that little visor. >> it's been a long year, a joi. right now on "america this morning," target iran. sources say president trump recently asked his top advisers for options to attack iran. the two men who persuaded him not to do it. plus, the new move to bring more u.s. troops home from afghanistan and iraq before trump leaves office. who is opposed to the idea. another record surge in the coronavirus emergency. california now considering a curfew. more cities across the country imposing new restrictions on restaurants and gyms. a governor in the heartland reversing course and ordering a mask mandate. what we're learning about the two potential vaccines that could be ready in weeks. and does owning a dog put you at a higher risk for covid? our medical expert weighs in.

the historic mission in space. the new reunion overnight high above earth and what happens next. caught on video, killer whales repeatedly attacking this boat for hours. we hear from the captain. the new tribute to alex trebek on the monday night football field. and later, the entire town that's going up for sale again. good tuesday morning, everyone. we begin with the breaking news overnight. word that president trump recently asked for options to potentially take military action against iran. >> it comes amid growing concerns about the lack of cooperation between the trump white house and president-elect joe biden's team. today biden is expected to receive a briefing from national security experts, but it won't be an official government briefing because the trump administration is refusing to give biden's team access to federal agencies.

meanwhile a developing story from the pentagon where officials are now expecting an order to reduce troop levels overseas before president trump leaves office in january. those details ahead. but we begin with that news on iran. abc's elizabeth schulze is in washington. elizabeth, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, kenneth and mona. well, in the final weeks of his presidency we're learning that senior advisers recently talked president trump out of launching a military strike on iran. this morning, new details about dramatic military action nearly taken by president trump with only two months left in his term. abc news has confirmed that trump asked his senior advisers last week for options on attacking iran's main nuclear site after a report detailed how the iranians are increasing their stockpile of nuclear material. vice president mike pence and secretary of state mike pompeo were among the group who convinced the president not to pursue a military strike. the report coming as the pentagon expects orders from president trump by the end of this week to reduce troop levels in afghanistan and iraq by

mid-january. the president tweeted back in october that all american forces in afghanistan should be home by christmas, but the military pushed back against that plan according to abc's martha raddatz. >> he will not get the full withdrawal he wanted, but this is significant. in afghanistan the troops will be reduced from 4,500 to 2,500 and in iraq reduced from 3,000 to 2,500. >> reporter: this morning some of the president's biggest allies are opposing the idea including senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> a rapid withdrawal of u.s. forces from afghanistan now would hurt our allies and delight, delight the people who wish us harm. >> reporter: and senator tammy duckworth, a veteran of the war in iraq warns against a hasty withdrawal. >> it has to be done in an orderly way, and the way this president looks like he's trying to did will order a quick drawdown.

that means we won't be properly able to withdraw our equipment. can you imagine so quickly you leave behind a whole cache of equipment for the taliban to fall in on? >> reporter: and before he was fired by president trump last week, defense secretary mark esper argued u.s. troops should stay in afghanistan until the taliban reduces the number of attacks it's been launching. mona. >> elizabeth, thank you. the remains of five u.s. soldiers killed in egypt last week have returned home. vice president pence attended the dignified transfer at dover air force base. they were among seven peacekeepers who died when their helicopter went down on the sinai peninsula. now to the pandemic. more hospitals are overwhelmed with a record number of patients. nurses in the philadelphia area are expected to walk off the job today to protest the conditions. the city just announced major new restrictions on restaurants and businesses as infections surge. and from the east coast to the west coast, people are waiting hours in line to get tested. this was the scene last night in los angeles where the mayor calls the situation very dangerous.

this morning, new covid restrictions going into effect in multiple states as the virus spreads at record levels. in california the governor says he's pulling the emergency brake on re-opening the state's economy and is considering a statewide curfew. >> the daily cases though in the state of california have doubled just in the last ten days. this is simply the fastest increase california has seen since the beginning of this pandemic. >> reporter: the mayor of los angeles is now asking residents to avoid travel for the next two to three weeks. >> don't travel to visit family in other cities or host others from out of town or other households if possible. >> reporter: in iowa the governor there is reversing course now issuing a mask mandate, the 35th state to require face coverings in indoor areas open to the public. >> i'm afraid that these mild cases have created a mind-set where iowans have become complacent where we've lost the sight of why it was so

important to flatten the curve. >> reporter: in indoor gatherings in new jersey limited to ten people. in oklahoma masks are now required in state buildings. and restaurants in the state must close at 11:00 p.m. starting thursday. >> oklahoma is not alone. big cities, small towns, west coast, east coast, all in between are seeing cases increase. >> reporter: the u.s. is now averaging nearly 145,000 new infections daily, and the number of lives lost is approaching 250,000 but this morning promising news on the vaccine front. moderna is now the second pharmaceutical company to announce its vaccine is more than 90% effective. though it's more expensive moderna's vaccine can be stored at regular refrigeration temperatures unlike pfizer's which could make distribution easier. the vaccines could be available to some people as early as next month. but president-elect joe biden is expressing concern about not being able to access president trump's distribution plans. >> more people may die if we don't coordinate. if we have to wait until january

20th to start that planning, it puts us behind over a month, month and a half. >> a member of biden's advisory board says he's worried about another thing, convincing people to take the vaccine. >> a vaccine is nothing until it becomes a vaccination. and right now we're in this critical time to figure out how to get these vaccines delivered. we have no program right now coming out of the federal government to convince the average citizen they want the vaccine and we know that in many circles there is a great deal of skepticism about the safety of the vaccine. >> reporter: a recent poll found 50% of americans are not willing to get the new vaccine. they include irena bartledge, a personal trainer in los angeles. >> i personally decided i'm definitely not going to take it. >> no matter what? >> no matter what. i believe i'm a healthy strong person. >> reporter: medical professionals say there's nothing to fear about the vaccine. >> indications we have seen is that the companies have been incredibly vigilant about maintaining sort of, you know,

the integrity of the process of clinical trial also it comes to vaccines. there are no signs of any cutting of corners. >> the first to get the vaccine will be health care workers and first responders followed by essential workers. everyone else could get it by early spring. new claims out of georgia as president trump and his allies fight to overturn the results of the election. georgia's republican secretary of state now claims that fellow republicans including senator lindsey graham tried to pressure him to throw out legal ballots to help trump. senator graham denies that claim. meanwhile, as the georgia recount continues, officials have found 2,600 uncounted votes in one county but they're not nearly enough to change the outcome. in pennsylvania a second lawyer is now withdrawing from president trump's case challenging biden's victory. breaking overnight, a successful arrival at the international space station. four new crew members docked their spacex capsule at the station. their trip into orbit followed sunday night's historic launch from the kennedy space center. after completing safety checks, the three americans and one

japanese astronaut floated into the station greeting three others already on board. the new arrivals are scheduled to be at the station for six months working on experiments and maintenance. time now for a look at your tuesday weather. hurricane iota brought massive waves to colombia before had slamming into nicaragua with winds topping 150 miles per hour. the storm made landfall only 15 miles from where hurricane eta made landfall two weeks ago. up to 30 inches of rain is expected to cause flooding and mudslides. here at home a storm hitting northern california and part of oregon today will dump heavy rain and mountain snow. today's temperatures, 56 in seattle and portland and chilly from the great lakes to new england. coming up, the suspect running from the fbi who tried to make an underwater escape. also ahead, the arrest and a new college admissions bribery

case involving a former coach and a big real estate

♪ because baby now we got bad blood ♪ new tensions between taylor swift and media mogul scooter braun. braun has sold the rights to swift's first six albums for a reported $300 million. the singer claims she would have had to sign a nondisclosure agreement to buy the master rights and she says braun never gave her a price. a man accused of running a $35 million ponzi scheme in northern california tried to evade fbi agents by jumping in a lake. authorities chasing the suspect say he jumped out of his truck, disappeared into lake shasta and

didn't reappear for 25 minutes. agents say he was using this device called an underwater sea scooter. he was arrested when he emerged. we turn now to new allegations of bribery in the college admissions process. this time a former harvard coach and business executive are charged in a scheme involving a lucrative real estate deal. here's abc's megan tevrizian. >> reporter: this morning new arrests in connection with admissions cheating at one of america's most elite schools. but this case separate from the so-called "varsity blues" investigation involves a former fencing coach at harvard peter brand and a maryland business executive jie zhao. zhao accused of paying more than $1.5 million in bribes to secure harvard admission for his two sons as fencers. >> we have an excellent program here. came in looking strong this year. >> reporter: according to court documents, zhao donated $1 million to a fencing charity in 2013. the same year his older son was admitted to harvard. investigators say that charity then passed $100,000 on to

brand's foundation. prosecutors also say zhao paid for his brand and purchased his house in suburban boston for more than $400,000 above its market value. >> if the allegations are true the message that they're sending is clearly that going to a school like this is completely unattainable unless you know somebody and/or you have a lot of money and we know as a college coach that is not true. >> reporter: brand failed to disclose the payments to the university and in 2019 he was fired from harvard. >> i think there is a sense in the u.s. attorney's office that this kind of conduct, when it is discovered, they're going to be pretty aggressive in discovering it and then being aggressive in prosecuting individuals involved. >> reporter: they say his sons

did not know about the donations. brand and zhao are being charged with conspiracy. they've denied wrongdoing and insist his sons were indeed fencing stars. kenneth, mona. >> thank you. another streaming service is getting more expensive. the cost of hulu with live tv increasing by $10 to $65 per month. it will take effect next month. coming up, the new study on dog owners and their coronavirus risks. but first caught on camera, killer whales attacking this boat. the captain explains what happened. hd 8. i'm a peer educator,... a fitness buff,...

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we're back now with a frightening encounter at sea. orcas could be seen raming into this 45-foot yacht off the coast of portugal. the captain was afraid the boat would sink. the coast guard advised him to drop the sails and try to be as quiet as possible. the crew first thought the orcas were playing then things got scary. >> we could hear in the video the bang, bang, bang of these massive animals hitting the hull and hitting the rudder and so a really strange experience. >> killer whale incidents near portugal are on the rise and experts aren't sure why. turning back to the coronavirus, a new study claims dog owners may be at higher risk for infection. also this morning, new details about the two potential covid vaccines. earlier i spoke with dr. ryan ribeiro. dr. ribeiro, moderna is the latest company to say its vaccine is more than 90% effective and does not need to

be stored at the extreme temperatures that the pfizer vaccine needs, but what else is different between the two and what do we need to know about how to get vaccinated when available? >> promising news. a second vaccine showing high efficacy. there's a lot of similarities between the two vaccines actually. both mrna vaccines which is a new and exciting vaccine type. they're both two-dose vaccines, and they're both over 90% effective, which is really exciting, as well. when it comes to receiving the vaccine, i think, you know, as exciting as the news is, that's still a little bit of a ways off. this new challenge of producing sufficient vaccine and distributing it sufficiently across the country is going to be one of the biggest undertakings in public health history. >> and, doctor, there is new research on the long-term effects covid can have on patients and the brain, even those who seem to easily recover. what are you learning there? >> i think with the more severe cases there is a lot of opportunity, unfortunately, to have long-term effects for those patients who go to the icu especially those with long-term

intubation or who are experiencing sepsis. we're seeing long-term effects in the kidneys, long-term lung damage and certainly any time you have prolonged low oxygen levels, there is an opportunity for brain damage there that can be persist sent. i think still there's a lot to learn. >> a new study claims living with a dog can increase your chance of covid. what do pet lovers need to know? >> i think there is a rationale for why owning a dog could could put you at higher risk depending on the type and where you live. you might end up walking that dog, exercising it in high traffic areas where there could be exposure. dogs are not great at social distancing and can't wash their hands and are pretty hard to disinfect once you get them home so certainly there could be opportunities to be exposed that are not present for someone sitting at home. >> our thanks to dr. ribeiro there. some sweet revenge on monday night football. former minnesota viking cordarrelle patterson grabbed this kickoff for the chicago bears and raced 104

yards for the touchdown. watch him go against his former team, but the bears ended up losing, 19-13. patterson so former teammate adam thielen wore custom cleats to honor late "jeopardy" host alex trebek. a picture of trebek was on one side with the message, we will miss you, alex on the other. coming up, the entire town for sale again. also ahead big news for those who love cinnabon. n. but we believed everything, not just the food, should be grade a. "a" is for all the little things we do to bring you our best every day. to me, the "a" in chick-fil-a is "a smile". i want to give the guest a little encouragement maybe just a little joke that makes them laugh when they come through the drive-thru. we can stay six feet apart and have the best air high-five. essential for sewing, but maybe not needles. for people with certain inflammatory conditions. because there are options.

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results with the game plants versus zombies and both have social features allowing players to interact and that's the key to happiness. well next the california town is up for sale again. >> the town of nipton, population about 20 is near the nevada border. in 2017 an arizona cannabis company bought the historic railroad town for $5 million with a plan to build a marijuana themed retreat went up in smoke. >> the new price, $2.7 million. here's a cheaper option if you have money to burn. a new new york city hotel is out with a special holiday offer. >> for $175,000 you get to stay in the mark hotel's five-bedroom penthouse. you also get a butler, your own private ice rink and special performance of "the nutcracker." >> and meghan markle apparently held her baby shower in that hotel. finally a sweet story thanks to cinnabon. >> now selling its signature frosting by the pint. that cream cheese frosting can be spread on anything you want or eat it right from the container. >> available on food delivery apps.

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moving backwards in the state. now at 5:00, governor newsom pausing reopening statewide as cases nearly double in just ten days. the big impact here in the bay area, including changes you'll start to notice today. >> we are gearing up for a very tough winter. local hospitals preparing for the possibility of a surge in patients. the lessons learned since the start of the pandemic. right now we are taking a live look at the golden gate bridge. we're going to see rain in the north bay for the morning commute before it becomes more widespread later today. good morning, everybody. it is tuesday, november 17th. >> it certainly is. we promised you that rain was coming. mike, when does this all start? >> hi, guys. let me tell you what's going on outside. i apologize. i can't hear you right now. but, you know it's going to rain today. let's take a look at live doppler 7 and you can see it's pretty quiet and clouds starting to take over and the possibility of