tom llamas, nbc news >>> all right. let's turn now to our series "kids under pressure" and the tough times some families are having as their kids start to re-enter life as we knew it. kristen dahlgren tonight on what parents need to know >> reporter: on this massachusetts field lacrosse is back but for some thereturn to normal is anything but. >> it just feels weird seeing everybody's full face and it always feels like i'm missing something. >> reporter: for a lot of kids like 12-year-old charlo sutcliffe post-pandemic lifen be confusing and still scary. >> i think most of my friends have been pretty respectful. i think they're on the same page. i follow the guidelines and i don't take my mask off unless i feel completely comfortable. >> reporter: her mom says they took things slow >> we started to go out more, spend more time with friends outside. we went to a museum. just to kind of practice being around other people >> reporter: and she's not just speaking as a parent aude henin is a psychologist and runs the child c

now air travel is going supersonic again our tom costello with an nbc news exclusive sneak peak. >>> retailers want your cash amazon prime day getting a run for its money from rivals walmart and target. >>> matt gaetz under investigation for obstruction of justice. >>> and some saying this happened to lebron james that hasn't happened in his previous 15 playoff seasons "early today" starts right now >>> good to be with you on a friday morning i'm frances rivera. >> i'm lindsey reiser. >>> the justice department is elevating ransomware cases to the same level as terrorism. the u.s. could launch offensive cyber attacks of its own against hackers in russia. the aim is to protect the economy. some estimates expect it costs trillions of dollars what are hackers looking for when they choose their target? here's jacob ward. >> reporter: experts are calling it a hidden crisis across america. cities and towns facing the threat of ransomware attacks here in san francisco the public transportation was hit this whole news ram was hit. here's the asian art museum. they had to bring in city offici

here's nbc's tom costello. >> meatpacker jbs just the latest company to pay a ransom. $11 million in out plans to process 20% of americas meat supply, to pay or not to pay is the dilemma all ransomware targets face. the small school district in california was attack last fall, teacher payroll, grades and lesson plans locked up for nearly two weeks as hackers demanded big money. >> there is no school district that is in a position, we don't operate with lush funds. >> which school system strapped for cash in little money for cybersecurity, students personal information can be vulnerable. ibm security x force calculus at 1700 schools and colleges were hit by ransomware attacks last year, even more this year. >> they don't have the expertise to respond to these types of incidents but they're getting targeted, again and again. >> the company recently awarded six school districts half 1 million dollars each to beef up their cybersecurity defenses. 7800 applied. meanwhile cities large and smaller also under daily attack. here in new orleans it took nine months last year for the city to rec

can and remind employees and family members, never click on suspect emails or links. >> that was nbc's tom, the seventh most decorated female gymnast in american history is doing everything she can to fix it. chelsea memmel joins me next. nst you need an ecolab scientific clean here. and you need it here. and here. and here. which is why the scientific expertise that helps operating rooms stay clean is now helping the places you go every day too. seek a commitment to clean. look for the ecolab science certified seal. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪ to support local restaurants, we've been to every city. including little rock and even worcester. and tonight... i'll be eating the chicken quesadilla from...tony's tex mex...in... katy. (doorbell) (giggle) do ya think they bought it? oh yeah. one, two! one, two, three! only pay for what you need! with customized car insurance from liberty mutual! do ya think they bought it? nothing rhymes with liberty mutual. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ ♪♪ ♪ i want to see you stand up ♪ ♪ i want to feel yo

nbc's tom costello has more from washington. >> reporter: good day. believes it's making progress in addressing the cyber attack launched against it over the weekend. yesterday, tuesday, six jbs plants were offline in the u.s. as well as operations in canada and australia. jbs says the world's biggest meat producer and a supplier to major u.s. brands, including pilgrims, mcdonald's, costco and walmart. the company has told the white house it believes russian criminal hackers were behind the attack demanding a ransom to free up the company computers. in a state late yesterday jds says the vast majority of our beef, poultry and prepared foods plants will be operational today, wednesday. it's the latest cyber attack against critical u.s. infrastructure. last month the colonial pipeline was hacked shutting down a critical gas line off the east coast and squeezing gas pumps dry but it comes at a time when beef and poultry prices are surging. president biden is meeting with russian president vladimir putin in geneva in two would ex, and szish security will

joining me is nbc tom winter. tom, what more do you know about these charges? >> geoff, it is expected by the time we arrive at friday of next week, the trump organization will have faced criminal charges. we don't know what specific day next week, but we do know the case is believed to have centered around tax evasion. now, according to trump's attorney who is representing the trump organization, he says that yesterday they met with prosecutors, that's trump's attorneys as well as prosecutors for the manhattan district attorney's office and tried to persuade them not to file these charges. they said that it looks like they're going to come down with charges against the company and that is, quote, completely outrageous. he says i've been practicing for over 50 years and i've never seen a case like this where they would indict or charge an individual or a company on tax evasion for using a company car or company apartment and then tie it to the company that he is working for without any evidence that what he did benefited the company. that he there is believed t

can and remind employees and family members, never click on suspect emails or links. >> that was nbc's tomer athletes. now, the seventh most decorated female gymnast in american history is doing everything she can to fix it. chelsie memmel joins me next. before starting mavyt your doctor will test if you've had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b, a liver or kidney transplant, other liver problems, hiv-1, or other medical conditions, and all medicines you take. don't take mavyret with atazanavir or rifampin, or if you've had certain liver problems. if you've had or have serious liver problems other than hep c, there's a rare chance they may worsen. signs of serious liver problems may include yellowing of the skin, abdominal pain or swelling, confusion, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. tell your doctor if you develop symptoms of liver disease. common side effects include headache and tiredness. now, i can live life cured and feel free. 8 weeks was faster than i thought. now, it's your tur

nbc's tom costello has more. >> reporter: amid growing cyber attacks against tv stations, food and fuel from russia. the deputy attorney general -- >> we cannot give any quarter and no country should be harboring criminal actors of any type. >> ibm cyber force runs a cyber threat assessment showing the russian criminal gang claimed revil for the meat producer jbs earned $123 million in ransom last year, a revealing glimpse of the online negotiations between hackers and victims, companies and charities large and small. in one exchange a company pleads my bosses have told me they can offer $730,000. they said if we had to pay any higher we would not be able to pay our employees. the hackers respond, provide supporting information that your company is in a financial hole and we will review your price. the employee replies, but all of our systems are down and are not sure how we would provide that information. in another, a charity that's been hacked pleads, please, if you can decyst and allow us to continue our work? >> the hammer agrees only after receiving proof of the charity's work. >>

nbc's tom costello has the latest. >> reporter: more evidence that america is under constant cyber attack the country's biggest transit system, new york's mta, said its computers were hacked in april though they say the system controlling train cars was not affected u.s. sources are looking into whether they were in china revil attacked jbs the hack threatens to send meat prices higher weeks after another hack caused fuel prices to spike. >> they went after our gas and went after our hot dogs. no one is out of bounds here everyone is in play. >> reporter: nbc's jake ward is at a cattle ranch in northern california cattle ranching is an ancient practice now it's been digitized. >> we have a very fragile system and these kind of events bring that to the forefront and show people how critical it is to have a safe food supply. >> reporter: black box cyber security predicts cyber crime will cost $6 trillion globally this year doubling since 2015. the hardest hit sectors, education, services industry, government, manufacturing, technology and retail businesses the largest ferry operator connect

we get more from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: with covid likely to remain a threat for years to come, the white house and nih say they will spend $3.2 billion to develop new anti-viral over-the-counter pills to treat covid and future viruses at home, keeping people out of e.r.s. meanwhile, the dangerous new covid delta variant is spreading fast. now 10% of all u.s. cases. but in young people the early symptoms can be confused for a cold. headache, sore throat, runny nose and fever. >> if you are vaccinated, you are protected. if you are not, the threat of the variants is real and growing. >> reporter: but vaccination rates are slowing across the country. just 52% of those 12 and older fully vaccinated. states with the most fully vaccinated citizens are in the northeast and the west, while the south and mountain west have the fewest. among latinos only 28% have received just a single dose. meanwhile, many employees working from home seem reluctant to return to work. one report says less than a third of white-collar workers are back at the office in big cities. morgan stanley's ceo tol

in pleasant hill, tom jensen, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, tom. now, you have got questions. we have the got the answers. check out our re-opening faq page. go to nbcbayarea.com/re-openingfaq. >>> among the doors that are re-opening, are those belonging to places of worship. and one of the most notable churches in the bay area is celebrating the moment, and the month. grace cathedral is getting color coated for pride month. the front steps? take a look. painted in rainbow colors. this is a message to the members of the lgbtq community that they are loved and welcome. the church added some color, specifically white, pink, and light blue, to represent the colors of the transgender flag. the brown and black steps represent people of color. and those lost to aids. nice to see grace cathedral back open, again. >> >>> all right. let's turn things over to jeff ranieri. talk about this heat. boy, it was hot outside, jeff. when are we finally going to see those temperatures start to like head down? >> you know, we're starting to see it, slowly. i know it doesn't feel like it outside,

nbc's tom costello has more. >> reporter: from check points to coach to custom, an unexpected crush ofhan 2 million passengers on sunday, the most since the pandemic, forcing airlines to scramble. throw in bad weather and stranded passengers and american airlines was forced to cancel over 400 flights over the weekend, thousands of passengers affected and more canceled until mid-july. >> the thing is with airlines, you can't flip a switch and have them return again. >> reporter: pilots must go through retraining just like this woman and her girls. >> we're going to get the girls on the beach and have a great time. >> reporter: the airline notifying july passengers their flights are changing. it may mean you're booked on an earlier flight, later flight, or a town you weren't expected. >> reporter: american is struggling but still flying more flights than its competitors as everyone ramps up to handle the passenger surge. meanwhile with an unprecedent increase in unruly, disruptive, even violent behavior onboard often over the mask mandate, american airlines is asking the justice departme

tom jensen, nbc bay area news. >>> tom, thank you for the updated information. we'll break down some more numbers when it comes for the delta variant. on june 5th, 10% of new covid cases in the u.s. 20% after two weeks. in two weeks, delta variant doubled in infection. why are doctors so concerned? the variant is following a similar pattern it did in the u.k. the delta variant makes up 95% of all new covid cases in the u.k. it took over the previous dominate u.k. variant in just two months. >>> following short, the biden administration acknowledged today that the country won't hit its goal of 70% of adults with at least one dose of the covid-19 vaccine by the 4th of july. the stumbling block is young adults ages 18 to 26. that assessment is from the covid response team. >> if you are vaccinated, you are protected. if you are not, the threat of variant is real and growing. >> reporter: data does show that the two shots vaccines are highly effective against the delta variant. we told you earlier of a new tool that creates a digital copy of your vaccination card. t

the problems are apparent, but look so much worse when compared to other countries here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: how many times has it happened to you you hit a pothole and it ruins your tires and rims. >> i'm mad, real upset, because i mean, we shouldn't have to drive on highways like this. >> reporter: the nation's civil engineers warn america's underinvestment in infrastructure could undermine america's global competitiveness. takes bridges, for example 600,000, 46,000 are structurally deficient. the world economic forum ranks the u.s. 13th in infrastructure behind countries big and small, including singapore, japan, south korea, france and the uk china is 36th and climbing as it and other countries upgrade railroads, ports, airports, broadband, clean water roads and bridges. if you travel internationally, you probably have seen it yourself driving across belgium, austria, switzerland and germany, the roads are in remarkable condition. in fact i haven't driven across a single piece of chewed-up road or a pothole while the u.s. has one high speed train that briefly hits 150 miles

that was nbc's tom costello reporting.d we'll have a an exclusive on vladimir putin and president biden's trip including erdogan and that will be covered up next on "andrea mitchell reports" with halle jackson anchoring here. have a great rest of your day. prilosec otc uses a unique delayed-release formula that helps it pass through the tough stomach acid. it then works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. with just one pill a day, you get 24-hour heartburn protection. prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. more protection, more sun, more joy. beach defense® from neutrogena® the suncare brand used most by dermatologists and their families, neutrogena® for people with skin. (man) i've made progress with my mental health. so when i started having unintentional body movements called tardive dyskinesia... ... i ignored them. but when the movements in my hands and feet started throwing me off at work... i finally had to say, 'it's not ok.' it was time to talk to my doctor about austed

nbc's tom costello has been looking into all of this and he joins me now. good to see you, tom.tell us about the overall state of our of our inf. frankly i hear this all of the time when i talk to people that travel to europe, travel to the rest of the world, how do we stack up? >> it is embarrassing to be honest with you. in terms of modern infrastructure we're not even in the top ten to give you a sense. here in washington dc, the nation's capital, 8% of the bridges are structurally deficient including the roosevelt bridge that goes from virginia to washington. no matter where you live, if you walk outside of your front door chances are you see the decay every single day. >> how many times has it happened to you? you hit a pothole and it ruins your tires and rims? >> i'm mad. i'm real upset. i'm real upset we should not have to drive on highways like this. >> the nation's civil engineers warn that america's under investment could under mine global competitiveness. take bridges, of 600,000, 46,000 are structurally deficient. the u.s. is ranked 13th in infrastructure. it includi

here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it was 2003 when the concorde last flew passengers over the atlantict the concorde was too loud and too expensive. a fatal crash in 2000 helped put an end to the program. now, nearly 18 years later, the next generation of supersonic is almost here. denver-based boom is now ground testing a small prototype, the xb1, with a bigger passenger version coming soon. and this morning, united airlines is placing a very big bet on boom, ordering 15 jets and possibly as many as 50, flying by 2029 >> so if i'm a united passenger, i may be flying your supersonic jet by the end of the decade >> by the end of the decade. we want to do supersonic as quickly as possible. we think the world needs this. >> reporter: former fighter pilot bill shoemaker is boom's chief test pilot, preparing for the first flight late this year or early next. >> we fly supersonic fighters, going subsonic to supersonic, often you don't notice you've made that transition. >> in the passenger seat do you feel the boom? >> you don't that's one thing that's surprising, you feel nothing when you a

here is nbc's tom giannis. >> reporter: off the cost of san diego, custom and border protection agents taking no chances. this 31-foot pleasure cruiser stopped at a local marina. inside the cabin dozens of undocumented immigrants. >> every time we come across maritime smuggling vessel, it is overloaded, it is overcrowded, the vessel is hardly sea worthy. >> reporter: and now happening more often and just steps from the beach. in the last month alone, four migrants have died including three who drowned when their ship lost power, hit a reef and spashd into pieces. this video showing how some had to jump for their lives into the surf. border agents saying smugglers are becoming more reckless. we rode with the air operations tasked with protecting the maritime border between mexico and california. >> a smuggler looks at a kilo of cocaine and a baby the same way? >> it is all money, it is all a commodity. that's the unfortunate reality we face every day. >> reporter: the risk migrants are taking on the ocean are part of a growing trend happening all across the southern border. from childre

here is nbc's tom costello with the new action being taken by the faa. >> reporter: good morning.ave seen a post-pandemic high of surge of travelers friday, nearly 2 million people on friday and with that surge in passengers we've also seen a surge in bad behavior that we've been reporting on for weeks and the most recent incident occurred on friday when a flight from l.a. to atlanta had to be diverted to oklahoma city, because a passenger on board, according to delta airlines an off-duty flight attendant began behaving erratically and tried to grab the p.a. system and then the captain himself got on and asked for all able-bodied men to help detain and restrain this passenger at the front of the plane and they did that and then they diverted to oklahoma city, air traffic control telling other planes in the air that they had an inbound emergency. the bottom line we've seen according to the faa nearly 3,000 reports of unruly or bad behavior since the start of the year, just an unprecedented surge in bad behavior according to the faa. some people are being fined 10,000, 17,000, $20,0

. >> that was nbc's tom costello reports there. tom adds that cyber experts say the u.s. can target and disrupt criminal systems in russia, china and elsewhere. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >>> and another good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters in new york. welcome, everyone, to alex witt reports and we'll begin this hour with breaking news. the white house announcing just now a record $31 million americans covered by the affordable care act. president biden revealing a brand new video of a conversation he had with former president obama as they marked the achievement. >> joe biden, we did this together. we always talked about how if we could get the principle of universal coverage established, we could then build on it, and i just want to say how proud i am of what you've done now with the american rescue plan. >> when we opened up the enrollment period again, and reduced the cost, 1.2 million people signed up on top of the 30 million and look how many times they decided to feat your legislation? >> how great to see those two together again. we'll have more on that in just a m

nbc's tom winters, been covering the investigation from the start., what sort of fallout is the company facing here? >> well, i think that's the big question, shep i mean, when you charge a company, you are not going to show up on fifth avenue and try to put handcuffs around one of donald trump's businesses or one hifz buildings so that's not going to happen. so what does happen, though, with respect to his banks, with respect to his relationships with vendors with respect to his relationship with employees do employees want to work in an organization that has been criminally charged by the manhattan district attorney? so i think those are going to be key questions, going forward and as we know, this has been an ongoing investigation. it's looked into whether there's been any sort of bank fraud involved in this, by the trump organization so i think the question's going to be is if there was bank fraud and if that's something that eventually is charged. will those banks have to recall the loans? and what type of financial pressure could that put on th

tom costello, nbc news, warwick, rhode island >> tom covering a lot of territory there >>> in tonight's "price you pay" if you have lots of travel points or miles now may be the time to use them with that here's stephanie ruhle. >> reporter: many americans are planning trips they put on hold during the thick of the pandemic knowing they'd be able to use those tickets and bookings in the future but experts say the future may be now. >> make sure that you're aware of those expiration dates and make sure you're aware of how much money you have to spend so you can budget your trip accordingly. >> reporter: the rules vary for example, with american airlines credit cards miles expire 18 months from your most recent card use. for united tickets canceled during the pandemic you have until march of 2022 to travel so read the fine print on your vouchers and keep in mind that if you book through a third party you may have to rebook the same way when it comes to banking rewards points, travel credit card holders have an average of almost $650 in points saved up should we have a use it or lose it me

nbc's tom costello is at reagan international airport with more. e, good morning. airline executives say we may be seeing this pent-up anger post pandemic just kind of boiling over on board planes, in airports sometimes getting violent, targeting flight attendants, and now homeland security is teaching flisecurit crews how to essentially fight back >> i need everyone to take their seats right now. >> reporter: it's gotten to bad at 30,000 feet, the tsa says federal air marshals will once again start teaching self-defense to flight crews, a program suspended because of a pandemic >> they're treating us like punching bags, whether that's verbally or physically we have never seen this level of aggression or conflict on our planes, and we really need some help >> reporter: so far, the faa says it has nearly 3,100 reports from the airlines of unruly passengers the vast majority, more than 2,300, involve people who refuse to comply with the federal mask mandate. >> we have the safest aviation system in the world. we want to make sure it stays that way >>

we're live in san francisco, tom jensen, nbc bay area news. >> i felt the same way when i got my shots. tom, thank you very much for that. the state, tom was talking about it, ready to be reopened, but that does not mean it's time to throw away your masks. fully vaccinated people will be able to remove their masks at most stores and businesses. but there are a few places where fully vaccinated people have to keep those masks on, and we're talking about public transportation, health care facilities and schools. how about work? well, that question is still being answered. cal osha will be voting to approve a new rule on thursday. if passed, the rule will allow fully vaccinated workers to take their masks off indoors. unvaccinated workers will have to keep their businesses on. >>> the city says it feels comfortable at 30, 32 on the embarcadero because case rates continue to plummet, vaccination numbers going up. now that it has served its purpose, officials will focus their cases to. take a live look right now out at the bay brinch. it is a gorgeous take before. let's check in with rob ma

nbc bay area's tom jensen is at the bart station with the changes. it picked up a lot lately. >> reporter: it picked up a lot. and one of the things riders are seeing is a lot or train. dozens more at the busiest station. it doesn't matter if the job takes you from the east bay to san francisco. >> the commute is getting back to normal, i think. >> daily traffic back up getting bad again. >> i don't want to be in traffic. oi would rather ride the train and get back no normal. >> reporter: she is fully vaccinated and bart is running social distancing training, a woman returned to the train for the first time in more than a year. >> we will be back on bart more and more as things continue to open up and travel opens up too. >> reporter: bart says it has seen an increase in riders, more like 70,000. but that is nearly three times the ridership shay saw in the peak of the pandemic. >> we are adding trins. >> it just added 26 now trains to weak day routes today, and 16 for saturday. we will see the greatest increase. >> depending on the hour, it could go

here is nbc's 10 tom koscostello >> reporter: new york to london in three hours but the concord was toond to the program now nearly 18 years later, the next generation of super sonic is always here >> ger based boom is now testing. this morning, united airplanes replacing a big bet on boom. so if i am a united passenger, i may be -- >> the world needs this. >> the pilot is preparing for the first flight late this year or early next. >> when you go from subsonic, often you don't know if you made that transition. >> do you governfeel the boom. >> the new plane should be able to carry 88 passengers and flying at 60,000 feet. new york to london at 3.5 hours. los angeles sto sidney, is in half >> the experience in the cabin is first las experience. >> 60,000 feet with windows will be an amazing window to me >> you will be able to watch the sun rise in the west as you get back new york city >> cutting travel times cut in half >> while they have not flown a plane get, his company ig prowe. scholl says his boom passenger plane will be carbon-neutral, using new sustainable aviation fuel. >> take

nbc's tom costello has been looking into it. got a reality check. you know, the country is the biggest in the world in terms of our economy. we're not even in the top ten in terms of the quality of our infrastructure 8% of the bridges just here in the nation's capital are structurally deficient, including the roosevelt bridge between virginia and washington built in 1964 and the chances are you see signs of decay where you live every single day. how many times has it happened to you, you hit a pothole and it ruins your tires and rims? >> i'm mad i'm real upset i'm real upset because, i mean, we shouldn't have to drive on highways like this >> reporter: the nation's civil engineers warn america's under investment in infrastructure could undermine america's global competitiveness. take bridges, for example, of 600,000 nationwide, 46,000 are structurally deficient the world economic forum ranks the u.s. 13th in infrastructure behind countries big and small, including singapore, japan, south korea, france, and the uk. china is 36th a

nbc bay area tom jensen in one of the hot spots in solano county where it approached triple digits today. >> the sun sizzling solano county hard on the first weekend free of pandemic level restrictions. with the heat rising above 100 on friday and nearing that mark again today this family which drove near lodi is getting a break from the heat after a full day at six flags, which is just 15 miles south but offered much cooler temps in the 70s today. another example of the microclimates here in the bay area, after dinner the family going to continue their extended vacation with a focus on places that won't be sweltering. >> so we're going to head to yellow stone with our four kids and stay there for about a week. then we're going to head to san diego and go to the zoo for a few days. and then every fourth of july we take a camping trip in crescent city where it's real cool. >> reporter: the restaurant's owner also talked to us about how the heat affected his business which opened just months before the pandemic started. a generator not in the budget quite yet, he worries about losing power

nbc news correspondent tom costello has our report from washington.rom chuck points to coach, to customs, and unexpected crush of flyers, eager for post covid escape. more than 2 million passengers on sunday, the most since before the pandemic forcing airlines to scramble. through bad weather, stranded passengers, airlines were able to cancel 400 plants over the weekend. hundreds more today. thousands of travelers affected, and plans to cancel up to 80 per day until mid july. >> to think about airlines, is you can't just turn the light switch and have them restart. again >> after pandemic furloughs and early retirements, america is now short on ground staff, flight attendants, pilots who must go through re-training before returning. just establish like britain harrison, as the girls take the. >> we take the rollout on the beach, just have a great time! >> the airline already notifying its passengers of their flights unchanging. >> maybe in that you're booked on an earlier flight, later flight, or rather you are in a city you never expected. >> america

. >> nbc's tom costello covers space for us tom, good morning, a lot of money and a lot of egos involveds to say the least. you've got richard branson, you've got amazon's jeff bezos they have both built spaceships to carry tourists into space the question now is going to be which one of them will be first. it's branson versus bezos. it's billionaire versus billionaire. >> that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> forget the last space race, neil armstrong and nasa won that hands down this space race is going to be much closer. in one corner, west texas, actually, amazon's jeff bezos, the founder of space tourism business blue origin, and the other corner, just upped road in new mexico, virgin galactic founder, richard branson both have done test flights. be bezos' blue origin will eventually carry up to six passengers remote control, rocketing into suborbit for three minutes of flying weightless >> virgin galactic is building an entire fleet of spaceships, piloted by astronauts, carrying six passengers for the ride of their lives and a spectacular view >> wow k look

. >> nbc's tom costello covers aviation for us. so on friday the tsa reports the most number of passengers yet post-pandemic. 2 million. with that surge in passengers, the surge in bad behavior we've been reporting on for weeks. the most recent case, a flight from l.a. to atlanta a flight attendant had to be pinned down and the flight diverted to oklahoma city. this morning another disturbing video showing another scare in the air. passengers onboard a delta flight from l.a. to atlanta pinning a man down after an off-duty delta flight attendant tried to take control of the plane's p.a. system. >> the next thing i knew there were people rushing up to the front and he started shoving people, and there was this outrageous fight >> reporter: the pilot took to the intercom asking passengers to the front. >> we'd ask all strong males to the front to handle a problem passenger. >> reporter: air traffic control diverted the flight to oklahoma city friday night where police took the passenger into custody. it's just the latest incident invo

we're live in antioch, tom jensen, nbc bay area news. >> good advice there, thank you, tom. >>> starting tomorrow people in caluria county will have access to cooling centers. several locations will be open from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. for any resident vulnerable to that heat. now, this match shows a few of those locations including cupertino library and gilroy like ri and milipitas library. for that full list head to nbcbayarea.com. >>> and as the weather heats up, our nbc bay-area app is great to have on stand bi. check the temperatures on your neighborhood and download t.free on the apple and goggle play stores. >> and after two south bay shooting rampages in the last two years there's a lot of talk about gun reform. if you plan on buying a firearm in san jose there will be more restrictions on you and the city council passed new gun measures in a late-night vote. sharon katsuda has more on the new measures and what gun advocates are saying about it. good morning, sharon. >> reporter: good morning, cierra. yes, these controversial measures have been considered since 2019, and last night the

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have come from navy pilots and crews and the bottom line, the government can't explain most of them nbc's tom reporter: hey, guys good morning so they have 144 reports over the last seven years they can only explain one of them and that was a deflating balloon. so what about the other 143, is it debris in the air, atmospheric conditions, some lighting zirconia, could it be a secret aviation program or could it be life beyond earth? even people who believe in life beyond you earth doubt that it's aliens whatever they are -- >> there's a whole fleet of them. >> reporter: -- they seem to defy the rule of physics, hovering in the wind, stopping immediately and moving at hypersupersonic speeds and diving into the ocean. >> splash. mark bearing range >> reporter: the first theory, software glitches in the tracking radars create on-screen illusions, but a government source says there were no glitches and the veteran navy pilots are very credible >> it gets in front of me and poof, it's gone. >> reporter: a second theory, a new plane using break through technology capable of flying at mach 5, 3,800 m

airline has signed a deal to buy more than a dozen supersonic planes nbc's tom costello is at dulles airport with that story. tom, united airlines is placing the order. >> reporter: yeah, this is a big order. you know, typically united airlines would fly a plane like this, a 787 to go from here to london or san francisco to t tokyo, but now it's betting that this upstart aviation company out of denver will take passengers supersonic and it could happen within just a few years. it was 2003 when the concord last flew passengers over the atlantic at twice the speed of sound. new york thereo london in three hours, but the concord was too loud and too expensive a fatal crash in 2000 helped put an end to the program. ♪ >> reporter: now, nearly 18 years later, the next generation of supersonic is almost here denver-based boom is now ground testing a small prototype, the xb1 with a bigger passenger version coming soon. and this morning, united airlines is placing a very big bet on boom ordering 15 jets and possibly as many as 50 flying by 2029 >> so if i'm a united passenger, i may be flying

nbc news exclusive. a new generation of supersonic jets that will cut travel times in half. here's tom costello. >> reporter: it's a big bet that the future of aviation is retro, back to the united airlines buying 15 supersonic jets from a small upstart aviation company in denver called boom it was 2003 when the concorde last flew new york to london in three hours. but the plane was loud, outdated and expensive. concorde's only crash put an end to the program. 18 years later boom is rolling out the next generation of supersonic ceo blake scholl gave us an exclusive look at the prototype the bigger plane could seat up to 88 people as a passenger what will it be like? >> so every seat you're going to have a large window where you can see the view from 60,000 feet, the curvature of the earth, the sky a deeper blue. >> reporter: and flying at 60,000 feet flight times cut in half boston to madrid in 3 1/2 hours. seattle to tokyo in 4 1/2. the first test flight coming later this year or early next year then the passenger version of the plane, with united airlines hoping that passengers will

. >> how happy are we that nbc's tom costello happens to be sitting next to us we know you love spacea deep dive on space it's a fascinating conversation and everybody is having it right now, right i mean, humanity's view has changed so profoundly over the years from earth is the center of the universe to the realization that we are one of billions of planets and there very well may be life beyond earth. but -- cue the space music -- could aliens have already visited our little corner of the universe it's almost impossible to fathom the universe holds billions of galaxies and hundreds of billions of planets. so what are the chances that life exists on at least one of them >> it seems pretty likely that it's probably out there. we just need to be looking in the right places >> reporter: nasa's perseverance rover is now on mars looking for signs of ancient or even current microbial life the hubble telescope is peering deep into space, discovering new planets, nebulas and black holes, but it's all just a tiny fraction of what's out there the problem, we humans love sci-fi and we tend to

nbc's tom costello joins us with more on this. tom, good morning. >> reporter: yeah, good morning. a couple story lines, as you mentioned. to begin with, there certainly is news about the number of cases dropping, but the pace of vaccinations is also slowing. in fact, in the south, tennessee and five other states below 50% ation rates. that's concerning.eally pushing now to get teenagers vaccinated amid an increase in hospitalizations among that age group. the good news this morning, and there's plenty, covid cases have fallen to levels not seen since the early days of the pandemic. the current seven-day average of daily new cases under 15,000, down 35% from the week before. hospitalizations also down by 17%. in new england, the most heavily vaccinated region in the country, there has been a steady drop in hospitalizations >> a year ago, it felt like it was an exceptional case if it wasn't covid now, it feels like it is an exceptional case if it is covid. so it really feels flipped. >> reporter: with 63% of the nation's adults receiving at least one shot, the country is inching clo

. >> nbc's tom costello covers space for us, and he joins us now with detail on this one. much space junk up there. this was a very close call the space station itself was not hit, nobody injured, but the canada arm, that 57-foot arm that was built and really supplied by canada, that was struck so it really just drives home the risk posed by so much space debris it's a small hole in the robotic arm connected to the international space station. the canadian space agency says it was struck by a piece of flying space junk, but the arm, built and provided by canada, is still operational. >> the arm is in great shape the arm has been cleared to continue nominal operations, and we're doing that. >> reporter: robotic operators noticed damage during a routine inspection last month, but experts say the lucky strike is another reason to pay close attention to a sea of orbiting space debris zooming by at speeds of more than 17,000 miles per hour >> what happens with the canadian arm is an example of debris that's going very fast and can go right through something. that's pretty danger

first nbc's tom costello joins us with more. >> reporter: good morning to you. absolutely we're seeing a slowdown in the pace of vaccinations. the states with the highest vaccination rates in the northeast and the far west, the west coast. but the states with the lowest vaccination rates, many mountain west states and then the entire southern tier of the country, and that's a real concern right now because we are seeing this now because we are seeing this increasing spread of the delta variant. experts warn the dangerous new delta variant is spreading fast, already making up 10% of the new covid cases in the u.s the good news, the cdc says current vaccines do appear to offer protection against the variant. >> this is why we are pushing so hard to get more americans vaccinated. >> reporter: meanwhile, concerns about a potentially rare side effect with those life saving messenger rna vaccines made by pfizer and moderna the cdc now planning to evaluate cases of inflammation of the heart muscle and surrounding tissue in adolescents and young adults 300 cases out of

let's get it started with nbc's tom costello. tom, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. so jbs says it believes it is making progress in addressing all of the implications from this ransomware attack, but this really drills down on the threat, a national security threat posed by the ransomware attacks, not only against gas pipeline but city halls and libraries and police stations. now, the nation's beef supply. the world's largest meat processing company is scrambling this morning to get back online after being hit with a ransomware attack that shuttered jbs operations in several states across the country. the union for more than 25,000 of its meat packing workers tells nbc news, all of the company's beef plants were shut down on tuesday. now, the company says the vast majority of our beef, pork, poultry, and prepared foods plants will be operational today. jbs also telling the biden administration it believes the ransomware attack came from a criminal group likely based in russia. >> the white house is engag

if you can and remind employees and family members, never click on suspect e-mails or links tom costello, nbc news, new orleans. >>> all right. now to our series "american crossroads." tonight the new report revealing how facebook is playing a role in the record migrant surge at the southern border with more on that here's jake ward >> reporter: we crossed into tijuana, mexico to reach this shelter packed with migrant families from central america. most have been deported from the u.s. after paying smugglers, so-called coyotes, to get them across the border. >> they spent thousands of dollars, years of their lives, and then wound up here in tijuana with nothing. we asked them how they found their coyotes. >> this one's actually from facebook. >> oh, wow >> reporter: a new report says that facebook has become the preferred platform for these smugglers and the desperate migrants they prey on. >> like any business the cartels have been looking to diversify their financial resources through human smuggling, and unfortunately facebook has given them a free one-stop shop to do that >> reporter: the

anyone that behaves violently toward flight crews or passengers, pushing for fines and jail time tom costello, nbc news, washington >> reporter: this is kerry sanders at port miami. where for 15 months there have been no passengers but on sunday, a cruise ship with volunteer passengers finally set sail freedom of the seas now putting royal caribbean's new covid health and safety protocols to the test. the two-day cruise around the bahamas with employees as passengers everyone vaccinated. proof of performance trip required by the centers for disease control. >> we have spent a lot of time as a company and as an industry thinking through a lot of what needs to be done and that gives me confidence. >> reporter: florida's republican governor ron desantis established a new law in the state no company can require citizens prove they're vaccinated, that no vaccine passport law also applies to cruise ships. >> you had people flying on airplanes, going to theme parks, but somehow this one industry was being shut down by an agency that didn't really have the legal authority to do that >> reporter: the first