vote, you can too. right now on "america this morning," back on the trail, president trump in a new interview saying he's been cleared to return to public duties after his coronavirus diagnosis. >> i feel so good. >> what his doctor is saying and what remains unclear. plus, the dispute over the next debate intensifies. bracing for delta. parts of the gulf coast devastated by hurricane laura just weeks ago now bracing for round two. another powerful hurricane set to slam the same area. the big concern right now. the growing fallout after the feds bust an alleged plot to kidnap the governor of michigan and overthrow state government. what we're learning about the suspects and this morning the trump campaign fights back after the governor claimed president trump is complicit in the plot.

caught on camera, a close call for a distracted pedestrian. a consumer alert. the new scam targeting amazon slopers. and later feel like living under a rock for the next month? well, now you can. good friday morning, everyone. we begin with president trump's health. >> during a new interview last night, he said he wants to return to the campaign trail as early as this weekend. >> his doctor says the president should be able to resume public engagements tomorrow, which is ten days since he was diagnosed with covid-19. >> but this morning many unanswered questions remain regarding his condition and the state of the presidential race with just 25 days before the election. this morning president trump eager to get back on the campaign trail after his covid-19 diagnosis. >> i just saw the doctors today. they think i'm in great shape. >> reporter: on fox news

the president refused to say if he's been tested again and hopes to hold a rally this weekend. >> i think i'm going to try to do a rally on saturday night if we have enough time to put it together probably in florida on saturday night. might come back and do one in pennsylvania on the following night and it's incredible what's going on. i feel so good. >> reporter: hours earlier the president's doctor said he completed his course of therapy adding saturday will be day ten since thursday's diagnosis. i fully anticipate the president's safe return to public engagements at that time but cdc recommends patients be isolated for at least 14 days. the doctor's statement included the president's blood pressure and heart rate but the white house is still refusing to give specific details about the president's prognosis including when he last tested negative. >> when was the president's last negative test? >> i can't reseal that at this time. the doctors would like to keep it private. >> reporter: this morning the trump administration is responding to reports that staff members at walter reed medical center were asked to sign

a nondisclosure agreement while seeing the president during a visit last year saying any physician caring for the president is bound by patient/physician confidentiality guaranteed under hippa. no word whether members were asked to sign an nda during his recent hospital stay for coronavirus. meanwhile, as covid hospitalizations rise in 35 states the fate of the next presidential debate remains unclear. the debate commission announced it will be held virtually. but the president now wants an in-person face-off. >> i'm not going to do a virtual debate. sit behind a computer screen. that gives him the answers because they'll be handing him the answer. >> reporter: the trump team agreed to delay it until october 22nd but only if it's face-to-face and another is added october 29th. the biden team rejected that idea saying the 29th is too late. as for how the president got infected he implied thursday he may have gotten infected during an event with families of fallen service members at the. >> and i can't back up, maria. they come within an inch of my

face sometimes. they want to hug me and they want to kiss me. it's obviously dangerous. >> reporter: no families from that event have tested positive or displayed symptoms. biden attacked trump for making that suggestion. >> they're people who lost a child in battle, because they like to get close to me and hug me. look, we've paid too high a price already for donald trump's chaotic, divisive leadership. >> biden will now participate in a town hall hosted by abc news next thursday, which was the original date of the next debate. meanwhile, house speaker nancy pelosi says she wants the president's mental health examined. she's planning to propose a new bill. we'll have more on that just ahead. hurricane delta is barreling toward the gulf coast right now. traffic was bumper to bumper for hours thursday as people near lake charles, louisiana, evacuated to higher ground. hurricane laura devastated the same area just six weeks ago and now the big concern is all the

debris that's scattered across neighborhoods which could turn into projectiles when the storm hits tonight. delta is expected to slam into the coast as a category 2 storm with winds around 100 miles per hour. abc's ginger zee is there. >> reporter: the folks that live in this house left and that's good because they expect nine feet of inundation here. that would cover the whole first floor of their home, and they're not alone. this is called delcum, the delcum canal right here. it's one of hundreds of rivers and bayous. more than 300 miles of this coastline are preparing for storm surge. >> some areas could see a 12-foot storm surge and 15 inches of rain. we're learning more about the alleged plot to kidnap the governor of michigan. the governor is claiming president trump is complicit. abc's andrew dymburt has more. >> reporter: this morning, new fallout after the chilling alleged plot to storm the michigan statehouse then kidnap and possibly kill michigan governor gretchen whitmer.

>> we have to call it out for what it is. it is domestic terrorism. >> reporter: charges have been brought against 13 members of two militia groups. one of the suspects is seen in a social media post which has since been removed. >> not get robbed by the state. >> reporter: the fbi says the men were angry at governor whitmer for imposing restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. some of the men allegedly traveled to the governor's vacation home to conduct surveillance even discussing the use of explosives as a diversion tactic. tensions have been high in michigan for months with armed militia members descending on the statehouse. >> i had two legitimate threats on my life that we had to have the police called in both of those cases. >> reporter: governor whitmer who was on joe biden's short list as a potential running mate has been a frequent target of president trump saying this while in michigan last month. >> tell your governor to open up your state. >> reporter: this morning

the trump campaign is slamming the governor after she called the president complicit in the alleged plot. >> if we want to talk about hatred, then governor whitmer, go look in the mirror. >> after a plot to kidnap and to kill me, this is what they come out with. they start attacking me. >> reporter: overnight trump reacting on twitter saying he does not tolerate any extreme violence. joe biden saying in a statement that america is at a crossroads adding, it is the kind of twisted plot we expect from isis but now it's here at home. last night people gathered at the michigan statehouse once again to show their support for president trump, some of them armed. >> we are not those people. we are here for everybody. you know, we're here to protect your first and second amendment rights. >> there are a number of different groups out there, and this is not just a michigan problem. this is an american problem. >> reporter: and the fbi says that it infiltrated and wiretapped one of the militia

groups after receiving a tip about the alleged plot and during those wiretaps, agents say that the governor was called a tyrant with one suspect saying, quote, just grab the "b" word. kenneth, mona. >> andrew, thank you. a police shooting has ended with more arrests. demonstrators broke curfew outraged after the district attorney decided not to file charges against the officer. the family of alvin cole says his mother and sister were among those arrested. cole was killed after refusing to drop a gun. a new sign of the tough economic times. more layoffs in the entertainment industry. warner media which has been hit hard by the pandemic is expected to lay off thousands of workers. the company which includes hbo and warner brothers is reportedly looking to cut costs by up to 20%. time now for a look at your friday weather. >> good morning. tracking hurricane delta likely to make landfall in southwestern

louisiana as a category 3 storm heading into friday evening. not good news for the already hard hit area where winds could gust to more than 120 miles per hour creating more damage to infrastructure. plus, another storm surge here near the center. six to ten feet of storm surge. even the new orleans area we could see a foot or two of storm surge, plus we'll be talking a lot of rain. i'm accuweather meteorologist melissa constanzer. coming up, one of the most popular dramas in tv history is back. but first a consumer alert. a new scam targeting amazon shoppers. and the dramatic scene as flames engulf a high-rise building. g. the other issue. oh...i'm scratching like crazy. you've got some allergic itch with skin inflammation. apoquel can work on that itch in as little as 4 hours, whether it's a new or chronic problem. and apoquel's treated over 8 million dogs. nice.

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towering inferno in south korea. flames spread through the building. about 80 people suffered smoke inhalation. dozens rescued from the roof. unclear how that fire started. a close call for a pedestrian who ignored the lowered gates at this railroad crossing in london. he barely made his way across the tracks. you saw it there before a train tore through at full speed. rail authorities have a simple warning, don't be like this guy. we turn now to a consumer ale alert. a new scam is targeting online shoppers. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, a warning about a scam targeting amazon shoppers. >> do not believe it because i found out the hard way. >> reporter: a shopper in jackson, tennessee, says after they ordered something on amazon, they got a call from someone who said they were an amazon customer service representative. that caller claimed the shopper had been charged twice and had to download a cash app to get their refund, but instead of getting money back, the shopper says $1,000 was stolen from their bank account.

>> they need to be caught and punished because they're hurting people. >> reporter: the shopper says the caller knew their amazon account history and their personal information. as one of the biggest companies in the world, amazon is familiar with scams. amazon telling abc news, it works hard to protect against bad actors that fraudulently use our brand, reminding customers to be skeptical of unsolicited calls and don't make payments outside of the amazon website. the better business bureau says once a scammer takes money, it's hard to get back, and with online shopping increasing during the coronavirus pandemic and the holidays approaching, customers must be vigilant. >> they're targeting anybody with a phone, so whether it's a business or somebody doesn't own their own company, you're a target. >> reporter: have victim says they'll now think twice before cybershopping. >> now i'm afraid to even buy anything online anymore because you don't know who is out there watching your phone or your

account of these companies getting your information. >> reporter: the fbi reports an increase in online shopping and extortion scams during the pandemic. the better business bureau recommends before ordering anything online, read those customer reviews and do some research to make sure the company is legit. kenneth, mona. >> stay vigilant. andrea, thank you. coming up, the new effort to pass an economic stimulus plan. plus, the shark attack in florida. a man suffering a gruesome injury. he describes what it felt like next. charted our own paths. i wasn't going to just back down from moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. psoriatic arthritis wasn't going to change who i am. when i learned that my joint pain could mean permanent joint damage, i asked about enbrel. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop permanent joint damage. plus enbrel helps skin get clearer in psoriatic arthritis. ask your doctor about enbrel, so you can get back to your true self. -play ball! enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections.

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we are back with the tourist who survived a shark attack off miami beach. mark bowden was only a few feet into the water when the shark bit down on his leg leaving an eight-inch wound right below his knee. bowden who lives in california said he dismissed a warning from another person on the beach who saw fins in the water. >> it just felt like something punched my leg really hard. i was hoping it wasn't a shark, but i knew that was a possibility. my leg, something didn't feel right. it didn't feel like i got bit but it didn't feel normal e. >> he made it back to shore on his own and spent one day in the hospital. let's turn to politics now, the new effort by the democrats to examine president trump's mental fitness after being diagnosed with covid-19. earlier i spoke with alex thompson, a correspondent for politico, about this effort. we also talked about the trump

campaign strategy moving forward. house speaker nancy pelosi is planning to propose a bill that would form a panel of experts to review president trump's mental fitness under the 25th amendment. what's your take on this move? >> this is very much election year politics. and this panel, first of all, it's never going to pass the senate, and it's probably not even going to pass the house because most of the house members are back in their districts, and even if it were to pass, there wasn't enough time for this panel to actually do anything of significance before the election. so this is very much nancy pelosi sort of playing the same game that president trump is playing, which is trying to raise doubts about the president's mental fitness in the same way that trump has been trying to raise questions about joe biden's mental fitness. >> trump yesterday called biden's running mate, senator kamala harris a monster and a communist. does this play well with his base, or does it just risk turning off more women voters? >> this is a classic example of

president trump taking the campaign strategy and just putting way too much heat on the ball. now, the campaign strategy has been to try to label joe biden as basically, yeah, you think he is a nice guy, but he is really a trojan horse for the radical left, for the aocs, for bernie sanders and that this is another example of president trump taking that message and trying to apply it to kamala harris. now, the problem is that when you add -- you insert words like monster, like communist, people i think are a little bit more skeptical of those labels, and then you end up getting a backlash to these attacks. >> looking to capitol hill, we saw the president call off talks on a coronavirus stimulus plan this week, but now he's calling for a bill just for airline relief and stimulus checks. there were some talks on capitol hill yesterday, but do you think there will be any real progress on this before the election? >> no, i think there's almost -- there's very little chance, less than 10% chance of anything

substantive coming from these talks. the thing is that a lot of republicans on both sides of the aisle and many democrats too were stunned that trump walked away from the table earlier this week from these negotiations because in their minds, you know, if you're president trump and you're facing a tough re-election, what could be better than sending a $1,200 check to every american voter with your name on it. >> our thanks to politico's alex thompson. in sports two nfl games have been rescheduled because of coronavirus. the broncos/patriots and titans/bills have been moved to early next week. last night the bears beat the bucs. the highlight was the one-handed touchdown catch by jimmy graham. later tom brady took out his frustration on his tablet. meanwhile in baseball, the dodgers and yankees won last night. >> it's not the tablet's fault. coming up, the astronaut with a tough choice. go to space or his daughter's wedding? also ahead, how

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get medicare with more. ♪ time to check "the pulse" on this friday. we begin with a famous fly growing more popular. >> everyone wants to be seen with that fly including our own kenneth moton. it spent two minutes on the vice president's head during the debate wednesday. >> and now you can buy a halloween costume. the debate fly wig costs about $50. there's also a bobblehead being produced. >> fans online are demanding actor jeff goldblum reprise his role as the fly on "saturday night live." >> that's real good. >> we got you. well, next a first look at the original cast of "the west

wing" back together again. >> take a look. >> mr. president, welcome back. ♪ >> what are you doing? >> just trying to get some pizza in an uncivilized world. >> the show debuts on hbo max october 15th. it will benefit a nonprofit aimed at boosting voter participation. next a tough call for a veteran astronaut. >> chris fergusson faced two choices, flying to space or go to his daughter's wedding here on earth. guess what, he chose the wedding. ferguson is stepping down as commander of boeing's starliner. >> family is ferguson's most important crew. he wouldn't have missed that wedding for the world or for space. >> yep. finally the caterpillar with unique hair. >> it was seen in venezuela. take a look, the furry bug is drawing comparisons to a certain world leader's hairstyle. meanwhile, if you're exhausted by the political climate right now and just want to get away, you can go live under a rock. hotels.com has a new offer, five days living in a cave in mexico during the election.

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checking the top stories, president trump says his doctors believe he's in great shape. he's hoping to hold a rally tomorrow in florida. he won't say if he is still testing positive for coronavirus but told fox news he may be tested today. meanwhile, next week's debate is off after the president rejected the idea of going virtual. he wants to face off with joe biden in person on the 22nd and hold a third debate one week later but the biden camp says that's too close to election day. a war of words has erupted over the alleged plot to kidnap michigan governor gretchen whitmer. president trump slammed her for not thanking the justice department's role in busting the plot. a big number from the congressional budget office. it's estimating the federal deficit will hit a record

$3.1 trillion in 2020. some of that shortfall is due to coronavirus relief funds. another signs of the times dollar general is one of the few retailers thriving during the pandemic. and now it's launching a new chain of stores called popshelf that feature slightly more expensive items. today's weather, hurricane delta set to make landfall in louisiana. winds around 100 miles an hour. life-threatening storm surge and heavy rein expected. also rain today in the pacific northwest. finally from us on this friday morning, a woman from north carolina who was born when woodrow wills was president. >> she takes voting seriously and at 105, she just did it again. it may be easy as one. >> we're going up to that. >> reporter: two, three. >> i'm thankful that i'm here. >> reporter: when it comes to this story numbers don't matter because despite miss julia turning 106 years old soon she got out to vote in north

carolina. >> you lived as long as i've lived, every election is important. >> reporter: miss ray was born before women and people of color were given the right to vote. >> october 28th, 1914. >> reporter: on thursday afternoon with a little help and some humor -- >> i've got enough upstairs to follow directions. >> reporter: miss ray cast her absentee ballots at the election headquarters. 82 years ago miss ray and her late husband found jesse ray funeral home in asheville. she's a mother of four and great grandmother to seven. >> as you can see, she's alert and witty and still has the capacity to go zap between your eyes, it's very special. >> reporter: when asked what propelled her to vote now, miss ray saying this -- >> you have young grandchildren who just are facing all the problems that we have in can

vote, you can too. right now on "america this morning," back on the trail, president trump in a new interview saying he's been cleared to return to public duties after his coronavirus diagnosis. >> i feel so good. >> what his doctor is saying and what remains unclear. plus, the dispute over the next debate intensifies. bracing for delta. parts of the gulf coast devastated by hurricane laura j round two. another powerful hurricane set to slam the the big concern right now. the growing fallout after the feds bust an alleged plot to kidnap the governor of michigan and overthrow state government. what we're learning about the suspects and this morning the trump campaign fights back after the governor