witnessing that and being so alarmed by it. it's really incredible. but we thank you, alfredo, to talk about what you recorded there. >> you're welcome. >> alfredo rivera. thank you. >> what a flight. >> oh, my gosh. >> cnn's coverage continues right now. ♪ ♪ very good tuesday morning to you. i'm jim sciutto. poppy harlow is off. this morning the vaccine maker moderna has just announced its covid-19 vaccine remains 93% effective after six months from vaccination. however, the company also saying that a third shot will likely be necessary before the coming winter months because of the steady rise in delta variant infections. it's also important to note moderna says the data collection for this report was completed before the delta variant emerged here in the u.s. delta's rise here due, in part,

to the stark number of people who still refuse to get a safe vaccine. dr. anthony fauci is warning if the overwhelming proportion of people do not get the shot, there is ample chance we could see an even more aggressive variant than delta in the future. the virus is always thinking, it's always changing. biden administration is on the verge of taking major steps on mandating covid-19 vaccines for foreign visitors to the u.s. as well as for all active duty members of the military. we are expecting updates on those new steps in just a few hours. we'll bring them to you when they happen, when the white house covid-19 response team briefs the media later today. joining me now to discuss all these developments, dr. paul sacks, clinical director, division of infectious diseases at brigham and women's hospital. doctor, good to have you back on. first where we stand on vaccines as delta numbers emerge.

doctors acknowledge it will be likely vaccinated folks like you and me may need a third shot, a booster shot down the line. what's your view? >> yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if we do need a third shot. there's a lot of vaccines that are in use currently that do require three shots. for example, the hepatitis b vaccines that receive a three vaccines. we also know over time the antibody levels in vaccinated people seem to decline. they're not completely undetected but they may be less detected especially in the setting of more contagious variant like delta. >> by the way, like the flu shot, right, we get them every season, right, because the flu virus is different every season. tell us, though, so folks -- because folks are getting bomb br barred with a lot of miegs every day. it raises questions about how long the vaccine is most effective. the numbers, though, still show -- it's just remarkable to me that 99% of the folks are being hospitalized are dying to

date are the unvaccinated. explain to folks how stark that data is and why that is. >> yeah, it's really quite impressive. the vaccines were designed to prevent severe illness and hospitalization and death and they do that extremely well, even in the setting of breakthrough cases which, as you know, we're seeing more of with the delta variant. so i want people to still have a lot of confidence in the vaccines that they're going to keep them healthy, and one thing that's very encouraging is that in regions where they're seeing a big covid surge such as louisiana, vaccine uptake has been much greater. so i think people seeing this right in their backyard is encouraging them to get vaccinated where they were hesitant before. they still protect against severe illness and death. >> i want to ask specifically about the delta variant and the track of this virus because we have precedent here. you look at countries like the uk, the netherlands, india, all hit by waves, by surges of delta

before the u.s. interestingly in each of those countries, very different countries in terms of size, experience, as well as vaccination rates. after that initial surge in delta, infections dropped off a cliff in a way that many public health officials had not expected. do we -- can we expect something similar to happen here in the u.s. or is it apples and oranges? >> one of the things we learned early on in this pandemic is to have some humility when it comes to trying to make predictions. i will say i am extremely encouraged by seeing those numbers decline in the united kingdom and in other regions that had big delta surges. i hope we see the same thing here. it is too soon to make that prediction for the united states n part, because we have such differences in vaccine uptake in regions that have been less well covered by the vaccine. though i'm very encouraged by that. i'm hopeful, but i don't want to say it's going to drop automatically. let's see what happens. >> no question, the one thing we do know is vaccination protects

people and the more vaccinated people in populations are, the more protected they are from delta. i do want to ask about an outbreak, this in wisconsin, connected to 491 positive cases of covid-19 to people who gathered at milwaukee's deer district to cheer on the bucks. there's a picture there. you look at the picture. well, obviously that could be a super spreader event. i mean, that's really been a consistent thing with this outbreak, has it not been, that super spreader events are really one of the biggest problems. >> yeah, you know, we saw the same thing in massachusetts in province town. people who weren't going to gather in bars and restaurants are unfortunately putting themselves at risk in getting exposure. one of the interesting safety moves is do what new york city is doing. if you're going to dine in a restaurant, you have to have proof of vaccination from a public health and infectious

disease, we know restaurant dining and going to bars is high risk for the virus. >> it's a positive thing rather than mandating saying, listen, you don't have to be vaccinated, that's your choice. but if you want to go to these events, this is your ticket in. dr. paul sacks, thanks so much for joining. >> thanks for inviting me, jim. right now florida is breaking pandemic records as new infections continue to surge in that state. according to the florida hospital association, covid related hospitalizations -- remember, that's severe disease from this -- are up 13% from the previous peak, above its previous peak so far in the pandemic. going back to july 2020. the state reported the most new cases in the country between july 27th and august 3rd. situation so dire that the fha warns that more than half of hospitals in the state will face

a critical staffing shortage in the next seven days. that means they can't take care of all the sick people. despite that grim warning, florida governor ron desantis says he is finalizing rules this week that won't prohibit masks in school but will give parents the choice to opt out. not making it mandatory. cnn's leyla santiago joins me now live from miami. leyla, it's defying the numbers. florida is the worst it's been throughout the pandemic. the politics interfering in the public health response here. >> reporter: right, you are seeing the governor take a little bit of a different tone. if you look back at what he said when he signed the executive order that threatens to cut state funding to schools that implement mask mandates, friday he said that mask mandates would be a mistake. he has sort of mocked cdc guidelines in the past week when he speaks in public, but now he's saying, i won't prohibit masks, but i want parents to be

able to opt out. something that we've seen several districts, from duval county implement now. yes, on the ground we are definitely seeing what you were just talking about. i am at a vaccination and testing site, jim, and i just spoke to novi health that runs this vaccination and testing site. they're saying they're seeing a 15% uptick in testing from last week. two lines, one for testing, one for vaccination. i have seen more cars going through testing than vaccination. leaders here in miami-dade county continuing to pretty much plead with the public to get vaccinated, to make sure that they are testing. they have -- novi health has opened 12 new sites since last week to meet the demands of people needing testing. and, jim, that might not be enough. they may need to open more testing and vaccination sites just to keep up.

>> let's hope people take advantage of that opportunity to get vaccinated. leyla santiago, thanks so much. next hour i'll speak with a critical nurse in miami who has seen firsthand the devastation caused by this latest covid surge fueled, of course, by the delta variant. let's speak now to the mayor of orange county, florida, mayor demings. thank you for the time. i know you have a lot on your plate here. you have described the situation in orange county as crisis mode now. for folks at home who aren't seeing what you're seeing, tell us what kind of numbers of new infections you're seeing coming in and how much local hospitals are having trouble responding to it. >> first, let me say thank you for having me on the show this morning. here within the metro orlando area, we are seeing a significant surge in new cases, nearly 1,000 new cases are being reported daily here within our county. we've been put in the position where we've had to respond to that by increasing the number of individuals who are getting

vaccinated as well as we have done what we could at the local level to put mask mandates in place within our public sector and many of our private corporations are doing the same, such as the walt disney company. we are doing what we can. in florida and the florida legislature has significantly inhibited the ability of local government to do any type of mandates. >> you can imagine, i suppose, a different reality where the parties were united in recommending simple public health measures like masking, et cetera. that's, of course, not where we are. it's become a political issue and the florida governor, as you know, is giving parents a chance to opt out of mask mandates in schools. are you concerned that the governor is placing politics over public health? >> there's no question that the governor in this case has placed his political future over the life, health and well-being of the residents here within the

state of florida. and i say that because this is the same governor that just last year did put mandates in place that restricted businesses, he did a number of things in that regard. the only thing that has changed now is his polling amongst his base. so he has somehow lost focus on what really is important. the fundamental reason that government exists is to keep the people safe. and somehow our governor has not really been of much assistance to those of us at the local level. we've been left to our own to try to react and respond to the current crisis that we find ourselves within. >> i imagine you speak to a lot of parents, right, because kids are going back to school. parents don't want their kids to get infected. what do parents tell you about these rules? will they prefer to see, for instance, masks mandated in schools? >> here within the orange county and metro orlando area, absolutely. i think the overwhelming majority of parents want to see

some type of mask mandates. now, that does not mean all. i have four grandchildren who are within the public school system here and i can tell you my sons and their wives are making decisions in the best interest of their children and my grandchildren, and my grandchildren will be wearing facial covering to protect themselves because of the significant uptick we are seeing now in the number of new cases. we do sei young people, children in the elementary age who are testing positive, although the majority of those who are testing positive in our community are in the 15 to 24 age range. they are certainly eligible for the vaccine. but many of the younger children aren't, so we have to do something to protect them. the classroom teachers association is overwhelmingly in support of some type of mask mandate. so what our local school district did was mandate that employees and any visitors to the schools have to wear masks.

but students, it remains optional based on parental preference. >> goodness. just hope the schools can stay open. jerry demings, mayor of orange county, florida, thank you so much. >> thank you very much. coming up next hour, two revelations inside the justice department give us a sense of just how far former president trump took his efforts to weaponize the dchl.o.j. to overn a free and fair election. you'll want to hear it. it's remarkable. plus, a majority of new york lawmakers say they are ready to impeach governor cuomo. we'll have details on how fast. that's coming up. california's largest wildfire flames engulfing homes, and across the states, thousands of people have been forced to evacuate.

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the big lie laid out in stark fashion and detailed, cnn has learned that a former top d.o.j. official accused then president trump of trying to weaponize the justice department to push his false election fraud claims. that officials even drafted a resignation letter, assuming that then acting attorney general jeffrey rosen would be fired for rejecting trump's baseless claims. rosen was not fired. that draft was never submitted. the letter, however, is among a trove of d.o.j. documents turned over to committees investigating the events that led up to the

capital insurrection on january 6. lawmakers have also obtained a separate letter now published by abc news proving that at least one top d.o.j. official trieds himself to push trump's election lies, going so far as to circulate a draft letter internally that falsely claimed the department had identified concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election. the response from the deputy attorney general at the time was that it was, quote, not even in the realm of possibility that he would sign it. joining me now to discuss is a former federal prosecutor. listen, we learned seemingly every other day, week, more details of trump's effort to flat-out overturn the election under false pretenses, and there were people willing to go along with him as we saw in this latest episode. you're a lawyer. is this evidence of illegal activity by the former president? >> it certainly looks like it.

i will say it's one of the most outrageous and dastardly things i've ever seen in my life. it is something that i think people at home should be able to see on its face is something that's very problematic, which is -- an effort by the president of the united states and in this case a top d.o.j. official really to spread what some people call the big lie. essentially that letter says there are irregularities in the election suggests that the legislature should call a special session to effectively overturn the results in georgia and doesn't cite any real law. it essentially says there is irregularity. it's disturbing stuff. there are federal criminal laws that prohibit efforts to try to interfere with an election, an election of the president. there's also laws that prohibit coercing employees in the federal government to engage in

political activity t. sure looks a lot like a partisan effort, very, very concerning stuff. >> the trouble is, right, is that it just seems there are never any legal consequence for president trump on a whole host of things, right. you have these laws. the question, are they followed? are they executed in a timely fashion? we do have an investigation underway already in the state of georgia. does this -- do these letters impact that investigation and firm up the possibility that charges emerge from that? >> yeah, i do think this is going to be part of the evidence used in the fulton county investigation. i have to say this is something d.o.j. should be investigating. it's the sort of thing, look, i will be very blunt. i had to look up statutes to relate to this behavior because they're so infrequently charged. i mean, this is something that is unprecedented in my knowledge. never seen something like this before. and so i think -- but i do think prosecutors of the justice

department should be looking closely at this. i will say, jim, i think that there is a reluctance right now at the justice department and by attorney general garland to pursue matters related to former president trump. and i think there's a concern about looking political obviously having an investigation of the prior president looks that way. but here the conduct certainly fits. >> yeah. but, you know, i wonder what you think of that argument, if that's why garland is not prosecuting. by the way, this involves -- it's not some distant episode. it involves folks who work for the d.o.j. point being, it is not a past issue, right? because the former president is still pushing these big lies. he's using it to fund and carry out, you know, basically fraudulent recounts in places like arizona, and you have legislatures using this as a pretext to pass new laws. you know, it's not really a past issue for this justice department, is it? >> no. in fact, what concerns me is

that this could happen again. you essentially had here the d.o.j. being used to try to carry forward a scheme to undermine confidence in our election. i mean, the justice department is not supposed to be lying to the american public to try to steal an election. i don't believe that merrick garland and his team would do that, and ultimately here to be fair, these -- you know, the justice department ultimately stopped short of it. and thanks in parts to the efforts to resign. we shouldn't be relying on some random person. we need some reform to ensure something like this could never happen again. so it concerns me we have one political party that isn't taking it seriously. i do think there seems to be -- i don't know what's going on inside justice obviously. it seems to be a reluctance in justice to take this on because they don't want to look political. >> we've heard frustration with that prior. we'll see if this evidence moves

them. thanks very much. >> thank you. coming up next, defiant new york governor andrew cuomo is facing growing calls from within his own party to resign as four separate prosecutors across the state have launched their own criminal probes. we're going to have the latest. >> and we're moments away from the opening bell on wall street. stock futures are set to rebound today. investors responding to the weekly jobs report that showed another 385,000 americans filed for unemployment last week. that's a decline, though still unusually high. a new report shows worker shortages are still impacting the economic recovery. expedia, zbillow, shake shack. we'll be on top of it. stay with us. sales are down from last quarter but we are hoping things will pick up by q3.

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were a lot of people who sat up and paid attention to that. he's been a supporter of the governor for so long. in that statement he talked about calling the governor, urging him to resign. he went into a little bit more detail with cnn last night, and said that as he spoke to him, he basically said to the governor, look, there's room for redemption in politics, but it depends on how you go out. and he said there's really no turning around at this point. but the response he got from governor cuomo was, he said he wouldn't characterize his views on resignation, but the governor was really more focused on how he would defend himself, jim, and he wanted to tell his side of the story which certainly doesn't sound like a man who is considering resignation at this point, although so many of his former supporters are saying this is the best choice you have. you likely don't want to go through this impeachment process, but it looks like that's where it's headed. >> based on cnn's count, the numbers in both the assembly and the senator against him, at

least based on public comments, there were enough votes to impeach and remove. how quickly people can change their votes, but how quickly is this expected to proceed in it goes that path? >> the shorter answer is very. there is a judiciary committee meeting that's already scheduled for monday as you point out. we know that a majority of state assembly members would vote to impeach if those articles were presented. after the articles they have 30 to 60 days to put it all together. this could all happen very quickly. >> it's remarkable. erica hill, thanks so much for being on the story. right now at least four district attorney's offices in new york are requesting additional information from the state's probe into those sexual harassment allegations against governor cuomo. this as new york city mayor bill de blasio says he believes cuomo should be criminally charged. again, someone within his own

party. cnn's paula reid is following the legal side of this. there's the civil side of this. the criminal side of this, d.a.'s could take evidence and proceed. the burden of proof is quite high here, is it not? >> that's right, jim. this is far from a slam dunk. we heard the state attorney general's office say "o"cuomo violated federal and state laws where he engaged in unwanted touching. you now see prosecutors from several different counties jumping in and asking for additional evidence as they pursue potential crimes. now, specifically in manhattan, prosecutors say they're look into possible sex crimes and specifically they want to talk to a female state trooper who was assigned to cuomo's detail and says she endured unwanted touching. prosecutors in nassau and westchester counties are looking at the allegations by that trooper and the district

attorney in albany has an ongoing criminal investigation. but it's unclear specifically what types of crimes they're pursuing, but the most likely is a class a misdemeanor. forceable touching. as you noted, the standard to successfully pursue a criminal case is very different than the one that investigators were using for this report. typically for the standard, proof beyond a reasonable doubt. typically sexual harassment in workplace claims are dealt with similarly. we've seen at least one accuser say she is going to pursue him civilly. interest interestingly accuser charlotte bennett said she's not focused on civil litigation. she's focused on getting cuomo out of office. criminal actions, that will be tricky, jim. >> and a civil suit would involve seeking financial damages, is that right? >> absolutely. they'd have to establish their damages. it depends on the specific incidents. but some of these women have claimed retaliation not just by the governor, by his office and

his associates. so they would have to go to court, prove that and show their damages. >> that's a question. some of these processes are going to play out over time. it's not going to disappear soon. paula reid, thanks so much. atlanta public schools, they are reopening this morning with new mask mandates in place. we're going to take you there live with students and teachers head back to class. how are they reacting? do they want the masks? ♪ ♪

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this morning atlanta public schools are one of the many districts kicking off the new school year with a mask mandate in place. they will also be required on school buses, the places kids get together closely. cnn's nikck valencia is live ths morning. you have republicans opposing this, banning mask mandates. i wonder, when you're speaking too students but also parents, are they welcoming this step? >> reporter: well, you mentioned that political divide, jim, and it's really illuminating to see depending whether or not a county is conservative or more liberal like here in fulton county. the approach to what that means to reopen schools safely. here in the atlanta public school district, we're seeing the mask mandate go into effect and even parents that i've spoken to, children hearsay if they weren't required to wear masks, they'd be more inclined to have their students and children show up on the first day of school wearing masks. here in atlanta public school

district, they will not have the choils of whether or not to wear masks. they will be required to do that. there will also be surveillance testing on a weekly basis, giving staff and students the opportunity to get tested. and there is going to be a big vaccine push because despite this being a democratic area, of those students eligible for the vaccine, just 18% of students eligible for the vaccine have actually gotten a shot in arm. it is a little bit more for staff, about 58% of staff here at atlanta public schools have gotten their shots in arms. there is going to be a notable push for vaccines throughout the school year. notable amount of anxiety and apprehension, especially because of the growing concerns over the delta variant. and it is really interesting to see the approach that we're seeing here differ from that and the more conservative parts of the state. earlier this week we were in barrow county the first day of school where they are not requiring masks. no mask mandate there. parents are happy about it. a parent of a 14-year-old said she wanted her daughter to have

the freedom to express herself, even if that freedom came at the expense of getting herself or someone else sick. here in atlanta public schools they're not taking that chance especially because the cdc tracker lists this area as having a high transmission rate. just in the last week, 267 confirmed cases here of covid. a lot more anxiety and apprehension here in this school district. jim? >> has the governor of georgia piped in on this? >> reporter: well, he's been very clear all along that he is not going to see or push for a mask mandate across the state. he thinks that decision should be left up to students and parents and teachers. here, though, in the more democratic areas as i mentioned, they're not taking any chances. we've seen students show up by the bus loads wearing masks here on the first day of school. jim? >> nick valencia, oftentimes kids seem to be fine with it in many places. thanks very much. the debate over mask mandates has many public health

officials concerned about their safety. the national association of county and city health officials says it is seeking -- seeing an uptick of threats and intimidation from anti-maskers. they've become a target. cnn health reporter jacqueline howard joins me now. so, you have folks attacking folks trying to keep the public healthy for making health recommendations. is that basically where we are? >> that's basically where we are. it's interesting to me, jim, how early on in the pandemic we saw the tension and debate on public health officers. now more than a year later, we're seeing it happening again. and specifically what the national association of county and city health officials is doing, they have tracked the well-being of their membership all throughout the pandemic, and again, they are encouraging officers to report any harassment or threats and they're taking a close look at that, especially as we've seen an uptick in anti-mask protests

around back to school. the head of the association, lori tremel freeman said these are heated conversations sometimes that are turning nasty and out of control. we're going to see more of this in communities that have he's high transmission rates and are returning to some of these mitigation efforts. we're going to have to track it closely. ends quote. so, as you know, jim, many cities and counties there is a return to mask mandates and a return to other mitigation efforts as we see the delta variant circulating. and with this kind of return to mitigations, that's where we're seeing a lot of tension and a lot of threats being targeted towards public health officers. so this is something that's being monitored and looked at closely, jim. >> they've been deliberately made targets by some political figures in this country. jacqueline howard, thanks very much. we have lost greenville. those sobering words from local officials as the dixie fire as

it's known engulfs an entire small town. look at these pictures. looks like it's out of hollywood. in california. just devastating wildfires ahead. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ usaa is made for the safe pilots. like mac. who can come to a stop with barely a bobble.

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and there's just no words for how us and government haven't been able to get the job done. >> lost an entire town. you've been following this and it's not the first time you followed this. several times a year we talk about that it's always the next largest fire ever there, right? we're constantly breaking -- breaking records. i mean, are officials making any headway on this particular firee is some containment. but i wan to return to what you're talking about, jim. this is a frustrating cycle and something that people in this state see over and over again. let's start by talking about what happened in this small town of greenville. this is the latest example of the devastating effect of wildfires here in the state of california. but really, at a larger scale, the entire country. the dixie fire is the state's

current largest fire. it has been burning since the middle of july. and it tore through this tiny little town. homes lost. and it is easy to pause and look at this fire and see the businesses on main street completely leveled. but these are people's livelihoods and this entire town is gone. there are very limited escape routes out of greenville. and most disturbing california's incident management team said that they believe that people simply were not able to evacuate. there are a total now of 11 wildfires burning in the state of california. 400,000 acres have been lost. and we've been talking about how frustrating it is here in california. but also to the congressman would represents that area. let's return to what he had to say. >> we'll take up the fight even harder. and more so.

we have to go in and stop this and get d.c. to pay attention and get sacramento to pay attention. forget the politics and the nonsense. we have to stop making this happen by inattention to what is obvious. >> reporter: so obvious when you look at the causes. there are nearly 100 wildfires burning in the united states. it is driven by extreme drought and high temperatures and low humidity. jim. >> you said that there were concerns that some were not able to evacuate? do we know if there was loss of life there in. >> reporter: at this point, it is a little early to know because this fire ripped through green vifl late last night and it is a difficult area. and it takes a lot of time and for the fire officials to get up from. but i could tell you there are very difficult ways to get out there and the early indication is that they believe that people were not able to get out.

>> oh, lord help us. the final question is how the fire service, the forest service responds to these fires. are they changing tactics? >> reporter: you're talking b about the u.s. forest service. it used to be in the state of california, especially with the u.s. forestry service that they would allow it to burn. and you want to take out the brush and prevent it further down the line but because the conditions are so severe it is not tenable any more to allow the let it burn philosophy to continue. >> all of those memories there. let's just hope the people get out. kyung lah, thank you so much. for the fourth straight olympics, the u.s. men's relay team could not get it done. they failed to win a medal in an event that you may remember the u.s. used to dominate. an olympic icon, he called it a

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well, the u.s. men's team advanced to the gold medal game at the olympics. it was quite a comeback. coy wire is in tokyo with more. i mean, it went from being way down to being a route in the end. >> and 21 nba all-star appearances among the starters for team usa. but they had to come back from down 15 points in the first half against australia to advance into the final.

kevin durant rallied the troops sparking a 20-0 run and then the held them scoreless. 97-78 win. team usa will attempt to win a fourth straight men's basketball gold and it will all come down to a rematch with france, the team that got them ripped online after they beat them in the opening game here in tokyo. the u.s. women's national team went into the bronze medal match with australia knowing it was last olympic hoorah for carli lloyd, and megan rapino and she scores in the first half, carli lloyd with two of her own becoming the all time leading scores in olympics history. she has ten in her career. it is a 4-3 win. the u.s. didn't give up after tough losses and send this of the lekds out with a win if it was a last olympics. and jim, you said its the fourth

fa fasten men in america, they failed to qualify for a medal. they finished sixth in their heat. a botched handoff and then it was over since winning silver in athens in 2004, this is the tenth time that the men have mishandled a relay out a world championship or olympics. carl lewis ripping the team on twitter calling it, quote, a total embarrassment and unacceptable for a usa team to look worse than the kids i saw. unquote. finally, a moment as heartbreaking, katarina thompson suffering a lower leg injury in pain, refused to get in a wheelchair, though. she got up to her feet and found the strength so finish the race. she's a shining example, of that olympic spirit. chasing your dreams, never giving up. she had a heartfelt post that

she ruptured her achilles back in december and she started the year in a wheelchair and won't end in one. >> so sorry to see that happen. but great to see her cross the finish line. thank you very much. quick programming note for us, the next brand-new episode of history of the sitcom air this is weekend. all about the working class sitcom. don't miss it. sunday night at 9:00 eastern on only cnn. very good thursday morning. i'm jim sciutto. this morning a warning from the nation's top infectious disease expert, doctor fauci, said if we don't get control over the delta variant, it is possible worse variants could be on the way. >> as long as the virus continues to spread, you give it ample opportunity to mutate. and when you give it ample