steve patterson, nbc news >>> now to our series "justice for all" and the prosecutor who says politics is standing in the way of freedom for a man she believes was wrongfully convicted 26 years ago here's hallie jackson. >> reporter: the story starts here on this front porch where in 1994 a man was murdered the police arrested lamar johnson, who was tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison that's where the story might end if circuit attorney kim gardner's office hadn't found this, a record of payments never disclosed to the only eyewitness in the case, who later recanted his testimony. years later two other people confessed they were the killers, not lamar johnson. >> you believe he was wrongfully convicted >> yes, i do >> reporter: so in 2019 gardner filed for a new trial. but missouri law says a prosecutor can only seek that within 15 days of a conviction in johnson's case back in 1995. >> 15 days that's it? justice ends i don't think that there is time limits on innocence >> reporter: a judge appointed the missouri attorney general, republican eric schmitt, to represent the

>> steve patterson in los angeles, thank you. >>> make a plan for where to get vaccinated. visit planyourvaccine.com for more. >>> here in tokyo it's been another thrilling day for team usa with more medals in women's gymnastics and history-making moment in the pool. stephanie gosk now with the highlights. >> reporter: a week ago, mikaela skipper thought she was going home. to the she is a silver medalist. the pressure visible on her face moments before the first vault but she wouldn't be denied, not this time. >> mikaela skinner, your vault silver medalist, so cool. >> reporter: in a cheering section simone biles who withdrew creating a spot for skinner. bilds has the possibility of picking up a medal on bars. in the pool team usa fireworks wrapped up with the perfect finale. three golds and a silver. calaeb dressel dominated from the start in the 50-meter freestyle. >> dressel will get it done again. another gold for dressel of the united states! >> the men won another gold when the u.s. broke the world record in the medley relay becoming only one of five american men to

steve patterson, nbc news, greenville, california. >>> it has happened yet again.ds of passengers hoping to canceled hundreds of additional departures. here is tom costello. r: day five of the spirit airlines meltdown. stranded passengers stuck in hours' long lines weaving through airports nationwide. from ft. lauderdale to san juan, newark to vegas, spirit had promised things would start to improve today. instead, it canceled another 400 flights, 52% of its schedule. after canceling 60% tuesday and wednesday, 40% on monday. more than 1700 flights so far this week. >> they're not even -- everybody is on standby. >> i lost two days of work because of this. >> reporter: spirit says the problem started sunday with weather-related cancellations. add to that the surge in summer travelers, staffing shortages and computer problems and spirit's dominoes a strong airline in terms of operations. and what happened this week has exposed the problems. >> reporter: leaving passengers s and stuck. >> weairbnb. so we don't have a place to stay as of now. >> reporter: ahead of anot

steve patterson, nbc news. >>> tonight, wildfires raging across greece and turkey, forcing thousands to flee their homes. flames surrounding the town just outside of athens. it's one of 100 fires across the country in the last 24 hours. >> we are surrounded. >> reporter: at least one person has died, but even with planes and helicopters circling to drop water, firefighters can't keep up. the men in this village defied evacuation orders to stay and fight the blaze themselves. >> we've been up at this fire about half an hour. the top of the village, and finally choppers are coming, firefighters are coming up. up until now it's been all volunteers. >> reporter: topped out at 117 degrees this weekend, across southern europe, the worst heatwave in 30 years. in turkey, walls of flames scorching more than 250,000 acres. at least eight people have died, and raging is the site of ancient olympia, where the greek prime minister challenging anyone who doubts climate change is real to come here and see it. molly hunter, nbc news, greece. >>> back home we're hearing from the ceo of spirit airline

steve patterson, nbc news, greenville, california. >> coming up, we remember the leader known as theent, when the 11th hour continues. hour continues when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. new zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep. a close friend of mine and, i think, of many of you, as well. richard trumka died today from a heart attack. he was an american worker. always fighting for working people, protecting their wages, their safety, their pensions. and their ability to build a middle class life. i also believe that the middle class built america. but i know who built the middle class, unions. unions built the middle class. there is no doubt that richard trumka helped build unions all across this country. >> the last thing before we go tonight is the death of a true stalwart in the american labor movement. richard trumka, head of the afl-cio, died today at 72. the afl-cio is made up of 56 unions representi

steve patterson, nbc news. >> ed asner dead at 91.hanks to steve patterson for that report. >>> coming up next, we're just over an hour from daylight from the gulf coast. we'll see the latest on ida. the latest from the storm when we come right back. when we come right back baaam. internet that doesn't miss a beat. that's cute, but my internet streams to my ride. adorable, but does yours block malware? nope. -it crushes it. pshh, mine's so fast, no one can catch me. that's because you all have the same internet. xfinity xfi. so powerful, it keeps one-upping itself. can your internet do that? >>> good morning and welcome to "way too early." i'm jacob soboroff on the monday, august 30th. ida is one of the most powerful storms to every hit the country and continues to crawl across the state. >>> at least one person is dead after a tree fell on a home near baton rouge, louisiana. the storm made it to a category 4 on the 16th anniversary of hurricane katrina. more than 1 million people are still without power. it could make the area more s

both declared states of emergency, and all national parks in california are now closed nbc's steve pattersonive in south lake tahoe for us tonight. steve, man, it's dangerous there. >> reporter: only expected to get more dangerous if that fire edges closer to the community here in south lake tahoe and the fact that we are now squarely in another red flag warning at a very crucial and descisive point in this firefight. but let's, if we can just for a second, focus on the positives here one of them may not be so obvious, especially if you're a casino operator, which is that this south lake tahoe is a ghost town fire officials say that's a good thing. you may have seen those annoying-looking images of people trapped in traffic for hours and hours. i spoke to some of those people. they said it was an inkrecrediby frustrating experience officials say, guess what, we got you out of here. they don't is to make the decision of saving a group of lives or a neighborhood of homes. they can focus on what they're here to do, which is to save as much property as possible. the bad news is that you have 33,

back to you. >> steve patterson, thank you. >>> all right.anel of scientists released a blistering new report today on the state of the changing climate. they found that humans have pushed the planet into unprecedented categories. the climate change is here, and accelerating and causing damage that is irreversible for thousands and maybe hundreds of thousands of years to come. we have seen floods and unrelenting heat waves and fires that have wiped towns off of the map. and they call it a "code red" for humanity, but the question is if humanity going to listen. and joining us is michael mann, and author of "the new climate war, the fight to take back our planet." michael, thank you for joining us. you joined the show friday and you said that this report is going to be really bad. what is it predicting for the next decade or two as climate change accelerates? >> thank you, yasmin. good to be with you, and as we are seeing the tragedies play out in realtime as we are seeing the wildfire second largest in california history could become the larg

lester >> all right, steve patterson in california, thank you. al roker is tracking the dangerous heat for us, and now a potential tropical threat al, it looks like the worst is yet to come >> lester, the worst of the heat comes tomorrow we've got 146 million people under heat advisories through tomorrow, stretching literally from coast to coast look at these temperatures while they're in the upper 90s to mid-90s, you add in the humidity and it's going to be triple-digits from st. louis, cincinnati, new york, washington, down to charlotte and we're watching tropical storm fred moving west-northwest at 15 miles per hour current path puts into it the gulf some time saturday afternoon but the cone of uncertainty includes miami, tampa, and jacksonville rainfall amounts anywhere from 2 to 4 inches, but could see upwards of 8 we'll continue to track it. lester >> all right, al, thanks very much >>> in just 13 days, new york will have a new governor today kathy hochul distanced herself from andrew cuomo and the scandal that drove him out. anne thompson

back to you. >> that was nbc's steve patterson reporting. >>> next, what the faa is doing about thosehe turbulence. >>> and later, bidding adieu to the 2021 games as team usa claims gold through the very end. we take you to tokyo. e you to to n caused by bad bacteria in food? try pepto® diarrhea. its concentrated formula coats and kills bacteria to relieve diarrhea. see, pepto® diarrhea gets to the source, killing the bad bacteria. so, make sure to have pepto® diarrhea on hand. ever notice how stiff clothes can feel rough on your skin? for softer clothes that are gentle on your skin, try downy free & gentle downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. try downy free & gentle. (vo) at t-mobile for business, unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. whether it's ensuring food arrives as fresh as when it departs. being first on the scene, when every second counts. or teaching biology without a lab. we are the leader in 5g. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a p

in that town is nbc's steve patterson in greenville, california. that's about three and a half hours northeast of sacramento. i saw smoldering behind you yesterday. i'm seeing still smoke and haze behind you today, where a thriving community once stood. >> reporter: yeah, that really is the story today. it's what you can't see because visibility is so poor. we're almost in this snow globe of wildfire smoke because the layer that has settled in makes things extremely complicated. what i can see is awful, it is the ruins of this town, burnt down. nearly 75% of all structures, gone. more than 100 homes, gone. meanwhile, firefighters still on the front lines of this massive fire and they're working with extremely poor conditions. we talked to them about what they're dealing with, as well as survivors. the dixie fire march of flames, swallowing more than 400,000 acres, becoming the third largest in california history this small town of greenville, transformed into a field of ruin and heartbreak. >> we watched it swirling and burning trees, getting close

nbc's steve patterson is in the devastated town of greenville, california, about three-and-a-half hourstheast of sacramento. steve, tell us where things stand with the fire right now. >> reporter: joe, i know in your time covering fire, out west you and i both know that it is rare that containment on a fire actually drops. that's what happened overnight. it was more than 30% when we left it last night. it is now 21% after some new modelling came in. when you are talking about a fire now burning more than 440,000 acres, a third the size of rhode island, numbers like that don't make much difference against the size that they're dealing with on multiple fronts, almost a theater of war apart. the story line today, you can probably see it behind me, is this awful visibility. there's a layer of wildfire smoke, almost like a snow globe that we're just sitting in, which is good in a few ways. it is good for the weather system because there's no wind pushing the fire to a new front, but it is bad obviously for air quality. almost impossible to make air drops in something like this. meanwhile, ba

every hour hundreds of homes have been destroyed and more are in the line of danger here is nbc's steve patterson. >> reporter: the colossal dixie fire setting a grim milestone. the nation's largest fire has torched more than 500,000 acres. its massive spread now more than half the size of rhode island, sending clouds of pollutants across the country. >> that plume now creates its own weather, meaning the winds can go any direction. >> reporter: the fire decimating smalltown greenville, destroying nearly every man-made structure in sight historic homes and businesses that stood for generations, leveled. whole neighborhoods wiped off the map. this is a man bent on causing more pain, gary maynard was arrested and charged for serial arson across northern california, accused of setting the nearby ranch fire. he was in the midof an arson setting spree and even tried to trap first responders fighting the dixie fire by gaining access to an evacuation zone and lighting fires behind them we should say as the fire has continued to grow, so, too, has the containment. firefighters making progress, taking adv

nbc's steve patterson is there >> reporter: yeah, frances, the dixie fire now a third the size of rhode island. it's torn down at least 400 structures but remember, there are 14,000 still remaining in the threat zone over the weekend winds died down a little bit temperatures cooled down a little bit hopefully allowing firefighters to make some progress on this ever-expanding fire. but fire conditions still remain very poor. it's starting to get hotter. the winds are picking back up. el valevated fire danger for th rest of the week as it continues to expand on multiple fronts meanwhile, the air quality has been absolutely abysmal, both here in the fire zone, in the state of california and really on the entire west coast as we've seen some of the worst air quality readings this year alone. back to you. >> all right, steve, thank you >>> let's turn now to the wildfire emergency unfolding right now in greece. over the last week large fires have been raging across that country, threatening hilltop villages and ancient sites and forcing thousands of people to abandon their homes. nbc's claudi

for "today," steve patterson, nbc news. >> david brown, what an inspiration. many others and inspiring them in the process. by the way, to be his guide, try keeping up with that guy. >> i was about to say i can't tell if i'm more touched by his determination or the beauty of their relationship. >> we'll be cheering for him. you can see david and all the other paralympic is struggling to manage your type 2 diabetes knocking you out of your zone? lowering your a1c with once-weekly ozempic® can help you get back in it. oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! my zone... lowering my a1c, cv risk, and losing some weight... now, back to the game! ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. in adults also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. ozempic® helped me get back in my type 2 diabetes zone. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reu

joining us now from south lake tahoe, california, is steve patterson. t last night due to all the road closures. so how did that process go, this evacuation? >> it was miserable for people that were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic with a ravaging fire burning around them. officials are seeing that as a good sign. those people got out. south lake tahoe, this is the mission for firefighters sent in from across the state, across the country, to protect this area. to protect the homes in this area. the evacuation zone now expanding to cover 53,000 residents, 22,000 homes here. this is why firefighters have been deployed. and god is gone. this town which, you know, as we're now heading into labor day weekend, this is the resort town of california. it is famous for bustling crowds and especially at this time. it is a complete ghost town right now. it's eerie and ominous. firefighters are focused on protecting property instead of protecting life. they have a lot of work to do. the photograph calls for red flag winds. higher temperatures. again, these heavy wi

steve patterson.asmin vossoughian." >>> if usual still with us, thank you. if you're just joining us, thank you. you have the senate in session on the infrastructure bill, and then news coming out today of senate testimony by a key figure in donald trump's push to get the doj to go along with his election lies. >> the questions really go to the heart of what donald trump tried to do. they had a pressure campaign that stopped at nothing. he used other means, like inciting the january 6th riot with the same goal. what struck me personally is how relentless he seemed to be in mounting this

steve patterson, nbc news. >> there's more to come, drought through california and hot weather meansrtorial move set off social media, when "the 11th hour" continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪♪ i thought i was managing my moderate to severe crohn's disease. then i realized something was missing... ...me. my symptoms were keeping me from being there for her. so, i talked to my doctor and learned humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for people with crohn's disease. the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief in as little as 4 weeks. and many achieved remission that can last. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira

steve patterson is in greenville, california. is a town that has been mostly destroyed by the fire, as i understand. more than 400 buildings destroyed there in greenville so far. what are the conditions like on the ground there this morning? >> the conditions are awful as they are every morning in town here, craig. you wake up here and the smoke hangs in the air. you can probably see it. it sticks in your chest, in your nose, it stings your eyes. there is bone dry brush here, tinder dry, between this and the next set of homes and there is still about 13,000 homes in the threat zone of this fire. meanwhile you wake up and here you see greenville, they are the worse case scenario. i'm at about 75% of all manmade structures in this town that have been obliterated by these fires. we spoke about living with this new reality. the destruction they cause, listen to this. >> everybody has been affected by this fire, you know? living up here in the mountains we know when we moved here that we would be living with fire. we were working on g

change will only accelerate in a moment we will hear from cal fire chief, tom porter first to steve patterson in greenville >> reporter: shep, this is greenville, california, at least what is left of town behind me you can just see the panoramic scope of deaftavastat. the fire station burned to the ground most of the town, about 75% of the structures in the town gone. completely gone. just a minute ago we heard a large thudding sound come to find out it was one of the structures that had fallen over the town in complete disrepair red flag winds picked up the dixie fire and sent it careening through town the flames leapt from building and building and burned and charred the town tos it bones. firefighters assessing the damage fire is surrounding us we are pinned in in to the town right now because there is an active battle on every edge of the town the fire so big they split it up residents had to do everything they can to get out of here safely fire refugees flooding out of town, something i have not seen since the paradise fire. i spoke to some of those refugees as they were at a shelter loo

nbc's steve patterson is in greenville, california. unbelievable that that was witness a thriving little town there. what are officials telling you? >> reporter: fire officials say they caught a break this weekend because of the red flag winds that pushed the fire into town here died down before the weekend. an inversion layer formed. it all formed in one spot, there was nothing to move it. so it settled. it makes the atmosphere cooler, humidity rises, temperatures drop, and they can get a handle on it, because there's no wind to move the fire to a new front. you can finally see behind me, the destruction is unlike anything i can describe. what this means, because you can see this inversion layer is starting to lift, so the worry is all of this smoke will be pushed out as it lifts up, almost like a dome, if you put it off, all that steam has to go somewhere. this is dangly wildfire smoke. this is main street of a town that as existed since the california gold rush, but this is what firefighters are truly worried about. because there's

. >> our thanks to steve patterson for that report. >>> president biden is setting a national goal forake up half of the new cars and trucks sold by 2030. he signed the order. the order will kick off the process to replace former president trump's relaxed plan with restricted ones. the president took a spin in a rubicon. he joked with g.m ceo mary barra. >> i want to be the first to say publicly when they make the first electric corvette, i want to be the first to drive it. the entire secret service team said, oh, my god. >> that's a car guy. >>> the police officers who defended the capitol on jan 6th deserve to be honored, not vilified. we'll talk about the new effort to recognize their service. >>> before we go to break, we want to know, why are you awake? please, tell us. email us at waytooearly@msnbc.com or tweet me @jonlemire or #waytooearly. we'll read our favorite answers later in the show. l read our fa later in the show. innovating, sourcing organic ingredients, testing them and fermenting. fermenting? yeah like kombucha or yogurt. and we formulate everything so your body can

in a fire wary west, steve patterson, nbc news. >> experts say there is more of that to come. drug passing through california and the very hot weather means that we can expect more of this as the season continues. coming, up the presidents bold sartorial move on social media today, when the 11th hour continues. continues. i think before we go tonight, the tan suit, i'm sure you noticed it earlier today, president biden was wearing a tan suit. we all know the former guy has a penchant for ill fitting blue suits, you may recall, in august of 2014, president obama addressed reporters wearing a tan suit, and the right was outraged. our friends at the daily show with trevor noah made this video a few years back to remind us of what happened. then >> the president came out addressing reporters, and he was wearing this tan suit. but tanned suit. >> president obama's decision to wear a lie tanned suit during the news -- conference >> like tanned suit -- >> i think it was talking to a lot of people. is this an effort to make it look warmer? >> no way is there an excuse for what the pre

steve patterson, nbc news, greenville, california. >>> coming up, we remember the leader known as theth hour" continues. >>> close friend of mine, and i think of many of you as well, rich trumpka died today. he protected people's safety, wages, pensions and their ability to build the middle class life. i also believe that the middle class built america, but i know who built the middle class, the unions. unions built the middle class. there's no doubt that rich trumpka helped build unions all across this country. >> the death of a true stalwart in the american labor movement. richard trumpka died today at the age of 72. it's hard to overstate the outsized roll that he had in the labor movement. the afl-cio is made up of 11 million members. he held the post until he was elected president in 2009, a role he held until his death today. his days as a union boss go way back. trumpka true up in a mining town in western pennsylvania. he was born into a family of coal miners. he worked the mines starting at the age of 19 while attending penn state and then villanova law school. when he was 33

. >> steve patterson, josh letterman, thank you.on of "andrea mitchell reports." garrett haake is in for chuck todd today. e is in for chuck todd today and now get netflix on us. it's all included with 2 lines for only $70 bucks! only at t-mobile. it's taken a lot to get to this moment. ♪ grew up at midnight - the maccabees ♪ dreams are on the line. you got this. refresh... it all, comes down, to this. ♪♪ ♪ someone once told me, that i should get used to people staring. so i did. it's okay, you can stare. when you're a two-time gold medalist, it comes with the territory. >>> if it is monday, it is major covid deja vu. more cities are imposing mask mandates again. including some children's hospitals as some kids start go back to school raising fears that the outbreak will only get worse. plus with the president's legislative agenda on the line the senate closes it on final passage on the bill. a senator at the center of a all, and later, new developments in the cuomo investigation. they meet to lay out next steps for impeachment as t

for the latest we turn to nbc's steve patterson. >> reporter: good morning from what used to be or the remnants of downtown greenville. you can see the level of devastation. this is main street. witnesses say it only took about two hours to destroy this town that has stood for generations. officials estimate 75% of all structures have burned to the ground leaving residents who have evacuated to multiple towns in this area to wonder if they're even going to have a home to return to. officials assessing the damage, still no word on the missing or dead. thankfully, there was warning far ahead of time, so the hope is most of the people got the word and got out of town. meanwhile, firefighters still on the front lines of the dixie fire which is now the size of los angeles burning on multiple fronts and the upstart river fire, which is nearby, also threatening multiple homes in the area. right now, firefighters continuing their operation, hoping to put containment on these communities that are nearby as they continue their work in what is an unpredictable and dangerous situation in northern

steve patterson is on the ground in california with the latest. >> reporter: good morning.tense moments for firefighters currently on the front lines engaged in a desperate battle to not mince words, to save south lake tahoe, the eastern edge of the caldor fire currently spreading rapidly spreading, currently expanding out 20,000 acres again overnight but pushing that eastern front into the path of homes that are in south lake tahoe. officials estimate there's currently 20,000 to 22,000 homes in the path of flames. again, the mission from firefighters shipped in from different corners of the state and the country, the number one priority is to save that town. right now they're dealing with fresh red flag winds, new warnings that may push into wednesday, including steep terrain, extreme heat during the day and this dry brush which covered the state because of the drought, because of the climate has caused the drought that caused so much cause for concern especially not only in the front lines but in several national forests across the state, officials have made the decision

like, would steve patterson be crazy? is biden is the fourth president to oversee a war in afghanistan that began before some of the people serving in it were even born and part of the reason for that is that none of his predecessors, be it bush, obama, or trump were willing to take responsibility of withdrawing and the fallout that comes with it. none of them were willing to bare the blame game where the craven political finger pointing we're seeing play out now in congress and the media whenever we left afghanistan, it was inevitably going to be messy and chaotic. that doesn't mean it's not tragic it is. and that doesn't mean the biden administration didn't screw up they did but the debate going on right now reminds me of when a bird gets inside your house and everybody in your family loses their minds and starts screaming ideas and none of them are good "get a laundry basket. "chase it to the chimney." "do we have any bird poison? "should we let a second bird in to chase the first one out?" "print up a picture of a big

here is nbc's steve patterson. >> reporter: the dixie fire's march of flames, more than 400,000 acresle, transformed into a field of ruin and heartbreak. >> we watched it swirling and burning trees, getting closer. >> reporter: rhonda reams and her partner made it out just in time. >> we're just grateful to be alive. we've got each other and body boy. >> reporter: the fire threatening some 13,000 structures. >> if i start seeing spots in town. >> reporter: so far this year, california wildfires have charred more than 808,000 acres, more than tripling what burned by this time last year. >> we are at historic levels for how dry the fuels are. we are at 100% chance of it starting wildfire. >> reporter: a climate in peril, fighting the already fire-weary west. >> these fires keep burning faster and hotter. it is devastating to see. >>> thank you so much for tuning in to msnbc reports. i'm lindsay riser. >> and i'm kendis gibson. "velshi" starts right now. >>> today on velshi, unmasking the trump insurrection still happening day by day. an increasingly alarming picture of how in peril amer

steve patterson is on the ground. rain but because the ash is falling pretty intensely where you are. >> reporter: there's a dome of smoke completely covering the area where i am, and this is directly in the evacuation zone, and i am wearing a rain jacket because it's snowing ash currently. behind me, look at this, this is akin to, i don't know, new york's times square being empty in the middle of the day, and this is lake tahoe and people would be flooding the beach and boats out on the water and you would be able to see past the treeline, and it's not just eerie because everybody is gone, but it shows you how close the fire is. firefighters are just outside of that, and they are battling flames and they are up against it because red flag winds are now moving into this area, the conditions are extremely dry. it's going to get extremely hot. the winds have been heavy and the brush is so dry that any ember could light a new fire. that's what they are worried about, trying to push back against the eastern front of the c

steve patterson is there in greenville, california. what happens now? the town is obliterated.ot at clean up time because this is an active fire zone. the fire fight continues in the areas that surrounded this area and for hot spots that still remain within the city limits or within the town limits. what we're seeing is not much because, again, we continue to be under this inversion layer where the smoke just settles and rests in one place which is terrible, really terrible for air quality. county health departments as far away as the bay area are telling people just stay inside because it's so bad. however, it is good because as you see i'm wearing a jacket. temperatures are cooler. humidity is a bit higher. there's no wind. this gives firefighters a chance to make progress on containment. it's almost seemingly impossible to stop the spread of the flames as the dixie fire has grown even larger. there are still 14,000 homes in the threat of this fire. firefighters are doing everything they can but as you see, obviously, the town of greenville decimated. this building stood sinc

steve patterson has the story. >> reporter: on the eve of school bells ushering in a return to the classrooms are far from immune. >> the numbers are going up dramatically. >> reporter: in louisiana, they've had one of their worst weeks at this children's hospital since the beginning of the pandemic. at least 68 school kids were hospitalized in july alone. >> about half have been in the intensive care unit. >> reporter: in northern california, a bay area school is reporting 15 cases after just three days back to school. since the start of the pandemic kids have accounted to about .02% of deaths but now anxiety for parents is at an all-time high as they fight through tangled rules, and mixed messages. the cdc said it's safe for everyone to go back to school but said everyone should wear masks. >> floridans have been and will be free to choose what's best for their families. >> reporter: florida governor ron desantis signed an executive order banning mask mandates in schools. illinois making them optional too. >> i'm anxious about back to school. >> reporter: shannon is worried about sending h

steve patterson is live with the latest. steve, good morning. >> reporter: sheinelle, good morning.irefighters right now are locked in a desperate struggle to save south lake tahoe, but they are up against it with red flag winds moving in and thousands of homes in the path of flames. this morning, an army of flames is marching towards south lake tahoe. the fast moving caldor fire driven by gusting winds is closing in on the famed california resort town, threatening to wipe out more than 20,000 homes. >> there is fire activity happening in california that we have never seen before. >> reporter: with summer vacations in full swing, most of the region has been ordered to evacuate immediately. the mass exodus causing gridlock on the roads, thousands of cars clogging highways as people flee to nay por -- neighboring nevada. >> they should have planned this a little better. they should get some more traffic going out here instead of two lanes. >> reporter: there are so many fires burning in the state, overnight, all national forests in california were ordered to temporarily shut down. off

steve patterson joins us from what is left of greenville. good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. it is eerie to be standing here. just hours ago, downtown greenville, california, officials say now about 75% of all the structures in town have burned to the ground, leaving residents to worry and wonder whether or not they have a home to return to. this morning, a historic small town burned off the map. residents of greenville haunted by the thought of a home that stood proudly for generations reduced to rubble in mere minutes. >> there were a couple of towers of flame twice as tall as the trees. >> reporter: the dixie fire, the fifth largest in the state's history, causing powerful plumes of smoke affecting air quality out to the midwest that could continue to spread. in greenville, losing nothing but the ash of homes and businesses in its wake. >> we lost greenville tonight. >> it was scary. it was one of those apocalyptic movies you see. fire and wind and people going everywhere. >> reporter: david rudd has lived in greenville for 50

steve watt patterson joins us n. this fire started over three weeks ago.he same reason for every major fire that is burning and there are about 100 burning across 14 states. it is the climate. it is the fact that every year, it gets a little bit hotter, and conditions are extremely dry. germane to the fire, the brush is so dry it could start another fire. this is so huge firefighters are battling this on multiple fronts. you can see what it has done to the town of greenville, this is main street. the town went up in two hours, a town that stood for generations since the gold rush era, basically burned to the ground. at least 75% of all structures in this town gone, at least 100 homes gone. we spoke to residents, a lot of them are worried they'll come back and find absolutely nothing left. dixie fire the size of los angeles burning on multiple fronts. it's two-fold, one you may not think of. look at this air, it's awful but good news because it means the wind is not blowing. it may not push the fire to a new front, which means firefighters may have a little

. >> steve patterson, still ahead on "morning joe", an escalating war of word between florida governor union update on covid across the country. >>> and we return after a bit of an olympic break with my sit down with one of the biggest stars in all of music. luke bryan. that's this sunday on nbc "sunday today." n nbc "sunday today. [ music playing ] i'm greg, i'm 68 years old. i do motivational speaking in addition to the substitute teaching. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to or they don't remember things as vividly as they once did. i've been taking prevagen for about three years now. people say to me periodically, "man, you've got a memory like an elephant." it's really, really helped me tremendously. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. . >>> just two states, florida and texas account for one-third of all new covid-19 cases in the entire country. i say to these governors, please help. if you're not going to help, at least get out of the way. >>

steve patterson, nbc news. >> asner a great activist, philanthropist and actor was 91 years old.he gulf coast. t continues to sr the gulf coast look at you! getting back to normal. or at least your 2021 version of what normal should be. and no matter what that is, walgreens is here to help you do it your way. with delivery in as little as one hour. because now... things come to you. same day vaccination appointments. because you're ready. and walgreens cash rewards you can donate back to your community. the new normal? have to admit, it does have its upside. walgreens. vo: just getting by, it's an ongoing struggle. have to admit, that's why president biden and democrats in congress have a plan to lower costs for america's working families. lower costs of healthcare premiums and the price of prescription drugs. pay less for electric bills by moving to clean energy. and do it all by making the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share of taxes. it'd be a win for the everyday american family. right when they could really use one. congress, let's get this done. as someone who resembles some

steve. i know this is a favorite of yours. she's a singer, she's an entertainer, and now you she is an author. country music star dolly parton teaming up with author james pattersonr music dreams. pardon is releasing anil bum with the book -- an album with the book. the story will be released -- the book will be released in march. you're a big fan of dolly parton, aren't you. your daughter dressed up as dolly parton back in the day, is that right. >> that's right. two of my daughters have been fans of hers for decades, he'll elizabeth and moira, she went out as dolly parton, 4 years old in halloween. i have two grandkids that are fans as well. with her novel, rose to the occasion, she invested in moderna. she has done a lot of things right. it's exciting. teaming up with james patterson, genius. she keeps rising. amedicationing. maria: so -- amazing. maria: so i guess for your birthday one of your daughters or your family put together a happy birthday from her too. let's hear it. >> ♪ because it's birthday time. ♪ what a day for celebrating. ♪ there will be some good gifts and some happy congregating. [laughter] maria: that must have been a nice surprise for you.