talented. it's a must-read book. i'm as excited as terry mcauliffe about it. >> like the day you were born. >> i'm excited. and the race is one that the white house is watching careful, the virginia race. they know mcauliffe has similar ideologies. it's a bellwether race in an off-year election. they know he will win, mika. . it can be seen as a victory, a bit of a warning for democrats. virginia is for lovers. that does it for us this morning, yasmin vossoughian picks up the coverage right now. ♪♪ good morning, everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian in for steph ruhle. it's tuesday, october 12th. here's what's going on at this hour. you've got breaking overnight, jon gruden, one of the most high-profile coaches in the nfl resigning after emails

containing racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments discovered. and to the nation's capitol. this as democrats are continuing to negotiate a massive spending bill. speaker pelosi warning difficult decisions need to be made very soon. and then the battle over vaccine mandates. taking a new turn. the governor of texas banning any business, school or other group from mandating the shot. but we want to start in the breaking news in the battle over reproductive rights. overnight, the court asked to ban the law yet again, after six weeks of pregnancy. and one hour from now, the supreme court will hear yet another case. julie williams and pete insley.

>> let me start with you, the doj trying the law once again. right now in the state of texas you have women going out to seek abortion clinics. those clinics overrun. what is happening in the state of texas right now? what is going on in that state and what is the situation for so many of those women? >> well, you're right, yasmin, they're in the same position yet again. this case has gone ping-ponging through the courts. as we know, the supreme court did not weigh in when the challenge came from abortion rights advocates. last week, they had a win from the district level. this week, they're facing again this law, because it was put back in place by this court of appeals. so, now, you're seeing women in texas traveling hundreds of miles to get these procedures across state lines. texas is not a small state.

i don't have to tell anybody that. that means their abortion access is far, far away from where many of these people live and for many of these people it might unaffordable. what the justice department said overnight, again, they're making this request to put the laws on pause while the appeals process plays out but they're making this request to a very conservative court. the fifth court arguably the most conservative in the country but the justice department said if texas' scheme is permissible, no constitutional right is state from state-sanctioned sabotage of this time. nasims like a message for the supreme court. that's where this could eventually go, and seems to say, look, it's not about abortion rights right here. it's about important a law like this is really supposed to be exempt from judicial review is allowed to stand. >> it's a really strong statement from the department of justice, to say the least. this is really seeming like game

of chicken within the state of texas and the doj, with women smack dab in the middle of this thing, what happens next and how quickly could things change? >> well, the next thing we would expect is a decision from the fifth circuit court of appeals. and if texas did prevail there, i'm sure the justice department will take it to the supreme court. there, they'll have a decision, either like the one we got in september where the court says we need more information. and maybe this argument resonates. as julia said, i think the doj is using an audience that might resonate with this audience. it knows its audience. the comparisons that it runs when it talks about the danger of the law with exemption uses examples like another state could do the same with gun rights. another state could do the same with independent corporate speech in violations of citizens united. and so if the constitution means

anything and the supreme court precedence means anything, we need to take action now. >> pete williams, let's talk about the kentucky case. the supreme court is considering an abortion law from kentucky which essentially bans a procedure commonly used to end pregnancy in the second trimester. if they uphold this, what does that mean, pete? >> well, the kentucky law itself is not an issue, unlike in the texas case. the issue today is whether the new attorney general, the newly appointed republican attorney general can now step in to try to defend the law after the state decided wouldn't. the law was passed in 2018. it would ban the most common surgical abortion. and the state caught it in the court of appeals then the states said, okay, we give up. then the newly elected attorney general came in and said, now, i want for defend the law. the sixth circuit said, sorry, buddy, you're too late. the attorney general has decided

not to defend it, you can't come in now. that's the question before the supreme court. and i think it's going to be interesting to see whether the court really talks at all about the law at issue. even if the attorney general wins in the supreme court, all he wins is the chance to go back to the sixth circuit and try to defend the constitutionality of the law. and there's no guarantee that the sixth circuit will even allow him to do it. so, say yes and agree to hear the case again. but it's not really abortion, although it's certainly in the background today. >> certainly in the background today. barb, let me read you a quote from the owner of the clinic at the center of this thing in kentucky. telling bloomberg this, patients can come in with elevated bloom or elevated pulse. we don't know if they have cardiovascular disease or scared to death, from the protesters. we have what's happening in kentucky. we have what's happening in

texas. you've got another supreme court case looming at mississippi. at this point, is legal abortion across this country totally up for grabs, barb? >> well, absolutely. this is part of the culture war that republicans have been building for decades. by creating this society, by building this bench of judges. and it's a line between those who believe abortion is murder and those who are political opportunists. so by stirring up all of the groups together they have waged a successful war. and the victims are, of course, are the women who have a constitutional right to abortion who are being deterred in states like texas or frightened in states where there are protesters. the supreme court needs to act and resolve that there is a constitutional right under roe v. wade. and we need politicians to be responsible. they stir up all of this anger and intimidation. we need grown-ups to take

control. >> julia, pete, barbara, appreciate you starting the hour with me. i want to go to the covid pandemic, in the state of texas as well, governor abbott mandate ing vaccines statewide. ordering vaccines for 80 million americans, all of this coming with two-thirds of americans over 12 now fully vaccinated. and over 500,000 getting shots every day. according to nbc news analysis, 40% of those shots are booster. meaning a lot of people getting vaccinated are staying that way. kerry sanders in florida. and dr. peter hotez is dough co-director of children's medical hospital.

heidi, i want to start with you on this one. we're hearing from the mandate from osha. right? and then obviously, this ban from the governor of texas. how is something like that, that mandate, going to play out in a state like texas? >> reporter: yeah, within day, this new rule, yasmin, expected to advance. affecting about 80 million workers. and the answer to your question is it's going to play out very differently in different parts of the country. i'm here in maryland outside of columbia sports i spoke with the ceo because he said look there's no need to step foot in our building. many of our employees are vaccinated. we have a mandate, this is not going to be a problem. however, if you look to the deep south, that is where the problem is going to be. that is amplified by what happened today in texas. now, the plan for that is that they're going to have to rely on two things, first of all, prior typing industries in states and

secondly relike on whistle-blowers. people inside the company who can tip off the federal government. this is what the ceo had to say, in mississippi which is dealing with a similar situation in terms of vaccine hesitancy. take a listen to a ceo from a machine parts company. >> he will then therefore have to go to this testing concept. we just don't understand how we can logically go through it, if we have to have a positive -- a negative test result before the employee can show up to work. it's really going to be an administrative nightmare to do that. >> reporter: so we hear lex taylor, yasmin, it's not like he hasn't tried. he's given incentives, nearly 30% of his workforce is vaccinated.

he says he can't have a mandate. the question for osha, how are they going to prioritize. they're going to have to go in certain industries like construction, like his. the approach of whistle blowing and issuing press releases the so-called naming and shaming really going to work in a place where vaccine hesitancy is so great where it could actually cause a backlash, yasmin. the question at this hour what is the legal challenge and the battle going to look like between the federal government and the states. and what's going to happen with other states in the deep south, now that texas, governor abbott has done what he's done. >> dr. hotez, talk to me about this battle. you're in texas. give me your reaction to this mandate from the governor, or lack thereof, i should say. and how private businesses, for instance, dr. hotez can conceivably get and this mandate if in fact they want to? >> yeah, it's a very tough

situation, yasmin, we've only got half the state vaccinated. and an extremely high level of transmission. yes, it's coming down but there's so many unvaccinated people in the state it's most likely to start going back up, create a fifth wave starting around the holidays. and the only way we can halt that is to get everybody vaccinated. and the bar is high because of this delta variant. we're looking to have pretty much all of the adults and adolescents vaccinated. mandates are a tool help us get there. we have to look at the consequences. take a step back. we have lost close to 70,000 lives here in texas. and we're about, in the next few weeks, we're likely going to eclipse california as the worst affected state in the nation. we're probably looking at 80,000 deaths by the end of the year. this is the single greatest tragedy that's befallen the state of texas most likely. so we really need all hands on

deck to get everybody vaccinated. i don't understand the executive order and the concepts. >> speaking of mandates, it's very close to law enforcements in los angeles, seattle, massachusetts, all happening literally within the next eight days. give us an update on this. >> reporter: well, you know, the idea is that law enforcement officers are out there in the public. and they're in the crosshairs, coming into contact with people they don't know. and maybe actually getting into contact with covid and getting sick. so some departments are mandating that they have to have the actual vaccine. for instance, that's the case with the sheriff's office in los angeles. 18,000 members on that department. the largest in the country, but the sheriff there says he is not going to force that mandate on the his staff, because he fears upwards of 10% of those who work for them would then quit their

jobs. let's take a look at the numbers here so you understand the impact on those in law enforcement. this is just this year. when you look at these statistics. more people have died, officers have died from covid than from gunfire, traffic-related accidents and others. so they're definitely feeling it. we had an opportunity here in coral gables, florida, to speak to not only a man who is a doctor, but he's also a lawyer. and combine those two expertises from the university of miami, and listen to what he has to say. >> when you saw those numbers that the leading cause of death among officers is covid right now, what's your takeaway by this group of numbers? >> it's disheartening because it's preventible. >> reporter: preventible. and this is the doctor in you talking? >> the doctor. >> reporter: and the lawyer in you says? >> there's not much legal grounds to contest it.

it would be an uphill legal battle. >> reporter: so, what we see across the country in those departments where they do not have a requirement for mandate it's very often because of the collective bargaining unit with the unions. that is going to be slowly whittled away because there's a real push to get officers vaccinated as a push for everywhere in the country to get everyone vaccinated. yasmin. >> dr. hotez, there's a boost out there for folks vaccine hesitant. now with boosters saying, look, vaccines don't work, why should i go ahead and get a vaccine if you're asking folks to get a booster? >> well, part of it is the poor messaging around the vaccines. the two mrna vaccines were always going to be three-dose vaccines. and it should have been described as such. and once you get that third immunization, you're going to have long lasting durable protection.

by giving the first two doses together, yes, you got dcline in immunity and with the third immunization, that's going to do it. and i approve. and the proof is we've lost 100,000 americans over the summer, almost all of those were unvaccinated. these vaccines will completely save your lives and restore your protection once you get the third immunization. >> kerry sanders, heidi przybyla and dr. hotez. coming up, a stunning fall from grace in the nfl resigning overnight. plus, captain kirk is heading to space. for real this time, by the way. we're going live to texas once again where the crew is getting ready for tomorrow's liftoff. we'll be right back. ♪

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welcome back, everybody. now to breaking news overnight. jon gruden the super bowl winning head coach of the las vegas raiders has in fact resigned. the news is coming after "the new york times" detailed years of emails in which gruden casually and repeatedly made racist, sexist and homophobic slurs about everyone from players to journalists to roger goodell. nbc's steve partison is on this for us. >> reporter: steve, good to see you this morning.

i can't help but think is this the beginning of change in the nfl or did gruden just get caught? give us more on what you know about the resignation overnight. >> reporter: well, the question whether or not this is going to lead to change is the biggest question everyone is asking. that remains to be seen. for now, the number of topics those emails covered is staggering. the language used in the emails is staggering. the people targeted in those emails is staggering. this is all coming, all swirling as the nfl is trying to do their best to rehabilitate the brand's image. take a look. overnight, a stunning fall from grace, broadcast to millions of prime time football fans. >> breaking news tonight, jon gruden out, as las vegas raiders head coach. >> reporter: nfl coach and former "monday night football" analyst jon gruden announcing his exit of the las vegas

raiders. a torrent of sexist anti-gay language ranging from players to legal officials. in a statement to the team, gruden saying in part, i love the raiders and do not wish to be a distraction. i'm sorry, i never meant to hurt anyone. the emails confirmed by the nfl but not seen by nbc were initially discovered during a misconduct investigation into the washington football team while gruden was an analyst for espn. last week, it was believed that gruden used a racist trope to describe demaurieris smith. and then the floodgates opened with a "the new york times" report detailing and showing offensive language to insult commissioner roger goodell and calling the league's first openly gay player michael sam a

queer. and disparaging banning female referees and to reduce concussions. >> it wasn't just something that crossed the line which was bad he took that thought and formalized it in writing and hit send. people say all sort of things on the cuff that they shouldn't. >> reporter: and showing women wearing only bikini bottoms and in the statement, the league slamming the comments calling them appalling, abhorrent to values. >> steve, gruden was working as a commentator for espn. what is the network saying about this.

>> reporter: not only was he working for them, he was a lead analyst. they released a statement saying the comments are repugnant under any circumstance. not knowing if they'll release. it seems to be one of those gateway incidents that will open up. and more remains to be seen. and we may see more in the following hours, days, weeks, who knows. >> that's the key word there, may. will change come as a result of these emails. steve patterson, thank you as always. great to see you this morning. coming up everyone, we're heading to washington where the house is back in session with a major vote. and while the debate, americans are suffering. plus, a number of republican lawmakers still embracing trump in his election lies. but will that help them, or hurt them, in the ballot box? that's coming up. a $0 monthly plan premium

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don't settle. rush to walmart for force factor prostate, from the #1 fastest-growing men's health brand in america. all right. so, we are gearing up for a really big day on capitol hill, where the house is set to vote on the short-term extension to lift the debt ceiling for two months and then avoid an economic disaster, for now, of course. it's coming with less than a week to spare before the treasury's deadline. and they have to figure it out before december 3rd. meanwhile, you've got democrats hashing out president biden's infrastructure package. we go to ali vitali and peter

alexander ke white house. ali, we got congress raising the debt ceiling just in time. what are members there doing to make sure we don't have yet another close call in six weeks or so? >> reporter: well, look, first, they were called back, we expect a vote later this afternoon. that will be not be a vote explicitly on raising the debt ceiling. it's what's called the pass. and time is of the essence here. what this does, though in the same way that the senate did last week, officially kick the can down the road here. there are some other estimates floating around here that maybe december 3rd isn't the exact date that the debt ceiling is hit again. nevertheless, if hit a few weeks later they could decouple the two that are happening

simultaneously. because on december 3rd is the day government funding runs out. what we see is congress trying to deal with both problems at once in a larger compromise package. or try to take them piecemeal which is what we saw them try to do several weeks ago and deal with the crisis then the debt ceiling. and then the build back better agenda which is the quartet of crises that we've been dealing with on capitol hill for months now. >> i want to talk about the infrastructure. "the new york times" describing this moment for president biden. the wide range of americans who put their faith in his promises to reshape their jobs and lives are left to hope that the promise they are. banking on will survive the cut. otherwise, they face the prospect of waiting years.

what's on the chopping block here? and how are democrats trying to navigate it? >> reporter: yasmin, you know who else is feeling that once in a lifetime pressure. a lot of democrats here on capitol hill. many of them campaigned on the issues, now they see a majority with both the house and senate, albeit slim majority, but what we've seen in the course of the last few days, frankly, overnight, is the reality setting in here on the hill that you'll have to cut programs. lawmakers have likened it to having to choose their favorite child. look at this letter that speaker pelosi put out to colleagues last night. one part says overwhelmingly, the guidance i'm receiving from members is to do fewer things well to have a transformative impact on families in the workplace and responsibly address the climate crisis. it's important she says that. there were two schools of thought. first that you could do fewer things well.

count on the number they're actually tackling in the bill and make sure they can last the full duration of ten years. but the other school of thought espoused by progressive was that you could do more things potentially for a shorter period of time, thus bringing down the cost but giving people the policy items that they want. if you pull up what's in the bill and i know our viewers have seen this graphic a few times. there are so many things, it ranges from comprehensive immigration reform especially with that pathway for undocumented immigrants. the senate parliamentarian said that probably can't go through the reconciliation process. democrats are trying to work on that but that could fall off. medicare expansion if that falls off that could upset bernie sanders who is up unhappy with the price tag. you see the price tag, 1.9 and 2.2 trillion. one of the other difficulties here, joe manchin said

unequivocally, he's at 1.5. we know he's an important piece in this. all of these do not paint a full picture yet but if you look at the calendar, the house has 26 voting days left for this year. nancy pelosi has already said she wants to get this done by halloween. most people have their halloween costumes but we're certainly not close to what's in the bill. so a lot of work to be done on capitol hill. >> with that, peter alexander, let's talk the work that needs to be done by the white house, right? the agenda of the president is on the line here. ali mentioning speaker pelosi's hope there, addressing the president. and we know the president is in lockstep with the progressives. what does this president need to do to get this thing over the finish line with so much at stake. >> reporter: i think the key for that halloween theme this has the potential for being a spooky week. the white house recognizes that right now.

that's why they've been so active here, telling me that they negotiate with progressives and moderates to map out what that price tag is but more importantly what they're able to do with that money. they say it will be transformative. they know this is the way the legislative process works. they compare this to the last four years where they never were even in range of an infrastructure bill which they feel strongly they will get passed here. to give a sense of the president's plan, first that relates to the debt ceiling the house presumably passing that sometime day. that extends the date to december 3rd which creates this sense of urgency, this window of time that the white house hopes to make more progress. that's why the president will be traveling to connecticut we just learned later this week. he's going on friday. he went to michigan last week, the focus on investing and keeping child care costs down. these are real priorities the white house says as part of the

build back better agenda that the president is trying to make reality. >> thank you for giving me a taste of my favorite holidays guys. ali, peter, great to see you. as the house comes back into session, there are new questions for republican law enforcement where is they stand on the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen, as it was not, as we well know. that falls in comfortable interview with the number two republican in the house, steve scalise, where he repeatedly failed to say that the election was legit. and then clearing the way, including by the way, to senator chuck grassley. >> i was born at night, but not last night. so if i didn't accept the endorsement of a person that's got 91% of the republican voters in iowa, i wouldn't be too smart. >> by the way, if you're looking for reasons not to accept the endorsement, i think think of at

least nine. that is the number of times former president trump called on gop leadership to push his false claims about the election according to a new senate report. the report saying this, in attempting to enlist the department of justice for personal and political purposes in an effort to maintain his hold on the white house, trump grossly abused the power of the presidency. that court came from the senate judiciary committee which, by the way, chuck grassley, a man who happily took trump's endorsement serves on the committee. i want to bring in sahil kapur. adam schiff was on cnn this morning. saying criminal referrals are coming very soon. he also said this about kevin mccarthy. >> what angered me the most, i think, about that day were these

insurrectionisms in suits and ties. >> you're saying insurrectionists in suits and ties, you're talking about republicans? >> i am. outside of the people outside the people, inside the chamber my republican colleagues know it's a big lie. >> sahil, for quite some time now, republicans have done a pretty good job of talking about democratic infighting. the former president back in the spotlight. now hearing about the criminal referrals and hearing adam schiff essentially calling kevin mccarthy insurrectionist. will the tide be turned once again? >> reporter: it certainly puts the spotlight back on it, yasmin. i want to stick with chuck grassley for a minute. this is revealing. this is a person who served in the senate for 90 years. he's kind of a personification of that old school.

and you see him standing besides donald trump as he feeds up more about the conspiracy theory and stolen election just as more comes out about his administration's efforts to try to overturn that free and fair election that he lost. if chuck grassley has bought into this, it shows you the extent at which trump has solidified his grip on the republican party. that's not what necessarily the republicans want. they want the 2022 election to be about joe biden. they want it to be a referendum. you put trump back there in the spotlight, it just reminds a lot of voters why they left the republican party in the first place. independent voters, ideological voter, white, college educated voters. those voters were key to president biden's victory in 2020. and for democrats they do want

to run the 2022 elections as a referendum on trump and trumpism again. it's hard to do as previous presidents like george bush did, you just kind of go away and retreat from the political spotlight. that doesn't work then, it doesn't work in 2010. still, the benefit for republicans i should say that trump is very effective in riling up that core culturally conservative republican voter. he has an unique ability to speak to them and get them up. >> phil rucker, let's expand on that. i want to read to you a quote from the iowa republican chair jeff coffman. he said to many iowans trump, quote, represents the middle finger of doing things the same old way. to the fat cats and corporate that democrats support and supported in the past. he represents an an

exasperation, people saying enough is enough. this could have been written in 2015 and here we are in 2021. despite all that has gone down with the former president, despite the lie, the insurrection, despite the attack on the capitol, the lives that were lost, this is still being said about the former president? >> that's exactly right. yes, yasmin. i suspect we're going to continue hearing that said about the former president in the years to come as he eyes a run for the presidency again in 2024. he has made himself, he is undisputably, the leader of the republican party today. and he is forcing a litmus test on all republican candidates in the midterms and the cycle and beyond on the 2020 election. believing it was fraudulent and believing that trump was the rightful winner of that re-election which, of course, is

not true. but which is why you're seeing chuck grassley and steve scalise and other republican leaders out there saying what they know to be false because they'ral afraid of crossing trump andal afraid of losing their own power and election. >> phil rucker, i said this before, at the end of the day, one of the reasons that joe biden was inaugurated on january 20th was because of the integrity of a few individuals, mainly republicans in some of those key states, for instance, georgia. at this point, you have republicans trying to undermine many of those individual positions, getting people in place that they know will work in their favor. how worried should folks be come 2024? >> they should be worry. i think you're talking specifically about the secretary of state in georgia, brad

raffensperger. and also michigan, pennsylvania, they were the bulwarks democracy in overturning the election. what you're seeing it avocates to install the big leaders in the republican state nominees in the party with the hope you that can replace somebody like brad raffensperger in georgia with a candidate who would buy into trump's big lie. and use the power of that office to engineer an election in 2024 that could help trump win, even if the votes aren't there. it's a real threat to democracy, according to the experts and the people who really care about this. and it's something to keep an eye on. >> sahil kapur, phil rucker, thank you both. coming up, the trial for lev parnas getting under way in new york city. there are two more lawyer names expected to come up a lot in the

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all right. so any moment now jury selection will in fact begin in the criminal finance trial for rudy giuliani associate lev parnas after he pled not guilty. if that name sounds familiar, by the way, that's because he worked on giuliani to try to dig up dirt on than candidate biden and his son hunter before the election. former president trump says he doesn't know hum. all of this puts the spotlight on giuliani months after feds raided his apartment. by sense, his client, tom winter is all over this for us. two things are of interest to me on this, tom winter. one of which is you got two other giuliani associates that pled guilty. lev parnas, in fact, did not. how significant is that? and what does this mean ultimately for giuliani and the former president? >> right.

so this jury selection should only last two eye das. we expect it to begin friday. and lev parnas is in a tight and tough legal box. because on one hand, he's told the court that he's essentially penniless. and his attorney, he can't pay him. us, the taxpayers had to fly him to new york and put him up for this trial. and he met with prosecutors especially to give them information that he says he would offer them if he had a cooperation agreement and pleaded guilty. the prosecutors have already told the court we intend to introduce his own statements against him if he elicits testimony or if testimony comes out that we can directly attack, based on the things that he's agreed to share with us and for us to bring up at trial if necessary. so he's in a really tough position. but i think, specifically, people obviously interested in how much of former president's is going to come up at this

trial. how much rudy giuliani is going to come up at this trial. i might offer a bit of a kriblgt tore view. based on the third sealed indictment which controls the case. so they have to try the case based on the indictment that does not get areas involving giuliani, and ukraine, the u.s. ambassador to ukraine, and the plot of ouster. and doesn't get into many things surrounding the forepresident we'll see actually how those names pop up. >> so much to come as we watch this thing unfold. tom winter, thank you. coming up 90-year-old william shatner set to be the oldest person to lift off to space tomorrow. we'll get to where plans are being made ahead of the big launch. we'll be right back. be right ba. there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark.

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i'm cologuard®. i'm convenient and find 92% of colon cancers... ...even in early stages. i'm for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. all right, everybody. so we are less than 24 hours away from the launch of jeff bezos' space flight company blue origin. onboard will be four passengers, including, by the way, actor william shatner, best known for, of course, his role as captain kirk in the original "star trek" tv series. he will be the oldest person to fly into space at 90 years old. nbc's morgan chesky is near the launch site in van horn, texas. this is going to be really exciting to watch, morgan, to say the least. you're super lucky to have gotten this assignment. talk to us about the preparations here. what's happening, what we can expect. what we should be watching for.

>> reporter: yasmin, good morning. a lot of anticipation here in van horn, texas, in the west texas desert. and all systems are a go, according to blue origin. the big question they're waiting on right now is the weather. we know they had to push this back by a day, because winds hit about 75 miles an hour earlier. and that's what caused them to err on the side of caution out here. they want to make sure this is a seamless flight, just like the one back in late july that took up jeff bezos and that's why right now, we know those four astronauts at their astronaut village outside of the launch site, we know that tomorrow at 8:30 local time, they'll go up, have that 11-minute flight, experience about three minutes of weightlessness before coming back down to earth. and you have william shatner about to be the oldest person ever in space. he took that role of captain kirk three years before we even put a man on the moon. an incredible journey for him. ask about what he's most looking forward to. he says, as exciting as it will be to see earth from space, he's most looking forward to coming back down.

yasmin? >> i bet. with these things, you can control everything when it comes to launch, except, of course, the weather, every time, which throws a wrench in things. morgan chesky, as always, great to see you. coming up, everybody. a much different kind of air travel. half of all southwest flights canceled or delayed for yet another straight day with passengers wondering why weather only seems to be affecting one airline. so what's really behind that chaos? that's coming up. ehind that chaos? atth's coming up when you hear, cough cough sneeze sneeze. [ sneezing ] it's time for, plop plop fizz fizz. alka seltzer plus cold relief. dissolves quickly. instantly ready to start working. so you can bounce back fast with alka-seltzer plus.

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so this morning, thousands of southwest passengers are facing more cancellations. passengers faced cancellations and delays on sunday and monday, impacting all of southwest flights. this morning, the airline ceo, gary kelly, denied the delays had anything to do with the vaccine mandate. >> we're not going to fire any employees over this. we're urging all of our employees to get vaccinated. if they can't get vaccinated, we're urging them to seek an accommodation. >> sam brock at miami international airport for us. sam, what's going on there this morning? >> you talked about all the thousands of people affected. let me throw one of the thousands of statistics at you, yasmin, which is 100,000 people from start to finish so far an estimate, were affected by delays or cancellations. yesterday, it was more than 50%

of all southwest flights nationwide. if you check this morning, right now, they're at 9% and holding strong. let's hope that it stays that way. right now it's a couple hundred delays, but not the magnitude that we saw previously. southwest, reaching out directly to customers yesterday through its latest statement and saying weather and other external constraints that were driving this. and as you mentioned, other airlines did not affect the issues. why did southwest experience the issues? there was a domino effect with updated technologies or i should say, technologies that need to be updated, lean staffing, that is the concern that the pilot's association for what caused all of this. and that traditional hub and spoke model. they go point by point. there is a premium on scheduling. and if anything gets thrown off, it is all thrown off. but both sides seem to agree that the covid mandate from southwest is not behind what happened on friday. they're both sticking to that point. >> got it. we'll see how this thing unfolds. sam brock, thank you, as always.

great to see you. coming up, everybody, a look at the power crisis in puerto rico with outages across the island. i'm yasmin vassoughian in for stephanie ruhle. jose diaz-balart picks up the coverage right now. >> and good morning. it's 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. the battle over vaccine requirements is heating up and republican-led states are fighting back, as the biden administration develops rules that could force millions of workers to get a shot in the arm or face weekly testing. on capitol hill, the house returns today to take up a short-term extension to the nation's debt limit, but the fight over the debt ceiling is far from over. >> meanwhile, in puerto rico, residents are angry and demanding answers as the u.s. island territories' power grid may be on the verge of collapsing. and we're less than 24 hours away from seeing captain kirk boldly go where no star fleet captain has ever been before, space.

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