Fueled by the Delta variant, coronavirus cases across the U.S. have hit the highest level since February.

In response, the Pentagon is moving to require vaccines for troops.

The question is, what other mandates will follow?

Plus, today the Senate is poised to pass a roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package.

With the vote just hours away, the question is,

how many Republicans will support the bill?

And NASA is hiring.

The agency is looking for applicants willing to live

and work in a simulated Mars environment for a year.

The question is, could this be NASA's next giant leap? It is way too early for this.

And welcome to way too early, the show that's still broadcasting here from planet Earth for

now. I'm Alicia Menendez on this Tuesday, August 10th.

We're going to start with the news.

We begin with the latest on coronavirus as the Delta variant causes infections to surge

across the United States.

An NBC News Talley confirms the U.S. case count now exceeds 36 million since the start

of the pandemic.

For the first time since February, the country is averaging more than 10,000 new cases a day,

fueled largely by infections in areas with low vaccination rates.

In some parts of the country, hospitals are near incapacity with available ICU beds in the single digits.

And worse, in some instances, patients are being turned away.

NBC News correspondent Morgan Chesky has more.

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