ben tracy, cbs news, washington. >>> coming up on "cbs this morning," we will speak with secretary ofdona about his roadmap for keeping kids safe from covid as they return to school. >>> plus cbss contributor dr. david agus answers viewer questions about the delta variant and vaccines. >>> and in our pushing the limits series, we will meet a high school robotics team who invented a device to help a little boy ride a bike. that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great weekend.

cbs' ben tracy got a closeup look. >> dude, this is nuts.is insane. >> reporter: local fishermen are documenting the devastation from the red tide that has washed over tampa bay. >> this is an absolute nightmare. >> reporter: tyler capello runs a fishing charter business. he took us out on the water to see it for ourselves. >> that was a nice big beautiful cobia. >> reporter: dead fish everywhere, killed by the massive algae bloom that has at times turned the water toxic, scared away tourists and appears to be forcing these baby sharks to swim up canals fleeing for their lives. what has this meant for your business? >> it's been an absolute disaster. that's 1,200, 1,500 bucks a day in my pocket. and... now i'm doing zero. buckn my pocket. and now i'm doing because you know there is a dead tarpin on the beach right there. >> reporter: he even covered himself in dead fish and posted it on instagram to raise awareness. >> do i have your attention now? >> (chanting) save the fish. >> reporter: many floridians are worried not just about their wat

major. >> garrett: in boulder, colorado, for us, ben tracy, thank you. a tropical storm is expected to develop tonight in the caribbean sea. watches posted in the dominican republic and cover all of puerto rico. as much as half a food of wain is expected in some places over the next day or two. this storm system could threaten south florida by this weekend. now to breaking news, one of jeffrey epstein's accusers is now suing britain's prince andrew claiming the prince sexually abused her when she was 17. in the substitute filed today in federal court in new york virginia says epstein forced her to have sex with the prince who denied epstein died by suicide two years ago in jail. the taliban speeds up its week in afghanistan, provincial pap calls are falling as the taliban speeds up its weeks-longo fencive, this as the u.s. military and n.a.t.o. cbs' charlie d'agata has the latest. ( gunfire ) >> reporter: taliban militants blast their way into kunduz. thousands of residents fled the fighting. the biggest blow to afghan forces collapsing against an all-ou

reporting from the nation's capitol, i'm ben tracy. >>> good mornings this is cbs news flash.'m tom hanson in new york. we begin northern california, pg&e shutting off power to people to prevent wildfires as the fires are continuing to take hold on, the region is battling several devastating fires, including the dixie fire and calder fire that has exploded in size. >>> opening statements in the highly anticipated trial of r. kelly begins today. the singer could face dozens of decades in prison. >>> and transportation secretary is over joyed. congrats to them. download the app to your cell phone or con cted >>> it's wednesday, august 18th, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." a race to evacuate. thousands of americans remain in afghanistan after the taliban takes control. how militant fighters are reportedly blocking the departure of some people. >>> town decimated. a new wildfire largely destroys a small community in california. how firefighters saved a photojournalist from the raging flames. >>> breakthrough infections. texas governor greg abbott, who's fully vaccinated, tes

ben tracy has the story from jacksonville, florida. >> so we're close to the moment of truth. >> this is not the moment of truth. the moment of truth is the hurricane. this is the easy bit. ige saboats, but dyf joyridtheyecaunting drones, destined to faceplanet >> tse things have nowhatre to . >> exactly. exactly. >> reporter: richard jenkins is the founder and ceo of sail drone, a california company that created these winged robots. we were there as they towed two of them out into the ocean off the coast of jacksonville, florida. how revolutionary could this be in terms of the data we get about a hurricane? thinking could be transformation in how we understand how storms develop. increasing chances of warning people on shore of what dangers they might face. >> reporter: if it works, these solar and wind-powered drones will provide the first ever data video from the surface of the ocean inside a hurricane, relayed in realtime back to sail drone's mission control at this former naval air station in california, which houses its orange army, a fleet of more than00 ds. >> nng else that do

reporting from the nation's capital, i'm ben tracy. >>> good morning. this is cbs news flash. hanson in new york. growing death toll in haiti now approaching 2200 after a powerful earthquake saturday. rescue and recovery complicated by hurricane grace. the u.s. is deploying more forces to the island, including 600 military personnel set to arrive tomorrow. >>> t-mobile says some customers should changee their pin after a datah for what what could be up to 40 million current and past users. some social security numbers are also compromised. >>> and garth brooks is about to have a lot of friends in low places. the country star canceled his remaining tour due to the latest covid-19 surge brought on by the delta variant. >>> for more news, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm tom hanson, cbs news, new york. >>> it's thursday, august 19th, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." third vaccine dose. the cdc wants eligible americans to get a booster shot against covid, but the decision is getting pushback from world health leaders. >>> airport standoff. tal

vehicle sales and the administration said it is part of an effort to fight climate change but as ben tracy shows us, some environmentalists don't believe it goes far enough. >> reporter: president biden took a quick spin in an electric jeep outside of the white house as part of this push to speed up the production of e powered vehicles. >> we have a playbook that will work and today i am announcing steps we are taking to set a new pace for electric vehicles. >> reporter: he signed an executive order that said half of all new vehicles sold in the united states should be electric by 2030 and right now they make up just 2% of new car sales and the auto industry said it aspires to reach 40% to 50% ev sales but not binding. >> when they talk about their electric vehicle sales they frame it as aspirations and goals. of you believe they will do what they say they may do? >> we hope that they will and we will hold them accountable. we do know that this is where the technology is headed. >> reporter: this epa administrator is also releasing stricter new efficiency standards for cars and trucks clai

." >> i'm ben tracy in washington. thanks for staying with us.eps across the country, the virus is taking aim at the unvaccinated. just over half of the country is now fully vaccinated, and the quest to get the other half to take the jab has stalled. many of the vaccine hesitant pointed to the so-called breakthrough case, many who get covid after being vaccinated. the cdc wants you to know these cases are extremely rare. out of 168 million people vaccinated, only 1500 have died of the virus. that's a tiny fraction of 1%. david begnaud has more from lafayette, louisiana. >> reporter: 99.9% of people who have been vaccinated do not and have not gotten seriously ill and died from covid. it's extremely rare. but listen, it's happened, and it continues to happen. and if it happens to your family, it's devastating, even if you're the only one. so this morning we're going tell one of those rare stories and give you all the necessary context to understand how many people are being affected like this. >> i'm not feeling well. >> reporter: tara moseley rea

we'll get more now from cbs' ben tracy. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: president biden took a drive in an electricgler after signing his executive order. >> it's electric, and there's no turning back. but we just have to move and we have to move fast. >> but accelerating the transition to e.v.s may not be so quick. americans still love their gas guzzlers. trucks, vans and s.u.v.s make up three-quarters of new sales so far this year. e.v.s are just 2%. is it possible to get to 50% by the end of the decade? >> it is. >> reporter: michael regan is the administrator of the vice presidential protection agency. environmental protection agency. today it proposed stricter new emissions standards for cars and trucks designed to force auto- makers to build and sell more electric cars. >> we're ushering in new advanced technologies that will not only increase and enhance performance but also reduce climate pollutants and health- based pollutants. >> reporter: in the united states, transportation is the single largest source of planet warming greenhouse gas emissions. e.p.a. claims the new clean car standards

our senior national and correspondent ben tracy has more. >> the moment of truth. >> reporter: they lookrange sailboats but nobody will be taking one of these for a joyride. they are hurricane hunting drones facing the fearest storms on the planet. >> these things have no idea of what they are getting into. >> reporter: richard jenkins, created these wing robots. we were there as they took two of them off the coast of jacksonville, florida. >> how revolutionary could this be about the data we get about hurricanes? >> increase chances of warning people of what dangers they may face. >> reporter: if it works, the solar and wind power atonomous drones -- a athlfleet of more t 100 drones. >> it was extremely new and valuable. >> reporter: right now most of the information we have about hurricanes come from hurricane hunting airplanes that fly into storms and drop probes into the sky. sa sail drones are expected to provide far more data where the sea and air meets. this can provide important insights into where hurricanes are. >> it is that some of what you are hoping to understand, how does

bring out the bold™ >> pauley: ben tracy this morning dives into uncharted waters, a wine cellar underout a mile off the coast of santa barbara, california, an unusual search is under way. what exactly are we out here looking for today? >> a treasure, a wine treasure. >> reporter: that's my kind of treasure. >> we have to go and find it. you know, you always have a little knot until you find it and we know we can bring it back home. >> reporter: emanuele azzaretto is our guide. he is an experienced diver, and as a native of italy, he is also an experienced wine-drinker. >> i married all of the things i like and tried to turn it into a job. >> reporter: he then disappears into the water. about 20 minutes later, this breaks the surface. >> coming up! >> reporter: a massive metal cage filled with a bounty of nearly 1500 bottles of red wine. this is not dumb luck. he knew what he was looking for because he sank it in the ocean a year ago. he is the co-founder of "ocean fathom," a company experimenting with using the ocean floor as a wine cellar. the bottles come out dripping with sea water

is the "cbs overnight >>> i'm ben takes tracy in wash thanks for staying with us. >>> earthquake operations haiti. the rain has caused widespread flooding and land slides. the quake left about 1500 people dead and thousands hurt. the death toll is expected to climb as search teams continue to dig through the rubl. we have the story from port-au-prince. >> hops are overwhelmed by the how thousands of patients and that is just the hospitals that are still standing. in the hardest hit areas, many are piles of rubble and leaving those in need of help scrambling. in this hard hit town, the white tents are serving as make triage units. the agony of those being treated is painted on their faces. the small hospitals can barely take in more patients. for those suffering the most serious injuries, a trip to a hospital in port-au-prince is necessary. the medical director, scott nelson, has been working here since 2010's earthquake. >> we have many on the emergency room floor, and outside for lack of space. >> reporter: what kind of injuries are you seeing from the victims? >> with earthquakes, every t

first on "cbs this morning," ben tracy talked to epa administrator michael regan about the new efforts to fight climate change. good morning. >> reporter: anthony, good morning. so the federal government wants the cars and trucks we drive to be more efficient. so they pollute less. and a big part of these standards is to try to get us out of our gas-powered cars and into electric ones. >> look, the future of the auto industry is electric. there's no turning back. >> reporter: president biden thinks the road to an electric future could be a relatively short drive. >> this sucker's quick -- >> reporter: his executive order today says by 2030 half of all vehicles sold in the u.s. should be electric. right now, evs make up just 2% of new car sales. this is ambitious, but is it realistic? >> it's both. it's an ambitious goal, and it is realistic. >> reporter: when the automakers talk about ev sales, they frame it as aspirations, as goals. do you believe they're going to do what they say they may do? >> you know, we hope that they will. and we will hold them accountable. we know that this is