i'm frances rivera >> i'm lindsey reiser. coverage continues on the "today" show after this. as it heads north with torrential rain, flash floodg and damaging winds we've got multiple live reporters with the latest. >>> america honors the 13 lost men and women who were brought home yesterday after being killed in afghanistan last week. now the countdown to tomorrow's withdrawal deadline. >>> and we'll remember lou grant himself. the great ed asner

i'm lindsey reiser. >> glad you could join us. i'm frances rivera ida is wreaking havoc as the powerful storm pushes its way north. here's what we know at this hour the entire city of new orleans was plunged into darkness after a catastrophic transmission damage over a million power outages are being reported across louisiana. at least one person has been killed a 60-year-old man lost his life when a tree fell onto his home and president biden has approved a major disaster declaration for the state. let's get a live update now fro there now. >> reporter: frances, good morning. bear with me as there's a lot of developing story lines right now. the state of louisiana certainly where we've been driving through this morning, pitch black. there is no power anywhere you mentioned already a million-plus customers and businesses with no power if you figure that's three or four people per home or per business, you're looking at several million people with no power right now. i'm in prairieville or right near it. it's a suburb of baton roug

i am lindsey reiser in for yasmin vossoughian. i'm coming to you today from washington, d.c., the epicenter of a national show of force to support voting rights. it is not just here in d.c. there are protests going on around the country right now, thousands of people are raising their voices to argue for the protection of our sacred right to vote, unsiege right now in many state legislatures nationwide. we have reporters out in the streets on this historic day. it is just one of the major stories we are following this hour. >>> we are also tracking hurricane ida as it takes aim at louisiana, and we are keeping a close eye on afghanistan where the u.s. launched a deadly response to the recent suicide bombings at the airport. more on all of that in just a moment. >>> we begin this hour with breaking news and a sea of voting rights marches across the country under way right now. i'm going to show you a live look at the crowds in washington, d.c. right now tens of thousands of people flooding the streets in more than 40 cities, all to

it's saturday august 21st. >> i'm lindsey reiser. we're tracking afghanistan and what's happening there. but tropical storm

i'm lindsey reiser. a 7.2 earthquake has hit off the coast of haiti, more powerful than the one that devastated the island in 2010. it happened earlier this morning, about eight miles offshore, about 100 miles southwest of the capital of port-au-prince. reports of damage are coming in with some homes reduced to rubble as that area deals with aftershocks as well as threats of a tsunami. nbc's he had augustine is in havana, cuba with the latest on the quakes. ed, we know there have been shock waves across the caribbean. what are you hearing specifically from haiti? >> reporter: the haitian prime minister has just confirmed there have been deaths following this massive earthquake in haiti. there are no official numbers yet. haiti as a state that is in dire straits. last month, the head of state, the prime minister, was assassinated. it's going to take some time to get any handle on the amount of deaths that we've seen in light of this earthquake. i spoke to a friend in port-au-prince before coming on air. h

i am lindsey reiser in for yasmin vossoughian. i'm coming to you today from washington, d.c., the epicenter of a national show of force to support voting rights. it is not just here in d.c. there are protests going on around the country right now, thousands of people are raising their voices to argue for the protection of our

i'm frances rivera >> and i'm lindsey reiser. we're going to begin with the crisis left behind by hurricane ida. here's what we know at this hour there are still more than a million people without power in louisiana, and it could take more than three weeks for it to be restored everywhere roads are closed because of debris, and all flights are canceled to and from new orleans today. the governor has urged evacuees not to come home yet and it's becoming a common sight during troubled times. chef jose andres and his world central kitchen, they were quick to start bringing food to families and first responders in need >> two people were killed and ten others were injured after a highway collapsed in green county three of the injuries are life-threatening officials believe the torrential rain from ida was a factor for more on the aftermath of ida, here's nbc's tom llamas >> reporter: desperation in louisiana. >> the storm came, took everything >> reporter: you don't have anything left? >> took everything >> reporter: entire communiti

i'm lindsey reiser. yasmin vossoughian will be back here next saturday and saturday at 3:p.m. catch me at 6:00 p.m. eastern next weekend. our special coverage of hurricane ida continues right after the break. with downy infusions, let the scent set the mood. feel the difference with downy. we did it again. verizon has been named america's most reliable network by rootmetrics. and our customers rated us #1 for network quality in america according to j.d. power. number one in reliability, 16 times in a row. most awarded for network quality, 27 times in a row. proving once again that nobody builds networks like verizon. that's why we're building 5g right, that's why there's only one best network. at pnc bank, we believe in the power of the watch out. the “make way, coming through”... great. the storm alert... dad. and the subtle but effective ding. that's why we created low cash mode. the financial watch out that gives you the options and time needed to help you avoid overdraft fees. it's one way we're making a difference. because we believe how you handle overdrafts should b

i'm lindsey reiser. a frantic and historic day in afghanistan. the imminent fall of kabul with taliban fighters now inside the capital city. the day began with gunshots. the taliban announcing their arrival within city limits. here's a part from stewart ramsey at that very moment. >> i hear a lot of shouting coming down the road behind me. in fact, it is -- i think it's a procession of the taliban. yes, it is. there's the white flag. and they're coming down the street just next

i'm lindsey reiser. a 7.2 earthquake has hit off the coast of haiti, more powerful than the one that devastated the island in 2010. it happened earlier this morning, about eight miles offshore, about 100 miles southwest of the capital of port-au-prince. reports of damage are coming in with some homes reduced to rubble as that area deals with aftershocks as well as threats of a tsunami. nbc's he had augustine is in havana, cuba with the latest on the quakes. ed, we know there have been shock waves across the caribbean. what are you hearing specifically from haiti?

. >>> good afternoon, i'm lindsey reiser in for yasmin vossoughian. hurricane ida made landfall hours ago. we also got an union date on the storm, and it's currently packing winds near 150 miles an hour, and still stands as a category 4 storm. any moment now, governor john bel edwards is expected to hold a briefing on how the state is responding so far. we're keeping an eye on fema headquarters, where president biden arrived a short time ago to get a briefing. we'll bring you that as well. >>> but first the city of new orleans right now, the latest data from the national hurricane centers puts the storm about 150 miles away from the city. catastrophic storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding are being seen along the state's coast. you can see this surveillance camera from a nearby house, earlier in grand isle, louisiana, a small strip of land that a lot of folks were worried about. we also know more than 120,000 power outages have been reported, so people are already in the dark. >>> we're getting a rare look at the eye of the storm. we want to s

. >> i'm lindsey reiser. all eyes are on the northeast i believe this is new haven, connecticut. rhode island, new york. >> six states in all will be impacted by this storm. it will feel the brunt of this storm. rain coming down as you can see in new haechb. >> other video we can show you throughout the hour of storm surges already. we have a team of reporters.rt we're going to begin with hurricane henri getting ready to crash into the northeast coast. expected to make landfall within a few hours. can see janessa webb there, poor thing hanging on to a railing from then strong wind d rain. long island, southern new england are bracing for a direco hit for the first time in 30 years. as we saw from janessa's live shot, areas are already experiencing initial impacts. look at this video from new york city. eastern parkway behind the brooklynhi library. >> people in henri's path are emptying shelves like this one at a walmart in connecticut where flashlights are usually stocked. those close to the coast boarding up windows and in some kiess evacuating. new york governor andrew cuomo d

i'm lindsey reiser. see me next saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. eastern. now to continue our coverage, my colleague, morgan radford. >>> hello there from msnbc world headquarters here in new york city. thank you for joining us today. welcome to alex witt reports. here's what's happening at 2:00 p.m. eastern, 11:00 a.m. pacific. we begin with a new revolution in the investigation into donald trump's efforts to undermine the 2020 election. lawmakers confirming this morning that former acting attorney general jeffrey rosen sat down with the jash year committee yesterday for seven years. a senator who was in that room, dick durbin saying he hopes this testimony will lead to -- >> ultimately, there will be a report. there are more people we will try to bring in. i would like to bring in jeffrey clark, for example. he was the heir apparent in trump's mind if rosen was not going to do his bidding. and rosen stood fast and didn't. so there was a tense period of time there in a moment where the president was going to put his own man in as attorney general. >> now,

lindsey reiser in albany, thank you. >>> the u.s. could release documents between a possible link with saudi arabia and the hijackers for 9/11 after enormous pressure of a group of nearly 2,000 family members, survivors and first responders, last week asked president biden to stay away from 9/11 memorials unless he upholds what they call a complain promise to be transparent with those documents. kelly o'donnell, people have seen the documents before the 20th anniversary next month, what do we expect to learn from them? >> reporter: the timing will be decided by the department of justice as they're reviewing these files and the fbi indicated publicly they have closed some portions of their investigation which could open up the possibility of rolling disclosures of documents long kept confidential. president biden said in a statement that he wants to see this disclosure with more information of what happened. as he promised in his campaign "my administration is committed to ensuring the maximum degree of transparency under the law and

i'm lindsey reiser live at msnbc headquarters in new york. we're following fast-moving developments in afghanistan. the u.s. military is frantically rushing to evacuate the u.s. embassy in kabul. an advanced team of marines already on the ground arriving overnight, some 3,000 american forces arriving by tomorrow. it's a dangerous mission, ferrying american civilians and american allies to the airport, trying to get them out of the country. the military says if the u.s. comes under attack, they'll respond with force. the taliban has quickly retaken control of nearly every major city with the capital now in its sights. >> the deteriorating conditions are a factor, a big factor in why the president has approved this mission. clearly from their actions, it appears as if they are trying to get kabul isolated. >> in this 20-year conflict, this weekend could be one of the most critical in the direction of how this situation unfolds. and just a short time ago, afghan president ghani addressed his nation for the first time in days. he did not resign a

. >> and i'm lindsey reiser. the closing ceremonies are beginning. it's been quite a games. >>> normally that stadium would seat about 70,000 people. it's relatively empty as for protocols there in tokyo. what a couple weeks it's been. we'll have a live report from tokyo as the festivities get underway. we'll see what sort of fireworks we can see. >> we have a team of reports and analysts fooling the latest news from florida to south dakota. first, a painful sense of deja vu. covid cases returns to levels we haven't seen since the winter surge, averaging 100,000 cases a day, more than doubling in the last two weeks. >> in a 24-hour period, the state of florida broke another record, counting for one in five new infections. vaccinations are ramping up, significantly so in recent weeks. >> mike memoli is in wilmington, delaware where the president is spending the weekend. mike, to you, and to the white house, i'm curious whether they are feeling any heat. they had the big event that took place on the south lawn for the fourth of july, where the presiden

i'm lindsey reiser. >> and i'm kendis gibson. it's the last weekend we get to look at the beautiful shots of tokyo as the sun sets right there. it looks beautiful, but there's a tropical system that's expected to impact on these last 24 hours. >> can they get a break. >> not much of a break at all. it's the second time we've had a tropical system -- >> indeed. >> -- during the course of these games. our correspondents and analysts are joining us from tokyo and tampa this morning. we're going to begin with the troubling new developments stemming from the delta variant. covid cases surging at an alarming rate. look at the red, the deep dark red, many states surpassing peaks when the vaccine was not even available. >> the u.s. is reporting 1 million new cases. and the average is up 40% from last week. about half of new infections are in seven southern states. we showed you the heat map incluing florida and louisiana. >> then there is florida. florida is breaking another single-day record, reporting 122,000 new cases and 199 new deat

i'm lindsey reiser live from washington, d.c. >> i'm aaron gilchrist in for kendis gibson in new york. we have a team of reporters and analysts following the latest for you. we want to track the breaking story, the category 1 hurricane taking aim at the gulf coast with landfall expected tomorrow on the 16th anniversary of hurricane katrina. forecasters are warning, though, this storm could be much stronger when it crashes ashore tomorrow, potentially leaving behind devastation that could last for months. hurricane ida has been intensifying so quickly that the mayor of new orleans says there is no time to issue new mandatory evacuation orders. meaning many people will be forced to take cover at home. >> we want to get right to nbc news meteorologist janessa webb who's tracking the latest for us. how dangerous could this storm be, what are we talking about here? >> lindsay, this is a dire situation because just in the last few hours our latest update, this storm system continues to grow. we are seeing a ton of convection, and what that is a signal for me is that we're seeing a stronger

. >>> welcome back, i'm lindsey reiser, to the coronavirus pandemic in florida, the state is reporting a 74% increase in covid deaths from just last week. there were also more than 150,000 new covid cases this week averaging more than 20,000 a day. other states in the south are seeing similar trends, hospitals are running out of icu beds and some are facing staffing shortages as vaccination rates remain low. nbc's stephanie stanton is live in tampa, florida. stephanie, what is the trajectory there, and is governor desantis doing anything differently to combat covid? >> well, lindsay, governor desantis announced earlier this week that he is enacting a rapid response unit which has started dispensing antibodies to those that need it. the teams are also expected to go to long-term care facilities and he's going to start this program in the city of jacksonville. he hopes to expand it throughout the state. of course, as you mentioned, this is one step that the governor is taking as we are seeing a rise in cases here in florida. as you just reported, according to the latest figures from the

. >> i'm lindsey reiser. we're tracking afghanistan and what's happening there. but tropical storm henri, the path of where it could make landfall. >> a key update is expected at the top of the hour, we'll bring it to you as soon as we get it from the national hurricane center. we have a team of reporters following the latest for you right now. >> we'll begin with that monster storm, the latest guidance from the national hurricane center as kendis mentioned has tropical storm henri impacting the northeast later tonight, possibly making landfall as a category one hurricane. >> more than 4 million people under a hurricane warning, with storm surges set to hit long island, connecticut as well as rhode island. overnight tonight. now officials across the northeast are urging residents to prepare for floods and possible power outages. joining us right now is nbc news meteorologist michelle grossman and nbc meteorologist janessa webb in long beach, new york. michelle, starting with you, the latest tracking we got a couple hours ago, we're looking at -- what are we looki

i'm lindsey reiser. breaking news out of haiti, the prime minister confirming in the last hour people have died after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit just off the coast of the caribbean this morning. now, the exact number of fatalities is still unknown. but we want to show you a look at the damage here. this is near the site of the quake. people in jamaica reportedly felt the tremors. that was from a distance of about 200 miles away. as you may remember here, haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake back in 2010. that was a 7.0 magnitude quake so that was actually smaller than this one. and that one killed about 200,000 people. let's go right to nbc's ed augustine, following the breaking news for us. ed, what is the latest on the situation? >> reporter: as you mentioned, the haitian prime minister has confirmed that there are deaths, and we're expecting those deaths to be significant and casualties also to be significant. i spoke to people in port-au-prince earlier this morning and the person i spoke to

. >> i'm lindsey reiser, have you felt that way when you've been flying? >> i'm probably the person they're about to tape and restrain on most flights. so -- >> you're the person they cut off at the airport. >> exactly. this kendis guy. >> things have gotten so wild the faa is now stepping in, and actually just kind of desperately asking for airports to step in, we're going to dive into all of that. >> and monitor people, right, flight attendants have been taking self-defense classes. we're going to dive into that this hour. we have a team of reporters and analysts following the lathe for us right now and we're going to begin with the bad news across the country in the delta variant that's running rampant right now and driving up the rate of infections and hospitalizations. >> the u.s. is now reporting more than 100,000 daily new cases for the first time since february, and this week's seven-day hospitalization average is up more than 40% from last week. the new cases heavily concentrated in some of the lowest vaccinated areas in the country, including, of

. >> i'm lindsey reiser. all eyes are on the northeast

. >>> good afternoon, i'm lindsey reiser in for yasmin vossoughian. hurricane ida made landfall hours ago. we also got an union date on the storm, and it's currently packing winds near 150 miles an hour, and still stands as a category 4 storm. any moment now, governor john bel edwards is expected to hold a bg

i'm lindsey reiser. a frantic and historic day in afghanistan. the imminent fall of kabul with taliban fighters now inside the capital city. the day began with gunshots. the taliban announcing their arrival within city limits. here's a part from stewart ramsey at that very moment. >> i hear a lot of shouting coming down the road behind me. in fact, it is -- i think it's a procession of the taliban. yes, it is. there's the white flag. and they're coming down the street just next to us. they're led by a white flag, and they're chanting as they go down. i don't think from our position, we can't show you that. we're about two or three stories, four stories up. but there they are, right here. hopefully they keep going past this hotel. >> a spokesman for the taliban told nbc news they ordered fighters to enter kabul to prevent looting since police appear to have abandoned their positions. there's been steady helicopter traffic all day over the u.s. embassy with evacuations taking an urgent turn when the taliban surrounded the city. smoke is rising as o