. >>> i am kristen kristen you are watching getting answers life on abc 7, hulu live, and wherever you stream. we ask experts to get answers in real time. we have a labor and employment attorney to answer your questions about new worlds for collecting unemployment benefits. new child tax credits, rent relief and more. let's begin with rising covid- 19 cases. the state is averaging 3000 new cases a day. this is happening as doctors is are noticing breakthrough cases , vaccinated people getting covid-19. joining us to share what he has been seeing at zuckerberg general hospital is chief of emergency medicine, dr. chris colwell. you have seen an uptick in cases among vaccinated people at zuckerberg. how big of an uptick? >> the uptick in vaccinated patients is still not a big uptick. in that group. we are seeing a significant rise in overall covid-19 cases and 10 days ago we were down to one patient in the hospital and we have been as high as nine and two in the icu. numbers are more than tripled although still very few of them are in the vaccinated cases. several have needed to be admitt

kristen, kristen, you said a threat, but just jumped out at me. it really shows the legacy of residential boarding schools. this threat is from marty simmons. marty sentence, tweets when visitors knock on the door and my children were little. i used to tell them to hive they would go and take off running a white friend of why did i do that? i didn't really know i asked my mom why we played that game. it wasn't a game for my dad. it was a survival technique that is incredibly powerful, christine. it is and there are several things that come up for me when you share that. one is that we don't understand how these sporting schools impacted our families unless we talk about these stories, right? so she's kind of unpacking that and saying like this was a game i played as a child and i didn't understand that it had this terrible context to it. so we, we need to be talking about these experiences and our families in our communities in our country as a whole. but also, you know, in terms of the impact that this isn't a historical situation. the boarding s

kristen, thank you so much good _ ever seen. jan, kristen, thank you so much good to _ ever seen. jan, kristenn copenhagen as well. a baby from gloucester has become one of the first nhs patients in england to be treated with a potentially life saving drug. riley cadle birch was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at just four weeks old. it means he can't lift his head because his muscles are so weak. but he's now undergone specialist gene therapy at bristol children's hospital. matthew hill reports. the nurses call him :—) riley and he has a lot to smile about after being given the world's most expensive drive. he has spinal muscular atrophy or as a man, a condition which causes progressive muscle weakness, without treatment, those affected, barely beat —— reach beyond the age of two. this affected, barely beat -- reach beyond the age of two.- affected, barely beat -- reach beyond the age of two. this is when he was really _ beyond the age of two. this is when he was really poorly. _ beyond the age of two. this is when he was really poorly. we _ beyond the age of two. this is when he was r

leave it [ cheers and applause >> jimmy: my thanks, again, to the great kristen bell we love you, kristeneam home in the mountains. the views are great, the air is fresh. (sfx: branches rustle) it is bear country though. hey boo-boo! we hit the jackpot! bear! bear! bear! look, corn on the cob! oohh chicken! don't mind if i do! they're hungry. t-bone! that's what i call a smorgasbord! at least geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy. they do save us a ton of money. we'll take the cobbler to go! good idea, yogi. i'm smarter than the average bear! they're gone, dad! for bundling made easy, go to geico.com. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm really nervous. ♪ ♪ i don't know what i should wear. just wear something not too crazy, remember it's a business dinner not a costume party. on a spotty network this is what she heard... just wear something crazy, remember it's a costume party. a costume party!? yes! anybody want to split a turkey leg? come in for sweats, leave as a squad. what we value most, shouldn't cost more. ♪ (suspenseful music) ♪ ♪ ♪ just tell me what i need to know. never! (hands hit de

kristen. she lost her father, mark, after a more than three week battle with covid-19. she has said her father's only pre-existing condition was trusting then-president donald trump. since her father's death, kristen has co-founded the advocacy group marked by covid that works to combat covid-19 disinformation. and, kristen, what's your reaction to what president biden said about facebook? and, i guess, what we just heard from dr. anthony fauci, a few moments ago. i -- i found his comment pretty astonishing that, perhaps, polio would be around, today, if we had this kind of disinformation decades ago when we were trying to battle polio in this country. >> i agree with you, jim. when i think about my own father's death, i mean, part of what brought him to passing was disinformation. but it was, also, leadership and policy failure. and what i'm seeing right now is a focus on just disinformation and not doubling down on other-safety measures, which we know work. for example, you know, reinforcing and encouraging people to wear masks, as well as taking away unnecessary barriers to access to the vaccine. which we're, still, seeing in predominantly people-of-color neighborhoods, like my latino neighborhood, where folks are wanting to get a vaccine. they have the lowest-hesitancy rate. but also, the lowest-vacc

kristen, you're shaking your head but i truly don't think there is a line. i really don't. >> put it on a hot, kristen. you know you would. put it on a hat. >> i don't think there's an actual line. i do not think that there's an actual line of moral transgression that could be crossed at this point that people would blanch out. that's part of what's so dark about this moment. is that there's no actual thing to cross over and people say, that's too much for me. i don't think it's there. maybe it is, kristenbe i'm wrong and the polling shows it's there. >> well, thankfully i've never actually pulled the exact proposition that you just made but i do think that there are lines where you do see moments where donald trump would say or do things that some people in the party would brush off and others would just say they didn't believe it was real they didn't believe it was happening. they didn't think it was being trusted. that's why push back against the idea that they would just indoors some sort of horrible thing just because donald trump said so. i think there's a lot of other complexity going on there. and hopefully, my god, i hope nobody ever back something is horrific is that. >> i have to say i think a lot of things have been endorsed. that's why i find myself in such a disquiet about the state of the nation. kristen soltis anderson and tim miller, thank you both. next, the author behind the phrase that would define the trump era. adam serwer joins me on his phenomenal new book, why t

kristen bell is here, tonight. [ cheers and applause >> steve: woah >> jimmy: i love kristen bell. plus from the new apple tv plus series, "lisey's story," dane dehaan is here. [ cheers and applause and we got great music from migos! [ cheers and applause "culture iii." i have, right here, this -- i kept a piece of confetti from last night's -- we did a bit last night, "broadway's back," with some of - lin-manuel miranda [ cheers and applause >> steve: beautiful. >> jimmy: and it was so much fu it was amazing that we -- that we pulled it off but, i mean, so many things could go wrong with that piece, 'cause it's one continuous shot, and is, you know, nine performers, and they're all pros so -- but right before we were about to do the bit -- anyways -- i don't know how to tell the story i end the bit -- i thought we were in commercial break after it was done i was like, "confetti, confetti. i was just yelling it, and i go, "confetti means something. here's why i said it so, two reasons. one, confetti means there's a party, i guess i tried to make it work after the fact >> steve: yeah, yeah >> jimmy: but really, yeah, our producers and our writers of the bit came up right before, and they said, "hey, if something -- if we notice something going wrong during the bit, we're not going to shoot the confetti cannons." so, i go, "okay. so we did the whole bit. and, man, it was emotional it was awesome and then as we were finishing the thing, confetti just started flying, and i was like, "yes!" we -- i knew right there we had something. >> steve: aw >> jimmy: so, that was so exciting so, i was just yelling around saying, "confetti, confetti. [ laughter ] so i'm keeping this, and i'm going to frame this in my house. it actually was -- i should -- yeah, i'm going to put, oh, oh, my god >> jimmy: oh, my god, i just rolled over it no, okay i'm gonna put it with migos for a little bit um, guys, do you ever see a photo in the news and think the headline could be much better i'll show you what i mean. it's time for "news and improved." here we go [ cheers and applause ♪ ♪ news and improved ♪ >> jimmy: for example, check out this first photo the original headline was, "sanders introduces health care bill." [ light laughter ] the headline can definitely be improved, 'cause if you only looked at the photo, the headline could have been, "grandfather snapped selfie trying to unlock his phone." [ cheers and applause check out this next photo, here the original headline was, "biden embarks on european tour." but if you only looked at the photo, the headline could have been, "man slowly realizing he doesn't actually know the person he's waving to. [ cheers and applause up next, this headline says, "royal family visits scotland. headline could have been, "no end in sight, as middle school dance recital enters second hour." [ cheers and applause >> steve: that kid left. >> jimmy: he's so bummed yes. "and now the teachers would like to perform something. >> steve: oh, no [ laughter ] >> jimmy: why? we know they can dance >> steve: yeah, we know they can -- >> jimmy: we just want to see the kids dance, please >> steve: and we'd like to thank our teachers again >> jimmy: with another reprise of their dance the next headline was, "merkel attends press conference." headline could have been, "ceos regret not using overhead projector. [ cheers and applause "you see -- see, the second quarter numbers are here we gotta get them up here. [ light laughter ] up next, this headline says, "boris johnson hosts g7 summit. headline could have been, "man uses knife to fish pop-tart out of toaster." [ cheers and applause we've all done it. got to learn the hard way. this next headline was, "roger stone attends rally." headline could have been, "want to feel old? this is what tom brady looks like today." >> steve: wow! [ applause ] >> jimmy: next headline was, "season ends for english soccer league." headline could have been, "mystery drop of water fell down back of shirt." it's like -- [ applause ] and finally, this headline was, "red sox beat the marlins. the headline could have been, "local dad sent to hospital after attempting tiktok dance. that's all the time we have for "news and improved." stick around we'll be right back with "show me something good. come on. 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(vo) for over 50 years purina cat chow has been helping cats feel at home. there's no dry time. with trusted nutrition, no wonder it's the number one dry cat food in america. come home to cat chow. i'm really nervous. i don't know what i should wear. just wear something not too crazy, remember it's a business dinner not a costume party. on a spotty network this is what she heard... just wear something crazy, remember it's a costume party. a costume party!? yes! anybody want to split a turkey leg? ♪ [crunch] ♪ [crunch] ♪ ♪ nachos: better with pepsi. ahh! ♪ [ cheers and applause >> jimmy: welcome back, everybody. thank you very much. now, look, we love our audience you watch us every night but right now we want to change things up and watch you. we asked you guys at home to send us some fun or unique talents that you have. quest, get ready, these are good we got submissions from thousands of people all across the world and we're going to meet some of them now. it's time for "show me something good." [ cheers and applause ♪ ♪ show me something goo show me something good show me something good just show me ♪ >> jimmy: all right, let's meet our first guest. hello. hi >> hello >> jimmy: what is your name and where are you from >> my name is lee and i'm from princeton, new jersey. >> jimmy: hey, new jersey! ♪ [ cheers and applause lee. yeah, come on, lee i see you have props what talent will you be showing us >> i am going to be balancing a book on my head, playing the melodica this is my glorified melodica stand. i mean, lovely roommate anna >> jimmy: hey, anna. how are you? nice to see you. >> i will also be spinning a a piece of color guard equipment. >> jimmy: oh, wow. this is unbelievable what a talent. how did you -- how did you figure out that you could do this >> oh, it was just sheer luck. i knew i could do each of these things individually, and i figured, "let's see if i can put them all together. >> jimmy: here we go, i think it's going to be a show stopper. whenever you're ready, go for it >> all right here we go >> jimmy: alright, the book. that's one down there. [ light laughter ] uh-huh wow. ♪ [ cheers and applause ♪ oh oh, fantastic! ♪ lee, thank you very much oh, my god anna, your assistant, anna thank you very much. ♪ very talented. that's fantastic thank you. let's meet our next guest here hey, bud >> hello [ laughter ] >> jimmy: how are you pal? what is your name and where are you from >> i'm sam and i'm from georgetown, kentucky [ cheers and applause >> jimmy: hey, welcome to the show, sam. sam, it looks like you need some artwork there [ laughter ] you're not in a prison somewhere, are you, sam? are you okay [ laughter ] >> no. i took it all off the wall it gets a bit busy >> jimmy: oh, i appreciate it, buddy. what is the talent that you'll be showing us tonight, bud >> oh, i can do a noise that sounds like the wheel from "the wheel of fortune." [ laughter ] >> jimmy: sam? sam, you're sitting in front of, like, three guitars. [ laughter ] i'm just saying. you took the posters off the wall you have musical instruments what is your talent again? you're making the sound of the what >> the wheel from "the wheel of fortune. [ laughter and applause >> jimmy: well, i think we can maybe help you out with this audience, can you help him out on the count of three, we'll say, "wheel of fortune," and sam will do his thing. [ drumroll ] you ready? one, two, three. >> wheel of fortune! [ wheel of fortune spinning ♪ [ cheers and applause >> jimmy: sam, that was amazing! that's what i'm talking about. that's good tv right there how in the heck did you know to do that? i love it. let's meet our final guest here hello! hi, what's your name and where are you from >> hi. i'm kyra gallego and i'm from los angeles, california. >> jimmy: welcome. [ cheers and applause welcome to our show. what talent will you be sharing with us tonight? >> well, i'm not a a ventriloquist, but i can talk with my mouth closed >> jimmy: hmm. all right, i'm intrigued kyra, let's -- show me whenever you're ready yeah show me what you can do. >> okay. jimmy! help me! it's justin! ♪ >> jimmy: i couldn't hear you. did you say, "it's me, it's kyra, can you hear me? is that what you said? >> justin timberlake he's calling for you [ laughter ] >> jimmy: i was like, "it's dustin from my libido. that's what i heard. [ laughter ] but it's amazing how do you do that >> well, i'm a teacher so i got to get kids to pay attention somehow. so i'll be like, "hey, pay attention! and they just, "woah." >> jimmy: yeah, like what is going on well, i was thinking, this could be kind of fun could we bring everyone else back on the screen could you guys maybe play us out with a song if you guys combine your talents [ laughter ] >> oh, sure. we have a beautiful little ballad for you ♪ [ cheers and applause ♪ we'll be right back with more "tonight show," everybody. come on back i thought you forgot about sam i thought they forgot about sam. oh, my gosh. 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[ soft music playing ] what are you all doing in my daydream? it's better than that presentation. a lot better. you know, whether it's a fraction or a decimal, it's still fun, you know? yee-haw! you know, whether it's a fraction go left! i'm gonna go were navigation says. ah! - turn left. thank you navigation. ♪ [ cheers and applause >> jimmy: our first guest is a a talented actress who you know from "the good place" and "frozen. she's returning as the voice of "gossip girl" beginning july 8th on hbo max. please welcome kristenyou thank you so much for coming back on the show i appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >> jimmy: oh, please, i don't know if you just witnessed, we had some really amazing talents from around -- >> i did >> jimmy: oh, you did. kind of amazing, right is your mind blown >> my mind's blown and i kind of want to show you mine >> jimmy: yeah do you have a hidden talent? >> yeah. like a hidden talent that, like, is totally useless and you could never apply to anything >> jimmy: yes. >> you know? >> jimmy: that's what we want. >> with that kind of talent? >> jimmy: yes, we love that! >> i got one jimmy, i have separate control over my eyeballs do you want to see this? >> jimmy: yeah >> okay. hold on. i'm going to have to come in close. can you -- is that a good shot >> jimmy: yes. >> okay, ready [ audience oohs [ cheers ] >> jimmy: wow! whoa [ cheers and applause ♪ wow! when did you know you could do that >> i don't know. i've always felt like it was a a separate muscle and i could alway

at least some of those resurfaced in violent crimes kristen hall now, associated press journalist, one of the authors of that investigation. kristent still missing or do we know? >> it's hard to tell how many guns are still missing we did an analysis of firearm investigations and the navy and nurenes. we found in about 55% of those cases no suspect could be found and the weapons remain missing >> has your reporting uncovered how people were able to steal these firearms >> yeah, one issue that keeps coming up is that it is often the troops themselves who are responsible for securing the weapons in the armories or using the weapons out in the field they are sometimes found trying to sell these weapons. >> you know, this goes far beyond firearms. you discovered other types of weapons went missing, right? >> yeah, we also found cases of grenade launchers, mortars, also armor piercing grenades, a big box of armor piercing grenades showed up in a man's backyard in atlanta. >> kristin hall from associated press. the story's up on their website now. thank you. >>> the search for survivors is over, but crews are still working to find the b

kristen, good to have you on. that is where bezos and three other passengers will launch from. kristenow, he's not going into orbit, and that is key. he's going really high and higher than branson went but not into orbit. >> reporter: not into orbit. this is a suborbital space flight. this desert in west texas, this is about as remote as it gets which is what you want when you are testing and flying rocket news space. and almost all of this land, about 300,000 acres of it, is owned by jeff bezos and his company blue origin. they have conducted 15 test flights consecutive successful test flights of the suborbital rocket system called new shepherd. it is the first time tomorrow that people are actually on board. and none other than jeff bezos himself is going to be on the the flight tomorrow along with his brother mark and if all goes according to plan, 18-year-old oliver damon is the youngest person to ever fly in space. he's also blue origin's first paying customer. though technically it was his father. and then you also have wally fu funk who was a group of mercury women who trained i

kristen gibbenens fed and a former special prosecutor in the bill caulks case. and kringt oxney both msnbc legal analyst. thank you for being with us. kristen, let me start with you. what's the reaction after understanding the law in this, the inconsistencies applied within the context of bill cosby and the things that he is alleged to have done that he admitted himself that he has done, how are we a few days after this supposed to be processing and thinking about it? >> i think one of the things i think i hope many survivors take airway is this was a technicality, had nothing to do -- and the supreme court did not say the merits of the case would not be upheld. yes he stands before us as a freeman without the guilty conviction behind him without the jail sentence. but keep in mind, a jury of his peers did state unequivocally that he did sexually assault andrea constand. i hope survivors take solace in that. >> cynthia, if one were to say -- there are cases like this. there are cases going back a long time, in which the memories of victims are brought into question because we have a system that does that. how do we make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again? in your mind what went wrong and how can we deal with it? >> well, this didn't go wrong because there was any problem with the victim. this isn't because the victim didn't remember, or there was an evidentiary problem. this was a screw upby the lawyer who originally promised him he won be prosecuted, and -- and basically took away his fifth amendment right and then he testified. it's actually -- we talk about it as a technicality because that's kind of the vernacular. but this is the core of our justice system. this is a person's fifth amendment right. i'm a sex crimes prosecutor, a woman of mother of four daughters. i think it's outrageous this man isn't in jail the rest of his life. but this is a core principle of our justice system we spent spent -- i spend the last four years on the kmanl saying where is our rule of law, core principles. we have to stick with that. as outrageous as it is in this case because this prosecutor promised him that he wouldn't be prosecuted and then he gave testimony without invoking his fifth amendment rights and then that testimony was used against him, that's a principle we have to uphold, even in the worst-case scenario, which of course this is. >> so, kristen said, bill cosby probably would have done exactly what kringt oxny said he would have invoked the fifth amendment protections and we wouldn't have had that case. play that out what's better? he got convict and sent to jail and then released for reasoning or he may never have been convicted? >> well, i want to just emphasize that i totally respect our esteemed bench here in pennsylvania. but i also want to also emphasize this is an alleged agreement that bruce castor is now stating -- has existed. and we -- they are in writing, formallyized approved by the court. there are various steps that need to be taken to make sure that -- that the legal confines are actually met here and there are legal protections. but to answer your question, what would have happened whether there would have been conviction or not. if the court found -- in the common pleas court had found that there was -- that this alleged promise had been made, and that bill cosby had detrimentally relied on the promise whic

kristen powers and scott jennings. and scott served as an adviser for several of senator mitch mcconnell's re-election campaigns. great to have you both. kristen, you believe that mitch mcconnell might all of a sudden sew some ethics and end the filibuster. that's a big statement. tell us why you think that. >> i think he would do it if it was to his benefit. the only reason he wouldn't do it if it wasn't to his benefit. look, republicans they already have -- we already have judicial nominations which is what's most important to mitch mcconnell. republicans don't pass as much legislation as democrats do, so i think that that would be the only reason he wouldn't do it. but my point is, if it was good for him, as it would be good for the democrats to do right now, he would do it in a second. he wouldn't think twice about it. this idea also that joe biden has that it would throw things into chaos, like, we're in chaos right now. nothing is getting done. nothing has gotten done in a long time. and so, on very critical issues that the democrats need to move on like voting rights. and so i think that if it was mitch mcconnell he could do it in a second. >> scott, do you think he would? >> no. anyone suggesting otherwise with all due respect has no idea what they're talking about. i've known the man 25 years. i communicate with him frequently. i know his views on this very well. he is steadfast supporter of the legislative filibuster and if he was going to get rid of it, when would it have been good for him? they just had the majority. they had donald trump as the president, who was beating on mitch mcconnell and the republicans to get rid of it every single day. publicly and privately. and they never did it. it would have been good for them. it would have been easy for them to do it then. to give into donald trump. they would have faced no political repercussions whatsoever. and yet it's still here. the hypocrisy on this issue is on the democratic side. 30 plus democrats who sit in the senate today signed a letter during the trump years saying we have to have the filibuster, preserve it at all costs. now you see them on tv and on the weekends saying how we have to get rid of it. by the way, the idea that nothing is getting done, how many trillions of dollars have we spent in the last several months, plenty is getting done in washington, d.c. this is a totally, terribly wrong-headed idea. let me be straight with you guys, i'm the one who knows him, he will never get rid of the legislative filibuster. >> i want to give you credit. you do know mcconnell very well. he did resist direct pressure from donald trump to get rid of the filibuster when they briefly had full control of washington, but you know, mcconnell is an institutionalist but also can be an opportunistic. i found this quote from 2005 when mcconnell is the senate majority whip. democrats are in the senate. and they were blocking some of then george w. bush's filibuster. mcconnell advocated before harry reed the so-called nuclear option saying this -- the majority in the senate is prepared to restore the senate's traditions and prez dense to ensure regardless of party any president's judicial nominees after full and fair debate receive a simple up or down vote on the senate floor. it's time to move away from advise and obstruct and get back to advise and consent. i mention that only to say there was a time in his career, same man, same senator, when he was before the escalation that we're currently living with seemed very open to mending if not ending the filibuster. >> he has never been open to ending or mending the legislative filibuster. >> the legislative filibuster. there were judicial wars going back into the bush years when the democrats did start this blockaid of bush's judicial nominees. harry reed tripped the nuclear option and then they of course extended to the supreme court. that's all been regarding confirmations on judicial. but where you've had broad agreement between the parties, joe biden, mitch mcconnell, democrats, republicans, people who have come and gone, people who are still there, you've had broad agreement that the legislative filibuster is a necessary piece of the senate. it's part of the way it works. it helps drive bipartisanship and consensus and the idea that because we have a different president now that democrats should trip it, republicans totally reject and they have credibility on it because they stood up to donald trump on this during the trump years. so to call them opportunists or the idea they would change their mind -- >> give me a break -- i mean, scott. >> i can't believe they would do it in the future. >> like your absolute self righteous rant now -- >> hold up. let's not make it personal. >> how i don't know anything, anybody who disagrees with you doesn't know anything. the way you're trying to portray mitch. you said anybody who says this doesn't know what they're talking about. the point is who anybody who disagrees with you and anybody who doesn't have your view of mitch mcconnell, let's be honest, maybe you have a different view of him because of your closeness to him, he is not this paragon of ethics that you are putting forward that he is unchangeable. he is somebody who understands power and puts power first. and i don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. sometimes it's a good thing. if you're for him. sometimes it would be nice to see democrats do the same thing. but i just reject the idea that he is somehow not a person that if he was put in the position where it would be good for republicans that he would completely reject it. if he's rejected it, it's because it's not good for republican. >> would it have been good for republicans under trump? >> that's my point. he does what's good for republicans. and if he's not doing it, it's because it's not good for republicans. he doesn't necessarily put institutionalism above things. and we don't have bipartisanship. just because something gets passed does not mean we have a functional government right now. >> i mean, we had trillions of dollars that have gone out the door. we're on the brink on an infrastructure deal appears to be attracting some support from republicans and democrats. the idea that washington isn't functional when people are getting checks, when money is going out the door, when we -- >> when black people have a hard time voting, for example? >> when we had operation warp speed. >> what about voting rights? >> it's just not the things that you want. >> what about democracy, what about january 6th? >> just because what you want isn't happening doesn't mean nothing is happening. >> maybe i shouldn't have said nothing. some things are happening but some very important things aren't happening. >> it's just not what you want. this is the hypocrisy in the liberal argument. >> january 6th to be investigated. these are like important things. >> these are important things. let's ground this conversation. kristench is that democrats did say you got to protect the filibuster when donald trump was president. >> sure, of course. >> so it raises the questions, particularly if it's an end not mend strategy, that democrats would regret this the next time republicans control the senate or president. >> yes. >> that's just practical. >> that's always the situation. but the point is right now the country is on fire. democracy is on fire. i think that the things that you care about, you know, if you care about voting rights, if you care about investigating how actually getting to the bottom of things like january 6th, which republicans have no interest in, you can see that there is a real disconnect, okay? and so in terms of getting voting rights passed so that people can vote so that we can have democracy, i think would be worth it. you can call it hypocritical if you want. but it's kind of weird listening to a republican talk about hypocrisy. look, hypocrisy happens. that's not the most important thin

kristen fisher about this billionaire race. branson has essentially snuck this trip in before his fellow billionaire jeff bezos was able to lift off. why do you think that is, kristen? someone said to me branson is raising money, he needs cash, unlike jeff bezos who has hundreds of billions of dollars. so it was important for richard branson to emphasize the kind of pr dynamic here. >> reporter: well, look, virgin galactic is a business. it's a publicly traded company and they have been selling seats to spaceship2 for several, several years now, and they have not been able to deliver on these tickets to their paying customers. and so today is about richard branson getting on board spaceship 2 and showing that, hey, i believe this is going to be a safe flight and the faa just granted virgin galactic its license, approved it for commercial operations. they are planning two more test flights and then they are set to begin flying these paying customers in 2022. already, as i mentioned, they have between 600 and 700 people who have already put down deposits for these seats which cost somewhere between 200 and $250,000. after today's flights, they could jump up to half a

kristen, that capsule, that is where they are going to be sitting, all four of them, wally funk just went into the capsule as well. i mean, kristen, imagine 82 years old, been dreaming about this her whole life. to now have this moment come true. >> i mean, it is truly a dream come true for her. the other really special part of it, she has trained about 3,000 pilots and there you have sitting next to her is going to be 18-year-old oliver damon who he himself is training to be a pilot right now. so it really does kind of come full circle for what is about to become the oldest person to ever fly in space and the youngest person ever to fly in space all inside the same capsule. and so they are going to get a few minutes of weightlessness when the booster finally separates from the capsule. but it is going to be a very intense ride for this crew. i mean, just think about it. they're going to be going up at three times the speed of sound. and when you're in that simulator, you can really feel the moment when the booster separates from the capsule. and then they've got to make that, that landing with the three parachutes. so it really is quite a ride, very different from what we saw virgin galactic and richard branson do with the plane nine days ago. the thing i'm thinking about here as i watch this, anderson, is you know, the united states just came out of this complete desert of human space flight, almost ten years after the space shuttle fleet retired, where there were no american astronauts launched from u.s. soim. they had to hitch rides on a russian rocket to get to their own international space station. and now in the span of just a little over a year, you have spacex launching astronauts to the space station. you have richard branson launching astronauts into space. and now in just a few minutes, jeff bezos and blue origin preparing to do the same. >> miles o'brien, elon musk with spacex is planning to send passengers actually into orbit for a significant amount of time. >> yes, an orbital flight is on the calendar for this fall. spacex and elon musk taking space to a different level. see, it's quite a bit more energy and more complexity involved in getting a rocket into orbit. this craft will fly on the order of 2,000 miles an hour. to get to orbit, you have to travel at 17,500 miles an hour, and it's a lot more energy has to go into that system to get that craft into space. so that's sort of on a different level and that will be certainly a more expensive ride to space. but that's coming up this fall. so it's a very -- >> miles, in order to actually get into space, i mean, that's far more energy exponentially than is going to be used today. i mean 17,000 miles per hour, that's incredible. >> yeah, and it is actually exponential, anderson. that's true. so, you know, basically you have to get enough speed up so that your free fall around the planet just keeps going. that's what we call weightlessness. you're really still under the influence of gravity. you just keep falling. and so that's what we're going to see in the fall. so it's a very exciting busy time. and as kristent, we've had a long gap. and to see it happen in this manner with private enterprise at the center of it is very exciting, because the cost is going down by the minute as we watch these flights with reusable craft become more frequent. >> it's extraordinary to see the four passengers now in their seats. we were talking -- you guys have been in the capsule as well. i was in the test capsule yesterday, the -- for training purposes. i was surprised how flat, like sort of how much on their backs the passengers are going to be. >> that's actually so they can -- the g forces are distributed across their body so they can absorb it better because actually, during reentry, at one point for just a few seconds, they'll pull 5 1/2 gs, the at's a lot of g forces their body. those are the largest windows to fly to space. inside you get the sense of how big they are. they take up a third of the capsule. the volume of this capsule, anderson, ten times that of alan shepherd when he made his suborbital

kristen welker and dylan dreyer. >>> welcome to "today" and thanks for joining us on a gorgeous saturday morning. i'm happy to have my friend, savannah sellers from nbc new news with us. kristen is on maternity leave. dylan taking the weekend off. so glad that you're here. >> i'm so happy to be here. thank you for having me. >> sha'carri richardson, so many americans are rooting for her and we're keeping an eye out to see whether she gets added to the roster for the 4x100 race which means her olympic dreams would not be dashed. >> so many people admired how she handled herself on the "today" show yesterday. such a tough situation. >>> right now we want to get to our top story and that is hurricane elsa currently pounding the caribbean. it looks like florida could be in the bull's-eye in the next few days. somara is here in for dylan this morning. this is a serious storm. >> yes, it is. the good news is areas like florida and the gulf coast remain unscathed during the actual holiday weekend but that might not be the case when a lot of our friends are making that return trip home. as of yesterday we are looking at a cat 1 hurricane so it is officially a hurricane. winds right now at 75 miles per hour. it's moving to the west-northwest at 31 miles per hour situated just to the east-southeast of kingston, jamaica, there. take a look at this track. this is going to be a real game-changer. the first thing i want to note is the time stamp on this. by monday morning we're going to have a very clear picture how this is going to pan out and impact the florida coastline. that's because over the next couple of days what's going to happen is this hurricane is going to move over jamaica and cuba and we're talking mountainous range here so that could see strengthening there so that's something to watch for. as far as the cone of uncertainty goes, in the past 24 hours the biggest shift we have seen with this track is it has moved from the east side of florida to the west side. now we're talking about the florida panhandle. look at the time stamp, arriving tuesday morning. but we could see impacts as early as tomorrow night so that is going to be something to watch for. now, this storm has already begun to spark up alerts in puerto rico, jamaica, areas like cuba. we could actually see additional alerts issued for parts of florida likely this afternoon. so that's something we're going to keep an eye on, peter. >> thanks so much. we'll get your full forecast in just a few minutes. >>> rescue crews in surfside, florida, are also keeping a close eye on elsa because high winds and heavy rains are the last thing they need as they search through the collapsed condo complex. there are still more than 100 people unaccounted for. vaughn hillyard is in surfside with the latest. vaughn, good morning. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, savannah. we are looking at those high winds hitting here in as soon as 48 hours. with concerns over that storm, another old structurally deficit buildings, hundreds of residents just down the road from here were also evacuated just overnight. this morning, hurricane elsa bears down on surfside, as rescue crews continue their search for more than 100 people still missing in the rubble. >> god forbid somebody is still alive underneath there and they're going to have all that rain. >> reporter: the incoming storm could strike as early as monday, intensifying this weekend's current search. >> the current track could be 60-mile-an-hour winds. that's quite an impact on the remaining structure that is still standing that is subject to failures. >> reporter: of chief concern, a large column inside the partially collapsed tower, which officials said friday has shifted by nearly a foot since the initial collapse, leading the miami-dade mayor to approve its implosion, but not until after the storm passes. >> will you wait to rescue or recover every individual before you demolish that building? >> we're very concerned to not compromise our search but we also know that the building itself poses certain risks, so we have to balance those things. >> reporter: on friday, experts from the national institute of standards and technology began surveying the site to find out what caused the tragedy. overnight, another evacuation effort. this time at a condominium 11 miles away after the building failed to pass a county audit with unsafe structural and electrical conditions. >> they say grab your stuff as fast as you can because you have to leave this building in the next 15 minutes. >> reporter: the nearby storm forcing rescue cruise from out of town to leave surfside, to help protect their own communities. rescue worker jason fair is from a coastal county three hours away. >> so you were just on the rubble for 12 hours? >> yes, sir. >> now where are you heading? >> back to my hometown. the hurricane has us in its path so it's time to switch hats and take on another public safety role. >> reporter: now there is a countywide safety audit of buildings ongoing but in the case of champlain towers we know the association board was aware of these major problems but a majority of that board resigned two years ago after disagreements over how to pay for the millions in repairs that it would require. savannah and peter. >> lots of tough questions to answer with so much heart break. vaughn, thank you so much. >>> millions of americans from coast to coast are celebrating a returning to normalcy on this fourth of july weekend. airports and roads have been packed with travelers anxious to get away after almost a year and a half at due to the spreading it's going to be a busy fourth of july and destinations from coast to coast. we expect to have the second largest number of travelers ever for a fourth of july weekend. the tsa is reporting an increase in travelers compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic, yet the majority of the people will be taking off in cars. americans are skipping town this fourth of july. with a record 48 million people expected to travel over the holiday weekend, approaching pre-pandemic levels. >> everyone is traveling, everyone wants to get out. >> reporter: the top two travel destinations, orlando, florida, and anaheim, california. >> we decided it's time to get away. >> reporter: some no longer afraid of the virus that's kept so many from travel. >> we feel relaxed this time that we're flying. we've all been vaccinated. >> reporter: with more than 30% of american adults still unvaccinated, president biden warned friday about the ongoing dangers of the highly transmittable delta variant. >> people who have not gotten vaccinated have the capacity to catch the variant and spread the variant to other people. >> reporter: dr. fauci too sounding the alarm. >> some areas where the level of vaccination is low and the level of virus dissemination is high, that's where you're going to see the spikes. >> reporter: in the midwest, fears of outbreaks in lake of the ozarks in branson, missouri, both popular for visitors but not the vaccine. >> we're already seeing some hospitals get stressed where vaccine updates are quite low. >> reporter: new york and california ready to welcome tourists but seeing alarming effects from the delta variant. >> it's more infectious than any other variant we've seen, which means that it's likely that one person can infect more people. >> reporter: just before the holiday, cities like los angeles and st. louis once again issuing official guidance that people wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status. >> if you're not vaccinated, the variants are here. trouble is at your doorstep. >> reporter: a weekend to celebrate independence, but not quite yet from the virus. and for those traveling this week, be prepared to pay a little more for just about everything, gas prices are up almost a dollar from last year. also things like hotel rooms and flights are more expensive. car rentals are almost 80% more expensive compared to last year. peter, savannah. >> yeah, tough to get a car rental these days it sounds like as well. we have much more on this ahead and how you can safely celebrate this weekend. that's coming up in our next half an hour. >>> now to afghanistan where america's longest war is coming to a close nearly 20 years after 9/11. early friday the u.s. pulled its troops out of bagram air base and now the taliban is already trying to take advantage. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engle is in kabul, afghanistan. richard good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. i can tell you there's a lot of nervousness about the future here in kabul as the american drawdown continues. the pentagon announced that the commanding general here will be leaving this country at the end of this month to be replaced by a new general, but with a much more hands-off mission. the taliban is continuing to make advances. after the u.s. evacuated bagram air base, quietly, stealthily, the pentagon says it will complete its pullout early, by the end of august, ahead of the september 11th deadline set by president biden. the u.s. is ending its longest war with a silent march out the door. it seems to be coming from the top. president biden didn't want to talk about afghanistan at the white house yesterday. >> are you worried that the afghan government might fall? >> i think they have the capacity to be able to sustain the government. >> to follow up on afghanistan -- >> i want to talk about happy things, man. >> mr. president, afghanistan -- >> i'm not going to answer any more questions on afghanistan. look, it's the fourth of july. >> reporter: after the withdrawal, the u.s. has committed to supporting afghan forces financially, maintaining a military presence at the embassy and perhaps kabul airport and carrying out air strikes in afghanistan from the region. critics say afghanistan runs the same risk of iraq, which collapsed into anarchy and extremist rule after american forces completely pulled out. many afghans fear the same will happen here. >> afghanistan will be the same as before. no education, no freedom. >> reporter: so what do you think? do you think the americans would prefer? >> i prefer they should stay, yeah. because only about the soldiers of afghanistan like most they get trained by american soldiers, they were together anywhere. so if i see the americans stay here, we'll be more at peace. >> reporter: the taliban have already been taking more territory, as units of the afghan security forces collapse, some surrendering to the taliban, as u.s. forces leave. the taliban captured several more districts in northern afghanistan overnight and aid agencies are warning that there could be a flow of refugees leaving this country. they say the neighboring countries aren't prepared for it. peter, savannah, back to you. >> so much to watch for there. we know you'll be on it. richard engle, thank you so much. >>> the withdrawal of troops is a campaign promise kept by joe biden but also carries significant risks. monica alba is at the white house this morning for us with more. >> reporter: when president biden announced the withdrawal back in april, military experts warned leaving could cause the collapse of the u.s.-backed afghan government, but the white house is sticking to its plan despite fears of future taliban control without american forces there. press secretary jen psaki said friday the administration is, quote, clear-eyed about the path forward and reiterated after evaluating all possible outcomes, the president still views this as an unwinnable war. hundreds of troops will remain in place to protect our diplomatic interests but details on a longer term strategy are scarce, and there are concerns over what intelligence about potential terrorist attacks may be missed without a significant u.s. presence there. senior officials have not confirmed what will happen to thousands of afghan interpreters, drivers and engineers who helped the mission over the last two decades, only saying they will be relocated as deals with central asian countries are still being negotiated. many way come to the united states under special immigrant visas. meanwhile the pentagon says scott miller, the top general overseeing the troop exit on the ground, will leave his post later this month as america's longest war comes to a close. peter, savannah. >> a lot of questions for the white house and the administration still to answer. monica, thanks. >>> the biden administration is now calling for a dramatic overhaul in how the military handles sexual assault cases. the president said military commanders should not control the investigation or prosecution of these cases. instead, the president is pushing for sexual assault and harassment cases to be shifted to special victims prosecutors outside the military chain of command. the recommendation first came to the defense secretary from an independent commission. it's now up to congress to change the military law. >>> torrential rain triggered a massive landslide in japan this morning. this is the moment a cascade of black mud poured down a mountain top sweeping away several homes, knocking down power lines about 60 miles southwest of tokyo. at least 60 people are -- excuse me, 20 people are believed missing. >>> now we've got somara back with a check of the rest of the country's forecast for the weekend. i think it's going to be pretty hot. >> the northwest has already seen unprecedented heat and they're sharing the wealth. take a look at these numbers with me. we're talking triple digits here. 103 in boise, 100 in billings today. we're talking a high of 97 in rapid city and bismarck 100 degrees. 18 above the average for this time of year. i want you to stick around. we're not just >>> and our jose, morgan hill, 55, in through heyward and oakland, upper 50s by the afternoon expect the fog to remain through the first half of the day. 12:00 we get peeks of sunshine. upper 60s for san francisco, in the valleys expect 70s and 80s. 80s in the south bay. a high of 79 in fremont today. >> and that's a look at the forecast in your neighborhood. peter. >> all right, thanks so much. >>> still to come right here, the show of support for track star sha'carri richardson after she was suspended from racing in her signature event at the olympics after failing a drug test. will she still be able to compete in other races there? >>> plus the finishing touches now under way for tomorrow night's macy's fourth of july fireworks show. we'll tell you everything you it's time for sleep number's lowest prices of the season on the sleep number 360 smart bed. it's the most comfortable, body-sensing, automatically-responding, energy-building, dually-adjustable, dad-powering, wellness-boosting, foot-warming, temperature-balancing, recovery-assisting, effortlessly life-changing proven quality night sleep we've ever made. don't miss our 4th of july special. save up to $1,000 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weekend. san francisco's waterfront fireworks show will also be back this year. >>> as for illegal displays, devlin police have about 1,000 pounds in their possession. oakland police found about 100 pounds of fireworks along with $38,000 in cash. not just illegal but safe and sane fireworks, can still and dangerous. >> in approximately a minute the fire can get out of control. where it's leaving your yard, getting into a neighbor's yard. >>> counties are reporting you to report ullegal fireworks usage. >>> we have your guide to all the fourth of july celebrations on our website, go to nbcbayarea.com and click on fourth of july events. it's in the trending bar at the top of the home page. >>> at 6:28 let's check in with vianey arana. >>> the weather is going to play in our favor this weekend, comfortable. right now mild. a couple of 60s through the south bay, 60 in san jose. i want to show you the temperature trend for san francisco because i know one of the questions around the fourth of july, is the fog going to get in the way? we are expecting to keep the fog the first half of the day today and also into tomorrow morning, but hopefully things clear out by monday night. full forecast in a few minutes. >>> coming up this morning at 7:00 on today in the bay, if you are planning to hit the road or the skies this weekend, expect delays. we'll tell you about the growing number of travelers and the record spike you can expect at the pump. that and your top stories at 7:00. we hope you'll join us. right now we'll send you back to the "today" show. ♪♪ >>> we are back on this saturday morning, july 3rd, 2021. a look at an admittedly gray and rainy new york city skyline. the good news is things should clear up by tomorrow when the sky will be lit up with those incredible fireworks from the annual macy's fireworks show. >> i traded up my weather this weekend. pyrotechnic crews have been working hard these last few months to get everything ready for the fireworks spectacle. we'll have more on the big show coming up in popstart. >> hopefully the clouds clear and it's nice for everybody there. >>> we want to begin with a check of the headlines. hurricane elsa is barreling across the caribbean this morning. the first hurricane of the season bringing heavy rains and fierce winds to barbados. it's moving toward haiti and the dominican republic as it threatens to dump more than a foot of rain. florida is now bracing for impact as well. where elsa could impact rescue efforts at the collapsed condo building in surfside. >>> former cosby show fleecia rashard has apologized. she came under fire when she tweeted in celebration after former co-star bill cosby's sexual assault conviction was overturned. she wrote in the apology letter that her remarks were not directed towards survivors of sexual assault and she finds no excuse for such behavior. she also said she will participate in trainings to reinforce university protocol and learn how to become a stronger ally to sexual assault survivors. >>> and dramatic images from the gulf of mexico show a fire burning in the water. come look at the screen. you'll never see something like this. this was the scene after an undersea gas pipeline ruptured causing flames to bubble up from beneath the surface. crews battled the blaze for hours trying to put it out. ultimately they did. mexico's state-owned oil company says none of its workers were injured inferno. >>> a growing rallying cry for sha'carri richardson, the track star who learned she couldn't compete in her signature race in the olympics after testing positive for marijuana. fellow athletes and fans outraged and calling for the ban to be lifted. kathy park has the latest on this. kathy, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. yeah, it has been a stunning turn of event for the breakout track star who had her sights set on bringing home the gold. in an exclusive interview with "today," she asked others not to judge because she is human too. she just happens to run a little faster. sha'carri richardson's olympic dreams are now on hold after failing a drug test. the 21-year-old sprinter tested positive for thc, the chemical found in marijuana, after her 100-meter victory at last month's olympic trials. the violation means her race results are now invalid. richardson accepted a one-month suspension, which takes her out of the running in tokyo, where she was a favorite for gold in her signature event. in an exclusive interview on "today," she took responsibility for her actions. >> i apologize. as much as i'm disappointed, i know that when i'm on the track i don't represent myself, i represent the community. >> reporter: the track star has turned heads with her standout style and also warmed hearts during this emotional embrace with her grandmother, the woman who raised her. in an interview moments after the race, she revealed that her biological mother died days before the trials and said she used marijuana to cope with the tragedy. >> i was just blinded by emotions, blinded by just hurting. >> reporter: a growing list of athletes, celebrities and public figures are standing by richardson. let her run trending on twitter. a response from nike stating they will continue to support her through this time. usa track and field issued a statement saying we will work with sha'carri to ensure she has ample resources to overcome any mental health challenges. while she may be on the sidelines for now, she says her journey isn't over. >> this is just one games. i'm 21. i have plenty of games left in me to compete in. and i have plenty of talent that backs me up. >> reporter: now, richardson's suspension lasts until july 28th, so she technically could compete in tokyo in the 4x100 meter relay. her agent tells three wire sports they have not been focused on the relay and it's very unlikely she will all at the olympic games. >> they might not be focused on it but it's something we are all wondering about. kathy park, thank you so much. >> there's so many people who want her, just 21 years old, so intersection between mental health and sports. this is a young woman who obviously dealt with so much stress learning that her birth mother had passed. you want to not see her career knocked off course. >> and those pictures with her grandma are just so sweet. >> somara theodore joins us with a look at the fourth of july weekend weather. hopefully good weather for the holiday. >> yeah, according to aaa, 48 million of our frien let's do the travel forecast. the good news is the general consensus across the country, the weather is copacetic. if you're heading along i-10 just know right along the gulf coast you are going to be running into some rain showers and that is going to be the case as we head throughout the day and tomorrow morning. so as far as the northeast goes, th all. are really cooling things down. down 10 degrees from the average in washington, d.c., in the upper 70s. new york, 66 degrees. providence in the low 60s up that way. so how about we talk about that fireworks forecast, shall we? who's going to see some fireworks? well, here they are. as we head through your sunday evening, now we do have some very clear conditions as we head into the southeast. i'll tell you something, though, in the mid-atlantic we have something called a temperature inversion so ultimately what you need to know is we may be dealing with a little smoke. things will be pretty cloudy in washington, d.c. chance for showers inew >>> and we've got the marine layer bringing some drizzle along the coastline. current temperatures in the 50s for san francisco. 55, a couple 60s through the interior. but we are expecting a seasonal day ahead. we'll keep a lot of the fog for the first half of the morning. bumping up into the mid and upper 60s by the afternoon. look at your day time highs for today. valleys expect 70s and 80s, breezy at times, mostly clear in terms of the sunshine for inland areas. >> that's a look at the forecast in your neighborhood. let's see what's going on, pete. >>> just ahead, much more on the delta variant and what you need to know to keep your filyam ♪ ♪ when you really, really want something, it's hard to wait. ♪ ♪ (whispers) come on greg. ♪ ♪ that's why carmax gives you an instant online offer for your car. it's real, good for 7 days and we'll buy your car, even if you don't buy one of ours. the way it should be. carmax. from prom dresses to workouts and new adventures you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. now as you're thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. 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>> we want to bring in nbc's senior medical correspondent dr. john torres. good to see you this fourth of july weekend, thanks for being with us. so many people have been looking forward to this holiday, the fireworks, the barbecue, family and friends finally together. so just to put some of these questions to rest, when you're outside, are you safe whether you're vaccinated or not? >> the overall answer is yes you're safe if you're vaccinated or not as long as you're in small groups. nobody defines wpace out a little bit, you're okay. if you're falling on top of each other, then those that are unvaccinated need to wear masks because they're not as protected as those that are vaccinated but for the most part you don't have to. >> so, dr. john, we know that these numbers are showing that some of these new surges are in these pockets of the country unvaccinated. as we're talking about this delta variant, how concerned should those unvaccinated be? but also tell those of us who have had the shot what we need to know. >> so, dividing it into two different categories here, if you're vaccinated you're fairly protected in anything that might be out there, including the delta variant. if you're unvaccinated that's a different story because right now we know over the last six months 99.5% of people that have died from covid have been unvaccinated people dying from covid. that is before the delta variant even started to take hold. so there's a few considerations you want to make here. number one, the delta variant is more dominant and more contagious, but the vaccines protect you very well against it. if you're vaccinated, the worry isn't really there, you're fairly protected. if you're unvaccinated, you need to be extremely worried because it can hit and hit hard. unfortunately, it's possible it's more dangerous as well. >> dr. torres, for a lot of families the real questions, my kids are not old enough to get vaccinated yet, going to summer camp like so many others, will be out on the fourth of july in some form. what's the message to the parents of those kids? what do they need to be doing to be safe? >> especially going to camp, one of the things you have to consider is the vaccination versus unvaccination, so it's putting us in two different categories. if you're vaccinated, camps can be like normal if it's a fully vaccinated camp, meaning staff and the children themselves. if they're unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, then they need to follow the local and federal guidelines and rules that are out there and they're there for a purpose. there is unfortunate incidents of a camp where nobody wore masks, not many were vaccinated and they had a big rate of contagion and a lot of coronavirus cases. so everybody needs to be careful but at the same time have fun. it's the fourth so have a good time. >> and a lot of the good news is the fun is outdoors. we know we're missing this goal that president biden wanted us to be at 70% of americans having at least one shot of the covid vaccine. knowing that we haven't reached that, what do we need to keep in mind about herd immunity? >> i think the main thing we need to keep in minding is we're not quite there yet. only that 70% it's only one vaccine. we're going to be around 67% so we're close to the goal but we need to work on it and work on those people that haven't gotten vaccinated. remember, you're not doing it just for you but for your community as well. it will allow us to do more of these things like we're doing on the fourth and keep doing them and not get back to where we were a year ago. none of us want to be there. >> dr. torres, really great info heading into this holiday weekend. >> nice to s have a good one. have a good one. >>> coming up we're going to gepeople were afraid i was contagious. i felt gross. it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. four years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. learn more at cosentyx.com. when we really, really want something, (whispers) come on greg. it's hard to wait. ♪ ♪ that's why carmax gives you an instant online offer for your car. the way it should be. carmax. in this ad pay attention to the actor's gums. gums? we don't think about them. but like skin, over time gums can get damaged. new colgate gum renewal. reverses early gum damage for a beautiful, revitalizd smile if there was a world championship for this... i'd be a sports legend. i'd be a household name. but there isn't. and i wouldn't do anything different if there was. nutro feed clean™ brushing only reaches 25% of your mouth. helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath. always go for 100. can you be free of hair breakage worries? we invited mahault y gives damaged hair the strength it needs. even with repeated combing hair treated with dove shows 97% less breakage. strong hair with new dove breakage remedy. >>> we are back with popstart. since dylan is off this morning, my good friend, joe fryer, is helping us out with popstart. >> our good friend joe fryer is helping us out. joe, good to see you. happy fourth. >> hi, joe. >> happy fourth. this is a special red, white and blue edition of popstart. first up we have fireworks. more specifically the macy's fourth of july fireworks spectacular. the annual showcase of stars and stripes kicks off tomorrow night with hosts renee elise goldsbury and ryan eggle. the jonas brothers, reba mcentire and coldplay will perform with guest appearances by alec baldwin, jeff goldblum and simone biles.e main event, should be nothing short of spectacular with 65,000 shells of pyrotechnics lighting up the night in honor of america's everyday heroes igniting a chorus of oohs and ahhs. you can catch it tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. right here on nbc. >>> you can also see a big fireworks show tomorrow in music city, part of a huge celebration featuring brad paisley. the country music superstar is joining our buddy, willie geist, this weekend on "sunday today." the two sat down right in the heart of country music, nashville, tennessee. they caught up to talk about quarantining with family during the pandemic, returning to live music, and brad's big outdoor concert this weekend on the streets of lower broadway. >> a couple of blocks from here on the fourth of july, you're going to be playing for two, 300,000 people out here on the streets on lower broadway. >> who knows. it's however many it will hold, i bet. ike when you take something away for a year and a half, you could basically go down there and they could do a local theater production of yankee doodle dandy and have 300,000 people i think. >> you can see their interview tomorrow on "sunday today." >>> finally, speaking of country music, instead of fireworks, wedding bells may be ringing for another one of country's biggest stars. i'm talking about blake shelton who "people" reports applied for a marriage license with gwen stefani in oklahoma earlier this week. the pair first met on the set of nbc's "the voice" in 2015 and announced their engagement last fall. here's the key. under county law shelton and stefani have ten days to make the marriage official before the license expires, which means this fourth of july weekend could be extra special for the happy couple. big question, if they do get married on the fourth, will they have a big fireworks show at the reception? i'm trying to do this. there we go. a little confetti, a little fireworks for you all there. savannah, you just got engaged, my friend. what do you think of a fourth of july-themed wedding? i've got some apparel here that you could maybe use. >> oh, my goodness. i love it. yeah, can i borrow what you were wearing before also coming up for lady liberty willie geist? that was so funny. >> i'm surprised you didn't break out sparklers. the guy is on point. happy fourth, my friend. well done today. savannah every morning on "morning news now" on nbc news now. >> sounds like a pretty good show. >>> still ahead, hair. hair everywhere. the great lengths people are goingo when t i >>> we are back on this saturday morning with what some may call an unexpected silver lining of the pandemic. >> companies have seen an incredible amount of hair donations helping out so many in need. kristenrk, hair is everywhere. >> we've got every color here. >> every color. >> dark blonde, brown. >> reporter: ponytails, piled up through the pandemic. >> i'm going to say probably 60,000. >> 60,000 ponytails? >> reporter: when wig factory shut down because of covid, donations to hair we share sat in boxes. and now as people head out for their first haircut in more than a year, it's like nothing they have seen before. >> i average between 75 and 100 pony tails a day. >> reporter: hair donations nationwide are up more than 135%. >> people were sitting home feeling desperate. they wanted to go out and help people. >> when was your last haircut? >> about three months before the pandemic. >> reporter: brian cohen never thought about donating hair. when it got past his ears, he got an idea. >> i kept going and said, you know what, why don't we do this thing. >> reporter: a few snips -- >> and there she is. >> nice. >> reporter: and brian's hair is one step closer to someone in need, like pamel