the news with shepard smith starts now covid is surging l.a. county reinstates indoor mask mandates for everyone i'm shepherd smith this is the news on cnbc an urgent threat the surgeon general ringing the alarm not about delta but vaccine misinformation >> this has led to avoidable illnesses and death. >> as we see the effect first-hand >> i wish i would have made better choices for her the assassination plot in haiti delivers another shocking curve ball some suspects arrested once trained by the u.s. military plus meet a man who spoke directly with the alleged

mastermind of the attack parents, check your bank accounts today millions of american families get direct cash deposits >> this can be life changing for so many families >> the impact and the push back. i developed depression, anxiety. >> lives up ended, families left for broke. a cnbc investigation of stolen unemployment money during the pandemic wildfires force more evacuations in the west. the tiger king wins a battle in court. and the mysterious illness killing birds in america >> live from cnbc, the facts, a. >> good evening. we have a new the truth, "the news with shepherd smith." good evening we have a new time line for when kids under 12 could get a covid shot early to mid-winter. that's new and according to an fda official today who signaled that's when the agency could give emergency use authorization for young kids

the fda facing pressure as new cases rise including in los angeles county where health officials just announced they'll once again require everyone to wear masks indoors nationwide average daily infections have more than doubled since hitting a pandemic low less than a month ago. that's from john hopkins the data shows hospitalizations are rising as well and now so too are the lagging indicator, deaths. they've increased by more than 25% in the past ten days health experts attribute that in part to the highly contagious delta variant and low vaccination rates. today the united states surgeon general used a health advisory calling out tech companies, health care workers and every day americans to do more to fight misinformation about covid and vaccines the surgeon general describes it as an urgent threat to public health >> during the covid-19 pandemic health misinformation has led people to resist wearing masks

in high-risk settings. it's led them to turn down proven treatments and choose not to get vaccinated. this has led to avoidable illnesses and death. simply put, health information has cost us lives. >> a local news station in arkansas spoke with one woman who says she did not get a vaccination for herself or her 13-year-old daughter because of misinformation about the shots and now she admits that was a mistake. she says she's spent much of the past 12 days inside a children's hospital watching her daughter hooked up to a ventilator struggling to breathe and struggling to beat covid >> it's very hard to see her in this situation it's very hard not knowing if she's really going to come home anymore or not it's heart breaking. i wish i would have made better choices for her. i just had a false sense of security that it was just like the flu, and it wasn't that serious. and obviously it is that serious.

it's very serious now i see. >> she says the hardest part of watching her daughter suffer is knowing all of it was preventable, and that's why she is urging all americans to get vaccinated in a moment we'll hear from the former fda commissioner dr. scott gottlieb, but first our senior health correspondent meg tirrell. meg, what more do we know about when shots could be available for young kids >> well, shep, we're learning tonight the fda would aim to move quickly to full approval of the vaccine for kids that's according to an official from the agency who acknowledged the move could alleviate hesitancy for some parents worried about a vaccine cleared only for emergency use the timing reported by nbc news tonight aligns with the time line given by pfizer for when it expects to see results from clinical trials of its vaccine in kids and filed with the fda september for ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 11 and november for those as young as six months.

pfizer has been the most advanced in trials for kids with moderna following close behind no word, though, when full approval might come for adults a question that's taking on increasing urgency amid the spread of delta and flagging vaccination rates. pave the doctors like eric topol says it paves the way for more employers and schools to feel comfortable mandating the vaccine. i asked about this at a recent covid white house briefing and the response was it's in the hands of the fda which is working on an expedited timeframe. dr. fauci added there's so much strong data supporting the vaccines hundreds of millions of doses administered, he says he hopes people don't wait because of this shep >> and meg, you also have news on the possibility of booster shots? >> yeah, so remember that back and forth last week when pfizer suggested a booster would be needed and the fda and the cdc came out just hours later saying no, not at this time well, now we're seeing the cdc's advisory committee on vaccines planning to meet to discuss that

very topic next week, specifically additional doses for people who are immune compromised. these are folks who make up almost 3% of u.s. adults who have are had organ transplants or cancer or other >> meg, thanks let's turn to dr. scott gottlieb, former fd ark commissioner and author of the book "uncontroll im immunosuppressant treatments or living with hiv. studies have shown the vaccines may not work as well for them. and this is the population for whom other countries like israel and france have announced plans for boosters already shep >> meg, thanks let's turn it to dr. scott gottlieb now he's also on the boards of pfizer andbas ck to mandating m everyone indoors vaccinated or not. right thing to do or no? >> well, look, i think in places where you have dense spread it's prudent to take public health precautions. i think the bottom line is most places are unlikely to do that

likely to be the exception here. and most of the spread is going to be against the backdrop of no public health precautions or very limited precautions so i think individuals in these hot spots around the country who are vulnerable are going to have take measures into their own hands and take precautions if they think they're at risk because a lot of spread is happening in states who have affirmed they're not going to go back to mask mandates or any kind of ordinance, shutting down that might be occurring. so this is likely to spread unabated and really the only wall is going to be a wall of immunity we get through vaccination or through the natural immunity acquired through continued spread >> we continue to hear from some people who are hesitant say, look, i want complete approval from the fda when they approve this, not special authorization. when they approve it, maybe i'll get the vaccine. is the fda making a mistake by moving slowly on that? fda is movin >> i'm not sure the fda is moving slowly.

my prediction was that it would take the fda three months from the time the applications were submitted from the agencies to issue full approval. pfizer submitted its application the end of may moderna submitted early june, so we're coming up about three months as we enter into the end of august. so i think that time frame is likely to hold i think it's likely to see the fda approve the vaccines somewhere around that three-month threshold. that was my assumption just understanding the fda process. >> the fda said today that vaccines for kids under 12 expected early to mid-winter that's a long way out. are you worried about the threat to kids between now and then especially in school >> well, look, the best protection we can afford kids is by controlling the spread of infection in adults. what we see in other countries is that when the rate of infection goes down the rate of infection goes down in children as well. if we can control the infection in the adult population, children are going to be less vulnerable the vaccine for children under the age of 12 an

the vaccine being formulated for children ages 5 through 11 is a different vaccine as far as dose the dose being used in children is a 30 microgram dose at least with respect to the pfizering fn vaccine. the vaccine for pfizer is a 10 microgram dose fda typically views children 12 and above as little adults, andm in children. below the ag they'll look at the data in the adult population and use that as a barometer for how it's likely to perform in children below the age of 12 fda does view the biology differently, and they'll put those vaccines through a different kind of evaluation process >> finally, the cdc said today, yes, we're considering booster shots for immuno compromised patients it was just one week ago the same cdc told us it was too early to start talking about boosters for anybody the messaging here, frankly it's been quite inconsistent. is it concerning >> well, look, i think the bottom line is we're going to be boosting some portion of the population certainly anyone who gets a vaccine right now that vaccine is going to protect them through the fall and winter.summertime,o

anyone who got a vaccine over the summertime most people got vaccines in april and may. that was when the bulk of the population got vaccinated. those vaccines are likely to be durable through the fall season as well and through the winter especially considering many of those individuals were younger individuals going to a get aresg more robust response itself. we vaccinated most of the population under the age of 65 in january so our most vulnerable citizens were vaccinated very early what we have seen in the data coming out of israel is th durability of the vaccines isn't as long as we might have predicted at the outset. you do see a decline in durability over time especially in older individuals i do think considering boosters especially in that older population is something to do.c israel has, france has, the uk is israel has, france has, the uk has announced they're going to be boosting their population above the age of 70 and walking it down to younger ages as well.

so i think we're going to get there in terms of looking at boosters particularly for that older population that was vaccinated back in december and january. and it could be you get a very durable response once you get that third dose. >> one more question before we go my father is 93. he lives in mississippi and the health professionals down there just warned everybody who's older wear a mask all the time when in crowded places is that sort of thing coming to other areas, or is that specific to areas like theirs where vaccination rates are low? >> look, some parts of the country -- i'm in connecticut right now -- well over 60% of the population has been vaccinated i think you'll likely see very low infection levels even with the delta variant in parts of the country where you've already seen a lot of spread and vaccination rates are very high. in parts of the country where vaccination rates are low, this delta variant could spread quite rapidly. and we're going to see further spread we haven't seen the worst of the spread of this delta variant yet. if you're in those parts of thee

precautions. you're not going t country and you're vulnerable, you need to take precautions so i think that's going to make public health officials and local officials more reluctant to implement the kind of measures you see in los angeles right now. >> dr. scott gottlieb, always great to hear from you thanks so much millions of american families are receiving hundreds of dollars in their bank accounts today courtesy of the federal government and the taxpayers. the funds marking the start of a new monthly child tax credit it was a cornerstone of president biden's covid relief package. he touted the payments as a giant and historic step as he put it ending child poverty in america. >> give you a sense of how transformative this is, this would be the largest ever one-year decrease in child poverty in the history of the united states of america as we begin now. historic reductions in child poverty among white, black and

latinos and aapi communities >> the monthly payments are up to $300 per child, and they're expected to help families pay for things like day care, doctor visits, food, clothes and school supplies but the credits are set to expire at the end of year. and critics argue they're too expensive and might discourage people from working. we have senior congressional correspondent ylan mui with more what are you hearing from families >> reporter: well, shep, this is a very big experiment. it's the first time you can get cash and the tax credit in advance and sent straight to your bank account every single month. >> i say $550 from irs i was so excited i was like yes >> reporter: she lives in chicago with her two little girls and with her husband another baby is on the way hers is just one of the 35 million families who got their payments today in total, roughly $15 billion went out the door.

democrats are trying to make sure voters remember that when they go to the polls in 2022 through campaign videos like this one, and they're already promising to extend the payments for years to come if not make them permanent >> to quote our dear friend former senator and current president joe biden, this is a big effing deal, one of the biggest effing deals that's been passed in decades and decades. >> reporter: but republicans warn the cash could actually discourage people from getting a job. senator marco rubio said the biden child allowance is but she says washington politicians don't understand how far she can make her money go. shoes, when i'm able to buy her mcdonald's when i can't probably afford it because it puts me a little bit over my monthly debt. 550 seems like it may be nothing

to them but for a family like mine it's something huge >> reporter: today she was able to pay her light bill and then went to target to stock up on groceries. >> ylan, thank you some of the suspected assassins in haiti were in fact trained by the united states military what the pentagon is saying. plus a florida doctor alleged to be the mastermind of that attack. tonight our conversation with someone who attended the meetings with him months before. he was accused of sexual harassment by numerous women now investigators are set to question the new york governor andrew cuomo and america's new cyber bounty how the state department is offering big money to anybody who can help bring hackers to justice. i'm dad's greatest sandcastle - and greatest memory! but even i'm not as memorable as eating turkey hill chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream

with real cocoa. well, that's the way the sandcastle crumbles. you can't beat turkey hill memories. flowers are fighters. that's why the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's is full of them. because flowers find a way to break through. just like we will. join the fight at alz.org/walk some of the columbian commandos accused of

assassinating the president of haiti received some training from the united states military. the pentagon confirming today a that a small number of the alleged assassins participated in u.s. military training programs back when they were still active soldiers in thet assassination, the burning colombian military more than a week after that assassination the burning question remains why the answer so far has been convoluted haitian police say this man, a florida-based doctor and pastor named christian sanan was one of the master minds of the operation. they claimed this man planned to seize power after sending a hit home "the new york times" reports in months leading up to the assassination, the doctor held meetings to discuss squad of foreign mercenaries to gun down the president in his home "the new york times" reports in months leading up to the assassination dr. sanan held meetings to discuss the future of haiti with some of the key players who are now under investigation including the owner of a south florida private security company who allegedly hired that hit team.

i spoke with a man who was in some of those meetings he's a retired economics professor in south florida and says there was no indication at all that dr. sanan planned to launch a coup. he says dr. sanan wanted to become a leader in haiti and was interested in the professor's economic development plan for the country. >> my understanding was that he wanted to become the prime minister of haiti. >> what was your impression of him? >> he was -- he's a very amicable person, very courteous, well-spoken. he was a gentleman as far as i'm concerned. >> about a decade ago dr. sanan posted videos on youtube calling for a change in leadership in haiti. look well, we had a sound bite there but it wasn't available. we've not heard from dr. sanan to get his side of the story since his arrest

investigators are set to question new york governor andrew cuomo this saturday regarding sexual harassment accusations against him. a source familiar with the situation tells nbc news two outside lawyers with the new york state attorney's general office will do the questioning several women have accused governor cuomo of sexual misconduct or harassment including suggestive comments and unsolicited kiss on the lips and groping. governor cuomo has denied all allegations and has apologized for times he said he unknowingly made women feel uncomfortable. a senior advisor told "the new york times" which first reported the news we have said repeatedly the governor doesn't want to comment on the review until he has cooperated no word on when the investigation will end, but the findings are set to be released in a public report dozens killed as flood waters rush into germany and belgium. families rescued from roofs, river overflowing banks and sewage flowing in the streets.

we're on the ground as the region braces for even more rain military veterans pushing for access to medical marijuana. the federal government says you can't have it, so some military vets are taking matters into their own hands.

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here are the two battling to the line and allyson felix... simone manuel's above her trying to fight on, and above simone... getting an opportunity to show her stuff. nonstop, displayed at the highest performance level... finding something and the us takes gold! ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ - yes! ♪ ahhhhhhh ♪ ♪ dream until your dreams come true ♪ senate majority leader chuck schumer said today he's making legalizing marijuana a priority for the u.s. senate. but as he wages the battle at the federal level, military veterans are pushing for access to weed as well.

hospital right now doctors at v.a. hospitals cannot legally recommend medical marijuana to vets even in states where it's already legal. but veterans say medical cannabis saves lives and that they deserve full access like everyone else. so one group of vets in hawaii decided to sow their own greener pastures here's nbc's hallie jackson. >> reporter: on a spectacular stretch of land on the north side sits this far, its exact location not publicized for security reasons because inside these greenhouses sit 400 cannabis plants grown by veterans for veterans. so each of these plants belongs to somebody. is that what these tags are on the bottom here? >> that's correct. >> reporter: jason hanley runs this co-op farm where people grow their own medical marijuana a lot cheaper than if they had to buy it somewhere else how many of those patients you serve are veterans would you say

here >> i would say about 50% yeah, that's a lot of veterans >> reporter: these plants belong to gemma osborn, a retired staff sergeant deployed to the world trade center almost immediately after the towers fell. >> about seven or eight of us got really sick and i'm still the last survivor out of the group. >> it is stage 4 kidney failure on both your kidneys >> oh, yeah. oh, yeaht do to you? >> what does that do to you? >> i vomit a lot i get weak, stomach pains that can killn constantly, when >> reporter: osborne was losing weight fast, in pain constantly when she was persuaded to visit hawaii so what happened the first time that you smoked cannabis to try to alleviate your symptoms >> i got, really, really, really high so -- and that's important. i got -- so i didn't feel the pain >> reporter: where would you be if you hadn't found this farm, if you hadn't found cannabis >> close to death, closer to death. >> reporter: cannabis works for

osborne and others like her. problem is they can't get it from the v.a it's against the law for government doctors to recommend it because marijuana is still classified as a schedule one narcotic that means right now even in the 36 states plus d.c. where medical marijuana is legal to treat conditions like chronic pain, vets can only access it if they find it on their own and pay for it out-of-pocket now a new push in washington hopes to change that >> when they say, hey, how come the v.a. can't do it it's an affordability issue. might be a veteran saying i've got chronic issues, but opioids are very dangerous marijuana is a better way to manage it. even in states like virginia that allow marijuana for medical purposes, they can't offer that as an option >> reporter: lea thinks that's important. she's still struggling with ptsd after 14 years in the navy >> we shouldn't it be our only option, pain or pharmaceuticals. >> reporter: a veteran

>> they tell nbc news the v.a. does not have a position on spokesperson tells nbc the v.a. does not have a position and cannot help patients get it but veterans will not be denied benefits from marijuana use. you could say some vets are fighting the country they fought for but that's not how osborne sees >> i always tell me that was the best job i ever had. in the air force >> reporter: you just want to see them open the door a bit to something that has been stigmatized for a long time that you found is almost a miracle plant for you. >> absolutely. not almost it is. >> reporter: part of the reason some vets argue it's so important is because it expands the tool kit for their doctors right now there are only two drugs approved to treat ptsd a new one has not been approved in nearly two decades. some advocates are saying, hey, this might be the time to at least open the door to somethin. shep, back to you. new, something that they say works. shep, back to you.

>> hallie, thank you the big easy is bouncing back our american comeback series heads to new orleans where a city built on tourism is welcoming people home. when hackers attacked the colonial pipeline small mom and pop gas stations took a huge hit, and it was more than just the pumps running dry. now the little guys are fighting back that's next as we approach the bottom of the hour and the top of the news on cnbc. what's on the horizon? the answers lie beyond the roads we know. we recognize that energy demand is growing, and the world needs lower carbon solutions to keep up. at chevron, we're working to find new ways forward, like through our venture capital group. backing technologies like electric vehicle charging, carbon capture and even nuclear fusion. we may not know just what lies ahead, but it's only human... to search for it.

the treasury secretary weighs in on the wild residential real estate market and that's what's topping cnbc on the money the residential real estate market is on fire and has been since lock down as more and more people move out of cities and into the 'burbs. sarah eisen spoke with the treasury secretary janet yellin today. she says we're not seeing the same type of housing bubble that infamously popped in 2008, but she did reveal what she's worrying about >> i do worry about affordability and the pressures that higher housing prices will create for families for the first time home buyers who have less income. >> it is getting expensive the new york giants running back saquon barkley is cashing

in on crypto he's taking 100% of his endorsement money in bitcoin the 24-year-old has deals with nike, pepsi, toyota and lots more barkley reportedly makes more than $10 million a year in marketing money. and coca-cola now changing the flavor of one of its sodas again. the company revealing the taste and look of coke zero, the diet spin-off meant to closely resemble the classic coke taste. officials say the change optimizes existing coke flavors and ingredients, whatever that means. some coke drinkers say they're a bit nervous, sort of a flashback to 1985 and the company's new coke debacle when they introduced the first formula change 99 years, the outrage bubbled over and the recipe tweak fizzled. we'll see if the change is celebrated here this time. on wall street the dow up 54, the s&p down 14, the nasdaq down 102 i'm shepherd smith on cnbc

it's the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news more than 50 people dead, dozens more missing as torrential rains turn streets into rivers across western europe the tiger king scores a legal victory after the court rules the former reality tv star must be resentenced. and a new program that will pay big money to people who track down hackers the white house says it'll offer up to $10 million in reward money for information identifying state backed foreign hackers who attack u.s. infrastructure the white house is also launching a new task force aimed at curbing a recent rise in cyber hacks. officials say they're hoping to get more money back from past ransom attacks just like they did with almost all of the $4.4 million from the colonial pipeline hack back in may. but there's another story there. gas station owners whose businesses were crippled by that attack say they aren't getting

back any of the thousands and thousands of dollars they lost when the pipeline shutdown cnbc's senior washington correspondent eamon javers spoke with an owner now part of a group suing colonial >> i'm losing customers, i'm losing business. >> reporter: that's what he told his suppliers after the colonial pipeline ransomware attack he manages an ez mart in wilmington, north carolina, where he sells gas and runs a convenience store. for eight days he had nothing to sell his customers at the pump easy mart is the lead plaintiff in a class action complaint filed against colonial last month. according to the suit ez mart saw its sales dip nearly $8,000 in may, the same month ransom ware gang dark side attacked the company. >> the claim we seek to advance on behalf of the class is one of negligence, that is this company was using a system allowing

remote access without multifactor authentication and had many warnings this could occur. >> reporter: john is representing the plaintiffs in the complaint which alleges colonial failed to properly secure the pipeline. resulting in fuel shortages for more than 11,000 gas stations. in a statement colonial tells cnbc it can't comment on pending litigation but said the company worked around the clock to safely restart the pipeline. but it's colonial's planning prior to the cyber attack that's central to the allegation of negligence, an issue that came up in a congressional hearing with the ceo >> did you have a plan for cyber security response that included guidance about ransomware? >> senator, specifically, no no discussion about ransom and action to ransom >> reporter: the colonial case unlike most cyber breaches which deal with stolen data involves physical damage and that presents new legal questions

>> the hackers who are the bad guys, those are the criminals. but the question that's raised with this is what liabilities, what responsibilities does colonial have? colonial pipeline is the primary target and other people are impacted by it >> reporter: and that's a question many companies are asking as virtually every industry from meat packing to i.t. software faces the threat of a ransomware attack at the ez mart eddy says it took about a month for his customers to return but business is now back to normal now, shep, this proposed class action complaint was filed in the northern district of georgia on june 21st colonial has until august 24th to file a responsive pleading, and a judge will still need to determine if it meet the criteria for a class action. and the case moves forward as a class it could be a years long legal fight. this is just getting started >> it will cost a lot of money >> these guys have had a rough time

>> clearly they have you shutdown, what do you do eamon javers, thanks >> you bet at least 60 people are confirmed dead after a once in a century storm triggered devastating flash floods in western europe and we just got word more than 1,300 people are unaccounted for. officials in germany now declaring a state of emergency as heavy rain turned streets into flowing rivers. researchers using these -- or rescuers i should say using these helicopters to pull up families trapped on their roofs. the german army announced it's deploying some 200 soldiers to assist in the rescue operation this drone video shows the extent of the damage the rushing water swept away cars, even knocked down buildings. a similar story in neighboring belgium where some homes are too dangerous to stay in local officials are now asking residents to get out and move to higher ground. international coverage now from our sister network sky news and their reporter michelle clifford

in schuld, germany >> reporter: nothing could have prepared the residents for what happened here, for the torrent of water that destroyed their properties water has receded now but has left much of the area in ruins he had to wait hours to learn his in-laws were safe. >> it was dark because there was no light, no power and there was also no phone connection so we tried to reach them all night and it was very hard to get them >> reporter: the house they've lived in most of their lives is uninhabitable, everything on the ground floor destroyed and every neighbor around them is confronted by the same awful realty people here have expected flooding but say they never have imagined the sheer force of water that burst through their village destroying homes and businesses and leaving hundreds here without power, gas, electricity and clean water. but the rain and floods have impacted way beyond this corner of germany

homes in eastern belgium are also under water after record levels of rain some properties are now too dangerous to stay in luckily i have my sister, but now we've been told our house could collapse and so we've had to leave she shows us how far the water rose inside her property eventually her family were forced to leave. >> translator: around 4:00 a.m. the water started rising from over there i told my partner and we were able to move the car out and quickly move a few things upstairs, but then we had to go because the water rose so quickly inside the house as we left the water was up to here on me >> reporter: roads and transport links have been affected across a wide area. and with already soggy ground, the worry is about more rain to come and what that could mean for many thousands of people

michelle clifford, sky news, germany. well, the national interagency fire center has now declared the united states at its highest level of fire activity the earliest such designation in the fire season in a decade. that means more than 71 large wildfires burning might exhaust the nation's fire fighting resources because at least 80% of wildland fire fighting crews have already been deployed there's a new wildfire erupting in northern california's butte county officials say the dixie fire started the day before yesterday and is 0% contained. it area about 10 miles outside the town of paradise that was the flashpoint of the deadliest wildfire in recent history when the camp fire killed 85 people and destroyed that town. the red apple fire forcing evacuations for people in 1,500 homes in washington state. officials say it may have been sparked by an illegal burn the sheriff's office says it searched a home where they believe it started and the bootleg fire in oregon, still the largest in all the country now about 300 square

miles, about the size of the five boroughs of new york city it's listed as just 7% contained. and officials expect it to burn for weeks. almost a third of all businesses are small businesses. since covid started spreading in the u.s. the number of small businesses in new orleans has dropped by nearly half that's from the city's business alliance last year, local officials estimated new orleans lost about $125 million per week in tourism revenue alone. but now the local economy is bouncing back. cnbc's andrea day spoke with three entrepreneurs in new orleans about how they're adapting during the pandemic and making an american comeback. >> the one word that best describes the past year is hell. >> for me it's aspirational. >> for me it's patience. >> reporter: this is new orleans, louisiana, where three

small businesses are making a comeback >> we were banking on tourism. >> reporter: but when covid hit everything loreta harrison was banking on to fund a restaurant and candy business disappeared >> we flat lined there was no business. >> reporter: to bring it back to life she started cooking for a organization that provides food for people in need >> it helped us to stay afloat >> reporter: a lifeline for loretta until this a post on tiktok that went viral. >> it was a customer who came in, and she said i heard all this talk about loreta's >> you saw us on tiktok. >> it turned into a lot of sales, lines out the door. my advice to other small business owners don't quit >> reporter: from downtown up to new orleans first black owned yoga studio, magnolia. >> when i couldn't see my community i felt like i was melting. >> reporter: with members not

allowed in the studio her revenue dried up so she jumped into action virtually. >> we just shifted it to now doing formal classes with them online it kept us alive >> reporter: and members are now back at the studio >> we're growing slowly but surely >> reporter: not far away is outdoor venue space, culture park >> we survived katrina, we'll survive a pandemic >> reporter: but with big events canceled daniel wilcox's business was tanking to stay afloat he started renting space out one family at a time >> we did a small gathering with small birthday parties, booked some live bands. people bring lawn chairs out to hear music >> reporter: and when the city reopened business boomed and out of the chaos major life lessons. >> you have to think outside the box. >> don't take anything for granted. >> the preparation is very important. the future's so bright this is an illuminating time >> if you're able to create opportunity here you'll definitely be able to survive.

>> the future is stronger than ever >> reporter: and talk about strong loreta says that one post that went viral on tiktok is still to this day bringing customers into her store with lines out the door but even ask for one of her famous recipes she says to get that one you'll need a very big check. shep >> just go shopping. thanks very much, andrea well, emv chips, those are the tiny little chips in your credit card and they're causing a big problem. actually they're not the problem, it's a lack of them because thousands of people on unemployment got their benefits on debit cards that don't have those chips and a wave of fraud and theft followed our cnbc investigation next. plus they said they'd track them down and they did multiple people arrested by british police for posting racist messages about soccer players, and the search is not over

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danny, the u.s. journalist detained in myanmar had a court hearing today. we've reported on the 37-year-old arrested in myanmar's airport back in may. at the time he was about to board a flight to the u.s. he's the managing editor of frontier myanmar and he faces an incitement charge that carries a penalty up to three years in jail his family says he's innocent. they tell cnbc his hearing was virtual today. the u.s. was not granted access, but his lawyer was the family says finster has covid symptoms and they're pleading with the military to release him on humanitarian grounds. his next hearing is scheduled for july 28th. police in england have arrested five people for online racist messages directed at three black soccer stars after the european championship final. last week, they missed their penalty kicks in a shootout against the italians a wave of online abuse followed

with racist messages posted on their social media accounts. a mural of rashford was also defaced after the loss but fans came the next day to cover the racist graffiti with paper hearts and messages of support the uk prime minister boris johnson says people guilty of racist online abuse against players will be banned from all future matches local officials say they're working closely with facebook, instagram and twitter to tackle what they say is significant number of reports of racist abuse. amid the pandemic a wave of unemployment made jobless benefits a prime target for fraudsters according to recent data from the labor department improper payments amounted to $39 billion. the bulk of this fraud involved identity theft, but more than 100,000 americans reported a different kind of scheme, transaction fraud. that's when criminals steal unemployment benefits from peoples accounts a cnbc investigation reveals

that a cost-saving but outdated technology is fueling this type of theft here's cnbc's leslie picker. >> reporter: when schools and venues shutdown during the pandemic performer and part time music teacher moon found himself out of work. >> i had to go on unemployment insurance. >> reporter: those benefits were a lifeline until october when he discovered all but a few dollars were stolen. >> my entire account was cleared out. it kind of put me in a difficult situation. >> reporter: without those funds moon became temporarily homeless living in his car for weeks. >> i'd usually lay against that side of the car and lay my legs over the center console. >> reporter: moon and millions of unemployed americans received their state benefits through debit cards like these but they lack chips, a common security barrier against fraud. still 45 states plus d.c. use debit cards mostly without chips although many also give recipients a direct deposit option

our investigation found states like california and nevada found an outsized share of stolen benefits during the pandemic because they had a greater reliance on chipless debit cards. >> a card without a chip, that's really easy to copy. >> reporter: criminals can then take the duplicate card to an atm for cash according to cybersecurity experts. >> it's just a matter of picking up a reader,writer and duplicating it just like a photo copy >> and i would presume it would be impossible to replicate a card with an chip on it. >> it is extremely expensive and cost prohibitive to manufacture a card with a chip in it >> reporter: a big reason why these cards had a lower level of security comes down to cost. california hired bank of america years ago to distribute unemployment insurance on its behalf their contract show the state only requested cards with magnetic stripes, not chips. california recently extended its contract with b of a only the

bank tells cnbc it would like to exit this business as soon as possible that's because the bank says it's lost hundreds of billions in 2020 alone due to transactions fraud in state benefits >> i was shocked i couldn't believe it was happening to me. >> reporter: this single mom vanessa experienced it first-hand and blames the bank and the lack of security >> i had to break my son's piggy bank it was sad to have my son tell me he knows i'm stressing, he knows i'm struggling, that was the heart breaking moment. >> reporter: they're part of a class action lawsuit against bank of america alleging the firm failed to fully investigate their fraud claims and quickly credit their accounts when the funds were stolen. together they say they've lost more than $10,000. >> i developed depression, anxiety. >> reporter: she was at the grocery store trying to buy food for herself and her toddler when she discovered the missing funds. >> i was sobbing and i didn't know what to do because that was our life at that moment, and it was a really scary moment. >> reporter: they said in court

documents between october 2020 and march of 2021 about 255,000 fraud claims were filed of which they approved payments to about half in a statement to cnbc, b of a said it's number one goal has always been to ensure legitimate recipients could access their benefits >> what was going on with bank of america at the time was really exhausting. >> reporter: after months of back and forth bank of america gave them credit for their missing funds but they say their lives have already been up ended. >> this is peoples lives you're messing with, this is my life you're messing with, his life, her life i feel very like punched in the gut. >> reporter: amid our questionings over the last few months bank of america and the state of california told cnbc they are in the process of transitioning to chip based cards pending california legislation would also add a direct deposit option for these benefits, shep >> i thought everybody had chips by now >> so did i. i have a chip in my cards.

just the gift cards. that's the last remnant aside from these >> great to see you in person. one question, though do other banks provide unemployment services? >> you know it's a good question we called the three other banks that do provide these benefits including u.s. bank, key bank. only key bank responded commentary on fraud inci declining to provide comments on fraud proving any further comments due to investigations and as bank of america looks to exit this business it recently seized work with states like iowa, kansas, nevada and maryland >> all right, thank you. a man from iowa found with a rifle, scope and handgun in his hotel room in chicago was not planning an attack at all. he was just planning to propose to his girlfriend, according to his lawyer cops arrested keegan castille on july 4th after a housekeeper led them to his room where they found loaded guns and five ammo clips. the mayor and the police superintendent said he may have been planning an attack on a

busy navy pier 12 stories below but prosecutors haven't shown any proof of that. castille's lawyers says city leaders were trying to distract from the crime wave hitting the city and the increase in violence was actually the reason he felt he needed to carry guns in the first place as he went to propose to his girlfriend. he said the permit for the guns was from iowa, but it's not legal to carry them in chicago he's now facing two felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and was released on bond. as he left the jail his girlfriend got out of an suv and he proposed. a mysterious disease is targeting song birds in at least ten states hundreds and hundreds of the birds are dying. hundreds more showing eye injuries or nerve damage what fish and wildlife divisions are telling residents to do immediately. and some call him tiger king, others joe exotic, but will we all be calling him a

free man soon? a new ruling about his prison sentence next. memorable as eating turkey hill chocolate chip cookie dough creamy premium ice cream and chasing fireflies. don't worry about me. i'm fine. you can't beat turkey hill memories. flowers are fighters. that's why the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's is full of them. because flowers find a way to break through. just like we will. join the fight at alz.org/walk

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tiger king he rose to fame in a popular netflix documentary that we all watched during covid and fell to earth when he was convicted of murder for hire. now the tiger king could be out of prison far sooner than first expected a federal appeals court ruled just yesterday that joe exotic may be getting a shorter prison term earlier last year a judge sentenced him to 22 years in a federal lockup a jury convicted him on two counts of murder for hire against his long time nemesis, carol baskin, and multiple counts of animal cruelty an appellant court has now ruled the murder for hire conviction should now be grouped together and that ruling reduces the sentence under the guidelines. so now the trial court will have to resentence joe exotic no word yet on when that will happen

take down your bird feeder that's the message from the massachusetts division of fisheries and wildlife as a mysterious deadly disease ravages the local bird population birds like these, grackles, cardinals and blue jays all affected the disease we're told causes crusty and swollen eyes, which makes it difficult for the birds to see and also causes neurological issues like flying erratically. scientists haven't figured out what's causing this they tell us, but it appears to be spreading. there are now reports of infected birds in at least ten states officials recommend you take down your bird feeders and your birdbath and report any sick or dying birds to local wildlife authorities. three yankee pitchers have tested positive for covid and postponed tonight's game against the red sox. that's according to the yankees general manager who says they were all fully vaccinated. he says three more players also tested positive by rapid test. they're now waiting for results from labs. in a statement the league said

the game was postponed to allow for continued testing and contract tracing this isn't the first time the yankees have dealt with break through infections in may, nine players and coaches tested positive despite the fact they were fully vaccinated an 18-year-old now set to be the youngest person to fly in space. physics student oliver damon now slated to ride along with jeff bezos and his brother mark on blue origins new shepherd rocket set to launch next week. damon is flying in place of the anonymous $28 million auction winner who can no longer go because of what we're told is a scheduling conflict. no word on what that could be. blue origin says the teenager's father bought the seat for him 65 seconds on a race to the finish the fda signaling it could give the green light for kids under the age of 12 to start receiving one of the covid vaccines by early to mid-winter. right now only americans 12 and older can get the shot millions of american

families receive their first monthly child tax credit in their bank accounts today. that's thanks to the covid relief package and the new governor andrew cuomo is set to be questioned by investigators on saturday in a sexual harassment probe. new york's attorney general is leading the inquiry. the governor has denied any and all wrongdoing and now you know the news on this thursday, july 15th, 2021 i'm shepherd smith follow us on instagram and twitter @thenewsoncnbc and listen to and follow the news podcast on apple, spotify and your favorite podcast platform what's on the horizon? the answers lie beyond the roads we know. we recognize that energy demand is growing, and the world needs lower carbon solutions to keep up. at chevron, we're working to find new ways forward,

like through our venture capital group. backing technologies like electric vehicle charging, carbon capture and even nuclear fusion. we may not know just what lies ahead, but it's only human... to search for it.

it is 5:00 a.m. at cnbc. here is your top five at 5:00. stocks struggling to end the week on a high note as treasury secretary janet yellen lays out a rough road ahead for inflation and covid-19 on the pandemic case, the count is rising as the delta variant is spreading now states are looking to enforce more. and didi chinese regulators stepping up the probe into the