good morning, america. ray of hope. pfizer seeking emergency use authorization for its vaccine. >> we can begin shipping the vaccine immediately after emergency authorization approval. >> a member of the fda panel that will review the vaccine joins us live as bleak numbers break records with hospitalizations rising in all 50 states, d.c. and puerto rico. the areas struggling with the mounting death toll. certified win. election workers in georgia tallying every vote by hand. the georgia secretary of state sealing the deal on the results. >> the numbers reflect the verdict of the people. >> plus, what michigan officials are saying about their white house meeting with president trump as joe biden moves forward with his transition. congresswoman debbie dingell of michigan is here to weigh in.

massive manhunt. the search for a gunman who opened fire inside a shopping mall in wisconsin. >> we heard the first shot fired and knew immediately it was a gunshot. >> at least eight people hurt. what police are saying about the suspect. "gma" exclusive. the mother of quawan charles speaking out about the loss of her son, questioning police procedure. >> had they done what they were supposed to do, my son would be alive today. >> why she thinks her son's case was handled differently. and home for the holiday? college students facing a difficult decision. listen to the cdc recommendations and spend thanksgiving in their dorms or possibly spread covid to their loved ones. how they're considering that decision. and the tips to reduce the risks for your family. hey, good morning,

everybody. let's get right to the latest on the surging pandemic. we are seeing record case counts as we head into a thanksgiving where americans are being advised not to celebrate with extended family and where many americans have simply been devastated economically. >> these are live pictures in union, new jersey where county officials are preparing for emergency distribution of holiday food such as turkey and fresh produce. this as more than 1.1 million new coronavirus cases were reported across the country in the last week. >> and that is the equivalent of 112 americans testing positive every minute. the u.s. breaking all-time daily records for tests, cases and hospitalizations. abc's trevor ault is at a new york city testing site with the latest. trevor, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit. you know, at some of these testing facilities we're seeing the lines form hours before they even open as nationwide the number of new infections is simply staggering. now, 72% of the country say they

know someone who tested positive for the coronavirus and a quarter of americans say they know someone who has died. this morning, the united states smothered by rampant covid-19 spread as testing lines grow across the country with some waiting hours, the seven-day average for national cases has doubled since november 1st and the virus has claimed more than 250,000 american lives. >> you could be the strongest person out there, but it will still take you down. >> reporter: this week katherine pennington was laid to rest in alabama leaving behind her ten children. she passed away moments after their final phone call. >> she said i wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, if i had one. >> reporter: nationwide more than 80,000 patients are in the hospital fighting to avoid that same fate. but hospitalizations are rising in every single state. 12 of them hitting record highs friday alone. >> i'm seeing individuals in their 30s, 40s and 50s and that

shift to younger individuals including individuals that require intensive care for covid-19 at a young age is very worrisome. >> reporter: that's especially a concern in the midwest. ohio setting a record high of 8,800 cases friday. hospital workers warn they don't have the staffing to meet this incredible demand. >> we can always get more drugs. we can always get more machines. we can't get ahold of -- we can't just make more people. >> reporter: in texas, el paso will continue relying on inmates to help transport bodies as the national guard is standing down. the city's mayor citing spread inside still open businesses as a major source of their surge. >> we found out that 55.11% of our positives were coming from retail shopping. >> reporter: now more communities are enacting strict measures. newark, new jersey rolling out a ten-day stay-at-home order ahead of thanksgiving as across the country doctors fear holiday spread, particularly from

college students heading home. >> this is about younger people who may have no symptoms at all that are coming back from a wonderful college experience, but are contagious and don't know it sitting next to three or four generations older next to them, all day long. that is a potentially deadly recipe. >> reporter: but even if this virus doesn't kill you, it can still do irreparable damage. indiana nurse carrie wegg needed a double lung transplant to survive and with mounting medical bills, she still hasn't seen her children since july. >> it's been so hard because i was healthy and i thought if i ever got it i would be fine. >> reporter: and with more medical workers becoming infected the situation inside hospitals is growing more dire by the day. nationwide more than one in five hospitals, 22%, say this week they are expecting critical staffing shortages. dan? >> we need to protect our medical workers. trevor, thank you so much.

there are, of course, some real bright spots on the horizon here. this morning we may be one step closer to a vaccine. pfizer is asking for emergency use authorization for the vaccine it has developed and abc's elwyn lopez is at cdc headquarters in atlanta. elwyn, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan. here at the cdc a panel will be meeting on monday to discuss who will get the first round of covid-19 vaccines. this as two major drug companies near the finish line. this morning, a light at the end of the tunnel. pfizer's covid-19 vaccine becoming the first to seek emergency use authorization from the fda. >> we will continue the work already under way to make sure we can begin shipping the vaccine immediately after authorization or approval. >> reporter: moderna says its vaccine is not far behind and both drug giants claim their candidates are about 95% effective. the date to circle on the

calendar, december 10th. that's when a panel of advisers will take a look at pfizer's trial data. after that, they will make a recommendation on how to move forward. if approved, arm to needle could come before christmas. >> there will be public health measures, but be prepared for serious help that we will get from the vaccines. >> reporter: delivering and supplying pfizer's vaccine comes with a challenge. >> interesting requires a minus 81 degree celsius, in other words, really cold. >> reporter: medical grade freezers like this one in las vegas hard to come by. the second major step only made possible through volunteers. >> i was really enthusiastic to participate. >> the trials are rigorous. the procedures are very detailed. >> reporter: those who rolled up their sleeves first in clinical trials, an essential part in the fight against coronavirus. both pfizer and moderna reported no serious side effects in their clinical trials, both requiring two doses of the vaccine.

if authorized for emergency use, up to 20 million americans could get vaccinated by the end of the year. eva? >> elwyn lopez for us, thank you. joining us is dr. paul offit, a member of that advisory panel and a vaccine expert at the children's hospital of philadelphia. thank you for being with us. this emergency use authorization request by pfizer for its vaccine, kind of walk us through. what does it entail and how long will it take? >> right, so what is happening now, pfizer has submitted to the fda approval through emergency use authorization. so the fda will take a couple weeks to look through all those data, and it's massive amounts of data. then they'll turn to the fda's vaccine advisory committee and say do you agree this vaccine should be approved through an eua. we'll meet on december 10th and make that decision. assuming that decision is, yes, to approve it, then it goes to the cdc's advisory committee called the advisory committee for immunization practices and it will be an independent group

that will look independently at the data and then make a recommendation for whether the vaccine should be given and to whom and how should it be administered. who would be the first, second, third, et cetera. >> we still are hearing a lot of people having skepticism about this vaccine, any vaccine. does the fast pace of the vaccine authorization worry you at all? >> no. i think the key thing is that you do a phase 3 trial. when we saw what happened with hydroxychloroquine where drugs were approved without any clear evidence that they worked, i think that shook people up and it's understandable. this is different. all these vaccines are being subjected to a phase 3 trial meaning the case of moderna, 30,000 people get the vaccine or get placebo. in the case of pfizer, 44,000 get vaccine or placebo. that's true of any pediatric vaccine. that's fine. the only reason they're not licensed as compared to through emergency use authorization is the length of time they're studied.

with pfizer you'll know they're protected for a couple of months. typically the fda wouldn't license a product that's only been tested for that short of period of time. so then the question becomes if you're protected for a couple months is it likely you would be protected for six months or a year? and the answer to that question, i think, yes although there may be some erosion in percent effectiveness, it wouldn't be much. it is faster than typical and i think we mitigated a lot of risks associated with the vaccine. >> so then the next question is what are the hurdles of getting this vaccine to where it has to go to people? >> right, and that's going to be a challenge. especially pfizer's vaccine which requires storage and shipment at minus 70 to minus 80 degrees centigrade is part of it. what happens is once you then thaw the product it only has a 24-hour life in the refrigerator and it is a concentrated product in five to ten-dose vials.

it needs to be reconstituted with saltwater, saline and then it only has a six-hour life after that. you have to line people up and make sure they all get it. it will require centers specifically designed to look after this vaccine and give it so it will be challenging. >> dr. offit, thanks for being with us this morning. we always appreciate you. whit, over to you. we turn to politics now. president trump still disputing the election results meeting with republican lawmakers from michigan. this as president-elect biden is moving ahead with the transition, checking in with democratic leaders in congress. abc's rachel scott is in washington with the latest. rachel, good morning. >> reporter: whit, good morning. yeah, it's been two weeks since the race was called for joe biden but president trump is not backing down refusing to concede an election he lost. with 60 days left in office he is running out of options and his last-ditch efforts have done nothing to change the results of the election. overnight yet another blow to president trump's failed attempts to overturn the 2020 election. after georgia's election workers

tallied every vote by hand, the republican secretary of state certified joe biden's victory. >> the numbers that we have presented today are correct. the numbers reflect the verdict of the people. >> reporter: but the president is still falsely insisting he won a second term. >> the campaign, which i won, by the way. >> reporter: it was a rare public appearance by president trump since election day and he left without taking any questions from reporters. >> mr. president, are you being a sore loser? >> reporter: his press secretary held her first briefing in 50 days and gave no indication the president is any closer to bowing out. >> there's ongoing litigation. there are what we know 74 million americans that voted for this president. that's more votes than any president has gotten in history. >> reporter: but nearly 6 million more americans voted for biden than voted for president trump and 16 of those post-election lawsuits have been tossed out or withdrawn.

no widespread voter fraud found and some republicans are starting to recognize biden as the president-elect. >> i have not spoken with the president-elect. i will say now is the time for the trump campaign, if they have their information, that they need to present in court. now is the time they need to be taking that evidence to court. >> reporter: in the last push, the trump campaign even considered trying to pressure republican state legislators to override the will of the people and choose electors that would declare trump the winner instead. after the president invited gop leaders in michigan to the white house, they released a statement saying they have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in michigan. as the president refuses to concede, biden is moving forward with the transition process, promising to tackle the raging pandemic meeting with the speaker of house, nancy pelosi. >> in my oval office, mi casa

you casa. i'm going to need you. hope we spend a lot of time together. >> reporter: president trump has been silent on the rise in coronavirus cases. overnight news his eldest son, donald trump jr. who consistently downplayed the virus, tested positive for covid-19 and is now in self-isolation. >> apparently i got the 'rona. out of an abundance of caution i'll quarantine, following the regular protocols. take it seriously. >> reporter: a spokesperson for donald trump jr. said he is asymptomatic. the president's eldest son the latest in the white house orbit to have tested positive for the virus and we also learned andrew giuliani, the son of the president's personal lawyer, has tested positive for covid-19 too. dan? >> rachel, thank you. let's dive in more deeply into that meeting that the president held at the white

house with top michigan law makers a short time ago. i spoke with michigan congresswoman debbie dingell. representative dingell, good morning. you have said that the president is -- and i'm quoting here -- attacking the integrity of our elections but do we know what he actually said to the lawmakers in that meeting? >> i have not talked to the lawmakers that were there or anybody in the meeting. so, no, i'm only reading the same reports you are reading. >> so what are the next shoes to drop here? the certification is supposed to happen monday and does that close the chapter? >> well, then when they certify, the electors will have to be appointed, and hopefully once the votes have been certified as having gone for joe biden the democratic electors will be appointed and will vote and joe biden will have the electors and electoral colleges from michigan. >> is there any wiggle room in that period after the vote is certified and then the electors are assigned? is there any wiggle room for the legislature, two of whose members were in the white house yesterday, to intervene in some way?

>> i think we have to be alert and aware that anything can happen until electors are appointed and they vote. what i'm really worried about -- you know part of this whole process has been to draw the process out, but what it's doing is undermining people's confidence in the democratic electoral process. >> given there are tens of millions of americans who have questions about the freeness and fairness of the election that we just witnessed, how confident are you that the election in michigan was, in fact, free and fair? >> i'm very confident it was free and fair. there have been numerous investigations and i think that people don't understand all of the issues either. about what balancing votes means, you think, oh, there's all kinds of fraud. these votes aren't off by thousands of votes. so you've got a volunteer working. you get an absentee ballot envelope. it's open, but there's no ballot inside, but it had been registered as coming in.

so you have a precinct that's off and my understanding -- and i have dug into this. most of the precincts that are off are fewer than have been in the past and are only off by one or two votes. it's not perfect, but happens all over the country. what was so disturbing about this from livonia, a republican clerk called in. livonia is 95% white and said my balancing is worse than the city of detroit, yet they've been ready to certify all the other cities outside the city of detroit in wayne county. we've got to look at that. that's just -- to understand the process we should probably take lessons in what balancing means, dig into the system and people need to have confidence in the system. >> democratic congressional representative debbie dingell from michigan, thank you very much for joining us on a saturday morning. >> thank you.

>> as you heard, guys, she insists it was free and fair. moving on now, in wisconsin a massive manhunt is under way after a mass shooting at a mall left eight people injured. witnesses say at least a dozen shots rang out at the mall just seven miles northwest of milwaukee. dozens of police and first responders flooded that scene sending the mall and a nearby school into lockdown as shoppers ran for cover. >> we dropped to the ground and ran in the opposite direction and found a stairwell nearby and went down to the basement of the store macy's and hid there. >> again, police are still searching for that shooter this morning. all right, let's shift gears and get a check of the weather and head to rob marciano who was briefly in the studio but then we sent him back outside in the elements. he is in norwalk, connecticut with the latest. >> we took a vote. >> what happened, rob? short-lived. >> reporter: just as i got back inside -- they pulled me back outside!

>> with the dog. >> reporter: the dog is not with me today. good morning. yeah, we want to be safe and my covid test isn't back yet, my second one at least. hopefully i'll see you tomorrow. if not, next year. beautiful weather here across parts of the northeast, above average temperatures, a little sliver of storminess across the mid section of the country. we want to highlight that for you. if you do live in this area you could see thunderstorms up through oklahoma city to springfield, missouri. getting into the ohio river valley eventually although i think the ohio state game should be mostly dry. maybe some sprinkles there. 50s in columbus. 70s in atlanta. 65 in d.c. should touch 60 degrees in new york city so well above average temperatures. but if you want to think about winter head to the pacific northwest. crystal mountain, some fresh snow there. snowboarders were out. they're open as is mammoth in california opening new terrain today. that's a

good saturday morning, temperatures mild in the upper 60s in santa cruz today so we have our cold mornings for several days, and then looking at the mild afternoons, in fact, all through next week, subtle changes, but overall lots of sunshine, and no rain in the forecast. 65 today over in oakland. how about 66 in livermore? upper 60s in the north bay, also by the delta. 68 in morgan hill. thththththththththththththththth >> reporter: i would be thththth complaining more if the weather wasn't so spectacular. if it was below average temperatures, i would be back in the studio for sure. >> it's really nice this morning. i didn't vote you out. >> rob complain? i've never heard that. >> never ever. >> robert, great to see you. see you in the next half hour. stay warm out there, bud. we turn to an act of kindness creating a ripple effect in one community in utah.

homeowner jennifer weiss saw this video of larry, a veteran who was recovering from a stroke, having a hard time as he delivered the groceries that she had ordered. she then posted the video on social media and was able to track him down. turns out larry was trying to make some money to repair a hole in his roof. >> posted his venmo information and i think that the donations just started coming in like crazy. >> the community came together. they were able to raise enough money for larry to fix his roof which he is still in the process of doing and he's also giving part of the donations to a local food bank in an effort to give back himself. at a time when there's so much division and ugliness in america, it's great to see that. >> looking out for each other. >> coming together and helping their neighbors. >> that is how we do. coming up here, "gma" exclusive, the mother of quawan charles speaking out about her son's death. what she says police could have done when quawan disappeared. also, some families grappling with a tough decision as college students head home for thanksgiving. is it safe for them to join the celebration? we're sharing tips to reduce the

risk. and if your holiday plans are looking a lot different than in previous years, how do you explain it all to your kids? genevieve brown joins us with her advice to help ease your children's fears. important topic. more "gma" still ahead. "good morning america" is sponsored by geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. we love the new apartment. the natural light is amazing. hardwood floors. there is a bit of a clogging problem. (clog dancing) at least geico makes it easy to bundle our renters and car insurance. yeah, helping us save us even more... for bundling made easy, go to geico.com try eucerin advanced repair and switch.

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welcome back to "gma" on this saturday morning. a special delivery at the u.s. capitol. this year's christmas tree that will light the west lawn comes from colorado's gunnison national forest on the western slope. each year a different national forest provides the tree that will light up the capitol. >> that is a big one. >> yes, it is. >> they do need some degree of good cheer in d.c. these days. >> i think so. a look at the other big stories we're following. coronavirus crisis as the u.s. breaks all-time daily records for coronavirus tests, cases and hospitalizations all over the country. hospitalizations are rising in 50 states, d.c. and puerto rico. more than 1.1 million new coronavirus cases were reported in america in the last week. that is the equivalent of 112 americans testing positive every minute but there is, we should say, some hope with pfizer

asking the fda for emergency authorization of its covid-19 vaccine and moderna saying its vaccine is not far behind. >> also right now, all nfl teams will now have to operate under intensive covid protocols. a league memo obtained by espn says this means virtual team meetings and players and staff will be required to wear masks at all times while at team facilities, including during practice. now, this comes after the spike in positive cases nationwide. and the emmy goes to, new york's governor andrew cuomo. yes, cuomo is set to receive an emmy for his daily televised briefings on the coronavirus pandemic this past spring. this is real. he's being honored with the founders award for using his briefings to inform and calm the public. twitter went wild over this. >> his power points were epic. >> yes. you know, he actually jokingly on a briefing call yesterday with reporters thanked reporters

for adding to the drama with their spirited and combative questions, so -- >> can always count on us for that. >> interesting award. we'll start this half hour on a different note, however. it's a "gma" exclusive involving a mysterious death that has been getting attention all over this country. the mother of 15-year-old quawan charles speaking out to our own janai about why she feels police mishandled her son's case. and janai norman here with much more. janai, good morning to you. >> good morning. baldwin police are defending their response to quawan's disappearance saying they did not drop the ball but the family's attorney shared six missing person cases in the same parish where quawan disappeared and police notified local media in every case. none involved black boys and quawan's family believes that's the difference in his case. >> quawan was a good kid, a loving child. i loved him and he loved me. >> reporter: this morning a

mother mourning the loss of her son and questioning whether 15-year-old quawan charles was murdered. >> i cannot sleep at night like i want to. constantly thinking about my son and trying to figure out exactly how he died. >> reporter: the family says quawan disappeared and reported him missing october 30th. video from that day shows him picked up by a friend and the friend's mother. his body was found november 3rd in a sugar cane field about 20 miles away, his face barely recognizable. roxanne nelson believes police could have saved her son had they acted faster. >> they could have done more. they didn't. they didn't do what they was supposed to do. had they done what they were supposed to do, my son would be alive today. but i feel because my son was black, it didn't matter to them. >> reporter: local police never notified state police to issue an amber alert, nor did police report quawan's disappearance to local media. >> amber alerts in louisiana are issued by the state police. the state police cannot issue

alerts if they are not notified of missing children. if any -- if one person had done their job quawan would probably be alive today. >> reporter: the family's attorney points to other cases of missing children when police took faster action and believe this case was different because quawan was a young black boy. >> we don't think they looked at quawan and saw their own children. we don't think that his life was high enough on the totem pole for them to exhaust all resources. >> reporter: the family questions why police didn't ping quawan's cell phone to find him the day he was reported missing. instead, waiting four days and then finding his body. do you think that if local police had reached out to state police and if they pinged quawan's phone earlier, sooner, do you think that your son would be home with you today? >> yes, i really believe he would. but because they didn't, he's not with me and he won't ever be with me again, ever.

he's gone forever because they didn't do their job. >> reporter: baldwin police officials say quawan's disappearance didn't appear to indicate he was in danger. >> we didn't see where it felt that it met that criteria of an abduction or kidnapping because there was no eyewitnesses, no one to say he jumped into a vehicle or someone kidnapped him or even beat him and took him into their vehicle. >> reporter: investigators say they've interviewed the people last seen with quawan and, quote, are actively tracking their whereabouts. the coroner's report ruling he likely drowned and that injuries to his face were likely caused by aquatic animals after his death but his family not convinced and as his mom fights for answers she's grieving a son gone too son.

>> i love my child and i'm missing him like crazy. >> funeral services for quawan are today and they're open to the public. i asked his mom about her decision to share the autopsy photo of her son's badly disfigured face, reminiscent of emmett till's mother. she said i wanted the world to see what they did to my son. whit? >> terribly upsetting. janai norman, thank you so much. a lot of questions as well. we want to get back out to rob marciano in connecticut for a check of the weather. rob, good morning once again. >> reporter: good morning again, whit. we want to continue to shine the spotlight on central america and devastation that eta and iota, back-to-back hurricanes, brought to honduras and nicaragua. over 170 lives lost but still rescuing people from trees, from cutoff villages. a lot of kids have been plucked from treetops. their parents are nowhere to be found. so this horrific news here and still have rain that is coming

down in the coastal areas of honduras now and already had four to six feet of rain with these two tropical systems, another disturbance rolling through there continuing with those heavy rains. still in hurricane season and we've got a disturbance in the atlantic. not worried about anything but might have another named storm or two to continue the record-breaking year. spaghetti models up there, all the tracks of all the storms we've seen in this horrible year of 2020. better news ahead next year, i certainly hope so. good morning, waking up to clear and cold conditions, especially in our valleys this afternoon, though, very mild with numbers in the upper 60s, from the north bay, to our east bay valleys with a few high clouds today. >> reporter: this weather report sponsored by chick-fil-a. always open on saturdays, not so much sundays but saturdays. in the next hour, we will highlight the cover story of

"national geographic" magazine. it's spectacular and, of course, has an environmental and weather angle to it. looking forward to that, guys. see you in a bit. >> looking forward to seeing you again, rob. coming up on "gma," the tough decision for college students and their families, whether or not to spend thanksgiving together. in this holiday season like none other, how to explain it all to your young children. we'll dive in with some expert advice on that. in march, i felt so strongly for the healthcare workers, i just wanted to help them anyway i could. on the chick-fil-a app you can collect points, so i started asking people in our community to donate theirs and it just grew and grew and grew. rachel came to me and said, "how can i get them redeemed?" she had it all prepared and done. we delivered over a thousand sandwiches to our local hospitals. danica had written on every individual little bag, words of encouragement and support. that was just going above and beyond. we work very well together. yeah! i think so too. so this aveeno® moisturizer goes beyond just soothing sensitive skin? exactly jen!

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"man, you've got a memory like an elephant." it's really, really helped me tremendously. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. welcome back to "gma" and the call to keep it close to home this thanksgiving. the cdc urging people not to travel for the holiday leaving families and college students to make tough decisions. abc's stephanie ramos has more. >> reporter: this morning, families across the country are preparing for a thanksgiving without the entire family. >> you know what love is on thanksgiving, i love you so much and i'm so thankful for you that i'm not going to see you. >> reporter: the cdc recommending we all stay put this holiday. but that's not an easy option for students away at school. >> i just want to be careful and make sure that i'm not harming them.

>> i do worry about bringing it back to my family. >> reporter: some parents are letting their kids come home despite major outbreaks at universities across the country and the dangers associated with traveling through airports. >> protecting ourselves and protecting each other, that's paramount. >> reporter: for this family having their son home for thanksgiving was a must. >> we had a lot of concern. we're not anxious ridden. we simply want to do the right thing for everybody. >> reporter: college senior veronica stern says she'll stay on campus, opting to skip thanksgiving to avoid any potential spread of the virus. >> i love my family and i felt like it's the best thing to do is to stay put where i am. >> i didn't want to say anything to steer her one way or the other, but i did feel like bursting out crying because, you know, there's been a lot of things we haven't done this year. >> reporter: like the sterns many families nationwide are taking precautions amid the rise in covid cases. >> the first week or the first two weeks maybe i just wouldn't be as close to them as maybe

just to be sure. >> reporter: according to a "new york times" study universities from state to state have reported more than 320,000 cases of the virus. one-fifth in the last month alone. many now flocking to testing sites before they travel. >> i'm going home for thanksgiving and my brother, my older brother's immunocompromised. so want to make sure i'm safe before i go home. >> i like how they did the exit testing. it was a nice reassurance i won't bring it back to my family. >> reporter: experts cautioning testing isn't a guarantee. state officials from multiple states pleading with americans to avoid big family gatherings. >> is every single person going to abide by that? surely not, but i hope many of them will. >> reporter: families gathering for thanksgiving, health officials are advising you practice social distancing within your household. keep cross contamination to a limit. don't share food and utensils. wear a mask indoors if the gathering includes people from

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genevieve, always great to see you. i think most of us parents are trying to figure out how to navigate the conversation. how do we tell our kids that they may not see their extended families this holiday season? >> in the most age appropriate way possible. just let them know ahead of time that this is a year we're going to take a pause on large gatherings and explain it's for their safety but also for the safety of their grandparents, their aunts and uncles and even people they've never met. taking care of each other is an important part of the spirit of the holidays and this is one way to do it. of course, they can see everyone they love on zoom or facetime. >> that's important to know. help us go inside the mind of a child here. what are the kids worried about and what can we tell them to ease their concerns? >> they're worried about their loved ones getting sick which is another reason we want talk about staying home, but they're also really worried about santa, not so much that people don't bring gifts but he might get sick by visiting so many people

on christmas night. so add hand sanitizer to the cookies and milk but also let them know that dr. fauci has assured us that santa is immune to coronavirus and can't catch it and cannot spread it. >> that is important information, of course. also, how can we make this unusual holiday more meaningful for the whole family? >> this is a year to reflect on what we have. so for those of us who have made it this far relatively unscathed financially or without getting sick, consider adopting a family in need. have your kids get involved and shop for the family. there are many different programs in every area of the country. >> love that. genevieve, always good to see you and if we don't see you again before thanksgiving happy thanksgiving to you and your family. >> happy thanksgiving. >> talk to you soon and we'll be back with the "play of the day." nksgiving happy thanksgiving to you and your family. >> happy thanksgiving. >> talk to you soon and we'll be back with the "play of the day." for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis, stelara® can provide relief, and is the only approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc.

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♪ okay, time for our "play of the day." this is a really good one. a family in trumbull, connecticut, called in animal rescue experts to get a critter

out of their chimney. >> awesome. >> wow. >> how cool is that? >> look at that. >> that doesn't even look real. it's like are you going to deliver the mail like harry potter? >> it's hedwig. hedwig with a message. >> i'm glad that's an expert. i thought that was the homeowner at first. >> yeah. >> the owl had been stuck inside that chimney for days and there was concern it was too weak to fly away, but, as you see there, once they took it outside, it knew what to do. this isn't a prompter. i'm saying this on my own, the owl knew what to do owl by itself. >> owl by itself. >> you read it. >> i read it. that's what they pay me for. hey, "gma" is now two hours on saturday. >> if it's in the prompter, you will read it. >> it's in my contract. coming up, the states setting sobering new records in covid-19 cases just ahead of thanksgiving. it's a tough story. we'll tell you about that. singer sia responding to casting criticism in her new

movie that features a character who has autism. abc 7 mornings. >> all news. >> all morning. >> reporter: we know the pandemic is pushing our holidays to be virtual, and that now includes one small treasured san francisco tradition, the adoptable puppies and kittens won't be in the macy's holiday windows in union square this year, it's a way to limit any crowds that gather. but instead the scpca will have

digital screens of the cute animals up for adoption. the macy's christmas tree went up earlier this week there and the windows will be up starting tuesday, until january 3rd. and there is a pet food giveaway happening in san jose today. it will be at the animal care center. the need is really big right now. in fact, 300 people showed up at a previous giveaway. the center gave away 6,000 pounds of food. the giveaway is set to run from 10:00 this morning until 1:00 p.m., and the san jose animal care center is located at 2750 monterey road. the center will happily take donations and staff say they are especially in need of dry cat food. let's get over to lisa with a check of the weather. >> nice and sunny out there, liz, but boy is it cold, the view of the golden gate bridge here where it is 52 in oakland, 48 downtown, 44 in gilroy, san jose with sunny skies, right here to 80, high clouds around, still in the 30s. and at the freezing mark in novato, 32 there. you were down to 28. it is 38 right now in concord. so it's a colder morning.

and, boy, we certainly are feeling that, the dry atmosphere allows for the numbers to reach the dew point, but also in the afternoon we're going to run warmer, in fact, today, the warmest day with some mild afternoons, still staying dry through the holiday, upper 60s today in our warmest locations, liz? >> lisa, thank you, thanks for joining us, up next, business owners worry as san francisco sits on the brink of taking a major step backwards, hearing their concerns and frustration. santa clara county i

building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7 news. but the big fear is that the public is not going to want to come out because of the curfew. as covid cases are spiking san francisco is on the verge of entering the purple tier, that would require the city to impose a curfew and reverse many reopenings. business owners are frustrated about these potential rollbacks. good morning, everybody, it's saturday, november 21st, i'm liz kreutz, and we are joining you right now, instead of "good morning america" because we are bringing you college football on abc at 9:00 # a.m. now, we will have much more on the potential curfew in san francisco, plus the bay area counties under a curfew starting tonight. but let's first start with a quick look at the weather with meteorologist lisa argen. good morning, lisa. >> liz, g