deck of the starship enterprise, that's for sure. >> may i add something -- >> i want to bring morgan chesky in. morgan, do you have more information about this hold? >> reporter: yeah, steph. a blue origin spokesperson has said regarding this brief hold, it appears the astronaut loading portion of this process took a little bit longer than expected. they anticipate this to be a brief hold before resuming -- you can see there on your screen right now, that hold going at about eight minutes. hoping to resume that countdown from 15 minutes here. again. the big difference today from the other day, we don't have that those 75-mile-an-hour winds that pushed this launch back to today. so all systems are a go. they just have that brief hold in place before hopefully resuming this process. steph? >> it's been kind of on hold now for, as you say, just over eight and a half minutes. dr. jepson, you wanted to pitch in on something. >> the whole adaptation to zero gravity and the impact. so when you're on the parabolic flight or the vomit comet, every 20 seconds, you go from microgravity to pulling abou

morgan chesky has more. >> reporter: from the heartland to hollywood tens of thousands of workers threateningsrupt major american industries amid a nationwide worker shortage. workers preparing to draw the picket line over better wages and conditions. overnight the country's largest public sector strike in two years. at agricultural manufacturer john deere. more than 10,000 workers of the united auto workers union rejecting a previous deal that included 5% wage hikes for some workers and 6% for others along with longer term raises. the manufacturer has done well during the pandemic and union members want more. the vice president writing in part our members at john deere strike for the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity, and establish fair work rules. the strike set to take place during a harvesting season when many farmers need parts for their equipment. and a very different industry, hollywood, the urgent call for improved labor conditions striking a chord across the country as the economy struggles amid a nationwide worker shortage. earlier this week 60,000 behind the scen

morgan chesky has more. >> reporter: american union workers helping keep your favorite foods in stocknationwide. amid some industry labor shortages and severe supply chain issues. >> the cheap labor bubble has finally busted. >> reporter: more than 10,000 members of the united auto workers union clocking out and speaking up. the group keeping 14 john deere plants running across five states demanding more. >> if we have to set out of work for a while we will. >> reporter: the halts coming during a record breaking year for the agricultural giant. $4.7 billion in profits so far. john deere says they'll keep operations running why trying to resolve the rift. the uaw demands, part of a resurgent fight for workers rights picking up steam from coast to coast. >> we're fighting for everyone. if you clock in for a living, we're fighting for you. >> reporter: tavita is an airline union member who works for american airlines. he is now visiting picket lines nationwide to show support for other unions. paying out of his own pocket to visit nebraska for a kellogg's labor fight and a nabisco strike

. >> joining us from the blue origin launch site is nbc's morgan chesky. were closer to this launch than the last one. describe what that was like and also that powerful moment when shatner recounted his journey into space. >> reporter: geoff, there really is nothing like it, on both sides here. we were in the city of van horn for the last launch in late july. this time we were just a few miles away from where that rocket rose from the west texas desert. there were two holds that took place but it did take off on a blue sky sunshine day. by all accounts from everyone who witnessed the moment, it was a seamless mission from start to finish. i can tell you that as the rocket comes up, you can see it in the sky before you really hear it, and then feel it. and that is something that just creates goosebumps, this anticipation and the realization that four people on board that little glimmer in the sky are leaving this earth, if just for a moment, experiencing that weightlessness, looking down on the planet and coming back down, in what was a smooth affair just l

nbc's morgan chesky is near the launch site in van horn, texas. st. you're super lucky to have gotten this assignment. talk to us about the preparations here. what's happening, what we can expect. what we should be watching for. >> reporter: yasmin, good morning. a lot of anticipation here in van horn, texas, in the west texas desert. and all systems are a go, according to blue origin. the big question they're waiting on right now is the weather. we know they had to push this back by a day, because winds hit about 75 miles an hour earlier. and that's what caused them to err on the side of caution out here. they want to make sure this is a seamless flight, just like the one back in late july that took up jeff bezos and that's why right now, we know those four astronauts at their astronaut village outside of the launch site, we know that tomorrow at 8:30 local time, they'll go up, have that 11-minute flight, experience about three minutes of weightlessness before coming back down to earth. and you have william shatner about to be the oldest person ev

>> morgan chesky in dallas for us. shortages with the ceo of best buy. >>> now to the mysterious illness that has sicken more than 200 americans around the world. the cause and the culprit remain unknown. andrea mitchell has been looking into it for us. good morning. >> for the first time, three of the original victims in cases known as havana syndrome are speaking on television with the approval of the state department. they say they're going public now because they're alarmed by the escalation of incidence and out of concern for their colleagues. >> reporter: in march of 2017, tina, a career foreign service officer stationed in cuba, was standing at her kitchen window washing dishes when she felt a force. >> all of a sudden, with no reason or explanation, i felt like i was being struck with something. it was gripping. it was likg. it was like i had been seized by some invisible hand and i couldn't move. >> reporter: these diplomats, now at the u.s. embassy in paris, were stationed in havana and experiencing a piercin

joining us now, morgan chesky in texas. the retired marine corps. major general. david fisher who co-wrote three books with william shatner. you're going to have to update those books. some of what we heard from william shatner's conversation just after he exited the capsule? >> you look down there and it is just there is mother earth and comfort and there is -- is there death, i don't know. is that the way death is, and then it's gone, geez. what is unknown is there is a soft blue. look at the beauty of that. and it's so thin. and you're through it in an instant. you have given me the most profound experience. i'm so i hope that i never recover from this. >> just imagine, the emotion of that. >> you're absolutely right, before the flight took place, they were looking out the window of the new shepherd capsule and being entranced by the blue orb of earth. over the span of just about 11 minutes you heard that raw emotion, the oldest person to ever travel in space. just a touch down, a soft landing in the west texas desert. he was quick to add that he wishes he coul

morgan chesky joins us from dallas with the latest on all of it. hi, morgan.rning. >> reporter: the strikes have shown that timing is everything. take for instance if you're a farmer or a rancher that relies on john deere equipment like these tractors. you could be facing delays or going without replacement parts due to this ongoing strike. and this move by john deere workers one of seven nationwide as workers capitalize on a movement. this morning, america's favorite workers helping to keep your refrigerators stocked and tv shows on air flexing more leverage. picket lines popping up nationwide. amid industry shortages and severe supply chain issues. >> the cheap labor bubble has finally busted. >> reporter: more than 10,000 members of the united autoworkers union clocking out and speak up. the group keeping 14 john deere plants running across five states demanding more. >> if we have to sit out of work a little while, we will. >> reporter: it's a record breaking year for the agricultural giant. $4.7 billion so far. john deere says they will keep operations ru

morgan chesky is at that scene. morgan, good morning. >> reporter: hey, craig, good morning to you. and the road near that airport still closed down as investigators trying to figure out what went horribly wrong. we know this plane was bound for boston. everyone on board excited to see the playoff game between the astros and the red sox. but when it started to take off, something didn't work and the terrifying aftermath was caught on video. the scene, gut wrenching. black smoke billowing from wreckage 30 miles west of houston. beneath the flames, the remnants of a private jet. >> i have vision of a plane that's fully engulfed. >> reporter: the charter was bound for boston tuesday morning, but never left the ground. the plane attempted to take off from houston executive airport shortly after 10:00 a.m. local time. >> possibly 21 people on board. there are multiple people off the plane at this time. >> reporter: instead, the twin engine aircraft rolled through a fence and caught fire in an open field. the 18 passengers, two pilots and one flight attendant on board somehow managed to e

morgan chesky is tracking all of this from dallas. what do these workers want and what are the companies saying? >> reporter: yeah, steph, it is pretty simple. better conditions, better pay. the company is saying they're trying to work this out as fast as they can. as with all things, timing is absolutely everything. say you're a farmer or a rancher that relies on john deere equipment like these tractors. now that we're right in the middle of harvest season, finding a replacement part and getting repairs could be much harder to come by as a result of this ongoing strike. and the john deere strike just one of several nationwide, as workers try to take advantage of this labor moment. this morning american union workers helping keep your favorite foods in stock and tv shows on air, flexing new leverage. picket lines popping up nationwide, amid industry labor shortages and severe supply chain issues. >> the cheap labor bubble has finally busted. >> reporter: more than 10,000 members of the united auto workers union clocking out and speakin

. >> nbc's morgan chesky is at the american airlines center where the dallas mavericks play in texas.nt to bring in dr. john wright. he is web m.d.'s chief medical officer and a practicing physician. dr. white, let's start with you. what do you make of expanding the eligibility of booster shots and allowing the mixing and matching of those boosters? >> it's great to be with you, craig. this is the right decision at the right time. we have to remember, even though we're seeing improvement in terms of the number of cases, we're still getting roughly 70,000 cases a day, more than 1,000 deaths a day. so we have to protect our population. and i think boosters are a way to do that. we know we have waning immunity as we get older. and we know that the vaccines are not 100% effective to begin with. so giving that extra boost of immunity is going to go a long way in quashing the pandemic. >> can you explain for our viewers and listeners on sirius satellite radio why mixing and matching vaccines, why it could be helpful? >> yeah. i think the mix and match approach is particularly relevant for t

i want to bring in nbc's morgan chesky. he's close to blue origin's launch site in texas, and let's bring back the former astronaut who became the first woman of color to be on space shuttle endeavor. and scott, i have to go to you first. what's the last ten minutes for you been like? you know, 40 seconds sort of before launch, when you heard those turbo pumps start to spin up, all of us just civilians, our hearts started to race. for you, what has this been like? >> oh, well, you know, any time someone launches into space on a rocket, it's a really good day when they get back safely and that looks like the case. so i was -- i'm pressed. it was interesting to hear that this was the fourth flight of the booster. i did not know that. so yeah. i was just excited for them to have the opportunity to get to space and return safely. >> hey, morgan, it's lindsey. you next. looking at this from the studio, it looks like it was a pristine launch and landing. everybody is giving the thumbs up that they're okay. william shatner becomin

morgan chesky has the latest. >> reporter: hard to believe we are less than 24 hours away from launchrom the west texas desert just outside the city of van horn where we are now. this time it's going to have a little bit different crew. it will have a four-person team inside that capsule sitting atop the rocket, including, of course, as you mentioned, william shatner. captain kirk himself going to experiencing that 3 minutes or so of weightlessness before he and the crew members will be dropped back to the earth's surface with that capsule via a parachute for hopefully a soft landing here in the desert. we know this launch had to be pushed back by at least a day because wind gusts were hitting around 75 miles an hour here, definitely not the conditions you want to have when you're launching a rocket to space. we had a chance to hear from shatner himself. >> do you think there was a connection subconsciously with playing the role of captain kirk and getting you to this point? >> i'm so sorry to disappoint you. >> no connection? >> but all that was fiction. i'm going to see the vastness

morgan chesky is in van horn, texas, this morning. morgan, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. the legal back and forth over the nation's most restrictive abortion measure is causing ripple effects outside of the state of texas. there are reports of patient backlogs in clinics in neighboring states and now the justice department is calling on an appeals court to ban the law it calls unconstitutional. the justice department taking aim at texas' abortion law. calling on a court to halt the ban for now while its suit challenging the new law is appealed. in a filing, it says allowing it to remain in effect would disserve the public interest, adding that texas has not attempted to defend the law's constitutionality in this court. the filing comes days after a three-judge panel temporarily reinstated the state law known as sb-8 which bans most abortions after 6 weeks, welcome news to the measure supporters. >> we know there's going to be a lot of attempts to try to take down this law. but the fact that it has saved about a hun

morgan chesky has the details. >> reporter: good morning to you. that law once again back into effect. that means about a half dozen clinics that have temporarily resumed services have stopped. in the meantime, the justice department now has until tomorrow to respond to a federal appeals court to address its calling unconstitutional. this morning, a highly restrictive abortion ban was reinstated late friday after the justice department sued texas, arguing the state's law violates the constitution. the doj now has until tomorrow to respond. >> we'll have to wait and see what the full appellate court subsides, but we are optimistic that this ruling indicates they may be favorable in that ruling. >> that law bans most abortions before six weeks, before many women know they're pregnant, and it allows citizens to sue anyone involved with abortion services. since taking effect last month, clinics in neighborhooding states have seen an uptick in women traveling from texas for abortion services. the ruling prompting nationwide protests. and already in flor