happening now in the newsroom, a major milestone in the fight against the coronavirus. more than half of the u.s. population has been fully vaccinated. >> that's exactly what it is going to take to get us out of this pandemic. more americans stepping up and doing their part to get vaccinated. >> there are concerns, though, that progress could hit a roadblock. hundreds of thousands of bikers descending on the tiny town of sturgis, south dakota, today. >> are you guys hearing about covid this year or the delta? >> no. >> did you get the vaccine? >> hell, no. >> miracles happen, even here in the senate. >> i was happy to vote to begin moving the senate toward what

ought to be a robust bipartisan process. >> the senate is working through the weekend again and working closer to passing the sweeping infrastructure bill. >> house stands adjourned. texas democrats win a momentary victory, blocking passage of a restrictive new gop-led voting bill. >> this is a victory for texas voters, but we understand the fight continues. >> how republicans are planning to keep up the pressure on democrats and get the bills passed. i just don't know if we're going to have enough water to get to the end. >> extreme drought is plaguing the west, and it is leading to water restrictions. and hardships for farmers. the olympic spirit on full display at the tokyo games. "newsroom" starts now. good morning to you on this saturday, august 7th. i'm christi paul. hey, boris. >> i'm boris sanchez. you are live in the "cnn newsroom," and we're grateful to

have you. we start with some numbers that are deflating. the u.s. averaging more than 107,000 new covid-19 cases a day. that's a rate we haven't seen in nearly six months since the country was in the grips of a dangerous winter surge. >> not only are infections rising but deaths are going up. hospitalizations are going up, as well, because hospitals are overrun with unvaccinated patients, as this delta variant spreads. now, the virus is moving quickly through unvaccinated communities, plarticularly in te south where vaccination rates lag behind the rest of the country. >> in states with the highest infection rates, people are getting vaccinated at a pace not seen since april. that's good news, but hospitals are still struggling to keep up with new cases. florida has the highest number of hospitalizations per capita nationwide and even children's hospitals are overwhelmed with covid-19 patients. listen. >> the numbers of cases in our

hospitals in children and our children's hospitals are completely overwhelmed. our pediatricians, the nursing, the staff are exhausted. the children are suffering, and it is absolutely devastating. we've never seen numbers like this before. >> cnn's natasha chen is with us live from orlando, florida, right now. natasha, it is good to see you this morning. i know florida has become really the epicenter of the covid-19 pandemic in the u.s. talk to us about what you're seeing there this morning. >> reporter: yeah, christi and boris, we are at a vaccination clinic that's being set up right now. it'll get going in about an hour. it's being done in conjunction with local partners in a back to school event. so they're really trying to target a younger demographic here. you just mentioned how children's hospitals are overwhelmed. hospitals in general are overwhelmed in florida. if you look at the seven-day average of new cases, it is a

huge tick upwards. in the last seven days, averaging more than 19,000 new cases per day. that's the highest levels in any seven-day period in the entire pandemic for this state. the good news, though, at the local level, the orange county health officer say thais they'r seeing more vaccinations among kids 12 to 17. good news entering the new school year for orange county schools starting tuesday. the district issued a mask mandate yesterday but had to let parents have the option of opting out. that is because at the state level, governor desantis made it clear he wants parents to have the choice. the florida board of education going so far as to let parents who feel like a mask requirement is harassment for their child, allowing them to get a voucher to go to private school. here's governor desantis doubling down on this strategy of keeping options open and keeping business open.

>> i'm the governor who protect parents and their ability to make the right choices for their kids' education. i'm the governor who protects the jobs and education and businesses in florida by not letting the federal government lock us down. i'm the governor who answers to the people of florida, not to bureaucrats in washington. >> just to give you an example of how much more covid-19 virus activity we're seeing in this area, the county utilities department showed me how they've been testing the wastewater system throughout orange county. that's divided into different regions of the county. in one particular county, the northwest region of orange county, they've actually seen 1,583% increase in covid-19 levels in the wastewater in the past seven years. that is a huge jump, and they're saying that that's a residential

area. it shows that there is community spread going on, especially with this delta variant. christi and boris? >> natasha chen, thank you so much for that. joining us now to discuss covid and its impact on hospitals is joseph chang, chief medical officer at parkland health and hospital systems in dallas, texas. thank you so much for joining us this morning, joseph. we really appreciate your time. if you could, please take us inside parkland hospital today. in the springtime, your staff was holding sellcelebrations ev time one of your covid wards shut down. there was relief. things were looking up. now, you say there is frustration and shock because you're overwhelmed once more. >> yeah, absolutely. it is good to be with you this morning. i appreciate you talking to me about it. you're exactly right. we had five covid wards open at the peak of our covid season so to speak, in the wintertime. each one when they closed, we had a celebration. i do not exaggerate when i say

that there was cheering in the halls. you know, then when we got to our low six weeks ago, we had seven patients in house here with active covid. two weeks ago, we were up to 70. now today, i'm almost up to 100. i walk around in the wards, talk to the front line health care workers, the cleaners of the rooms, the nurses, the doctors, and it's overwhelming, this sense of just being tired. just tired. really sad holding the hands of those coming in with delta variant and covid-19 and regretting they did not get vaccinated. >> what do you tell your staffers, the front line workers, knowing that this is entirely preventable because the vast majority of people that you're treating now just haven't been vaccinated? >> that's exactly right. you know, i mean, the frustration level is sort of at an all-time high. you know, what i do, i try to

just let them know, this is what we're here for, right? we all chose this profession, to relieve sur ffering. that's what we do, and that's what we have to continue to do. despite the fact that we all know this is, as you say, preve preventable. >> joseph, you've described a very emotional process as you've been treating some of these newer covid patients. they go through a lot when they first arrive at the hospital. there's confusion, disbelief, regret, and then desperation. i wonder what the toughest conversation has been that you've had with a patient or with loved ones. >> yeah. that's exactly the thing, right? i've said this before. covid doesn't care what your situation is. when it gets ahold of you, it gets ahold of you. that point, the regret is overwhelming. that's really the hardest conversations that we end up having here. you know, you sit there and you hold the hands of these individuals who know that if they had just gotten the

vaccine, they maybe wouldn't be here. the worst is when we talk to folks who know they brought it home to their families, and all of them are now sick with covid. you know, just a couple weeks ago, we had an entire family here sick and admitted in the hospital with covid because they, as a family, chose not to get vaccinated. one individual came home and gave it to all of them. >> that's terrible. white house officials have said that they are in touch with state leaders in texas and other states, as well, to provide any necessary support. what specifically would you like to see from the federal government? how can they help your hospital? >> from our standpoint, it's staffing. it always has been staffing. you know, the issue at this point in time is not so much the covid numbers themselves are so high. we've actually -- we're at half the level that we were when we were at the peak. however, right now, what we have is a hospital full of all of those, if you can police chief

-- believe it or not, other things that folks come to the hospital and require treatment for. the staffing is a real challenge. nurses, respiratory techs, those kinds of things. as much help as we can get in that arena is really where we're struggling. listen, boris, if you got nursing friends and you want to send them to us, we'd gladly take them at this point. >> i'm glad we got a chance to get that message out there because it is an all hands on deck effort. that includes leaders coming out and encouraging people who have not been vaccinated to get the vaccine. because, as you noted, joseph, this is preventable. joseph chang from dallas, texas, thank you so much. >> absolutely. now to what health officials say could be a super spreader event in the making. right now, hundreds of thousands of people are gathering in sturgis, south dakota. this is for the annual motorcycle rally. now, last year, remember, we were talking about this same thing. the event happened despite a summer covid surge. the cdc then traced more than

600 600 cases to the sturgis rally, including a death in minnesota. today, there are hundreds of bikes. there are few masks seen, apparently. one possible but unwelcome visitor, the delta variant, obviously. >> it is a massive roar that encapsulates our entire valley here. >> reporter: a defiant roar. drowning any fears of the pandemic. >> you know what, i don't think about it. if it happens, you deal with it. i've never taken any vaccines since i was 6, so i'm good. >> reporter: sturgis, a town of about 7,000, is home to the largest motorcycle rally in the world. once again, despite the rising number of covid cases, the pandemic won't keep an estimated 700,000 people away. >> if it were to cancel, that'd have a massive ripple effect, on small businesses and

individuals. >> reporter: about 460,000 people hailing from all corners of the u.s. attended last year's rally. in a recent study, cdc researchers said at least 463 primary cases, including one death, were reported within two weeks of the ten-day tradition, and another 186 were identified as secondary contact. cases were reported as far as florida and maine. are y'all concerned about covid at all? >> no. >> nah. >> no. >> what was that? >> i'm vaccinated. >> who is? >> my wife has covid right now, so she stayed home. >> i already had it. >> reporter: are you concerned about covid this year, the delta? >> no. >> no. >> [ bleep ]. >> i had it already. i kicked its butt. >> i wouldn't be surprised if we have a superspreader event there. >> reporter: dr. kura with monument health fears rising cases and hospitalizations starting ten days from the rally's start. >> there's no easy way to hold a mass gathering event, so the

sturgis rally, unfortunately, is unstoppable. i think the best way around would be to get more people vaccinated and to hope that everyone would wear a mask. we don't have mask mandates here. >> reporter: carol and mike feldner aren't taking chances. carol is packing their bags. >> our choice is to leave. we're still of the age where we can leave. we did not feel we had the choice to leave last year, so we stocked up and stayed home. >> reporter: as this couple escapes the constant rumble. >> boom, boom, boom. >> reporter: others see sturgis as an escape from covid restrictions. but when everyone leaves again, the feldners fear covid will stick around. >> the people who came in for the rally are going to go home. it's not just that it will spread here, it'll spread far and wide. >> we do feel like the best solution for us and our stage of life is to leave, not be a part

of it. >> let's hope we don't see a repeat of what we saw last year. adrian, thank you so much for that. still coming up this hour, small towns in northern california are being burnt to the ground by the dixie fire. the latest on what is now the largest wildfire burning in the united states. also, a key part of president biden's economic agenda may be getting closer to reality here. we're going to have the latest on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill making its way through the senate. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur.

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>> boris, you know the expectation here is that they're going to pass this thing here sometime after 12:00 noon, 12:00 eastern. of course, boris, you also know from covering the white house that an infrastructure bill has been something of the holy grail, a dream that was never realized throughout the entire trump administration. now, the former president, by the way, out of office, is opposed to this bill here on capitol hill. while the current president is pushing it very hard. why are they pushing it hard? it is deliverables. it's road repairs. bridges and broadband. also, joe biden sees this as an opportunity to bring washington together and show people how government can work for them. of course, it's going to take some bipartisan effort. if all ten democrats -- all 50 democrats, i should say, vote

for this bill, 10 republicans are also going to have to come along. now, what could stop it? there are always snags, if you will. one of those snags, of course, is the price tag. a very huge price tag. the congressional budget office indicating that almost $260 billion in deficit spending will occur over the next ten years if this bill finally passes. today, though, it's the procedural vote, and we'll wait and see what happens. back to you. >> joe johns, we appreciate the update so much. thank you. so texas democrats fighting to block a restrictive voting law are declaring victory this morning. the win may not last for long. democrats left the state to keep republicans from passing the bill. the special session of the legislature ended at midnight. >> yeah, but texas governor greg abbott has called a new special session to begin today, and that creates a dilemma for democrats. do they stay away or return to texas? national correspondent diane

gallagher has the details. >> adjourned. >> reporter: the special session that wasn't has come to an end in austin. statehouse democrats successfully blocking, for now, a bill that would add new restrictions to elections. >> this is a victory for texas voters. but we know, we understand the fight continues. >> reporter: the battle over voting rights in the lone star state is far from over. republican governor greg abbott calling a second special session. 17 item agenda that includes election legislation to kick off saturday if the texas house democrats show up. >> we do not telegraph what our plans are, but do not be fooled, we will have a significant number of members staying here and waiting day by day, engaging day by day, finishing the fight. >> reporter: that fight is one that's played out in states across the nation this year. democrats trying to stop republican-controlled legislatures from passing restrictive voting laws. the bills in texas would impose

new restrictions on mail-in ballots and add criminal penalties for sending unsolicited ballot applications, among other changes. twice this year, texas democrats used this so-called nuclear option of denying quorum, which is required for the house to conduct state business. >> governor has the right to call us back as many times as he wants to. the governor knows we have every tool in our bucket which we intend to use. >> reporter: republicans say don't expect them to back off the bills just to get the democrats to come back. >> folks ask if we're making concessions for the purpose of negotiation. we're going to pass a good bill. we're not going to pass bad policy just to get people to show up for work. >> reporter: more than 50 democrats boarded private planes for washington, d.c., back in mid-july, leaving the state to avoid arrest for missing the session. >> we left texas to stop house bill 3, but we came to washington, d.c., to urge congress and the administration to take immediate action and pass sweeping voter protection legislation. >> reporter: they've met with the vice president. >> you are fighters. >> reporter: testified before

congress. >> i left texas to give my people a right to be able to vote without them being in infringed upon. >> reporter: brokered meetings with senators. republicans back home focused on their absence and controversies. photos from the private planes without a mask in sight posted days before six members from the fully vaccinated caucus tested positive for covid-19. >> i think they got intoxicated on their own success and the publicity they got out of it. >> reporter: democrats say they aren't ready to back down. >> now is not the time to throw in the towel. rather, now is the time to recharge and regroup for what lies ahead. so right now, how many democrats are willing to sit out the session for another 30 days? 51 members need to be absent to deny a kquarom.

some are headed back to the capitol. whether they'll show up is a different story. republicans are confident they'll reach it this session. governor abbott can call as many special sessions as he wants. christi, boris? >> diane gallagher, thank you so much for that. still ahead, more bad news for some travelers expecting to catch a spirit airlines flight today. at least 160 of their flights just canceled. more details ahead.

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spirit airlines passengers have had it rough the last few days, and the headache is far from over. spirit cancelling 164 flights today so far. the airline says the cancellations should taper off over the next few days. the problem peaked on thursday when spirit canceled more than 450 flights. that ultimately led to long lines and frustrated passengers. the airline blames the disruptions on operational issues, like weather and flight crew problems. >> united airlines joined a list of companies that are now requiring covid-19 vaccinations for all employees. now, they're the first major u.s. airline with this mandate. a united executive confirmed passengers still don't have to show proof of vaccination. unvaccinated employees without a health or religious exception will be terminated by october 25th. union negotiations are still ongoing, we should point out. the airline said in a memo to

employees, quote, we have no greater responsibility to you and your colleagues than to ensure your safety when you're at work, and the facts are crystal clear. everyone is safer when everyone is vaccinated. california's dixie fire is now the largest blaze currently burning in the united states. it's ripping through small towns and destroying anything in its path, scorching over 400,000 acres. that's 3.5 times as large as lake tahoe. >> i mean, just look at the pictures we're getting in of what's left. meteorologist allison chinchar is in the weather center. cnn "weather center live." what is the weather doing to fuel this at this point? >> right, it's not really helping. we just got brand-new numbers in, so now the new numbers are up to 446,000 acres. but the containment is still at 21%. that goes to show how rapidly this is spreading, and it is difficult for the firefighters to really keep up with it from continuing to spread.

it's already the third largest fire in california state history, but it is so close to being the second on that list, a list that no one wants it to be on. again, the second one is the mendocino complex fire, 459,000. again, we are getting very close to this particular fire. the dixie fire perhaps jumping up to number two. not out of the question at the pace it's going they could hit that tomorrow or maybe even monday. here's a look at it again. this is the location of the dixie fire, but look at this wh white. these aren't clouds on the satellite imagery, it's smoke. it is spreading very far out there. the one thing to note, when we talk about the scope of the fires for california in general, not just the dixie fire, when you look at where we were a year ago, 260,000 acres, we are more than three times that year-to-date in california. that's not good news because 2020 was an awful year for fires for california. being ahead of pace does not bode well for the rest of the

season. one of the things we've noticed with all the smoke spreading out is it's taking the air quality down rapidly in some of these communities like reno, reading, and even around the northern suburbs of sacramento. you have unhealthy and hazardous levels of the air quality. basically, it is not affecting people with asthma and allergies. it is affecting everyone. here's the thing, it is spreading even outside of california. all the air quality alerts for states like colorado, wyoming. the smoke is spreading into the midwest, great lakes, places that are nowhere near the fiers. you're seeing the smoke being picked up by the jet stream and pushed very far away. that's even a concern for other states because, again, it's not just a fire or two, boris and christi. you're dealing with over 100 large, active fires out there that are impacting not just the states the fires are in, but even states on the other side of the country. >> that is amazing. allison chinchar, thank you so

much. wildfires are not the only problem facing california right now. extreme drought and heat forcing a major hydropower plant at lake orr orrville to shut down. the plant can power 800,000 homes at full capacity, but the lake shrunk to 24% capacity. 95% of the western united states is in some form of drought, and 46% of california is in extreme drought, the most since 2015. the department of water resources is urging californians to preserve as much water as possible in case the dryness persists. and this week, california's water regulators voted to issue an emergency order that bans thousands of people from diverting water from rivers and streams. the policy will mainly affect farmers who had rights in place, allowing them to divert water for the crops. the plan has to be approved, but

it will be effected on the 16th. josh davey is with us, a livestock range and pasture adviser, at the university of california and he owns and operates a beef and cattle ranch. appreciate you being with us. this is a personal and professional situation for you right now. they describe it as an unprecedented water restriction. bring us into your world here. how severely might this affect your ranch? >> i should personally able to make it through without having to face the curtailment myself, but many others were not. the effects of this are far reaching. this is a drought of catastrophic form that affects everybody from ranchers to farmers in fireball. these curtailments lead not only to things that we would normally think of as less food production or farmers that may be forced to go out of business pausbecause,

economically, we are in the middle of summer. this is going to cause crops to fail and farmers to lose land. the hard part in losing this land that we have is it provides a whole lot of more tangible benefits that society has that we don't put an economic value on.sequestration, healthy soil, wildlife and habitat. once those things are gone, farmers are forced to sell and that becomes blacktop. we as a society lose it forever. so it is a multi-faceted problem that we had in california as a society. >> wow. the california department of food and agriculture secretary karen ross calls it necessity and a necessary step. she says, yes, it is painful and they recognize that. is the state offering any sort of guidance or assistance or alternative to these people? >> at this point, no. no. farmers are faced to -- and

ranchers are faced to deal with this on their own, which is why it is so scary. this absolutely can lead to a shift and change in our ability to produce food, marly pla particularly, if it keeps going on. >> can it be reversed? we have until august 16th at this point. >> our difficult thing is the mediterranean climate california has. we won't see rain until fall, so we don't get summer rains that could potentially recharge the reservoirs that we have, that are down to 20% to 30%, depending on the reservoir. so we have what we're going to have at this point right now through the rest of the summer. >> so what is your biggest fear right now? do these farmers have a plan b? >> that's actually the most difficult part with this. these senior water rights, they are the plan b. we're dealing with drought in

many other aspects, particularly in my area, in livestock grazing, in that there is not production on dry range land. these 1914 water rights are the plan we have, in that water was built to be secure for us to be able to produce what our livestock requires. i'm afraid particularly because these breeding animals aren't worth what they are as breeding animals. they're worth coal animal prices because there is nobody to buy them. everybody is in the same boat with us. once bills can't get paid, we lose ranches. >> i can tell you right now, people are out there going, what's going to happen to these animals? they're asking, what is the answer to that? and to the food chain. >> that's the really sad part. because we spend our entire lives, every waking minute, trying to keep these animals safe and healthy.

unfortunately, they're going to have to go into the food chain, which is absolutely heartbreaking. so we'll lose that, and we'll see that impact in the future. >> josh davy, we appreciate you walking us through what's happening. keep us posted as we watch what is going on there. josh davy, again, thank you so much. >> thank you. up next, a very smart young lady has a message for you. >> this is why i got vaccinated and why you should get vaccinated, too. reason one, once you're vaccinated, you can go wherever you want. you can go to the beach. >> tiktok star ellie zeiler will tell you why you should get vaccinated and she's a part of the white house vaccine campaign. the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past

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and save at trelegy.com. we know young adults and teenagers are not immune to covid. that's why the white house has enlisted celebrities and influencers to get the message out, that the vaccine is safe. 17-year-old ellie zeiler is part of that campaign. in fact, she asked dr. anthony fau fauci some of the top questions she gets on social media. >> is the actual covid virus in the vaccine? >> the answer is absolutely not. it is not the virus. it is one particular protein called the spike protein.

>> ellie with us now. ellie, it is good to see you. thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> absolutely. so what stuck with you most about your interview with dr. fauci. what did you learn that you will not forget? >> i think i just won't forget that -- vaccine. i thought that asking him these questions, he seemed very down and very sad that people were thinking this way. so we were both mutually excited to stop these rumors from being spread. >> with that said, what is the number one question about covid that you get on your social media accounts? >> it's not as much -- it's not as many questions as most people would think. it is mostly overall reluctance to getting the vaccine. most people already having their mind made. a lot of people wanting to wait it out and see the side effects, see how long the down time is, which personally for me, there

was no down time. it was a very easy process. >> do they talk about why they're so hesitant? >> i think that a lot of people are hesitant just because they've heard and seen a lot of things from the social media and the internet. a lot of teenagers only get their information spread through social media, and so this is all they're seeing about the vaccine. >> so what conspiracy theories have they brought to you that you've had to debunk? >> yeah. i think that i've had to debunk a couple of them. one was if it causes infertility, which it does not. mr. fauci helped me figure that out, which it does not. also, i don't know, i've had people stick metals onto me. nothing that sticks onto me from the vaccine, as well. >> they hear that rumor, that it makes you a magnet, essentially. there's something about metals, yes?

>> crazy to say out loud but, yes, that is what they think. >> and we say that, and they probably stuck coins on something to you because you are vaccinated. what have you been able to tell them about that? did you have any side effects? >> i had absolutely no side effects, knock on wood. talking to dr. fauci, he says there will be no side effects that he knows of yet. i think that it is very interesting to see people's reactions, especially just people in person. you know, when they stick metal to me, they think, oh, wow, what are we doing right now, sitting in a circle, putting metal onto ellie's arm? so i think that it is more just laughing it off and being like, okay, it's okay. i saw this on tiktok, and we're getting over it. >> so talk to me about what it felt like when you were contacted by the white house to be part of this information campaign. >> yeah, i mean, initially, it was just a huge honor. any chance that i get to spread

actual information and important information on my platform, i want to take. of course, getting contacted by the white house is insane and very surreal, as well. >> quickly, how -- do you have a pretty good gauge of how concerned people are, people your age are, about covid in general? >> yeah. i mean, sadly, it's not -- i haven't seen so much of a rush to get vaccinated. i think that a lot of people are coming off of a summer where everything was open, and it is very easy to forget what we just went through in the past year, which is why it is so important for all of us to just urge each other to go get vaccinated, so that we don't go back into lockdown, and so that i feel like being a teenager is such an important time in all of our lives. we've already lost a chunk of that time. to make sure that we don't lose any more time. you know, for the help of society and the help of other people, as well, to go get vaccinated. >> you have, what, is it 10

million followers? am i right? >> yeah, crazy to say out loud but yes, 10 million. >> well, thank you for making sure that misinformation is debunked. it's so good to talk with you, ellie. take good care of yourself, and thanks for all you're doing. >> thank you so much. have a good one. >> you, as well. so we've seen extraordinary moments of sportsmanship and kindness at the olympics. we'll share some of them after a quick break. stay with us. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! [sighs wearily] here, i'll take that! woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and now with two new flavors! we can't make you leave your acne alone. but we can help get rid of the spots that your acne left behind. differin dark spot correcting serum has the maximum-strength dark spot-fading power you can get without a prescription. do things differin.

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there was thoughts the olympic games wouldn't happen

because of the pandemic. they've proven memorable for reasons beyond covid and even athletic performance. >> no doubt. the athletes competing in these games, they have shown the world what it is all about. it's not always about winning. cnn's will ripley reports on the kindness on display in tokyo. >> reporter: the legacy of tokyo 2020 may not be measured in medals or covid cases. but acts of kindness, moments of grace, olympians choosing hum humility. american gymnast simone biles cheering on her teammates even as she was struggling to compete. american swimmer annie laser hugging her south african competitor, schumacher, who broke a world record to win gold. >> to have someone next to me break a world record, just as a fan of the sport in general, that's something that's pretty

amazing to happen to you. >> given there were no spectators and you were in this bubble in the middle of a pandemic, do you think that brought the athletes closer, this experience? >> definitely more of a sense of we're just really happy this is happening. really happy to be here. >> reporter: happiness written on the faces of the first ever olympic skateborders. >> winning as one big family. getting on the podium with two of my favorite people is awesome. >> i think, you know, we're seeing the camaraderie between athletes now. there is always something good that comes from something bad. i think this is part of what the pam has pandemic has done, creating better athletes under dirltffic conditions in tokyo. support is huge. >> reporter: support spreading across badminton courts. the players traded shirts as a symbol of respect.

italian high jumpers, friends and competitors for years, opted out of a jump-off, deciding to share the gold. >> it was just amazing. sharing with a friend is even more beautiful. >> thank you. >> reporter: there were high fives and helping hands. after falling during the 800 meter, these runners from the u.s. and botswana finished the race arm in arm. a legacy of kindness and camaraderie. >> thank you so much for watching. hope you make good memories today. >> "cnn newsroom" is next. see you tomorrow. remover wipesogena® map remove the 30% of makeup ordinary cleansers can leave behind. your skin will thank you. neutrogena®. for people with skin. finding new routes to reach your customers,

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i'm phil hatmattingly in washington in for fredricka whitfield. let's start with breaking news this hour. devastating new numbers in the coronavirus surge that's happening across the u.s. for the first time since february. the u.s. is averaging more than 100,000 new cases per day. hospitalizations and deaths are also on the rise across the country. now, the uptick almost exclusively among the unvaccinated. however, on the vaccination front, some progress.