre-dawn, beautiful shot of the capitol. ot of the capitol >> tech: every customer has their own safelite story. this couple loves camping adventures

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north korea state media is touting a successful test of a strategic weapon. they say it flew 930 miles. analysts say this could be north korea's first such weapon with a nuclear capability and the first to be designed for a strategic role. this could be the latest development for the country's

weapon system. the south korean military has not disclosed whether it detected the missile from the north but said it is working with the u.s. to provide a details analysis. time is running out for democrats to come together on a $3.5 trillion spending bill. house speaker nancy pelosi said she wants to pass the reconciliation package and the infrastructure bill together by september 27th. that gives them two weeks to get a deal tofrmd but senator joe manchin is already saying that deadline won't be met. >> there's not a rush to do that. i'm saying we should be looking at everything, and we're not. we don't have a need to rush into this and get it done week because there's a deadline.

>> senator sanders slammed the price tag. >> no, it's not acceptable to me, the president, or the overpeopling people of the majority caucus. we need to sit down and come up with a reconciliation bill that deals with the enormously unmet needs of working families. >> the new plan would increase the corporate tax rate for large businesses. the new plan is smaller than what president biden was initially asking for. the democrats' reconciliation package is expected to include funding to expand medicare, provide free community college, and extend the child tax credit among other changes. my colleagues at the "associated

press" say the white house is comfortable with lowering the price tag or so-called human infrastructure package provided it's paid with a tax system that voters feel is fair. my colleagues at the a.p. report that president biden has proposed more than $3 trillion for corporations. key lawmakers voiced doubts about the size and possible impacts on the economy. one of those democrats, the "washington post" reports, is jim clyburn of south carolina who said the final bill nay need to be $1 trillion less than the $3.5 trillion package passed by the house. the sticking point in the negotiations, health care. a medicare expansion was promised the senator bernie sanders in exchange for his report, but some want funds to expand the affordable care act. still ahead, football season is officially back, and we'll

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♪ goes for a fake. he's going to air it out. deep downfield. has a man open. van jefferson. he gets up and runs to the end stone. >> matthew stafford finds van jefferson for a pass. stafford would toss two more in the game and the rams cap the first sunday of the nfl season with a 34-14 win over the chicago bears. in some of the other action on the gridiron, the hurricane-displaced saints looked right at home in florida kicking off a post-drew brees era with a dominating win. jameis winston shined in his

debut for new orleans. the nfc east hasn't had a repeat champion since 2004. last year's winner, the washington football team, left to the chargers as well as ryan pitts patrick was lost due to a hip injury. the philadelphia eagles are the only ones off to a 1-0 start defeating the falcons with three touchdowns tossed by jaylen hurts. the dolphins' one-point victory over my patriots spoils the debut of mac jones. miami the only afc east team in the win column. and in houston, the jaguars could not recover from three interceptions thrown by number one overall pick trevor lawrence as they fell to the texans, 37-21. while the nfl continues to

vaccinate players, the league says nearly 94% on the rosters have received at least one dose and the vaccination rates for coaches and staff is over 99%. 75 of the teams are over 75%. the lowest club is at 80%. the falcons, buffalos, and raiders, all vaccinated. novak djokovic failed to complete the grand slam since 1969 falling to daniil medvedev. djokovic remains tied with roger federer and rafael nadal with 20 career majors. on saturday, britain's emma raducanu winning in straight sets against leylah fernandez in the all teams whims final. there was a testy finale at

citi field. benches cleared at the top of the inning as carlos stanton and lindor exchanged words on the base pass following stanton's game-time home run. after a nearly four-minute delay, players returneded to the dugouts without incident. but lindor would settle score in the next frame. >> did he get another one? gallow's on his way back. he got it. lindor again. >> you love to see it. lindor's third home run of the night breaks the tie and the mets hang on to beat the slumping yankees, 7-6. meanwhile the baltimores slugged a home run. it's part of the toronto's 22-7 win that completed a three-game series in which they scored a whopping 44 runs against the orioles.

the blue jays are now tied with the red sox for the top a.l. wild card spot. the yankees is it a full game behind. out of the playoffs. >> time for weather where the gulf coast is bracing for a heavy rain. let's go to meteorologist bill karins for the latest on tropical storm nicholas. >> i know a lot of people are very nervous on the coastline, especially those people who went through harvey a couple of years ago. a slow moving tropical system is all this area ever needs. the winds have increased a little bit to 60 miles an hour. it will make landfall later this afternoon toward this evening and should make landfall near port lavaca and poeskly toward victoria, bay city area, and we'll watch the storm weaken as it approaches the west side of houston, and it will rain itself out as we go into wednesday and

thursday. the bottom line with this storm is the winds will cause a little bit of damage t storm surge will cause a little bit of damage, but the flooding is life-threatening, and that's what could cause a lot of damage. we have a flash flood that goes all the way through lake charles and the coastline. isolated rain totals could be up to 20 inches. that's significant. the highest rainfall totals are possible south of houston, galveston, and toward the texas/louisiana border. we're going to deal with a 3- to 5-foot storm surge. that could cause problems. that's going to be port o'connor to freeport. again, another landfall of a tropical system. it could intensify to a hurricane right before a landfall, but i don't think it's going to be a big wind storm. the biggest issue will be what the rain does. houston is so flood-prone as we've seen in years past. >> bill karins, thank you very

much. please keep us posted on this. still ahead, president biden heads to california to campaign and support governor ga viv newsome. tomorrow's recall election and the impact it could have nationwide. before we go to break, we want to know why are you awake. i'm your reasons to waytooearly@msnbc.com or tweet me @jonlemire. leave out the "h." we'll read your answers later in the show. we'll read your answers later in the show and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all.

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welcome back to "way too

early." i'm jonathan lemire, 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 on the west. tonight president biden will be in the state campaigning for incumbent gavin newsom. >> reporter: in los angeles, gavin newsome is making final rounds as the deadline for a special recall election approaches. >> we will defeat this republican-backed recall on tuesday. >> reporter: the governor campaigning to keep his job as his opponents criticized him for imposing heavy restrictions during the pandemic and his handling of issues like the homeless population and immigration. >> i think there's a lot of change that needs to happen in california, so i'm for it. >> i think he's doing a good job with covid response. i'd like to see him continue his term. >> reporter: voters will decide by tuesday to keep gavin newsom

as governor or replace him with one of 46 challenges. if the majority selects yes, the opponent with the most votes would become governor. >> the key for the newsom campaign is turnout. >> reporter: the list of contenders ranging from the former mayor of san diego to real tv star caitlyn jenner. but the front-runner, conservative radio talk show host larry elder. joining in support for newsom are heavyweights former president barack obama, vice president kamala harris, and president joe biden. >> should they come out strong with a message ow honor covid

should be handled. >> joining us now, national political correspondent for politico, sabrina rodriguez. good morning. thank you so much for being here. i know you've covered this race clowe closely and larry elder is tossing around all sorts of allegations. from elder's attacks, will any of them make him able to unseat a democratic governor in a deep blue state? >> we're seeing in this race a lot of trump's playbook again. elder in the last weeks, we've seen newsom is doing better in polling, and with that, we're seeing even more of the pushing and touting of different lice. the biggest being about discussion of voter fraud and hearing trump earlier this week saying it was probably a rigged election. and more republicans including elder embracing that there could

be possible voter fraud. that really is a sign of not actually voter fraud happening but just a simple fact that polling is on newsom's side and democrats are fielded emboldened. >> what's the word on the ground you've picked up from democrats who say they vote against it and do they feel any conflict over this if he's removed? >> yeah. there's been widespread frustration with newsom, whether when we're looking back to last year, the famous french laundry incident when he went to this restaurant in the middle of all his stringent restrictions and him urging people to not travel for the holidays. some of those moments stand out in people's minds, and those who feel that the restrictions in the state have been too much or have gone further than what is necessary. so for some that has stood out.

but really in the last weeks roy we've heard so much is democrats that have learned more about the recall and have decided to support him and to keep him in office. >> and, sabrina, as a last preview question f you will. president biden's visit and what is newsome's closing argument? why is he saying he should keep his job? >> newsome is -- his big message we heard over the weekend and his last events and we'll probably hear today is really it's not about him. it's about keeping away the trump playbook, keeping away republicans that have a racist and hateful message delivered in california. that's the message. it's not just about him at this point. i believe president biden will have a similar message when he's there today. the reality is this is not just about california. there's plenty of discussions about what this means for 2022, what this means for 2024. so looking at this election, looking at newsome's situation,

it's also a question of turnout and seeing if there's a strong democratic turnout, we can say that looks good for 2022. but if there is a strong republican turnout and it's a close call or if we see lots of democrats turn against newsom in final results, that doesn't look good for 2022. >> you're right. certainly tea leaves will be read. politico's sabrina rodriguez. ron desantis won a victory on friday when the appeals court reinstated ban and raised, quote, serious doubts about parents winning a lawsuit against the governor's administration, citing standing and other jeurys dikszal issues. it comes after desantis appealed. the florida department of education may once again withhold paychecks from educators in 13 school districts that require students to wear

masks without allowing parents to opt out of face coverings. according to politico, those school districts represent more than 2.9 million students in florida. meanwhile there is now a federal investigation into florida's attempts to block mask mandates in local school districts. the office released a letter it sent to florida's education commissioner confirming it will investigate whether, quote, students with disabilities are at heightened risk for severe illness from covid-19, are prevented from safely returning to in-person learning in violation of federal law. it notes the florida regulation may not limit unmasked students to certain locations, isolate them, or exclude them from any school sponsored events. a potential risk would be for those who need to stay home. according to politico.

the u.s. department of education is concerned that the provision could keep schools from complying with federal laws that protect disabled students from discrimination. politico adds the investigation will assess whether school mask bans violates the american disabilities act from 1990. still ahead, international diplomacy going interstellar during a different walk in space. "way too early" will be right back. " will be right back

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his father. the pop star has tried to put an end to it. two astronauts etched their names into history for conducting the first space walk. they spent close to seven hours outside the international space station to assemble and attach a new piece of equipment yesterday. in total nasa says astronauts have now spent a total of 64 days, five hours, and 54 minutes working outside the station since the first space walk in 1965. still ahead, former president george w. bush in his call for unity on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. "way too early" is coming right back. "way too early" is coming right back est, smoothest fabric keeping her comfortable, protected, and undeniably sleek. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you. michael: more than 100 years ago. simi: two branches of our family split apart.

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on america's day of trial and grief, i saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor's hand and rally to the cause of one another. that is the america i know.

[ clapping ] >> at a time when nativism could have stirred hatred and violence of people perceived as outsiders, i saw americans reaffirm their welcome to immigrants and refugees. that's america as i know. this is not mere nostalgia. it is the truest version of ourselves. it's what we have been and can be again. >> that was former president george w. bush speaking in shanksville, pennsylvania, speaking on 9/11. joining us now, "new york times'" jeremy peters. what was your take away of the former president's speech to call out domestic extremism? >> i mean in a lot of ways, jonathan, it's almost like washing something out of a time capsule from a different republican parties because what

you have was this kind of jarring split screen with the former republican presidents george w. bush and another former republican president donald trump offering his criticism of the current president, president biden and commentary among other things. it struck me as a reminder we are living in a much different political climate than george bush left behind when he left office in 2008. >> speaking of former president trump, there's a split view, that more think he'll be the nominee than think that he has the chance to actually win. walk us through the results. what do you think about the gop when it comes to donald trump? >> well, they're basically afraid of him, right? i mean if he wants to be the republican nominee, i don't see

at this point anybody stopping him. the likely contenders that we know of from, you know, mike pence, ted cruz, tom cotton, all the nikki haley -- she has actually said herself she would drop out and not run for president if trump is running in 2024. i think you're likely to see that from a number of other republicans as well some of he kind of has the 2024 field frozen in place, just waiting for him to make a move, and at this point, there's nothing stopping him from running. i mean he really doesn't have anything else to do, and he's also incredibly aggrieved, thinking that -- believing, you know -- the delusion he's been denied a second term because of voter fraud, and this is something that even though it's demonstrably false, he actually

thinks happened to him. you have the combination of the former president is in retirement with really nothing else much to do and nursing a grievance. i think that's a powerful combination that if the election were tomorrow, it sounds to me, according to the people i've spoken with, that he is running. >> jeremy, we were talking about the recall race in california, the gubernatorial race. it's a deep blue state. unlikely that republicans -- it's been a while since republicans think they can win there. how would you assess this race and what's at stake for both democrats and republicans in the state and nationally? >> so it's interesting because, you know, despite the reputation that california has for being this, you know, deep blue

progressive state, you have these two referenda, and both of them, the progressive outyout come is voters did not go by wide margins. for another republican party to bring it back to what we started talking about here, you could kind of seeing a republican having success, but because this republican party is so tethered to donald trump and the republican who is running, the leading candidate out there, larry elder is very provocative, and to make people look offensive, he's a radio host, cut like donald trump arc brash republican, he double have much of a shot of appealing to the independent voters you would need in a state like california. >> jeremy peters of "the new

york times." thank you very much. earlier in the show we asked why are you awake. paul tweeted this. i woke up way too early to watch mets fan jon lemire break down say mets' fan but we can unite against a common foe the new york yankees. >> jay says i'm up waiting to catch the sunrise on the east coast. lisa sent us this picture writing, i'm awake because the new puppy can't yet wait for a decent hour to go out. when the new puppy looks at you like that you don't mind how early it is. up next a look at the axios one big thing. on "morning joe," the countdown as voters decide the fate of governor gavin newsom. the latest projects from emmy award winners. ken burns and jeff danes, both

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the fbi released a newly declassified document regarding

an investigation into whether agents of the saudi arabian government provided support to two of the terrorists involved in the september 11th attacks. monica alba has the details. >> reporter: the fbi released a 16-page report coming possible connections between the 9/11 terrorist and the saudi government but contained no conclusive evidence. the investigative record is the first in a batch of declassified documents ordered by president biden. after mounting pressure from families who lost loved ones on september 11th, like brett eagleson whose father bruce died that day. >> yesterday was a win for us because it substantiates what we've been saying all along. >> reporter: the report describes a november 2015 interview with an unidentified man in frequent contact with saudi nationals in the u.s. who investigators say provided, quote, significant logistics support to two of the highjackers in the lead up to

september 11th. the kingdom denied role in the attacks which kicked off america's longest war, one the president continues to defend ending. >> 70% of the american people think it was time to get out of afghanistan. the flip is they didn't like the way we got out, but it's hard to explain to anybody how else could you get out. >> thanks to nbc's monica alba for that report. joining us now with a look at axios, political reporter alexi. good morning. what is axios' one big thing this morning? >> good morning, jonathan. good to see you. secretary of state antony blinken can expect probably the most aggressive questioning of his entire career today and tomorrow as he testifies as you know well in front of the house today and the senate tomorrow to talk about and answer questions from lawmakers about that clip you played from president biden. what has gone on since the u.s. withdrawal of troops from afghanistan and the taliban

takeover. axios has been talking with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to sort of get a better understanding of the questions they might be asking but the big picture is clear here. democrats really want to use this, this hearing as an opportunity to push back on republican blame against president biden for everything that's going on and really remind folks that bipartisan efforts to get us to where we are today and republicans, meanwhile, are really thirsty to have this chance to question a high-ranking biden official about what they consider to be a chaotic withdrawal and clear questions about how the biden administration is going to move forward. >> right. of course, the withdrawal comes up against the 20th anniversary of 9/11 which has put an increased renewed focus on the president's counterterrorism strategy, including some criticism. what are you hearing about this? >> yeah. i mean it's no surprise that republicans are critical of almost everything that president biden does in this partisan era post-trump but what we're hearing from republican lawmakers in particular is

really after an august 27th call that biden folks had with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, folks we talked to on the hill said they were leaving with more questions than answers, jonathan. they talked about this so-called over the horizon strategy where the biden administration continues to insist that we can rely on aerial drone strikes and surveillance to really attack our enemies and terrorists in afghanistan, but experts warn relying on that strategy solely hasn't been done before and might not be the way forward. lawmakers are critical because they're left with questions about how this would logistically happen in a place like afghanistan, which is now controlled by the taliban and when we haven't done this in the exact way that they're describing before. >> axios is also reporting that china's covid-19 vaccine may be the answer to helping out other countries emerge from this pandemic. what's the latest on this and do you think other countries will trust china's vaccine which has not proven to be quite as effective as some of the other versions on the market?

>> there's a lot of trust issues when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic and the covid-19 vaccines available at home, so i wouldn't imagine folks to be too keen on taking something abroad. to your point, jonathan, china is ramping up its exports of its vaccines to make them more readily available to folks across the country, across the globe. listen to this, after nine months of the vaccine being available, readily available, only something like 58% of folks have had the first dose of the vaccine so far globally. we've got a long way to go until folks start getting vaccinated. >> on the vaccine front let's turn to domestically. we talked earlier in the show about president biden and his sweeping new mandates and the fierce pushback from a number of republican governors. what's your assessment of that state of play? how can this color things, obviously a public health crisis first and foremost, always politics as you know, how is this going to be a defining fight perhaps heading into a midterm year? >> yeah. we're already seeing republicans

kind of test out talking points online and this new vaccine mandate by president biden. something we can expect to hear from them in the mid-terms is the economic part of this, but we see them calling president biden a dictator. we're going to see how this will turn into a commentary on his leadership and governing style, as a way to further paint the democratic party at large what republicans like to call them, radical socialists, overreaching or overstepping in their governing. >> alexi from axios, thank you so much. we'll see you again soon. this president as we've been discussing is heading out west, first trip to california, since taking office and it's a visit that will sort of encapsulate the challenges on his plate. he'll talk about the vaccine mandate and the battle with covid and make a stop in idaho, deep red state, to visit a center battling some of these wildfires. the threats posed by climate change has moved to the

forefront of the president's agenda and then politics, as he stumps for california governor gavin newsom trying to avoid being recalled throughout. thank you for getting up way too early with us monday morning. i will see you back here tomorrow. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪♪ good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it is monday, september 13th, we're following a number of developing stories on this monday morning, including a growing number of republican governors come out against president biden's sweeping new vaccine mandates, but the president is hitting back at critics, threatening legal challenges, essentially saying, bring it on. senators joe manchin and bernie sanders at odds over democrats $3.5 trillion budget resolution, but another top democrat says the price tag doesn't need to be