right now on "america this morning," democrats kicking off their convention. former first lady michelle obama saying the president is, quote, in over his head. >> he cannot meet this moment. he simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. it is what it is. >> the new reaction this morning. plus, new details about the republican national convention including a scheduled appearance from the couple facing felony charges for pointing guns at protesters. the coronavirus now the third leading cause of death in the united states. texas surpassing 10,000 deaths overnight. cases at nursing homes

skyrocketing. dr. deborah birx of the coronavirus revealing what she wishes america did in the early days of the pandemic. a major break in the cold case murder of run dmc's jam master jay shot in cold blood. what prosecutors say led to his murder and the two men under arrest. ellen's apology. the talk show host reportedly speaking to her staff overnight in an emotional call announcing major changes to the show after accusations of a toxic work culture. plus, close call. a woman moves seconds before a car barrels over a sidewalk. and following in his father's footsteps, charlie woods impressing his dad tiger with a dominant performance in a golf tournament. good tuesday morning, everyone. i'm mona kosar abdi. >> and i'm will reeve in for kenneth moton. we begin with the democratic national convention unlike ever before. >> the convention kicked off last night going virtual for the first time with a diverse lineup of speakers rallying behind joe biden and taking direct aim at president trump.

>> the democrats and some republicans taking turns painting biden and trump as polar opposites. former first lady michelle obama telling voters, the president is in over his head. >> abc's ines de la cuetara is live in washington with the details. good morning, ines. >> reporter: good morning, will and mona. democrats showing off their wide range of supporters last night from liberal bernie sanders to some former republicans. overnight, a democratic national convention like no other. former first lady michelle obama giving the keynote address like the rest of the dnc virtually. >> if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don't make a change in this election. >> reporter: the former first lady urgently warning -- >> we have got to vote for joe biden like our lives depend on it. donald trump is the wrong president for our country. he cannot meet this moment. he simply cannot be who we need

him to be for us. it is what it is. >> reporter: democrats challenged to capture the enthusiasm and party unity without a crowd. headliners included leaders in the fight against covid-19 -- >> now we need a leader as good as our people, a leader who appeals to the best within us, not the worst. >> reporter: to kristen orkeza, a woman whose father died from the virus. >> his only pre-existing condition was trusting donald trump and for that he paid with his life. >> reporter: and ranged from across the ideological spectrum from self-proclaimed democratic socialist bernie sanders -- >> we must come together, defeat donald trump and elect joe biden. >> reporter: -- to former ohio governor and conservative republican john kasich. >> i'm proud of my republican heritage, but what i have witnessed these past four years belies those principles. >> reporter: the democrats also inviting three republican women

to speak who all endorsed joe biden for president. >> this isn't about republican or democrat. it's about a person. >> reporter: this as president trump tried to change the channel with some counterprogramming in the key swing states of minnesota and wisconsin. >> they're making speeches that are taped. who wants to listen to michelle obama do a taped speech? no, you got to have her get up there. >> reporter: and joe biden will accept his party's nomination later this week from wilmington, delaware. republicans will hold their convention next week. will and mona. >> ines, thank you. and former president bill clinton and dr. jill biden are among the speakers tonight, and you can catch our coverage online starting at 7:00 or on the abc network at 10:00 p.m. later our political experts break down the big moments of the night. now to new details on the republican national convention kicking off next monday. among the speakers first lady melania trump, senators tim scott and joni ernst and

former south carolina governor nikki haley. also scheduled to make an appearance, the st. louis couple seen in this viral video in june pointing guns at protesters outside their mansion. they both have been charged with a felony for that incident. and the white house is reacting to a former senior trump administration official who endorsed joe biden. miles taylor was chief of staff at the homeland security department. he now describes president trump's conduct as, quote, terrifying claiming trump wanted to exploit the department for his own political purposes. >> he told us to stop giving money to people whose houses had burned down from a wildfire because he was so rageful that people in the state of california didn't support him and that politically it wasn't a base for him. >> yeah, look, miles was a nice kid. he worked here for a couple of years, but i will say that it makes a lot of sense to me that he's endorsing joe biden. when he was working at the department of homeland security,

no wall was built and the border was wide open. that's why the president changed up the team there. >> taylor, a lifelong republican, adding that the president was actively doing damage to america's security. he says he is confident biden will protect the country. and we turn to the coronavirus pandemic which has become the third leading cause of death in the united states. >> only heart disease and cancer have killed more americans this year and now new trouble for schools trying to re-open. 155 students in colorado are in quarantine after a classmate tested positive. abc's megan tevrizian has the latest. >> reporter: this morning. covid-19 is now the third leading cause of death in the u.s., second only to heart disease and cancer. one of the nation's leading health experts warning now is the time to get this under control. dr. deborah birx wishing the u.s. had originally shut down like italy. >> we've learned what americans were willing to do in combating the virus. >> reporter: covid cases at nursing homes skyrocketing up 80% since early this summer. long-term care facilities account for more than 40% of coronavirus deaths despite housing less than 1% of the country's population.

the sudden spike fueled by new cases in the south where the debate over schools is taking a new turn. >> it is not safe. there will be people who will get sick. >> reporter: at georgia tech -- [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: -- dozens protesting the decision to return to campus by staging a die-in and just one week after re-opening, the university of north carolina is backpedaling switching to remote learning after 130 students contracted the virus. >> we have always said that we would respond to the situation as it evolved. the situation has changed, and we believe that taking these actions are necessary at this point. >> reporter: elementary schools in the state are also seeing an uptick in cases. this school temporarily shutting down after a cluster was linked to a faculty member. and in new york, abc's tom llamas highlighted new precautions grade schoolers will face in the classroom. >> throughout the year, there's going to be at least two windows open.

this is across the city and even in the winter. it's one easy and natural way they say they can circulate fresh air. >> reporter: tennessee is facing a severe shortage of teachers and support staff. 1,200 vacancies for educated related jobs. in south carolina there are nearly 1,100 vacancies and now teachers who quit over safety concerns could be slapped with thousands of dollars in fines for backing out of their contracts. there's also new trouble at one of the nation's largest fire departments. chicago's fire academy had to close down after an outbreak. they're reporting nearly 300 cases at the department and two chicago firefighters have died from the virus. will, mona. >> megan, thank you. postmaster general louis dejoy has agreed to testify before congress next week. dejoy, a trump donor is accused of deliberately slowing down mail amid an unexpected surge in mail-in voting during the pandemic. house lawmakers plan to hold an emergency vote saturday on a bill to prohibit the postal

service to make any changes. president trump denies asking dejoy to slow down the mail. now to those raging wildfires in california. crews fighting the flames and excessive heat, a fire burning north of los angeles is 1 of 30 burning in the state right now. more than 19,000 acres have been destroyed in the lake fire, and a new wildfire erupted yesterday in napa wine country, the hennessey fire. that's burned more than 2,000 acres. time now for a look at your weather this tuesday morning. the biggest threat of rain today is in the eastern third of the country. florida will see stormy conditions, and the same goes for the mid-atlantic coast. areas of new england, the upper midwest and the rockies will also see some rain. but there will be more dangerous heat in the rockies and the southwest. phoenix and salt lake city will see triple digits. denver gets to 98 degrees, and 80s in the northwest and

from boston down to washington mostly 70s around the great lakes. you have 91 in miami, 93 in los angeles. and coming up, days ahead of her sentencing in the college admissions scandal, a new clue into how long lori loughlin could spend in jail. also ahead, two men under arrest accused in the killing of jam master jay of run dmc. how investigators say they tracked down suspects decades after the murder. and how one country's president jumped into action at the beach saving t

back now with this australian woman's close call. she was standing at a bus stop at a suburb when that car came flying into where she was

standing. it was out of control. the driver is in the hospital. federal prosecutors sailorry loughlin should spend two months in prison for her role. the former "full house" star and her husband are set to be sentenced friday. they paid $500,000 to get their daughters into usc. prosecutors say her husband should receive five months in prison calling him a more active participant. next the arrests in the unsolved murder of jam master jay, one of the founding members of the group run dmc. jam master jay was murdered in a new york city recording studio in 2002. investigators now releasing new details about that case after they indicted two men. as one-third of the pioneering group run, dmc jam master jay whose real name was jason mizell was the deejay on the turntables for classic hits like "king of rock quote ♪ with the beat >> reporter: and the rap/rock

collaboration "walk this way" with aerosmith. ♪ walk this way talk this way >> reporter: but in 2002 jam master jay's trailblazing career came to an abrupt end as he was sitting on a sofa in this new york recording studio. >> we begin with the death of jam master jay at the legendary rap group run dmc, a band that has been called the beatles of hip-hop. >> reporter: for nearly two decades his murder went unsolved until now, monday investigators announcing a major break in the cold case. >> today we begin to answer that question of who killed jason mizell and why? >> reporter: federal prosecutors charging karl jordan and ronald washington for mizell's murder alleging the two conspired to kill hill over a drug trafficking dispute and shot him point blank in the head. >> mr. jordan and mr. washington walked into a music studio in queens where mr. mizell and

others were working essentially and hanging out, and they walked in and they murdered him in cold blood. >> reporter: jam master jay's murder rocked the music industry coming not long after the murders of fellow rap legends tupac shakur and the notorious b.i.g., both of those cases still unsolved. jordan was arraigned yesterday and is being held at the metropolitan detention center in brooklyn. he has pled not guilty. washington is already behind bars for unrelated crimes. and coming up, the major problem facing vaccine trials and why it could cause delays in its development. also ahead, major changes announced at "the ellen degeneres show" show in the wake of allegations of misconduct. alerts... ...remind us... ...and forewarn us. but if you have type 2 diabetes... ...and risks for heart disease,... ...damage to your heart may have already started. up to 50 percent of you may be at risk for heart failure. and there's a chance you could land in the hospital. farxiga does... ...more than help... ...lower a1c. if you have type 2 diabetes...

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reportedly apologized amid a shake-up on her show triggered by allegations that top executives fostered a toxic work environment. according to "variety" degeneres was on the verge of tears and described claims of sexual harassment and unfair treatment as heartbreaking and comes as ellen announces staffing changes. three top producers exited the show on monday. new data from the popular website yelp is showing how the pandemic is impacting businesses. according to yelp more than 100,000 businesses have closed permanently since march 1st. by one estimate closure rates for restaurants exceed those for retail. more people of color are needed to participate in clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine. medical experts say the lack of minority participation could delay getting a much needed vaccine to the market. of the 350,000 people who have registered online for a coronavirus clinical trial, only 10% are black or latino. more than half of the u.s. coronavirus cases have been among black and latino people.

day one of the nba playoffs saw some amazing performances in the orlando bubble. dallas mavericks' luca doncic now owns the league mark for most points in a playoff debut. he dropped 42 points in a loss to the l.a. clippers. he's only 21 years old. donovan mitchell dropped 57 in a loss to denver. that's the third most points scored in a playoff game ever. all right, let's take a closer look at night one of the democratic national convention. >> as we mentioned, the speakers spanned the political spectrum from liberals to conservatives so did the messaging work? we get reaction now from our abc news powerhouse roundtable. >> so how big a threat are these republican endorsements tonight? >> zero. zero. i mean, they're meaningless. they weren't with her -- they were with her four years ago. now they're with biden. no surprise. >> we have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. we've got to show up with the same level of passion and hope

>> she was kind of cracter washeffective? >> well, she came with something to say. she came, and she did a most effective takedown of this president, and the consequences to all of us and then a buildup to what joe biden can as a president in the country we know and restore that country. so she did it on the character side. >> i think the most effective thing tonight and we may look back on this is and say the motion effective thing of the week was michelle obama's speech. you know, rahm and i were speaking during the commercial. you know, she's been waiting four years to say this. there was an emotion behind her speech tonight that, you know, didn't seem angry, but was passionate. you know, it's easy enough to write something like that but to deliver it the way she delivered it, that was incredibly well done. >> do you know that scene in the movie when you open up the window and you scream, i can't take this anymore, that was that

scene. >> more from our powerhouse roundtable all week long at the democratic national convention, and coming up, kamala harris secret service code name revealed. also ahead, a chip off the old block. how tiger woods' son dominated the competition in a kids tournament. how fair. these are real people, not actors, who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe.

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now her running mate and presidential nominee joe biden has recycled the name he used when he was vice president, code name celtic. and a day at the beach turned into a rescue mission for portugal's president. >> that's right. the 71-year-old was on a working holiday to boost tourism when he spotted two women struggling in the water. take a look. they were swept away from another beach by currents after their kayak capsized. another swimmer also helped with the rescue. the president underwent minor heart surgery last year, but that did not stop him. next, like father like son and in this case we're talking about tiger woods and his 11-year-old son charlie. >> yeah, a chip off the old block. it seems like charlie is quite a golfer just like his legendary father, and this month charlie won a nine-hole event for his age group in florida by five strokes. that's really good in golf. he only played nine holes. >> this past weekend tiger woods was caddying for his boy. woods says he is getting more serious about golf. hmm. finally a rescue

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building a better bay area for a safe and secure future, this is abc7 news. making news right now at 4:27, developing news. a fast-moving wildfire and napa county exploding out of control and now evacuations are ordered. the bay area will bake again today. we will be under another flex alert and pg&e fear even more rolling blackouts. michelle obama going after president trump igniting the virtual crowd during day one of the democratic national convention. one-time rival bernie sanders calls for unity behind joe biden. good morning, everybody. tuesday, august 18th. happy you're with us this morning. starting with meteorologist mike nicco for a look at our day ahead. a lot going on, mike. >> there is, kumasi. the thunderstorm threat is over. thankfully that is behind us. we're not expecting any more

fire starts from thunderstorms until next week. that is getting way ahead of ourselves. let's focus on the heat. excessive heat warning goes through 9:00 wednesday and that includes everybody except for san francisco and you can see along the coast. those areas not shaded in red. what does that mean? for today, 72 at half moon bay to 80 in san francisco and we have low to mid 80s almost tolerable in richmond and also in oakland, but 87 you can see there in san mateo and then 90s and 100s for the rest of us. we'll talk more about a second heat wave and the fire forecast coming up. >> all right, thank you, mike. while you were asleep, hundreds of firefighters worked through the night to get control of a wildfire in napa county. burned at least 2,400 acres with zero containment. now, it's possible the cause of this fire was lightning strikes. firefighters say the hot weather comboined with the wind make it really difficult to contain these flames. mandatory evacuations are in

effect in this area and the flames are at this point threatening several homes. there is an evacuation center set up at crosswalk church in napa. now, in the east bay, four fires burning near alameda and santa clara counties are making up the marsh fire. fire crews say airdrops help beat back those flames yesterday afternoon. nearly 1,800 acres burned. 0% containment and evacuations in the canyon area have been revised to a warning. mandatory evacuations are still in effect for the river fire south of solinas. this fire is 10% contained. cal firefighters say eight had heat injuries and they believe lightning strikes on sunday sparked this fire. as mike told us, hot again today. the state is declaring another flex alert because energy use is expected to be so high.

this will be in effect from 3:00 in the afternoon until 10:00 at night both today and tomorrow. state grid operators are pleading for us to just lower our energy usage. >> i know that it's going to be highly disruptive to people and i truly, truly wish that there were other options. in our case, supply and demand always have to be equal. when there's more demand than supply, you could eventually crash the system if you don't take the steps, which is what our operators are doing. >> those steps include setting your air condition to 78 degrees, turning off all the lights you don't need and not using your major appliances. a rotating power outages never happened here yesterday because people really work together to conserve power. but there are still a lot of outages for a number of other reasons. abc7 news reporter julian glover is live in milpitas with more on this. good morning, julian. >> hi, good morning,