>> that's what's making news in america this morning. right now on "america this morning," damage control. president trump on defense overnight after admitting he intentionally downplayed the coronavirus. his new attack against journalist bob woodward who released the audiotape and why he says he never lied. plus, the new report on how the virus is spreading and a warning before you visit another restaurant. breaking overnight, deadly discovery. more victims are found as wildfires in the west explode. officials now saying the conditions are so bad they can't even estimate the size of some fires. a new look at the historic destruction. tiger on the loose. the frantic scramble to catch a big cat in tennessee after multiple sightings. what comes next in the hunt. kicking off the most unconventional football season ever. the protests for social justice, the moment of unity on the field

and a sign of things to come. shattering the ceiling. meet the woman making major change in the banking world. and the incredible record set by one fisherman that will leave you reeling. good friday morning, everyone. we begin with president trump on damage control denying that he lied to the american people about the coronavirus. >> at a rally in michigan last night he called renowned investigative journalist bob woodward a whack job one day after woodward released audiotapes in which the president admitted downplaying the virus. >> but woodward is also defending himself. he's coming under fire for not releasing the tapes earlier. >> abc's faith abubey begins our coverage from washington. faith, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, kenneth. good morning, mona. the president this morning eager to shift the attention back to the 2020 campaign and his political rival joe biden but the fallout from those woodward tapes just continues.

in michigan -- >> they wanted me to come out and scream, people are dying. >> reporter: -- president trump in front of a packed and mostly maskless crowd. >> when hitler was bombing london, churchill, the great leader, would often go to a roof in london and speak and he always spoke with calmness. now, we did it just the right way. >> reporter: still trying to explain away his own words about not being frank with the american people over the deadly threat of covid-19. >> i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down. >> yes. >> because i don't want to create a panic. >> reporter: the president using his rally thursday night to try to shift focus from the crisis while ripping into famed reporter bob woodward who trump agreed to talk to in 18 different interviews for his book "rage." >> this whack job that wrote the book. >> reporter: joe biden on cnn putting the attention back on trump. >> think about it.

think about what he did not do, and it's almost criminal, and the virus is not his fault, but the deaths are his fault because he could have done something about it, jake. >> reporter: trump's own former national security adviser john bolting calling out the president for saying this in private about covid-19. >> it's also more deadly than your, you know, your, even your strenuous flus. >> reporter: while telling the american people this -- >> it's a little like the regular flu that we have flu shots for. >> the american people are not children. they're adults, and the way a leader reacts is you tell them the truth. >> reporter: abc's jon karl pressing trump. >> why did you lie to the american people, and why should we trust what you have to say now? >> such a terrible question and the phraseology. i didn't lie. what i said is we have to be calm. >> reporter: while many are asking why woodward waited so close to this election to release these bombshelta woodward is defending himself presidt e inrmation om, and watelling the utnnh,on

>> all rightfah abubey there live in washington, thank you. the cdc is predicting the u.s. coronavirus death toll could reach 217,000 by october. teachers are accounting for an increasing number of the lives lost. a special ed teacher from oklahoma died from a heart attack. her doctors said she tested positive last month. doctors believe stress from the virus weakened her heart. meanwhile, a new warning about eating at restaurants. a new study found adults who tested positive for covid were twice as likely to have visited a restaurant in the last two weeks than those who tested negative. dr. anthony fauci issued this warning thursday. >> i just think we need to hunker down and get through this fall and winter, because it's not going to be easy. we know every time we restrict -- we lift restrictions, we get a blip. i mean, it's getting -- it's whack-a-mole.

>> many colleges are struggling to stop the virus. miami of ohio university broke up a party where two in the house admitted to being positive along with others in the house. the death toll from the wildfires burning in california. oregon and washington is now at least 17 including a teenager confirmed dead overnight. and more than 100,000 people have now been forced to plea their homes. overnight a devastating discovery in california. >> an additional seven deceased individuals were located. >> reporter: the so-called north complex fire north of sacramento has now killed at least ten people. more than a dozen others were still missing overnight. this woman fears her parents are among the dead after their house was burned to the ground in oroville. >> waiting for the remains to be identified that they found in the same location, and i pray to god that it's not my parents. >> reporter: the pair missing for two days. >> oh, my gosh. this is just so heart wrenching.

>> reporter: thousands in the area have e ofoz fires bur in the state. record 3 million acres this year alone. that's more than 26 times what it burned by this point last year. fire crews are stretched thin. some have been working nonstop for nearly a month. >> reporter: meanwhile, in washington state residents left stunned after the aftermath of a massive fire that destroyed malden. >> i've seen tornadoes, earthquakes, i've never seen waves wash out, land floods. i've never seen anything like this. >> reporter: in oregon nearly 50 wildfires are burning throughout the state killing at least three people. abc's matt gutman is in phoenix, oregon. >> officials say they have not been able to assess the damage or the death toll because they are simply stretched too thin.

and looking out over this, you would sunng. street, block aftr block, entire developments incinerated as far as the eye can see. >> just incredible images there. overnight we learned some great news, that missing couple from oroville couple, you saw their daughter there, the couple has been found safe. and some good news for firefighters. the winds are expected to die down today. the idaho woman facing charges linked to the disappearance and deaths of her two children has pleaded not guilty. lori vallow appeared before a judge via zoom. her son and daughter vanished one year ago. then this past june investigators found their burned remains buried on property owned by her husband. vallow is charged with several felony counts. but so far neither she nor her husband have been charged with murdering the kids. a federal court rejected president trump's attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census. a three-judge panel in new york blocked the president's order. they said it's unlawful to leave people out of the count just because they're in the country

illegally. today is september 11th, a day we pause to remember. and overnight new york's tribute in light glowed over the skyline of manhattan. coronavirus has forced changes to this year's remembrances. those attending including vice president mike pence and joe biden will be socially distanced and the names of the victims will be read at only one of the two ceremonies in new york today. 19 years after they died 40% of the victims of the world trade center attack have still not been positively identified. we have more information on today's services on abcnews.com. let's turn now to the weather and your friday forecast. lingering showers are expected around washington, d.c. after torrential rain triggered this flash flooding. dozens of people had to be rescued. some areas got six inches of rain. the heaviest rain today will be in the carolinas and parts of the southeast. it will also be wet in parts of

the midwest and plains. mostly clear for the rest of the country. checking today's high temperatures, 80s along the west coast, denver gets to 69 along with chicago and warm and humid across the south, 99 in phoenix. coming up, a whole new look for the ap strategy for theranos founder elizabeth holmes as she goes on trial for fraud and the collapse of her $9 billion company. plus, the search overnight for a tiger on the loose in tennessee.

we're back with the new apple store. it's a floating store. this is in singapore's marina bay. the sphere is made up of 114 pieces of glass held by ten support bars.

the founder of the biotech company theranos may use a mental disease as her defense at her upcoming fraud trial. elizabeth holmes is accused of defrauding investors and patients by claiming to have developed cutting edge blood testing technology. she's reportedly preparing to use testimony about her medical condition from a clinical psychologist. we turn to the big cat mystery in tennessee. a sheriff's deputy near knoxville believes he spotted a tiger wandering through an industrial park. abc's andrea fujii has more on the search overnight. >> reporter: overnight a frantic search to find a reported tiger on the loose in tennessee. >> was there an animal control unit in the vicinity? i'm out with a tiger cub. >> reporter: at least two unconfirmed sightings of a tiger now working around the clock. it all started wednesday when a knox county sheriff's deputy said he saw what he believed was a tiger walking out of the river and disappear into

the woods then thursday morning, another unconfirmed sighting of a tiger. >> um, i think i spotted the tiger in my backyard. >> reporter: an all out search for the animal included a helicopter with thermal imaging. authorities combing through thick foliage and a trap filled with rotisserie chicken. after a few hours, the trap was retrieved but no bites and no signs of the supposed tiger. the local zoos and tiger sanctuaries say all their animals are accounted for so it's unclear where this one possibly came from. meanwhile, another animal on the loose in tennessee. a pet wallaby, which are legal to own in the state. but the director of tennessee's humane society says the state has a serious, dangerous exotic pet problem. a pet wallaby running loose today in washington county and a tiger reportedly spotted in knox county are the latest of nearly two dozen incidents since 1992. like in 2017 when a pet monkey escaped from its owner and spent a week in the trees of knoxville before being captured.

>> this has been an ongoing issue and unfortunately when they escape from people who don't have permits, nobody claims ownership and a lot of times it ends up a mystery. >> reporter: it is illegal in tennessee to own a tiger without a proper permit. if it's caught, it will taken to a wildfire agency called tiger haven. kenneth, mona. >> our thanks to andrea. coming up, the number of americans who say they'd be unwilling to get a covid-19 vaccine. but first the top moments from the nfl season opener, the show of unity and something unexpected coming sunday. and a reminder you can watch "america this morning" each day on our streaming channel live starting at 3:30 30 eastern available on the abc news app and on these streaming services. activates my body d trulicity 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

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the women's final is now set. azarenka will face naomi osaka. now to kansas city where the nfl season kicked off last night. protests demanding social justice added to the differences on and off the field. al michaels kicking off the nfl season breaking down the new rules. >> they're all supposed to be wearing their masks except when eating or drinking. that was the edict that came down. and off we go, the 2020 nfl season is under way. >> reporter: even before the chiefs and texans took the field, calls for social change were on full display. ♪ o say can you see >> reporter: the chiefs locking arms during the national anthem on the field as well as during the playing of "lift every voice and sing" commonly known as the black national anthem. the nfl announcing both songs will be played before every game this week. ♪ lift every voice and sing

>> reporter: but the texans opting to stay inside the locker room until the coin toss when the teams locked arms in show of solidarity is when the crowd appeared to boo. and now the miami dolphins announcing they'll stay inside their locker room for both songs sunday releasing a video overnight expressing their discontent with the league's gesture. >> so if my dad was a soldier but the cops killed my brother do i stand for one anthem and then neal for the other? >> this attempt to unity only creates more divide. >> reporter: back in kansas city, only 16,000 fans were in the stanges, about 20% capacity because of covid restrictions. getting the most attention on the sidelines, the face shield worn by coach andy reid. on the field another moment of unity between two of the game's biggest stars. >> a little -- >> how great is that? >> reporter: texans quarterback deshaun watson forced off the field and into a seat right next

to chiefs quarterback patrick mahomes. >> the two richest guys in the league right now. in the end the chiefs won, 34-20. there is new evidence that americans are losing confidence in the covid-19 vaccine development process. earlier i spoke with dr. darien sutton about those concerns and we also spoke about the growing confusion around testing as we approach 200,000 deaths here in the u.s. a new poll raises concern about people losing faith in u.s. public health institutions. 54% of people say they would not be willing to get a covid-19 vaccine if one became available before the election. even if it were free. how concerning is this? could it affect our overall immunity later on? >> well, actually this is not surprising. if you look at the recent data or the data over ten years reported by the cdc as far as flu participation in terms of vaccinations, the average is around 40% to 45%, so it's not something that isn't expected, however, i think this growing concern is due to fear that the scientific process is

being rushed and that may result in a faulty vaccination. >> a new projection says we can expect 25,000 more deaths in this country in the next three weeks. that's about 1,000 deaths a day. why is this number not coming down? >> we have confusing messages to the public regarding important benefits of social distancing and mask wearing. we're moving into colder temperatures while people are moving indoors, and children are starting school. i think that these are all variables to the reason why covid-19 is persistent. >> and, doctor, there continues to be confusion about who should get tested. we saw that puzzling guidens from the cdc saying asymptomatic people don't necessarily need to get tested and then yesterday the government testing czar said we need to test asymptomatic people full stop. can you tell our viewers who should get tested and who shouldn't? >> well, i'll be blunt. if you have symptoms of covid-19 or close exposure to someone who has covid-19, you should get tested, and i'll have to also agree with many public health officials in terms of surveillance testing. i think it's important to identify outbreaks before they become a problem. as we know it, 40% of people

transmit this virus without having symptoms or before they develop symptoms. >> our thanks to dr. darien sutton there. coming up, the big change for "wheel of fortune." also ahead, the glass ceiling finally shattering on wall street. 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. ♪ and 24-hour relief of nonfrom symptomstin. caused by over 200 indoor and outdoor allergens. like those from buddy. and for kids, try children's claritin. the only brand that provides 24-hour non-drowsy allergy relief.

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citigroup has named jane fraser as its next ceo. >> the first to lead a major wall street bank. in her early days she was expected to act and dress like a man. >> only 37 companies on the fortune 500 list are led by women. and speaking about a work/life balance, fraser said, she's often said can you have it all? she answered yes but not at all at once. . next a fisherman from illinois decided to go after his own record for catching the most fish in one day. >> he set the guinness record last year catching 2,172, and now he's beat that by 473 fish. >> so that's 2,645 fish in a 24-hour period. why does he do it? he's raising money for charity. finally a couple more alligator stories to end the week. >> yes, first bob getting some medical attention. he was rolled in for an x-ray at the university of florida. after 38 years, he's 12 feet long and 660 pounds. the vets found a leg infection, so bob is getting the treatment he needs. also from florida a high-five between this turtle and its gator friend. no gator bait there.

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. right now at 4:27, 19 years since the 9/11 terror attacks. this is a live look at new york city this morning. covid-19's impact on the annual ceremony and how president trump and democratic candidate joe biden plan to pay their respects. the pandemic and poor air quality collide, the changes to the 9/11 commemoration in san francisco this morning. plus a beloved camp for child cancer patients burnt, how you can help in the effort to rebuild. good morning, it is friday, september 11 tth. let's check in with mike nicco. >> you probably noticed it this morning just looking outside,

all that smog that is sitting on top of us, it is thicker and even more polluted than it was this time yesterday. let's start with the visibility out there and you can see we're dub less th down less than a mile to three miles across the board. nobody is immune from this this morning. we can barely see downtown san francisco from a block or two away at pier 15. so we have a dense fog advisory, it is closest to the coast and it is through 10:00 this morning. that is where we'll find widespread visibility less than a quarter of a mile which makes it dangerously low. look at this unhealthy to very unhealthy, not only the north bay, but all of the bay and in to the south bay, we have unhealthy air. this will improve throughout the weekend. as we mentioned, today marks 19 years since the 9/11 terror attacks. and here is a live look at new

york city where there are two s sceremonies scheduled for this morning. and amy hollyfield is live where a ceremony is about to get under way in two hours. >> reporter: yeah, two of the issues we're all facing right now, covid-19 and bad air quality. this ceremony is usually held outside, but this year they decided to move it indoors because of the bad air quality. they can't invite the public inside because of covid-19. firefighters will show it live on their facebook page so the public can watch and be a part of it. they will still ring the bell at 6:59, they will have a moment of silence and then they will read the names of the 343 firefighters who died. the san francisco fire department has done this every year since the attacks happened

in 2001 vowing to never forget. in san francisco, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. the annual commemoration will be held at ground zero in new york city with some additional safety members behalf because of the covid-19 pandemic. this year there will be no live reading of the victims names. organizers will instead play recordings of family members reading the names. the ceremony will honor the 2983 men, women and children killed in the attacks at the world trade center, flight 93. president trump will participate in the remembrance ceremony in shanksville, pennsylvania at 6:45 this morning. democratic challenger joe biden will be in new york city at 5:30 for the 9/11