lester >> tom costello, thanks >>> up next a big move by the nfl. >>> the nfl is moving ahead with plans to start the season on time, but will fans be allowed back, and how will teams keep them safe here is sam brock. >> reporter: tonight, the nfl one step closer to kicking off the season unveiling the schedule of games and commissioner roger goodell setting ground rules for reopening club facilities in a memo explaining local and state governments have to consent to reopening, teams must create infection control and 50% of non-player employees. most players are not included in phase one of the blan. -- plan. last month the commissioner was asked about the start date >> we plan to be on time full season >> when you talk about their buildings, it's not just a place guys go practice but a workplace for hundreds of people >> reporter: mike torico is the host >> will the nfl experience be different? >> i think the american sports experience will be different. 70, 80,000 people in a stadium sitting shoulder to shoulder is not likely to return in the near future >> reporter: it's not clear whe

here is tom costello. >> reporter: on more and more planes these days, it's getting busier, passengers shoulder to shoulder squeezing past each other, many not wearing masks. on an american airlines flight at o'hare airport in chicago, on a spirit airlines flight to orlando. >> the problem wasn't so bad going, landing, just everybody just got up and it was just standing and everybody was just clustered at one point. >> reporter: this united flight left new york for san francisco with 25 doctors and nurses treating covid patients but that middle seat not blocked off as united promised last week today united said blocking is the wrong word instead, it's limiting advanced seat selection for adjacent seats in all cabins including middle seats where available. regardless of whether that middle seat is blocked, infectious disease experts say a sneeze or cough can travel at least two rows forward and backwards. >> how much of a risk is there just on a typical passenger plane these days >> well, of course, there is a risk this is the kind of circumstance that the coronavirus likes. it likes pe

tom costello was at the kennedy space center. >> a weather update. >> reporter: a huge letdown after a day filled with anticipation and excitement the first manned mission from american soil in nine years scrubbed as an afternoon florida storm rolled through the kennedy space center. >> continue to violate a couple different weather rules that we now do not expect to clear in time to allow for a launch today. >> reporter: high winds, rain and lightning have been threatening the launch all day but astronauts doug and bob suited up as mission managers hoped the weather would clear enough for the one launch attempt at 4:33. on the same launch pad, 39 a that sent apollo and space shuttle missions into space. they boarded the dragon space capsule and strapped in for lift off. >> feel that. >> reporter: online, millions of spectators around the world had gathered to witness history. president trump and vice president pence arrived at the cape for the big day while outside the kennedy space center, thousands of spectators gathered to see it in person. >> this is very cool for us to be here

top university hospitals, that could expedite both vaccines and treatments with more, here is tom costello >> reporter: tonight, potential break-throughs at two of the nation's premier research labs. ater harvard's beth israel deaconess center, research showing that immunity to covid-19 -- monkeys had complete protection after being reexposed a month later. >> our studies show that there's natural protective immunity to the virus. and it gives us optimism that it will likely be the case in humans >> reporter: but a harvard team tested a prototype dna vaccine on the monkeys that protected them from the virus. and researches believe that they discovered the achilles heel of the virus. it's right there on top of the notorious red hook that we have all seen >> what it mean is that it's now an important target for development of much needed vaccines. >> reporter: and there's more encouraging news from the emery discovery. using blood plasma donations from people who recovered, researchers should be able to isolate the antibodies that block the virus. then inject those in to people who are alrea

two top university hospitals that could expedite both vaccines and treatments with more, here is tom costello. >> reporter: tonight potential breakthroughs at two of the nation's premiere research labs at harvard's medical center in boston, more evidence that recovering from covid-19 may lead to immunity against reinfection. nine monkeys that recovered developed antibodies to the virus and had near complete protection when reexposed a month later. that could suggest immunity from a second infection. >> our studies show theoretically that there is natural protective immunity to this virus and gives us optimism that these will likely be the case in humans. >> reporter: the harvard team tested a prototype vaccine. at emory university hospital in atlanta, researchers believe they discovered the achilles heel of the virus. it's there on top of the notorious red hook we've seen. >> what this means is this is now an important target for development of much-needed vaccine. >> reporter: and there is more encouraging news from the emory discovery. using blood plasma from recovered patients, they should

but once the plane leaves the gate flight attendants will ask not force passengers to comply. >> tom costello, thanks >>> even if a vaccine is developed is the u.s. prepared to deliver the millions of doses that would be available? experts say no, but our gabe gutierrez talked to ceo who says his company can solve a critical roadblock >> reporter: with the global race to make a vaccine scientists are sounding the alarm >> people are asking if we have enough glass to put doses so they can administered >> reporter: the departments of defense and health and human services will now partner with health startup smgss america. the company makes plastic prefilled syringes >> nobody has ever use said an injectable prefilled syringe made of plastic in the millions because no one had ever figured out how to attach a needle to plastic filled container with a drug >> reporter: in an exclusive interview ceo jaywalker says the syringe will be made faster and cost less than a dollar to produce, much cheaper than the cost of making glass vials >> if you need tens of millions or hundreds of millions they could

>> we'll all be watching, tom costello, thank you for that. >>> up next, memorial day tributes to heros we lost then and now. >>> this memorial day is an es remember the american heroes that lost their lives serving this country and from covid-19. >> reporter: for the first time in 15 two years a march down an empty street where thousands attend one of the nation's longest continuously held rtlly socially distant remembrances the order of the day remembering the heros that made the ultimate sacrifice. ♪ >> it's so unusual to be here without the memorial courtyard being packed with people ♪ >> reporter: memorial day even more pointed with the pandemic climbs the lives of so many in long-term care facilities at least 90 honors in massachusetts. nd more this year. >> reporter: a somber holiday with a nation on the verge of 100,000 deaths from covid-19 1,000 names on the front of the "new york times. an incalculable loss the nation separated and apart on this holiday while coming together to honor and remember those who gave their lives. ron allen, nbc news. >>> finally tonight, a powerful

short time is in the hunt for a magic bullet we've got it all covered tonight starting off with tom costello >> reporter: in the urgent push to beat back a deadly pathogen researchers at nyu have now started clinical trials on a never before tried genetic vaccine candidate developed by pfizer along with a german partner rather than try to manipulate the live virus itself this vaccine tries to reprogram the genetic code her husband is a doctor at nyu is among the first 12 healthy americans to receive the injection. >> so many people are being affected by this pandemic and i figured it would be a great thing to do to help through an unprecedented time >> reporter: here's what makes this unique the vaccine carries a genetic code called messenger rna that instructs the cells to make the proteins associated with coronavirus but without making someone sick the hope is that the immune system then kicks in to create the antibodies to fight off covid-19 and phizer has four genetic vaccine candidates >> it really is natural thing because this messenger rna is something the body produces on its own nor

findings also shedding light on the question of immunity it's where we start tonight with nbc's tom costello >> reporter: it's the kind of good news development that researchers control suggests patients who recovered from covid-19 but then tested positive for the virus again were not infectious and were not spreading the virus to others. 447 south koreans tested positive a second time, but those virus traces appeared to be dead, not alive. could it be an indication of immunity >> i think it's a little too soon to take that and say that we know for sure that people have immunity, but we have seen that people do mount a pretty good immune response to this and we haven't yet seen reinfections, so i think taken together that is encouraging. >> it felt like what i thought was one of the worst flus i ever had. >> reporter: back in early february erin kirk evans, her kid and husband all became sick now after recently testing positive for the antibodies she knows it was covid-19 which means she could have some protection >> it just felt like this empowerineling that i sho no longer liver my husband

here is tom costello. >> reporter: with the nation's airlines fighting for their survival, new rules to keep both crew members and passengers safe as of today, passengers on jetblue, delta and united must join crew members in wearing masks from the moment they check in by next monday, frontier, american, alaska and southwest will also require masks. some airlines will provide them to those who don't have them. if passengers refuse, they could be denied boarding faith newly married on zoom was today flying from new york to georgia. >> most people are wearing masks. >> reporter: every airline deep cleaning their planes, enforcing social distancing and limiting the number of passengers leaving middle seats open, south west ceo gary kelly. >> we're doing everything we can to make it as safe as humanly possible. >> reporter: today airline stocks slit further after billionaire investor warren buffet sold his airline holdings. >> the future is much less clear to me, how the business will turn out. >> reporter: at tampa international airport, passenger volume down a staggering 97% the airpor

i'm tom costello in washington.ack to you. >>> the dmv announced plans to reopen its offices as soon as this month. but under new restrictions. the opening will roll out in phases phases. "the sacramento bee" reports workers will be required to wear protection. dmv is rolling out new online services including title transfers and registration renewals. >>> a federal judge is upholding california's ban on church services. the judge says the governor's ban during the pandemic does not violate the constitutional right for churches to gather. this comes after a church in lodi kept holding services in spite of legal action. the landlord ended up changing the locks on the door so the congregation could not gather. >>> now details on a hearing in oakland that could have granted more emergency leave to part-time and gig workers. last night the virtual city council meeting didn't happen due to the requirement of a minimum number of people to be present in order for that meeting to continue. it's still not clear when the counc

our thanks to nbc's tom costello for that report.o bring in nbc meteorologist bill karins once again. and i'll stick to the words that the physician used in that piece with tom costello which is it is encouraging news, to say the least, at least to say we've been through this major thing we've been through, losing over 90,000 lives in this country, is there something to gain that maybe some of the people who have become infected with covid-19 are now immune? we'll have to see what happens there, but it is encouraging, bill, to say the least. >> yes, very encouraging. the curve is not as encouraging, it's slowly getting a little better. let's get into the numbers here. can you believe it's memorial day weekend coming up, right now, we're sitting over 93,000 fatalities and we're on pace to hitting 100,000 around memorial day. yesterday, we had 1502. that's a big number. tuesday and wednesday tend to be our highest number of cases and fatalities that are reported. yesterday, 20,000 new cases that was also the lowest since the end of mar

tom costello covers all things aviation for us. he is at the kennedy space center. well, tom, they did it. >> reporter: yeah. can i just lose all objectivity and say wow, that was cool. you know, it's been nine years since i have stood here for a manned mission. you and i have both been down here at the kennedy space center over the years watching those marvelous shuttle lift-offs from pad 39a. then we've been in this nine-year pause where the russians were giving americans a ride at the tune of $82,000, $83,000 a seat. it's a great day. what's nice about it, it's a bipartisan great day. i think the whole country rejoices in this. a couple of interesting factoids here, brian. the mission for these two astronauts will last anywhere from one to four months. they don't know. imagine you have to go into space and you don't know how many pair of underwear to bring. they don't know because they want to give this rocket a real good test run. the rocket has separated from dragon. the space ship is on its way to the space station, ronde viewing after a 19-hour trip. they will

nicolle, let's start off our coverage with tom costello who covers all things aviation for us. etting to bill karins for the meet logical read on. the weather is paramount. this will be a different launch than any other even for the grizzled veterans who remember the apollo and space shuttle programs. >> for us space geeks, this is a lot of fun, but it's also turning a new page, writing a new chapter in american space history. brian, what you can't see, off to my left is the atlantic ocean and what you can't see we have a pretty good black cell right now sitting off to my left, now the concern is that as that continues to move this way and moves toward launchpad 39a over my right shoulder, it could pose a problem. so far they are go, but they're watching this cell very closely. they don't want it to violate their launch parameters. excuse me, i'm listening to the other ear and i'm listening to mission control, they're still in their final series of checks. just to put the viewers, you know, parameters at the very top of that rocket assembly, we have the "crew dragon," that's the

. >> joining me now nbc news correspondent tom costello at the nbc space center in florida, "today" co-hostker and sean o'keefe, who is now a professor at florida university. tom, first to you, how complicated is not only the weather, and we will talk to al about that, but the pandemic and launch crews had to work virtually or some being put into situations where they could be exposed. obviously the astronauts are safe. last thing you want is for them to come off a space shuttle and get a virus. they've been quarantined forever, it seems. >> all of the above, you're absolutely right. the astronauts have been quarantined since mid-march. the concern is not only for their health but also the health of the astronauts open the space station because they don't want to bring something up and have people on the space station con ta tam nated. in addition, spacex had half of their staff working from home because of the pandemic. let me give you an update. we have blue skies now more or less, 80 degrees. what you can't see is a pretty good cloud cover. we had storms roll through, lightning roll thro

nbc's tom costello has been following the new regulations and policies put in place to keep passengersnd employees safe. tom, what are some of the bigger changes we can expect to see right off the bat? >> well, it's already happening. if you go to the airport tomorrow, you will, first of all, find very few people in the airport at all. i was there yesterday, it was empty. you have people behind the airline counter checking people in, but very, very few passengers. if you get on a plane, very few people sitting there. middle seats are going to be open. let's be very clear about what's happening here. the airlines are literally fighting for their survival. with the nation's airlines fighting for survival, new rules to keep both crew members and passengers safe. passengers on jetblue, delta and united must join crew members in wearing masks from the moment they check in. by next monday, frontier, american, alaska and southwest will also require masks. some airlines will provide them to those who don't have them. if passengers refuse, they could be refused boarding. >> -- >> every airline

tom costello has covered aviation for 15 years.s more on what you might see abroad. >> reporter: good day from reagan airport. the words you hear more often to describe the situation is bankruptcy and depression. the airlines and the airports are virtually empty right now. the fact there are fewer people flying right now than at any time since the 1950s. from ground to planes to dese deserted airports to row after row of empty seat, air travel in this country has dropped 95%. airlines fighting for their very survival. their priority safeguarding crew members and passengers who are already uneasy. >> it's definitely a little bit unnerving to fly just because of everything. you don't know who has what and how clean things have been on the flight. >> reporter: as of monday, every airline in the country will require passengers to wear fas masks from the moment they check in until they leave the concourse. airlines already deep cleaning their planes every day with anti-bacterial disinfect tants. capping the number of passengers on board

nbc oes t nbc's tom costello has more. >> five, four, three, two, one.toff. >> reporter: with a thunderous rocket roar, america opened a new chapter in space history. the first launch in nine years and the first private company ever to launch nasa astronauts into space. >> it's supersonic. >> reporter: doug hurley and bab benkin, for a sunday morning rendezvous with the space station. they donned the new space suits before waving good-bye a second time to their families. with millions tuning in around the world, hundreds of thousands lined the florida coast to watch the launch in person. some choosing to socially distance, but many, if not most, caught up in the moment. >> we're still america and strong. we can overcome the challenges. >> hurley and benkin, arriving at launch pat 39a, in a tesla. the weather clearing as the president and the vice president, return for the second attempt. >> falcon separation confirmed. >> reporter: the liftoff and rocket exactly as plan. the booster rock returned to a bull's-eye landing on a barge in the ocean. at a time

our report tonight from nbc news correspondent tom costello. >> reporter: calling the threat to the airlinendustry grave, the prediction from boeing ceo to savannah guthrie on "today" sent shock waves through wall street and airline offices. >> do you think there might be a major u.s. carrier that just has to go out of business? >> well, i don't want to get too predictive on that subject, but yes, most likely. you know, something will happen when september comes around. >> reporter: dave calhoun did not say which airlines are most at risk, but with few exceptions, every airline is flying less than 10% full. on september 30th, the federal government's bailout money comes to an end. airlines are already warning that as many as 100,000 employees could be laid off if passengers don't return in large numbers. >> you don't know who has what and how clean things have been, at least on the flight. >> reporter: flying in a covid and post-covid world, expect airline and airport face mask requirements. six feet of separation while lining up. airport health screenings. a new scanner checks for elevated

i'm tom costello, back to you. >> that's nbc's talk costello reporting. >>> still to come is it almost time for tip off? of the boston celtics joins us to discuss the nba and its plans to play. >>> but first check out this warning from an erk r doctor on the front lines of the pandemic. >> this virus can reerupt suddenly, and we all have to stay very vigilant. that is one thing that also comes to mind when i work here in the emergency department on quieter days during this new era we're living in. is even though things are quiet i really hope that no one lets their guard down and for a split second thinks they can go back to living a normal life. s they k to living a normal life. you w? sure. sometimes i wish i had legs like you. yeah, like a regular person. no. still half bike/half man, just the opposite. oh, so the legs on the bottom and motorcycle on the top? yeah. yeah, i could see that. for those who were born to ride, there's progressive. yeah, i could see that. around here, nobody ever does it. i didn't do it. so when i heard they added ultra oxi to the cleaning power of tide, i

tom costello at reagan national airport. back to you. >> thank you to tom.a flight to phoenix, your hometown, in about a week or so. the idea of flying for five hours with a mask is not appealing. >> because there are so many fewer flights, some of these flights are packed. >> but at least you have this. you can use it as an excuse not to talk to your neighbor. >> if you need it. true. >>> so running the numbers as a third party candidate teases the idea of a presidential run. >> what would that mean for joe biden and president trump's election bids? ent trump's election bids? the wrong getaway driver. they're going to be paying for this for a long time. they will, but with accident forgiveness allstate won't raise your rates just because of an accident, even if it's your fault. cut! sonny. was that good? line! the desert never lies. isn't that what i said? no you were talking about allstate and insurance. i just... when i... let's try again. everybody back to one. accident forgiveness from allstate. click or call for a quote today. whether you're facing une

here's tom costello's report. researchers at nyu have started clinical trials on a never before tried vaccine candidate developed by pfizer along with a german partner. rather than trying to manipulate the live virus, this tries to reprogram the virus' genetic road. melissa is among the first 12 healthy americans to receive the injection. >> so many people are being infected by this pandemic. and i figured it would be a great thing to do to help during an unprecedented time. >> reporter: the vaccine carries the genetic road, known as messenger rna, that instructs the cells to make the proteins associated with the coronavirus. but without making someone sick. the hope is that the immune system kicks in to create the antibodies to fight off covid-19. and pfizer has four genetic vaccine candidates. dr. mark mulligan is running the nyu trial. >> sit a natural thing, because this merssenger rna is somethin the body produces on its own. so it's not anything too different than what the body does for itself. >> reporter:

tom costello at cape canaveral. >> reporter: less than 24 hours now until american astronauts once againtoff from american soil on an american rocket headed for the space station. onboard the spacex falcon 9 rocket rare r wearing new state-of-the-art space suits in a newly designed flat screen rich spaceship >> i expect us to have a little bit of excitement going into the mission but also tempered with kind of an extreme focus on being able to execute the things in front of us >> this is big moment in time. it's been 9 years since we've had this opportunity. >> reporter: since the space shuttle was retired in 2011 the u.s. has paid russia to carry astronauts to the station. spacex now the first private company to take over the job as nasa refocuses on returning to the moon within four years. >> my son is 8 years old, and so he's never seen americans launch from the united states ever >> reporter: spacex founder elon musk tweeting this time lapse of the rocket sitting on pad 39a that also launched apollo and space shuttle missions at first former nasa astronaut mike massimino did not thin

checking employees and passengers' temperatures just one of the big changes in the air here is tom costello with that. >> reporter: the top priority for the nation's airlines, reassuring passengers it's safe to fly disinfecting planes, making masks mandatory, spacing out passengers and blocking middle seats under pressure frontier has abandoned charging customers to keep the middle seats open but it could push airfares higher by 54% worldwide. the situation say u.s. airlines is dire >> passengers down since the 1950s. >> reporter: down 95%. the data was crunched for nbc news fairs on good deals down 30% on average from a year ago. 29 to 34% cheaper through the summer even winter holiday fares down 22%. >> we could see higher price ifs airlines are required to or it turns out they fly with lower capacity >> reporter: u.s airlines parked 50% of their fleets 3,000 planes in exchange for a government bailout, they agreed to keep employees through september 30th execs has taken pay cuts and asked employ -- employees to take voluntarily leave. tens of thousands could be laid off starting in octob

security's national bio defense lab opened after 9/11 and focusing solely on covid-19 here is tom costello with that. >> reporter: it's one of the deadliest pathogens the world faced in the last 100 years. trying to crack the coronavirus code is now the top priority in maryland in the homeland security bio defense center behind these doors, one of the most secure labs in the country. researchers in full bio hazard suits working to understand how the coronavirus spreads and infects so easily. i asked senior research scientist paul dabish about the pressure knowing so many people have already died. >> it's very great we are working around the clock because of that to try to answer questions we're being asked about this virus and hopefully those results can help inform our response to this and we know the clock is ticking on this. >> reporter: among the most urgent questions, how long does the virus hang in the air and remain infectious? in this aerosol chamber, researchers recreate the sunlight, heat and humidity levels for any climate in the country. from new york in springtime to arizona's

guys, back to you. >> you can hear the excitement in tom costello's voice. >> i was going to say, tom pack enough underwear, al roker. >> that's exciting. >> al roker, by the way, what's the forecast looking like down there. do we know yet >> yeah, it's a little shaky right now. let's take a look. we've got it for you 7:00 a.m. wednesday, you can see we've got some scattered showers around look at this, low pressure moving northward, a thunderstorm risk after 12:00 noon of 60% you see right there, by 8:00 those showers are north. we'll have to wait and see by the way, summer is starting saturday, june 20th, at 5:43 p.m. we've got record high temperatures today in the inland valleys. look at triple digits from las vegas into northern california and on into phoenix. san diego is going to be 83 degrees. this big blocking high pressure, low pressure system and omega block. we have high pressure over the northeast. look at temperatures, records possible to ohio river valley, pittsburgh, detroit, buffalo, mid-80s, boston 80 degrees as we move into tomorrow, burlington, vermont, 91 degrees.

tom costello.lief could be coming to gig workers in san francisco affected by the pandemic. san francisco examiner reporting the local agency formation commission is considering a minimum wage for lyft, uber along with a new restroom facility just for gig workers and expanded bike lanes for deliveries. and they'll vote on the recommendations tomorrow. >>> the uc santa cruz institute did a survey. 46 % say their income has dropped 5 00 to $15 4urks a week. nearly 30% are worried about what they say is still a problem with getting work. >>> happening today, horse racing resumes at the bay area's only full-time track, golden gate field. fans will not be allowed on site. racing there has been on hold for six weeks. the nine race program gets started at 12:45, and you're going to hear it, and they're off. >>> well, surely whenever pro starts start again, it will look different. fox announcer joe buck says this fall the network plans to pump in crowd noise during the nfl's broadcast. he also says the dig

nbc's tom costello was there too, back at the space center this morning what a roller coaster day. >>w, we've done this before but what a letdown the whole world was watching online, on tv, on the causeways here at the kennedy space center mission control, though, was dealing with weather from the very beginning we saw on the "today" show yesterday morning we were dealing with rain and wind and lightning. they hoped it would clear by midafternoon but in the end it h just wasn't enough for hours the air at the kennedy space center was thick with humidity and excitement. astronauts doug hurley and bob behnken suited up for their historic trip on a spacex rocket, stopping to waive good-bye to their families, both of their wives also astronauts then to launch pad 39 a. ♪ oh say can you see >> a socially isolated kelly clarkson sang the "star spangled banner" as millions tuned in around the world thousands more lined the florida coast to watch the launch in person. >> history is happening and we just like to be a part of it. >> reporter: at 2:00 p.m. hurley and behnken strapped into their

tom costello has this report. >> reporter: two break throughs at two labs. more evidence that recovering from covid-19 may lead to immunity against reinfection researchers say nine monkeys that recovered from virus induced pneumonia developed anti body to the virus around had nearly complete protection when they were reexposed a month later. that could suggest immunity from a second infection >> our studies show there is immunity to this virus and it gives us optimism that this will likely be the case in humans. >> reporter: they also tested a p prototype vaccine. researchers believe they've discovered the achilles heel it's right there on top of that red hook that we've all seen >> this is an important target for development of much needed vaccine. >> reporter: and more encouraging news using blood plasma donation from people who have recovered they should be able to inject anti bodies into people who are already sick carl donated blood after taking 29 days to recover from covid-19 >> and they're speculating that because i spent so long with the virus that

tom costello was there then. he remains at the space center for this afternoon's attempt. g? >> reporter: yeah. listen, nasa and spacex says 50/50 chance that the weather will cooperate. we're expecting that we're going to have more lightning and more rain and more wind, specifically out there on launchpad 39a. 60% chance that the weather is going to be a problem this afternoon. but i will tell you that local meteorologists actually say that the weather is looking doubtful for today. we'll see. if they postpone today, they will try again tomorrow. the weather improves slightly tomorrow but not great. the space capsule was on top of the falcon 9 rocket. launchpad 39a. 3:22 is the scheduled time this afternoon. the first launch of an american rocket with american astronauts from american soil in nine years. the first time ever that a private company, spacex, has been given that job after years of relying on the russians to get us up to the space station. on wednesday, astronauts doug hurley and bob behnken were strapped in and ready to go. but had volatile weather that violat

passengers wondering, what happened to promises of social distancing on planes here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: on more and more planes these days, it's getting busier passengers shoulder to shoulder, squeezing past each other. many not wearing masks on an american airlines flight from new york to washington, at o'hare airport in chicago, on a spirit airlines flight to orlando. >> the problem wasn't so good going. landing, everybody got off, and it was just standing and everybody was clustering at one point. >> reporter: this united flight left new york for san francisco with 25 doctors and nurses who had been treating covid patients that middle seat, not blocked off, as united promised last week united said, blocking is the wrong word instead, it's limiting advanced seat selection for adjacent seats in all cabins, including middle seats where available regardless of whether that middle seat is blocked, infectious disease experts say a sneeze or cough can travel at least two rows forward and backwards. how much of a risk is there, just on a typical passenger plane these days >> we

nbc's tom costello looking into that for us. e. the top universities, top hospitals around the world are really involved in this effort now, the trump administration is promising hundreds of millions of doses of a vaccine by the end of the year, but developing a vaccine takes time it takes testing it takes distributing. however, in this case, all of that is being fast tracked the fight for a coronavirus vaccine is a global effort dozens of pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms now working simultaneously on a cure. >> there are scientists around the world each working on their own way to create a vaccine. we may wind up having more than one. that would be wonderful. >> reporter: traditional vaccines introduce what's called an imitation infection into humans through an agent that in some way resembles the disease, triggering the body into producing certain blood cells and antibodies to fight off the infection. typically the vaccine is tested over the course of years first in animals to determine whether a vaccine prevents infe

nbc's tom costello joins us with the three things he's watching today. he numbers just out from the labor department tell a story. 14.7% unemployment in april. 25 million americans out of work. that's the official number. actually better than what the forecasts were, but most experts believe the real number is higher. we could have 20% unemployment or even worse. the numbers are staggering. as you know, many americans are turning to food banks to feed their families. most economists believe the recovery process will be a very slow one. meanwhile by the weekend, more than 40 states will now start to ease off on the stay-at-home restrictions. all of them taking their own pace but it's going to be a long process as well. california is now allowing clothing stores and florists to reopen just in time for mother's day but curbside pickup only. in new york where the death toll has topped 20,000, we can tell you there's no sign yet the restrictions will be eased. covid-19 cases also now surging in several midwestern states. those now are starting to reopen as wel

time ago that apparently meteorologists there are optimistic about it happening, according to tom costelloalked to nasa's chief. walk us through what you're seeing. >> you know, craig, i want this thing to go off as much as the next person. to be honest, i'm a little concerned. i really am. i'm going to show you why. as we look at the radar and you can see, this is launch pad 39a. there's the radar. as we go to the graphics, you'll see we have an area of heavy showers and thunderstorms. what we're looking at are some very strong storms surrounding the area. it's got to be clear within ten miles of this. if you've got any clouds that even have an electrical charge in them, that can be a problem. here is what we're looking at as far as the futurecast for the launch forecast time. at 4:33, there's a 60% chance of thunderstorms. partly cloudy skies. you can see, craig, by this, all around launch pad 39a we've got showers and thunderstorms firing up. the temperature will be about 83 degrees, winds out of the southeast at 12. and besides that, you have to worry if they have to abort up and down

tom costello has the latest. >> reporter: with the nation's airlines fighting for their survival, newules to keep both crew members and passengers safe. passengers on jetblue, delta and united must join crew members in wearing masks from the moment they check in. by next monday, frontier, american, alaska and southwest will also require masks. some airlines will provide them to those who don't have them. if paerssengers refuse, they cod be denied boarding. faith leonard, newly married on zoom was flying from new york to georgia. >> some are completely empty. most people are wearing masks. >> reporter: every airline now deep cleaning their planes, enforcing social distancing and limiting the number of passengers leaving middle seats open. southwest ceo gary kelly. >> we're doing everything we can to make it as safe as humanly possible. >> reporter: tampa international airport passenger volume down 97%. the airport now encouraging face masks. more cleaning, more hand sanitizer, plastic shields at ticket counters and floor markings to keep everyone separate. >> i would say somewhere betw

his name is tom costello. >> i had to join you guys, not as an nbc correspondent, but as a proud dadvirtually, like everybody across the country. so i had to give them a shoutout so i want to start with my younger daughter chloe, graduating with two bachelors degrees from the university of maryland, she's graduating cum laude, so we are super, super proud of chloe and then my older daughter, her older sister, charlotte, is graduating from johns hopkins university with her masters degree in nursing. so we are so super proud of both of them and so proud of all of the students across the country that can't walk across the stage and grab that diploma, shoutout to everybody thi something right, well done. >> thank you, tom. congratulations. >> congrats to the costello girls. >> by the way for your chance to join our crowd, head to today.com/virtualplaza to sign up take one more shot. >> we've got to take one more look grandma and grandpa, a bunch of great folks, mike's 80, thank you all for coming twins are 12. >> wow. >> love it, love it. >>> mr. roker, how's that memorial day forecast s

nbc's tom costello is there. hi, tom, good morning. how is it looking? >> yeah. the weather is the issue right now. we've already had a pretty good rain squall move in just a short time ago that's going to be the issue throughout the day you're absolutely right. this is a history making flight. the first time ever that a private company is carrying astronauts to the space station. in this case spacex. so much is riding on this mission. for nasa and spacex, but, most importantly, getting those two men up to the space station with the clock ticking down, we're now just hours away from witnessing history once again at the kennedy space center astronauts bob behnken and doug hurley set to hitch a ride from a private company spacex's dragon falcon 9 rocket a public/private partnership nasa i banking on a new era of space travel. >> it is all about commercialization of lower earth orbit so we can do things that have not yet been commercialized, like go to the men and mars. >>> today's mission is a proof of concept that companies like spacex can serve as taxis for ameri

nbc news had exclusive access inside these trials and tom costello joins us now with these trials tom, so many people are hopeful about this it turns vaccine research in a totally different direction. >> reporter: absolutely. this is 21st century cutting edge medicine. the bottom line here is rather than working on a live portion of the virus, they are trying to manipulate the genetic code to reprogram the protein that makes people sick. pfizer, the company behind the research thinks it could have a vaccine for emergency use as soon as september. at nyu hospital in new york, shoulders out for a groundbreaking vaccine trial this one is different. rather than building a vaccine from the virus itself, researchers from pfizer and german partner are instead trying to alter the virus' genetic code nyu chief of infectious disease dr. mark mulligan is leading the trial. >> it was just in january the viral sequence was first published. here we are less than four months later, and we are launching a trial here in the u.s. >> among the first 12 healthy americans to get the injection yoga instruc

nbc's tom costello has that angle of the story this morning. tom, good morning. >> hi, savannah.eah, a lot of moving pieces here as you know, governors in some cases are leaving it up to local communities to decide how and when they lift restrictions. here in the nation's capital we're set to see the restrictions expire in d.c. on friday now that's expected to be extended northern virginia, just across the river, already extended all the way through the end of may in california, it's going to be a lot longer than that through mid august at least. that's how long stay-at-home orders could be extended in los angeles according to the l.a. county health director. >> we know with certainty, we would be extended health officer orders for months. >> l.a. mayor clarifying saying restrictions across the region will be lifted gradually. >> said stay in place for at least three months that doesn't mean stay in place exactly the way it is today. >> reporter: in new york city news the iconic lights of broadway are now expected to remain dark through at least labor day with theaters offering r