and to have that kind of challenging schedule and everything else that we have going on, to do it good morning, america. bombshell tapes. president trump admits to playing down the coronavirus threat in recordings with veteran journalist bob woodward. >> i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down. >> yes. >> because i don't want to create a panic. >> trump acknowledges it was far more deadly than he was telling the country at the time. >> it's also more deadly than your, you know, your -- even your strenuous flu. >> overnight, the president on defense as joe biden accuses him of betraying the country. wildfire apocalypse. hundreds of infernos burning across at least 14 states in the west leaving an unprecedented trail of destruction in oregon. >> this could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfire in our state's history.

>> thousands losing everything. the massive north complex fire scorching more than 250,000 acres, engulfing 1,000 acres every 30 minutes sending 20,000 fleeing as thousands of firefighters across the region battle the relentless flames. the blaze sending thick smoke turning the sky orange causing this apocalyptic scene in san francisco overlooking the golden gate bridge. we are live on the scene tracking the very latest. vaccine setback. new reports this morning on the covid vaccine trial freeze. a woman reportedly suffering a rare but serious spinal inflammation and as millions of students and staff head back to the classroom, parents slamming one of the nation's biggest school districts calling the first two weeks of online learning a disaster. breaking his silence. former florida gubernatorial candidate and rising

democratic star andrew gillum speaks out on the scandal at that miami beach hotel room and the night his life and career unraveled. what he says happened. tamron hall here with the first look at the exclusive interview. it's only on "gma" this morning. the nfl kicking off a new season tonight in a whole new way. the texans taking on patrick mahomes and the super bowl champion chiefs with 16,000 in the stands. how the league hopes to keep everyone safe without a bubble. ♪ honestly, i want to see you be brave ♪ and it's the biggest surprise in "gma" history for a hero nurse. life is about to change. the $1 million surprise. and it's all happening live. good morning, america. it's great to be with you on this thursday morning, robin and george. i don't know about you but i got to say i'm excited about this $1 million surprise.

>> i am as well, michael, and i can't wait for people to get to know this remarkable young woman. it's all part of a very, very busy morning that we have ahead. and we're going to begin, though, with those images out of california. just stunning. this look at san francisco, the wildfires producing so much thick smoke it nearly blocked out the sun. this was 12:30 in the afternoon. hundreds of infernos are burning across at least 14 states. we're going to have the latest on that in just a few moments, michael and george. >> so much devastation. right now we get to the bombshell revelation from bob woodward. tapes of president trump admitting to deliberately downplaying the coronavirus despite knowing how deadly a threat it posed to our country. the tapes rocked the white house, drew immediate fire from joe biden, and trump scrambled to control the damage last night. cecilia vega tracking it all from the white house, good morning, cecilia. >> reporter: george, good morning to you. you said it. there are tapes, and so the president is not denying

misleading the american public. he says flatout this was his strategy. by playing down the virus' threat he says he was trying to keep people from panicking. overnight president trump trying to justify misleading the american public on just how deadly the coronavirus is. >> i can't be jumping up and down and scaring people. i want people not to panic, and that's exactly what i did. >> reporter: but that is not what he told bob woodward in conversations recorded for the veteran journalist's new book "rage" heard in audio excerpts obtained by cnn. just days after national security adviser robert o'brien ominously warned the president that the virus, quote, will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency, the president sounded the alarm in a february 7th phone call with woodward. >> it goes through air, bob. that's always tougher than the touch. you know, the touch, you don't have to tough things, right? but the air, you just breathe air and that's how it's passed. and so that's a very tricky one. that's a very delicate one. it's also more deadly than your, you know, even your strenuous

flus. this is more deadly. this is 5 per -- you know, this is 5% versus 1% and less than 1%, so this is deadly stuff. >> reporter: deadly stuff in that call, but not long after that the president was telling americans the virus was no worse than the flu. >> you may ask about the coronavirus, which is, you know, very well under control in our country. >> this is a flu. this is like a flu. within a couple of days it's going to be down to close to zero. that's a pretty good job we've done. >> reporter: from the white house to twitter, the president saying, so last year 37,000 americans died from the common flu. nothing is shut down, life and the economy go on. think about that. ten days later president trump striking a very different tone admitting in another call with woodward that he wasn't telling the public how bad the virus really was. >> just today and yesterday, some startling facts came out, it's not just older people. >> yeah, exactly.

>> it's plenty of young people. >> it's clear just from what is on the public record that you went through a pivot on this to, oh, my god, the gravity is almost inexplicable and unexplainable. >> well, i think, bob, really to be honest with you -- >> sure, i want you to be. >> i wanted to -- i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down. >> yes. >> because i don't want to create a panic. >> reporter: but the very next week at the white house -- >> we cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. >> reporter: and days after that -- >> it will go away and we'll have a great victory. i want the keep the country calm. i don't want panic in the country. >> reporter: the reality today, more than 190,000 americans dead. joe biden on the campaign trail in michigan calling it a betrayal. >> he knew how deadly it was. it was much more deadly than the flu. he knew and purposely played it down. worse, he lied to the american people.

he knowingly and willingly lied about the threat it posed to the country for months. it's beyond despicable. it's a dereliction of duty. it's a disgrace. >> reporter: now, the book isn't even officially out until next week though some journalists have obtained copies. president trump says he has not read it. that of course, is not stopping him from bashing the book already. he called it boring, a political hit job by, quote, rapidly fading bob woodward. perhaps the most curious thing about all this, you know the president did 18 on the record interviews with woodward over 8 months. some of them late night calls with no aides around. >> 17 of them on tape. meantime, this is not the only revelation in the book, cecilia. also revealed new tensions between the president and military leaders. >> reporter: big tension, george. woodward quotes the president as using some extremely disparaging words about his top generals. the same word he used in that

"access hollywood" tape and he allegedly told the generals care more about alliances than trade deals and woodward said a source told that former defense secretary jim mattis was so concerned about the country's fate under president trump that mattis said there may come a time when they have to take collective action, george. >> still unfolding right now and as this was unfolding yesterday, thank you, cecilia, the white house also hit by a new whistle-blower complaint from a former top intelligence official who said the president's appointees to the department of homeland security ordered him to downplay russian interference on our election and the domestic threat posed by white supremacists. our congressional correspondent mary bruce has those details. good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, george. while a former top official at the department of homeland security says the trump administration tried to, quote, censor or manipulate intelligence for political gain, brian murphy was told to stop intelligence on russian interference in the election because it made the president look bad. now, we know from u.s. intelligence that russia is trying to spread misinformation to try and boost the president's re-election chances but murphy

says he was told to stand down on reporting the russian threat. he says the order came directly from the acting dhs secretary, chad wolf, and that he was told, quote, it specifically originated from the white house. murphy also claims that he was told to downplay the threat posed by violent white supremacists and to instead include information in his reports on violent left wing groups so that it better matched up with the president's public comments on this. the white house says murphy's whistle-blower complaint is based on false allegations. the dhs is flatly denies these claims and democrats are outraged and investigating. they're calling murphy to testify later this month, george. >> that will be under oath. okay, mary. thanks very much. next week i'll anchor a town hall with president and uncommitted voters for a special edition of "20/20" "the president and the people: a national conversation" tuesday, september 15th at 9:00 p.m. eastern. robin? all right, george. now we're going to turn to those deadly wildfires that are raging up and down the west coast. oregon's governor now warning it could be the greatest loss of

life and property from wildfires in that state's history. our chief national correspondent matt gutman is in phoenix, oregon with the very latest for us. good morning, matt. >> reporter: good morning, robin. i want to give you a sense of what a fire can do to a community like this. this was somebody's pick-up truck. this whole area here, this was a well tended garden, and just around the bend here i want to show you the charred remains of a child's bicycle. we're talking about what fires can do to rock and stone, well, they can absolutely pulverize them. i want to show you with our crane camera this is not just a sliver of a neighborhood but this goes on street after street for much of this town. overnight, three bodies found

after two fires converged, created explosive conditions. another 12 people are unaccounted for and several injuries just outside of sacramento. the north complex fire rapidly growing into one of the largest in california's history. at its worst it torched 1,000 acres every 30 minutes, sending thousands fleeing. in oregon where 48 wildfires are burning throughout the state, killing at least three, one fire galloping through towns around medford, oregon with investigat investigatferocity. >> this would be the worst wildfire in our state's history. >> reporter: south of the medford earlier this week and today, from space the entire west coast smothered in smoke. >> oh, my god. this looks really bad. >> reporter: tens of thousands of evacuees clogging roadways as they drove through that orange hell scape. >> medford is completely shut do down. >> reporter: we saw hospitals making dozens of drops.

across the state many thousands now losing everything. >> my wife passed away five years ago. we came here to look for her ashes, and we have nothing but the clothes on my back and that's it. no food, no gas, no money. no nothing. we're starting from square one. >> reporter: tim englehart and his family taking us with them to check on their home. the smoldering heaps almost unrecognizable. >> a friend of ours has a house here, a couple friends, and it's so destroyed i can't even find where it was. i can't even point it out. >> reporter: then their house. they pick through the debris. >> but i just can't believe that the whole thing is gone. >> reporter: it had been his grandson andre's first day of school. his prized possession, a keyboard he earned himself. >> it was a special gift that he got for learning to ride his bike. >> it was, like, a light up

keyboard. it was pretty cool, but now it's gone. >> reporter: that boy, andre, such a sweet kid. officials here say they haven't been able to survey the damage or get an assessment of the death toll because some of those hot spots are so hard to get to and they're asking the public not to call 911 unless it's an emergency. they don't want those lines clogged right now and the governor saying that it is going to be a very difficult few days until they can try to get control of these fires. michael? >> that is difficult to look at there, matt, thank you so much. now we go from oregon to california which is under siege with those historic fires raging nearly out of control. the smoke so thick it turned day into night in some areas up north. kaylee hartung is in california with the latest near that massive north complex fire scorching more than 250,000 acres. good morning, kaylee. >> reporter: and good morning, michael. it has been an extremely difficult firefight here. we're just off of lake oroville. this is where those two

wildfires collided and exploded overnight. authorities here struggled to notify people who were asleep in their homes. this home, one of thousands that was in that path of destruction. you see that flame still burning and you can still feel the heat coming from these embers alive beneath this wreckage. this fire at times was burning so hot it even melted glass. that means temperatures were around 3,000 degrees and it appears that these homeowners did everything they could to try to save this place. there's a garden hose right here and an empty stable ahead of me. it seems that they got their animals to safety but they couldn't save anything else. michael? >> all right, thank you so much, kaylee. now we go to ginger with a look at whether any relief is in sight. good morning, ginger. >> good morning, michael. the winds are a little lower. remember, i just got back so i wanted to share a couple of photos from my time there. this is from the eldorado fire or so we thought. that burned out car, people couldn't tell us and couldn't figure out if it was the eldorado fire or apple fire because they've seen two fires within two weeks.

people evacuating for a second time overnight. and i want to also share these images. this would be the sky cover if you're in the fire. this is my video that i took yesterday and, of course, it's smoky there, but even when you are miles and hours from the fires themselves into los angeles itself as i drove to l.a.x., that brown, murky sky made it all the way there from the bobcat fire, so it's just something i think people don't understand. you can't go for a walk or a jog all across the west coast, robin. >> all right. and it is good to have you back, ginger. thank you. we want to turn now to the latest on the coronavirus emergency. we'll talk about that. the death toll worldwide now topping 900,000 as we learn new details about the sudden stop to that promising vaccine trial after a participant reportedly developed a rare inflammatory condition. whit johnson joins us now with more on all of that. good morning, whit. >> reporter: robin, good morning to you. while this adverse reaction is serious, it is not yet known if

it was directly caused by the vaccine itself and health officials maintain this is how the process is supposed to work to identify and investigate potential problems before a vaccine goes public. this morning, new reports about what triggered the global halt of astrazeneca's phase 3 covid-19 vaccine trials. stat news reporting a woman in the united kingdom who received the vaccine experienced neurological symptoms consistent with a rare but serious spinal inflammatory disease called transverse myelitis. >> there have been several reports of transverse myelitis following vaccination, however it's never been conclusively determined that vaccines have been the cause of transverse myelitis. >> reporter: in a statement to abc news, astrazeneca saying in part, there is no final diagnosis and that there will not be one until more tests are carried out. >> we don't know if the vaccine caused it. the pause is completely

appropriate and, again, pretty common. we just have to sort out whether the complications she seems to have had are from the vaccine or unrelated. >> reporter: and while eight vaccines are currently being tested in the u.s. and three of them are in phase 3 trials, the director of the nih countering president trump's claim there will be a vaccine by election day. >> certainly to try to predict whether it happens on a particular week before or after a particular date in early november is well beyond anything any scientist could tell you and be confident they know what they're saying. >> reporter: as millions of students return to school, another painful reminder that a safe vaccine can't come soon enough. in south carolina, 28-year-old demetria bannister, a third grade teacher, died from coronavirus. banisters seen in this video that she made last year tested

positive last friday and passed away on monday just a week after the start of the new school year. and in st. louis, special education teacher ashlee demarinis died after fighting covid-19 for three weeks in the hospital. despite the setback, two other major vaccine candidates here in the u.s. in late stage trials tell abc news they remain on schedule. george. >> okay, thank you. boy, the story of those teachers is heartbreaking. we are following a lot of other headlines this morning including the nfl kicking off their new season tonight with some fans in the stands. and andrew gillum breaking his silence after the rising democratic star lost it all when he was found inebriated in a hotel room. first back to ginger. michael, western oregon and washington state both have red flag warnings, gusty winds to 35 miles per hour and near record highs. now to the rainy cities sponsored by subaru.

miracle at the mall. the new plan to save jcpenney and thousands of jobs. countdown to kickoff. the nfl season gets under way tonight. what's different and why the commissioner warns there will be speed bumps. and from justin timberlake's new mission to a new gig for jay leno to the mom making a surprise visit during her daughter's audition video, all the trending stories this thursday morning. stay right there. we'll be right b stay right there. we'll be right back.

come on in, we're open. ♪ all we do is hand you the bag. simple. done. we adapt and we change. you know, you just figure it out. we've just been finding a way to keep on pushing. ♪

wish you were here. to see how bright the human spirit can shine. to see that no matter what nature does, people will do more. with one of the industry's largest catastrophe response teams, state farm will always be among the first to arrive and the last to leave. to help show that human nature is greater than nature. like a good neighbor, state farm is there.® i felt like i was justs little constantly cleaning up his hair. then, i got my paws on the swiffer sweeper... it's a game changer! these heavy duty dry cloths pick up a crazy amount of hair.

this is all you. we stopped cleaning and started swiffering. you know how these things start. you try wendy's buy one get one for a dollar breakfast offer, love it and tell a friend. then they tell a friend. and so on and so on and so on. so get to wendy's and get some breakfast! i'm a and i'm partneer. of the team building... ...a powerful 5g experience for america. it's 5g ultra wideband, and it's already available in parts of select cities. like los angeles. and in new york city. and it's rolling out in cities around the country. with massive capacity. it's like an eight-lane highway compared to a two-lane dirt road. 25x faster than today's 4g networks. in fact, it's the fastest 5g in the world. from the network more people rely on. this is 5g built right. only on verizon. ♪ this feeling watch me while i break the ceiling ♪ ♪ yeah i do it right cuz i'm a diamond... ♪

did you know that you can shop online with a virtual consultant? ask about special financing with the diamond credit card. good morning, everyone. happening today, you can go to the gym for an indoor workout in santa clara county for the first time since march, but the experience will be different. this is video that 24 hour fitness gave us. the chain will require members to make reservations for 90-minute sessions and limit hours with clubs being open between 5:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. you may also see certain machines and equipment off limits in order to promote social distancing. twitter is trying off set the impact of the pandemic on its bottom line. many of its employees are now working from home so they're not at the headquarters in search and seizure san francisco.

now twitter is trying to sublet a big portion of its office space. making square feet available for up to five years start ng december. mike nicco has a quick ♪ if i could, baby i'd ♪ how can i, when you won't take it from me ♪ ♪ you can go your own way ♪

♪ go your own way your wireless. your rules. only with xfinity mobile.

hey, our layer cake's built a little differently this morning. our marine layer has been polluted by smoke, especially from oregon. we've got unhealthy air across the north bay and also as we head into the heart of the bay. the south and inland east bay, we have our cleanest air. so a spare the air today, tomorrow and i think saturday will be added, also a. i'm not convinced until sunday when we have a major pattern shift that we won't be dealing with smoke and warm temperatures. you can see sunday, a drastic

difference and it will last through next week. sfwl thank you. coming up, the nfl season kicking off with fans in the stands in kansas so you're a small bor a big one. you were thriving, but then... oh. ah. okay. plan, pivot. how do you bounce back?

you don't, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. powered by the largest gig speed network in america. but is it secure? sure it's secure. and even if the power goes down, your connection doesn't. so how do i do this? you don't do this. we do this, together. bounce forward, with comcast business. (peter walsh) people came and they met and they felt comfortable. it's what we did with coogan's. you felt safe and, if you were safe, you could be joyful. everybody has a coogan's. and almost half those small businesses, they could close if people don't do something. we have to keep our communities together. that's how we get through this.

♪ with acetaminophenction fights pain in two ways. advil targets pain at the source... ...while acetaminophen blocks pain signals. the future of pain relief is here. new advil dual action. this is hal's heart. it's been broken. and put back together. this is hal's relief, knowing he's covered by medicare from blue cross blue shield. and with coverage you can trust, backed by over 80 years of healthcare expertise, we'll be there when it matters most. this is medicare from blue cross blue shield. this is the benefit of blue. this is medicare from blue cross blue shield. we believe in good we can all afford ♪ sing it, yeah, yeah from coffee that opens more eyes to black business.

♪ all gold to me to a hundred shades of beautiful. ♪ yeah, good to me ♪ i can't stop the feeling welcome back to "gma." there he is, my guy, justin timberlake, with his hit "can't stop the feeling." this morning, the superstar has big plans for baseball. we're going to tell you what he's feeling about that in "pop news" coming up later in the show. >> we are looking forward to that. also following a lot of headlines right now including president trump admitting to playing down the coronavirus threat in those bombshell recordings with veteran journalist bob woodward. the president acknowledged the virus was far more deadly than he was telling the country at the time. also right now hundreds of wildfires burning across 14 states in the west leaving an unprecedented trail of destruction in oregon. in california the massive north complex fire is engulfing a thousand acres every 30 minutes.

we're tracking all the latest this morning, robin. >> yes, we are, george. also this morning, we are celebrating the life of a man who gave the world a celebration. kool & the gang's co-founder ronald bell unfortunately passing away. the band formed in 1964 when bell, his brother and five of their high school friends decided to perform together. we've so glad they did, starting their journey to so many big hits. bell was 68 years old. one of my all-time favorite songs. we wish his family the very best. yeah. we're going to continue now with the nfl kicking off its new season tonight. the league bucking the pandemic bubble. teams playing games in their own stadiums, five of them allowing a limited number of fans in the stands. t.j. holmes joins us now with more including the protests expected to take center stage on the field. good morning, t.j. >> reporter: hey, good morning to you, robin. as you know, the mlb, the nba,

the nhl and major league soccer, all those leagues have to pause their seasons or delay the start because of coronavirus. not the nfl. they are starting tonight on time as scheduled as the commissioner promised and we are going to get our first look at what the country's most profitable and popular league looks like in a pandemic. >> touchdown, kelce. chiefs are back in it. >> reporter: the nfl is back and is going to look a lot different from the last time we saw it. the defending super bowl champs kansas city chiefs will host the houston texans tonight in the first game of the season amid a global pandemic. the two teams will face off at kansas city's arrowhead stadium, one of only five stadiums in the league letting fans attend games. but it won't be packed. only 16,000 fans will be allowed in. that's roughly 22% of the capacity. fans will only be able to park,

enter and exit in their designated zones. that means no wandering around the stadium. masks will also be required at all times even while sitting in or cheering from the seats. the players also following strict guidelines as well with daily covid testing and reconfigured locker rooms for better social distancing. there will be no shaking hands or swapping jerseys after the games. no cheerleaders or mascots on the fields, or private planes on standby in case anyone has symptoms of covid or tests positive. >> we will have contact tracing devices worn by everyone on the feel, all players, coaches and referees, and so we'll have some data even if we don't have positive tests about what type of physical distance has been respected throughout the game. those in and around the bench area will also be in masks and face coverings. >> reporter: players not willing to risk it were allowed to opt out of the season. at least 66 players have chosen to do so including chiefs offensive lineman laurent duvernay-tardif. he was the first in the nfl to announce his decision to opt

out. instead, he'll spend the season studying at harvard. ♪ land of the free >> reporter: and four years now after colin kaepernick sparked controversy by kneeling during the national anthem, his message of racial equality and social justice will be front and center. the nfl painting end racism and it takes all of us in the end zones and allowing players to wear helmet stickers and patches featuring the names of victims and messages of support. now, they do expect tonight some kind of on-field protest by some players and, stra, the commissioner says he will and the nfl will stand behind the players amid any backlash they might receive. >> all right. big news right there, t.j., thank you for that. joining us more now for more on the nfl kickoff is espn's stephen a. smith. stephen, thank you for joining us. the nfl season kicks off tonight as we've talked about earlier. there will be fans. they'll be in the stands but unlike the nba there will be no bubble so do you think the nfl's coronavirus plan will work?

>> i think it's going to work because the owners will insist on it. i've always been of the position that literally there would have to be federal intervention on the part of medical professionals and the like in order to stop the nfl from moving forward. they have always been about the business of making sure they're going to have their regular season. they canceled their preseason and had the nfl draft virtually but that's about all. outside of that it has been business as usual and it's going to continue to be business as usual. these owners are not going to lose in excess of $20 billion by having a regular season canceled. you can book it. you've been associated with the nfl throughout your illustrious career. you know exactly what i'm talking about. nfl ain't going anywhere. they'll have game one tonight and will mosey along throughout this season come hell or high water and they've given every indication they don't plan on wavering from that thought process one bit. you can book it.

it'll be all right. >> i booked it. i haven't heard mosey used in a long time. they'll mosey along. i agree with you. they've been very adamant about having this season. we saw the nba and mlb boycott games in protest of police violence. we've seen players in the nfl take a knee starting with colin kaepernick some years ago for the national anthem. but what are you expecting to see tonight? >> well, i expect to see many, many of the players take a knee because obviously when colin kaepernick took the position that he took, he met stark resistance. we all understand that and players even though they gave him incredible support privately, publicly, they were scared to death there would be repercussions led by the jerry jones owner of the dallas cowboys and others who spoke adamantly against them taking a knee because the narrative was hijacked and it wasn't about racial oppression or racial inequality but instead became about patriotism and they were scared of the backlash. that is no longer the case in the aftermath of george floyd's killing. you don't have to worry about that anymore. there will be decals on the back of their helmets with the

initials or the names of victims of police brutality and racial oppression. the players have received a license to do that. obviously the league has donated $250 million to various causes to fight racial oppression in the united states of america and their inspire change program donated an additional $44 million as well so the nfl from the owners to executives to coaches down on to players, everybody seems to be all in in light of the strife that we've experienced over the last several months, and i think you're going to see a lot of guys expressing themselves more than ever before, and the owners are not going to stand in their way because they want football, and they don't want public backlash that could ultimately compromise their season. they're not going to let that happen. >> all of us want football and will have it tonight. stephen a. smith, thank you so much for joining us this morning. we'll see you pretty much all day on espn. george. okay, michael. thanks. coming up here, the fall of a rising democratic star, andrew gillum speaking out about the scandal in that miami beach hotel room.

tamron hall has the first look at the exclusive interview. hotel room, tamron has has the first look at the exclusive interview. no calories, no sweeteners, all smiles, bubly sparkling water, crack a smile. hold on one second... sure. okay... okay! safe drivers save 40%!!! guys! guys! check it out. safe drivers save 40%!!!

safe drivers save 40%! safe drivers save 40%!!! that's safe drivers save 40%. it is, that's safe drivers save 40%. - he's right there. - it's him! he's here. he's right here. - hi! - hi. hey! - that's totally him. - it's him! that's totally the guy. safe drivers do save 40%. click or call for a quote today. 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.

tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. if your financial situation has changed, removes ten years of yellow stains. colgate optic white renewal that's like all the way back to 2010. they're jeans. they're leggings. they're jeggings! whoa! remove ten years of yellow stains with colgate optic white renewal. 80% of bacteria in your mouth aren't even on teeth. 80 percent? colgate total is different. it fights bacteria in your whole mouth, protecting 100% of your mouth's surfaces. colgate total: antibacterial protection for a healthier mouth.

back now with tamron hall and her exclusive interview with andrew gillum. the democratic rising star's career came to an abrupt halt when he was discovered in a miami hotel room with someone who suffered a drug overdose. tamron will join us in a moment. first diane macedo has the details. >> are we ready to flip florida blue? >> reporter: he was poised to make political history.

the first black nominee in a major party to run for governor in florida. a rising star in the democratic party, andrew gillum came within striking distance of the governor's mansion during a hotly contested race in 2018. he lost to republican ron desantis by less than half a percentage point. >> r.j. and i wanted to take a moment to congratulate mr. desantis. >> reporter: the 41-year-old husband and father was later floated as a possible vp contender. but behind the scenes, gillum's life was unraveling. in the early hours of march 13th police found him inebriated in this miami beach hotel room with two other men, a photo of gillum in a compromising position was leaked for the world to see. gillum denied ever taking methamphetamines, but checked into a rehab facility for treatment of alcoholism and depression. now six months later, andrew

gillum is making his first television appearance, sitting down in an exclusive interview with tamron hall talking about the night that changed his life. >> what do you want people to know about the purpose, your intention when you went to that room? >> i would say the reason why i went to that room was probably no different than how anybody might communicate with someone that they are in a friendship, relationship, whatever, with. i understand very well what people assume about that. when that photo came out, i didn't recognize the person on the floor. that was not anything more than a person being at their most vulnerable state, unconscious, having given no consent, and someone decided to use a moment where i was literally lying in my own vomit. >> when you first saw it, i don't know how you're still standing.

i don't know how. you're still here. >> i'm still here by the grace of god. so much of my recovery has been about trying to get over shame. shame is not that i did that but i am bad. >> reporter: and gillum also credits therapy with getting him to a better place as well as his wife who's also sitting down with tamron hall. george? >> okay, diane. thanks very much. let's bring in tamron hall. quite an interview right there. we hear him talking about his recovery. what does he say happened in that room? >> he goes into limited details about the event because there was someone else in the room, but he does, george, open up very candidly about what he says was a spiral of his life after he lost that gubernatorial race, the impact that it had on his marriage. his wife r.j. will join us as well. he's a father of three and he doesn't skirt around it. as you know you've done these types of interviews. it's uncomfortable to have

someone with their loved one present tell the sordid details of what went on, but he goes there. we go there. there were no rules to this. it was more about a raw, real interview that he provided, and i think it will be one of the most compelling things that people will see. >> what's the future hold for him at this point? >> you know, that's the question. will voters hear his explanation and accept it? i'm not sure if he wants to re-enter the political world but you know politics, tv, people get addicted to it for various reasons, and i do believe he wants to, in some way, have his voice heard. you know he was the youngest elected official, african-american, in florida's history at 23 years old. he was an elected official. he believes this is his calling, but this fall from grace certainly counters that. i think his wife has been a great protector and supporter, and what she reveals about their relationship and his rise to

political fame is also something that, in my 30 years of being a journalist, i have not heard from a political spouse. so it is compelling. it's apart of our season two premiere of a huge week of explosive interviews where we come to the table and we say, this is about living your life, not defending your life, but most important to us on this show, let's talk about it. >> wow. it sounds really compelling as you said, tamron, thanks very much. good luck on the new season and happy birthday this week. >> yes, i'll be 50 so we'll be celebrating that. naomi campbell is coming back, samuel l. jackson, chris evans and you can come by as well, bring the whole gang. i'll be 50 so it's a blowout party. >> okay, congratulations. thank you, tamron. second season of tamron hall premieres on september 14th. check your local listings and we'll be right back. september 14th. check your local listings and we'll be right back. s that your, keeping armies alive? drafting the plans. taking the pictures. was it your family members?

who flew. who fixed. who fought. who rose to the occasion. when the world needed them most. (♪) find and honor your ancestors who servered in world war ii. their stories live on at ancestry. ♪ i'm a delivery operations manager in san diego, california. we've had a ton of obstacles in finding ways to be more sustainable for a big company. we were one of the first stations to pilot a fleet of zero emissions electric vehicles. the amazon vans have a decal that says, "shipment zero." we're striving to deliver a package

with zero emissions in to the air. i feel really proud of the impact that has on the environment. but we're always striving to be better. i love being outdoors, running in nature. we have two daughters. i want to do everything i can to protect the environment to make sure they see the same beauty i've seen in nature. my goal is to lead projects that affect the world. i know that to be great requires hard work.

we love our new home. there's so much space. we have a guestroom now. but, we have aunts. you're slouching again, ted. expired, expired... expired. thanks, aunt bonnie. it's a lot of house. i hope you can keep it clean. at least geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy. which helps us save a lot of money oh, teddy. did you get my friend request? uh, i'll have to check. (doorbell ringing) aunt joni's here! for bundling made easy, go to geico.com. hello? for bundling made easy, go to geico.com. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

now to t.j. holmes who is getting ready for one of our biggest surprises of all time for the amazing nurse who is one in a million. hey, t.j. >> stra, i'm supposed to give you a quick tease. so how about this, somebody is about to get a million dollars. back to you. >> all right. thank you, t.j. we'll be right back. we'll be right back. the year ofe unthinkable. and millions of americans are struggling to put food on the table. so wells fargo is helping our neighbors feed their loved ones. using some of our locations as drive-up food banks. and helping provide 50 million meals for americans in need.

the unthinkable has happened. now it's time to rethink how to make a difference. wells fargo. i have the power to lower my blood sugar and a1c. because i can still make my own insulin. and trulicity activates my body to release it like it's supposed to. once-weekly trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it's not insulin. it starts acting from the first dose. and it lowers risk of heart attack, stroke, or death in people with known heart disease or multiple risk factors. trulicity isn't for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin

raises low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, belly pain, and decreased appetite, which lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. we're committed to helping ensure trulicity is available and affordable. learn more at trulicity.com. till carmax changed all that. now, the pool is a carmax. the lake? a carmax. because when you can buy a car from anywhere, everywhere becomes a carmax. but if you're more of an in-person person, carmax is still a carmax, too. offering curbside pickup, or home delivery, and a seven-day money-back guarantee. the way it should be. carmax.

( ♪ ) ♪ got thick sauce ♪ they call it prego ♪ thought dinner was a loss ♪ 'bout to change the game though ♪ ♪ you'll save those leftovers quick ♪ ♪ when you pour it on thi-i-ick ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ color snap color id from sherwin - williams. ♪ ♪ color pallets curated just for you.

it is it is the peak of hurricane season, and it looks it in the atlantic. a couple of waves we're watching along the east coast, and for the gulf it will definitely add to the moisture in the northeast with the rainfall. look at paulette, bermuda, on alert early next week. we'll have more on that. first, coming up, virtual learning getting off to a rocky start across the nation. technology letting students down just when they needed it the most. also, we have some small business "deals & steals." you're going to want to see it. all this sponsored by so you're a small businor a big one. you were thriving, but then... oh. ah. okay. plan, pivot. how do you bounce back? you don't, you bounce forward,

with serious and reliable internet. powered by the largest gig speed network in america. but is it secure? sure it's secure. and even if the power goes down, your connection doesn't. so how do i do this? you don't do this. we do this, together. bounce forward, with comcast business. "good morning america" is sponsored by sherwin-williams. ask sherwin-williams how to bring color to life with the very best paint. ry best paint.

good morning, everyone. i'm kumasi aaron. in the north bay, smoky lowed pg&e's efforts to restore electricity. 16 helicopters had to be grounded because of visibility issues. the company says it had to cut power because of dangerous wildfire conditions, but fortunately, electricity is back on for almost all of the 172,000 affected customers and that includes more than 22,000 customers in sonoma and napa counties. and the sky's not orange today, but it is dirtier down where we live. we've got a wind shift out of the southwest and southeast i should say, the middle parts of the atmosphere and that's bringing in less ash and that's why it's not the orange it was

yesterday, but our marine layer has been polluted. look at all these areas with unhealthy a. we've got unhealthy air i think through saturday then a major change sunday. >> thank you, mike. coming up, we've learned a lot more about the covid-19 virus. it's real. and it's dangerous. so, on behalf of all of us working on the front lines, please take it seriously. and while we don't yet have a cure or a vaccine, we do know how to keep you and your loved ones safe.

wear a mask. wash your hands. stay six feet apart. do your best to stay out of crowded spaces. and get a flu shot, it's even more important this year. we can do this. if we do it together. ♪

good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. wildfire apocalypse. hundreds of infernos burning across at least 14 states in the west leaving an unprecedented trail of destruction in oregon. the massive north complex fire engulfing 1,000 acres every 30 minutes, sending 20,000 fleeing. we are live on the scene, tracking the very latest. bombshell tapes. president trump admits to playing down the coronavirus threat in recordings with veteran journalist bob woodward. >> i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down. >> yes. >> because i don't want to create a panic. >> the president acknowledges it was far more deadly than he was telling the country at the time. >> it's also more deadly than your, you know, your even your strenuous flus. >> overnight the president on defense as joe biden accuses him

of betraying the country. the major challenges and frustrations as millions of students and teachers switch to school by screen. the school year off to a rocky start in the country's biggest districts. what's being done to make online school a success? inspiring survival story. one-on-one with paige winter opening up about the moment she was nearly killed by a shark. >> i really don't want to die so like i started praying. >> her father charlie revealing how he fought to save his daughter's life and this morning, a glimpse at her emotional year-long road to recovery. ♪ and it's the biggest surprise in "gma" history for a fiercely determined overcomer. >> whoo! >> meet the hero nurse who protects her community every single day whose life is about to change. she's about to get a whopping -- are you ready for this -- $1 million. her whole family helping us with a surprise of a lifetime and

it's happening live all ahead as we say, good morning, america. ♪ i wanna see you be free and good morning, america. all of you may not be getting a million dollars this morning, but i hope your thursday is off to a good start anyway. >> you can be happy for somebody else, george. that's the key about this morning. >> right. >> it is a big morning because we are gearing up for our biggest surprise ever, robin. >> you both are so right and the surprise, this nurse is so deserving. all nurses are and this one is truly on a mission and she is just moments away from getting the gift of a lifetime and, t.j., it's right outside her front door. we're keeping this all under wraps. she has no idea, oh, t.j., he is ready to go. that woman's life is about to change, michael. >> yes, it is. we cannot wait to see t.j. go in there and surprise her.

it will be an incredible moment. but first, we have a lot of news to get to this morning starting with those deadly wildfires raging in the west. hundreds of infernos are burning across at least 14 states, and we're going to go back to our chief national correspondent matt gutman in phoenix, oregon with the very latest on the dire situation there. good morning again, matt. >> reporter: hey, good morning, michael. all that's left here is twisted steel and ashes. you can see the charred remains of a child's bicycle here. now, with our crane camera i want you to see the destruction in light of day. this goes on street after street, block after block. much of this town looks like this. overnight, hundreds of wildfires, at least eight dead with fires ripping through 14 states. three bodies found in butte county, california, after two fires there converged. it created explosive conditions. another 12 people are unaccounted for and several injured just outside of sacramento. the north complex fire rapidly growing into one of the largest in california's history.

at its worst it torched a thousand acres every 30 minutes. sending thousands fleeing n oregon where 48 wildfires are burning throughout the state, killing at least three. one fire galloping around towns near medford, oregon with ferocity. >> this could be the latest loss of human lives and property due to wildfire in our state's history. >> reporter: tens of thousands of evacuees clogging roadways as they drove through that orange hellescape. the town of phoenix far from rising from the ashes. tim englehart and his family taking us with them to check on their home. the smoldering heaps almost unrecognizable. >> a friend of ours had a house here, and it's so destroyed i can't even find where it was. >> reporter: officials here in oregon say they haven't been able to survey the damage or get an assessment on the death toll because some of these hot spots are so hard to reach, and they're asking the public not to call 911 unless it's an emergency. they don't want people clogging

up the lines here. now, the governor saying that she is concerned that the next few days are going to be very difficult until they can get control of this fire, george. >> the scale is just enormous. matt, thanks very much. we turn to that bombshell revelation from bob woodward. tapes of president trump admitting to deliberately downplaying the coronavirus despite knowing how deadly a threat it posed to our country. the tapes rocked the white house and drew immediate fire from joe biden as trump scrambled to control the damage last night. cecilia vega is checking it all from the white house. good morning, cecilia. >> reporter: george, good morning to you again. aides are struggling with the damage control on this one also. the white house press secretary said the president did not mislead the american public, but as you said, there are tapes where the president at admits he did exactly that. overnight president trump trying to justify misleading the american public on just how deadly the coronavirus is. >> i can't be jumping up and down and scaring people. i want people not to panic. and that's exactly what i did. >> reporter: but that is not what he told bob woodward in conversations recorded for the

veteran journalist's new book "rage" heard in audio excerpts obtained by cnn. just days after national security adviser robert o'brien ominously warned the president that the virus, quote, will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency, the president sounded the alarm in a february 7th phone call with woodward. >> it goes through air, bob, that's always tougher than the touch, you know, the touch, you don't have to touch things, right? but the air, you just breathe the air and that's how it's passed. and so that's a very tricky one. that's a very delicate one. it's also more deadly than your, you know, your even your strenuous flus. this is more deadly. this is five per -- you know this, is 5% versus 1% and less than 1%. you know, so this is deadly stuff. >> reporter: but not long after that the president was telling americans the virus was no worse than the flu. >> this is a flu. this is like a flu. >> reporter: admitting in another call with woodward he wasn't telling the public how bad the virus really was. >> i wanted to always play it

down. i still like playing it down. >> yes. >> because i don't want to create a panic. >> reporter: joe biden on the campaign trail in michigan calling it a betrayal. >> it's beyond despicable. it's a dereliction of duty. it's a disgrace. >> reporter: president trump says this was an explicit strategy, downplay the severity of the virus in order to keep americans from panicking. george, we should note more than 190,000 americans have died so far from this virus. >> okay, cecilia, thanks very much. coming up the major problems millions of students are facing as they switch to school by screen. this morning we'll tell you what's being done to make online learning a success. also ahead, the new trend sweeping the internet. how clean-fluencers are inspiring people around the world with their motivational videos. and venus williams is a big fan of our small business deals and steals.

this morning, all helping you get a good night's sleep. we'll be right back. "gma's morning menu" is sponsored by u.s. bank. let u.s. bank turn your new inspiration into your next pursuit. n your new inspiration into your next pursuit. some see a grilled cheee sandwich and ask, "why?" i see a new kitchen with a grill and ask, "why not?" i really need to start adding "less to cart" and "more to savings." sitting on this couch so long made me want to make some changes... starting with this couch. yeah, i need a house with a different view. and this is the bank that will help you do it all. because at u.s. bank, our people are dedicated to turning your new inspiration into your next pursuit. i'm a and i'm partneer. of the team building... ...a powerful 5g experience for america. it's 5g ultra wideband, and it's already available in parts of select cities.

like los angeles. and in new york city. and it's rolling out in cities around the country. with massive capacity. it's like an eight-lane highway compared to a two-lane dirt road. 25x faster than today's 4g networks. in fact, it's the fastest 5g in the world. from the network more people rely on. this is 5g built right. only on verizon. which is breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, are living in the moment and taking ibrance. ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor is for postmenopausal women or for men with hr+/her2- metastatic breast cancer, as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed disease progression versus letrozole, and shrank tumors in over half of patients. patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death.

ibrance may cause severe inflammation of the lungs that can lead to death. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including trouble breathing, shortness of breath, cough, or chest pain. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. be in your moment. introducing the all-new 2021 gla suv. ♪ starting at just $36,230.

it's the biggest thing that ever happened to small. we believe in good we can all afford ♪ sing it, yeah, yeah from coffee that opens more eyes to black business. ♪ all gold to me to a hundred shades of beautiful. ♪ yeah, good to me (peter walsh) people came and they met and they felt comfortable. it's what we did with coogan's. you felt safe and, if you were safe, you could be joyful. everybody has a coogan's. and almost half those small businesses, they could close if people don't do something. we have to keep our communities together. that's how we get through this. ♪

♪ good morning, good morning ♪ good morning, good morning kind of a drizzly morning in new york. welcome back to "gma." >> it is time -- it's going to brighten the day because it is time for "pop news" with lara spencer and riva. >> hi, michael. hi, you guys, yeah, reporting today from a bedroom in my house because coming up we have a special "deals & steals." it's all about sleep. that's coming up but right now i know you're excited about it.

"pop news" and we begin with justin timberlake who can't stop that feeling that there should be baseball in music city. the tennessee native has joined a campaign to bring a major league team to nashville, and is now part of an investment group called music city baseball, telling "the tennesseean newspaper," i believe in its vision of linking baseball and music in a unique way to unite and entertain. the team's name will be the national stars. there's plenty of star power behind it. country artists like kane brown, eric church and luke combs are also involved in this venture. the group plans to present an official expansion proposal to mlb with the hopes of having a team playing in nashville by 2024. i think that's a great idea. go, justin. and now to actress and comedian niecy nash giving us new details on her surprise wedding to musician jessica bates. nash announcing the exciting news on instagram when it happened and now she is opening up to "people" magazine saying

her marriage has, quote, absolutely nothing to do with gender and everything to do with her soul. she goes on to say she doesn't feel like her marriage is coming out of anywhere but rather a, quote, going into myself and being honest about who i love and i'm not limiting myself on what that love is supposed to look like. the couple said "i do" in front of 24 of their closest friends and family on august 29th in their backyard. everyone getting their own personalized hand sanitizer. you can read on my friend niecy nash and her incredible love story in the new issue of "people" magazine. love is love. and finally a couple of celebs we love sharing great news on on this thankful thursday. first alec baldwin and hilaria have welcometheir fifth child to the world. the couple taking to instagram to share the exciting news about their baby boy. alec captioning the shot in spanish, writing, quote, number five is here.

number six for me, i love you, hilaria baldwin. the other kids, boys and their oldest child and only girl carmen are in charge of picking the name. reese witherspoon is also in the news celebrating her daughter ava's 21st birthday on instagram, and in case you need help telling them apart in this picture, my goodness they look alike, ava is there on the left. reese writing about her oldest child saying her kindness, her compassion, her huge heart never ceases to amaze me, and just to prove how similar they look check out this shot that our producers found on this throwback thursday. there's reese at age 21. right next to ava now at the same age. happy birthday, ava. everybody, that is "pop news." we will get ready for our very special "deals & steals" but for now i'll send it back to you guys in the studio. >> thank you, lara. great job with that. now we turn to our "gma" cover story. back to school used to be backpacks and buses. this year it's tech blunders.

for the millions of kids logging into school remotely this fall, many have faced system outages and cyberattacks. erielle reshef has the story. good morning to you, erielle. >> reporter: hey, good morning to you, michael. the start of the school year is always a logistical challenge. with so many schools switching to online learning during the pandemic, the complexities this year have been unprecedented. overnight frustrated parents in miami-dade county venting complaints and concern about online learning since the start of the school year just two weeks ago. at a virtual board meeting of the fourth largest district in the u.s., parents unleashed using words like disaster and injustice to describe the rollout of virtual classes. >> i don't know who approved this type of curriculum for our children in dade county, but it's setting them up for failure. >> reporter: parents, students and teachers in miami are not alone. all over the country so many navigating the complicated switch to school by screen. from texas to kansas to georgia,

schools experiencing widespread disruptions. arizona single mom of two kimberly jansen says her daughter was unable to get online for three days. what were the emotions in your household when this was taking place? >> they were pretty high. i was pretty stressed out. i was trying to work full-time myself while trying to help her. it's very frustrating because i'm -- i don't necessarily have the time to troubleshoot. >> reporter: virtual platforms like blackboard which serves more than 20 million students from kindergarten through 12th grade overloaded leading to massive glitches. the company saying their system was up and running again within a few hours. other major services like microsoft teams and google drive also experiencing a record spike in problems. chicago area sixth grade teacher erin mcmurrow says it's a struggle to keep her students connected and engaged. >> last week right in the middle

i would say midmorning, every student's chromebook crashed, and it was frustrating for everyone involved. we were stressed as teachers. the parents were frustrated. the kids were overwhelmed because it's new for everybody. >> reporter: districts working feverishly to fix the issues to try to make online schooling a success. >> there are frustrations, of course, but we're all doing the best we can. and i'm proud so far of the resilience that our students have shown. >> reporter: and cybersecurity is also a concern with some schools in connecticut delaying their start date due to a ransomware attack. despite all the challenges it is clear that these students are resilient and the teachers, they're heroes, robin. >> that is apparent, erielle, thank you. i love how she said we're all just doing the best we can. thanks. we have the latest way now to become a social media sensation. folks are getting millions of views, even book deals by

posting videos of themselves doing something really so normal. it's almost hard to believe. cleaning their homes. amy is going to tell us all about these cleaning motivators. good morning, amy. >> good morning. i love this story, yeah, they're actually called clean-fluencers and they are taking over the internet becoming so popular for doing something we all do just about every day. now we're going to take a look at what makes these motivational cleaning videos so riveting. ♪ >> reporter: ever think you would watch someone clean for 45 minutes? >> i'm going to be cleaning my very messy apartment. >> today my house is a little bit of a wreck. >> today we are doing some extreme cleaning. >> reporter: in this new video trend sweeping the internet, that's exactly what you do. >> thank you so much for coming back for another motivational cleaning video. >> reporter: posted with the #cleaningwithmotivation and #cleanwithme, motivational cleaning videos inspiring people

to tackle those messy around the house tasks. >> starting with the dishes, of course. >> it's hard to keep up with cleaning and seeing someone else do it, it motivates them to also do it. >> reporter: jessica tull has been motivational cleaning on youtube for three years, reaching more than 3 million views on some of her videos. what's her secret? she keeps it real. >> my life was a complete mess and i decided to just show the real -- my real life, how it actually is, me being a single mom with three kids. >> reporter: and faith matini's motivational cleaning channel gaining popularity during the pandemic, hitting 1 million views for the first time. >> gosh, we all need something. we all need some sort of distraction from what's going on in our lives so when you can kind of turn on the tv, turn on youtube and see something that picks you up it's beneficial and really needed right now. >> it is pretty satisfying to watch so in order to motivate

yourself to start cleaning especially during this pandemic, experts say it's best to start small, then move from one small project to another and then repeat the process. sites like youtube can provide plenty of videos that provide great new cleaning techniques and ways to stay motivated. robin, i know what i'm doing this afternoon. >> okay. i'm in. i'm in. thank you, amy. so we've tackled cleaning this morning. how about tomorrow? tomorrow we are going to get some organization motivation. are you in? >> yes, definitely. >> are you in, amy? >> yes. >> okay. i'm in too. let's see if ginger is in as well. ginger? if i were able to pan the camera just a little that way, you would say, not only are you in, you have to be in. it's a mess. we definitely need some organization, so i will be listening. you should also listen if you are anywhere from wakefield, virginia to trenton, new jersey because you're under a flash flood watch and can see up to three inches or some spots a a little bit more along that

miracle at the mall. the new plan to save jcpenney and thousands of jobs. countdown to kickoff. the nfl season gets under way tonight. what's different and why the commissioner warns there will be speed bumps. and from justin timberlake's new mission to a new gig for jay leno to the mom making a surprise visit during her daughter's audition video, all the trending stories this thursday morning. lara promised it. now time for our small business "deals & steals" with tory. hey, lara. >> george, reporting live to you from a bathroom now in my home in this breaking report, small business "deals & steals" and today it's all about sleep. we could all use more of it. tory johnson is doing a great job of assembling this amazing list of products and it's so easy for to you buy.

you can go to our website, and it's also -- you can do something even easier. you can point your cell phone at that qr code that you see right there on your screen and boom, you're buying. so let's get right to it. tory johnson, i want to start with asutra products. when you told me that venus williams had tried some and loved them so much she is a major investor in the company, i was hooked. i have a lot of aches and pains and could use more sleep and these products do it all. they're for relaxation and for sleep. two of venus' favorite products i have also tried now. relieve your pain, this is magnesium and it really makes your muscles feel better and then this which i promised you i would put on, this is a gel mask that you can put in your freezer and either do superhero business or it can get rid of the puffiness around your eyes and you can also put it in another case that has lavender in it and helps you get to sleep. tory, tell us about the products and about the deals.

>> so you just did. the products are amazing from asutra and all about helping us feel better mentally and physically. there's four different collections that we have, and it's all about, as you said, relaxation and sleep. one of my favorites, mist your mood. it's just a little lavender spray. all the products have very specific benefits. go online, check them out and you're going to love the deal because everything today is 50% off. so the prices range from $4.50 to $15. >> amazing, tor. i'll move on to snooz. i love this. it's actually kind of cute looking. it's all about noise therapy for sleep and it's got this little cute casing and i want to put it next to my microphone and you can hear, it's not like birds or the sound of the sea. >> yeah. >> it's just white noise, and it's really compact. it's ideal. >> that sound, yeah, so that sound is what lulls us to sleep. it's a really wonderful white noise machine. it is 50% off and $40.

and then, lara, sound is one way to get us to sleep but the other is light and this is a little device from a company called dodow and it emits a light across the dark ceiling. as you watch it, it helps to calm a racing mind which is also often what prevents us from falling asleep, and that light is then what lulls us to sleep. great deal on this one, 50% off. this one is $30. lara, i think you may be sitting on the next one. >> i am. tory, i'm on these peach skin sheets that you sent. they feel like 1,500 thread count, but they're made of this amazing material. tell us about it. >> it's moisture wicking because nearly every household says at least one person is a sweaty sleeper. this will take that away and they come in 14 different colors. every single size and no matter the size you buy it is 50% off, $42.50. check out the deep crimson red. it's pretty fabulous. another one for sleep is from my pillow bar.

this is a really terrific -- it's called the boomerang pillow designed specifically for side sleepers. at least 80% of us are side sleepers. when it was an oprah favorite i fell in love a couple of years ago. i use it every single night. it is phenomenal, down alternative, hypo allergenic. 50% off so todays it $69. >> and then finally, tory, let's get to the mattress deal because i'm in the market for a new one. >> this is a mattress you should buy. i know you're in the market for it. this is a cooling mattress that is designed for all seasons. it is 14 inches, it's got a plush top. today it is 50% off and free shipping. we've got a huge assortment of these on the website. go to goodmorningamerica.com. these on the website. go to goodmorningamerica.com.

good mortganing, everyone. california's acting public health officer is reassuring teachers and other school staff that they will have access to covid-19 testing when in person classes resume. now, schools can't reopen for on site classes until the county has been out of the high eest tier for 14 days. dr. pan suggested yesterday ta teachers and their union leaders work with local health departments to develop testing plans. yesterday, the air looked much worse than it was as the marine layer kept us clean and the smoke above us. that's not the case today. the marine layer has been polluted. we have unhealthy air just about

everywhere but the east bay valleys, so spare the air alert again today. i think the smoke will hang around until saturday. sunday, a major pattern shift

we will have another update in about 30 minutes, but you can find the latest on our app and our website. looking at the golden gate

bridge, it's foggy, but we don't see the orange skies we saw yesterday. air quality is still a concern though. good morning america continues now. ♪ welcome back to "gma," everybody. it is a big morning here on "good morning america" because we are highlighting another amazing hero who has done incredible things for her community. >> this morning t.j. holmes over in brooklyn for a very special tell t.j. he is about to give one nurse the surprise of a lifetime. hey, t.j. >> reporter: good morning, guys. we're just going to go right to it. i'm over here in brooklyn and i'm looking for a young lady by the name of andrea, don't worry, hey, andrea. how are you doing? uh-oh. don't do that i'm t.j. >> hi. >> with "good morning america." >> hi. >> i know you wonder what in the world is going on but you're live on "good morning america" right now and i know you're thinking what is this crazy man doing out in the rain. i'm here for you. this could not keep me away.

i need you to make your way, don't worry, you'll get a little wet but i assure you, sister, we're about to brighten your day. come on out. you make your way but i had so many people calling and telling me about you that i wanted to now come here and tell them about you as well. so come on down. get positioned. i want you to look and everybody take a look at who andrea is. as a kid, andrea dalzell was a force of nature. >> andrea did things that i don't think any other child did. she was vivacious, bouncy, she was always on the go. she never stopped moving. >> reporter: but at 5 years old her life changed forever when she was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder affecting her ability to walk. >> first i thought it was a little minor mishap she had gotten but it was very devastating. >> i think i went completely numb. i blamed myself. i thought i didn't do something

right. i thought there was something i could have done different that would have allowed her to walk. i stood outside the door and i promised myself i wouldn't do this but i've never allowed her to see me cry. that was the most important thing for me. >> reporter: first time parents sharon and trevor were devastated learning their daughter would never walk again. >> she grew from 5 years old to 50 years old. she was like, mom, don't worry, i'll be fine. she was assuring me that she was going to be fine. i became the child and she became the mother. >> reporter: but with determination and dedication -- >> nine, eight. >> reporter: andrea excelled at

every aspect of her life, graduating with honors and receiving several major awards for her advocacy work and leadership. >> my sister has been everything to me since i was small, so when i think of her, i just think of the ambitious that she is, the go-getter, that drive. >> heroic. has always been there for me my darkest time, my bad times and my happy types. she's just extremely hard working. >> reporter: the brooklyn native now applying her ambition to a career in medicine. >> she got so much pushback on becoming a nurse, it was amazing she didn't drop out of the class. no, you can't do it, she's like, just watch me. give me a chance to prove myself. >> andrea dalzell. >> reporter: and she did. becoming a registered nurse in 2018 and finishing her bachelor degree that same year. when the pandemic hit, andrea decided she had to help. >> they hired her on the spot. she went. she did the best job she could possibly do. they all loved her. i was so excited for her. >> reporter: now she's a different kind of frontline worker, a nurse and department head for a local school.

>> she's not only extraordinarily professional and smart and good at what she does but also very approachable and the kids absolutely love her. >> the reason why i like miss andrea is she's nice, helpful. >> nurse andrea is sweet and kind and she's loving. >> we love you, miss andrea. >> i love them. >> andrea, we're keeping our social distance but, hello, everybody. i'm t.j. what's it like? i was watching you. i don't know you. i'm seeing your story, seeing you watch your story. what's it like -- you know your story but to see people talk about you in such a way, what was that like? >> i have no words. i just want to be able to give back to people. so many put into my life that if i can give a little of that back then i've done everything that i'm supposed to do in the world. >> why is that so important to you? look, you've been through it in your life in a lot of ways but

we wanted to tell people not just about what you've been through and overcome and accomplished but now you're dedicating your life in so many ways to make sure to get the word out and use the word disability but associate with a lack of capability and that's a big deal. >> people with disabilities aren't living a death sentence. they're living life and if i get to prove that every day that i'm going to do that, right. i need to be able to change that narrative for others so they know that if they're diagnosed with something, if they acquire a disability that it doesn't stop them. life still happens and it's up to them to decide if they want to live it. >> people need to know you are looking at the only registered nurse in new york city that uses a wheelchair. >> yes. >> that shouldn't be the case and i know you're working on that but that shouldn't be the case. mom, i was watching you as well. they were in on all this, by the way. you were watching that. what's -- that had to be devastating to get that news

about your child but now to see the young woman she's become. >> it's -- it was life-changing and amazing. i'm so proud of her. she's out there pushing for what she didn't have when she became physically challenged because she hates the word disabled, like you said. but she's doing great. i tell people do not pity her. she is proud. she's a go-getter and she's the driving force that will change the outlook on nurses and people in general. >> you jumped in there during the pandemic in new york and volunteered, wanted to help. >> yes. >> and you were in the midst of this and you said it's important for people to understand that we need more people who are physically challenged to be in the health care industry to help patients. >> yes. >> and understand them. >> you have to have people who have these disabilities and diagnoses being in health care.

they need to know that, you know, people are going into those health care facilities, those institutions, know that there's someone else that can connect on a level that is far beyond what is already there. >> you've done so much advocacy work and i know, of course, any time money can help. that face like you don't even know, brother. i need help. but i want to show you a little something here. i know it's not a whole lot but you could do something with a $1,000, could you not? >> of course. >> could you do something with 10,000 because that's been donated to you now, $10,000. >> oh, my gosh. >> you know what, the sign keeps going. what could you do with $100,000, andrea? >> go back to school. >> go back to school and do your work. >> but i have another zero because the craig h. neilsen foundation is awarding you, gifting you, a $1 million prize unrestricted. you're part of their inaugural

visionary prize that's going to three people. you're one of them and a million dollars unrestricted. this is not a joke. it's going to you from the foundation, andrea. >> oh, my god. thank you. oh, my god. i'm sorry. i'm the worst. thank you. >> tell me what you can do to further your cause with that. >> oh, my gosh. i want to start a whole program for people with disabilities to be able to get into health care. they should be given a chance. >> it's always been her dream that she can create a place where people who have disabilities can get up, simple, on a table. you go into a doctor's office. you can't get up on the table. many times i have to lift her. they haven't come into the 21st century as of yet.

>> andrea, this is a part of -- look, we heard your story and they believed in you so much that they said this is an unrestricted prize. i don't think i have another zero. i had to check though. but it's an absolute pleasure. stra, george, look, we've done a lot of these tell t.j.s and we have handed out a lot of stuff and, robin, as well, you know how i feel about these, but this one is pretty special this morning, guys. >> thank you, guys. >> i'm absolutely speechless. >> we're all tearing up. we're all speechless. we are all so proud for andrea and, boy, her first thought, how she was going to help others with that money. just incredible. >> but i understand what she was saying about, you know, a lot of people such as herself, they're not disabled. they're differently abled and it's so important to get that message out as she has and as you said, george, the first thing she was thinking about is how she could help others, amazing. >> i love how she talks about

relating in ways that other people cannot relate and congratulations again to andrea. what an incredible tell t.j. t.j., thank you so much for bringing that to us. we want to thank the craig h. neilsen foundation for everything they do to support the spinal cord injury community. stay right there, everybody. we'll be right back. ♪ bring me a higher love [upbeat music] ♪ today was the day that i put everything in perspective. ♪ ♪ i fell asleep but when i woke up. ♪ (boy) hi, do you want to share my sandwich? (vo) good feeds our connections. good feeds us all. hormel natural choice lunch meats.

♪ bring me a higher love taking a deep breath after what we just taking a deep breath after what we just saw. that was absolutely beautiful and we're back now with a story of survival that we want to share with you. paige winter was a 17-year-old when she lost her leg and very nearly lost her life when she was attacked by a shark. we spoke exclusively with this extraordinary young woman and her family. it's all part of an abc special produced by my company rockin' robin productions and we talked about her dramatic rescue and emotional year-long road to recovery. here's just a bit of it. >> summer 2019 was looking very promising. you know, school was about to end. i was excited. i was happy. then, you know, sometimes things happen. it was on a sunday, june 2nd, and we went to have like a

family day. >> everybody needed to get out, everybody needed to just play. we are were going to have a good day at the beach. >> after we found like the perfect spot we all sat down and i ran into the water first. >> it like rained really hard the night before and that made the word kind of brackish. >> i said, paige, let's play mermaid and i dove backwards into the water. like that was the last thing i said to her. then i stepped on something and i'm like, okay, that's dad, like, whatever, that is fine. real funny. and then i was like, ow. that kind of hurts. and then i get pulled underwater like completely yanked. >> when i came back up, i saw paige get pushed out of -- like pushed upwards.

i just heard him say, paige, what are you doing. i saw her get taken down by the shark and then i saw her blood come up. >> like you're playing with a dog with a rope and you start shaking the rope and the dog goes like this. it started doing that with my leg and then i was like, i don't know what to do. it happened really fast but a lot of thoughts were going through my head like am i going to drown, am i going to bleed out. i really don't want to die so, like, i started praying. >> i started running. it didn't take me long to get there but i just got there and ran and i dove under and i grabbed major with my left arm and brought her up. when i brought her up there was resistance. >> then my dad like he gets me. >> i brought her up. and there was a shark, this shark, this huge shark and it thrashed and i knew i had paige and it was pulling me and i had

to anchor my feet down into the sand to stop me from moving out and i just started to hit it and i hit it, i hit it so hard, so many times. i just started to hit it. i remember thinking you're trying to take her. you can't have her. i know you can't have her. >> you know what's so incredible, charlie, is that you were there on the beach. you wanted to be there as her father in that moment. >> i took that moment in because i needed to take that moment. i was looking at it and i could feel the raw power of what that shark was trying to do. you know, that shark wasn't there to be my friend. it was trying to kill my daughter is what it was trying to do. >> 911. >> shark attack. there's somebody in the water bleeding. >> bad shape. her leg is almost gone. i don't know if she's going to make it. >> i thought this was it. and she kept talking. she kept talking. she kept talking. >> i was just saying, dad, please help me.

please help me. he's like, i got you. i got you. >> i kept saying, i got you, i got you, i got you, i got you. >> her father charlie is a firefighter and a paramedic and he said at that moment though he was a dad and in the documentary special, gentlemen, you'll hear for the very first time in vivid detail exactly how her father charlie managed to wrestle her away from that shark. it's an incredible story. >> incredible journey, robin what she goes through from that tragedy at the beach and where she is now is really incredible and i know you got an exclusive access to her recovery process. >> yeah, we really want to do this because when we did the story with her when it first happened and i sat down with her about three weeks after it happened and so many people, we do a story, they want to know what happens after that so our cameras have been following paige and her family for more than a year for this special and we see her go through the highs,

the lows of her recovery over that time including her first steps with her prosthetic leg as well as those big senior high school year moments, those milestones, homecoming, prom, graduation. tonight you will also see that moment when paige returns for the first time to the very beach where she nearly lost her life. she goes back to the beach with her dad. you may be surprised to hear what paige has planned for her future. simply put, she is a remarkable young woman, michael and george. >> that is so clear, robin. congratulations. "shark attack: the paige winter story" airs tonight on abc at 10:00, 9:00 central. let's go to ginger. >> wow, what a story. >> let's talk about this. den wear was 101 saturday then got measurable snow three days later. the shortest time they had done that in the past, 38 days so that type of image is rare after a 101-degree day for sure and we're breaking records this morning. we broke them yesterday from lubbock up to south dakota

and why homing. down into texas, san antonio public in which president donald trump acknowledged he understood the deadly threat posed by the coronavirus back in february but misled the public about it. journalist bob woodward interviewed the president febrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr >> and coming up, neighbors helping neighbors. the new food drive programs around the country. ♪ that tonight's going to be a good night ♪ dearand with summer here,these energy bills are rising. together, we can save energy and money... by taking steps to stay cool while using less. keep safe and keep it golden. we sand my heart fell.oke i knew we'd lose our home... and we did. over 24,000 homes have been destroyed by wildfires

in the past few years. wildfire victims need help so i'm voting 'yes' on 19. it limits property taxes on wildfire victims so families can move to a replacement home without a tax penalty. you never know what you'll be faced with. please, vote 'yes' on 19. (vo) i have the best job in the world. ♪ i get to remind people of their grandmother's conchitas.

give the little kids cookies... and celebrate birthdays with all our neighbors. hopefully, we'll be part of this community for many, many more years. ♪ ♪ i got a feeling ♪ i got a feeling welcome back to "gma." ginger has a story that will warm your heart. hey, ginger. >> i'm already crying from the story earlier. an inspiring story of people connecting during the pandemic in ways we bring out the best in everybody. the segment is sponsored by wells fargo and they are teaming up with feeding america to lend a helping hand to families in need. take a look.

food is what brings people together. >> i'll cut the carrots. >> for 6-year-old laila making meals with her mom andrea brings her joy. >> my favorite thing to do is cook with my mom. >> just a little bit. there you go. good job. >> reporter: but when the pandemic hit, things got tough. the current crisis forcing one in six americans to rely on food banks with such high demand our sponsor wells fargo is teaming up with feeding america and some of the hardest hit communities transforming bank branches and corporate building parking lots into driveup food banks in more than 30 locations across the u.s. >> the goal is 50 million meals. there's just a lot of people in need right now. >> reporter: like many americans this is the first time that andrea is turning to her local food bank in arizona for support. >> after being furloughed for 3 1/2 months, life became very real, waiting on unemployment, trying to figure out if you're

going to pay for groceries or you're going to pay your rent. >> we're giving away 44 pounds of food to each vehicle coming up. we can help a family have a meal for at least five days. >> reporter: andrea, impressed by the quality and quantity of food. >> this is a big blessing for us. this is actual produce that you can actually use and make good meals. >> reporter: and so thankful for the meals shared with her daughter. >> best cooking day ever. >> now to learn more about the program and to find a distribution event near you, can you go to "good morning america's" page on facebook and we'll be right back. back. ♪ that tonight's gon "gma's" helping hands is sponsored by wells fargo. wells fargo is helping families in need by turning key locations into driveup food banks. turning key

make sure you check out those "deals & steals" on our website. we partnered with these companies on some great bargains. >> have a great day, everyone. e a great day, everyone.

♪ oh, oh, (announcer)®! ♪ once-weekly ozempic® is helping many people with type 2 diabetes like emily lower their blood sugar. a majority of adults who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. here's your a1c. oh! my a1c is under 7! (announcer) and you may lose weight. adults who took ozempic® lost on average up to 12 pounds. i lost almost 12 pounds! oh! (announcer) for those also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. it lowers the risk. oh! and i only have to take it once a week. oh! ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) ozempic® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not share needles or pens. don't reuse needles. do not take ozempic® if you have a personal or family history

of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to ozempic®. stop taking ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, itching, rash, or trouble breathing. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your doctor if you have diabetic retinopathy or vision changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and constipation. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. once-weekly ozempic® is helping me reach my blood sugar goal. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ you may pay as little as $25 for a 1-month or 3-month prescription. ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®.

good morning, everyone. later today, we are learning more about california's fight against covid-19. the head of california's health and human services agency will provide an update at noon. the doctor will take questions from reporters. now, here's mike with our forecast. >> i've got good news and some not so good new us. good news, the ska's not orange. the ash saturated air column is gone, but uchl, the unhealthy air has made it down to where we live. the marine layer is now polluted with unhealthy air and will likely be that way through friday and possibly saturday. starting sunday, we'll have a wind shift and see more sun, cleaner air and cooler temperatures then. >> thank you, mike. now it's time r for live with kelly and ryan and we'll be back

at 11:00 for midday live. >> announcer: it's "live with kelly and ryan!" today, the new host of "dancing with the stars," tyra banks. and find out how to paint like a pro on the next installment of "live's @home improvement week." and to meet the family that stays together. all next on "live!" ♪ [cheers and applause] and now, here are kelly ripa and ryan seacrest! [cheers and applause] ♪ of speech you think thank you, staff. thank you, producers. thank you. >> kelly: please be seated. >> ryan: yes, yes. now, really. that's enough. it's embarrassing us. >> kelly: i'm just going to say one thing. >> ryan: know you're not. >> kelly: i'm going to say if five things decided