will ripley reports from tokyo. >> reporter: tokyo olympics opening ceremony, a made-for-tv spectacle seen around the world. big names like naomi osaka, bulging muscles like the tongian flag bearer, beaming athletes in the parade of nations and one olympics broadcaster accused of raining on the parade. south korea's nbc is triggering a storm apologizing for airing what they call inappropriate images and expressions. ukrainian athletes pictureed alongside an image of the chernobyl nuclear disaster. a graphic describing how haiti's political situation is fogged by the assassination of the president. another calling the martial islands once a nuclear test site for the u.s. when italy walked on, they showed a pizza, for norway, a salmon fillet, team romania, dracula. south korean media is blowing up says rafael rasheed. >> this is embarrassing and damaged korea's image abroad. >> reporter: his tweet about the cringe worthy captions went viral. >> had south korea been referred to as say a former colony of japan, it would be offensive, it would be an insult and people are asking how could t

skateboarding is making its olympic debut in tokyo. an olympian from japan just won the first-ever olympic gold medal in the sport after the men's street final on sunday. cnn's blake essig joins us once again this hour from tokyo to talk more about skateboarding at the olympics. great to see you again. >> reporter: yeah, alison, look, exciting times. skateboarding made its olympic debut today. as you mentioned, 22-year-old yuto horigami won the men's street final, in a huge moment not only for japan but in skateboarding. skateboarding is increasingly becoming mainstream. here in japan, not everyone is convinced that perceptions will shift so quickly. at triangle park in osaka, creativity is king. it's all about innovation. self-expression. >> translator: people should feel free when they skateboard. it's better if there are no rules. >> reporter: for more than 30 years this park has been home to japan's underground skateboard seen. a diverse crew of skaters known around the globe as the osaka daggers. taichiro nakamura, better known as

we begin our coverage with blake essig joining me live from tokyo. and despite all of those negatives, the show is going to go on. >> reporter: yeah, after months of uncertainty and a jen population that doesn't want the games to happen, the open ceremony, official start of the 2020 olympic games, is just three hours away. and the foot traffic around the national stadium has been constant, everyone is out here camera in hand taking pictures of the stadium behind me and that is about as close as they will get to be able to be a part of the opening ceremony because no spectators are allowed inside. i monthly have not seen so many people out walking around since the pandemic began. of course that is not great news given the surge in covid-19 cases, but people have told me that they are out here out of curiosity. now, we've been talking to people throughout the day to gauge their level of excitement, and generally speaking it is health, safety and surge in cases, not the olympics, that dominates the conversation, with some saying that it is hard to get e

♪ welcome to tokyo. you are not invited. this is the other tokyo. 12 hour flight, and i'm baked. no sleep. might as well -- must go out. ♪ the kabukicho district near my hotel has the advantage of being where the subterranean life, the repressed ids of the japanese male and some females, too, comes out to play. joining me is japanese film producer and production manager masa kakubo. always a good sign when protective chains separate entertainers from the soon to be entertained, right? prepare yourself for the greatest show in the history of entertainment. ♪ ♪ >> a long time ago an old forest far away. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ no, no, it can't be over. not yet. no! but yet, yet it is. with a series of chased high fives with the hard working performers. okay, i gotta tell you, uh, i've seen jimi hendrix -— >> masa: uh, have you? >> anthony: i've seen janis joplin. i've seen david bowie. >> masa: uh huh. >> anthony: diamond dogs, i've seen colleen dewhurts and jason robards in moon for the misbegotten directed by jose quintero on broadway. >> masa: oh. >> anthony: considered one

i wish team usa the best of luck in tokyo. two huge names from the world of golf. >> great story lines this sunday a gold for team usa in the pool. give us details. >> team usa causing a splash in the pool. take a dive into the olympic pool. the united states with its first medals of the games, both golds in the pool so chase kalisz, a data save, growing up not too far from michael phelps in maryland and another moment in the pool, this video is the teenaged tunisian winning gold in the 400 meter freestyle, 18 years of age, the team had a powerful finish to overcome the rivals to win. great video alert, this is amazing. look at the emotion there. he can scarcely believe it. he can't believe it, fighting back all the emotion there is, incredible when you reflect on the fact he was 16th best, we the 16th best time going to these olympics, that says it all those images. back to you. >> that is one reason why we love the olympics, that raw emotion. we can feel it with him. thanks so much. >>> covid cases are up nearly 68% from las

cnn selina wang live in tokyo with more. it is an olympics like no other, selina. >> reporter: exactly, brianna, and today, japan, tokyo reporting 1490 covid cases, the second highest daily tally. more anxiety than excitement. alcohol is banned from being served in restaurants, and people are concerned about the growing covid-19 cases linked to the games, and are skeptical if the prevention measures are going to hold up. three days before the opening ceremony, tokyo is trying to prevent the spread of covid-19 as cases creep up among athletes and those connected to the olympics. that includes cara acre an alternate for the u.s. gymnastics team. she will return to the u.s. after ten days vaccination. her unvaccinated teammate is in isolation under close contact according to her coach. the bubble of the olympic village has been punctured with several positive covid cases detected among the south africa soccer team. tokyo officials claim the village is still safe. >> the only race is a safe place to stay. >> reporter: health exp

hosting the tokyo 2020 summer games is a massive logistical challenge. [ inaudible ] tokyo's $1.5 billion olympic stadium. we're flying over the center piece of tokyo 2020. almost 70,000 seats in that stadium. nearly almost empty. olympics first ever spectator ban. a dramatically scaled down opening ceremony. organizers say only about 950 vips attended, including u.s. first lady jill biden. we get a closer look on the ground. this is as close as most japanese are able to get to their olympic stadium. police have shut down surrounding roads and even fenced off the perimeter. >> reporter: for every day folks, this is their only shot at seeing the olympics upshot. public opinion polls show japanese overwhelmingly don't want the games to go forward but you wouldn't know it looking the at lines of people waiting to take selfies in front of the olympic rings. >> translator: i'm worried about the olympic bubble, it is not perfect, but i want to cheer on the athletes. >> reporter: that bubble to protect athletes from covid-19, a small but growing number of athletes are testing positive. even insi

we are live in tokyo. plus the 2020 games mark the second time that this tokyo man has lost his home to an olympic stadium. was it worth it? we'll discuss. honey! scuff defense. i love our scuff-free life. behr ultra scuff defense. exclusively at the home depot. ♪ fixodent ultra dual power provides you with an unbeatable hold and strong seal against food infiltrations. fixodent. and forget it. (piano playing) here we go. ♪ [john legend's i can see clearly now] ♪ ♪ ♪ make your reunion happen with vrbo. your together awaits. vrbo ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪ 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 this past year has felt like a long, long norwegian winter. but eventually, with spring comes rebirth. everything begins anew. and many of us realize a fundamental human need to connect with other like-minded peopl

. >> good afternoon from tokyo. >> hello. i want to hear what goes into the selection process to create the refugee olympic team? >> well, it's gone back -- it used to be the olympic rules used to be that if you didn't have a national olympic committee, you weren't able to take part. and this excluded a lot of people. over the last 10, 15 years, there's been a realization that there are so many displaced people that they decided to create this, as you say, for rio in 2016. it was a very small team then. it's mushroomed now, about three times the size -- about 29 athletes making up the team. not all of them necessarily would have marched in the ceremony because of covid. but they -- they've got about 29, and they are chosen, a lot of them received scholarships in the countries that they've moved to and are given help as they coordinate -- as a coordinating person, a former long distance runner, and she actually looks after the sdpteam and acts as tr mother, they call her. she gives advice on how to compete, what to do, eating

will ripley, cnn, tokyo. >> cnn sports analyst christine brennan joins me now from tokyo. she's also a sports columnist for "usa today." i was reading your column today, christine. great to see you. what was it like at the opening ceremony? was there any sense of, you know, real occasion and atmosphere? >> they tried, michael. i'm not sure they succeeded. i've covered a lot of these. i've covered every opening ceremony since '84 in l.a. obviously no one in the stands. 1,000 or so dignitaries, media. if there was applause from those dignitaries, it sounds like theater applause. once the music was blaring, you couldn't even hear that. i think it was solemn. it was -- you know, it was fitting of where we are, in the middle of a pandemic. the athletes, i have to give them credit. they certainly -- some of them coming in holding their flags, dancing around, exuberance, giving it a good college try. but i watched many of them, as soon as they made their path and circle around the stadium floor, a lot of those teams just exited out, got out of there. you didn't see that on tv. bu

what is the feeling in tokyo right now? >> reporter: you know, as far as athletes are concerned, generally speaking some are worried and for good reason by no fault of their own after a lifetime of preparation, their olympic dream could be cut short if they catch covid-19 or are considered a close contact with someone who tests positive. now, that fear has been realized by two american athletes already who tested positive for covid-19 including katie lou samuelson and kara eaker, an alternate for the women's gymnastics team. while cases continue to surge, as of today 71 people involved with the games have tested positive for covid-19 here in japan, four have come from inside the olympic village. despite the growing case count, sk jill biden is still planning to travel to tokyo for the olympics. she will limit engage the with the public and keep as small of a footprint as possible.with the public and keep as small of a footprint as possible. and while the opening ceremonies are just days away, organizers are left scrambling

this is ginza sushi ko in tokyo. the original. 130 years old, and for all that time, this, in one form or the other, is how the day started. scaling and gutting the fish. prepping the kitchen. >> masa: cleaning bathroom, making sake for customers. >> anthony: right. >> masa: dishwasher. everything. >> anthony: for how long? >> masa: first two years. >> anthony: only in the third year, the rice. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: and if you get that right, eventually, maybe, just maybe, the master will begin to teach you the next phase, how to stand next to him as a wakita, slicing the fish, eventually, eventually, creating pieces of nigiri for guests at the bar. of the dozen young men who work here, not all will make it to become a sushi shokunin. >> masa: oh, it's been a long time. >> anthony: to achieve that status of truly becoming a master chef. how many years? seven years to learn, right? >> masa: yeah. >> anthony: that's a lot of time. >> masa: a lot of time. >> anthony: a lot of work. a lot of pain. wh

selena wang is live in tokyo with the latest. selena? >> reporter: well, olympic officials are saying that despite all of these concerns they can't guarantee there won't be any positive covid-19 cases but what's important is their response which they're confident in. but we're only seeing grows challenges for these athletes. we just confirmed a female gymnast on the team usa just tested positive for covid-19 at her pre-training camp. in addition to that growing number of cases inside the tokyo olympic village, a czech beach volleyball player, several players on the south african soccer team and also just learned that 21 close contacts of the south africa soccer team are now in isolation as well and coco gauff just adding to the growing list of high profile athletes who are pulling out or staying away from the tokyo games baecause of testing positive for covid-19 or citing concerns or the lack of spectators and not having their friends or family here to support them. it's critical these covid-19 cases do not spread in the olympic villages

will ripley is live for us in tokyo. just a few days until opening and organizers are making changes to medal ceremonies. what will those look like? >> reporter: yeah, you said it, this is going to be the most bizarre olympic games that we've seen ever because the things that they are doing have they have been done before. the spectator ban has never happened and now for the first time instead of the athletes having the medals placed over their heads and presented to them, somebody will walk up with a tray, they will hand the tray to the athletes and then they put on their own medal. it just is surreal. and there are protests here in tokyo in the coming hours and in hiroshima where the president of ioc made a visit and some called it an insult that he is going there at this time. the olympics overwhelmingly unpopular here in japan, but for some who i met, it is even more personal than that. >> reporter: japan's olympic stadium a symbol of the troubled toek tokyo games. and a reminder of the home this man lost. he got an

first lady jill biden is headed to tokyo on wednesday. would you advise her not to go, given what we're seeing? >> no. she is vaccinated and everybody around her is vaccinated and they practice some basic public health measures and avoid large crowds. she'll be fine. what i'm really worried about is all those unvaccinated athletes and others who really are at risk being in that place. >> here in the states nearly all of the covid cases, hospitalizations, and deaths we're seeing are from unvaccinated people. i think it's like 97% of hospitalizations, 99.5% of covid deaths. we're hearing about more breakthrough cases, the u.s. gymnast just one example. should vaccinated people be concerned? >> so, largely no. i mean, look, largely, if you're a vaccinated person, you may get a breakthrough infection, you may feel lousy for a couple of days. but the concern comes from that hospitalization and death that we've all feared from this virus. and you are protected from that from the vaccine. so i think you should not be concerned. and we've really

and we had tremendous rainfall earlier in the day across tokyo, the wettest day we've seen in tokyoing for back the past three weeks. so impacts of the storm certainly being felt and this is a system that initially had the potential to directly impact tokyo but now a few mundy local t hunky local ters to the north. that is the concern of course. we know some outdoor activities have been rescheduled to move them out of the path of the storm. high temperatures are around 90 degrees fahrenheit, the temperatures coolest in about two weeks time. so it speaks to how hot it has been. but a 90 degree afternoon is the coolest we've felt in weeks across the area and it will be short lived. the system working its way to the north tonight and tomorrow morning. expect above average temperatures once again to return and that is the concern moving forward. and of course it is still very early in the tropical season. so this wasn't a menacing feature, but still producing quite a bit of rainfall, winds up to 100 kilometers per hour or about 60 mile-per-hour gusts. so enough of weather in place especial

our longtime-tokyo bureau driver, mr. o'connell. >> he was the very first face i met in tokyo. >> yes. >> reporter: as we leave the airport and head to the hotel, it finally feels real. we made it to japan. the process, surprisingly, smooth, overall. even as the japanese capital fights a fresh surge in covid cases. so now that we're here, we're getting daily-covid tests. we are working in a bubble for the first-few days. then, we have limited access to olympic venues and other prearranged locations. our phones have gps-tracking apps on them. we have to register our health condition, every day. but will all that be enough to stop what epidemiologists warn could be a superspreader event? or even worse, the delta variant combining with other variants to create something even more contagious and more dangerous. that's the kind of legacy they are trying to prevent, at this olympic games, which is why they're not having spectators. and why they are screening people so carefully coming into the country, michael. >> going to be a

that's the tokyo summer before the pandemic, heatstroke was the biggest health risk for the tokyo games. held during the hottest time of the year in japan. knowing the risk of heatstroke all too well, she passed out during a marathon in japan and almost died. it took over a year and a half to recover and she never returned to a race again. and now a coach, she's researched the dangers of competing in the heat. >> translator: heatstroke can happen to anyone. and it's a very common cause of death. it may be extremely difficult for athletes to give up competing in the middle of a game because the athletes are representing their country and the stage of their dreams, despite the athletes have been encouraged to quit is the best way to prevent heatstroke. >> reporter: back in 1964, the tokyo games were held in october to beat the heat. and it's only gotten hotter from there. according to a report for sus substantial temperatures, temperatures have increased. >> when you're with the heat and not only the humidity, i would say the tokyo summer is the worst in the history of the olympic games.

now, as you mentioned, organizers have announced that tokyo -- events in tokyo and surrounding prefectures will be held without spectators. that includes the torch relay, currently, taking place behind closed doors here in tokyo. now, the spectator ban, also, likely, covers competitions being held in hokkaido, japan's northern-most island, where the marathon, race walk, and some football matches will be held. at this time, only a handful of events taking place in miyagi, shizuoka, and fukushima, where state of emergency orders aren't in effect, will allow venues to be filled to 50% capacity or a maximum of 10,000 spectators. now, this decision was made at the time when tokyo's experiencing another surge in covid-19 cases. largely, driven by the delta variant. now, just this week, cases reached its highest numbers since mid-may and the vaccine rollout is, still, moving incredibly slow. only about 17% of japan's population has been fully vaccinated. now, as a result, on thursday, japan's prime minister declared a fourth state of emergency for the capital. lasting until august 22nd. and, mich

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but let's begin with blake essig, who is in tokyo for us. and, blake, covid is, still, very much a focus of these games. but some people's attention are turning to the weather. >> yeah. you know, michael, look. the legacy of these olympic games will no doubt be defined by the global-health crisis. but before covid-19 turned the world on its head, it was the weather that was supposed to have been dominating headlines around these olympic games. and while cases in tokyo are surging, and olympic-related cases continue to climb. it's the weather that could continue to cause problems, here, for organizers. a tropical storm is approaching japan, and could make landfall hitting the tokyo region on tuesday. japan's meteorological agency says the storm is unlikely to strengthen into a typhoon, but could, still, bring heavy rain, strong winds, and high waves as a result. rowing events have been cancelled, on tuesday, and pushed back to wednesday or thursday. now, while the surfers have avoided the tropical storm, at least for now, other athletes have

blake essig joining us live in tokyo. it's been a historic achievement in the skateboarding, patrick. >> yeah. it's just incredible! wow. it's day three of competition. official competition. another day to savor for japan. once again the current leaders in the skateboarding making the debut at the games. in the women's competition, in fact, it's incredible. all three competitors on the podium are teenagers! at 13 one of the youngest gold medal winners in olympics history. and brazil is winning silver medal. her age is 13, a s well! and the men's competition is rounding out a super couple of days. >> fantastic to see. i mean, it makes me feel like an underachiever. i've said it before. we are seeing incredible story lines and plenty to talk about this morning when i woke up. in the aquatics center one british competitor. >> it's great story lines all the way! we had many of them over the weekend carrying on into monday. adam peaty winning gold in the men's 100 meter. the 26-year-old from england not just the defending cham

. >>> we're going to stick with tokyo, it's not only olympics setting records, sadly, tokyo's wave of the virus. blake essig joins me live from tokyo. just talk us through what the situation is, healthwise. >> reporter: yeah, robyn, it's not good. the fifth wave of infection continues to swell here in tokyo and across japan. just in the past hour or so, we learned that tokyo has once again for a fourth time this week set a new record for the most cases reported in a single day since the pandemic began. japan's prime minister said infections are increasing and spreading faster than ever before. as a result, a state of emergency was declared for osaka and several other prefectures. here, the governor also extended a state of emergency here in the capital until the end of august. for now, vaccination rate nationwide remains relatively low at 28%. and the prime minister ysuga is urging to stay fervent. >> translator: one of them very worrying is the rapid include of infections. >> reporter: medical professionals say most cases being reported are of people in their 30s -- excuse me, 40s an

>>> the tokyo olympics hit with another scandal. the man in charge of the opening ceremony has been fired just one day before the big show. >>> vax it and mask it. prominent health officials in the u.s. call for revised masking guidance as covid cases surge. >>> and china balks at world health organization plans to continue investigating the origin of covid. welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom." >>> i'm proud to salute the world's olympic athletes, and i thank the people of japan. the olympic experience brings out humanity's best. teamwork and solidarity, talent, tolerance. it inspires and unifies us in troubled times. we're all in mourning for those lost to the covid-19 pandemic. every effort in tokyo has overcome enormous obstacles and demonstrated great determination. if we bring that same energy to our global challenges, we can achieve anything. >> that was u.n. secretary-general antonio guterres with a welcoming message on the eph oth

with tokyo reporting another new high. cnn's is a lena wang is live in tokyo with more. we are watching this so closely as things get going there in tokyo, salina. where are we? >> reporter: well, brianna, these games are so bizarre and surreal and heart breaking for a growing number of athletes whose olympic journeys end before they had a chance to compete. but preparations are fully under way. i'm outside of the olympic sta stadium. groups of volunteers. japan's self defense forces getting ready for the opening ceremony and the first event kicking off in fukushima today with no fans and no cheering. >> reporter: the first competitive pitch of an olympic has taken nothing but curveballs and they just keep coming. the head of the tokyo olympic organizing committee is not ruling out a last-minute cancellation of the entire games. that's despite the first competition of the olympics already kicking off. we cannot predict what the epidemic will look like in the future. as what to do should there be any surge of positive cases we'll discuss accordingly if that happens. taekw

a subdued opening ceremony at the tokyo olympics. no spectators in the stands for the delayed games. also the nfl is tag taking action warning teams will be penalized if they have an outbreak among unvaccinated players. >>> we begin with the troubling surge in cases and hospitalizations among unvaccinated americans. alabama's republican governor is not mincing words about why this is happening. >> the new cases and covid have because of unvaccinated folks. almost 100% of the new hospitalizations are with unvaccinated folks. and the deaths are certainly occurring with unvaccinated folks. >> why is she so frustrated. look at this number. look at this percentage. alabama is the least vaccinated state in america. just 33.9% of residents are fully vaccinated there. more than 50,000 new cases were reported in the u.s. yesterday alone. with the seven-day average well above 40,000. just for context, that is almost four times what it was last month. again the vast majority of those cases are among the unvaccinated. hospitalizations are rising

. >>> tokyo olympics now underway. and a new controversy is swirling. >>> the fire, itself, is faster than the firefighters can get control over it. no matter how many people we're -- we're throwing at it, it outpaced us, for several days. >>> i'm pamela brown, in wash was washington. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. you are in the "cnn newsroom," on this saturday. and across much of america, the masks have come off. covid numbers have gone up. and reality sets in. this nation is facing a pandemic of the unvaccinated. new cases are trending up, in 49 states. and with that spread, more deaths, more hospitalizations. the rise mainly caused by the highly-contagious delta variant, and the highly-politicized anti-vaccine crusade. more leaders on the state and local level are now implementing or at least considering new restrictions, in hopes of reigning in the escalating numbers. just under half of all americans are fully vaccinated. pushing herd immunity, for now, out of reach. meanwhile, t

this as covid-19 cases are surging in tokyo, sparking the jaw-dropping statement by the head of the tokyo organizing committee that a last-minute cancelation of the games themselves is still an option. >> translator: we cannot predict what the epidemic will look like in the future. so for what to do should there be any surge of positive cases, we'll discuss accordingly if that happens. >> reporter: infections are already creeping up among athletes and those connected to the olympics. at least 71 so far. that includes kara eaker, an alternate for the u.s. gymnastics team. her dad said she feels okay and does not have any symptoms. >> definitely a disappointment for her and heartbreaking for us. >> reporter: eaker will return to the u.s. after ten days' isolation. despite all the restrictions, the so-called bubble of the olympic village has been punctured with several positive covid cases detected among the south african soccer team. tokyo officials insist the village is still safe. >> the olympic village is a safe place to stay. >> reporter: health experts say the wider strategy of keeping

breaking news from tokyo. member of the u.s. women's gymnastics team has just tested positive for covid. so this brings into question, is there going to be a cascading problem as you put it, john? you're going to see a lot of chaos because of the virus around the summer olympics. it is four days before the opening ceremonies are set to begin. there are at least 58 coronavirus cases that are linked to the games. three athletes who are living in the olympic village have just tested positive. two from south africa, one from the czech republic and then there's u.s. tennis star coco gauff who tested positive before heading to the olympics. she is now out. >> the pandemic is widening in japan. saturday tokyo reported 1,000 new cases for the fifth day in a row. japanese capital is currently under a covid state of emergency until august 22nd. let's go live to tokyo and bring in cnn's chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. sanjay, this development really underscores the risk to these athletes that we're seeing in the village. >> r

selina wang in tokyo, thanks so much. here to discuss this development, emergency physician and cnn medical analyst dr. leana nguyen. the former baltimore health commission and column must for the washington post. first question to you, this decision in tokyo, is it the right decision? >> yes, i am really relieved that they made this decision because i was getting very worried. i mean, japan has a fairly low vaccination rate, and i was worried about what would happen when you get a lot of people together. even if there is spacing and masking at the venue, i was concerned about the message this would send, and people when they travel from other places tend to gather in restaurants and in other informal setings as well. i think this was exactly the right thing. lots of athletes have been working their entire lives to compete. but without the risk of super spreader events. >> understand. dr. nguyen, stand by because i do have other questions for you. first back here at home in the u.s., 24 states are now seeing at least a 10

they have yet to give up a single run in tokyo. australia is up next tonight at 9:00 eastern. >>> and tough times make us tougher. 27-year-old american chase can a lease advanced to the 400 individual medley final when he was 8 years old he was put into a medically-induced coma for a week on a ventilator and a feeding tube as he fought an acute disorder of the nervous system and he's still fighting. he took silver in this event in rio but he's hungry for more. >> there's still things that i want to accomplish, still things that i want to do. there's many obstacles that i had to overcome this year just mentally and physically trying to put myself in the best place possible. i'm a little older than i was last time so those things are a little more important for me right now. >> good luck to chase as he chases that gold. just one of the many athletes we will be profiling here while we cover these games in tokyo. >> tough times make us tougher. love that. we will be watching chase closely. thanks, coy wire, for keeping us updated from

selena wang, thank you both and enjoy it in tokyo. i know it is different but probably spectacular thing to be a part of it. >>> well just in, a big change for major league baseball. the cleveland indians have announced they will be changing their name to the cleveland guardians. and that they got tom hanks to be the voice of their announcement. listen to this. >> together we stand with all who understand what it means to be born and built from the land. because this is a city we love. and the game we believe in. and together we are all cleveland guardians. >> the team is holding a news conference this afternoon to discuss the change. >>> still to come, trapped at the u.s./canadian border, some people in washington state could only access the rest of the u.s. by driving across the northern border in canada but the biden administration is expending travel restrictions that looks like will leave them trapped there for about another month. >>> and house speaker nancy pelosi weighing new ways to beef up the bipartisan credibility of that

two athletes in tokyo's olympic village testing positive now. in all, at least 58 cases of coronavirus have been found among athletes, officials, and contractors there. >> the number of olympic participants falls, the number of cases in japan is climbing fast. a big spike shows no signs of slowing ahead of friday's opening ceremony. cnn's blake essig is live in tokyo, japan. what are officials saying this morning? >> reporter: well, you know, laura and julia, with a few days to go before the start of the olympics, it's fair to say things are not exactly going smoothly. as you mentioned, so far 58 people involved with the games have tested positive for covid-19 after arriving in japan. there's also a growing list of athletes and olympic-related personnel who have been forced into isolation after being considered close contacts with people who tested positive. despite that, olympic officials maintain they will be able to hold a safe and secure olympics. take a listen. >> olympic village is a safe place to stay. we cannot say there will be no posit

blake essig is live in tokyo for us. the head of this organizing committee i thought was really stunning to say that this 11th hour cancellation is possible, but how likely is that to actually happen? >> reporter: yeah, you know, it seems more political at this point begin how unpopular these games have been for months with the general population. but there is no question health and safety remain a big concern and all those organizers maintain that the olympic village is a safe place to stay, team usa gymnastics has decided to stay at a hotel in tokyo rather than stay at the olympic village to better be able to control athletes and their safety. it is hard to imagine that the legacy of these olympic games won't be defined by the global health crisis and with all the rules and regulations put in place, tokyo 2020 is shaping up to be remembered as the no fun olympics. >> welcome to day one. it was such a perfect day today. >> reporter: with just a few days to go before the games begin, the olympic village is starting to co

selena wang is in tokyo with more. tell us what's happening with the protests and what the ioc president is saying. >> reporter: well, alisyn, officials were hoping that once the games officially got kicked off in more beautiful athletic performances were shown for the world, that japanese public sentiment would turn, but still, intense opposition to these games. these protesters were chanting for hours throughout the opening ceremony to cancel the games, that these games are putting sport and money ahead of the japanese people's lives. still a lot of frustration, alisyn, on the ground that these games are going ahead when covid-19 cases are surging in tokyo, the host city is under a state of emergency. and just about 20% of the population is fully vaccinated. we are now up to more than 100 covid-19 cases in japan that are linked to these games as well as a growing history of athletes who are out of the olympics because of covid-19. i spoke to several bystanders who were just trying to get close to the action at the na

let's go to cnn's salina wang live from tokyo. and as i understand it, it's the tokyo venues that will not have spectators, right? >> victor, exactly. that's right. the tokyo olympic venues and also three neighboring areas are banning any spectators from their venues. it is still possible that some of the olympic events held in prefectures in other areas will still allow some spectators, but it's still unclear how many, and this comes as a big relief to much of the public here and public health experts who have been pushing for no spectators for quite some time. this is as covid-19 cases are surging yet again here in tokyo. the highest level in months. more cases driven by the delta variant, and a key concern, victor and allison, and the low vaccination rate here. just 15% of the japanese population has been fully vaccinated. and all of this of course is a major blow to olympic organizers and japan which has spent years, more than $15 billion planning for these games, has spent more than a billion dollars alone rebuilding that nat

after the tokyo games were postponed last year, the uk accused russia of spying on tokyo olympics officials and organizations. experts say there is no reason they won't do something again. >>> what have you seen in the way of indications that something may happen? >> we've seen sort of russian espionage groups be interested in japan over the last few years. they definitely still have the people that work for them. and if they made the decision this is something they want to do, they're able to do it. >> reporter: tokyo's organizing committee isn't alone in trying to fend off potential cyberattacks. the international olympics committee, the ioc, tells us they're working with tokyo to pre prepare. here in the u.s. the cyber agency has worked with japan's cyber in the past and they stand ready. poppy, situations like this where the whole world is watching, it really is all hands on deck. >> it is for sure. you're right, hope for the best, prepare for the worst. alex, thank you for that reporting >>> the u.s. military is preparing new air strikes against the taal began and afghan forces. what d

tokyo's $1.5 billion olympic stadium. >> right now, we're flying over the centerpiece of tokyo 2020, almost 70,000 seats in that stadium. nearly all of them empty. the olympics' first ever spectator ban. a dramatically scaled down opening ceremony. organizers say only about 950 vips attending, including u.s. first lady jill biden. we get a closer look on the ground. this is as close as most japanese are able to get to their olympic stadium. police have shut down surrounding roads and even fenced off the perimeter. for everyday folks, this is their only shot at seeing the olympics up close. public opinion polls show japanese overwhelmingly don't want the games to go forward, but you wouldn't know it looking at these long lines of people waiting to take selfies in front of the olympic rings. >> translator: i'm worried about the olympic bubble. it's not perfect. but i want to cheer on the athletes. >> reporter: that bubble, to protect athletes from covid-19. a small but growing number of athletes are testing positive. even inside the olympic village. >> so excited to go to tokyo, but i'

cnn selena wang live in tokyo with more. >>reporter: well, john, these are not the olympics of japan's dreams. i've been to few of the events it's surreal to see athletes like naomi osaka competing in nearly empty staid yups. now with more than 115 covid cases in japan linked to the olympics, and beijing hosting, the stakes for japan are immense. ♪ >> reporter: a year and a half into the pandemic, it's clear these ranaren't the olympics ja was hoping for. the games were supposed to be the nation's comeback, after decades of economic stagnation. and devastation from the 2011 fukushima nuclear disaster, but covid-19 derailed those dreams. after spending more than $15 billion for these summer games, japan is projected to lose billions with no economic boost from foreign tourists, fans banned from almost every olympic venue and subdued opening ceremonies. and now the country along with the ioc plow ahead, ignoring cancellation calls from doctors, sponsors and business leaders. >> i call this is a suicide mission. to be honest.

cnn's selina wang for us in tokyo. you are going to bring us the latest from that, as we continue to get more information in this really devastating landslide that's occurred in japan. we'll continue to keep you updated. selina, thanks so much. >>> now, we have new information on the condo collapse in surfside, florida. an emergency order was issued friday to tear down the remaining structure. now, that demolition is expected in the coming weeks. the miami-dade county mayor explains that, a lot of planning is, of course, needed to bring the building down, safely. >> so engineers have told us that it takes a while to determine the best way to do the demolition. there are different, technical ways to do it. there is different directions that the debris could fall. there's processes that have to be undertaken. and permits that have to be received. it's quite an elaborate process. and we must not proceed quickly. we do not want it to jeopardize our search and -and-rescue effo. so basically, this is the beginning of the pro

every athlete in tokyo has demonstrated great determination. if we bring that same energy to our global challenges, we can achieve anything. >> reporter: we are now just over 13 hours away from the beginning of the opening ceremonies which are expected to have fewer participants and will last longer because of social distancing during the parade of nations. nonetheless, it should be a spectacle. they have been flying the drones in the air. they have had jets practicing doing the olympic rings in the air and, jim, even though public opinion polls show most japanese overwhelmingly don't want the games to happen, we saw a long line of people talking selfies at the olympic rings, voicing their support for these games and hoping that once they get started case numbers will stabilize and people can just relax and enjoy. >> and just enjoy the olympics. let's hope it all goes off without too many cases over there. will ripley, thanks so much for watching that for us, and china, of course, is where the coronavirus was first detected the and now the chin

we have reports from london, a s arkansas, tokyo and washington. but we depend with corporate america taking the lead on battling coronavirus, requiring employees get the shot to keep their job as the delta variant surges across the country. google, facebook, netflix, morgan stanley and others requiring vaccines for at least some of their employees. and bring your mask to liz any l disneyland and disney world whether you are vaccinated or not. masks are required there. some executives are waiting to mandate vaccines until they win full fda approval hoping that it will come soon. and here is home depot co-founder. >> you get the fda to say it is final, approved, and i can guarantee you all the places i'm involved in, if you don't get vaccinated, you will get fired. you have an obligation to your fellow man to protect them as well as yourself. >> the delta variant is also prompting companies to rethink their return to work plans. google is pausing its back to the office plans until mid october. during its earnings call this week, their ceo said the v

she makes her debut in tokyo sunday. she tweeted greatest athletic achievement and honor i will ever have in my life. now tonga's pita was glowing again. 613 athletes. 329 women. one of the best, kenny harrison. 12.2 seconds. boris can get a 20 meter head start without hurdles and still get smoked. this is kenny's first games. she's wishing her family could be here too though. >> when you are lined up with the best in the world, you're not worried about the stands, the people there, you're worried about going out there and competing to the best of your ability. more so going to be fun when you are done competing and you want to celebrate with your family and friends. that's going to be the most hardest part. >> each olympics we hear never give up. shawn taylo. >> i am a four-time olimb pin champion. i think one of the things i'm the most proud about doing all of that while simultaneously being a mother of three. becoming an olympian at the age of 4 was something i wanted to do. every step was towards that goal. in 2019 i

selina wang, in tokyo, thank you so much. >>> u.s. president joe biden is pushing back on a court ruling that impacts hundreds of thousands of young-american immigrants. just ahead, we'll explain what biden plans to do and what his old boss has to say about it. >>> plus, singer britney spears lashes out on social media. we'll show you why she is criticizing some of her supporters for trying to save face as her conservatorship battle takes a new turn. stay with us. you love rich, delicious ice cream. but your stomach doesn't. that disagreement ends right now. lactaid ice cream is the creamy, real ice cream you love that will never mess with your stomach. lactaid ice cream. facing collagen that's all hype? olay collagen peptide 24 with derm recommended peptides. hydrates better than the $400 cream. for visibly firmer skin. olay. face anything wet dishes? residue? spots? it's not your dishwasher's fault. simply add finish jetdry 3in1 to rinse, dry and shine your dishes. solve 3 problems at once with finish jetdry 3in1. >>> barack obama i

that's how many tickets he bought for tokyo 2020, spending nearly $40,000. the spectator ban, crushing his dream of a world record for attendance. to be honest, all i have now is sadness, he says. >> looks like a storm coming. >> it looks very sad. >> as he talks about his heartbreak, the skies open up. it's raining right now, he says. the god of the olympics is angry. i think it's a sign. it's not too late to allow spectators. an olympic dream about as distant as a sunny day. will ripley, cnn, tokyo. >> if you don't know the history of jerusalem, it's hard to understand what's going on there today. your skin isn't just skin, it's a beautiful reflection of everything you've been through. that's why dove renews your skin's ceramides and strengthens it against dryness for softer, smoother skin you can lovingly embrace. renew the love for your skin with dove body wash. new crest pro-health complete protection kills 99% of bacteria. plus, it works around... ...and around... ...and around the clock. crest pro-health complete protection gives you 24-hour protectio

. >>> it is day eight of the tokyo olympics. competitions are ongoing but the woman who is arguably the world's greatest gymnast is taking a pause. simone biles has withdrawn from two more event, the vault and the uneven bars, those finals will be held on sunday. usa gymnastics say she may compete in the floor exercise, and balance beam events early next week. biles says she is suffering from what gymnasts call the twisties. that's the name for a dangerous mental block where athletes lose their sense of positioning in air. it could lead to dangerous injuries. we want to get the details from blake, who joins us from tokyo. andy scholes is here in atlanta. good to see you. andy, how surprising is it that biles has pulled out of more events. >> we certainly knew it was a possibility after what biles has been saying on instagram the last few days, as you nemgs mentioned, she is suffering from a case of the twisties, when they feel like they get lost in the air doing the same movements that they have done thousands and thousands of t

sanjay gupta live in tokyo. sanjay, i understand there is a delay, but folks here are very concerned in the united states given that nationwide, 83% of all covid infections are the delta variant. so help folks understand just what's happening specifically with regard to these breakthrough infections in the delta variant. >> well, you know, this was sort of anticipated. when you have a variant that is far more transmissible than the previous strains, it's going to essentially outrun those other strains and become a larger percentage of the overall cases. if you go back to may, i think we can show you what was happening. in the beginning of may delta was a very small percentage of what was happening in the united states. we weren't talking about it much at that point. over time it was doubling or tripling every couple of weeks and now we get to this point where it's the majority of infections. and that was sort of expected. there's two things about this. one is that it is far more transmissible, far less forgiving

our long time tokyo bureau driver mr. okano. >> he was the very first face that i met in tokyo. >> as we leave the airport and head to the hotel, it finally feels real. we made it to japan. the process surprisingly smooth overall. even as the japanese capital fights a fresh surge in covid cases. and here we are in hotel quarantine for 14 days. tokyo about to enter the fourth state of emergency of the pandemic. cases are surging. will these measures be enough to prevent the delta variant from spreading like wildfire here in the japanese capital where just 15%st population is vaccinated nationwide. jim, it is a difficult decision for tokyo olympics organizers to say there will be no spectators in the venues they've spent billions building but numbers are one thing and lives are another. >> risky conditions. thank you very much. >>> ahead, the 14-year-old national spelling bee champion speaks to cnn after her big win. the final word that earned her $50,000. a tough one. that is next. not all 5g networks are created equal. wh

katie leaves tokyo with four more medals to her name. she can't wait to be back with her family. >> i haven't been able to think beyond this. this is kind of an end point to a whole long process. i haven't been home since before the pandemic, and so it was kind of like, all right, let's get to tokyo. i want to go home. at that point, as i said, i'm just going to let this sit and soak it in. >> congratulations, katie. and the race to become the fastest woman in the world is complete. the 100 meter dash. america's superstar sha'carri richardson serving the ban for marijuana. in her absence, jamaica, ya mon, one, two, and three, sweeping the field. florence griffith joyner's olympic record that stood for 33 years was broken, 10.61 seconds. it is the fastest 100 meter time by any woman ever. shelley ann fraser-pryce who claimed gold in 2012 taking silver. jackson with the bronze. >>> simone biles was the athlete everyone wanted to see in the olympic games, but she's taken herself out of sunday's individual finals in the vault and uneven bars

will ripley is standing by for us in tokyo right now. so was this expected and tell us what this means for the olympic games. >> reporter: it was. we -- it was certainly dreaded. this state of emergency essentially kills the idea that there can be local spectators attending events at olympic venues here in tokyo. this is something that seemed to be kind of unavoidable given the recent surge in cases that they have been seeing here in japan and particularly in tokyo the last 18 days or so. you've had numbers that are some of the highest they have seen in quite some time at a time when thousands of athletes and trainers and journalists will be arriving here in the japanese capital ahead of the olympic ceremonies on july 23rd. adding spectators to the mix as japan is now grappling with yet another outbreak inside its capital is deemed by the japanese to be too risky of a proposition at a time that they pledged to hold a safe olympic games. so as a result, only special guests are expected to be allowed to attend the events live here. everybo