good morni we're tracking six tropical systems churning in the atlantic basin right now. this record breaking hurricane season brewing up more trouble with a half dozen systems to watch. the tropical depression hitting florida this morning with heavy rain. this system expected to strengthen as it heads towards the gulf coast. wildfire emergency in the american west. 500,000 people in oregon in evacuation zones. two fires converging, neighborhoods covered in ash. >> the air quality index around here has been measured at three times the level that is hazardous to breathe. >> the new arson arrest. the number of people who lost their lives now rising. cdc interference? a new report claiming trump

officials purposely interfered with cdc reports on covid-19. their alleged intentions as we learn how children may be playing a larger role in spreading the virus than previously thought. student suspended. the 12-year-old boy spotted playing with a toy gun by his teacher during an online session. police then showing up at his door. >> you're a young man, dude. i don't want to see you get in trouble. >> why his parents say the school should have handled the situation a lot differently. and "college gameday." kickoff for the acc number one clemson taking on wake forest. how the game will look a lot different this season. espn's allison willi live with a game day preview. hey, good morning. as we come on the air this saturday morning, the death

toll from those devastating wildfires in the american west has now risen to at least 19 people including a 16-year-old boy and dozens of people meanwhile are missing. >> fires in california, washington, oregon burning millions of acres and leaving three american cities with the worst air quality in the world. we'll have the latest from on the ground in just a minute. first, though, six tropical systems in the atlantic right now including a tropical depression that is hitting florida as we speak. rob is tracking it all from connecticut for us this morning. rob, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit. we are ramping up hurricane season. right now is the peak and mother nature certainly coordinating with the calendar. here's a look at what's happening in south florida, just south of miami. cutler bay, florida experiencin the wind, the rain, even some palm fronds coming down. here's where it is, south of miami is the center. another wave in the middle of the gulf is not as much of an issue as this one, which is expected to be our next

storm. nohepoedor the florida panhandle expected to get into the gulf of mexico and potentially get to hurricane strength making landfall sometime tuesday from panama city maybe over towards lafayette, louisiana and that is one, two of six systems that we'll be speaking of throughout the hour. eva, back over to you. >> a busy season for sure. rob, thank you. now to those deadly wildfires tearing through towns and down the west coast. abc's chief national correspondent matt gutman is on the ground in portland with an arrest tied to one of those devastating fires. good morning, matt. >> reporter: hey, good morning, eva. the sheriffs announcing overnight in the medford area that they made an arrest, charging a suspect with two counts of arson. that area saw several towns

burned. several people were killed and still 50 people missing there and because there was a loss of life there, that man could face murder charges. this morning, police say the fires thatorthe s talent and phoenix, oregon destroying about a thousand homes and killing five people were intentionally started. >> we were able to locate evidence and determine that this individual is likely the cause of the fire. >> reporter: michael jarrod bakkela was charged with two counts of arson and multiple counts of criminal mischief as 500,000 people, 10% of oregon's population, are in evacuation zones. at least two fires have converged creeping closer to portland whose mayor has declared an emergency. from space nearly half the state buried under smoke. flurries of ash came down on neighborhoods. the air quality index around here has been measured at three times the level that is hazardous to breathe. it's been raining ash here for days. the air is so thick you can barely see that church right down the street. so many with nowhere to live. we met emma and libby at a red cross shelter in salem, oregon. >> we had a neighbor who called

us kind of hysterically screaming saying get out. you guys need to leave. >> reporter: with fires ripping through her town the single mom scooped up her sister's children, their dogs and fled into the night. >> what did you take with you? >> nothing. i still have my swimsuit on. i sat in a pool that day. >> you literally left in a swimsuit? >> in a swimsuit. you know, the kids had their pajamas, half didn't have their shoes on. we just left. >> reporter: as thousands clogged roads out of multiple fire zones, firefighters in ferocious battles to try to save homes. with our crane camera want to show you this world of pink laid down around me and still it did nothing to stop the progress of that fire which incinerated entire neighborhoods, entire developments here. california's north complex fire claiming at least nine lives. 16 people are still missing. >> the debate is over around climate change, just come to the state of california. observe it with your own eyes.

>> reporter: back in oregon, emma and libby got ready to pack up the dogs. they think their house is safe, but they don't know. the upheaval of covid and temporary homelessness because of these fires almost too much. >> you're tearing up a little bit. >> yeah. it's her senior year. school is hard for her anyway because we haven't been able to start school and now we can't start school. so it's been hard. for these kids to work so hard on their senior year -- we don't have anything. >> reporter: it's so hard to overemphasize how bad the air quality is here in portland and across oregon. every city has an air quality index at or around 300, which is considered hazardous to breathe. several places we went yesterday

had air quality indexes up to three times that amount. dan? >> matt, stay safe out there, please. thank you for your reporting. all of this is playing out in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak. and this morning six months after the world health organization declared covid- to be a pandemic, the u.s. has confirmed more than 6.4 million cases and more than 193,000 deaths. abc's trevor ault at an elementary school in new york city with the latest on kids and covid and on allegations that trump officials purposely interfered with cdc reports on the virus. here's trevor with more. >> reporter: overnight a report released by "politico" claiming trump officials purposely interfered with cdc reports on covid-19. according to the article, staff within the administration openly pushed for cdc reporting to better align with president trump's optimistic claims. a spokesperson for the department of heal and han es tells abc, our intention is to make sure that evidence, science-based data drives policy through this

pandemic, not ulterior deep state motives in the bowels of cdc. this coming as researchers say children might play a larger role in the spread of covid-19 than previously thought. the cdc reporting 12 children contracted the virus at two utah child care facilities, then spread the virus to 12 other people including multiple family members, sending one parent to the hospital. >> don't count kids out as potential parts of this spreading of this virus. >> reporter: harvard medical school researchers studying children suspected of covid-19 in massachusetts hospitals say infected children had high levels of the virus in their respiratory secretions even if they didn't have symptoms. >> most of the time, when infected, the kids have little or no symptoms so they can become spreaders or superspreaders. >> reporter: with many school districts resuming in-person learning a recent report showing 70,000 elementary school

students have been diagnosed with covid-19 in just two weeks. and the virus continuing its rapid spread through universities, clusters now on campuses in all 50 states, more than a dozen colleges reporting over a thousand cases. >> everything escalated very quickly. >> it's been crazy and it's just really panic inducing. >> reporter: the university of wisconsin madison seeing cases surge.de resident halls and 22 fraternities and sororities to quarantine for two weeks as the school tries to keep up with escalating testing demands. >> when i went to make an appointment, it told me that there was no availability for at least a week. >> reporter: as the world waits for a vaccine, dr. anthony fauci says he's still optimistic that the u.s. still has a significant wait to return to what it was. >> if you're talking about getting back to a degree of normality which resembles where we were prior to covid, it's going to be well into 2021,

maybe even towards the end of 2021. >> reporter: and president trump has continued his optimistic approach to talking about how the u.s. is handling the pandemic. he now says we're rounding the final turn against the virus though dr. anthony fauci says he outright disagrees with that claim. whit? >> quite the prediction from dr. fauci there. all right, trevor ault for us. thank you. also, a number of states are rolling out the unemployment benefits boost. president trump allocated it with an executive order last month but in some states the money is already running out. abc's deirdre bolton is here in new york with the story and, deirdre, this just adds to the uncertainty for struggling families. >> reporter: it sure does, whit, because many americans have been receiving $300 a week as part of the lwa, that's the lost wages program. you alluded to president trump issuing that executive order, but essentially that was making states use money from fema, whit, if you can believe that.

so normally for disaster relief funds. so in most states the payments are about half of that federal benefit that we saw at $600 per week but they are still a lifeline for many americans but that lifeline has now been cut in three states. the money runs out on monday. so montana, arizona, texas, unemployed residents will no longer receive any extra benefits. numerous other states stopping payments, as well. and, of course, the larger disturbing fact is that if any of these states there is any kind of disaster, a flood, hurricane, we're seeing the fires, of course, in california, new money will have to be allocated from somewhere else to help meet those disaster efforts. whit? >> record-setting fires out west they're dealing with. deirdre, i want to ask, we're learning about the department of housing and urban development announcing support for renters. >> reporter: sure thing, whit.

of course, last evening hud secretary ben carson saying, listen, we understand weprovide a little bit of extra support, close to $2 billion for the c.a.r.e.s. act. long story short, if you are a renter, you are protected for the next six months. eva? >> deirdre bolton for us, thank you so much. historic peace talks going on this morning between the taliban and the afghan government to end two decades of fighting. julia macfarlane joins us from london with the latest. good morning to you, julia. >> reporter: good morning, eva. today in doha taliban officials and afghan government representatives are sitting down face-to-face for the first time. the goal, a power-sharing government to end 40 years of war. now, this comes after repeated delays and many flare-ups of violence and stark challenges still remain. there's still deep idealogical differences between the afghan government and the taliban over issues such as women's rights. the militants want an islamic

system of government. there have been grievous attacks against afghan officials and civilians and the taliban have staunchly refused to take part in talks before the release of 5,000 jailed militants, something the u.s. has really had to pressure the afghan government to agree to. all against a backdrop of a phased withdrawal of u.s. troops from afghanistan and, of course, the u.s. presidential election drawing ever closer. secretary of state mike pompeo is in doha this morning telling the participants they all carried a great responsibility. hopes that more than 40 years of war might start to finally come to an end. dan? >> and for all the civilians who suffered through those 40 years. julia, thank you very much. back here at home a major development in the federal investigation into the origins of the trump russia investigation. a new top prosecutor hand picked to join the probe has resigned. abc's andrew dymburt is in d.c. with more on that and other developments in the presidential race. andrew, good morning to you. >> reporter: dan, good morning. both presidential candidates

taking a brief break from the riggers of this presidential campaign to mourn the victims of 9/11. this weekend they are back at it. president trump will be stumping in north carolina. this as questions are mounting about potential election interference. this morning, the race for the white house presses on after a brief pause in politics for the 19-year anniversary of 9/11. president trump and his opponent joe biden mindful of the tragedy that gripped this nation nearly two decades ago. >> we mourn deeply for the nearly 3,000 precious and beautiful souls who were taken from us. >> i'm not going to talk about anything other than 9/11. we took all our advertising down. it's a solemn day. >> reporter: this weekend it's back to the final stretch for november, but with a new warning about foreign interference targeting the nation's election integrity. microsoft says it detected and stopped a series of cyberattacks from hackers in russia, china and iran including what it says were unsuccessful attacks on

people associated with both the trump and biden campaigns. the potential threat of election interference echoing those from 2016 and now one of the federal prosecutors working on the probe of that 2016 russia investigation has just resigned from the justice department. "the hartford courant" which first reported the story says nora dannehy was partly concerned that they were being pressed for political reasons to produce a report before the work was done. the department of justice confirmed her resignation but did not comment on the reason behind it. and it's been a busy stretch for government agencies and the trump team. in a rare move the department of justice announcing it will also be defending president trump in a defamation lawsuit brought on by writer jean carroll. carroll accused the president of sexually assaulting her before he was president and sued trump when he called her a liar. dan? >> the political news never stops. andrew, thank you very much.

reminder on tuesday our chief anchor, george stephanopoulos, will moderate a town hall where uncommitted voters will have a chance to pose questions directly to president trump. the special edition of "20/20," "the president and the people: a national conversation" airs at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on abc. whit, over to you. another big story we're following, the four former officers charged in the killing george floyd appearing in court together for totesters were out. their attorneys filing some key motions in the case. abc's alex perez has the story. [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: hundreds gathering in front of this minneapolis courthouse. protesters outside as the four former police officers accused in george floyd's death appear in person for the first time in court together inside. earlier in the day derek chauvin seen with his knee on floyd's neck escorted in an orange jumpsuit and bulletproof vest. in court attorneys arguing three key motions the judge is still

considering, whether to allow a change of venue, if jurors should be kept anonymous and should chauvin charged with george floyd's murder and the three former cops charged with aiding and abetting chauvin be tried together or separately? fighting for a joint trial, the prosecutors saying the defendants were present together and watched the air go out of floyd's body together. defense attorneys of the former cops pushing for separate trials. they would possibly take a different defense approach if they were tried individually, they say. in cou defense adjusting that chauvin's knee on floyd's neck for several minutes wasn't the cause of his death, but that it was instead a drug overdose. >> what about this idea that some of the defense is making that george overdosed on drugs? it came up several times. your response to that? >> the only overdose that killed george floyd was an overdose of excessive force and racism by the minneapolis police department.

let's just be clear about that. >> reporter: the judge denied a defense motion to enter as evidence information about george floyd's past criminal record. the judge saying that had nothing to do with the current case. a tentative trial date has been set for march 8th of next year. guys? >> alex perez for us, so many people watching that case. let's switch gears now, time for a check of the weather and back to rob marciano in connecticut. how you doing, rob? >> reporter: all right, eva. let's touch on what's going on in the west. you heard matt gutman talk about the horrible air quality conditions there. this is a remarkable satellite picture showing you a storm that's well offshore that's actually sucking out the smoke. you see it there in the brown mixing with the white clouds all the way out to sea and wrapping around. 1,300 miles of that smoke getting wrapped into the weather system and the air quality will remain poor on the west side of the cascades and look for a bit of a south wind component. that's only bringing more of that smoke into portland and seb monsres towe

a lot ofhigr wbeasheout but ver into early next week look for cooler and some of that storm getting in and wetter and more of an onshore push that will help the situation. the next 48 hours will be tough. that's your national check. time f >> reporter: and we will head back to the tropics in the next half hour, potentially hurricane paulette hitting bermuda. guys, back to you. >> busy hurricane season as you pointed out. rob, thank you. we'll talk to you in the next half hour. an army veteran awarded the

purple hea for injiehe received while serving in afghanistan is settling into a new home this morning and janai has that story. >> reporter: this morning, army sergeant nathan shumaker and his family of three are waking up in the gift of a lifetime. nearly three years in the making, today the shumakers have the key to their brand-new home in hillsboro, missouri. all set up by the nonprofit homes for our troops. >> they welcomed us with open arms. they didn't shake our hands, just gave us a hug. >> reporter: for nathan, the new home is more than just a roof over his head, but the gift of accessibility. the 33-year-old army vet and purple heart recipient was wounded in combat back in 2010. >> i was injured by a mortar round in afghanistan. i blacked out. woke up five days later at walter reed army medical center. i looked down and my leg was gone. >> reporter: his old home

offered limited options, but his new digs designed with him in mind from the entrance. >> here's zero threshold so i can roll in and roll out in my wheelchair if i needed. >> reporter: to the kitchen. >> everything is accessible to where i don't have to, you know, stand up out of my wheelchair if i don't need to. >> reporter: it's the 300th home built by homes for our troops but for the shumakers a new beginning. >> it's all still surreal. it feels like it hasn't hit us yet. >> it feels amazing. >> and of course we thank him for his service and his sacrifice. incredible work, guys, that this organization does helping make sure wounded veterans have these custom designed homes made specifically for their needs. whit? >> with everything that's going on in the world great to see people are still committed to helping others. janai, thank you for that story. still ahead this morning, a 12-year-old gets a visit from a deputy and is suspended for playing with a nerf gun during a zoom class. what his parents are saying about how the school handled the situation. plus, the challenges facing pharmaceutical companies in the race to find an effective coronavirus vaccine.

also, the acc kicking off its season this weekend. we have a preview of the big game which will look a lot different because of the times in which we are living and i'll be doing some sports analysis as well, whit. >> "good morning america" sponsored by subaru. love, it's what makes subaru subaru. aru. love, it's what makes subaru subaru. subaru. to reconnect and be together. and once we did that, we realized his greatest adventure is just beginning. (avo male) welcome to the most adventurous outback ever. the all-new 2020 subaru outback. go where love takes you. (avo female) get 0% apr financing for 63 months on the 2020 subaru outback and other select models. that's your weathered deck, crying for help. while you do nothing, it's inviting those geese over for target practice. today, let's stain.

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afternoon. the nfl and local officials say it'll be a game time decision. if the air quality index is above 200 then they'll have to go to a plan b. contichancy plans include moving the game to a different time or possibly to monday night. you can see behind us, lisa, still very gray and smoky out there. >> we have mixture of unhealthy smog and haze there. and you can see the layer of fog there not helping us out with wind at all. because the visibility is reduced we're going to stay gray today with unhealthy dear california... we know these are challenging times. rest assured, you are not alone. we've all had to adapt. and with summer here, your energy bills might go up with rising temperatures. together, we can save energy and money. try closing your shades during the day... setting your ac to 78° or higher... or cooling off with a fan when you can. united we are always stronger.

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hey all you cats and kittens. it's carole at big cat rescue. welcome back to "gma" on this saturday morning. she was a fan favorite on the hit netflix docu-series "tiger king" and now carole baskin is getting ready to hit the dance floor. coming up on "gma" cover story how baskin plans to show off her cat-like moves on the dance floor with "dancing with the stars" season debut on monday night. eva, i suspect you'll be watching. >> i will be watching. i'm curious to see how she's able to incorporate that cat pattern in all of her outfits, the cheetah. i want to see that. >> we're curious about very different things ithis world>> u >>okt so othheg foowg.g right w emergency in the west, fires in california, washington and

oregon burning millions of acres leaving neighborhoods covered in ash and making for hazardous breathing conditions. the death toll climbing to at least 19. a man now under arrest accused of intentionally starting one of those devastating fires. also right now venezuela's president claiming to have captured an american spy said to be a marine. president maduro appearing on tv accusing the american of spying on venezuelan refineries saying he had worked for the cia in iraq and was found with specialized heavy weapons and a large amount of cash when captured. the new orleans saints banding together in a call for justice for black women announcing the team's season long hashtag say her name campaign inspired by the killing of breonna taylor. the players say they don't want to, quote, just stick to sports. they want to do their part to help make systemic change. we start this half hour with the boy suspended from school when a teacher caught a glimpse of a gun during a zoom class.

it turns out it was a toy and the boy's parents are frustrated over how the school handled the situation with police showing up at their door. abc's zohreen shah joins us with more.you, >> reporter: good morning, eva. yes, suspended from a virtual classroom for brandishing a gun that was fake. that's what a mom says happened to her 12-year-old who she said is facing real repercussions. this morning, parents of a young black boy facing one of their greatest fears. deputies showing up at their door looking for their 12-year-old. >> this will have a long-lasting impact on my son, on my husband, on myself. >> reporter: dani elliot says her son isaiah was taking a seventh grade online class from his home two weeks ago when his teacher saw him playing with his toy gun, something his mother

says he would have never brought on campus. >> the expectation is clear, the expectation is set as far as what is allowed on school grounds and what is not allowed on school grounds. my son would know better than to have taken a facsimile of a gun to the school. >> reporter: the colorado springs mom says the teacher told the principal who called el paso county sheriff's department to do a welfare check on isaiah many hours later. newly released body camera footage showing the deputy's visit. >> you're a young man, dude. i don't want to see you get in trouble. >> don't let this define who you are. >> why were the parents not notified first? why did it take 4 1/2 hours for the police to respond? >> reporter: according to elliott, deputies told his son he could have faced criminal charges and might if he ever did the same thing again. >> he told me, mommy, i had butterflies in my stomach the whole time. i didn't know if they were going to hurt me or take me to jail. >> reporter: elliott says her son was suspended for five days. the school district when asked for comment declined to confirm the suspension citing privacy laws. the sheriff's department says in part we were told by the school the teacher did not know if the weapon was real or not. as we should, we investigated the situation to ensure the

safety of the students. now, the school also releasing a statement saying, it's taking this time to look at the bigger picture and center our efforts on working with the family. whit? >> zohreen, thank you for that story. we appreciate it. let's turn back to the weather, rob marciano in connecticut following several big stories, the fires in the west and more tropical systems out in the atlantic. rob? >> reporter: yeah, the atlanta is certainly active. this is a tile of year right in the heart of hurricane season where these storms can pop up, really close to home and that's when we have to be on our toes. case in point, what's happening in south florida, tropical depression number 19 and a tropical wave off the coast of the mouth of the mississippi. not so worried about that one as we are td 19 which will probably get in the gulf and stir up action here over the next few days. paulette, that is likely to become a hurricane. rene, that red circle, that one we'll have to worry about as well. another one coming off the coast

of africa. paulette, bermuda, we are worried about it becoming a cat 1, cat 2, maybe cat 3 on approach to bermuda on the day monday getting very close to that island and potentially making a direct hit and a cat 2 even on that well-prepared island would be a devastating blow there so tracking that very carefully along with all the other action in the gulf of mexico. that's a check nationally. here's a look at your local >> reporter: this weather report sponsored by walgreens. you guys ready for some football? nfl started. now it's time for college, at least part of college. >> that's right. >> you know what intel i got this week, dan harris has hired a certain little 11-year-old to run his fantasy league again. >> you're playing fantasy again?

>> i mean, paula faris' 11-year-old j.j. is playing fantasy. i'm collecting the money. >> i thought he would walk out while on top. >> we won last year. we're going for it again. he doesn't ask me for my advice on any of the picks. rob, thank you very much. we'll talk to you next half hour. coming up on "gma," the race for a coronavirus vaccine. how effective health officials want it to be. and then your game day preview. espn's allison williams joins us as the acc gets ready for kickoff. that's coming up. kickoff. that's coming up. that kept you... here was a plae vibrant outdoorsy mischevious restored zen sparkly cheeky... ( clears throat) disciplined dapper prepped smart hopeful brave and safe? well, there is, and always has been. walgreens. everyone's place, for healthy and safe.

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opportunity to do something to help others. >> reporter: she was the world's first to be given a dose in kaiser permanente's experimental vaccine trial. tens of thousands of volunteers are rolling up their sleeves in the fight against the deadly virus as some major drugmakers enter the last phase of trials. >> i'm here for me and for my community because i have some people that have -- i have lost due to this. i have fears like everybody else, but i'm here to help. >> reporter: those groups most affected by the virus are participating less. experts say that's because of historical societal injustices and mistrust. just last week, 17% of moderna's new participants were hispanic and latino. 9% were african-american or black. moderna's president says a wide diverse representation in trials could lead to higher vaccination rates.

>> one of the reasons it matters so much right now to be focusing on diversity in the clinical research is it's the very beginning of building that trust in that vaccine. >> reporter: the fda says a covid-19 vaccine needs to be at least 50% effective before it can reach the market. nine of the leading vaccinemakers signed a pledge earlier this week saying they would put safety above any type of deadline. whit? >> all right, elwyn, thank you so much. joining us is dr. onyema ogbuagu, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor of medicine at yale school of medicine. he's also the principal investigator of the pfizer phase 3 vaccine trial at yale. doctor, thank you so much for joining us. i want to get right to the timeline here. how far along is pfizer in its trials and realistically when could people start getting the vaccine? >> thank you so much for having me, first of all. yes, so it's really been unprecedented the pace at which these trials for vaccine have

been progressing. i think the initial goal now is to try to accrue the minimum number of subjects to be able to show efficacy over the vaccine and that's very well along and the study is almost fully enrolled, so very excited. frankly, the efficacy will be driven by events. so we'd like to see the people, you know, the difference between people who get covid-19 illness looking different between those who get the vaccine and placebo. once those results show some efficacy signal, those results will be fed into the fda and hopefully that starts the first steps with getting them approved for use in the larger community. obviously distribution that works would be a challenge. >> doctor, we've heard a lot of different projections. but do have you a sense at least with the pfizer vaccine when it could be, when the average american could get a vaccine? >> so we're hoping that we can generate some results, you know, hopefully before the end of the year and so roughly about the first quarter of 2021 we hope that the vaccine should be available but these are all

projections. we can't know for sure and really just depends on how the vaccine trials progress. >> i want to touch on another topic here because astrazeneca had a setback earlier this week when one of its participants came down with a rare spinal inflammatory disease. now, it's important to point out it's still not known if the vaccine itself caused this. but how concerned should the public be and what if any impact does it have on other trials like the one at pfizer? >> so that's a great question. so the disorder was transverse myelitis which is an inflammatory disorder of the spinal cord. this is what happens when you do large phase 3 trials involving a lot of participants, that you start to detect things that occur very rarely. the good news for that one participant it appears they're already recovering and still an open question if the disorder was caused by the vaccine. but the good news is there's so many other different technologies ongoing for other

vaccines that do not carry that same risk. the astrazeneca vaccine is a viral vector but there's so many other technologies that do not use the same platform so the risk for some other vaccines would be less. >> all right, doctor, thank you so much for your time. we do appreciate it. a lot is riding on this vaccine and multiple vaccines being available to the world. thank you. coming up here on "good morning america," heating up the gridiron, clemson and wake forest ready to take the field. espn's allison williams joins us live with a preview next. there's no promo. just great rates. and a side of ranch. you're the man, man. when you want the real deal...like a good neighbor, state farm is there.

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♪ >> reporter: all right, a bit of fall in the air. typically this weekend we would be going to visit espn "college gameday" for the kickoff

of college football season. but it looks a lot different now, but "college gameday" is still doing their thing in winston-salem as wake forest takes on clemson and we have allison williams from espn to join us and to chat about, boy, what this year is going to look like. set the scene for us, allison. what is a game going to look like tonight? what is "gameday" going to look like? >> rob, it is going to be different, but bottom line, football is back. two of the power five conferences start play this weekend including the acc. we've got clemson/wake forest tonight. the game will be across the street but there will only be 50 family members allowed to attend. fans are gathering here at the fairgrounds and watch it drive-in movie style. they're already here for "college gameday," the show's first trip to winston-salem and they wanted to show that demon deacons pride and passion and the game will look different and see players making statements to end social injustice and racial inequality. clemson star quarterback trevor lawrence has been very involved in this movement. you will see helmet stickers and

such but he said anything we do has to be with a purpose. it's not just about a hashtag or a statement. it has to be representative of action that we are taking to effect change in this country. >> reporter: that trevor lawrence can play and as a junior he certainly wields a lot of power now socially on and off the field. talk to me about this. you know, big 10, big 12, they pretty much have canceled their season but now espn is reporting big 10 might be changing their mind. what's going on there? >> yeah, this is fascinating, rob. the two canceled their season about six weeks ago but now they are saying that a medical subcommittee will present to a panel of big 10 ces pr that was not available when the season was canceled. this includes daily rapid tests that are now available. of course, we will still need a runway if they were to get the all-clear to start the season. but, man, at least there is a little bit of hope because, rob, there is just something that feels right about an autumn

saturday with college football being played. especially in the midwest. >> reporter: absolutely. we would love to get those two big conferences back in play. allison williams, we thank you for your insight and look forward to the game tonight on abc and the espn app, wake forest versus clemson, tune in. college football is back. all right, time now for a quick break. more of "gma" still to come. more of "gma" still to come. when you're affected by schizophrenia, you see it differently. it's in the small, everyday moments. and in the places, you'd never expect. a little sign of hope. the feeling of freedom. and once these little moments start adding up, that's when it feels like so much more. it feels like real progress. caplyta effectively treats adults with schizophrenia. and it's just one pill, once a day, with no titration. caplyta can cause serious side effects. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke.

call your doctor about fever, stiff muscles or confusion, which can mean a life-threatening reaction or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be permanent. dizziness upon standing, falls, and impaired judgment may occur. most common side effects include sleepiness and dry mouth. high cholesterol and weight gain may occur, as can high blood sugar which may be fatal. in clinical trials, weight, cholesterol and blood sugar changes were similar to placebo. so if you're affected by schizophrenia, have a conversation with your doctor about caplyta today. looembarrassing you. up wall. that wall is your everest - but not any more. today let's paint. behr. exclusively at the home depot. don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin

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>> no way. >> wake surfing behind the back of a boat. this is not fake. taking it one step further you see her pull out a magazine to catch up on her current events. >> that's like she's as laid back as dan in the makeup room. >> there we go, yep. by the way, "gma" is now two hours on saturdays. coming up the split between "the bachelor's" colton underwood and cassie randolph gets a whole lot messier. wood and cassie randolph gets a whole lot messier. good morning, everyone. i'm liz kreutz. a popular bay area attraction is allowing visitors back in starting today. we're talking about the winchester mystery house in san jose. it will offer a prand new self-guided tour format that allows for physical distancing. staffers say guests will get to experience the house's unique

design elements like never before. you can buy tickets online. indoor tours stopped back in march at the start of the pandemic. began again july 13th but closed after four hours when officials issued a new shutdown order. the smoke filled images of mt. diablo have been hard to miss this week, tonight an auction is happening. the 19th annual moonlight on the mountain. it is virtual this year, but the items up for grabs are just as fun. everything from wine tastings and artwork of the mountain to a private hike with your dog or the chance to name a goat on an artisan napa cheese farm. you can join in on the moonlight on the mountain website. it starts at 5:30 tonight. let's get a check of the weather now with lisa argen. >> hey, liz. love to see some of of that blue sky in that video but looks like a winter morning.o zer visibili locations with poor air quality.

52 in gilroy. you can see gnat yellow sky from mt. tam, and upper 40s in the north bay. here's the visibility. a dense fog advisory until 9:00 jow know why. you can't see a thing out there, and it's been getting worse since sunrise. so certainly be careful out there. and the unhealthy air continues. the winds are light, not going to see much of a sea breeze, but be expect a pattern shift as we get into the second half of the weekend. liz? >> all right, lisa, th

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good morning, america. it's our second hour, and happening right now, oregon on fire. police alleging that the fires were started intentionally and charging one man with arson and criminal mischief. meanwhile, portland's mayor declaring an emergency. everything we're learning right here this morning. and new this morning, politico reporting trump officials interfered with the cdc's reports on the coronavirus. plus, as students head back to school amid the pandemic, researchers warning about children's ability to spread covid-19. the concerning examples at two utah child care facilities. what you need to know. bachelor split fallout. cassie randolph filing for a tempar