right now on "america this morning," debate dodgeball as pence and harris go head-to-head. >> i'd like you to answer the question. >> mr. vice president, i'm speaking? >> from the pandemic -- >> they knew and covered it sdmrup to the supreme court. >> they are going to pack the supreme court. >> the biggest moments. who won the debate and the new polls out this morning. covid in the capitol. nearly three dozen cases of coronavirus now linked to the white house including a top military official. this as president trump returns to the oval office claiming he's been cured. the new effort to fast-track the treatment he received. anger on the streets. tear gas fired and the national guard activated after a police officer is cleared of charges in the shooting of a black teenager. what we're learning about that case.

accused kidnapper in court. the man suspected of snatching a girl off the street facing a judge. how police tracked him down. serious salary. howard stern gets real about reports of his $120 million payday. and all the buzz. the newly famous fly that stole the show during last night's debate. good thursday morning, everyone. we begin with the vice presidential debate leaving many important questions unanswered. >> vice president mike pence and senator kamala harris tackled the issues and exchanged attacks but they spent much of the night dodging critical questions. >> in the meantime, president trump has released a video claiming the experimental treatment he was given has cured him. the company behind that treatment has now requested emergency approval from the fda. >> it comes as another military leader tests positive raising more concern about the outbreak in washington. >> let's begin with the debate.

abc's andrew dymburt has all the big moments. andrew, goo goo goo goo goo >> reporter: it was coronavirus that dominated the night, make no mistake bit. senator kamala harris and vice president mike pence facing off in their first and only vice presidential debate. >> it's a privilege to be on the stage with you. >> reporter: they avoided personal attacks while being mostly cordial. >> he will not raise taxes on anybody that makes less than $400,000 a year. >> he said he will repeal -- >> mr. vice president, i'm speaking. >> reporter: harris and pence separated by plexiglass sparred over the trump administration's handling of the coronavirus. >> they knew and they covered it up. the president said it was a hoax. >> president trump did what no other american president has ever done, he suspended all travel from china, the second largest economy in the world. now, senator, joe biden opposed

that decision. >> whatever the vice president is claiming the administration has done clearly it hasn't worked. when you're looking at over 210,000 dead bodies in our country. >> reporter: the moderator pressing the vice president, the head of the coronavirus task force, about what appears to have been a superspreader event at the white house. >> many of the people who were at that event, susan, actually were tested for coronavirus and it was an outdoor event which all of our scientists regularly and routinely advise. >> reporter: the topic later turning to bource with supreme court nominee amy coney barrett's confirmation hearing only days away. >> i'm pro-life. i don't apologize for it. and this is another one of those cases where there's such a dramatic contrast. >> i will always fight for a woman's right to make a decision about her own body. it should be her decision and not of that donald trump and the vice president michael pence. >> reporter: new polls show the president losing ground in several key states.

abc's tom llamas breaks down the numbers. >> joe biden is still lead ago cording to these polls. in pennsylvania, though, north carolina and arizona, joe biden has increased his lead by one percentage point. you may be at home saying one percentage point, who cares? that's incredibly important. when you look at states like michigan, wisconsin and pennsylvania, the president won by less than a percentage point. so what happened in florida, joe biden since the last debate has increased his lead by two percentage point, in fact a poll just out today shows independents breaking for joe biden by 20 points. that's pretty big news if that sticks. >> reporter: back at the debate pence argued a biden administration would be a disaster for the economy while harris claimed the trump administration's policies are more harmful to most american families. >> joe biden says democracy is on the ballot. make no mistake bit, susan, the american economy, the american comeback is on the ballot. >> joe biden believes you measure the health and the strength of america's economy based on the health and the strength of the american worker

and the american family. >> reporter: another big moment was when mike pence attacked joe biden for his handling of the swine flu. back in 2009, that was during the obama administration when 60 million americans were infected compared to 7.5 million for the coronavirus now and while fact checkers were quick to point out while those numbers may be correct the coronavirus has been far deadlier. >> andrew dymburt, thank you. who won the debate? we asked rick klein for his takeaways from last night. ndon auctamer dete than ght da n of covid-19. you saw real tangible differences stripped down of the name-calling and the big personality and the big bluster, you just had two candidates who had diametrically opposed

of what is happening in the country right now and what might happen in the country going forward. i was also struck by some of the questions not answered. mike pence not answering what he'd like to see in terms of abortion laws if roe v. wade is overturned. kamala harris not talking about whether she thinks there should be more justices on the supreme court. neither candidate wanting to talk about what provisions should be in place in case a president becomes incapacitated. those are all vital questions and you can tell how sensitive they were by virtue of the fact that the candidates didn't want to answer them. kenneth and mona. >> all right, rick klein, we appreciate it. and we have much more analysis on abcnews.com. now the latest on the coronavirus cases linked to the white house. abc news confirming new cases overnight just hours after president trump released this video call his infection a, quote, blessing in disguise. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning the coronavirus outbreak at the white house growing. an internal memo obtained by abc news revealing at least 34 people have now tested positive up from 24 wednesday afternoon. and now another top military

official is positive after attending a meeting with the joint chiefs. general gary thomas is second in command of the marine corps. all but one of the joint chiefs are now in isolation after coast guard admiral charles ray tested positive. meanwhile, president trump returning to the oval office wednesday. his doctors saying the president has been symptom-free for over 24 hours. >> i went in. i wasn't feeling so hot. and within a very short period of time they gave me regeneron. it's called regeneron. and other things too but i think this was the key but they gave me regeneron and it was like unbelievable. i felt good. >> reporter: the president releasing this video from the white house. >> i want everybody to be given the same treatment as your president because i feel great. i feel like perfect. >> reporter: trump's chief of staff reassuring the public that the oval office is taking precautions. >> we've got safety protocols there that are not only from the

ppe standpoint but from a ventilation standpoint. >> reporter: but the white house now facing unprecedented criticism from the prestigious "new england journal of medicine" over the administration's handling of the pandemic writing in a scathing editorial that u.s. leaders have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy. 32 states and territories are now seeing a rise in covid cases. some areas of the country are now facing new closures and restrictions. anger erupting in new york city as hundreds of orthodox jewish men set fire to face masks protesting a shutdown that takes effect today in neighborhoods where cases are spiking. they accuse the mayor of targeting religious communities. >> we are dealing with a health emergency. >> reporter: in boston schools now pausing their re-opening plans. a new forecast predicts new england, the new york city area and oregon could see the most concerning rates of infection in the next month. >> we could have from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths. that would be just so tragic if

that happens. >> reporter: and now wisconsin opening a field hospital at the state fairgrounds after a record number of hospitalizations. more criticism of the white house from the cdc's former director calling the administration's handling of the pandemic a slaughter. the white house responding that every decision at the cdc has been data driven. kenneth, mona. >> all right, andrea fujii, thank you. president trump says u.s. troops in afghanistan should be home by christmas. he tweeted that announcement last night, which contradicts his national security adviser who says the troop count will only drop to 2,500 by next year. military officials are now referring all questions to the white house. a federal disaster has been declared in louisiana in preparation for hurricane delta. evacuations have been ordered around lake charles, which was devastated only six weeks ago by hurricane laura. one photo taken this week shows blue tarps still covering many of the roofs there. the storm is expected to hit tomorrow afternoon. delta already battered mexico's yucatan peninsula.

it ripped trees out of the ground causing widespread power outages. let's take a closer look now at your thursday forecast. hurricane delta is expected to be a category 2 storm when it arrives on the gulf coast tomorrow. winds could reach 100 miles per hour with a storm surge up to 11 feet, and there's a chance for isolated tornadoes as well. checking today's high temperatures, new orleans reaches 83 degrees. readings will be in the 60s across the northeast and the pacific northwest. meanwhile, mid-80s in the rockies today and seasonal around the great lakes. 102 in phoenix. 84 in albuquerque. coming up, another major restaurant chain files for bankruptcy. but first protesting in the streets after a police officer in wisconsin is cleared of charges in the shooting of a black teenager outside a mall. the national guard activated. plus, one surfer's close

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from our pharmacy experts at walgreens we're back with an australian surfer barely escaping a shark attack thanks to a drone. the shark looks like it's going to take a bite but swims away. the drone issued an audio warning, and the surfer paddled back to shore. we turn now to the growing anger in wisconsin. tear gas was deployed against protesters overnight after the decision not to charge a police officer in the shooting death of a black teenager. we saw mostly peaceful protests also overnight but now new video coming in showing a gas station being looted during the unrest. overnight in the milwaukee suburb of wauwatosa, the national guard setting up a perimeter at city hall. protesters gathered outside. reports of windows nearby being

shattered. the unrest coming after the district attorney announced no criminal charges against officer joseph mensah who shot 17-year-old alvin cole outside a mall in february. police say cole fired a gun at them first but an independent investigation found cole did not fire at officer mensah or any other officer saying he shot himself in the arm while running away from the officers. overnight they released pictures of the gun and ammo they say cole was carrying. this morning the d.a. says there's sufficient evidence that officer mensah believed dead deadly force was necessary. it is the third fatal shooting for officer mensah cleared in the previous ones, but the cole family says their fight is not over. >> we are not done fighting. we are still going to fight. we are still going to fight for a conviction of officer joseph mensah.

that's facts. we're not going anywhere. >> reporter: in minneapolis, protesters once again gathering in the streets after the ex-police officer charged with murder in the death of george floyd was released from jail. derek chauvin seen in video with his knee on floyd's neck posted $1 million bond. floyd's family releasing a statement saying, the system of due process worked for chauvin and afforded him his freedom while he awaits trial. in contrast george floyd was denied due process when his life was ended over a $20 bill. as for that case in wisconsin, that independent investigation found officer mensah should be fired saying the risk of him shooting another person is too great. ruby tuesday has filed for bankruptcy. the restaurant chain claims the pandemic and changing dining habits. 185 restaurants will now close for good. all right, coming up, more trouble for the nfl when it comes to covid-19. but first new details about the suspect caught on camera kidnapping a girl off the street. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) once-weekly ozempic® is helping many people with type 2 diabetes like emily lower their blood sugar.

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you need luvs pro-level protection. luvs. parent like a pro. here's a sign of how nasty this political season is. someone taped razor blades to this campaign sign near detroit. a road worker was badly injured trying to remove it. a rhode island man is charged with kidnapping and assaulting a 9-year-old girl. the abduction was caught on camera after the girl got off the bus. the kidnapper released her an hour later. police arrested luis martinez-romero tracking him down through his credit card after the girl said they went to burger king. the suspect is a married father who was holding his baby when he was arrested. police are investigating if there are any other victims. returning to the coronavirus, there's a new push

to fast track the experimental treatment president trump received. earlier i spoke with dr. imran ali. we also discussed a new mask mandate. let's begin with the president's condition. what does it mean he has detectible igg antibodies? is he immune now, and what do you make of the video he released last night? >> mona, i did look at that video very, very carefully and i've taken care of a lot of patients with shortness of breath. you see he's able to complete his full sentences. so he is not actively having shortness of breath. a source at regeneron tells us it's likely that this igg antibodies that are detected are from that cocktail of monoclonal antibody given to president trump early on friday because it's too early for the body to mount a natural response. he also had the infection for a couple of days. it usually takes one to three weeks to build your own

antibodies. >> regeneron is now asking for early approval. what's your take? >> an emergency use authorization by the fda will make it more available to patients around the country. but that does not mean it is approved by the fda. now, eli lilly also has a similar kind of monoclonal antibody drug and they've actually been using this monoclonal antibody treatment in nursing homes to help prevent the virus from getting into the cells, so this is promising but, again, emergency use authorization doesn't mean it's approved. doesn't mean it's effective. >> we thought europe was out of the woods. today italy is starting to enforce a nationwide mask mandate, and france just reported a new high in the number of patients in the icu. what do you think is to blame and what can we learn from europe? >> it looks like we are definitely seeing a second wave. we're seeing in the last 24 hours up to 19,000 new cases

just in france alone and germany which was doing really well is also seeing a rise, so we are seeing the pattern on the graph indicative of a second wave, and it's quite concerning because we may see that pattern here especially with flu season just around the corner. >> our thanks to dr. ali. the tennessee titans will reportedly face discipline from the nfl for violating coronavirus safety protocols. 20 members of the organization have tested positive and another patriots player is positive. coming up, the most famous fly in the world. also ahead, what we're learning about howard stern's megasalary. a nuggets is the authentic taste of it. you can tell it's freshly breaded, seasoned perfectly and it just has this unique taste that compares to no other. once i bite into it, mmm mmm! my name is meredith and a little thing i love about chick-fil-a's mac and cheese is the oven toasted, cheesy top-layer.

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it landed on vice president mike pence's head and stayed there for about two minutes. everyone but pence seemed to notice. >> the biden campaign cashed in within minutes selling the truth over flies fly swatter for 10 bucks. >> that famous fly even has its own twitter account now with 90,000 followers and counting. next rumors are flying about howard stern's new contract with sirius xm. >> bloomberg reported it's worth $120 million. stern says, not so fast. >> he claims he hasn't been offered any deal yet. he said, if they're really offering that salary, well, he'll take it. next the "sister act" nuns are getting back in the habit. >> whoopi confirms another chapter of "sister act" is in the works. she starred in the first two films in the early '90s. >> no word when "act 3" could be released. >> finally macaulay culkin and his must see face mask. >> he posted a picture reminding people to mask up. >> of course, the print on his mask mirrors the iconic scene from "home alone" when kevin slaps his cheeks and

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at walgreens checking the top stories senator kamala harris slammed the trump administration's handling of the coronavirus as she faced off with vice president mike pence in their first and only debate. pence fiercely defended his boss during the relatively civil showdown but both candidates repeatedly dodged quest on key issues. the coronavirus outbreak linked to the white house is growing. an internal memo shows 34 people have been infected. the second highest ranking general in the marines tested positive. president trump has declared himself cured, as sources say he may return to the campaign trail as early as monday. cases are now rising in 32 states. after shutting down talks on a new coronavirus relief bill, president trump says he would sign a bill to provide for the release of $1,200 stimulus checks, but there has been little response on capitol hill. today's weather, some clouds in florida while the gulf coast makes final preparations for hurricane delta's arrival

tomorrow. clear skies across the middle of the country. and finally the rash of raccoon encounters going viral. >> the most recent one was at the white house. will ganss explains. >> get! there he is! >> reporter: a raccoon crashing a live shot at the white house. >> rawr! >> reporter: cnn's joe johns fending it off with seconds to spare. >> now, no events on the president's schedule today -- >> reporter: barely making it on air. >> frickin' raccoons, man. god, again! this is the second time. >> reporter: the second, third, fourth time. this video also from wednesday. the caption, "good morning from the white house where secret service is trying to wrangle a raccoon." nbc's peter alexander saying, it's a family of raccoons, including the one that walked under my legs. so what's the deal? are these camera-crashing critters hungry for their 15 minutes of fame? not really. they're just hungry. >> very often when these animals approach people like that, when they get very aggressive, you eventually find out if you investigate, someone has

been hand feeding that animal and they learn to associate people and food. >> reporter: but what about all of us working from home. is that what's making the wildlife extra wild? >> it's possible that some of them have modified their behavior a little bit, they may be going places they weren't going before. they were already there, but you're stuck in your house, you're you're desperate for some kind of connection to nature and the outdoors and now you've noticed. this is interesting. some of this is them, but i think a lot of this is us. >> reporter: so 2020 we've seen the murder hornets. it's not like 2020 is also the year of the crazy raccoons. >> no matter where you live, you live in a place of wildlife and nature and biodiversity and most of the time, that's actually really pretty cool. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: usually. >> what are you doing in there? >> reporter: seth says if you do find yourself crossing paths with a raccoon, and it is acting aggressive, pull a joe johns and yell to scare it away. fun fact for you guys, calvin coolidge actually kept a raccoon as a pet in the white house. her name was rebecca. kenneth, mona? >> but, will, did he ever say, get! >> gaah!

right now on "america this morning," debate dodgeball as pence and harris go head-to-head. >> i'd like you to answer the question. >> mr. vice president, i'm speaking? >> from the pandemic -- >> they knew and covered it sdmrup to the supreme court. >> they are going to pack the supreme court. >> the biggest moments. who won the debate and the new polls out this morning. covid in the capitol. nearly three dozen cases of coronavirus now linked to the white house including a top military official. this as president trump returns to the oval office claiming he's been cured. the new effort to fast-track the treatment he received. anger on the streets. tear gas fired and the national guard activated after a police officer is cleared of charges in the shooting of a black