america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." breaking news in "america this morning," sally turns deadly. the slow-moving storm leaving mari marinas destroyed and buildings stripped clean. the race to help those stranded and the storm on the move. the flooding threat right now. covid confusion. president trump contradicts the director of the cdc. the conflicting messages about vaccinations and the benefits of wearing a mask and the shocking developments last night. a new statement is issued and then a retraction just moments later. trapped inside a dam, the survival story of a worker stranded by a massive wildfire in oregon surrounded by flames all communications cut off. what happened next. plus, cruise industry crisis. the new fallout from the pandemic.

one of the biggest cruise lines now selling ships and canceling trips. country homecoming. taylor swift's return to her roots. the musical moment seven years in the making. and swing and a miss. the mistake by this lumberjack leaving one unlucky homeowner with an axe to grind. good thursday morning, everyone. we begin with the wrath of hurricane sally. the storm now turning deadly. >> and it's not over. millions of people from alabama to the carolinas are on alert for dangerous flooding. areas around atlanta could see 8 inches of rain. >> we're getting a clearer view of the destruction and the historic flooding in the florida panhandle. two feet of rain fell in pensacola. >> more than 500,000 power outages are reported as the region begins to pick up the pieces. overnight sally turning deadly. at least one person found dead after the powerful storm swept through the gulf coast leaving a

trail of destruction. >> the sheer damage of this building. the whole second half ripped to the ground. >> reporter: docks turned into driftwood. trees and power lines snapped like twigs. winds topped 100 miles an hour shearing off the steep of this church. >> evacuations could be in the thousands, so it's going to be a long time, folks, you know, for us to come out of this thing. >> reporter: officials throughout the region race to help hundreds of people trapped by the rising floodwaters. >> we were in chest deep water. >> reporter: firefighters have been going house by damaged house cutting through trees to reach those trapped. >> we just did not expect that. i think a lot of the people didn't realize what this hurricane would do. >> reporter: the sheer force of the storm left many stunned. >> the house was shaking. it was shaking. it really was. >> the water just rose. it was coming straight down our street. >> the rain was pouring through the cracks of the door. at a point it was jaws throwing in. >> reporter: abc's senior

meteorologist rob marciano was in florida as sally made landfall as a category 2 hurricane. >> the wind has just been relentless here in downtown pensacola. this is main street, and it's just nuking white caps with this storm surge. debris, traffic lights littering this street. >> reporter: from pensacola to panama city, dozens of roads washed out. one car even swept away when the road collapsed beneath it. a huge section of a major bridge swept away after a construction barge slammed into it. >> it busted loose. >> reporter: another barge forced into this family's backyard by the storm surge. >> the wind was furious. the waves were crashing and water was coming in all of their windows and doors, and i'm thinking, you know, we could end up out there in the water. we could drown. >> reporter: in alabama counties under curfew overnight as officials try to assess the damage. >> it's bad. i mean, we have mass destruction. it looks like a war zone. >> reporter: buildings along the coast stripped bare. marinas and docks now in shambles while boats are

beached hundreds of feet from the water. >> if this doesn't show you the power of water, nothing will. this boat was ripped from where it was tied down. >> reporter: and now -- >> oh, my god, this is outside our window. >> reporter: -- residents have live more than the rain and wind to worry about. this massive alligator was seen slinking through a neighborhood in alabama. >> this is why we don't want to go outside out here. >> now the big concern is flash flooding today across atlanta and into the carolinas. a closer look at the forecast in just a few moments. now to president trump contradicting his own health officials saying robert redfield the director of the cdc was wrong when he told congress that a vaccine won't be widely available until next year. trump suggested that redfield misspoke when he said wearing a mask is currently the most effective way to fight the virus. abc's andrew dymburt has the latest from washington. >> reporter: this morning, president trump muddying his administration's message on masks and a vaccine time line. the confusion starting wednesday

on capitol hill when cdc director robert redfield told lawmakers not to expect widespread distribution of a vaccine until next spring. redfield testifying under oath that limited quantities of vaccinations are likely to begin for the most vulnerable this fall and that two doses will be required. >> if you're asking me when is it going to be generally available to the american public to begin to take advantage of the vaccine to get back to our regular life, i think we're probably looking at late second quarter, third quarter 2021. >> reporter: hours later the president said redfield was mistaken and claimed the government could start distributing a coronavirus vaccine as early as october. >> i don't think he -- when he said it, i believe he was confused. >> reporter: during his testimony, redfield also emphasized the importance of wearing a mask. >> i might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against

covid than when i take a covid vaccine. >> reporter: but the president contradicted redfield on that subject as well. >> number one, it's not more effective by any means than a vaccine and i called him about that. those were the two things i discussed with him, and i believe that if you ask him, he would probably say that he didn't understand the question, because i said to him, i asked him those two questions, the one question which we covered and the mask question. >> reporter: less than an hour after the president's briefing last night, even more confusion. the cdc sending a statement to abc news on both masks and redfield's comments on a vaccine time line reasnsweng question he thou regard to thti period in which all americans would have completed their covid vaccination. he was not referring to the time period when covid-19 vaccine doses would be made available to all americans. the statement also saying that with no vaccine, the best

defense we currently have against the virus are the important mitigation efforts of wearing a mask, washing your hands and social distancing, but one hour later redfield's office then retracted that and tried to clarify his vaccine time line. it was not immediately clear if redfield was standing by his original testimony at odds with the president or if he'd be issuing a whole new statement. >> you're twice contradicting the director of your own cdc on the science who testified before congress today. >> no, he's correcting himself. >> why should the american people -- >> i think he misunderstood the questions. here's the bottom line, distribution will be very rapid. he may not know that, maybe he's not aware of that and maybe he's not dealing with the military, et cetera, like i do. distribution is going to be very rapid. >> why should the american people trust you on the pandemic when you're contradicting the head of the cdc and you're -- >> because of the great job we've done. >> reporter: when asked about a comment about the confusion, joe biden replied, he, quote, trusts scientists and not donald

trump. >> andrew, thank you. new details this morning about attempts to control protesters outside the white house in june. a military whistle-blower said federal officials considered using a so-called heat ray against the crowd in lafayette square emitting a beam that feels like fire on the skin. that was about the use of force against protesters. one of the los angeles county sheriff's deputies shot during an ambush has been released from the hospital. his partner still in intensive care. the deputies were in their squad car when a gunman opened fire. a $300,000 reward is being offered in the search for that gunman. security concerns at wrigley field in chicago. a drone flying above the field last night forced the cubs/indians game to be delayed. umpires cleared the field. seven minutes later the game resumed. fenway park had a similar drone delay last month. the long awaited memorial to dwight d.

eisenhower will be dedicated today featuring statues depicting him speaking to his troops before d-day and later as president. the $100 million project was started in 2017 after years of disputes. eisenhower is only the seventh president to get a landmark tribute near the national mall. time now for a look at your thursday morning weather. good morning. sally is working its way through georgia and the carolinas out to the atlantic as a heavy rainmaker. already some very heavy rain throughout the morning hours into georgia and the carolinas which, by the way, do not need more rain this year, and some of this rain will make it as far north as virginia and the delmarva as well as washington, d.c. before it moves offshore into friday morning. another 2 to 4 inches in some locations. then we're watching this. showers, thunderstorms in the gulf. could be something next week for texas. for accuweather i'm meteorologist melissa constanzer.

coming up, an easy way to save money on your cell phone data plan. how one worker took cover for days as a massive wildfire was raging around him. plus, the ameca who faced-19 during a bar crawl germany. thisa window of time to help protect the ones you love. your preteen benefits from staying up-to-date with their well visits. this is your window of protection. schedule their well visit now.

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>> reporter: as the beechy creek fire raged outside in detroit, oregon, dam operator mike pomeroi was hunkered down inside. he had come to check on the dam that provides water to the people of salem worried the fire could damage it. as the fire approached he tried to evacuate but was driven back by smoke and flames. >> i have a safety ring by the door, and i was going to wet that down and make a dash for it and grab the ring and jump in the river if i got chased out of here. >> reporter: he lost all communication with the outside world trapped inside the multilevel facility, which was starting to fill with smoke. he set up a cot and supplies in a hallway knowing if anyone were to come, they'd find him. >> it was a continuous process of trying to think of things. i was brainstorming, well, what about this, what about that and trying to come up with solutions and problems. >> reporter: outside the dam the beechy creek fire, one of several fires in the struurescounty area, destroyne,

ltiplees also raging in sent to help fight the creek fire burning in central california. back in oregon, with no sense of when he'd be able to escape, pomeroy's concern turned to his family. >> i kind of knew that they were very, very worried about me. >> reporter: nearly two days later a relief crew finally made it to the dam, and with pomeroy's help, they got the dam's generators back online. officials with the army corps of engineers credits pomeroy for protecting the water supply by preventing more damage. kenneth, mona. >> incredible story there, andrea, thank you. and business news, a new idea to save you money on your phone bill. at&t is considering a plan to cut $5 or $10 off customers' monthly bills if those customers are willing to put up with advertising ononven5 of product, it's still at least a year away from becoming a

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we're back with a costly bar crawl. an american living in germany could face ten years in prison for ignoring coronavirus quarantine rules. she allegedly went on a bar crawl even though she had symptoms of the virus. officials say she may have infected dozens of people. new signs of trouble in the cruise business. carnival is selling at least 18 ships and canceling four more trips scheduled next year reportedly losing $700 million a month due the pandemic. >> people still are booking cruises, and if we can get through this, the cruise industry can come back and probably even continue to grow and maybe go back to growing as rapidly as it was before. the issue is getting through this next year. >> an cysts say the cdc's no

sail order is in effect through this month and will likely be extended even though some cruises in europe are already sailing again. of course, it's not just the cruise industry that's hurting. a study by yelp found 60% of businesses that closed during the pandemic do not expect to re-open again. college basketball fans can now circle a date on their calendar. the ncaa has announced the basketball season will start november 25th. that's two weeks later than planned due to coronavirus precautions. big ten football will resume play october 24th. players will be tested daily for coronavirus. sources say the white house even offered to provide covid-19 tests. president trump is now urging the pac-12 to follow suit. wearing eye glasses may go a long way to preventing covid-19. earlier i smoke with dr. shashank ravi about a new study and we also discussed new concern about the accuracy of covid testing and screening techniques. dr. ravi, let's begin with that headline for those who wear glasses. researchers say you could be

five times less likely to be diagnosed with covid-19. what's your take on this? >> kenneth, one of a few interesting studies that have shown in an observational nature individuals with eyeglasses were found to have it at a lower rate than others in their community and important to note we don't know exactly why this is. that would require a more randomized control study. it could be they're touching their face less or that individuals with eyeglasses just have different habits than other groups. >> a new study out on screening methods and just how anding inaccurate they can be. what's 9 takeaways here? >> important to distinguish between screening and testing. screening refers to asking questions or checking a temperature to determine who may have the virus. this is different than testing, which is an actual laboratory test, which is either a nose swab or a saliva test, which can show with much more accuracy whether an individual has the virus. >> earlier we reported on the director of the cdc and president trump offering

conflicting messages in the last 24 hours when it comes to a time line for a covid-19 vaccine and also when it comes to the importance of wearing a mask. what do you make of this confusion coming out of washington? >> well, i think most in the medical community would agree that president trump is being overly optimistic. remember, even after clinical trials are done, it'll still take some time even at a rapid speed to get approval. whenever a vaccine is approved, it won't suddenly change what we're doing in that it will still take over half a year for us to get back to some resemblance of our pre-covid lives. >> our thanks to dr. ravi there. who is playing joe biden on "saturday night live." reaction to the announcement. taylor's big night at the cmas. but first a reminder, you can watch "america this morning" each day on our streaming channel, abc newslive, starting at 3:30 a.m. eastern on the abc news app and these streaming services. ♪ would you trust me here's to the duers.

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♪ in the garden would you trust me if i told you it was just a summer thing ♪ time to check "the pulse." on this thursday, we begin with country music's biggest show in the age of the pandemic. >> the country music awards aired from the grand ole opry house along with other venues, in nashville. the stars sang to empty seats. no fans, no applause. old dominion won song of the year and group of the year. >> taylor swift returned with an accoustic performance of her new song, "betty." ♪ yeah, i showed up at your party were you happy will you love me ♪ ♪ will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends ♪ >> also last night, carrie underwood performed a medley honoring the queens of country from fat si klein to reba mcentire and dolly parton. next the reaction after

"saturday night live" announced jim carrey will play joe biden. >> producers say it was carrey who expressed interest in the role. reaction has been mixed. some can't wait for the jim carrey versus alec baldwin. >> others are wondering why jason sudeikis is no longer playing biden. tell us what you think. >> we want to hear from you. next a texas woman has saved her dad's taco truck using the power of social media. >> get this, his business has been hit hard by the pandemic with sales hitting rock bottom on saturday. so she turned to twitter with a message saying, quote, my dad's struggling, he only sold $6 today. struggling, he only sold $6 if you could retweet, i would appreciate you so much. >> well, it worked. he sold out of everything early on monday and business is booming now. >> love to see it. finally the monumental mistake caught on camera. the lumberjack fail going viral. >> a man chopping a big tree down in houston, texas, when it falls the wong way right onto a house.

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checking the top stories, at least one person is dead and thousands have been rescued after hurricane sally slammed ashore. one family was rescued from a tree. pensacola, florida, was among the areas hardest hit with historic floods and power outages. remnants could dump a foot of rain in alabama and georgia. president trump is urging republicans to support a bigger coronavirus relief bill and he's accusing democrats of not wanting to deliver a new round of stimulus checks. democrats want to spend more than $2 trillion. attorney general william barr is criticizing the lockdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. he called it the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in u.s. history other than slavery and he compared stay at home orders to house arrests. heavy rain from sally and rain in texas and showers along the west coast. breezy in the northern plains and a fall-like feel in the

midwest. finally, the basketball star who married the man she helped free from prison after he was wrongfully convicted. will ganss has their story. >> reporter: it's been two months since jonathan irons was released from prison after serving 23 years for a wrongful conviction. with the help of wnba superstar maya moore stepping away from basketball at the height of her career to fight for jonathan's freedom. >> i feel like i can live life now. i'm free. i'm blessed. >> reporter: that overturned conviction evenly one of several major life changes for the couple. >> vote for your community. >> both: vote for justice. >> reporter: these days they're working together as activists and as a little more than that. >> we are super excited to continue the work that we've been doing together, but doing it as a married couple, so we got married a couple months ago.

>> reporter: maya's family working in prison ministry making the introduction when she was 18. more than a decade ago. >> just over time it was pretty clear what the lord was doing in our hearts and now we're sitting here today starting a whole new chapter together. >> reporter: jonathan popped the question a few years ago but told maya not to answer just yet saying he'd ask her again if he was ever freed. until finally with her help, he was. >> i got down on my knees and i looked up at her and she kind of knew what was going on. >> reporter: now the couple is making a proposal of their own to everyone else. >> we're basically trying to just educate the public and, you know, and get them engaged in the voting process and just being more involved and, you know, what's going on with our country and our government. >> reporter: maya says she's not totally closing the door on the game but trying to stay focused on this social and criminal justice movement but will cross that bridges when she comes to it in the spring. >> a life of service together.

america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." breaking news in "america this morning," sally turns deadly. the slow-moving storm leaving mari marinas destroyed and buildings stripped clean. the race to help those stranded and the storm on the move. the flooding threat right now. covid confusion. president trump contradicts the director of the cdc. the conflicting messages about vaccinations and the benefits of wearing a mask and the shocking developments last night. a new statement is issued and then a retraction just moments later. trapped inside a dam, the survival story of a worker stranded by a massive wildfire in oregon surrounded by flames all communications cut off. what happened next. plus, cruise industry crisis. the new fallout from the pandemic.