gabe gutierrez with the breaking news out of minneapolis. ause we expect president biden to talk more about the cyber attack on the colonial pipeline company. the president talked about obtaining i.t. service providers to talk to them about cyber attacks. if you need gas, look at those numbers. 69% out of fuel. same goes for gas stations in virginia. 48% in south carolina. the pipeline is back up and running, but it will take a few days for supply to get back to normal. tom is at a gas station in charlotte, north carolina. yesterday there was a line of cars. you don't seem to have the same line today, but what are you hearing from drivers there? >> things are changing pretty dramatically, at least around charlotte. the lines yesterday were al over the place. we are seeing more and more stations come online. the fuel truck came in and people were celebrating the driver. he said he feels like a savior. he said people are following him to see where gas is. the prices are coming down little by little. gas buddy is saying they are seeing the numbe

let's start off with gabe gutierrez >> reporter: weeks after being led out of a minneapolis courtroom in handcuffs for the murder of george floyd, former police officer derek chauvin is now facing new federal civil rights charges >> this is a message that equal justice is possible in america. >> reporter: the indictment says chauvin deprived floyd of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer chauvin and three other officers also face a charge for failing to give floyd medical aid. the federal grand jury also returned a second indictment against chauvin in connection with a 2017 incident in which chauvin allegedly held a 14-year-old student by the throat and struck him multiple times in the head with a flashlight >> why didn't prosecutors bring up that case during the previous trial >> gabe, prosecutors wanted to bring up the case, but the judge ruled that he was going to limit their ability to get into past wrongs involving derek chauvin. he also made it clear that if prosecutors went too far he'd declare the case a mistrial >> reporter

here's gabe gutierrez, and i have to warn you the videos are disturbing >> stay back >> reporter: this body camera video shows the tense moments that still haunt vanessa peoples.en do you think about what happened >> every day >> reporter: in 2017 police in aurora, colorado came to her home with a social worker for a child welfare check. >> stay back >> reporter: the encounter escalated quickly. >> i don't have to stay back. >> stay back >> get the [ bleep ] -- get your hand off -- [ screaming >> the next thing i knew, they threw me down on the ground and they had my arm behind my back. and i kept telling them, i said, there's something wrong. my arm doesn't feel right. it hurts and he had his knee in my back. and it was like at that moment, i felt like i was going to lose my life >> reporter: the device officers used to restrain her is known as a hobble and involves tying a person's hands and feet behind their back while on their stomach. an analysis of data nbc news obtained found she is one of roughly 350 people who have been hobbled by the aurora police department in the last five

gabe gutierrez has details. >> reporter: today across the country, moments of silence commemorating the agonizing 9 minutes and 29 seconds a police officer knelt on george floyd's neck. >> it was a murder, and we need to be reminded that what happened to him was not an accident. >> reporter: in washington, floyd's relatives met with lawmakers. >> good morning, everyone. >> reporter: including house speaker nancy pelosi and later president biden. >> if you can make federal laws to protect a bird, which is the bald eagle, you can make federal laws to protect people of color. >> reporter: a federal police reform bill has stalled in the senate because of republican opposition to certain proposals such as restricting qualified immunity, making it easier to sue police officers >> he did let us know he supports passing the bill, but he wants to make sure it's the right bill and not a rushed bill. >> reporter: this morning in minneapolis, chilling moments as gunshots rang out near where floyd died it's unclear why police say at least one person was shot and went to the hospital still it was a d

capsized, bringing new attention to the growing problem of human smuggling along the border here's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: after a desperate struggle to survive at sea tonight a human smuggling investigation is under way. authorities say this boat carrying 32 people smashed into a reef near san diego. three people are dead, dozens injured, one in critical condition >> this was a mass rescue operation that turned into a mass casualty incident. >> reporter: lifeguards rushed in, pulling out survivors struggling to escape the powerful rip currents >> crossing the border illegally is unsafe no matter the method, especially at sea. >> 31 right here >> reporter: over texas we saw this year's surge in border apprehensions firsthand. more than 172,000 in march alone. a 70% jump from the month before customs and border protection says it's rescued more than 4,700 migrants since october along the southwest border who were abandoned by smugglers. last week more than 90 people were discovered in what authorities say was a human smuggling operation in houston. and in a separate incident last week also ne

lester >> gabe gutierrez, thank you. >>> we want to warn you now this next story is hard to watch but difficult to ignore body cam video showing the deadly police encounter two years ago in louisiana where the suspect after a high-speed chase miguel almaguer has more >> reporter: in video obtained, released and edited by the associated press the brutal and violent arrest and subsequent death of ronald green is captured on body camera >> get out of the [ bleep ] car! >> i'm sorry >> reporter: after a dangerous high-speed pursuit louisiana state troopers pulled the 49-year-old black man from his vehicle. >> tase him, tase him, tase him >> reporter: greene is seen being tased multiple times but much of what happened is off camera >> i'm sorry >> reporter: during the graphic and disturbing video greene is also repeatedly punched, put in a chokehold and dragged face down through the dirt his family says after greene was shackled he was left for nine minutes without aid as officers used hand sanitizer to clean their bloodied hands >> it was probably one of the most disturbing videos that i'

gabe gutierrez is live in texas. hi, gabe. >> hi.etched so thin. we wrapped up a ride along. we found a stash house and raft after raft crossing the rio grande. coming up after the grak. p aftek are waking up to what's possible with rybelsus®. ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ ♪ my only sunshine... ♪ rybelsus® works differently than any other diabetes pill to lower blood sugar in all 3 of these ways... increases insulin... decreases sugar... and slows food. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. people taking rybelsus® lost up to 8 pounds. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problem

highlighting the growing danger of human smuggling gabe gutierrez has the story. >> reporter: the human smuggling investigation is underway. authorities say this boat carrying 32 people smashed into a reef near san diego. three people are dead, dozens injured, one in critical condition. >> this was a mass rescue operation that turned into a mass casualty incident. >> life guards purushed in pulln out survivors. >> 31 right here. >> reporter: over texas we saw this year's surge in border apprehensions firsthand. more than 172,000 in mara lean a 70% jump from the month before they've rescued more than 4700 hieg grants since october. last week more than 90 people were discovered in what authorities say was a human smuggling operation in houston and in a separate incident last week also near san diego, cbp says 20 migrants were found on this boat. >> a lot of confusion on who is getting sent back and who doesn't and that does create an environment for smugglers to thrive. >> reporter: in california authorities say they believe to have a person in custody talking with federal agents. so far

our gabe gutierrez is traveling with a s.w.a.t. team on patrol. >>> covid cases in the united states continue to drop along with the demand for vaccinations, but officials are optimistic that aggressive reopenings can and will continue across america. >>> peloton fans, this is for you. new details on a major recall on one of the popular products after a child was killed and dozens injured. >>> we have two words moosusic people's ears. early retirement >> something to make you smile on this thursday the best dance partner happens to be of the four legged variety. "early today" starts right now >>> hello there. good thursday morning. i'm phillip mena >> glad you could be with us i'm frances rivera we begin with a developing situation at our southern border where a record migrant surge has pushed border patrol agents to the brink. nbc news has gotten the firsthand look for a push by state and local law enforcement to help out. gabe gutierrez is in texas good morning, gabe. >> reporter: frances, good morning. the biden administration i

nbc's gabe gutierrez is in coronavirus queens. are you hearing from folks there about this news? >> reporter: craig, yes, as you mentioned, a very big sigh of relief. also a huge sense of caution, craig. we have been walking around here speaking with folks here throughout the morning. many are still wearing their mask, even outside. here the subway line, not far from me, they have to commute to work, a working class community, a lot of minorities and communities of color. many of them from the looks of it are still wearing their masks. we spoke with one businessowner who says he has not been vaccinated because he had covid about a year ago. he hasn't felt the need to get vaccinated. he shrugged off the guidance. we have been speaking with a doctor at a local medical center who has been working with the underserved community and he says he was surprised by the updated guidance and concerned. you expect there to be a reduction of mask wearing here or not at all? >> i don't. i don't think yet. i think people are still scared. i think

nbc's gabe gutierrez has been covering this story from the beginning. e thinking here from judge cahill behind the ruling and what happens next. >> during the trial coverage you heard a lot about aggravating factors and that is what the judge decided today saying that there were aggravating factors present and that that will likely mean a longer sentence for derek chauvin. among those aggravaing factors he abused his authority as police officer and treated floyd with cruelty and pinned floyd down in the presence of children. that's obvious if you saw the testimony. a 9-year-old girl testified that floyd was pinned right in front of her. the judge did, however, disagree with prosecutors and he said that they did not prove that floyd was particularly vulnerable. basically what this all means, craig, is that if you look at the sentencing guidelines, this most serious charge of second-degree murder average 12 1/2-year prison sentence. with aggravating factors that kicked up to 40 years in prison and that's what we had been talking about when we said that cha

nbc's garrett haake is tracking police reform negotiations on the hill gabe gutierrez is in minneapolis first. gabe >> reporter: shep, that ismajo milestone for the city of minneapolis. people are actually gathering here in george floyd square, despite the fact that earlier today there were jarring moments when about two dozen gunshots rang out it's unclear why one person being treated at the hospital for nonlife-threatening injuries but this day was about reflection we spoke with some of george floyd's family members they say they are disappointed that congress could not pass federal police reform in time for president biden's self-imposed deadline. for the two cousins we spoke with, their pain is still fresh. >> our hearts are still broken because we'll never -- we'll never have him again to be able to hug us or talk to us. but we're optimistic that some things have changed as a result of his death. >> are you frustrated that congress hasn't acted quicker? >> it's a little discouraging for sure but -- delayed is not denied so we will continue pushing forward. and we just -- we'll be c

. >> gabe gutierrez as more on what the federal civil rights charges mean for chauvin and the other officersthe murder of george floyd, former police officer derek chauvin is now facing new federal civil rights charges. >> it send a message that equal justice is possible in america. >> reporter: the indictment says chauvin deprived floyd of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer. chauvin and three other officers also face a charge for failing to give floyd medical aid. the federal grand jury also returned a second indictment against chauvin in connection with a 2017 incident in which he held a 14-year-old student and struck him multiple times in the head with a flashlight. >> why didn't prosecutors bring up that case during the previous trial? >> gabe, prosecutors wanted to bring up the case, but the judge ruled that he was going to limit their ability to get into past wrongs involving derek chauvin. he also made it clear if prosecutors went too far, he would declare it a mistrial. >> reporter: he's appealed for a new trial on the state cha

new push by state and local law enforcement to step in and help overworked border patrol agents gabe gutierrez is in texas. >> reporter: under the cover of darkness raft after raft filled with migrants we're here not with federalborder patrol agents but with a s.w.a.t. team from the texas department of public safety. essentially backup at the border this is what texas bps agents say we're seeing more of each and every night, rafts full of women and children making the dangerous trek across the rio grande they're saying they're having to patrol more of this area because federal resources are stretched so thin. >> reporter: in march alone the number of migrants stopped at the border surged to more than 172,000. a 20-year high >> it is a crisis. you see for yourself how easy it is for these smugglers to raft these migrants across >> reporter: nearby in roma, texas we're also on the move as state troopers make another discovery following a simple traffic stop. this appears to be a stash house where they take dozens of migrants have been here for who knows how long, and right now they're going to p

our gabe gutierrez got a tour of the border patrol crossing in texas and he shared with us what struck him most. >> reporter: phillip, good morning. this is a processing facility in gana, texas. we were given a firsthand look inside, while it is not chaotic, it is still very busy. there are more than 800 migrants that is over covid capacity and it is unaccompanied children and some families in here as well. no adult men the border patrol agents in this region say they are still overwhelmed. there are still a large amount of migrants coming to this area even though the biden administration says the wait time for these migrants in these types of facilities is down dramatically in fact, the average time in one of these facilities is now about 24 hours, that is down significantly from several months ago, but now almost 22,000 migrant children are in the custody of the department of health and human services and some critics say that that is far too long by the way, phillip, just last month this facility alone cost more than $19 million to operate. phillip. >> significant price tag gabe, th

across the nation peaceful events were held to honor floyd including in minneapolis let's go to gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: good morning. a major milestone for the city of minneapolis as the family of george floyd headed to washington to meet with lawmakers and the president. across the country moments of silence commemorating the agonizing 9 minutes and 25 seconds a police officer knelt on george floyd's neck. >> we should bt what happened was not an accident. >> reporter: in washington floyd's relatives met with lawmakers. >> good morning, everyone. >> reporter: including house speaker nancy pelosi and later president biden. >> if you can make federal laws to protect the bird, which is the bald eagle, you can make federal laws to protect people of color >> reporter: it has stalled in senate >> he let us know he su sports passing the bill but he wants to make sure it's the right bill, not a rushed bill. >> in minneapolis, chilling moments as gunfire rang out. one person was shot and went to the hospital still, it was a day of reflection in the past year there have been changes at the state l

detention facility for unaccompanied children which one democrat tonight says are misleading gabe gutierrezthere. >> reporter: this is new video provided by customs and border protection from inside the makeshift processing facility in donna, texas it's much less crowded than it was months ago, and now officials say children are being kept here for an average of 24 hours, much less than before. but a texas congressman, a democrat who'd conditions at the facility in march, says the claim that the problem is under control is misleading. >> what they're doing now is they're moving the kids from the border patrol tents over next door to the hhs facility with all due respect, it's all a shell game. >> reporter: the number of unaccompanied minor children in border patrol custody has dropped dramatically to around 700. but the number with the department of health and human services has soared to almost 22,000. >> a plan takes time, and especially so because we have to rebuild an entire system that was dismantled >> reporter: still, at the border the current surge is stretching not just federal but

nbc's gabe gutierrez is once again in minneapolis for us on the story.e, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. there were memorial events here in minneapolis and in cities nationwide, but among activists there's mounting frustration that the senate hasn't been able to strike a deal on the reform bill that bears george floyd's name >> say his name. >> george floyd. >> reporter: after george floyd's young dautghter gianna led a chant outside the white house, calls are calling louder for congress to pass policing reform >> if you can take federal laws to protect a bird which is a bald eagle, you can make federal laws to protect people of color. >> reporter: his family met privately with president biden and vice president harris. >> i am in awe of their courage, their continuing courage. >> reporter: the george floyd justice in policing act would ban chokeholds, eliminate no-knock warrants and create a national registry of police misconduct but it stalled in the senate partly because of republican opposition to issues such as restricting qualifi

i'm hallie jackson along with gabe gutierrez, leann caldwell, and britney patrick-cunningham. gabe, let me start with you you have been covering the story for a year now. i know you had a chance to talk with the family of george floyd and other that's have been united in this movement here. >> yeah, that is right and they tell me they're disappointed that congress has not been able to meet the self-imposed deadline. it has been a difficult year as well as other women that lost loved ones including the mother of eric gardner. for them, the pain is still fresh. >> what changed the host is yun si throughout the country. >> when the verdict came down in this case, guilty three counts, what went through your head. >> god ansed my prayers. i prayed that justice would be served. >> and it's been several years since you lost your son. what went through your head when you heard that verdict? >> i was elated. i said we found some form of justice. they are still fighting for that. i don't think they understand how urgent this is. >> that was john's sister. he was killed they came to a dea

nbc's gabe gutierrez is here in new york city with the very latest. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: hey, craig, good morning. as you know, new york city restaurants can get pretty cramped. many of them have installed glass barriers like these. don't expect them to go away just yet, but despite the lifting of many covid restrictions in some parts of the country, businesses are adjusting to the changes slowly. this morning mounting signs of a long-awaited return to normal. >> it's wonderful. i've been waiting to take it off. >> reporter: as covid cases and deaths continue to plunge nationwide and with nearly half of all americans now having received at least one shot. more states are lifting mask and social distancing mandates for those fully vaccinated. >> the start of a new era. >> reporter: in once hard hit new york, a milestone reopening wednesday. nearby connecticut and new jersey also loosening most restrictions. >> i just think it's great to be out and about again. >> reporter: still, across the country, the cdc's updated guidance is being interp

nbc's gabe gutierrez has made his way to hidalgo, texas, for that story gabe, good morning. >> reporterwded, but that doesn't mean the overall number of migrants is slowing. law enforcement agencies across this region say they are overwhelmed. overnight, the frantic flow of migrants was relentless. we were there not with federal border patrol agents but with rangers from the texas department of public safety. this is what texas agents say they're seeing more of each and every night, rafts full of women and children, making the dangerous trek across the rio grande they're having to patrol more of this area because federal resources are stretched so thin. do you consider what you see here a crisis? >> it is a crisis. it is. you see how easy it is for these smugglers to raft these migrants across they have no fear of law enforcement. because they'll go back to mexico, bring another group. >> reporter: nearby in roma, texas, simple traffic stop by state troopers led them to this stash house. right now, authorities are starting to process these migrants it's not clear how long they have been

we're going to start with gabe gutierrez who is in minneapolis for us gabe, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. there are remembrances planned here today on what's become known as george floyd square the family tells me they are disappointed congress could not pass a federal police reform bill before president biden's self-imposed deadline. today, exactly one year after the murder of george floyd, on the streets, urgency over police reform has enough changed >> no, i don't think enough has changed. >> reporter: can you believe it's been a year >> it's been a whirlwind. >> reporter: for tara brown and sharita tate, the loss of their cousin is still fresh. >> our hearts are broken because we'll never have him again to be able to hug us or talk to us, but we are optimistic that some things have changed as a result of his death >> reporter: among those changes, a murder conviction for the former officer who knelt on floyd's neck for nine and a half minutes, but -- >> we haven't had meaningful police reform in 57 years in the federal government, and so this is our opportunity. >

. >> that was gabe gutierrez reporting. >>> now to the brewing fight over the future of the republican party. to side with the truth or double down on the lies, that question fueling a breaking point with gop leadership in the house as the senate's top republican says he'll prove once again why he's called the grim reaper, which begs yet again a question for democrats. how can they legislate up against the party of no? we're going to ask senator tina smith. there's a brewing battle over voting rights spilling into the streets across america. >>> plus, an msnbc exclusive. my sit-down who was separated from her sons for years because of trump's zero-tolerance policy. welcome to a new hour of "american voices." >>> hello, everyone. i'm alicia menendez. is the republican party the party of trump forever? we ask because it appears the most visible members of the gop like matt gaetz and georgia congresswoman marjorie taylor greene are out and about saying stuff like this. >> who is your president? >> donald trump! >> that's my president too. >> we have never abandoned trump, and he has never

even as the backlog gets cleared up, officials on the ground say the migrants keep coming gabe gutierrezus. you went on a ride with a patrol team >> it was a s.w.a.t. team for the texas department of safety this agency says they're having to ramp up patrols, because the federal border patrol is stretched too thin, so drug smugglers and human smugglers are getting through. we saw raft after raft along the rio grande, migrants being hoisted by members of the texas national guard we saw that over and over again. we also saw overnight a stash house near roma, texas that was actually discovered because a state trooper on a traffic stop pulled over a driver who led them to that stash house. there were dozens of migrants there that had to be processed, mostly young men, some women and children as part of operation lone star, all of this extra law enforcement personnel coming to the border, the state and local say they have seized more than 5,000 pounds of marijuana and almost 100 pounds of cocaine >> the numbers have been historic as far as the legal crossings, and now stash houses and criminal

gabe gutierrez has been all over this story. osecution of misconduct. explain what's going on there? >> hey there, steph, you remember the trial for the other three officers is scheduled for august. this is a pretrial motion hearing and the attorney for officer thao is essentially alleged prosecutors coerced one of their witnesses to testify a certain way. you will remember dr. andrew baker was one of the key witnesses in that trial of derek chauvin. and initially, the attorney for officer thao is saying dr. baker is saying there's no official evidence george floyd died 6 asphyxiation and only added the words neck compression to his report after he was contacted by the medical examiner in washington, d.c., who apparently according to the court filing, threatened to go to "the washington post" and file an opinion piece, and only after that, the attorney for officer thao alleges the words neck compression were added. that was one thing. there's also something else, another motion hearing, a motion where the attorney for officer tha

operate just last month, but it's the human toll that may have the highest cost for "today," gabe gutierrezhan a year now, but some of them still just don't know how to handle those zoom meetings a woman named victoria decided to play a prank on her own mother she told her she was on a zoom call in the kitchen. watch mom trying to stay below camera range when she tries to [ laughter ] shrink past the door [ laughter ] >> victoria couldn't stop laughing her mom tried to duck down oh, my gosh, they were laughing about the shot >> oh, my gosh >> that's true >> she's actually amazingly limber i'm impressed. if i did that, i might never stand up straight again. >> that's great. >> still funny. >>> when we come back, al roker was just there on monday coming up, the stars that are going to be forever honored in the rock and roll hall of fame folks, stand by for a broadcast exclusive. we are going to reveal this year's inductees savannah. >>> plus, from here in washington, andrea mitchell meets the woman whose decades of research helped lead to pfizer and moderna's covid vaccine. >> now they're tal

gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: weeks after being led out of the minneapolis courtroom in handcuffsder of george floyd, former police officer derek chauvin is now facing new federal civil rights charges. >> this is a message that equijustice is possible in america. >> reporter: the indictment says chauvin deprived floyd of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer. chauvin and three officers face a charge for failing to give floyd medical aid. the federal grand jury returned a second indictment against chauvin in which chauvin allegedly held a 14-year-old student by the throat and struck him multiple times in the head with a flashlight. >> why didn't prosecutors bring up that case during the previous trial? >> gabe, prosecutors wanted to bring up the case, but the judge ruled that he was going to limit their ability to get into past wrongs involving derek chauvin. he also made it clear if prosecutors went too far, he would declare the case a mistrial. >> reporter: chauvin's attorney declined to comment on the new federal indictment. h

that's the latest from here from new york city and times square, my colleague, gabe gutierrez. >> heyal. good morning. this is the one-time epicenter of the coronavirus in the u.s. and it's hard to believe it's been more than a year since we were standing here and at the time it was eerie and desolate and now life seems to be springing back to times square. we've been seeing people wearing masks throughout the morning and some not wearing masks and putting it around their chin. of course, many new yorkers still feel the need to wear masks and still required on public transportation and for the first time officially the mask mandate and the social distancing requirements have been ditched here in new york city and new york state for fully vaccinated people, but there are still many unanswered questions, stephanie about where this goes from here. the big question how can restaurants and businesses actually know that the people going inside are fully vaccinated. that's an unanswered question and also, what about a lot of parents are asking that new york with the nation's largest school d

now, my colleague, gabe gutierrez, spoke with the street vendor project about why that is, why the transition might be slower than some had hoped. listen to that. >> reporter: there is still a lot of fear, of going back to what happened last year. the community here was the most impacted health wise and economically. and people are terrified of reopening too fast and suffering the same pain that they did and the sickness that their families did, as well. and so i don't think that it will change drastically, it won't change immediately. but little by little, as more people get vaccinated and people feel more comfortable, we will start to reopen. >> reporter: it's important to note, some 35% of the population is estimated to be fully vaccinated now. and this does bring up the question of air travel, as well. the faa has said and the cdc has restated that when it comes to public travel, that will remain in place. masks still will be required on planes, on buses, on subways. and it will stay twha at least until september. many big businesses like starbucks will say, we're going to go ahead and ke

nbc's gabe gutierrez in corona tonight. >> reporter: scott, this was the one-time epicenter of the epicenter, corona queens, the neighborhood that shared the virus' name. now it's having a hard time vaccinating many of its residents. only about 28% in this zip code are now fully vaccinated one local doctor telling me that it might take a while for these updated cdc guidelines to sink in today we saw many people out here, outside still wearing masks. >> i think people are still scared i think people still remember what it was like a year ago. >> reporter: to ramp up vaccinations in this neighborhood, the city is bringing mobile clinics like this one walk-ins welcome no appointments necessary. scott. >> and in florida, people at gyms showing up for their workouts, no masks, no social distancing nbc's sam brock in miami where people are working off that quarantine 15. >> reporter: in the state of florida, the coronavirus restrictions had been dropped a couple of weeks ago, but now this is all cdc blessed as well. we were here a year ago speaking with the owner as he was just trying to reopen no

i'm hallie jackson along with gabe gutierrez, leann caldwell, and britney

tom frieden, gabe gutierrez, ali vitali, thank you. >>> we will be diving into how this new guidance impacts businesses in the next hour. and if you have questions, craig melvin will be hosting a special report. he will be joined by a team of doctors at 11:00 a.m. eastern here. can you tweet your questions with the #msnbcanswers or email them to talk@msnbc.com. we know this is very good news but we know people have lots and lots of questions. >>> we also have breaking news on capitol hill regarding the vote on congresswoman elise stefanik to replace congresswoman liz cheney in the lead house position. garrett haake is on the hill. what's the latest? >> the vote is under way right now. house republicans gathered at 8:30 this morning. there have been a series of nominating speeches for bong both stefanik and a challenger she received from congress, chip roy, republican of texas, member of the freedom caucus threw his hat in the ring yesterday. what's happening literally as we speak, secret ballot under way. the minute we hear the results, i will let you know, steph. for right now, stef

joining me now, nbc news gabe gutierrez in the hard-hit neighborhood of corona, queens, and dr.contributor and founder of advancing health equity. good to see both of you. doctor, a lot of folks have said that they were caught off guard. the "l.a. times" is warning folks in california not to ditch their masks yet. it could be weeks before the mask mandate might be lifted. what should states, what should businesses be thinking about right now. >> first of all, these are guidelines. and the guidelines are based on the evidence. the evidence is showing that vaccines are highly effective, that people are unlikely to get very ill, or to transmit the infections to others. i think with such a big shift, a significant shift in the guidelines, i think the cdc -- it would have been helpful to add more nuance to this announcement. physicians need to know what to do, schools need to know what to do, health care settings, they're just so many questions that we have that really need to be answered with urgency. and i think that my colleagues probably would have liked to see the decision made

months ago, well, it's ready to officially drop most of its remaining covid restrictions nbc's gabe gutierrez is in times square this morning. hey, gabe. good day around here. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. it's hard to believe, but it's been more than a year since we stood right here in an eerie, desolate times square. today, most capacity limits here in new york are a thing of the past this morning, new york, the one-time covid epicenter in the u.s., is officially lifting its mask and social distancing mandates for fully vaccinated people >> i think we've all waited long enough, and i think it's time for people to live and be happy again. >> we're back but stronger than ever. >> reporter: many large events including broadway and the new york city marathon are planning to roar back later this year >> i think what you're seeing is extraordinary. this comeback is ahead of schedule >> reporter: but across the country, mass confusion. while many major retailers announce ditching the face covering requirements, in texas, the governor issued an executive order banning mask mandates. violators fa