hospitals to the brink erns are seeing a dramatic drop in patients seeking emergency help he's tom costello. >> reporter: it happens every 40 seconds, someone somewhere in the u.s. has a heart attack, while 90 people suffer a stroke every hour. yet the number of non-coronavirus e.r. visits dropped off a cliff as the pandemic swept the ountry, down a stunning 42% as many people simply avoided the e.r. >> we kissed and to say good-bye and he said i love you, and then he went down. >> reporter: concerned about covid exposure her husband domonic was reluctant to go to the e.r. when he finally agreed, he collapsed and died of a heart attack as paramedics were at the house. >> nationwide, 23% drop in heart attack cases through may, a 20% drop in strokes and a 10% drop in diabetic emergencies. >> if you're having a heart attack, if you're having a stroke, you absolutely need to seek care and our emergency departments are safe. >> reporter: hospital protocols in place are designed to isolate covid cases from other patients dr. bren dan carr runs emergency medicine at mount sinai. >> we have reinven

to be crumbling against a wall of denial we're covering it all for you tonight, starting with tom costello. >> reporter: it's a make or break trial, the eyes of the world on the nih, and drug maker moderna, today beginning phase three human vaccine trials eventually involving 30,000 volunteers scattered across 89 sites in the u.s., half receiving the vaccine candidate, half getting a placebo. >> we're going to be counting cases of covid-19 that occur in the participants what obviously you want to see is that a vaccine reduces the number of cases in covid-19 of people who've received the vaccine. >> the volunteers won't be injected with covid, instead they'll be exposed naturally as the virus spreads across the country in nebraska, 24-year-old volunteer john penniman received a shot today thinking of his two grandmothers living with his parents while his mom works from a preschool. >> i worry about it every day. so for me this clinical study, this research study is something that i can do personally to benefit not only my family and my friends, but also humanity. >> reporter: one of the rea

tomorrow perseverance is headed to mars, leaving us to wait and wonder tom costello, nbc news, washington. >> exciting stuff. we wish him the best. >>> that's "nightly news," i'm lester holt please take care of yourself and each other. good night >> kelly: hey, what's up, everybody? i hope you had a great fourth of july weekend. our summer staycation celebration continues, and so do my remote sessions with my bandg post malone's awesome song, "circles." ♪ oh, oh ♪ we couldn't turn around ♪ 'til we were upside down ♪ i'll be the bad guy now ♪ but no, i ain't too proud ♪ i couldn't be there ♪ even when i try ♪ you don't believe it ♪ we do this every time ♪ seasons change and our love went cold ♪ ♪ feed the flame 'cause we can't let go ♪ ♪ run away, but we're running in circles ♪ ♪ run away, run away

home depot say they will soon enforce their own national no mask, no entry policies lester >> tom costello tonight, thank you, tom. >>> in 60 seconds, brand new information of the shocking and deadly attack at the home of a federal judge. the suspect, himself a lawyer, also dead tonight. >>> back now with that deadly ambush, a federal judge's son fatally shot, her husband critically wounded at their new jersey home. after a manhunt the suspect found dead today as anne thompson reports this isn't the only shooting he may be connected to. >> reporter: they are a legal power couple, federal judge esther salas and her criminal defense attorney husband mark anderl, their domestic life shattered late sunday afternoon. law enforcement sources say a gunman dressed as a delivery ma shot mark as he answered the door and then killed their only child daniel as he tried to help his father. >> such kind people.r n. >> reporter: daniel, a 20-year-old student at catholic university, wanted to follow in his parents' foot steps. salas a trail blazer, new jersey's first latina u.s district court judge, nomin

tom costello begins our coverage >> reporter: across much of the southern u.s. from east t west, another day of scorching heat, and >> they may live, they may not, unfortunately a lot don't. when you're on a hamster wheel and a lot of people die it's tiring. >> reporter: covid is exploding across the state, more than a thousand new cases each day mississippi one of 18 states in the coronavirus red zone identified by the white house coronavirus task force in a report sent to states, but not made public, obtained by the center for public integrity. the report suggests more than a dozen states should revert to more stringent measures including limiting social gatherings, closing bars and gyms and asking residents to wear masks outside the home, including in georgia where the governor has set no mandate. with the nation's death toll approaching 140,000, dr. anthony fauci today said the time to act is now. >> i think the time has come that we really do need to take a look at what's going on and see if we can intensify the things we do to prevent the resurgences that

lester >> pretty amazing, all right, tom costello, thank you. >>> after the u.s. accused chinese hackers of trying to steal american vaccine research, a major new escalation to tell you about. the state department ordering the chinese consulate here to close over spying charges. andrea mitchell has late details. >> reporter: flames seen in the courtyard of a chinese consulate in houston overnight appearing to show document burning after the state department ordered the consulate to close by friday, only hours after the u.s. accused two chinese hackers working with china's government of trying to steal research on covid vaccines, treatment and testing from u.s. companies. and others around the world. houston firefighters responded, but were not permitted in the state department says the closure is intended to protect american intellectual property, and americans' private information and senate intelligence chairman marco rubio tweeted china's houston consulate is a massive spy center, forcing it to close is long overdue. >> we're going to take actions that protect

here's tom costello. >> reporter: for 87 years the name is synonymous with professional sports in the nation's capital today the team announced it's retiring the logo and name widely viewed as a racist slur against native americans. >> we are people, not mascots. >> reporter: the statement on the team's old letter head saying it's working closely to develop a new name and design approach that will enhance the standing of our proud and traditional franchise. native american advocates say it's about time >> red face is the exact same as black face these manifestations and caricatures we see happening within sports teams and amongst the fans, it needs to go. >> they force people to look at us through the symbols, they force people to look at us as historic people who aren't really deserving of human rights. >> reporter: at the team's home field today many fans felt the change was appropriate. >> we've got to change with the times but also it's close to my heart. >> reporter: team owner dan snyder always insisted the name honored native americans. but this year's demonstrations against ra

lester >> tom costello this evening, thank you >>> the panic inside an iranian passenger plane descending abruptly after iran claims a u.s. fighter jet got way too close to it. the pentagon is responding to those claims we get more from our richard engel. >> reporter: it's not the view iranian passengers were expecting out their windows. iranian state tv says this is an american f-15 fighter coming in for an inspection. so close, they say, the iranian pilot was forced to descend rapidly. passengers feared the worst. no one was seriously hurt our ali arouzi. >> reporter: i ran's foreign minister is labeling the u.s. as a bunch of outlaws that must be stopped, while others branded the incident an act of terrorism. >> reporter: the american jet was over half a mile away from the iranian aircraft doing a brief visual inspection in accordance with international standards because the iranian plane was flying near a u.s. base in syria. the last time tensions were this high was back in january when iran, fearing a u.s. attack, accidentally shot down a passenger plane, killing 176 people lester >>

tomorrow perseverance is headed to mars, leaving us to wait and wonder tom costello, nbc news, washington. >> exciting stuff. we wish him the best. >>> that's "nightly news," i'm lester holt please take care of yourself and each other. good night:. . >>> right now at 6:00, a coronavirus outbreak at a bay area costco. an employee tells us his biggest concern, and why the health officials were okay with the store not informing customers. >>> news at 6:00 starts right now. thank you for joining us. >> as of tonight, all nine bay area counties are now on the state's covid-19 watch list. take a look at our updated map. san mateo county was added to the list today. it landed there because of a surge in cases. the new designation means unless things turn around in three days, all the gyms, hair salons and barbershops will have to shut down once again. >> i might not be able to open. i mean, you know, it was four months before, and you have to pay your rent, utilities, home bills, health insurance. >> church also also no longer be allowed to hold indoor services. the county supervisor says the po

and our story wasn't over. >> reporter: the other victims of a pandemic still in its first wave tom costelloc news, washington >>> up next, we'll tell you what you can expect for the week ahead in weather >>> and how to style a winning kentucky derby look in the age of coronavirus polo! marco...! polo! sì? marco...! polo! scusa? marco...! polo! ma io sono marco polo, ma playing "marco polo" with marco polo? surprising. ragazzini, io sono marco polo. sì, sono qui what's not surprising? geico helping you save even more on car and motorcycle insurance. ahhh... polo. marco...! polo! now get an extra 15% credit when you switch before october 7th. now getnow you can makeedit feel like the weekend.k with jimmy dean simple scrambles. made fresh with two real eggs, sausage 'n cheese. and ready in seconds. why don't you put a sunday morning shine on tomorrow morning's breakfast. try nature's bounty sleep3, a unique tri-layer supplement that calms you, helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer great sleep comes naturally with sleep3. only from nature's bounty. brushing only reaches 25% of you

lester. >> tom costello tonight, thank you. >>> the urgency for a vaccine comes as infections continue to soar in hot spots like california, texas, and florida and as the cdc now says the real number of infections may be much higher than the current numbers suggest. here's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: with nearly 4 million americans testing positive for the coronavirus, tonight the cdc says the true number of people infected is likely ten times higher than reported in some regions. the new findings suggest those who are asymptomatic or didn't seek medical attention were likely spreading the virus in their own communities. >> everything was so uncertain. like we didn't know if our dad was going to be able to get off the ventilator, and we didn't know how bad my mom was at that time. >> reporter: when claire and grace green thought they had a mild viral infection, they unknowingly passed covid to their parents. their father jason nearly died. >> i feel like i had a strong desire to continue being a part of my family's life. >> reporter: the new analysis from the cdc based on antibody te

tom costello, nbc news, washington. >> while it's way too early for those of us on this shift. lift off 7:50 a.m. tomorrow. >>> coming up, creepy packages from the other side of our planet arriving in american homes. problem s no one asked for them. we'll have the story after this. >>> coming up, creepy packages >>> coming up, creepy packages >>> last thing before we go here tonight happens to be our consumer news segment. people in at least 28 states over half the country have reported receiving small packages lately that they didn't order. they usually come by mail in yellow or white envelopes or small pouchs. they often have chinese writing because they are from china. the packages contain seeds that no one in this country ordered. no one knows what they grow. no one wants to find out. here is a portion of the reporting on this story from our station in chicago, wmaq. >> this is the package. it says it has jewelry. >> reporter: the delivery from china showed up at her house in wheaton. >> i didn't even think twice to open it. i thought jewelry. it felt like maybe a chain or

our reporter on this tonight from nbc news correspondent tom costello. >> reporter: 29-year-old carterght knows all too well the symptoms that come with covid, the cough, the body aches, and the high fever. >> at one point i got cold packs and put them under my armpits because i read that that helps cool you quickly. >> reporter: he was first diagnosed in march. then covid came back even stronger on july 4th. >> i cried hard that night because it was just super overwhelming. >> because you thought you were through with this? >> yeah. >> reporter: both times he tested positive. so why didn't the antibodies from the first infection protect him from getting it again? new research suggests that virus protection may not last long. british researchers say a study of 96 covid patients found their antibodies peaked three weeks after the symptoms appeared, then rapidly declined. three months later, only 17% of those tested had the same level of antibodies. university of alabama dr. michael saag was sick with covid in march and still wears ppe. if antibody protection drops fast, he says, it coul

all of it seting the stage for a presidential election unlike any other. >> our thanks to tom costellort. and joining me now is john nolan, who served as deputy post master general from 2002 to 2005. thank you for joining us. one of the things tom didn't totally touch on in the piece is the ability of the postal service, the usps, to deliver mail on time. are you confident given the surge in the number of ballots that are going to be sent out, that all of those ballots, if sent with the proper time beforehand, are going to be able to make it back and then be counted? >> yeah, the least of the concerns with mail-in voting is with the postal service. this is -- their business is handling mail, and the postal service handles over half a billion pieces of mail a day. so they know what they're doing. they've got capacity. they have got transportation, so the key with the postal service and with the mail voting is really before and after it leaves or comes back to the postal service. because the postal service knows what they're doing. they have done this before in states. they handle incred

our tom costello now with facts over fear >> reporter: 29-year-old carter wright knows all too well the symptoms that come with covid. the cough, the body aches, and the high fever. >> at one point i got cold packs and put them under my arm pits because that helps cool you quickly >> reporter: he was first diagnosed in march then covid came back even stronger on july 4th >> i cried hard thatelng >> reporter: because u why didn't the antibodies from the first infection protect him from getting it again new research suggests the virus protection may not last long. british researchers say a study of 96 covid patients found their antibodies peaked three weeks after the symptoms appeared then rapidly declined three months later only 17% of those tested have the same level of antibodies. university of alabama doctor michael sag was sick with covid in march and still wears ppe. if antibody protection drops fast he says it >> because if that translates into someone possibly getting reinfected, that destroys the concept of what we have of herd immunity where large numbers of people who have had

lester >> tom costello, thank you. >>> tonight, new hope for the sickest covid patients, the first twoto have a double lung transplant are speaking out with a powerful message here is our senior national correspondent kate snow. >> reporter: mira ramirez still gets exhausted walking. before she got sick the 28-year-old was doing her paralegal job from home to be safe but in april she caught coronavirus when she started fainting she went to the e.r. and was told to call her family in north carolina right away. >> i only had a couple minutes to contact them to let them know what was going on before i was intubated. >> reporter: the virus had destroyed her lungs. on the left a healthy lung, on the right, mira's her only hope, new lungs. after a ten-hour surgery at northwestern medical she became the first covid patient to get a double lung transplant. >> the operation will be helpful to patients who are relatively lung, limited preexisting conditions and who remained stuck on the ventilator despite clearing the virus. >> reporter: doctors performed the same operation last month on 62-year

here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it's a make or break trial, the eyes of the world on the nih and drug maker moderna beginning phase three trails involving 30,000 candidates across the u.s. >> we'll count cases of covid-19 that occur in the participants you want to see the covid-19 reduces the number of cases in this people who received the vaccine. >> they'll be exposed naturally as the virus spreads across the country. 24-year-old john penman received a shot thinking of his two grandmothers living with his parents while his mom works in a preschool. >> i worry about it every day. for me this is something i can do personally to benefit not only my family and friends but also humanity. >> reporter: one of the reasons moderna is moving so fast is it's redoing the virus' code moderna has received a billion dollar dollars from the federal government under operation warp speed. pfizer has not received government money but just announced it's dr. anthony fauci said a vaccine could be developed by november but recruiting volunteers in minority communities hit hard by covid has been

tom costello tonight with facts over fear. >> reporter: in a typical year the seasonal flu can be a silent killer, most often targeting the elderly. but this past february 16-year-old katy was home sick and suddenly went into cardiac arrest. >> i didn't not think that this would kill her. >> reporter: in hindsight katy's symptoms also sound like covid. >> the infection in her chest, the inability to breathe the way that it affected her brain, the infection, the septic. >> reporter: this past flu season killed between 24,000 and 60,000 people in the u.s. now the cdc director warns another flu season like that as the covid death toll is expected to climb over 200,000 this fall, could make the coming winter especially deadly. >> i think those two respiratory passages hitting us at the same time do have the potential to stress our health system. >> reporter: the concern, many people may not get their flu shots this fall skeptical of vaccines, working from home rather than offices where they normally get their flu shots, perhaps avoiding doctors' offices and not getting their kids vaccinated. >

. >> reporter: five months in this pandemic is still out of control tom costello, nbc news, washington >> reporter: i'm blayne alexander in atlanta where the faceoff over face coverings is headed to court. today georgia governor brian kemp is defending his lawsuit against the atlanta mayor, to block her mandate to right thing. >> reporter: moving to stop atlanta from rolling back reopening measures bottoms who tested positive for covid herself calls the lawsuit bizarre. >> it's an absolute waste of resources and it's really a distraction from what the real enemy is here and that enemy is this virus that's killing people in our city >> reporter: kemp is opposing a mask mandate even as he urges georgians to wear them. >> encourage people to wear a mask. >> reporter: embarking on a recent statewide wear the mask tour. >> we're not mandating it though, at least strengthen the message you're already sending about the necessity of masks. >> what kind of message does it send when you have mandates already that people aren't enforcing it sends the message the mandate doesn't mean anything. i'm

. >> reporter: this is tom costello, in nearly every corner of the nation those pop-up testing sites have turned into traffic jams, running down side streets and highways, health care researchers warn america faces an impending disaster if it doesn't dramatically increase testing, from 4.5 million per week now to 30 million per week by october and congress needs to spend $75 billion to ramp up the testing, including rapid antigen tests, results in 20 minutes. >> right now america has two choices, just shut everything down, or let hundreds of thousands of americans die. our group has come together to offer an alternative option, which is using testing as a way out >> reporter: researchers say test results now are taking far too long sometimes up to two weeks when they should take 48 hours or less. tonight a new report from the medical journal lancet says test results that take three days or more make it almost impossible to reduce the spread of the virus. the challenge tracing everyone with whom they've had contact, family, friends and neighbors, store clerks, even a food delivery per

but labs are backed up, delaying results by days, even weeks in some cases what's the problem tom costello went looking for answers. >> reporter: in florida today five more federal sites opened up amid the nation's building backlog for covid tests. while the results are usually back in just over four days it can take up to two weeks. >> none of us are going to be happy until that's under 48 hours. but we're making all our efforts to do that >> reporter: why the delay? the samples are sent to labs for technicians to use reagents, special chemicals to look for the virus. the mayor clinic processes 10,000 samples nationwide every day. >> the challenge we have right now is having the reagents or the chemicals we need to run the tests are actually in short supply so we can't run them to their maximum capacity. >> reporter: there is a faster test, almost like the strep test you take in a doctor's office, results in a few minutes. the nih is spending $1.5 billion to roll out rapid test equipment nationwide while the fda requires tests to be at least 80% accurate, the fast tests also come with a h

tom costello has more. >> reporter: for 87 years the name has been synonymous with professional sportsced it's retiring the logo and name as a slur against native americans the statement on the team's old letter head saying it's working closely to develop a new name and design approach that will enhance the standing of our proud tradition rich franchise >> red face is the exact same thing as black face. to all these manifestations we see happening within these sports teams and amongst their fans, it need to go. >> they force people to look at us through these symbols they force people to look at us as historic people who aren't really deserving of human rights >> reporter: at the team's home field many fans felt the change is appropriate >> it's close to my heart. >> team owner had always insisted the name honored native americans but this summer's demonstrations against racism only brought more attention to the controversy. >> the team has been under tremendous pressure for years to change the name but it was the corporate pressure that recently became a deciding factor fed ex threate

tom costello, thank you. so many things to consider >> so complex.to be done so fast >> yeah. >> we're going to do it. it's going to happen >>> what about janice huff good time? >> i think this is perfect >> wnbc's janice huff, also cousin janice huff good to see you. good morning >> good morning, cousin craig and savannah and hoda. how are you guys >> we'll be your cousins too >> i'm good with that. we're all family, right? all right. so we're going to start with tracking hurricane douglas which thank goodness did not make a islands.oving just north on kauai the convection of the thunderstorms moving away from the island there's still some warnings in effect for kauai and nihau small island that's northwest. and that's -- the storm is going to track off to the west towards the smaller outer islands. the larger islands are on the southern end of the chain. it will continue to decrease in strength as it moves off to the west away from the main islands that are inhabited then we have this disturbance in the atlantic this came off the coast of africa a

tom costello covers space. et's geek out. >> reporter: yeah. this is mega, mega cool. this is like the wright brothers moment for mars. the first time ever an aircraft will take off and land on the martian soil at least we think it's the first time ever. if you're a space geek, nasa geek like me, this mission is for you. it'll take more than six months to get there, but nasa's next generation of mars rovers, this one named perseverance, a like a rover on steroids. self-driving and mapping, equipped with microphones so humans can listen to the martian surface, 19 cameras, then radar, and probes to collect rock samples a future mission will pick up the coolest feature of all, a miniature helicopter named ingenuity, the first aircraft to take off and land on anotherthe planet for aerial planet for aerial surveys. the helicopter project manager did you have to ask the martians for a pilots license and martian air traffic control. >> i think they'll welcome us. it should be an exciting event on mars. >> reporter: the

nbc's tom costello reports. >> reporter: from the nation's runways to the highways in the skies, the coronavirus is crippling the airline industry. >> i'm here at the airport. it's 11:15 in the morning, and it is very quiet, as you can tell. >> reporter: for those on the front lines like flight attends, it's all about a new normal in the skies. >> it's already a stressful procesess traveling having to g through all the lines. and now you have to add in the possibility of the infection of coronavirus. >> reporter: the daily threat to personal safety, top of mind. >> i try and think that everything is, quote, unquote, normal. but there is always that little fear in my mind that i might get infected. >> reporter: with passenger volume still down 71% domestically, airlines are focusing on ways to assure passengers it's safe to fly again. but some airlines say policies like blocking the middle seat simply aren't financially sustainable. some flight attends call that a double-edged sword. >> from a business standpoint, they have to survive. and i want them to survive because i want to be e

>> tom costello, thank you. savannah? >>> that brings us to dr. stephen hahn, the commissioner of the fda, and a member of the government's coronavirus task force. good morning, sir. >> good morning, savannah. thank you for having me on the show today. >> you're welcome. you know, i know the fda has some developments to share this morning. i do want to do the big picture first. we have 152,000 deaths in this country. the average daily rate of deaths is now over 1,000. hasn't been that since early june. you had that association of medical colleges releasing a report saying if the nation does not change its course and soon, deaths in the u.s. could be well into the multiple hundreds of thousands. do you agree with that assessment? >> well, this is a serious situation, and my assessment is that we have to take this serious. this virus is still with us. we've seen some evidence that the very common sense public health measures that we can take, wearing a mask, following local guidance with respect to wearing a mask, social distancing, hand hygiene, pr

tom costello has the latest on this developing story. y a decade or two in the making. >> well, that's exactly right. the team is dropping the name and logo immediately. they have been under pressure for years to make the change, but the team refused. now it is making the change amid a tidal wave of public opinion against racism. after big sponsors like fedex demanded the change or the team would risk losing sponsorships. this morning, a storied franchise is dropping its controversial name and logo. the washington nfl team saying they plan to get a new name and design approach to enhance the proud tradition, franchise, inspire sponsors, fans, community for the next 100 years. the potential change of the sports business journal. recent weeks, the team faced significant corporate and political push back to change the moniker widely viewed as a racial slur against native americans. one of the looree league goes b years. earlier this month, delivery giant fedex which owns the naming rights for the team stadium in landover, maryland, issued a

that's where we begin this morning with tom costello. he vaccine story tom, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is a major development. pfizer now joining moderna in the critical phase three trials. this is the gold standard. if you are a drug company, this is where you want to get to with your drug, with your vaccine there are many challenges ahead, but right now this is happening in record time this morning another potential coronavirus vaccine is entering late stage testing today pfizer set to begin phase three dosing of its candidate. the drug company joining moderna at this critical juncture. >> this is the main event, if you will, in drug development. >> reporter: both moderna and pfizer looking for 30,000 volunteers pfizer dosing at 89 sites across the country. including 39 states. planning 120 sites globally late monday dr. anthony fauci expressed optimism about the moderna vaccine developed in collaboration with the nih >> i can't guarantee you the success of the vaccine because only a clinical trial will determine that

tom costello has an inside look to the university of maryland. to the university of maryland and this school like others all over the country is now trying to come up with a way to protect those students but also the professors and the staff and faculty who are generally older and more vulnerable. for the nation's 20 million college students, the coming fall semester is about to look a lot different. smaller classes, mandatory face masks and temperature checks, less face time with professors at the university of maryland, the prevent the spread signs and hand sanitizer stations are up flow arrows on the doors and floors lecture hall seating cut by 60% to keep six feet of separation the university even plans to test waste and sewage water to quickly identify covid hot spots. >> it'll give you an early warning if there's something going on in that building, that residence hall, dining hall, or classroom. today is darryl pines' first day on the job two-thirds of the nation's colleges plan to welcome students back to campus. many with the combination

just an idea >> that's a good idea. >> tom costello, if that happens, my friend -- >> we're rolling back >> reporter: going to cash in. >> tom makes a good point about the effects trickling down you've got so many high school teams. the rebels rebels are a popular team name >>> let's turn to the weather. 7:46 mr. roker, how you doing >> i've been hearing some people talking about the washington red tails to be in honor of the tuskegee airmen which would be kind of cool so we would like that. that would be really neat. well, we're continuing to cover the climate now. we are looking right now at the all-time record heat for the month of june. this is the second hottest year to date. of course northern europe and siberia. june 20th, 426th consecutive month above average. that's 35 years. florida's on track for its hottest year on record the gulf of mexico, the warmest january to june period ever. so the heat continues to build as far as our climate is concerned. you can see we're looking at more showers and thunderstorms now firing up across the plains and into the mid-mississippi river val

the fda is expanding a list of sanitizers that could potentially be dangerous tom costello has the very latest here morning. >> reporter: morning we found out the hand sanitizer in the newsroom behind me, it has hand sanitizer that's on this list. the headline this morning, check the ingredients. the list of hand sanitizers that could be harmful, even deadly, is growing this morning, an urgent warning from the food and drug administration, check your hand sanitizers the fda is expanding the list of recalled sanitizers to include 75 products. the ingredient in question, methanol, sometimes referred to as wood alcohol. a substance, it says, can be toxic when absorbed through the hand or ingested, and can be life-threatening when ingested all of the products appear to have been produced in mexico and include brands like blumen, klar and danver instant hand sanitizers and vitamin e. even hello kitty by sanrio hand sanitizer. some on the list sold at national chains like walmart and costco as the demand for hand sanitizers has surged, so, too, has the number of questionable brands according

here's tom costello. >> as of now, 41 states will allow vote by mail in some form this nchb.ht of those states will mail a ballot application in advance, while seven will automatically send the ballot in the mailbox. meanwhile, nine states are still requiring an excuse beyond covid-19 concerns to vote absentee. >> that was tom costullo reporting. joining us is wisconsin's attorney general, josh kaul, and also, jb holland, a republican. they're the co-chairs of vote safe wisconsin. an effort to expand absentee voting and polling places despite the pandemic. josh, let me start with you. what lessons are you applying from april's primary to improve how you deal with the november election? >> one of the benefits we have now that we didn't have in april is that we have the benefit of time. the april election happened soon after the pandemic really hit. and so there wasn't as much preparation for it as you would like to see. this election, we have a lot more time, so people who want to vote absentee should know that in wisconsin, it's a secure process, and i encourage folks to requ

we're going to start with tom costello hey, tom, good morning >> reporter: good morning. we now have more than 960 deaths every single day in this country. up 50% over the last two weeks and there's concern that number is about to explode over the coming months. meanwhile this morning dr. anthony fauci is defending himself against attacks coming from inside the white house. and there is some encouraging news on the search for a vaccine. this morning new optimism in the race to develop a vaccine. pharmaceutical company astrazeneca and oxford university expected to release critical early data from their human trials in the coming days. and the nation's top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci tells reuters he feels good about the goal of a vaccine by the end of the year touting early results from moderna, another company currently developing a vaccine and preparing to enter the final testing phase in the next two weeks. fauci also responding to an effort by some in the white house to undermine his credibility. >> it is a bit bizarre i don't really fully understand it

we want to go first to nbc's tom costello at reagan national airport. g. >> reporter: hey, willie good morning absolutely right we're starting to see more people flying certainly than back in april. but not the numbers we had back in january by any means. listen if you fly, there's a good chance there are going to be open seats on that plane airports generally empty united airlines just announced it is extending its mask order to the airports it controls. and if you refuse to wear a mask with united, you may face a flying ban as for when air travel will return to normal the talk now is two years, three years, maybe even longer for the return four months into the global pandemic, the coronavirus has the nation's major airlines bleeding cash. even as some passengers start to trickle back to the skies. >> travelers are very concerned about catching covid-19 on an airplane more than four in five expressed this fear. >> reporter: just a couple months ago, passenger levels dropped off a cliff. down 95% those levels now down closer to 75% lower than last year b

but first tom costello joins us from reagan national with the latest hey, tom good morning >> reporter you know, air travel has picked up ever so slightly but airports are still largely front lines of this pandemic empty. but imagine the people on the front lines of this pandemic coming face-to-face every day from the nation's with passengers. trying to keep them safe and themselves safe. from the nation's runways to the highways in the skies, the coronavirus is crippling the airline industry >> it's 11:15 in the morning and it is very quiet as you can tell >> reporter: for those on the front lines like matthew cook, it's all about a new normal in the skies. >> it's already a stressful process going through all the lines. now you have to add in the possibility of the infection of coronavirus. >> reporter: the daily threat to personal safety, top of mind >> i try and think that everything is normal, but there's always that little fear in my mind that i might get infected >> reporter: with passenger volumes still down 71% domestically, airlines are focusing on ways to ensure passengers i

tom costello has been looking into it for us good morning >> reporter: good morning.ral election. that number could double this november but as states and voters deal with this new reality, there's concern about the ability to run november's election amid the pandemic with the prospect of more americans voting from home this fall, new concern that election day could stretch well beyond n november 3rd as states send people scrambling safe alternatives at the polls. many are utilizing mail-in options. >> if there's a strong mail-in ballot this time in, it may be election week. >> reporter: if primaries are any indication, final results could be delayed key battleground states which all narrowly put president trump over the top in 2016 saw massive surges in absentee voting this past spring. for some who did go to the polls, long lines like these in wisconsin and in georgia that kept voters waiting hours. and this cautionary tale in new york's 12th congressional district absentee ballots are still being counted after last month's primary. no winner declared as of now, 41

home depot say they will soon enforce their own national no mask, no entry policies lester >> tom costello tonight, thank you, tom. >>> in 60 seconds, brand new information of the shocking and deadly attack at the home of a federal judge. the suspect, himself a lawyer, also dead tonight. deadly ambush, a federal judge's son fatally shot, her husband critically wounded atnne thompson reports this isn't the only shooting he may be connected to. >> reporter: they are a legal power couple, federal judge esther salas and her criminal defense attorney husband mark antwill, their domestic life shattered -- a gunman shot mark as he answered the door and then killed h kind people. always so proud of their son. caolic university, wanted to follow in his parents' foot steps. salas a trail blazer, the first latina u.s. district court judge, nominated in 2010 by then president barack obama. >> this family was a tight family just close, loving, doting parents >> reporter: presiding over the fraud trial of real housewife star teresa judachay and her husband joe and a lawsuit brought death sentence deutsc